Sarah's Child

I bought this book hoping for something different in the romance genre, but I was disappointed. Rome Matthews loses his wife and two sons in a car accident and two years later is still grieving deeply which is, of course, natural. However, when he finally focuses on the woman who has loved him from afar, he proposes marriage even though he doesn't love her, but has lusted after her from a distance in spite of being in love with his wife. Of course, Sarah has stayed pure because no other man will measure up etc etc. One wonders how long she would have waited.

Sarah of course, marries him and then the traditional misunderstandings crop up with monotonous regularity. I don't like to give spoilers because it's not fair to the author. However, when the inevitable happens, Rome's behaviour is appalling. Why anyone would stay with him, let alone love him after his performance is beyond belief. It is this which put me off both main characters.

I understand the difficulty in finding something different in the traditional romance genre, but Rome could have been more sympathetic and Sarah less of a groveller. It goes without saying that the technicalities of Linda Howard's writing - imagery and presentation - is excellent.

The one redeeming spark for me was the couple turning up in another book by Linda Howard, along with another character from this novel and quite frankly, the presentation of them as an older pair made me feel a little better about them.

A very angsty, old-school type romance. I found it to be enjoyable, but reader’s should go in knowing this was written in the 1980s, and thus the characters often don’t live up to today’s standards. Having lost his family, Rome is a tortured hero and at times lashes out verbally at the heroine, who is a little passive. Its a good, emotional read, if you like tortured alpha heroes and lots of angst.

This is an older Howard novel for those wondering at the dark matter in parts. I enjoyed the story for what it was, but had difficulty liking the 'hero' of the book. He was a selfish and brooding jerk in my opinion. Sorry Ms Howard. But I understand why she made him the way he was and what she was trying for. The story was not about him, it was about Sarah, the heroine and how she overcame odds that were stacked against her and how she could love someone like him.
A heartwrenching tale about a man who marries her best friend when she is madly in love with him but stays silent for years. The man(Rome) is also attracted to Sarah, but ignores it and goes on to have children with his wife and lives a happy and sedate life until tragedy strikes and takes them away leaving him an empty and angry shell of a man.
Sarah tries to comfort him and finds herself unable to resist his advances. Thinking she can heal his heart she wholeheartedly gives herself to him and too late realizes he does not want a family again and cannot love her as he loved his wife(Sarah's best friend). Things go from bad to worse when she finds herself pregnant and alone. Rome refuses to accept another child.
Sarah shows us how determined and strong a woman can be when the odds are against her and how she comes up swinging. Refusing to let Rome destroy her she gets back up and makes the best of a very bad situation.
The love and devotion she has for this man is unshakeable and heartwrenching. Many times I yearned to grab her and shake her to make her see he wasn't worth it. But she convinced me that she was tied to him unwittingly by her heart and nothing would change it. Rome never convinced me he loved her enough or deserved her love. But in the end, he did come around enough for me to sigh and accept him.
Tracy Talley~@

I have the original # 230 Silhouette Special Edition of this book, I remember searching for months for a copy because it was out of print and I found a copy at a used book sale after looking through table after table of books. Best 20 cents I ever spent and I still have that same copy on my keeper shelf. I bet I have read it more than a few times.

This book hit's all the emotions as you read about Rome Matthew's loss of his wife and enter his wife's best friend who has loved him from afar for a long time. They soon become more than friends and marry, but life will throw them a twist they never saw coming...This book is so worth every penny. It's very hard to put down once you start it so clear you day, you won't be leaving your sofa until you finish it.

Almost Forever by Linda Howard is a spin off of Sarah's Child and also a great read!

Sarah Harper never expected that her covert love for her best friend's husband, Rome Matthews could materialize into reality after the demise of Diana along with the fateful deaths of their children Justin and Shane. When Rome is tired of wallowing in his grief, he is ready to embrace romance and attraction again - in the form of Sarah. Rome can never imagine that Sarah's nonchalant facade conceals a vulnerable frame and even more surprisingly a passionate soul to gratify his strong primal urges. They strike a marriage of convenience, with a promise that no child can be conceived out of the union, for with the depth of Rome's grief, he could not cope with the pain. However, destiny has it that Sarah bears him a child and it is up to Rome and Sarah to create a miracle together - to apprehend his regrets and forget his self-deprecating pain.... SARAH'S CHILD is one of the early works crafted by Ms. Howard reissued again - yet it is no less riveting and compelling in churning out powerful emotions. Her deft characterization and emotional writing is as sensitive as a gossamer's thread especially in handling Rome's grief. Sarah Harper, where many have the impression of her as submissive, is deemed to me as resilient for her courage in transforming Rome with healing powers of love. True - the resentment for Rome as the hero is especially potent when he neglects Sarah during her gestation period, yet we can never underestimate the corrosive powers of grief and guilt towards his children. As such, the moment when he realized his folly - it is with such passion we forget his mistakes and relish in the triumph of love. As a Harlequin romance, SARAH'S CHILD pushes the envelope to scrape raw emotions - it is definitive of what romance should be - poignant yet romantic. SARAH'S CHILD is laudable for Ms. Howard's sincerity in her writing and it shows - from the surrogate grief channeled to Rome in the story as in her personalized experience of losing her grandmother. The unexpected maturity and nuanced writing - is definitely no child's play.

I've recently discovered and become a fan of Linda Howard. I enjoy her romances and her writing style & this one just gripped me from the first page and didn't let go until the end.

I totally loved Sarah's Child & it has become one of my all time favorite love stories. What happened to Rome's family was harrowing and while I wanted to clobber him over the head because of some of his actions towards Sarah, I thought Howard did a good job to help us understand why he behaved the way he did.

Rome and Sarah were two people I wanted to make it and I thought they fit and balanced each other out. I liked Sarah's quiet inner strength and that she gave Rome patience, love and understanding. There were times I did wish she would stand up to him more (one thing in particular) but that was my feelings, not who Sarah is. And the person Sarah is & the unconditional love she had for Rome, is just what he needed to be able to embrace love even more & finally wake up and see what he was missing.

Any story that has me completely involved and tugs at all my heart strings and makes me emotionally invested in the characters, is a winner for me.

This is a story of hope and I was so happy to see Rome and Sarah get their much deserved happy ending. It wasn't an easy journey, but it made the destination that much more satisfying.

I have read many romance novels from Catherine Coulter to Brenda Joyce. But if there is one romance author that knows how to grab a readers attention and deliver explosive scenes it has to be Linda Howard. This novel represents every thing you can think of: plot driven scenes, unrequited love, steamy love scenes, insecurity, grief, jealousy, heartbreak, and did I mention a dominate alpha male. There will be times that you want to throw the book at the main hero Rome and times where you want to shake some sense into Sarah. However, Linda Howard creates such a credible ending that you actually end up smiling at the end. Although some readers might object to Romes selfishness towards Sarah a bit too much please keep in mind that this was the writing style of the 80s not of today. So if you have been reading Linda Howards recent novels than check this one out. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Sarah's best friend, Diane Matthews, and Diane's two children are killed in a tragic auto accident. Roman Matthews is understandably devastated by the loss. Sarah had always seemed distant and cold to Rome...he thought of her as the "ice queen", secure in her career at his firm and not seeming to need anyone, but he was attracted to her nonetheless. But the truth is that she has always loved him, and had to keep her distance from him in order to avoid revealing the truth and damaging her friendship with Diane.

Rome invites her over to the house to pick up a carton of pictures and memorabilia when he decides to finally clear out the belongings of his dead family. In a moment of anguish, his passion flares and they almost succumb to the long-repressed feelings for each other. He admits that, since Diane's death, he has had sex frequently with other women, but has never been able to sleep with them because that would be a violation of the memory of Diane. Sarah is shocked by this revelation and confused by what almost happened between them.

Rome and Sarah, both still locked in their grief, start to see other as friends, and the relationship gradually deepens, although she knows she can never compete with Diane's memory. In a fit of jealousy, and to protect Sarah from the amorous intentions of Max, the newest partner in the firm, Rome asks Sarah to marry him. He agreed to let her maintain her independence and career, and she accepted the fact that he probably didn't love her, but she wanted to be with him anyway.

Their marriage is filled with passion but many misunderstandings as they both avoid confronting their true feelings for each other. When Sarah discovers she is pregnant, he is horrified and asks her to have an abortion...he never wants to have children again and endure the pain of losing them. Of course, she decides to keep the child (why else would be the book be titled Sarah's Child?), and their marriage is further strained by this decision. The ending is predictable, but satisfying.

Plenty of emotional scenes, steamy sex and touching revelations will keep you turning the pages of this novel. Although other readers gave the book mixed reviews, one has to have certain expectations for a romance novel...they're not particularly realistic and the characters are not truly three-dimensional. Given those limitations, it is a quick, satisfying read for a lazy summer afternoon.

When she meets Rome Matthews, Sarah Harper has known what love at first sight meant. And having felt that strongly for him, she also realizes how painful it can be when Rome meets and marries her best friend, Diane. From that day, Sarah will love him from afar, concentrating on her career to ease the sadness of being alone.

As Vice-President in a large conglomerate, with a beautiful wife and two adorable sons, Rome had it all. Until the day fate takes away his family, leaving him grieving for the people who mattered most to him. Two years after that tragic accident, Rome is still a shadow of his former enigmatic self, able to ease the physical longing that Diane's death has left, but living with the emotional burden that continues to plague him.

As it happens, Sarah is helping him sort out Diane's old stuff, and fate throws them together, both of them unable to avoid the temptation. To make the story short, they become lovers, but Rome knows that Sarah is not the kind of woman who would be happy with an affair, and he also realizes that he wants to marry her. And so they do the deed, and there starts an emotional roller coaster ride for both of them, as they try to overcome the turmoils caused by misunderstandings, and Sarah's unexpected pregnancy.

SARAH'S CHILD is an emotional, painful, and (at times) frustrating novel. It was sad to see how much Sarah has kept her feelings for Rome, out of love and respect for her best friend. And just when you think she can finally have the only thing she's dreamed of - the safety of a warm home, with a loving husband and children - therein lays the problem for Rome doesn't ever want to have kids again. This is where it gets rather painful and frustrating when Sarah inadvertently falls pregnant. Rome feels betrayed, considering Sarah knows how he felt about children. There are times when Rome acts so bastardly that I feel like smacking him in the head before screaming: "Get over it, will you???" But then again, what do I really know about the anguish, and the deep and utter pain of losing your entire family; especially two small children who never even had a chance at life? It is easy for us who read the novel to feel that Rome's grief was dragged on for too long, and to even think that Sarah is such a spineless idiot for putting up with him. But I think that this is what makes Sarah's character admirable; the fact that she is strong enough to understand the hell that Rome has been put through, and her patience in helping him overcome his grief and accept the miracle that love is giving him for the second time.

Also featuring wonderful secondary characters, notably Derek and Max Conroy (the hero in ALMOST FOREVER), I recommend this book to anyone who loves a heart-wrenching novel with poignant endings.

One of the most vilified romances of modern times. I loved everything about it.

The plot device is so deliciously reprehensible. What sort of author engineers the horrible death of a wife and two young children as the event to bring two people together? Shame on Linda.

The cover art of the red version was superb. Glamor, money and looks personified. Rapped knuckes to the publishers for not giving the artist a credit.

And the invention of the 16 yo man-child Derek was a stroke of genius. A hundred times better than Joe Mackenzie.

That Rome. What a completely wonderful over-sexed invention he is. One moment he's mourning the family he lost, the next second he admits that if Sarah had shown any interest in him during his eight-year first marriage he would have bitten the apple, so to speak. That is the person Sarah has loved for about 10 years!

Rome emotes. He cries. He hands out orders and advice. Typical alpha-male. Of course Sarah knows when to ignore his words. And what she gets in return is a wonderful relationship and home with the man she loves. How does that make her a doormat? She's a risk taker thats all. She had the courage to say 'No' when he made that unreasonable demand even though she was in danger of repeating the pattern of her own parents loveless marriage. Plus. In the mid 80s it wasn't the contentious issue it is now.

A man who is ambivalent about wanting children is not most romance writers or reviewers idea of a hero. Maybe thats the problem so many people have. Personally I find it weird when romance heroes implore their wives of 5 mins to 'have my baby.' Or maybe people dislike the idea of a 33 yo virgin. Nowadays its completely acceptable for romance heroines to, ahem, 'gain experience' or have children out of wedlock. What seems to be unacceptable is for a heroine 'to say no' until she meets the one she will love forevah.

Another thing I like about this novel is that the reader spends a lot of time with Rome and Sarah. More than a year. The scene with Rome and Missy was astoundingly emotional. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

And the shirt-tail sequels show they have a lasting HEA. (Yes, there is more than one)

DONT LISTEN TO THE DETRACTORS MS HOWARD! You wrote a modern masterpiece.

i recently reread this book for about the sixth time and found it just as satisfying as the first. i'll say this "there is nothing more attractive then a strong, silent, angry man." at least in the perfect fantasy, though i must also say "in the real world i want no man i can push around". having said all that, this story is still just as great as the first time i read it. LH wrote then, and continued to for quite a while, about strong alpha males who wore that title like a cloak of armor. i for one love that type of fantasy male and any author that can make me as a reader secretly want one. too bad she doesnt write about men half as colorful or as strong anymore.

This book was first published in 1985, and at times it will seem a bit dated. Even though there are exceptions, the idea of the career oriented secretary starting an affair with the hard driving executive has sort of faded out in these times of sexual harrassment and hostile work environments. Nevertheless, if you consider it a bit of a period piece, you'll find this a delightful read. Rome is a sexy, aggressive business man who tragically lost his wife and two young sons in a car crash. A couple of years later he is still deeply grieving, but circumstances force him to spend some time with Sarah, his wife's former best friend and a beautiful co-worker that he has always found attractive. Sarah has long carried a secret torch for Rome, and despite her reservations she is privately thrilled when Rome starts pursing her. Rome obviously has some deep emotional issues to address, and Sarah's patient understanding and loving support allow him to work out those issues. At the same time, Rome's forceful personality help push her out of her cool reserve. The biggest hurdle facing them is that Sarah would love to have Rome's baby, but he is unable to tolerate the thought of another child. There's not much plot here, but the relationship is very intense and manages to carry the book quite nicely on its own. A very satisfying book that you can read again and again.

For some inexplicable reason, Sarah has always loved her best friend's husband Roman. Three years after his wife and children were killed in a car accident, a broken Roman asks Sarah to help him sift through Diana's belongings in preparation of moving on and suddenly finds himself attracted to Sarah. Soon he proposes that the two get married so that he will have an outlet for his sexual needs, but they are never to have children. She agrees but when she turns up pregnant, Roman treats her coldly, insisting she get rid of their child. The only thing keeping her sane is the friendship she has forged with Roman's co-worker Max. Will Roman be able to accept the child and his new wife and move on to another chapter in his life?

This was written in 1985, and it shows (and appears to be why I stopped reading romance novels for about a decade). There is nothing redeeming about Roman. He is an arrogant and misogynistic creep. I found myself wanting Sarah to wake up and take up with Max instead. The romance is lacking (though there is plenty of sex to fill the 200+ pages). Just not my cup of tea.

I read this book solely based on a recommendation on a mailing list that it was a tear jerker. I wasn't disappointed. This book left me in tears and wishing I had read it years ago.
The story of Sarah and Rome was written in 1985 so it's not your standard hero and heroine. If you're looking for a hero that would save the world and the heroine that stands by his side, this book isn't for you.
If you're looking for a great story that could possibly be happening to the neighbor down the street, this is it. Instead of being whisked away to a fantasy world where everything is perfect Linda Howard brings us into a world that closely mirrors our own.
It was love at first sight for Sarah. The fact that her best friend met and married Rome changed the course of Sarah's life. As any good friend would do she kept her love secret and avoided Rome at all costs. After a tragic accident, Sarah is there wanting to help him. It's not so unbelievable after all. Sarah and Rome marry, he out of guilt, she because she loves him. Sarah has a lot more strength than she's given credit for. It's as simple and as complicated as that.

I'd never read anything else by Linda Howard before, and I found that she can make a story "go", even though I wasn't enjoying the story. That was a plus. The writer's skill made me want to finish this to see how it ended, and that's why I gave it the two stars. But on the negative side, the plot was SO unrealistic. I hated the hero (so selfish & self-absorbed), and I thought the heroine was just a big wimp. The author tries to explain away the hero's attraction to the heroine (while he's married to another woman) in an "Author's Note" at the beginning of the book, but I definitely felt it was a betrayal; no smart writing could get around this.

As said above, there was nothing particularly believable about the plot, and a confident, non-doormat of a woman (which the heroine isn't) would have told the hero to pack it up the minute he asked her to get an abortion, or would have left him herself. Instead, she hangs around so patiently and silently during her pregnancy, hoping he'll change his mind!!?? Ridiculous.

I am rating the whole package, here, not the author! This is an old book, an old short book of 256 small pages, being sold at more than twice the price of most Harlequins--and it's a Kindle, at that: no paper, no print ink, no shipping charges, no actual book with the ability to easily and freely lend it to a friend, resell, give to Goodwill. NOPE! E-books seem to be one of the bigger rip-offs of the 21st century in terms of being overpriced and controlled by greed and how much publishers can we get away with. I applaud the store for going after the big four publishers who are price controlling the market. Now, what about Harlequin? They change titles, hide the publication dates, play all sorts of games which keep the busy reader confused and, often, cheated. ENOUGH.

I can not believe all the negative reviews I have read about this book. I absolutely loved this book. I read it YEARS ago and found it available on my kindle and immediately got it.
Yes, Roman was very arrogant and Sarah appeared to be weak. It was hard to understand how she stuck with him, but admit it people, these kinds of relationships happen in real life too! I do not understand why so many reviewers got so riled up about Rome's character. The man was hurting and scared of trusting himself to feel love again after the loss of his wife and two boys. I thought it was a perfectly understandable reaction. Besides, he comes around in the end, that is what is most important, right? I cried during the nursery scene with Rome and Missy. Sarah seemed like a totally strong and stubborn woman to me. She knew what she wanted and took a chance that sticking to her guns would get it. I thought both of these characters were great. There is not anything about this story that I did not like.
I absolutely fell in love with the supporting character Derek. What a perfect young man. Now if reviewers were finding him hard to believe, THAT I would understand. I mean really he was absolutely an angel and I would love to meet a man like him. Doubt there are any in REAL life!!!
There are two more stories in this series. ALMOST FOREVER, (Max's story) which I really did not care for, but it was okay. I did get it on my kindle. And my absolute most favorite novella in the world, BLUEBIRD WINTER (Derek's story). I am impatiently waiting for it to become available on kindle.

YEP ---- its a DEFINITE WOW!!!! thank goodness i disregarded the negative reviews & took a chance on buying this book - even though in large print it costed a fortune! i understand that some viewers thought it was dated & the hero was extremely chauvinistic, however i totally disagree with this view & understand completely his side of the story, how he rationalised his thinking & his emotions. I have no children & (thankfully) have not had the misfortune of burrying a loved one so my view is completed unbiased from this regard. This book is so powerfully emotionally evoking that just as soon as i read the final page i had to go put in my 2 cents worth review.

No need to go into the storyline but i just to say that i completely understand why Ms Howard is Bestselling Author. This is my 4th book from her and she's now an autobuy for me. She is able to deliver such wonderful narration that had me hooked so strongly into the characters thoughts & feelings. Sarah is a wonderful heroine who is strong, patient & had faith & belief in her love for Rome. she is able to put aside her resentments arising from his reaction to her pregnancy and yet still love him so unconditionally. I'm a 21st century woman who would never condone a chauvinistic cavemanish attitude & would never tolerate it from any of my male friends or colleagues, did NOT find Rome represented in this light (as some viewers obviously did). Thats where i can say Ms Howard did a magnificent job in making me feel completely for Rome and although i don't agree with the way he treated Sarah, i totally understand from is point of view and was able to feel for him & not resent him in any way throughout the story.
You HAVE to buy this book if you call yourself a romance reader as it is a very heart-renching book with a great love story that will take you on a very emtional journey and you will not be disappointed in any way.

I love Linda Howard's books. Well usually I love them, but SARAH'S CHILD was horrible. I'm really glad I didn't read this one first or I never would have picked up another book by Linda Howard!

The loose story focuses on Rome Matthews and Sarah Harper. Rome's wife, Diana, and his two sons are killed in a tragic auto accident leaving him a bitter man who is angry at the entire world. Sarah was Diana's best friend but has always secretly loved Rome. Three years after the accident, Rome decides to clean out his house and sell it (he's never been back there in all that time). He asks Sarah to come over and get a box of photos from her and Diana's school days. Hmmm... he's just now getting around to cleaning out the house and selling it? He could have hired someone to do it and not deal with the painful memories that it brings. And why wait three years? It seemed a bit of a stretch to me!

When Sarah gets to the house, they end up kissing and almost having sex. He realizes what he's doing and stops, making a horrible remark to Sarah. Seems Rome likes to be a nasty human being, as we see throughout the book.

The next thing the reader knows Rome is proposing to Sarah so she won't just be his mistress. Huh? Ok, this was written in 1985, but that type of thinking went out years before that! The marriage is one of convenience and Sarah is hoping Rome falls in love with her. But with the marriage came the stipulation that she never gets pregnant. With the title, everyone knows this is going to happen.

The storyline was horrible. The only thing filling 250 pages is sex scenes (and not very well done ones either). Rome is rude, obnoxious, and just a complete ass. Sarah is a wimp and never says a word to him, just endures his attitude and allows him to use her. She suffers in silence and never says anything to him when he's detestable. Give me a break! There are no surprises; there is no depth to this story.

Character development was a joke. Rome and Sarah are fairly well developed but there are huge holes in their characters. We are never told of their extended families. A mere mention of Sarah's parents, but that is all. Marcy, Derek and Max could have given so much more vigor to this story if only we could have more information about them. And Max's attraction to Sarah could have been so much more developed, to the point that we actually have an interesting story. But again this falls short and we're left wondering why we're only being given glimpses of these people who are so important in the lives of Rome and Sarah.

Bottom line: I'd say pass this one up, especially if you've never read anything by Linda Howard. Her talent is just not showing through with SARAH'S CHILD. I struggled to finish this book, which is quite unusual for me. And I'm glad I finished it and can move on to something interesting to read!

This romance novel has always stayed in my head because of the terrible story, the unbelievably obnoxious hero & heroine, and the ludicrous situations that result from their union. The man is "grieving" his dead wife & chidren and decides that her best friend will make a good substitute instead of the inflatable doll he currently has (just made that part up, folks!). She is a total spineless jerk and lets him call all the shots in the relationship. When she gets pregnant, he totally refuses to participate in the pregnancy or birth because of his "grief" and dumps all the responsibility for the situation on her shoulders. She supposedly keeps the baby out of his sight (this is so unbelievable that the author must have never been awakened out of a deep sleep in the middle of the night by a sick or hungry child!) and the scene where he finally "accepts" the child is truly nauseating! I would like to run over him with a steam shovel, introduce her to Dr. Phil and take the baby to raise in a stable home with a real woman to rolemodel for her rather than the human jellyfish she is born to!

I had to have a willing suspension of disbelief to finish this one. The misunderstandings between two supposedly normal people was beyond belief--the separate bedrooms, how long she had loved him (though he didn't even register surprise--it was a non-event though built up throughout the book).

Another thing is that she supposedly only wanted her baby because it was a part of Rome! Not that it was her child and he wanted her to abort it! She should have shown some maternal instincts. She had no backbone at all when it came to him.

He was very cold and cruel--even being very angry at her because she was a virgin. He was constantly mad at her and abusive, and she was milktoast.

Not the best effort, though it was one of her older romance novels and I prefer the action/adventure ones she wrote later.

There are no words to describe how terrible this book is. I guess the redeeming quality is that it certainly illicited emotions in me. They ranged from disgust to the total ick factor.

Sarah Harper has loved Rome Matthews since the day she met him. Unfortunatly for Sarah, Rome fell in love and married Sarah's best friend Diana. Happily married for 8 years with two sons, Rome's life is torn apart when his wife and his two boys are killed by a drunk driver. Two years after their deaths, Rome is finally cleaning out the house and calls Sarah over to collect any momentoes before he donates everything to the Salvation Army. Grief stricken and still coping with their deaths, Rome has always been attracted to Sarah even though he never acted on it. He's mesmerized by Sarah's cool reserve, not realizing that cool reserve was a self defense mechanism to protect herself from the unbearable situation she found herself in. Rome's attraction turns to pure obsession and he finds he has to have Sarah, taking her viriginity that she's been saving for him for 32 years!!! He knows he can't treat the situation lightly and convinces himself that Diana would approve and proposes marriage. Sarah knows he doesn't love her but she can't bare to sit back and watch him take another wife and settles for what she can get with him hoping that he may eventually fall in love with her. Before they're married, Rome tells Sarah he won't have any more children, shattering Sarah's dreams of a husband, children and love. When Sarah comes down with a terrible flu, she's too sick and doesn't take her birth control. Shortly thereafter, she becomes pregnant and Rome is enraged insisting she abort the chid. Sarah refuses and tells Rome she loves him but won't make that sacrifice. Rome agrees to her keeping the child but he won't have anything to do with it.

I know that we're supposed to believe that Sarah's patience and love are unconditional and she slowly brings Rome back to life, but I simply couldn't buy into it. I felt nothing but disgust for both Rome and Sarah. Rome for verbally abusing Sarah and denying his child for months!! Sarah birthed their baby alone and he didn't even meet the baby for three months even though they were all living in the same apartment.... I mean come on! Even worse was Sarah's heinous sense of self worth. Who would put up with a loveless, abusive denial of one's happiness? Rome left her bed every night after having sex with her (a contrived misunderstanding, man I hate those), he compared her to his dead wife, and he told her to get an abortion, nevermind that he didn't support her during her pregnancy, was absent for the birth, and refused to even look at his daughter for months. Somehow we're supposed to believe they still lived together and made love each night? Ick, ick, ick ick ick!

On the last page of the novel, he realizes the monster he's been and finally holds his daughter..... sorry, one page? I was waiting for her to dump his ass so he came to his senses... nope.... surely no one would put up with that abuse, especially for the love of their child... nope.... this book couldn't have left me less satisfied. She was not the relentless loving woman to bring him back from death... she was completely pathetic with a complete and utter lack of self preservation or protective instincts a mother should have for her child. Did I say Ick?

Rome is the most pathetic excuse for a "hero" that Howard has ever written.

Whine, whine, whine. "I have been hurt. Oh, poor me. No one in the history of the world has ever been hurt like I have. Everyone must spend the rest of their lives making certain that I never have to suffer again."

One question, Rome: If you were so damn certain that you NEVER wanted to have a child again, then WHY didn't you get a vasectomy, you selfish moron?

Instead, you put all the responsibility off on the woman you married because you wanted regular sex.

Pig.

Not that Sarah's much better. Lusting after your best friend's husband? Saving your virginity for him? Allowing him to ignore YOUR precious child?

What if Rome never "saw the light"? How long was Sarah going to stay with a man who would mentally and emotionally abuse her baby?

This story grabbed me and pulled me into the relationship between Rome and Sarah. It is difficult not to be angry with Rome for the way he treated Sarah and I thought maybe Sarah could have had a bit more nerve, but the story evolved and their personalites meshed into a beautiful love story. Like another reviewer had said, an oldie but a goodie. Well worth reading, I would recommend it.

I can remember first picking up this book years ago. I loved every page & it made me start to read more books by Linda Howard. I would recommend this book to readers who love classic pieces. This book is filled with lots of poignancy & beauty. Enjoy!

Very moving story about love surrounded by tragedy and trauma. I admired Sarah's incredible patience with Rome, as it shows the real meaning of genuine love.

Rome is an incredible strong character who's dealt the most horrific blow in life, but with the help of Sarah, he realizes that whenever a door bangs shut on one end, it opens up a new one eventually...

I could not stand Rome, he ruined the whole story. I usually love most of Howards heroes no matter how arrogant because they seem to really love their women and have some redeeming qualities. Rome had nothing, and is about the worst hero I've ever read. He was mean, verbally and mentally abusive, condescending, hypocritical and more I cant even think of right now. sarah was an idiot for loving and marrying him AND having his child. uuuhhhggg!!!!

It was hard to find a sympathetic shoulder for the main character "Rome Matthews". I found his character to be very demanding and not very understanding of his wife plus a oversexed male. Plus why stick around with someone of his character or personality? This book is not worth it and what is ironic is that I happen to be a Linda Howard fan.

This is an adorable sweet book if your looking for a quick read that will touch your heart and at the same time fullfill the urge for a sex scene or 2 or 3 or ......
Though the book was predictable it was still a good read filled with everything you expect in a good romance novel.

It was hard to find a sympathetic shoulder for the main character "Rome Matthews". I found his character to be very demanding and not very understanding of his wife plus a oversexed male. Plus why stick around with someone of his character or personality? This book is not worth it and what is ironic is that I happen to be a Linda Howard fan.

This is an adorable sweet book if your looking for a quick read that will touch your heart and at the same time fullfill the urge for a sex scene or 2 or 3 or ......
Though the book was predictable it was still a good read filled with everything you expect in a good romance novel.

This is one of my favorite Linda Howard books. I especially enjoyed the character development. You will feel like you really know Sarah and Rome by the end of this book. This is a "must read" book for those of you who enjoy Linda Howard's romance books. I've read it several times (first published many years ago). I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

This is the second consecutive Linda Howard book that I have just hated! Where does she come up with these disgusting men characters? The storyline of this book is simply unbelievable. What a waste of time...

This book really grabs the heart right from the start. I'm not really into "tearjerkers",this one was worth it. To me there's nothing better than finishing a book that touches the heart and stays with you. Thank you Linda Howard.