The Italian's Wife

by Lynne Graham

Will he take a stranger to be his wedded wife?

Abandoned by her boyfriend and family after the birth of her son, Holly Sansom collapses in the street. Rio Lombardi, M.D. of Lombardi Industries, comes to her rescue.

Rio insists that Holly stay at his luxurious home, and proceeds to lavish her and her baby with all that money can buy. But Rio's emotions are caught off guard by Holly's natural charm and indifference to his wealth. In fact, Holly would make a perfect wife....

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Harlequin Presents, Contemporary Romance, Marriage Of Convenience, Contemporary, Harlequin Romance

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.


Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.

Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.

Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.

Reviews

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting different sort of HP. The heroine is a homeless unwed mother and gasp it isn't the hero's baby. And gasp the hero walks in to find his fiance, the OW, cheating on him with another woman. And that last is an absolute first for me in Harlequinland. No spoilers, that's all in the first couple of pages. I really liked this even it it had elements that in other books cause me to shake the head. She was totally under his spell and goes weak in both the knees and the head anytime she's near him. But on the other hand she pretty much assumes she's not going to end up with him so she's realistic even in the midst of all the trembling. After they get married which happens pretty early on she learns to stand up for herself. But thankfully it wasn't by acrimonious back biting and continual sniping at him. She had a mind of her own and confronted him when he needed it. There was one thing that he did for which I'm not sure she should have forgiven him so easily. The were at a party and in front of everyone, he left her without a word and took the other woman in his arms and took her out of the party and away in his car. Come to find out later that he had been asked to do it by the hostess when the OW started acting crazy because she was high on cocaine and the hostess' son had died from it. He should have figured out a way to get someone else to do it. There is never never an excuse to leave your new wife high and dry at a society party with every one looking and gossiping without even telling her what's up. Nope never.

If my husband had done it, he'd still be hearing about it. But for the rest he was a pretty good hero, indulging her and opening up about his feelings and admitting his faults at the end. Other than the one time, he was never really an ass to her.

[Vintage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really should not give this four stars, but it is such a ridiculously silly, over the top, and deliciously campy romance.

On the one hand, we have an h that owns tstl as she gets knocked up by a true jerk. The H is an alpha make with a wounded ego and a magic penis, well, magical for the h. They meet cute as he flees in horror from finding his stick thin model girl-friend in bed...with another woman. Somehow the offer of a threesome does not make him feel better. Our downtrodden h is almost run over by his chauffeur. The H rescues and takes her home much to the dismay of his chauffeur who seriously disapproves out of concern for the h. Bottom line, the H makes it up to her by marrying her.

From the get go, we know how the h feels about him; he's her knight on a white charger, lover extradonnaire, and savior. Not quite so sure about the H as he plunges into what is certainly a misalliance. He is caviar; she's fish and chips.

One of the funniest scenes is at the beginning when she decides in order to pay back his generosity she needs to clean the kitchen floor a la Cinderella. He's furious as, one, he doesn't want her cleaning, and, two, she puts girl clothes on her son. The H is concerned about the damage done to the small boy's male ego.

The relationship is relatively smooth until his mother and the model pop back into the story.

A fun read if you don't mind heroines so sweet and simple they verge on simpleminded. She has a backbone and ethics though so don't discredit it her.

[StMargarets · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Cinderella had been a single mother, (pregnant after her first and only time with a cad) and then had almost been hit by the prince's limo while looking for a warm place to spend the night, then this would have been her story. Our wounded billionaire hero (his fiance was cheating on him with another woman) is truly her prince as he rescues her, beds her and then marries her for no logical reason - except for true love.

It's sappy and just short of believable if you scrutinize - but I loved it. Just a feel good story. One of my favorite parts: when the hero tells the gossipy stylist that the heroine is his cousin just off the boat from Italy and can't speak a word of English. That effectively keeps both their mouths shut.

Heroine's parents got off way too easy. They turned their backs on their daughter and were in no position to lecture anyone.

Lots of great reviews that spoil more of the story, if you're interested!

[Leona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just kept shaking my head. I felt the author's attempt to make her appear like a sweet young thing that finds herself wildly attracted to a "man of the world", just flopped.

Instead, everything felt so sordid. I like my heroine's with a bit more class. This one came off as a cheap nymphomaniac that would put everything on hold (including her son), for a roll in the sack with the hero.

I recommend a pass. The only saving grace, is this helps me get to my challenge of "Italian heroes".

[AvidReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

She surely knows how to creat insecure, small town heroine versus arrogant, tight lipped,inconsiderate heroes.

[Wendy, Lady Evelyn Quince · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lynne Graham’s The Italian’s Bride is unusual from her other books I’ve read in the past. Holly Samson is the first LG heroine I can recall who is not a virgin, and who’s borne another man’s child before she meets the hero.

The Italian’s Wife opens with Rio Lombardi, a 6' 3" gorgeous, nice-guy, Italian billionaire-businessman extraordinaire walking in on his supermodel fiancée in flagrante delicto with another woman. Not only is he enraged, but he’s repulsed by his fiancée’s suggestion of a threesome. (Only in an HP!)

Poor Holly is down on her luck. Her old-fashioned parents had kicked out their pregnant daughter because she because she didn’t do the right thing (whatever that means). Her boyfriend, whom she only had sex with once and hated it (natch), wanted nothing to do with the baby or Holly. Holly is at the end of her rope. She’s homeless, jobless and hungry, and just about to make the decision that giving up her baby boy is the only way to solve this dilemma, when she’s almost hit by Rio’s limo (just an hour after he walked in on his girlfriend having sex with someone else!).

Rio whisks Holly off to his luxurious penthouse, buys her designer clothes, gets a nanny for her baby, and soon declares they must marry.

Holly falls instantly in love, and Rio is madly in lust.

These HPs are crazy, silly fantasies. Sometimes I don’t know why I like them so much with weird tropes like this. Plus during sex, the hero does all the work, and yet somehow Holly’s the best sex Rio’s ever had, just because she enjoys it so much! (Earth to Rio: maybe the fact that his former fiancée was a LESBIAN might have been a reason why she wasn’t that into it). When Holly asks what she can do to make it better he replies, “Just lie there. I’m in a very uncritical mood…And during the next couple of weeks I intend to teach you everything I want you to know, bella mia.” I really don’t know what to say about that, other than to comment that I can accept in an HP what I’d never ever accept in real life!

Holly is your typical Lynne Graham heroine: beyond clueless and helpless. She’s totally unaware of Rio’s extreme fame and is agog at all the paparazzi at their wedding. She’s not an erudite intellectual, she has no life outside of her baby and problems…but still…there’s something charming about the book. It's so dumb in a typical LG way that it’s quite enjoyable.

However, I do dislike the fact that Holly is so willing to forgive. She thinks to herself: “That her parents could forgive her all the grief she had caused had been a tremendous comfort to Holly, as was her mother and father’s loving acceptance of their baby grandson.” Um, hello? Her parents kicked her out of their home and didn’t give a rat’s ass what was going on with Holly and their baby grandchild, that was until Holly returned home married to a billionaire. Uggh. I dislike that kind of martyrdom in a heroine. I like my heroines with a bit of claws. But Holly’s sweet, as is Rio, so it all works out in the end.

I’m a very mercurial reader; if I’m in a bad mood, it affects my reading, but if I’m feeling mellow, then it’s all good. This was a silly story, but for some reason it clicked for me. I appreciated it for what it was: an HP escapist fantasy about a damsel in distress being swept off her feet by an amazing man beyond her dreams who will love her forever and ever.

3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4 since there are no half ratings on Goodreads.

[*CJ* · Rating 1 out of 5]

AGH!
So basically I ended up reading this book because it was part of a bundle and I was like..oh well.
A single mother meets a recently single billionaire and falls for him as he adores the kid was what I thought the book would be about.
What I got was a manipulative hero and a doormat heroine.
He lies to her, shouts and threatens her, shuts up every fight with sex instead of answering her every time. SHE IS EASILY SEDUCED!! And all the time I'm like ffs woman STAND UP and she keeps rolling in the dust. She has no backbone- she is verbally attacked by Rio, Christbel, the mother, the wedding guests..and all she does is cry!
This frustrated me to no end. I really wanted to punch the hero ( I KNOW he had some positive points but vastly overshadowed)
1/5

[Jac K · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This is another one from the Best of the Worst HP OW list I’ve been slowly working down for the last couple years. The book opens with (Rio) Saverio Lombardi, our Italian billionaire H planning to surprise his super model fiancée Christabel, and finds her cheating on him. After leaving he runs into our starving, freezing h, Holly, pushing her infant son around in the middle of the night.

The rest is a Cinderella/Pretty Woman story, HP style with a bossy H swooping in to save the single mom. This is the type of HP you just take on a whacky ride. Holly is a hot-mess and quite pathetic, and mostly wants to have sex… or think about sex the majority of the time. The couple goes from zero to marrying and adopting the baby within chapters, so it’s not very realistic, but fun if you can get on board.

Bottom Line- It’s a smidge silly, but a fun ride, and I thought Christabel was a decent evil OW, but I wish she had more page time… and I prefer evil OW to get comeuppance, not be redeemed, but that’s me. I love to hate a villain. And, I wanted a parent smackdown because hers were the worst. * This is almost 20yrs old and not really pc with sexual orientation. Nothing big, just random comments like dressing the boy in a dress could damage his sexual identity, so if that’s a hot button- I’d skip.

[Shatarupa Dhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saverio Lombardi is all set to surprise his fianceé when he instead gets a rude shock. He gets a live example of Christabel Kent being lesbian or should I say bi, who is clearly out to dupe him. And so, our heroine doesn't make an entry till later in this story of a twenty-nine-year-old hero who's been in love with the cunning supermodel Christabel for two of those years. He thinks he would have done better had he married the first total stranger of a woman he came across just then.

Holly Sansom with her eight-month-old son Timmie is freezing in the streets of London. She is scared and hungry. Her purse has been stolen and none of the dreams she had come to this city with seven months ago had materialized. She didn't even have a place to stay the night. At twenty years old, fate had dealt her a severe hand. Her baby's father, Jeff Danby - what a despicable man - had threatened her if she so much as hinted his name. And so she couldn't get help from either the police or Social Security. Thinking of her problems, she doesn't realise where she's going and almost gets in front of Rio's car, and hurts herself.

Timmie and Rio's first meet up was so sad in a way but so cute. Having a child out of wedlock led to throwing out of the country girl from her country home after which she found herself in London. She had grown up in Exmoor, the daughter of elderly farmer parents.

Ezio Farretti, Rio's oldest security team member, is a giant old cuddly bear. And Timmie is ... well ...

And what was that frilly thing round his almost non-existent neck? Dio mio, Timmie was wearing a little girl’s woollen dress with a lace collar! Rio was truly appalled by that discovery.

This was a hilarious read. And with an apt title. Even Rio had his own sense of humour, which the male protagonists seldom do.

Half the story gone by is when things start to pick up steam, as our naive Holly gets a spine and finally starts giving back as good as she got! Oh what joy it was to hear her speak her mind.

As enjoyable as this read was, one thing that kept on playing in mind throughout in the background was that Holly was a naive farm girl and Rio just found a helpless female on the rebound. But of course, I loved how the author rounded up the story beautifully, providing closure for all of the characters, including his and her ex. Yes, that happened. And the last part of the last chapter was an epilogue in itself, a wonderful one.

P.S. I have added Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee to my TBR, a book whose titular character has been likened to Holly. I read this two years back and surprise surprise ... I remembered the story because of its fun element.

[Debbie "Buried in Her TBR Pile" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Own in: A Convenient Arrangement: The Italian's Wife\The Spanish Groom (Harlequin Feature Author)

3.5 stars - didn't like the beginning/setup - I definitely liked the middle and the end. Somewhat different than usual HP fare.

[Tmstprc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually a reread, no clue why I haven’t reviewed it in the past.

Young single mother (fell prey to a jerk) and a hero with a bruised ego. He saves her life and that’s kind of that. It’s a sweet story with nice characters. The supporting cast are clichés, but LG makes it work.

4 I like this couple stars.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars ~ Returning home early from a business trip, Rio decides to surprise his fiancee but it's him that receives the surprise; for Christobel isn't alone, and it's not a man she's making love with, it's another woman. Their engagement over, Rio leaves feeling angry and humiliated. It's after midnight, cold and rainy, and desperately Holly pushes the carriage holding her infant son, hoping to find some place to shelter them for the night. So distraught she doesn't see the limo approaching until it's almost on them. Frantically she shoves the carriage out of the car's path, and just as she thinks she's to be hit the car slams to a stop, but Holly's momentum sees her falling hard with a definite smack to the back of her head. Rio insists that she be taken to the private hospital that bears his family name, and once mother and child are safe and being cared for, he finds himself wondering about the girl's situation. Holly's frantic when she learns Rio had called Social Services, she knows that they'll take Timmie and put him in foster care. Fighting her own motherly guilt, she stomps down the voice inside that keeps telling her that Timmie would be better off adopted out.

The next morning Rio remember's Holly's reaction to the news about the Social worker, and he gets a funny feeling. Rushing to the hospital he sees Holly leaving with Timmie in her arms. When he confronts her, she's taken by surprise and allows herself to be swept into Rio's limo. He's come to a decision to help her and offers a roof over their heads for a few days until she can get her bearings. Reluctant to accept, Holly realizes this is the breathing space she needs and agreeing to his help she finds herself entering the most massive and elegant homes she's every seen. Two nights later, wearing a revealing borrowed nightie, Holly bumps into Rio, clad only in his black boxers, as she checks on Timmie. It's an instant physical reaction for both of them but for Holly it's overwhelming. Neither can resist their explosive chemistry; for Holly it's frighteningly consuming and for Rio, it's reaffirming to his masculine pride that a woman could desire him with such abandon. Not deluding Holly that he loves her, he proposes. He wants to be married; he likes her, is sure in time he'll be very fond of her and he already adores her son. Holly knows she should refuse, but she's already head over heels in love with Rio and the security he can provide Timmie makes it impossible for her to say no.

The first weeks of their marriage, Holly is deliriously happy. Rio is an attentive husband and he genuinely cares for the Timmie. Both come alive when they're together, but honeymoons have to end and Rio has to resume his work. One visit to Rio's mother, where she finds Rio's ex-fiancee a welcome guest, strips away Holly's fragile self-esteem. Holly quickly realizes that Rio must have married her on the rebound, and one day he was going to wake up and regret he'd ever met Holly. So when Christobel keeps turning up, Holly's sure that her wonderful marriage is about to crumble.

Ms. Graham loves to write about heroes and heroines who have such a magnetic attraction to one another that they lose all control when they are together. When Rio rescues Holly, she's at such a low place and she can't fathom what he could possible see in her. Holly's a country girl, 20, who found out the man who said he loved her, only said that to get her into bed, their one night created Timmie. Alone in the city, she couldn't return to her parents in shame. Rio's charmed by Holly's guilelessness and the fact that she can't hide how much she is attracted to him. At 29, he comes across all self-assured but his ex-fiancee's sexual exploits have shaken his masculinity. Holly reaffirms that he's a virile man and restores his confidence.

While at times Holly seems overly naive, I still found myself liking her. She rocks Rio world, even though he won't admit it. This emotionally intense Cinderella story had me enthralled.

[Lady Raven RAVE! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read Holly seems really naive but its was still a good read from start to end the beginning got you into the story and it didn't take forever to get into. The characters were likable as well.




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[KathyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one, single mother in distress, hero swoops in and rescues the down on her luck h. The chemistry with the couple was hot, I liked their interactions. There was just enough angst without going over the top.

Overall a HP winner for me, I'd recommend.

[MBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rio was pacing the waiting area, talking in staccato Italian on his cell phone, the cynosure of interest for every female in the vicinity. He lowered his phone, tawny eyes welding to her with gleaming intensity, a faint and wicked smile curling at the corners of his beautiful mouth. ‘Bella, Fiammetta…’ he drawled with lazy amusement.
And in that same moment, Holly knew beyond all doubt that she had fallen passionately in love.

The Italian’s Wife by Lynne Graham is another one of her stellar reads, published in 2001. The story begins when 29 year old Saverio Lombardi (Rio), billionaire head of Lombardi Industries, one of the biggest, most successful companies in the world, walks in on his fiancée of almost two years cheating on him, most shockingly with another woman. Reeling from the rude awakening, it is as Rio is on his way home that fate puts 20 year old single mother Holly Sansom on his path, forever changing the trajectory of his life once and for all.

Holly, with her eight month old son in tow is at her wits end when Rio "rescues" her and places her at his home. Holly has had nothing but bad luck ever since she had come to London, in all her naivety hoping that the father of her son was waiting for her as eagerly as she was to be reunited with him. Holly had been an impressionable eighteen year old, an only child who had been taken in and dazzled by the seemingly charming man who had swept her off her feet.

The same man who had been livid that Holly had chosen to have the baby and tossed her out, leaving Holly to fend for herself in a city where only the rich and affluent survive. Holly takes the lifeline that Rio throws her, because she has hit rock bottom and there is nowhere else for her to go.

Four weeks into the move, Rio finds himself faced with the unexpected; an attack of such powerful lust towards the woman who lives in his home which really shakes him up. Rio is still seething on the inside from the humiliation of calling off the huge wedding that was to take place while keeping the truth a secret, which takes its toll on him and before long, recognizing the answering need in Holly's untutored eyes, there is no holding back on what happens next.

As circumstances would have it, Rio proposes marriage to Holly to save her from losing her son, or so he tells himself. All the while, Rio keeps the truth of his disastrous relationship with his ex-fiance to himself, which gives the story the angst factor that I always revel in when it comes to Ms. Graham's stories, and I certainly was not disappointed.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Italian's Wife for many reasons. I loved Rio - he was more sensitive than Ms. Graham's heroes in her older titles, but at the same time, retained just enough of the elements that makes readers like myself salivate over her heroes. Walking in on his cheating fiancée leaves his confidence shaken, making him question every single aspect of the relationship he had with her. It is for this reason that Rio remains tight-lipped about what took place, not wanting to come off as anything but a sexy and capable man who can keep his woman satisfied in bed and out of it.

Holly's character was just as wonderful. Having grown up in a small town, Holly is not equipped with the sort of sophistication that is second nature to a person like Rio. Holly's lack of trust in men was understandable given how she suffered at the hands of the only man she had let into her life, the way he had taken the easy way out and left her in the lurch. The guilt of having disappointed her parents also makes her stubborn enough to weather the worst until Rio comes into her life, giving her everything that she never ever hoped to find.

I especially loved the ending, where Rio goes in pursuit of the woman he loves beyond anything else in the world, finally able to win her over with nothing but the truth. The epilogue was a lovely touch, which I always appreciate when we get a sneak into the lives of characters that we suffered and loved through to the end. And guess where Rio takes his wife on honeymoon? Yep, Maldives!

Recommend this to fans of Harlequin romances, fans of Lynne Graham, and those who love a hero who can sweep you off your feet!

Final Verdict: Rio does not know what hits him when Holly stumbles into his life. Their thorny journey towards a happily ever after was nothing short of riveting and I enjoyed every second of it!

Rating = 4.25/5

For more reviews and quotes, please visit A Maldivian's Passion for Romance

[Paula Legate · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first chapter sucked me right into the story, then the intensity leveled off. This wasn't a bad book, nor was it the best book that I have ever read. It was a average book, a way to pass the time away.
Holly got pregnant the first time she had sex. she was never really interested in men or boys, until a charmer came along, and charmed her socks right off. After she gave birth to her son Timmy, she tracked down the father to tell him he was a dad. He threatened her, and also punched her in the face. He told her never to tell anyone he was the father. In order to get assistance, she has to put down the father of the child. She just couldn't do it. Holly was homeless, walking the streets. She was so tired, and hungry, she walked out in front of Rio's Limousine. He took her to the hospital, and made sure her son was taking care of. When she got out of the hospital, he took her to his house. It wasn't really house, more like a mansion.

I felt the two moved too fast getting married. This is a plot that has been over used. The author didn't do a bad job with it. The chemistry was there between Holly, and Rio. I think Rio feel hard the first time he saw Holly, and Timmy. it ended up being a sweet book. I felt something was missing from this story, but I can't put my finger on it.

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird. But good. The hero was a bit of fluff in my mind. He was all over the place and at the end when he confessed love, I had to say it was laughable. Simply because there wasn't much build up I could see in the hero and heroines relationship to cause such a dramatic change. The heroine called the hero at his bullshit and secret and then left him. The only thing they seemed to have was a good case of lust.

[Renae · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess this wasn't TERRIBLE. Very silly single mother accidentally stumbles across an Italian billionaire, who then bosses her around and marries her in order to "fix" her life. This might seem demeaning, but he was right about all of it, so instead the silly heroine just continues to look silly. My biggest complaint is that the writing was horrid.

[Kace | The Booknerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book! It's very entertaining and I liked the hero!

[Melody Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book disappointed me. I expected more. I also struggle when an ex is in the storyline. The H caught his fiance in bed with another woman and broke off the engagement. He met someone new and she caused some trouble. I wanted to strangle her as she threatened the new wife. At the end he ends up helping his drug addicted ex and gives her an apartment. Just didn't set well with me.

Not bad but I wouldn't reread.

[Caro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for passing time. I didn't really connect with the characters very well and was exasperated and aggravated most of the book. Good luck.

[Pamela McCullough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

[namericanwordcat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has a theme of down on the luck and last straw heroine meets super alpha hero. There is a baby in the mix and the heroine is very young. One of the pleasures of this book is we know we the hero is so so very strung up and tense about the heroine doesn't. He falls in love with her anyway because she is just so refreshing to his jaded mega wealthy self and he loves her baby. This is book is ridiculous, of course, but its also sweet and lovely. It has the super confessional avalanche of finally admitting exactly how everyone feels which I could have done without but overall is lovely read when paired with the excellent Spainish Groom.

[MaryD · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if this is a "for-real" storyline or not. Others have reviewed this wonderfully, from those who rave about it to those who thought Holly was way too much of a doormat. All in all, it could have been better.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read.... I enjoyed the different spins on the standard romance lines.....made for an enjoyable novel.

[Mattie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rio and Holly

It was ok, not sure I'd want to re-read it. Not the biggest fan of heroine having a son from a previous relationship, but I liked how the hero was protective of the baby boy from the first, he actually properly held him and even fed him. He wasn't repulsed when the baby got cookies and spit on him, he made sure the baby and heroine were taken care of and then the next day invited them to live with him.

His actions all proved he was a great guy, especially the fact that he wanted to adopt the heroine's son. He provided for her, married her and was never really mean to her. The one bad thing he did was leave a party with his ex fiance, leaving his wife (heroine) to be humiliated and completely in the dark what was happening. The ex fiance was on drugs and he was asked to get her out of there by the hostess of the party he was at, in my opinion he should have gotten his security person to do it for him. He never should have concerned himself with his cheating ex.

When he seduced the heroine it did almost feel like he was taking advantage of her, she was only 20 years old with an 8 month old baby and just 2 days before was homeless and about to have her son taken from her if he hadn't moved her in with him. She was willing, it just felt a bit soon with all of her circumstances, plus him just getting out of a 2 year relationship. Also he was celibate for 4 weeks so I assumed his libido took over when he ran into her in the middle of the night, then condom broke so he felt compelled to marry her.

Throughout the book I was confused on hero's motivations because there was no longer any insight into his thoughts after a few chapters. I didn't understand how he could possibly love the heroine because of how fast he went from being engaged to another woman (that he thought he loved) to sleeping with the heroine within 48 hours. Then he revealed at the very end that him and his fiance were long distance and didn't see each other much and also the fact that he caught her about to have sex with another woman. He realized she had never been faithful to him and he felt totally different with the heroine. P.

[Kate McMurry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A “King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid” version of the ever-popular, opposites-attract romance trope

Rio Lombardi, the 29-year-old billionaire owner of Lombardi Industries, has been in a relationship with his fiancée, Christabel Kent, for the past two years. She is a world-famous, 30-year-old supermodel who is a media darling with a good-girl public image. Her only fault that Rio has observed—in the relatively limited face-to-face time they’ve spent together since they both travel extensively for their careers—is that he has occasionally observed her drinking to excess. Thus, for all this time, he has remained comfortably convinced that he knows exactly who Christabel is. Until the night he discovers he never really knew her at all.

When Rio flies in from out of town a day earlier than expected and surprises Christabel at her lavish London apartment, he walks in on her cheating on him with a married, female friend. Worse, it is obvious, from what Cristabel lets slip, that this affair has been going on for a while. In a blithely cynical ploy aimed at placating her fulminating fiancé, Christabel makes the specious claim that her cheating on him with a woman is no big deal, because it isn’t with a man. Then she further scandalizes Rio when she brazenly suggests that the two of them try out a threesome with her female lover. He is a monogamous type, who has never cheated on Christabel, and they have never discussed having a polyamorous relationship, let alone agreed to it. He breaks their engagement, jumps back into his chauffeured limousine, and aimlessly drives around London, filled with pain and loathing at Christabel’s unforgivable betrayal. He declares to himself that he could not have chosen a worse fiancée had he decided to marry a total stranger.

Holly Sansom is a naïve, poorly educated country girl who was born and raised on a farm in Somerset. When she was 18 years old, she fell for a good-looking, fast-talking, 25-year-old named Jeff Danby. After several months of an on-again-off-again dating relationship, she got pregnant the one and only time they had sex, the night before he left town to go to London. It was a humiliating and physically painful experience, and it only happened because Jeff plied her with booze and relentlessly pressured her. He promised marriage and said he would send for her, but he never did. When Holly confessed she was pregnant to her parents, a very conservative tenant farmer and his homemaker wife, they shamed her terribly and sent her away, before her pregnancy began to show, to stay with an aunt in Manchester. They told her she could not come home unless she gave up her baby for adoption. But once Timothy was born, Holly couldn’t bear to part with him. Instead, she went to London and tracked down Jeff, whom she hadn’t yet told she had gotten pregnant and had borne his child. Rather than fulfilling her rosy fantasy of welcoming her and Timothy with open arms, Jeff screamed at her, struck her, and threatened to do even worse if she ever told anyone he was Timothy’s father. Over the following seven months, completely at sea in the big city, and unable to go home, Holly has had nothing but bad luck. Her progressive, downward, financial spiral has led her to where she is the night the story opens, homeless, destitute, and terrified Social Services will, at any moment, take Timothy away from her.

Holly is wandering the streets of London, coatless on a very cold night, with eight-month-old Timothy, who is well bundled up in a baby carriage, when a huge limousine comes around the corner just as she is crossing the street. She frantically shoves the carriage out of the way of the vehicle in an attempt to save her baby’s life. In the process, she trips, falls, hits her head on the pavement, and is knocked out. Fortunately, the limo barely misses running her down.

Rio leaps out of the limo and is stunned at the sight of a beautiful redhead in worn clothing lying on the ground. She looks no more than 16 or 17, and he wonders at first if she is dead. He summons an ambulance from a ritzy, private hospital funded by the Lombardi Foundation, a family charity he finances. Rio feels great compassion for Holly and her baby. As she lies, clean and bandaged, in a comfortable hospital bed in a private room, with Timothy warm, fed, and safe in a little cot beside her, Rio assures her he will do everything in his power to help her and her son. In addition to the concussion Holly has sustained, the attending physician takes Rio aside to gravely informs him that Holly and the baby would very likely have died of hypothermia before the night was through if not for the incredibly lucky break of their encountering Rio.

The next morning, when Rio swings by the hospital to check on Holly, he is outraged to spot her flaming red hair as she skitters across the parking lot. She shouldn’t be out of bed, and she is obviously sneaking away somewhere with the baby. When he confronts Holly about her risky choice, she tearfully admits she overheard someone in the hospital say that a representative from Social Services would be coming to see her. She is terrified they will take away her baby and put him in foster care. Determined to prevent any more calamities happening to the vulnerable 20-year-old and her baby, Rio impulsively brings Holly and Timothy to stay at his ritzy, London townhouse.

This emotionally compelling LG novel is the ultimate extreme of the “opposites attract” trope, a “King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid” story. In this moving love story, LG brilliantly achieves the ultimate goal of every romance novel—which far too few authors manage—convincing the reader that these two people are soulmates. Though Holly is far beneath Rio socially in terms of education (no school past 16 vs advanced degree), finances (broke vs billionaire), and background (unpolished country mouse vs. sophisticated city panther), the arc of their relationship is explored so convincingly, I totally believed in the lovely HEA this story delivers.

Rio is one of my all-time favorite LG heroes. His tender care of baby Timothy is very moving. But at the same time he is also very much a classic, HP, alpha hero. And though Holly is at the lowest place she can get in the social pecking order, even so, she is not a spineless doormat, and her devotion to her baby is very admirable. Finally, the affectionate, nurturing interactions of Rio and Holly with adorable baby Timothy are highlights of this book.

I have read and enjoyed this romance novel many times over the years, and it is a real keeper.

I rate this book as follows:

Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Romance: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars

[Isa Centeno · Rating 4 out of 5]

La verdad no esperaba mucho de este libro, ya saben que vengo de una racha mensual que me tiene harta de tanta toxicidad pero lo amé.

Al principio me chocó la idea de que ella ya venia con un hijo de otro hombre, en especial porque los protagonistas de Harlequin son muy tradicionales y con tendencias machistas.

Marco fue un protagonista excepcional, ¿Quién diría que podría adoptar a un niño ajeno con los brazos abiertos?

La historia gira en torno a Holly y Marco. Holly esta sola, con un niño de 7 meses y con principios de hipotermia vagando por las calles de Londres sin dinero y ningún lugar en donde quedarse, su suerte aparece cuando es casi atropellada por Marco y éste la lleva a una de sus hospitales para asegurarse de que esta bien pero Holly tiene miedo de que le quiten a su hijo así que decide huir si día siguiente antes de que llegue la asistente social por lo que Marco al descubrirla decide hospedarla en su casa y así poder brindarle apoyo.

Ya saben como es, chispas, atracción y mucha toxicidad por parte de la exprometida de Marco acarrean el clásico giro cliché: La chica huye y abandona al esposo haciendo que éste recapacite y descubra que siempre la amó y no puede vivir sin ella.


Fue muy interesante y la verdad es increíble la forma en como Marco aceptó con felicidad al pequeño Timmie desde el primer momento en que lo vio sin mirar con desdén o desaprobación a Holly. Siendo Marco la ��nica persona que brindó apoyo incondicional y un hombro a una chica ingenua, desamparada y abandonada por su propia familia.

Recomendado.

[Cecy- Enredados entre Libros · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reseña: https://entrelibrosc.blogspot.com/201...

El libro fue entretenido como siempre la autora hace que pase del llanto al enojo con una facilidad que es por ello que la siga leyendo además me engancha bastante.

Unas de las cosas que no me gusto fue cuando Marco y Holly tuvieron intimidad, ya que en un inicio él creía que por el hecho de que ella tuviera un hijo era una mujer experimentada, prejuzgar a una mujer solo por tener un hijo realmente me irrito y me parece muy injusto para Holly, y la actitud machista del personaje era para que arrojara el libro a la basura =)

En un inicio Marco no quiere aceptar lo que siente por Holly y no desea una relación con ella porque no era virgen, lo cual me enojo bastante ¡Es que el tipo no da cuenta que el valor de una mujer no se encuentra en un himen intacto y que somos más que la cantidad de hombres con los que hemos estado! por suerte al final Marco se da cuenta de que estas cosas no son importantes ya que descubre en Holly a una mujer valiosa y honesta.

La mentalidad machista de Marco la repruebo completamente, sin embargo, tengo que reconocer que todo esto se queda en su mente y jamás trata mal o la juzga a Holly abiertamente, sino todo lo contrario la apoya y la ayuda, además de que está dispuesto a cuidar y proteger al hijo de Holly como si fuera suyo.

[Lucy Eleazar · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very strong beginning. It looked a promising story starting with Rio's disappointment with his fiancee and Holly's shattered life, their strange encounter and how things ended up for her and her baby being put up in his house.
But from there on, it was a total bore. Pages long sexual scenes with totally unnecessary details that made me forget about the development of their feelings. All those physical scenes were not adding but messing up with my understanding of the love evolving between them.
The character of Holly - all she said or did, DID in fact turn into a cheap slut, having no self-respect. The character of Rio - he's bossy, OK, he fitted within his frames though I would have read more about how HE put up with the differences between them.
There were a lot of scenes that I felt stayed there just to show "the world of the rich" and had no connection whatsoever to the main story of the feelings, like the Maldives honeymoon. Generally from the moment she went into his house till the moment he found her back at the end of the book, for me there was nothing but repeating sex scenes.