Throwback Thursday: Paint Me Rainbows by Fern Michaels

Author: Fern Michaels
First published in 1981 by Silhouete

With nothing but her shattered pride and wedding dress, Jill Barton flees town after the heartbreak and humiliation of being left at the altar. While a charming country retreat in Washington State offers her sanctuary, its hard-bitten owner, Logan Matthews, does not. And soon Jill realizes that nothing is safe around Logan - not her secrets, not her desires and especially not her heart. 

I have to wonder if women in the early 80s really liked reading books like this one.  You know, the heroine starts out fairly strong then turns into an idiot you want to strangle every other minute? And the hero is a chauvinist jerk who all of a sudden becomes sweet in the end?  The basic story is that Jill is left at the altar.  She decides to escape for a while and ends up in an artists' colony to relax and recover.  Pretending to be a writer, she convinces the owner, Logan, to let her stay.

Seems like a great set up for a romance, right?  I thought so too until I read the book.  Where the heck was the romance?  Jill and Logan spend their time either sniping at each other or he is constantly grabbing her and kissing her against her will. Eww. Every time she said she loved him, I was like. "WHY????".  I didn't get it. There was no getting to know each other.  The addition of the evil, conniving ex-fiance drove me crazy. As I listened to this book, I kept yelling out loud to Jill to stick up for herself.  But, sadly, she never listened to me. Jill was a sap and Logan was a jerk.  I guess they deserved each other?  I can't say I enjoyed this one or recommend it.