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Cover of The Folly of Loving

The Folly of Loving

First published 1986 · 288 pages

A deliciously angsty vintage romance where a long-harbored teenage humiliation collides with a glamorous second chance at love.

What it feels like

Stepping into this vintage romance feels like indulging in a perfectly crafted soap opera, where high emotional stakes and lingering resentments take center stage. The narrative moves at a brisk, dialogue-heavy pace, pulling the reader through a tense landscape of wounded pride and undeniable chemistry. There is a distinct 1980s glamour to the atmosphere, contrasting the heroine's guarded reality with the hero's glittering celebrity status. The prose is efficient and deeply focused on internal turbulence, capturing the exact sting of a teenage crush gone wrong and the delicious angst of a second chance. It is a deeply satisfying read for anyone who loves watching a previously arrogant hero work hard to dismantle the walls of a fiercely proud heroine, delivering that classic, emotionally charged payoff.

Mood
  • emotionally charged
  • nostalgic
  • tense
  • glamorous
Tone
  • dramatic
  • angsty
  • wry
  • romantic
Pace
brisk
Themes
second chances · unrequited teenage crushes · pride and vulnerability · celebrity versus reality · overcoming past humiliation
The writing
Classic 1980s category romance prose that is efficient, dialogue-driven, and heavily focused on internal emotional turbulence.
The arc
Moves from lingering resentment and fiercely guarded pride to vulnerable surrender and genuine mutual understanding.
Who it's for
Readers who devour vintage category romances featuring high emotional stakes, glamorous heroes, and heroines who make their former crushes work for a second chance.
Content notes
  • past humiliation
  • power imbalance

About the book

His proposal reeked of guilt--and pity

Victoria fell in love with Gavin Creed when she was a teenager and he was an aspiring actor who thought she was some sort of Lolita.

It took her years to recover from his ruthless--but very effective--way of removing the stardust from her eyes, and by the time they met again their lives were drastically different.

For one thing, Gavin had become a television sex symbol, and for another, he wanted Victoria to marry him....

Description from Open Library.

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