Submission by Elizabeth Oldfield

Submission Reviews

• 
  boogenhagen

  Submission is a strange little HP - it starts out MOB - marriage by blackmail, turns into a love story once the H realizes h is a virgin and doesn't do affairs and that he is obsessed with her cause he is in lurve. It is also rockstar romance where the H wants to quit being a rockstar, plus has a crazy stalker fan girl move in with the h and H after she tries to commit suicide, and winds up with the H looking for his father's family in Manilla as he is half Filipino. It manages to pack a LOT of drama into a pretty small space and still is a decent love story with a nice HEA.
  
  EO likes to do different and this one certainly qualifies, so it is worth a read for the unusualness alone, I did think the h moved from dislike to lurve pretty fast, but it is only 184 pages, so I could see the need to rush. The H changes pretty quickly too, but all in all a good afternoon read if you stumble across it.
• 
  StMargarets

  This one is different! Heroine is forced to marry the hero so he won't leave a very popular band while they are at the height of their fame. Hero wants the heroine in his bed, while the heroine is still mourning the founder of the band and her fiancé. But since her brother is also in the band and he hasn't paid for the fancy new house he bought their parents, heroine is cornered.
  
  Boogenhagen has all the details in her spoiler review, so I won't go into more details except to promise there is a female stalker, a tabloid writer and a trip to the Philippines to round out this story.
  
  
• 
  Brenda

  Another old HP classic that I revisited and enjoyed reading. It was nicely done incorporating the marriage by blackmail theme with a pop band background. Both main characters Rhiannon and Shane were extremely likeable - especially loved Shane's growliness.
  
  Rihannon works as a secretary for popular British band, Submission, which had been formed by her brother and his two friends, Tony and Brad Holmes. She used to work as a secretary elsewhere when the three started the band and helped them by arranging their gigs in nightclubs and hotels. Later on, she took over their secretarial duties. She and Brad had fallen in love, but just few weeks before their wedding, Brad died in a motorcycle accident and had been temporarily replaced by Shane Santiago, a friend of Tony's, who was years older than the other guys. Rhi resented that even though Brad had written Submission's first hit song, the band's popularity soared the charts with every song that Shane wrote. Because of Shane's popularity, the band's manager, Eddie, and the other band members didn't want Shane to leave the band.
  
  Shane however, is trained classical pianist and prefers composing for the opera. He's extremely uneasy with performing on stage and with the adulation he receives by the hordes of his adoring fans. He's a very intense and temperamental guy and is labeled as mean, moody and magnificent. The travel and adulation drives him crazy and the only person who's able to keep him calm is Rhi, but she refuses to let anything further develop between them other than cordial friendship.
  
  When one particular teenage fan named Betsy --she stalks Shane everywhere, even when he's on tour-- sneaks into his hotel bathroom, Shane loses his temper. Overhearing him yell, Rhi goes to his room to calm him. As an exasperated Shane is explaining to Betsy that he's no God and doesn't have lots of girlfriends as she mistakenly believes, he jumps at the chance that Rhi's in his room and tells Betsy that Rhi is his only girlfriend and kisses Rhi. Rhi doesn't like the fact that Shane's kiss has her heart pounding and also got her so aroused that had it not been for Betsy's gasp, the two would've have ended up making love right there.
  
  Immediately thereafter, Shane tells his band members that he's fed up with all the attention and wants to quit and the only reason that will let him stay on is if Rhi marries him. Shane had been living a nomadic life since childhood because his father could never settle in one place. His father was half-English-half Filipino - at the end of the book Shane finds out the reason why his father constantly uprooted his family. Nonetheless, after years of of constantly being on the move, now that he was thirty-three Shane wants to put down roots in one place and has even brought a house in Sussex, which he wants Rhi to do up if they marry.
  
  Everyone is aghast because him leaving meant the end of the band. They all --brother included-- begin to pressurize Rhi to marry Shane. Eddie suggests that Rhi and Shane marry for a year, which will give him time to find a replacement for Shane and work out a smooth transition. The marriage need never be consummated. Although, Shane is not okay about the non-consummation, he agrees as long Rhi keeps up the appearance of a loving relationship and convince the fans and the press that they are happily married.
  
  Despite being married on her terms Rhi is finding it difficult to cling to her loyalty toward her memories of Brad especially after Shane's erotic kisses. To hers and Shane's surprise she gives him two unsolicited sensual kisses on their wedding day itself and was well on her way to making love to Shane when he called a halt the moment she tells him she was a virgin and realizes she didn't do casual relationship.
  
  'You make me feel a real bastard,' Shane muttered, moving towards the door.
  'You are!' She thrust herself roughly down deeper in the bed. 'You forced me into this marriage because of your selfishness, and now you don't know what you want.'
  He stopped and twisted towards her, his face hard and angry. 'I know damn well what I want—you!' he snarled. 'But the whole situation has changed. Okay, so I was ruthless enough to manoeuvre you into signing the agreement, but I do have some standards. I'm not completely amoral, and I'm certainly not going to force you to give yourself to me on a temporary basis. I'll have to think this out and decide what to do. Goodnight.'
  
  Although, Shane apologizes for his temper, he sticks to his decision of not making love to her for the limited time of their marriage and gives her an out, which Rhi doesn't take. And, it angers her when Shane pushes her away after unconsciously arousing her to complete surrender. She refuses to go along with him to London, but regrets it when her brother calls to tell her that Shane's old flame, Maxine was back in London and is furious over their marriage. Maxine had left Shane for a modelling career in the States. That same evening Shane calls to tell her he was delayed and was staying back overnight, which a jealous Rhi interprets because of Maxine. They have an heated argument and eventually succumb to the passion flaring between them and Rhi was in no doubt that she was falling for Shane if not already in love with him.
  
  For the next three months they ease into an amicable relationship and to Eddie's delight their marriage has brought a positive change in Shane. He was no more snapping at people's throat and restless as before. However, Maxine is constantly hovering around to cause trouble between the two, especially whenever Shane is in London for the band's rehearsals while Rhi is at their country home.
  
  Then, there's Betsy, Shane's persistent fan, who sneaks yet again into the wardrobe of his dressing room when he and Rhi are having a private argument. A furious Shane yells at her and sends her off packing. He and Rhi then make peace and decide to work things out between them once they go back to their country home. However, his yelling upsets Betsy so much that she ends up on the ledge of the top floor of the hotel he was staying in, threatening to throw herself down. Eventually, as Shane tries to coax her out of the ledge, he begins to feel bad for her when she tells him that her father and stepmother are uninterested in her and that nobody cares for her. Seeing her distress, he invites her to go stay with him and Rhi for as long as she likes, much to Rhi's dismay. She wants to be alone with Shane and doesn't want to share her home with a stranger.
  
  'You were mighty generous, giving her free accommodation for the rest of her life!'
  'Don't be childish. She'll soon become tired of life in thecountry and move on. In any case, I hadn't any alternative. I had to say something to persuade her to come off that balcony.'
  'I'm surprised you didn't offer her a place in your bed, too,' she said nastily, her exhaustion souring her temper. 'I'm sure we could make room for her. You gave her board and lodging, why not a full package deal?'
  Shane set his mouth in a tight line. 'Don't try my patience too far,' he warned. 'We're both worn out, and I don't want to argue, but if you don't shut up I shall stop this car, and spank that beautiful bottom of yours. I realise you don't welcome an intruder, and, believe me, neither do I, but we'll have to make the best of it. I feel guilty. It was my fault, in part, that Betsy was
  out on the ledge in the first place. It's the least I can do to try and help her resume a stable life again. She's not such a bad kid.'
  
  It was amusing when Betsy discovers that Shane and Rhi lead a normal life, nothing exciting. They don't have a fancy heart-shaped bed or orgy parties, which was exactly what Shane was hoping for, that she comes out of her dream world. With kindness and patience he had Betsy working out her own insecurities. And, Rhi was jealous of the magic he worked on the teen. Moreover, her jealousy and insecurities increased when Shane confirms to the reporter friend --who'd discovered about their marriage contract-- that in seven months their marriage would end as per the contract.
  
  It was both clear that both were very much in love and only they had to figure their way around to complete surrender. I didn't really care much for the end where Shane and Rhi goes to the Phillipines to understand his father's past. I wish instead there was an epilogue showing how things are between them after Shane has left the band, whether they'd made the baby they'd decided to start making while in the Philipines.
  
  Nevertheless, I liked the romance. I liked the ups and downs in their marriage, their arguments and insecurities and also that they'd huff and storm out but always found their back to each other -
  things never got nasty. The whole workings and behind the scenes of the band and their concerts was also nicely done. Overall, it was an nice, engaging book.
• 
  Aou

  It’s little bit (actually quite) weird!
• 
  Saly

  I enjoyed the book quite a bit, the hero kind of pushes the heroine into marrying him, he says he needs her since he doesn't like the fame that comes with playing in the band and she agrees because he threatens to quit if she doesn't and her brother and other members are counting on her. Of course she later does see that she was attracted to him, to marry him.
  
  She kind of held a grudge against the hero because he took the place of her dead fiancee in the band. I liked their relationship, yes she jumps to conclusions about his ex-girlfriend but I liked how she was spirited and even though we don't get the hero's POV it was clear why he asked her to marry him.
  
  I did like it how he was honourable enough to pull back when he found out she was a virgin and even though she said she wanted to, he didn't because marrying her for a year was different and becoming intimate knowing her inexperience was wrong.
  
  I actually liked the hero a lot, he was moody like a musician is and could be pretty sweet.
• 
  EeeJay

  Very lovely. Nicely written and depicted and not at all like the norm HQN books.
• 
  Debby

  What a strange, strange story.
• 
  MissKitty

  More like 3.5 stars. For the most part the hero Shane is pretty sweet to Rhiannon. He keeps calling her darling or my love. He is very attracted to her from the start, but since he practically blackmailed her into marrying him, she is unsure of his feelings and the story goes on from there. Some misunderstandings and a lot of soul-searching and finding his roots on the hero's part, but in the end, I feel hopeful for their HEA. He really did care about her.
• 
  iamGamz

  I started this book thinking it was a sweet story about a guy secretly in love with a girl who doesn't see him. And in a sense it was.
  
  The H pressured the h to marry him by threatening to leave the pop group "Submission" and causing the members to lose a lot of money.
  
  The h gives in and finds herself married to a volatile bully. The H is mercurial in his moods and goes from angry to sweet in 2.2 flat! The h fought against his crazy at first but soon became enthralled by him and giving in to his wacky demands. Soon they are married, decorating a house together and surfing through his volcanic eruptions.
  
  This was an interesting read. A little boring but still enjoyable.
• 
  Roub

  i did not like it ! far from it !! shane actually forced rhiannon 2 marry him. he put such a condition dat she had no choice, she had been tricked. i find dat disgusting dat he wud go 2 those lengths just 2 get her into bed. he was shocked on the wedding night when he discovered she was a virgin. but really does the fact dat she's a virgin changes everything so much !? i mean at the end he said dat dat made him realise she was not into casual affairs. well r non-virgins not 2 be taken seriously then !? oh but then i 4got it's an oldie, the book i mean. so i guess it makes sense. also der were some passages dat bore me, all those other people involved..david, eddie, cheryl, betsy. another disgusting fact, shane actually thought of taking his ex 2 bed as he cud not have sex wid rhiannon due 2 her virginity. really if u look at it closely, the bastard had married her 4 legalised sex n 4 a housekeeper. rhiannon was better off wid brad. n shane wid maxine (his ex) lol !
• 
  RomLibrary

  He was the heartthrob of millions of fans
  
  But to Rhiannon, pop superstar Shane Santiago could never be more that a friend and business associate. For Rhiannon still mourned the death of her fiance. Brad, whose place Shane had taken in the group Submission. Added to that, Shane's arrogant, moody manner, which drove legions of teenagers wild, rather irritated her.
  
  But it was mainly because of Shane that Submission had become the huge success it was. And now he wanted out, which could prove financially disastrous to everyone associated with the group.
  
  He agreed to stay on one condition. If Rhiannon married him. And everyone thought that was a good idea -- everyone but Rhiannon. (less)
• 
  Mish

  UL