Rowena’s review of Double Standards by Judith McNaught.
Hero: Nick Sinclair
Heroine: Lauren Danner
Grade: 4.75 out of 5
Nick Sinclair, the charming and ruthless president of Global Industries, has it all. And when he hires Lauren Danner, he has every intention of having her, too. Used to conquering beautiful women, Nick is surprised to discover that Lauren is unlike any woman he has ever known. She is full of spirited independence and confidence–qualities that make her all the more appealing–and Nick soon loses his heart to her. But Lauren is involved in a dangerous charade, and as her deceit grows, so does her love for Nick. Can she save the man she loves without losing him? This is another Judith McNaught to add to your keeper shelf.
This book is underrated in my opinion. There aren’t too many fans for this book, well that I know of. Most people that I talk to about this book either a) don’t care for this book or b) hate it because of one reason or another. Mostly they hate it for the hero, Nick Sinclair. Now what’s funny is that my favorite thing about this book was the hero, Nick.
Nick grew up without the loving care of a mother. He did all that he could to get his mother to love him but because his father wasn’t the richy rich guy that could pay for the lifestyle in which she was accustomed to. So she left them and went to marry another guy who was richer and more successful than Nick’s father was. Nick carried the hurt of the little boy he was and used it to fuel his drive to become even more successful then the man that took his mother away.
And he did.
He built this empire and is one of the most wildly successful businessmen in the business right now and he’s living the life. He’s not tied down, he can have any woman he wants, every man wants to be him and he’s content with the life he’s living. He did everything he could to get to the top and now his competitors want a piece of his pie and they’ll do anything to take Nick out of the top spot. Anything, which includes hiring someone to apply for a job at Nick’s company and spy on the company and feed them information that will help them take Nick out.
Enter Lauren Danner, the heroine.
Lauren is the person that is hired by one of Nick’s biggest competitors to spy on Nick. She thinks she’s doing it for a good cause because her relative says that Nick has been stealing information from his company and he’s tired of it so Lauren takes the job and wants to do right by her family. He offers to pay her so that she could keep up with her father’s medical bills and she jumps at the chance that Phil has given her.
Judith McNaught does a fantastic job of drawing a reader deep into the lives of her characters. She makes you wish that you knew her characters in real life, that you were her characters and she does it in a way that is so entertaining that after you put the book down, you’re still thinking about the books and the characters days or even weeks later. That’s how it’s always been for me and this book.
I loved the way that Nick and Lauren fell in love. I loved that they were put through the wringer and that their love was tested because after all was said and done, there was not a doubt in my mind that these two were meant to be together. There was no doubt in my mind that Nick believed that Lauren wasn’t guilty of the things that he thought she was. Some people were pissed off that Nick would have believed the worst in Lauren after all that they went through to be together but I understood why he was mad. She never came clean about who she really was and what she was really hired to do. He had every right to bleeping pissed at Lauren and even though he did some pretty harsh things, he made things right in the end.
Nick wasn’t the perfect hero. He told his own lies and he played his own games but I couldn’t be mad at him because I was so in lust with him and it’s saying something about Judith McNaught’s writing that she could write a hero that smokes and still make me love the ever living shit out of him because I did. I loved Nick, he is one of my favorite JM heroes.
Overall, this book was such a delightfully emotional roller coaster for me and I totally loved the ride. It’s one of my comfort reads and it’s one of those books that always makes me a little giddy. Judith McNaught writes the kind of novels that wring all of the emotions out of you and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This book is a total winner for me, seriously! If you haven’t read this book, try it out, you just might like it.
This book is available from Pocket. You can buy it here.
Rowena, Thanks for reminding me of that great story. I read it some years ago and loved it… hmmm maybe it’s time for a reread ! 😉
I’ll add this to my list – it didn’t really spark my interest when I saw it at the book store but I’ll give it a shot!
I did like this book, too. I’ve re-read her books so many times now. I cry on cue to the same scene over and over again. It’s quite disgusting how JM can do that.
The funny thing is that I usually love JM’s heros much more than her heroines. Her heroines usually have naive and spirited (borderline foolish) qualities mixed in with her independent and intelligent side. The naive and spirit side endures them to me as much as it makes me pull all my hair out.
Reading this book is like reading early Linda Howard books. You have to remember when it was written.
I liked it the book. I loved Nick.
I HATED Lauren.
I love this book! I cry at the same scenes over whenever I re-read! One of my favorites JM novels!
I’m a fan of her historicals, but never tried her contemporaries. I might just try this one after reading your review, Rowena.
This is an oldie right? I feel like I may have read this one.. .. I think..
This one’s always been one of the guilty pleasure books. I know I shouldn’t like it ’cause Nick is a jerk through much of it – but I do enjoy it.
Emmanuelle,
Yes! I really enjoyed this book. Every single time I read it. it’s always good to revisit old favorites and JM has written a lot of my old favorites!
Sheila,
This was a great book, I loved it!
I just love re-reading JM’s books. I tend to reread Paradise once a year and usually a mix of her historicals throughout the year (between current releases of new authors). She is one of those authors that I will never take off my KEEPER shelf.
I feel a revisit of Double Standards coming up for this evening LOL
Thanks for great review!
Double Standards was one of the first (if not the first) romance novels I ever read, so it holds a special place in my heart. This review makes me want to read the book again. Love all the angst and Nick’s jerkish ways. Casee, why do you hate Lauren?
Diana