Why do I do this to myself? I tell myself "Self, don't do it. Don't go back and read 80s harlequin romances. They will not hold up and they will make you mad-sad."

But do I listen to myself? Yes. Right after I finish one and get mad-sad at it. Vowing never to go back again. But then it is like giving birth, you forget the pain and do it again.

This book was so full of all the Things: Virgin heroine who is not as bright as she should be as a professional woman in her late 20s. A rich arrogant stalky hero who barges into her life and takes over. A secret baby. A romantic conflict that consists mostly of the heroine saying "I don't want you" even thought she really, really, really does. Sigh.

The only reason it gets two stars instead of one is because there are at least some moments of good story hidden under all that and, well, it doesn't quite reach the low bar of really bad that [b:Aftershocks|588859|Aftershocks|Catherine Coulter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1176065456s/588859.jpg|2859023] did in my re-read of it this year.