Someone at work collects other people’s used books, puts them out on a bookshelf for awhile, then donates the leftovers to hospitals, etc. (Ebayers, don’t start salivating. We’re talking 99% paperback crap here – bad romances, third rate courtroom dramas, etc.)
I’m ashamed to say that, in a moment of weakness and in need of momentary escape from work, I borrowed a book off her desk before she had even seen it and skimmed the first 20 pages or so to give my brain a chance to reset. (She was out of work that day, and someone had dropped it off in her absence.) It wasn’t anything I would ordinarily have read; it was a fairly chunky paperback romance novel with a very pretty floral cover and it had to do with an unnaturally sweet-natured teenager (and future heiress), her new stepmother and stepsister (both of whom she adored almost at first sight, despite having had them sprung on her by daddy with virtually no warning) and a budding attraction to a (what else?) stable boy. In the brief section which I read, we learned that the young woman loves horses but prefers feeding apples to them to riding them. She also has a lively pillow fight with her new stepsister, and tells off her snooty friends for picking on said sister’s lack of sophistication.
Well. I thought I put the book back on co-worker’s desk after skimming it, but it was gone when she got back to work the next day, and I have no idea where it went. Maybe someone else borrowed it, but I have a guilty conscience. I have no idea who the author was or what the title was, because I usually don’t read this kind of book and didn’t even notice.
Does anyone out there read this kind of book? Do you have any idea which book this might have been, so that I can buy it and replace it? I have transgressed mightily, and fear a visit from Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. Thanks so much.
Oh, and it wasn’t clear from your description, but was it a Historical (did the story take place in some historical era) or a Contemporary (did the story take place more or less “now.”)?
The book you’re describing sounds like Judith McNaught’s Remember When – society girl with a heart of gold falls for stable hand with the Midas touch; he’s accused of some horrific crime or other, and leaves town. They run into each other again as adults, each owning their own business empire, and romance ensues.
Woo hoo! (And I don’t mean that in a “Sims” sort of way.) YOU ARE A GENIUS! Thanks so much you guys. I spent awhile in Barnes & Noble today pawing through the romance books trying to spot a familiar cover, but had no luck. Thanks again, Campion. I shall be purchasing a guilt-assuaging copy tomorrow.
Glad to be of assistance, and happy to see that my misspent youth is of value.
A word of advice: swing by your local used bookstore. You’re likely to be able to pick up a copy for significantly less than retail. This is a pretty prolific and well-selling author, which means that there are tons of her books out there, which means that tons of her books have found their way into used bookstores. I love used bookstores; if I had a good one near me, I’d be significantly richer. Ok, actually, I’d still spend way too much at the retail giants, but I’d feel like I’d spent less.
