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Second-Time Bride
Once a teenage bride...
Daisy would always vividly remember her brief marriage at age seventeen to Alessio Leopardi. He'd tired of her within months of their wedding, so she'd left him to give birth to their child alone.
Now a teenage daughter...
Now Alessio was back and Daisy was torn: he didn't know he had a thirteen-year-old daughter. But Tara was dying to meet her father. Daisy realized that if she couldn't forget, she must at least forgive - and come clean with Alessio about Tara'a existence . . .
Daisy would always vividly remember her brief marriage at age seventeen to Alessio Leopardi. He'd tired of her within months of their wedding, so she'd left him to give birth to their child alone.
Now a teenage daughter...
Now Alessio was back and Daisy was torn: he didn't know he had a thirteen-year-old daughter. But Tara was dying to meet her father. Daisy realized that if she couldn't forget, she must at least forgive - and come clean with Alessio about Tara'a existence . . .
189 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
309 people are currently reading
378 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Graham
1,763 books1,450 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
August 19, 2018
HERO: I knocked you up when you were a teenager, resentfully and bitterly married you to save face, dumped you into a nest of viper family members, ignored you, let you leave and didn't go after you, covered you with insults when I bumped into you accidentally fifteen years later, dangled my tarty model girlfriend to make you feel bad, embarrassed you in front of your boss, blamed you and blackmailed you into marriage when I discovered you had toiled as a single mum to our Seekret Baybee for the past fifteen years, but now that I have evidence you did not touch my father's pay-off, I am willing to forgive you for being spineless enough to let my father interfere in our marriage.
HEROINE: Oh, thank you, good Sir. *Smiles weakly*.
HERO'S FATHER: I only bullied you into leaving my son, tried to bribe you with money like you were a Golddigging Hall of Famer, and then covered up the fact that you actually never knew about nor touched a penny of that blood money for fifteen years, only because I was concerned about you.
HEROINE: Oh, I know that, thank you so much for your concern. I am so sorry I caused you any inconvenience. *Flushes in embarrassment*
HERO'S MOTHER: I know I tried to persuade you fifteen years ago that you would be a horrible, awful, deadbeat mother and would do better to give birth, leave the baby with me and then go jump off a bridge,but now that you have reunited with my son five minutes ago, I hope you are thinking of giving me truckloads of grandkids asap, hmmmm?
HEROINE: I will do my best not to disappoint you. *Presses her nails down into her palms until they draw blood*
HERO'S SISTER: Well, I finally got caught red-handed trying to engineer the destruction of your marriage to my brother not once, but twice, by manufacturing a fake affair with one of my tarty friends, but now that I have been discovered and consequently shunned by my brother, mother and father despite a months long campaign to persuade them I did it for my brother's own good, and I have no resort or any alternative left but to fake-kinda-look half-heartedly apologetic, here is this lame-ass present I picked up at the Dollarama for the christening of your new baby which will assure I am no longer cut out of the will.
HEROINE: You're too generous, I don't know what to say. *Prostrates herself then sets herself on fire*
Best romance book ever you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HEROINE: Oh, thank you, good Sir. *Smiles weakly*.
HERO'S FATHER: I only bullied you into leaving my son, tried to bribe you with money like you were a Golddigging Hall of Famer, and then covered up the fact that you actually never knew about nor touched a penny of that blood money for fifteen years, only because I was concerned about you.
HEROINE: Oh, I know that, thank you so much for your concern. I am so sorry I caused you any inconvenience. *Flushes in embarrassment*
HERO'S MOTHER: I know I tried to persuade you fifteen years ago that you would be a horrible, awful, deadbeat mother and would do better to give birth, leave the baby with me and then go jump off a bridge,but now that you have reunited with my son five minutes ago, I hope you are thinking of giving me truckloads of grandkids asap, hmmmm?
HEROINE: I will do my best not to disappoint you. *Presses her nails down into her palms until they draw blood*
HERO'S SISTER: Well, I finally got caught red-handed trying to engineer the destruction of your marriage to my brother not once, but twice, by manufacturing a fake affair with one of my tarty friends, but now that I have been discovered and consequently shunned by my brother, mother and father despite a months long campaign to persuade them I did it for my brother's own good, and I have no resort or any alternative left but to fake-kinda-look half-heartedly apologetic, here is this lame-ass present I picked up at the Dollarama for the christening of your new baby which will assure I am no longer cut out of the will.
HEROINE: You're too generous, I don't know what to say. *Prostrates herself then sets herself on fire*
Best romance book ever you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 10, 2018
Re Second-Time Bride - Lynne Graham is back with a second chance, sorta seekrit baby romance.
This is a unique LG in her backlist, the h is much older at 30 than her usual h and has a teen aged daughter who really wants a dad.
The H is 32 and all too familiar for those HP Voyagers who frequent the LG continent of HPlandia. He is Italian, knows how to work a faded pair of jeans and has more arrogance in his little finger than most HP H's ever even try for.
Although we are still early into LG's extensive backlist, so he isn't quite as charming in all his Italian Alpha Male Glory as most LG Italian H's usually are - in fact he is kinda a nematode for most of the book.
This one starts with a shock for the h. She is tripping into work on a Saturday because her boss called her into to show a house. Unusually for an LG h, this one is quite successful as an estate agent and tho she has the typical LG clutzy h syndrome, she manages to support herself and her daughter in a fairly respectable style.
(LG hasn't quite realized the impact of grotty flats and beans on crumbs for her h's yet, then again she probably figures that if you are doing a reconciliation story after 13 years apart, the h had better have moved on out of the grotty bedsit - especially if she is toting a seekrit kid around.)
Anyhows, the h trips into the boss's office and who is she greeted with? Her ex husband and his blonde Supermodel Bimbo. Words fail her as the ex-husband launches into a terrible character assassination and accuses her of taking half a million pounds and deserting him. The h truly has no clue as to what he is talking about.
We learn that the H and h met when she spent a summer in Italy when she was 17. The H was a 19 year old Lothario in the making who soon made mincemeat of the h's unicorn grooming license. Mr. Lothario was great at wooing, but very bad on protection and the h became pregnant.
The two of them had a shotgun marriage where the H immediately went into a huge sulk for having his freedom cut off due to his own incompetence and the h had to put with incredibly vicious family members.
From the H's father, who basically thought the h was a trampy tart. To the H's mother, who wanted the h to give birth and then disappear, leaving the baby behind. Then we have the icing on the bull fertilizer cupcake, the H's slime swilling coprophagic twin sister. Who took every opportunity to tear the h down, belittle and humiliate her and provide all sorts of details that the H was cheating on her as well.
The h had to live with these people and her relationship with the H deteriorated so badly that the two of them were soon in separate rooms and avoiding each other. About five months in the h thought she was miscarrying and the H's father was quick to push a divorce and quick to push a monetary settlement.
The h actually was carrying twins and only miscarried one, but she took the divorce and left the money, not knowing that her skunk of an aunt took the money in her stead and put it in a Swiss account.
(This irked me highly, the woman ostensibly took it in case the h needed it. But I would have demanded a full accounting, because the h is living in a flat and struggled as a single mum for a long time. Yet the aunt never told her about it until the h's confrontation with the H forced her to come clean. This is also an LG trademark that will be more developed in later books, greedy relatives that are quick to cash in on the h's behalf, but use the money themselves instead.)
After the H's big denouement as a money grabbing tart who broke his pathetic little heart, the H then looks her over and has the nerve to proposition her for an afternoon in the sheets. The h finds her words and tells him off royally when he insists he is serious.
The H manages to rethink his position after the h tells him what slime pustules his family was and he gets upset that the h would malign his beloved family. They part ways, the h in turmoil of emotions as she goes to talk to her aunt and finds out about the money the aunt 'managed' for her.
Her daughter walks in on the conversation and right away the girl wants to meet her father. The h is very worried about this, she truly believes that the H never wanted a child. Though she has made a point of not demonizing the H to her daughter over the years and is obviously worried about the H rejecting the girl.
(To be honest, given how this H is and how his family is and especially his sister, I think she was right to worry about putting a child in that environment. These were not decent people and I certainly can understand not wanting their influence on a child I dearly loved, nor would I want to risk the big rejection moment that the h is very afraid of.)
But the h's hands are tied, between the HPlandia tropes and the daughter's intense need to meet her father, the h tells the H about his child. The results are catastrophic.
The H has a conniption, makes massive inroads with his daughter and then decides that he and the h have to remarry, ostensibly to give his daughter the home life she wants, but really because the H just cannot keep his hands off the h.
The h is kinda resigned to watching her child now evolve into a future HP OW just like the H's sister, but she isn't going back to the hell she escaped from when she was 17. So she tells the H No Marriage. She already spent her time in the fires of the inferno thank you very much, twice in one lifetime is just too much penance.
The H's response is to buy the estate agency she works for and threaten to put everyone out of work if she doesn't marry him. The h caves and then decides it will be a marriage in name only and she only hopes 13 years of virtuous living can keep her daughter from becoming totally corrupted.
The big remarriage takes place and the truth gradually starts to come out. In a very well wrought twining of the past and the present, the H and h work through their history.
For example we learn that the H moved out of their shared bedroom during the marriage because his dad told him he was putting too much 'pressure on his pregnant wife and being ungentlemanly' - the H couldn't sleep with the h without wanting to lurve her up, so he moved into another room.
The h had taken it as the H rejecting her and it supported the sister's insistence that the H was having an affair with a former flame he supposedly really loved. When the H mentions the name of the supposed True Love of the H, he claims she was just a girl who was anorexic and that he only had a passing acquaintance with her. The h soon realizes that a lot of what she believed or was told was not necessarily the truth.
(In a funny little one time only LG sub trope, the H and h go through her picture albums over the years and the H is livid because the h dated other guys, tho she never slept with any of them. The H is very intensely jealous and yet LG carefully refrains from any comment on what the H was doing all those years on the lovely lady buffet sample circuit.)
Then the sister and the H's model OW show up. The h is upset all over again when the H allows the OW to hang all over him at their villa whilst they are supposedly on their honeymoon. The sister is all about re-poisoning the well to drive the h away, by claiming the H and the OW are still lovers and the H is just waiting to run the h off to get custody of his daughter.
There is an aborted wedding night and a second celibate night when the h ends up sleeping in a chair, cause the H firmly denies wanting more children and the h believes that lends credence to the sister's claims that the H isn't serious about the marriage.
The H gets further irked when a former co worker calls the h at the villa and the H thinks it is the h's OM, tho she vehemently denies it.
The frustrated and jealous H now has to pull out the big guns to woo the h back into a boudoir passion moment.
After the h tells him that she only knew about the money settlement after his reappearance in her life, his parents meet with them and sorta feel bad for their treatment of the h. The H calls them on their bad behavior and most of the barriers fall away. The H and h can finally think about giving into their big Lurve Force Mojo Passion
He puts on his oldest pair of jeans and takes the h out for a drive in the car he used to drive as a teenager as an attempt at a redo of their prior relationship.
The trip down memory lane and the airing of differences works and the two finally have their big Lurve Club Event. The H finally figures out that the h isn't lying when she says she has been celibate all these years and the H claims he feels really guilty. Then he leaves the h and takes off.
Cue up the H's nasty sewer swimming sister re-entrance, she calls the h to let her know that the H is having a intimate moment with the OW.
The h goes out in the rain and sees the H and OW together, but this time she isn't letting the sister drive her away, her daughter is worth a confrontation with the H. As the woman storms into the h and H's home, the h tells her to leave and the sister goes off on a rant.
The H is outside the room listening to all of the things his sister did to drive the h away and he finally gets that his family's treatment of the h has really been horrible. He tells the sister off and he explains that the Supermodel OW really wasn't his lover, she is the younger daughter of family friends and that his sister manipulated her into hanging all over him.
But the OW started feeling bad about causing trouble, so the H went over to her house, cause his sister was supposed to be there and the OW confessed all. Now the H has heard with his own ears what his sister was up to.
So he can only confess that he really loves the h and claims even if she doesn't love him back, he has enough love for the both of them. He also admits that he does want more children, but the h was so miserably pregnant the first time, he doesn't want her to go through that again.
The h cuts off his grovel and admits that she loves him back, leaving the two of them united in Happy True Love Bliss. The evil sister is banished from the family for over a year and the h is willing to tolerate his parents this time around, they don't have to live with them.
We get a little epilogue where the h has a two month old little girl, the teenage daughter is putting in a request for another little brother or sister and the H and h are lurving it up in pink sparkly rainbow bliss for another LG HEA.
This one is technically very well done. There was some really great funny moments and the build up to the big consummation was handled very well - the h did not immediately give into the Treacherous Body Syndrome.
She does her best to stand up for herself and the H's claims that when she left the first time she broke his heart are feasible, I just wasn't feeling much love for him when he ranted at the h for most of the book and then hardly grovelled when he learned he was wrong.
In terms of keeping the daughter seekrit, I did not really fault the h for her choices. When push came to shove she did not try to keep them apart, but I wanted to see more H and daughter interaction before I was willing to give him great HP dad status.
The teen daughter came off as more a plot device than anything else, but it still is a very readable HPlandia outing and worth the time if you run into it.
This is a unique LG in her backlist, the h is much older at 30 than her usual h and has a teen aged daughter who really wants a dad.
The H is 32 and all too familiar for those HP Voyagers who frequent the LG continent of HPlandia. He is Italian, knows how to work a faded pair of jeans and has more arrogance in his little finger than most HP H's ever even try for.
Although we are still early into LG's extensive backlist, so he isn't quite as charming in all his Italian Alpha Male Glory as most LG Italian H's usually are - in fact he is kinda a nematode for most of the book.
This one starts with a shock for the h. She is tripping into work on a Saturday because her boss called her into to show a house. Unusually for an LG h, this one is quite successful as an estate agent and tho she has the typical LG clutzy h syndrome, she manages to support herself and her daughter in a fairly respectable style.
(LG hasn't quite realized the impact of grotty flats and beans on crumbs for her h's yet, then again she probably figures that if you are doing a reconciliation story after 13 years apart, the h had better have moved on out of the grotty bedsit - especially if she is toting a seekrit kid around.)
Anyhows, the h trips into the boss's office and who is she greeted with? Her ex husband and his blonde Supermodel Bimbo. Words fail her as the ex-husband launches into a terrible character assassination and accuses her of taking half a million pounds and deserting him. The h truly has no clue as to what he is talking about.
We learn that the H and h met when she spent a summer in Italy when she was 17. The H was a 19 year old Lothario in the making who soon made mincemeat of the h's unicorn grooming license. Mr. Lothario was great at wooing, but very bad on protection and the h became pregnant.
The two of them had a shotgun marriage where the H immediately went into a huge sulk for having his freedom cut off due to his own incompetence and the h had to put with incredibly vicious family members.
From the H's father, who basically thought the h was a trampy tart. To the H's mother, who wanted the h to give birth and then disappear, leaving the baby behind. Then we have the icing on the bull fertilizer cupcake, the H's slime swilling coprophagic twin sister. Who took every opportunity to tear the h down, belittle and humiliate her and provide all sorts of details that the H was cheating on her as well.
The h had to live with these people and her relationship with the H deteriorated so badly that the two of them were soon in separate rooms and avoiding each other. About five months in the h thought she was miscarrying and the H's father was quick to push a divorce and quick to push a monetary settlement.
The h actually was carrying twins and only miscarried one, but she took the divorce and left the money, not knowing that her skunk of an aunt took the money in her stead and put it in a Swiss account.
(This irked me highly, the woman ostensibly took it in case the h needed it. But I would have demanded a full accounting, because the h is living in a flat and struggled as a single mum for a long time. Yet the aunt never told her about it until the h's confrontation with the H forced her to come clean. This is also an LG trademark that will be more developed in later books, greedy relatives that are quick to cash in on the h's behalf, but use the money themselves instead.)
After the H's big denouement as a money grabbing tart who broke his pathetic little heart, the H then looks her over and has the nerve to proposition her for an afternoon in the sheets. The h finds her words and tells him off royally when he insists he is serious.
The H manages to rethink his position after the h tells him what slime pustules his family was and he gets upset that the h would malign his beloved family. They part ways, the h in turmoil of emotions as she goes to talk to her aunt and finds out about the money the aunt 'managed' for her.
Her daughter walks in on the conversation and right away the girl wants to meet her father. The h is very worried about this, she truly believes that the H never wanted a child. Though she has made a point of not demonizing the H to her daughter over the years and is obviously worried about the H rejecting the girl.
(To be honest, given how this H is and how his family is and especially his sister, I think she was right to worry about putting a child in that environment. These were not decent people and I certainly can understand not wanting their influence on a child I dearly loved, nor would I want to risk the big rejection moment that the h is very afraid of.)
But the h's hands are tied, between the HPlandia tropes and the daughter's intense need to meet her father, the h tells the H about his child. The results are catastrophic.
The H has a conniption, makes massive inroads with his daughter and then decides that he and the h have to remarry, ostensibly to give his daughter the home life she wants, but really because the H just cannot keep his hands off the h.
The h is kinda resigned to watching her child now evolve into a future HP OW just like the H's sister, but she isn't going back to the hell she escaped from when she was 17. So she tells the H No Marriage. She already spent her time in the fires of the inferno thank you very much, twice in one lifetime is just too much penance.
The H's response is to buy the estate agency she works for and threaten to put everyone out of work if she doesn't marry him. The h caves and then decides it will be a marriage in name only and she only hopes 13 years of virtuous living can keep her daughter from becoming totally corrupted.
The big remarriage takes place and the truth gradually starts to come out. In a very well wrought twining of the past and the present, the H and h work through their history.
For example we learn that the H moved out of their shared bedroom during the marriage because his dad told him he was putting too much 'pressure on his pregnant wife and being ungentlemanly' - the H couldn't sleep with the h without wanting to lurve her up, so he moved into another room.
The h had taken it as the H rejecting her and it supported the sister's insistence that the H was having an affair with a former flame he supposedly really loved. When the H mentions the name of the supposed True Love of the H, he claims she was just a girl who was anorexic and that he only had a passing acquaintance with her. The h soon realizes that a lot of what she believed or was told was not necessarily the truth.
(In a funny little one time only LG sub trope, the H and h go through her picture albums over the years and the H is livid because the h dated other guys, tho she never slept with any of them. The H is very intensely jealous and yet LG carefully refrains from any comment on what the H was doing all those years on the lovely lady buffet sample circuit.)
Then the sister and the H's model OW show up. The h is upset all over again when the H allows the OW to hang all over him at their villa whilst they are supposedly on their honeymoon. The sister is all about re-poisoning the well to drive the h away, by claiming the H and the OW are still lovers and the H is just waiting to run the h off to get custody of his daughter.
There is an aborted wedding night and a second celibate night when the h ends up sleeping in a chair, cause the H firmly denies wanting more children and the h believes that lends credence to the sister's claims that the H isn't serious about the marriage.
The H gets further irked when a former co worker calls the h at the villa and the H thinks it is the h's OM, tho she vehemently denies it.
The frustrated and jealous H now has to pull out the big guns to woo the h back into a boudoir passion moment.
After the h tells him that she only knew about the money settlement after his reappearance in her life, his parents meet with them and sorta feel bad for their treatment of the h. The H calls them on their bad behavior and most of the barriers fall away. The H and h can finally think about giving into their big Lurve Force Mojo Passion
He puts on his oldest pair of jeans and takes the h out for a drive in the car he used to drive as a teenager as an attempt at a redo of their prior relationship.
The trip down memory lane and the airing of differences works and the two finally have their big Lurve Club Event. The H finally figures out that the h isn't lying when she says she has been celibate all these years and the H claims he feels really guilty. Then he leaves the h and takes off.
Cue up the H's nasty sewer swimming sister re-entrance, she calls the h to let her know that the H is having a intimate moment with the OW.
The h goes out in the rain and sees the H and OW together, but this time she isn't letting the sister drive her away, her daughter is worth a confrontation with the H. As the woman storms into the h and H's home, the h tells her to leave and the sister goes off on a rant.
The H is outside the room listening to all of the things his sister did to drive the h away and he finally gets that his family's treatment of the h has really been horrible. He tells the sister off and he explains that the Supermodel OW really wasn't his lover, she is the younger daughter of family friends and that his sister manipulated her into hanging all over him.
But the OW started feeling bad about causing trouble, so the H went over to her house, cause his sister was supposed to be there and the OW confessed all. Now the H has heard with his own ears what his sister was up to.
So he can only confess that he really loves the h and claims even if she doesn't love him back, he has enough love for the both of them. He also admits that he does want more children, but the h was so miserably pregnant the first time, he doesn't want her to go through that again.
The h cuts off his grovel and admits that she loves him back, leaving the two of them united in Happy True Love Bliss. The evil sister is banished from the family for over a year and the h is willing to tolerate his parents this time around, they don't have to live with them.
We get a little epilogue where the h has a two month old little girl, the teenage daughter is putting in a request for another little brother or sister and the H and h are lurving it up in pink sparkly rainbow bliss for another LG HEA.
This one is technically very well done. There was some really great funny moments and the build up to the big consummation was handled very well - the h did not immediately give into the Treacherous Body Syndrome.
She does her best to stand up for herself and the H's claims that when she left the first time she broke his heart are feasible, I just wasn't feeling much love for him when he ranted at the h for most of the book and then hardly grovelled when he learned he was wrong.
In terms of keeping the daughter seekrit, I did not really fault the h for her choices. When push came to shove she did not try to keep them apart, but I wanted to see more H and daughter interaction before I was willing to give him great HP dad status.
The teen daughter came off as more a plot device than anything else, but it still is a very readable HPlandia outing and worth the time if you run into it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2012
This was a very well done Harlequin Presents. Unlike many, the prior history of this couple took place when they were both teenagers. So their misunderstandings and self absorbtion at the time makes perfect sense. Teenagers are so driven by drama and poor decision making. They meet again 13 years later. They have a daughter that he did not know about and I thought the reason for the secret baby was pretty solid. I believe that 17 year old girls do not make rational decisions in that situation. When they meet again they are 30 and 32. I liked that decision. Many times in HPs they meet again when the girl is 23 or so and all I can think is "Nope. Still not grown up."
So Daisy is not a doormat this second time around but stands up for herself and actually calls the hero Alessio onto the carpet about his previous treatment of her. She opens up both barrels and lets him have it. She does still have the hots for him but tries to deny it and doesn't just let him walk over her.
The story is told totally in the present, no flashbacks. She does occasionally think about what happened earlier but not ad nauseum. Just as something comes up in the present, she thinks about what caused it in the past etc. Every time they have a meaningful conversation you can totally see where the misunderstanding came from. Alessio is very up front about what a jerk he was as a 19 year old guy. Refreshing to read.
Daisy was a fun character without being comically drawn. She was a bit clumsy and dreamy and you could see Alessio being exasperated but amused by her. This was very lightly drawn. None of this stuff hit you over the head.
A totally satisfying read. Highly recommended to HP lovers.
So Daisy is not a doormat this second time around but stands up for herself and actually calls the hero Alessio onto the carpet about his previous treatment of her. She opens up both barrels and lets him have it. She does still have the hots for him but tries to deny it and doesn't just let him walk over her.
The story is told totally in the present, no flashbacks. She does occasionally think about what happened earlier but not ad nauseum. Just as something comes up in the present, she thinks about what caused it in the past etc. Every time they have a meaningful conversation you can totally see where the misunderstanding came from. Alessio is very up front about what a jerk he was as a 19 year old guy. Refreshing to read.
Daisy was a fun character without being comically drawn. She was a bit clumsy and dreamy and you could see Alessio being exasperated but amused by her. This was very lightly drawn. None of this stuff hit you over the head.
A totally satisfying read. Highly recommended to HP lovers.
November 24, 2016
This is a second chance story, 13 years later, with a secret baby no less. It doesn't seem like this would work out, but it does because the H/h were 19 and 17 during their first short-lived marriage and now they have had time to grow up.
The H/h married after the heroine became pregnant from their summer romance in Italy. They handled the situation as well as any shell-shocked teenagers would. H withdrew into himself and h was clingy and insecure living with the H's hostile Italian family. A miscarriage at five months brought it all to a crashing end. The h returned to England and they divorced without ever seeing each other again.
The story opens when the real estate agent heroine has to give the H a house tour. They are shocked to see each other and say some mean things - all of which are based on misunderstandings. The h tells him the next day he has a 13 year-old daughter. (She only miscarried one twin) The H is angry, of course.
LG does a masterful job weaving the past into the present circumstances without resorting to long flashbacks. The heroine's more introverted side explains why she had such a tough time standing up for herself then - and why it is important that she learns to speak up now. The hero sees this as well and once he stops being so defensive, he starts to listen.
It was wrong for the h to keep the secret baby a secret for so long, but then the H never followed up on her - so I would weigh those two transgressions equally. Their love for each other shines through by the end, so it's an HEA I can believe in.
The H/h married after the heroine became pregnant from their summer romance in Italy. They handled the situation as well as any shell-shocked teenagers would. H withdrew into himself and h was clingy and insecure living with the H's hostile Italian family. A miscarriage at five months brought it all to a crashing end. The h returned to England and they divorced without ever seeing each other again.
The story opens when the real estate agent heroine has to give the H a house tour. They are shocked to see each other and say some mean things - all of which are based on misunderstandings. The h tells him the next day he has a 13 year-old daughter. (She only miscarried one twin) The H is angry, of course.
LG does a masterful job weaving the past into the present circumstances without resorting to long flashbacks. The heroine's more introverted side explains why she had such a tough time standing up for herself then - and why it is important that she learns to speak up now. The hero sees this as well and once he stops being so defensive, he starts to listen.
It was wrong for the h to keep the secret baby a secret for so long, but then the H never followed up on her - so I would weigh those two transgressions equally. Their love for each other shines through by the end, so it's an HEA I can believe in.
March 1, 2016
This just missed being a three star, but the hero was just so darned mean, the heroine just so darned idiotic, downright blithering in true LG style, the sister just so darn evil, and one of the worst failures to communicate ever.
Thirteen year gap from when Daisy leaves Alessio so maybe not quite a secret baby, more a secret teen, but still.
Nice angst, and it is obvious that the hero is head over heels in love with the h, but it was a stomach turner. Simply not enough groveling on the part of the hero.
Nice retribution for the bitchy sister though so thank you for that.
Thirteen year gap from when Daisy leaves Alessio so maybe not quite a secret baby, more a secret teen, but still.
Nice angst, and it is obvious that the hero is head over heels in love with the h, but it was a stomach turner. Simply not enough groveling on the part of the hero.
Nice retribution for the bitchy sister though so thank you for that.
July 19, 2021
Older LGs are the best. Thankfully there are still quite a few I’ve yet to read given the current string of boring and underwhelming HP releases.
Daisy is a very young parent to a thirteen year old. The teenager daughter is just in that age where she wants freedom and independence from her tired single mother. Daisy keeps from her teen the identity of her father.
A chance meeting has Daisy meet Alessio after thirteen long years. His interest is piqued to see Daisy still out and about while he had to live with burning rage all those years when she’d decided to walk out on him. Daisy also hands him the memo and he finally knows thirteen years too late that he has a daughter.
Alessio is a dragon breathing fire. He forces an MoC and Daisy and their daughter are a family once again. All could be well if only the H wasn’t so thick in the head and the h wasn’t so forgiving.
There are a bunch of OW and evil family that had told lies and turned a young Alessio against his wife thirteen years ago. Sadly not much changes when they remarry. Alessio is still clueless and refuses to believe Daisy. Tbh Daisy doesn’t try that hard either.
I was getting impatient with both the h and H. But I absolutely loved their banter. Their chemistry was great but not played on much. Up until the last 2 pages the h and H are really just fighting and yelling and putting each other down. Still have to say a lovely read from LG with a possessive territorial H and a nice girl for an h. The teen girl is also spunky. I recommend for a really sweet second change story.
Daisy is a very young parent to a thirteen year old. The teenager daughter is just in that age where she wants freedom and independence from her tired single mother. Daisy keeps from her teen the identity of her father.
A chance meeting has Daisy meet Alessio after thirteen long years. His interest is piqued to see Daisy still out and about while he had to live with burning rage all those years when she’d decided to walk out on him. Daisy also hands him the memo and he finally knows thirteen years too late that he has a daughter.
Alessio is a dragon breathing fire. He forces an MoC and Daisy and their daughter are a family once again. All could be well if only the H wasn’t so thick in the head and the h wasn’t so forgiving.
There are a bunch of OW and evil family that had told lies and turned a young Alessio against his wife thirteen years ago. Sadly not much changes when they remarry. Alessio is still clueless and refuses to believe Daisy. Tbh Daisy doesn’t try that hard either.
I was getting impatient with both the h and H. But I absolutely loved their banter. Their chemistry was great but not played on much. Up until the last 2 pages the h and H are really just fighting and yelling and putting each other down. Still have to say a lovely read from LG with a possessive territorial H and a nice girl for an h. The teen girl is also spunky. I recommend for a really sweet second change story.
August 20, 2018
This possessed Lynne Graham's typical trademarks in terms of characterization and plot, but it lacked the dynamic quality of her best writing. The prose felt less polished and less emotionally evocative.
One thing that really bugged me. Why is Daisy's celibacy mentioned, but no mention is made of Alessio's sexual relationships in the interim? I didn't expect him to remain celibate considering they were divorced, but some mention would have been nice. Talk about double standards!
One thing that really bugged me. Why is Daisy's celibacy mentioned, but no mention is made of Alessio's sexual relationships in the interim? I didn't expect him to remain celibate considering they were divorced, but some mention would have been nice. Talk about double standards!
October 18, 2021
I didn't read it before because I hate long separations and uncelibate Hs but I have missed LG's clueless and cruel heroes and the sweet angst saved my day!
August 16, 2017
"Second time Bride" is the story of Alessio and Daisy.
13 years ago, the teenagers fell in love, and then divorced due to the shenanigans of Alessio's family. The heroine flees pregnant, and the H thinks she took money and left him.
When the H intrudes the h's life again and finds out he has a kid, it's time for Daisy to be coerced to be a bride again..
Things I liked
- the banter between the h and H
- The moments when situations were resolved- before the end of the book
- The h and H understanding the faults of the past was mostly due to their age and inexperience
Things which totally annoyed me
- the same ol shenanigans of the evil family
- How the couple chose to ran and ignore instead of communicating
- When the h is made to be celibate and H a manwhore- even if they were divorced
Overall, this didn't frustrate me as much as some of the other LGs I have recently read, and was an average book.
Unsafe
3/5
13 years ago, the teenagers fell in love, and then divorced due to the shenanigans of Alessio's family. The heroine flees pregnant, and the H thinks she took money and left him.
When the H intrudes the h's life again and finds out he has a kid, it's time for Daisy to be coerced to be a bride again..
Things I liked
- the banter between the h and H
- The moments when situations were resolved- before the end of the book
- The h and H understanding the faults of the past was mostly due to their age and inexperience
Things which totally annoyed me
- the same ol shenanigans of the evil family
- How the couple chose to ran and ignore instead of communicating
- When the h is made to be celibate and H a manwhore- even if they were divorced
Overall, this didn't frustrate me as much as some of the other LGs I have recently read, and was an average book.
Unsafe
3/5
May 13, 2020
At first sight the book hard all the elements I like: second chance story, secret baby, mean relatives, mean H,Innocent h..but somehow midway it was getting in my nerves.. h was over the top weak and doormaty.. and H was left with no sparring partner.. when h is this weak he come along too mean...
Something else that bothered was that the author used about 134553213 times the works "violet eyes, sincer hair and golden eyes (what that even means?.)
Something else that bothered was that the author used about 134553213 times the works "violet eyes, sincer hair and golden eyes (what that even means?.)
December 11, 2018
3.5 stars; LG pulled all her trademark tropes out of her hat and the result was pretty good.
cute h and nice to see she has a job and is pretty straight forward.
The angst over their first marriage was well done although I feel most of the blame should be placed squarely with the H;
sure he was young but she was younger.
She may have changed but he changed more; much more.
At least he had the luxury of being in familar and luxurious surroundings as they lived with his family. She didn't; so for him to cry later that she also changed and she abandoned him; I think he abandoned her first.
And yes, h may have believed his twin sister's poison but she had cause; he was a regular playboy when they met and it was his TWIN spouting all the lies!
And he had no reason to crib over the measly half million pound settlement even if h had been the one to take it and even if she had spent it all on her boy toy; having lived with his boy tantrums over her pregnancy and his singular lack of communication not to mention the miscarriage (which he got through by drinking; at least he had the luxury of drowning his sorrows; she didn't), she deserved more than that paltry sum; I am sure he spent more than that on each of the women he ran around with for 13 years
I liked their daughter; she was a very smart young girl and I think she made a nice champion for her mum.
And let's face it; in 13 years, he didn't follow up on her even once; she was still a kid when she walked away, having lost a baby and he knew she was an insecure, miserable girl who didn't have much family
I think he was happy to be done with the marriage as he got the chance to cat about and do big things in business. And then he had the bare faced cheek to be pissed at her when they met again!
Overall well written, with high angst, cute h, trademark sulky H and sweet daughter.
But I just felt H got a smart grown up daughter with minumum effort; my gut feel says had they lived together, he would have still been having boy tantrums instead of being a father.
In my version, he should have fallen at her feet, thanked her for tolerating his family, having his daughter and just for looking at his nasty sister. Then he should have begged her just spit on him once.
But then we wouldn't have had a story to read!
Ugh!
PS. I think I just threw a tantrum ... #hidesfaceinhands
cute h and nice to see she has a job and is pretty straight forward.
The angst over their first marriage was well done although I feel most of the blame should be placed squarely with the H;
sure he was young but she was younger.
She may have changed but he changed more; much more.
At least he had the luxury of being in familar and luxurious surroundings as they lived with his family. She didn't; so for him to cry later that she also changed and she abandoned him; I think he abandoned her first.
And yes, h may have believed his twin sister's poison but she had cause; he was a regular playboy when they met and it was his TWIN spouting all the lies!
And he had no reason to crib over the measly half million pound settlement even if h had been the one to take it and even if she had spent it all on her boy toy; having lived with his boy tantrums over her pregnancy and his singular lack of communication not to mention the miscarriage (which he got through by drinking; at least he had the luxury of drowning his sorrows; she didn't), she deserved more than that paltry sum; I am sure he spent more than that on each of the women he ran around with for 13 years
I liked their daughter; she was a very smart young girl and I think she made a nice champion for her mum.
And let's face it; in 13 years, he didn't follow up on her even once; she was still a kid when she walked away, having lost a baby and he knew she was an insecure, miserable girl who didn't have much family
I think he was happy to be done with the marriage as he got the chance to cat about and do big things in business. And then he had the bare faced cheek to be pissed at her when they met again!
Overall well written, with high angst, cute h, trademark sulky H and sweet daughter.
But I just felt H got a smart grown up daughter with minumum effort; my gut feel says had they lived together, he would have still been having boy tantrums instead of being a father.
In my version, he should have fallen at her feet, thanked her for tolerating his family, having his daughter and just for looking at his nasty sister. Then he should have begged her just spit on him once.
But then we wouldn't have had a story to read!
Ugh!
PS. I think I just threw a tantrum ... #hidesfaceinhands
August 16, 2018
The two lead characters were married, but have been apart for 13 years. They unexpectedly meet again she’s never been with anyone else, though the first meeting after all those years he’s got a model in tow. He then discovers that the heroine has hidden the fact that he has a 13 year old daughter. Basically he demands they remarry otherwise he will take her to court for custody.
Not one of my favourite stories from LG, 13 years previously an outside influence made mischief causing the the 2 leads to divorce. Back in the present day that same person is at it again. A few things confused me about this, the person who tried 13 years ago and was still trying hard in the present to split them up was the heroes sister, now while I get she might not like or agree with his choice of wife, the lengths she went to was very very OTT it made it seem it bit odd why she would do that and just a bit creepy. Then there’s the hero lol why would a man marry a woman then remarry her but never believe a word she utters, that just makes him a fool. Plus LG does not IMO write children well, they always come across as obnoxious.
Not one of my favourite stories from LG, 13 years previously an outside influence made mischief causing the the 2 leads to divorce. Back in the present day that same person is at it again. A few things confused me about this, the person who tried 13 years ago and was still trying hard in the present to split them up was the heroes sister, now while I get she might not like or agree with his choice of wife, the lengths she went to was very very OTT it made it seem it bit odd why she would do that and just a bit creepy. Then there’s the hero lol why would a man marry a woman then remarry her but never believe a word she utters, that just makes him a fool. Plus LG does not IMO write children well, they always come across as obnoxious.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2018
Ligero y entretenido.
October 25, 2015
Well, as much as I love arrogant and "evil" Hero and innocent heroine trope, this book is a wee bit too much for me.
I love it when the Hero hurt heroine's feeling. In this book, check.
I love it when the Hero ended up searching for the running away heroine. In this book, check.
I love it when the heroine having a secret baby. In this book, check.
See? I love it. But the major turn off, is that the heroine being so ridiculously weak and stupid and couldn't stand up for herself when if I were in her shoes, I could definitely stand up for myself. So yeah, that's the only thing that I dislike from this book. But overall, Graham's style of writing is still familiar as usual and I like it.
Look forward to read more from her. I'm dying to unfold her books one by one!
I love it when the Hero hurt heroine's feeling. In this book, check.
I love it when the Hero ended up searching for the running away heroine. In this book, check.
I love it when the heroine having a secret baby. In this book, check.
See? I love it. But the major turn off, is that the heroine being so ridiculously weak and stupid and couldn't stand up for herself when if I were in her shoes, I could definitely stand up for myself. So yeah, that's the only thing that I dislike from this book. But overall, Graham's style of writing is still familiar as usual and I like it.
Look forward to read more from her. I'm dying to unfold her books one by one!
November 9, 2017
Lo que no me gusta de las historias de Lynne pues es que siempre la protagonista femenina lleve la peor parte, a ella la humillan a ella la lastiman, ella pierde mucho tiempo en ese amor no correspondido, hasta que el protagonista se le antoje o cuando decida que ella debe volver con él, en fin, supongo que a la autora le gusta hacer este tipo de personajes masoquistas...
March 10, 2014
Hero wants a second chance with the girl he loved and lost as a teenager so he forces her into marriage for the sake of their 13 year old daughter.
Didn't like the heroine. There was no excuse for stealing hero's daughter for 13 years even if his sister was an evil bitch. Underwhelming read.
Didn't like the heroine. There was no excuse for stealing hero's daughter for 13 years even if his sister was an evil bitch. Underwhelming read.
July 31, 2012
Thirteen years ago, Alessio and Daisy had been married. But their marriage wasn’t exactly HEA as they were both so young and he had only married her at the time because he had been “caught”. When the reason for the marriage appeared to have disappeared, then Daisy demanded a divorce from her unsupportive husband. However, now Alessio and Daisy’s paths have crossed again and she has been encouraged by her family to reveal her secret to Alessio. He isn’t too happy to learn what she has done, but both their eyes are opened up when they see things from the other’s perspectives.
I truly believed that these two belonged together. They were so young and made so many errors and had so many insecurities early on in their marriage. However, NONE of that justifies Daisy keeping her secret from him for so many years. She wouldn’t have even told him when they met again if some people hadn’t put some pressure on her to do so. So given all that, I wasn’t too keen to feel sorry for her in the beginning. However, it wasn’t like Alessio showed up at the hospital for her after she believed she had lost the child – there is a decent explanation for this too – nor did he shuttle his pride aside and go after her, but I truly believed that they loved one another in the end.
It sounded as though they had both grown up over the years and Daisy learned to stand up for herself. Alessio seemed to truly love and want her as well as their daughter. Neither of them seemed to consider the ramifications to the other party though as they were typical youths – wrapped up in themselves. There was a bit of blackmail, a malicious party and another woman tossed in too. Of course, Daisy is a runner when the going gets tough, but this changes over the course of this story.
The OW, Nina Franklin, and Alessio’s explanation concerning her confused me. When she is brought in it appears that she is Alessio’s GF. She is all over him and they are stopping traffic at one point. He lets Daisy as well as his daughter believe that Nina and he were together but no longer. Alessio claims that Nina was being generous after being dumped, then states that she is a family friend and she is very demonstrative and that he WAS seeing her up until recently. Nina was being used as a weapon in their marriage but she was up to some minor mischief and this seems to float for Alessio. Alessio explains to Daisy that his r/s w/ Nina was only casual that a prudent man thinks twice before becoming intimately involved w/ the daughter of family’s friends. Nina’s ego was hurt when he dumped her and married Daisy and when he told Daisy that Nina was being generous it was because he was feeling uncomfortable because he had dropped Nina the minute Daisy was back in his life. So that makes it sound like it was more than casual and that there really was a r/s b/w the two of them. Also why was he so determined to find the manipulator? And why would both of them have to go out to look for the manipulator together? It would have made more sense if one stayed to see if the manipulator came back there rather than setting it up to allow more angst that I just wasn’t buying.
Despite the OW crud in this one, I really enjoyed this story :D
I truly believed that these two belonged together. They were so young and made so many errors and had so many insecurities early on in their marriage. However, NONE of that justifies Daisy keeping her secret from him for so many years. She wouldn’t have even told him when they met again if some people hadn’t put some pressure on her to do so. So given all that, I wasn’t too keen to feel sorry for her in the beginning. However, it wasn’t like Alessio showed up at the hospital for her after she believed she had lost the child – there is a decent explanation for this too – nor did he shuttle his pride aside and go after her, but I truly believed that they loved one another in the end.
It sounded as though they had both grown up over the years and Daisy learned to stand up for herself. Alessio seemed to truly love and want her as well as their daughter. Neither of them seemed to consider the ramifications to the other party though as they were typical youths – wrapped up in themselves. There was a bit of blackmail, a malicious party and another woman tossed in too. Of course, Daisy is a runner when the going gets tough, but this changes over the course of this story.
The OW, Nina Franklin, and Alessio’s explanation concerning her confused me. When she is brought in it appears that she is Alessio’s GF. She is all over him and they are stopping traffic at one point. He lets Daisy as well as his daughter believe that Nina and he were together but no longer. Alessio claims that Nina was being generous after being dumped, then states that she is a family friend and she is very demonstrative and that he WAS seeing her up until recently. Nina was being used as a weapon in their marriage but she was up to some minor mischief and this seems to float for Alessio. Alessio explains to Daisy that his r/s w/ Nina was only casual that a prudent man thinks twice before becoming intimately involved w/ the daughter of family’s friends. Nina’s ego was hurt when he dumped her and married Daisy and when he told Daisy that Nina was being generous it was because he was feeling uncomfortable because he had dropped Nina the minute Daisy was back in his life. So that makes it sound like it was more than casual and that there really was a r/s b/w the two of them. Also why was he so determined to find the manipulator? And why would both of them have to go out to look for the manipulator together? It would have made more sense if one stayed to see if the manipulator came back there rather than setting it up to allow more angst that I just wasn’t buying.
Despite the OW crud in this one, I really enjoyed this story :D
October 8, 2016
10.8.16 Re-read this book today because...
I love secret baby books and this one is quite exceptional.
Daisy and Alessio met while they were teenagers. He was the 19 year old only son of an extremely wealthy business man and she was the 17 year old English rose that was working as an au pair for family vacationing in Tuscany.
From the first meeting the sparks flew. It didn’t take long before the tall, dark and handsome Aleosio won the pretty, blonde Daisy. Unfortunately, Daisy got pregnant and Alessio took her home and married her. She was not welcomed into his family and was ill treated by both his parents and his twin sister, Bianca.
Almost 6 months into the pregnancy, Daisy miscarried. Shorty after the miscarriage, Alessio’s father bullied her into signing divorce papers. He told her that Alessio no longer wanted to be married to her. His father also offered her a huge sum of money, which she turned down.
After returning to England, Daisy found that she was still pregnant and that she had miscarried one of her twin babies. Knowing that Alessio didn’t want her or her baby, she picked herself up, had her baby daughter and continued on with her life.
Thirteen years later, Alessio is randomly back in Daisy’s life. Upon learning that her mother saw her father, Daisy’s daughter Tara, demands to meet her father. Daisy now has the responsibility to tell the man who wants nothing to do with her that not only does he have a thirteen year old daughter, but that his daughter wants to meet him.
Alessio is angry. He throws his power around in the form of threats and intimidation. Daisy is forced to comply with his demands and finds herself re-married to the man who hates her and back in a family who made her life miserable.
As the story unfolds, we learn that both Alessio and Daisy have been lied to and the things they believed of each other when they were younger, were lies told to them by Alessio’s family to end their marriage. Of course there’s a wonderful HEA and all but one member of the family is happy.
I love older Harlequin Presents. The alpha males are just so damn alpha! What I really loved about this book was Daisy’s backbone. Yes she eventually gave in to Alessio’s demands, but she stood up to him and fought tooth and nail to avoid living in an unhappy situation. This was an engrossing, entertaining book that really made my day. Old Lynne Graham; the good stuff! If you come across a copy of this book, I urge you to grab it and read it. It’s just that delish!
I love secret baby books and this one is quite exceptional.
Daisy and Alessio met while they were teenagers. He was the 19 year old only son of an extremely wealthy business man and she was the 17 year old English rose that was working as an au pair for family vacationing in Tuscany.
From the first meeting the sparks flew. It didn’t take long before the tall, dark and handsome Aleosio won the pretty, blonde Daisy. Unfortunately, Daisy got pregnant and Alessio took her home and married her. She was not welcomed into his family and was ill treated by both his parents and his twin sister, Bianca.
Almost 6 months into the pregnancy, Daisy miscarried. Shorty after the miscarriage, Alessio’s father bullied her into signing divorce papers. He told her that Alessio no longer wanted to be married to her. His father also offered her a huge sum of money, which she turned down.
After returning to England, Daisy found that she was still pregnant and that she had miscarried one of her twin babies. Knowing that Alessio didn’t want her or her baby, she picked herself up, had her baby daughter and continued on with her life.
Thirteen years later, Alessio is randomly back in Daisy’s life. Upon learning that her mother saw her father, Daisy’s daughter Tara, demands to meet her father. Daisy now has the responsibility to tell the man who wants nothing to do with her that not only does he have a thirteen year old daughter, but that his daughter wants to meet him.
Alessio is angry. He throws his power around in the form of threats and intimidation. Daisy is forced to comply with his demands and finds herself re-married to the man who hates her and back in a family who made her life miserable.
As the story unfolds, we learn that both Alessio and Daisy have been lied to and the things they believed of each other when they were younger, were lies told to them by Alessio’s family to end their marriage. Of course there’s a wonderful HEA and all but one member of the family is happy.
I love older Harlequin Presents. The alpha males are just so damn alpha! What I really loved about this book was Daisy’s backbone. Yes she eventually gave in to Alessio’s demands, but she stood up to him and fought tooth and nail to avoid living in an unhappy situation. This was an engrossing, entertaining book that really made my day. Old Lynne Graham; the good stuff! If you come across a copy of this book, I urge you to grab it and read it. It’s just that delish!
January 30, 2015
'I'll drag you up again by the hair if you don't get back here!' Alessio roared down at her from the flight above.
She did it because she loved me... she just couldn't help herself.
'I suspected that. Nobody that determined to make me feel guilty could possibly be lacking in intelligence. And by the end of my indoctrination session the picture was crystal-clear. Tara worships the ground you walk on. You have also attained martyr status while still alive,' Alessio murmured with sardonic eyes. 'The divorce was fifty per cent my fault and fifty per cent the fault of the in-laws from hell. My evil, scheming parents, who sounded remarkably like a twentieth-century resurrection of the Borgias, may not have succeeded in driving you to suicide but then that is only a tribute to the strength of your character.’
A hand on her shoulder shook her half-awake. Daisy focused blearily on the photo album lodged mere inches in front of her face.
'Who is that?' Alessio enquired, a lean finger indicating the male standing beside her and a three-year-old Tara in one of the photos.
Daisy made an effort to concentrate. "That was George—’
'And this character?' Alessio flipped over a page.
Daisy focused uncertainly on another male face. 'Daniel... I think.
''When a challenge comes knocking on the front door, you're already halfway out the back, aren't you?’
Some time later, a distant dull thud broke the silence of the villa. Daisy frowned when within the space of a minute another thud followed... and then another. She lost count but realised in growing horror that the racket of slamming doors was getting louder and closer, not to mention more intimidating, by the second. The image of Alessio striding through the villa conducting something as uncool as a room-to-room search for his missing bride shook her rigid but Daisy stayed where she was, as stiff and tense as a sacrificial offering, until finally and with an almighty crash that matched her heartbeat the door flew wide.
'If you've got into that water without learning how to swim, I'll kill you!' Alessio spelt out in a raw opening salvo.
'This marriage can work. I love you enough for both of us!'
She did it because she loved me... she just couldn't help herself.
'I suspected that. Nobody that determined to make me feel guilty could possibly be lacking in intelligence. And by the end of my indoctrination session the picture was crystal-clear. Tara worships the ground you walk on. You have also attained martyr status while still alive,' Alessio murmured with sardonic eyes. 'The divorce was fifty per cent my fault and fifty per cent the fault of the in-laws from hell. My evil, scheming parents, who sounded remarkably like a twentieth-century resurrection of the Borgias, may not have succeeded in driving you to suicide but then that is only a tribute to the strength of your character.’
A hand on her shoulder shook her half-awake. Daisy focused blearily on the photo album lodged mere inches in front of her face.
'Who is that?' Alessio enquired, a lean finger indicating the male standing beside her and a three-year-old Tara in one of the photos.
Daisy made an effort to concentrate. "That was George—’
'And this character?' Alessio flipped over a page.
Daisy focused uncertainly on another male face. 'Daniel... I think.
''When a challenge comes knocking on the front door, you're already halfway out the back, aren't you?’
Some time later, a distant dull thud broke the silence of the villa. Daisy frowned when within the space of a minute another thud followed... and then another. She lost count but realised in growing horror that the racket of slamming doors was getting louder and closer, not to mention more intimidating, by the second. The image of Alessio striding through the villa conducting something as uncool as a room-to-room search for his missing bride shook her rigid but Daisy stayed where she was, as stiff and tense as a sacrificial offering, until finally and with an almighty crash that matched her heartbeat the door flew wide.
'If you've got into that water without learning how to swim, I'll kill you!' Alessio spelt out in a raw opening salvo.
'This marriage can work. I love you enough for both of us!'
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2020
Loved this story - it's about second chances. A teenage marriage that failed. Marriage is hard enough without adding complications of living with hostile in-laws, a pregnancy, spiteful meddling, peer pressure and a miscarriage all while being in your teens. It was very believable. The H acted like a morose brooding jerk but hey he was 19yrs old. The h was a doormat but at 17 she was pregnant with low self esteem which made her more vulnerable. The story starts when they meet each other again. The h kept her child a secret from the father ( they all thought she had a miscarriage) now the H wants the child and to marry the h again. How they work it out is very believable and you get the feeling that the H really cared for the h, but it's only this time around that they clear up the feelings they had about their first marriage.
June 24, 2020
No Wilting Violet
So, yeah, she's a bit of a doormat, but not completely. She dishes out exactly what the hero deserves and it's really quite satisfying.
So, yeah, she's a bit of a doormat, but not completely. She dishes out exactly what the hero deserves and it's really quite satisfying.
July 31, 2025
‘You are the only woman I have ever loved,’ Alessio murmured roughly. ‘And I want to be inside you so badly, I ache.’
Second-Time Bride is one of those Lynne Graham classics that blends angst, humor, and emotional punch in a way that keeps you flipping the pages long past bedtime. Daisy and Alessio married as teenagers in a union that was doomed from the start; too young, too unprepared, and crushed under family pressure and their own insecurities. Within months, the marriage imploded, leaving Daisy to raise their daughter alone. Thirteen years later, Alessio returns, unaware he has a child, and determined to reclaim the woman he once lost.
Alessio is a quintessential Graham hero: arrogant, forceful, and brimming with jealousy that he can barely control. At thirty-two, he is wealthier, more powerful, and every bit as single-minded as the nineteen-year-old who first pursued Daisy. He is also plagued by insecurities he would never admit aloud, his reactions driven by the fear of losing her again, even as he masks that fear with bluster and arrogance.
Daisy, at thirty, is his equal in more ways than he expects. Wary, skittish, and protective of her daughter, she nonetheless refuses to be steamrolled, meeting his intensity with quick wit, flashes of temper, and the kind of honesty that continually throws him off balance.
The heart of the story lies in their second chance. Thirteen years of silence have bred misunderstandings, half-truths, and old wounds that refuse to stay buried. Daisy has kept the existence of their daughter a secret, a betrayal Alessio cannot easily forgive. He, in turn, cannot understand how she could walk away from their marriage without ever looking back. Their renewed relationship becomes a tug-of-war between pride and vulnerability, with their daughter Tara right in the middle, eager for the father she never knew.
Tara herself is one of the delights of this book. Equal parts her mother’s wit and Alessio’s will, she injects humor, heart, and energy into every scene she is in. She is clever, observant, and at times far too shrewd for her parents’ comfort, and her presence grounds the story in a way that makes the reconciliation between Daisy and Alessio even more meaningful.
What I adored most about this book was the balance between angst and humor that had me gasping for breathe one minute and guffawing the next. There is no shortage of fiery confrontations, jealous accusations, and emotional intensity, but Graham sprinkles it with laugh-out-loud moments that lighten the heaviness.
Daisy’s ability to fluster Alessio is pure delight; watching his frustration when she refuses to play by his rules gave me more than one chuckle. The chemistry between them is undeniable, their banter sharp and their passion blazing, making their reconciliation all the more satisfying. And that ending, sweet, funny, and unexpectedly heartwarming, was pure delight, the perfect conclusion after such a rocky road.
If I had a quibble, it is that the story would have benefitted from glimpses into Alessio’s perspective during their teenage marriage. Seeing how deeply besotted he had been would have added another layer of poignancy to his present-day determination. Still, his relentless pursuit of Daisy, even when he masks it with arrogance, is telling enough, and his jealousy-fueled antics both maddening and thoroughly entertaining.
Recommended for: readers who love second-chance marriages, fiery banter, jealous alpha heroes, and heroines who refuse to back down.
Final Verdict: Equal parts humor, heartbreak, and heat—Second-Time Bride is a Lynne Graham gem with a pure delight of an ending.
Rating = 4.75/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit A Maldivian's Passion for Romance
January 5, 2021
Give this book a chance...( I like some of the dialogue, it was understatedly, on purpose funny!)
My review is probably going to be lengthy for a 190 page paper back romance, so I will say a few quick things for those who don’t want to read it or the spoilers. Hero and heroine were 19 and 17 years old! At 17, I was listening to the Violent Femmes, The Smiths, and dressing like Robert Smith of The Cure! The 19 year old boys I met were often thinking of 1 thing and I doubt being a dad was high on the list! Most of the adults in this book were motivated by doing what they thought was best for teenagers. The twin sister, although only 19, was the only character I have little use for and she was a bitch through and through!!!(not evolving after 13 years) Ok...the rest of the review will contain spoilers...So 🛑 now!
Hero- 19 year old Italian from a close knit, prominent family. Falls in love with a 17 year old English orphan and gets her pregnant....does the right thing and marries her. Meanwhile his friends taunt him about being “caught”, his father tells him to forget sexual relations with his young wife because a pregnant woman doesn’t want that and harm could come to the baby), his mom is probably lamenting that her baby boy is too young, and his twin sister is probably manipulating him with “supportive”comments that undermine his marriage. He loves the heroine...while dating he was always encouraging to her and building up her self esteem. He doesn’t want to appear stupid, so he isn’t good about communication with his young wife. He thinks he may have caused the miscarriage, stays away and becomes bitter when he finds his wife has left with a payout and divorce decree. Now he is 32 and finds out his wife was carrying twins and lost only 1 baby...he had no idea he was a father and has missed watching his daughter grow. He still finds himself drawn to the h despite his bitterness. He proposes marriage for the sake of the 13 year old. (If you are an hp veteran you know the kid is not his primary reason for a blackmailed marriage...)
Heroine-17!!! With only an aunt for support...falls in love with hero is overwhelmed by his family and doesn’t communicate with hero...she is welcomed with suspicion (did she trap the hero?) and lies(twin says hero moved out of bedroom because h is fat AND he is still with his college sweetheart). Adults on team Hero offer to raise her baby and instead give her a settlement(she didn’t take but unbeknownst to her the aunt did) with divorce papers when she miscarried. She is 17 and gullible. She too, doesn’t communicate with the Hero and meekly goes along with the household. The hero moved out of their room, stays away when she miscarried so even when she knows that she still has a bun in the oven she decides dissolving the marriage is best...I mean obviously the hero doesn’t love her.... right?
Hero’s Daddy- yes he told his son about pregnant women not wanting to be messed with and that it could be bad for the baby...I’m assuming this is what his wife told him and that is probably why they never had any more children...(pretty sure she put him in dry dock for a couple of years to recover from having twins) Was the pay out daddy offered to the heroine a way to get rid of the heroine or restitution to a 17 year old? I believe, that daddy was looking out for his 19 year old son and 17 year old child bride...they are young...the baby is supposedly gone, so the world is giving them a 2nd chance to grow up and decide for themselves what life has to give. I think daddy wanted to help the 17 year old by giving her money to start anew....their marriage probably looked doomed anyway...Daddy’s big misstep (and maybe this is a man not understanding) was to give a woman divorce papers within 48 hours of something as traumatic as a miscarriage. I doubt our 17 year old was clearly thinking. In the end I think Daddy’s primary objective was to protect his son from a marriage that had very little chance for survival.(oh but he should have told son about h not accepting the money, why paint her in a worse light!)
Hero’s mama- offered to raise baby and let heroine go on her way...she determined the heroine was far too young for the responsibilities of a child(and her son too I’m sure) Although mama’s thinking was misguided, I don’t think it was with malicious intent. However, this is a 17 year old orphan who is pregnant...where is the compassion? Why not say hey this must be scary for you but as your mil I will be here to support and guide you....Therefore, I have to believe that mama must have thought her son was unwittingly trapped into a marriage but not taking a payout should have disputed gold digging theories...maybe papa didn’t tell mama his part all of this.
Heroine’s aunt- took the payout as a nest egg for her still pregnant niece, wanted her to be secure since she had no family left in the world...also felt that the dad was offering this money with good intent instead of a payoff. I was glad the aunt wasn’t a mercenary and use money for herself.
Hero’s Twin- I have been able to give excuses for all the characters...but not Bianca...even her name seems bitchy. Bianca says she was looking out for brother but pretty sure Bianca was looking out for herself. Twins are close...now brother is in love what does that mean for precious Bianca? She will not be his go to for confessions or advice, because that should be relegated to the wife. Yeah I have no doubt she planted all those lies in the heroine’s head because she wasn’t ready to give up brother. Plus, she was probably a snob and the heroine was a little nobody. 13 years later, the sister is 32, unmarried(I can’t imagine why), and still out to sabotage the heroine and hero. (At this point hero’s parents are overjoyed to be grandparents and are now supporting the more mature hero and heroine)She continues to scheme and lie, she gets the ow to be part of her plan, but ow comes clean when she realizes she was being used by sister to destroy something good...Twin is finally overheard by brother and he isn’t willing to forgive her anytime soon...She gets a cold shoulder from parents as well, but heroine will forgive for sake of family unity. I doubt the twin is a favorite aunty! I doubt anyone will ever truly trust her...maybe LG used her in another book as an evil ow...because that is what she should be relegated to.
Things I really liked: our heroine was itty bitty at 5 feet... and clutzy Her daughter towered over her. I can see the hero and daughter laughing as mom yet again trips. You can tell the hero gets amusedly exasperated by the heroine’s clumsiness. Pretty sure he secretly loves this part of her as he deems himself her protector and will often pick her up to keep her out of harms way...there are funny moments of dialogue that will be missed if you are skimming..at one point the heroine tells the hero she would never marry him again and face that hell for a second time...later as he is sweeping her out of her office against her will
and informing the staff that the heroine is quitting and marrying him he says...”You may inform your superior that Miss Thornton won’t be returning to work here, ...she will be far too busy roasting in the fires of eternity as my wife!”
He then comically talks about her purse!!!
I almost need to read this again to see if I missed other tidbits....
I suspect this couple would have been miserable had they stayed together.(I envision affairs and shopping to assuage pain)..they needed time to grow up and realize how much they loved each other.
Is this the best book I ever read...no. I wasn’t feeling all the angst I feel in other books, but I was definitely entertained. I think the book is worth a read...and I would love to hear other thoughts. I highly recommend Naksed’s review which is polar opposite of mine...but funny!!!
My review is probably going to be lengthy for a 190 page paper back romance, so I will say a few quick things for those who don’t want to read it or the spoilers. Hero and heroine were 19 and 17 years old! At 17, I was listening to the Violent Femmes, The Smiths, and dressing like Robert Smith of The Cure! The 19 year old boys I met were often thinking of 1 thing and I doubt being a dad was high on the list! Most of the adults in this book were motivated by doing what they thought was best for teenagers. The twin sister, although only 19, was the only character I have little use for and she was a bitch through and through!!!(not evolving after 13 years) Ok...the rest of the review will contain spoilers...So 🛑 now!
Hero- 19 year old Italian from a close knit, prominent family. Falls in love with a 17 year old English orphan and gets her pregnant....does the right thing and marries her. Meanwhile his friends taunt him about being “caught”, his father tells him to forget sexual relations with his young wife because a pregnant woman doesn’t want that and harm could come to the baby), his mom is probably lamenting that her baby boy is too young, and his twin sister is probably manipulating him with “supportive”comments that undermine his marriage. He loves the heroine...while dating he was always encouraging to her and building up her self esteem. He doesn’t want to appear stupid, so he isn’t good about communication with his young wife. He thinks he may have caused the miscarriage, stays away and becomes bitter when he finds his wife has left with a payout and divorce decree. Now he is 32 and finds out his wife was carrying twins and lost only 1 baby...he had no idea he was a father and has missed watching his daughter grow. He still finds himself drawn to the h despite his bitterness. He proposes marriage for the sake of the 13 year old. (If you are an hp veteran you know the kid is not his primary reason for a blackmailed marriage...)
Heroine-17!!! With only an aunt for support...falls in love with hero is overwhelmed by his family and doesn’t communicate with hero...she is welcomed with suspicion (did she trap the hero?) and lies(twin says hero moved out of bedroom because h is fat AND he is still with his college sweetheart). Adults on team Hero offer to raise her baby and instead give her a settlement(she didn’t take but unbeknownst to her the aunt did) with divorce papers when she miscarried. She is 17 and gullible. She too, doesn’t communicate with the Hero and meekly goes along with the household. The hero moved out of their room, stays away when she miscarried so even when she knows that she still has a bun in the oven she decides dissolving the marriage is best...I mean obviously the hero doesn’t love her.... right?
Hero’s Daddy- yes he told his son about pregnant women not wanting to be messed with and that it could be bad for the baby...I’m assuming this is what his wife told him and that is probably why they never had any more children...(pretty sure she put him in dry dock for a couple of years to recover from having twins) Was the pay out daddy offered to the heroine a way to get rid of the heroine or restitution to a 17 year old? I believe, that daddy was looking out for his 19 year old son and 17 year old child bride...they are young...the baby is supposedly gone, so the world is giving them a 2nd chance to grow up and decide for themselves what life has to give. I think daddy wanted to help the 17 year old by giving her money to start anew....their marriage probably looked doomed anyway...Daddy’s big misstep (and maybe this is a man not understanding) was to give a woman divorce papers within 48 hours of something as traumatic as a miscarriage. I doubt our 17 year old was clearly thinking. In the end I think Daddy’s primary objective was to protect his son from a marriage that had very little chance for survival.(oh but he should have told son about h not accepting the money, why paint her in a worse light!)
Hero’s mama- offered to raise baby and let heroine go on her way...she determined the heroine was far too young for the responsibilities of a child(and her son too I’m sure) Although mama’s thinking was misguided, I don’t think it was with malicious intent. However, this is a 17 year old orphan who is pregnant...where is the compassion? Why not say hey this must be scary for you but as your mil I will be here to support and guide you....Therefore, I have to believe that mama must have thought her son was unwittingly trapped into a marriage but not taking a payout should have disputed gold digging theories...maybe papa didn’t tell mama his part all of this.
Heroine’s aunt- took the payout as a nest egg for her still pregnant niece, wanted her to be secure since she had no family left in the world...also felt that the dad was offering this money with good intent instead of a payoff. I was glad the aunt wasn’t a mercenary and use money for herself.
Hero’s Twin- I have been able to give excuses for all the characters...but not Bianca...even her name seems bitchy. Bianca says she was looking out for brother but pretty sure Bianca was looking out for herself. Twins are close...now brother is in love what does that mean for precious Bianca? She will not be his go to for confessions or advice, because that should be relegated to the wife. Yeah I have no doubt she planted all those lies in the heroine’s head because she wasn’t ready to give up brother. Plus, she was probably a snob and the heroine was a little nobody. 13 years later, the sister is 32, unmarried(I can’t imagine why), and still out to sabotage the heroine and hero. (At this point hero’s parents are overjoyed to be grandparents and are now supporting the more mature hero and heroine)She continues to scheme and lie, she gets the ow to be part of her plan, but ow comes clean when she realizes she was being used by sister to destroy something good...Twin is finally overheard by brother and he isn’t willing to forgive her anytime soon...She gets a cold shoulder from parents as well, but heroine will forgive for sake of family unity. I doubt the twin is a favorite aunty! I doubt anyone will ever truly trust her...maybe LG used her in another book as an evil ow...because that is what she should be relegated to.
Things I really liked: our heroine was itty bitty at 5 feet... and clutzy Her daughter towered over her. I can see the hero and daughter laughing as mom yet again trips. You can tell the hero gets amusedly exasperated by the heroine’s clumsiness. Pretty sure he secretly loves this part of her as he deems himself her protector and will often pick her up to keep her out of harms way...there are funny moments of dialogue that will be missed if you are skimming..at one point the heroine tells the hero she would never marry him again and face that hell for a second time...later as he is sweeping her out of her office against her will
and informing the staff that the heroine is quitting and marrying him he says...”You may inform your superior that Miss Thornton won’t be returning to work here, ...she will be far too busy roasting in the fires of eternity as my wife!”
He then comically talks about her purse!!!
I almost need to read this again to see if I missed other tidbits....
I suspect this couple would have been miserable had they stayed together.(I envision affairs and shopping to assuage pain)..they needed time to grow up and realize how much they loved each other.
Is this the best book I ever read...no. I wasn’t feeling all the angst I feel in other books, but I was definitely entertained. I think the book is worth a read...and I would love to hear other thoughts. I highly recommend Naksed’s review which is polar opposite of mine...but funny!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2021
Reading this one was an exercise in patience and restraint. I really fought hard no to throw my kindle in frustration. The h comes off as someone with a low IQ. How did she even manage to get a job and supposedly a good one as a real estate agent, when she was dumber than a box of rocks. Literally.
Even the H at one point insults her and tells her that she isn’t even capable of talking to him because her mind just “ leaves” and he’s right because she couldn’t even concentrate enough to follow what he’s telling her. So, between her lack of brain power, her martyr tendencies (which are pretty much standard in HPlandia) I was utterly frustrated the whole time. The H was the usual self absorbed, bully who was always clueless about what’s going on around him, and is arrogant enough to think he can do no wrong.
Oh well, I guess it a Herlequin, so this is par for the course.
Even the H at one point insults her and tells her that she isn’t even capable of talking to him because her mind just “ leaves” and he’s right because she couldn’t even concentrate enough to follow what he’s telling her. So, between her lack of brain power, her martyr tendencies (which are pretty much standard in HPlandia) I was utterly frustrated the whole time. The H was the usual self absorbed, bully who was always clueless about what’s going on around him, and is arrogant enough to think he can do no wrong.
Oh well, I guess it a Herlequin, so this is par for the course.
May 10, 2018
Yazara ve kapağın güzelliğine kapılıp okuduğum lakin okumasamda olurmuş drdiğim kitap.
Yahu şu kadın karakterleri niye bu kadar ezik yazıyorsunuz?
Tamam alfa erkekleri severizde bu kitaptaki gibi olanları değil.
Daisy çoğu şeyde haklı olsa da hrp sustu hep sustu.
Alessio ise haksız olmasına rağmen hep kendini hakkı gördü.
Onun da çektiği sıkıntılar olmuş tamam ama bu Daisy ye davranıl şeklini açıklamıyor.Şahsen hayal kırıklığı oldu benim için...
Yahu şu kadın karakterleri niye bu kadar ezik yazıyorsunuz?
Tamam alfa erkekleri severizde bu kitaptaki gibi olanları değil.
Daisy çoğu şeyde haklı olsa da hrp sustu hep sustu.
Alessio ise haksız olmasına rağmen hep kendini hakkı gördü.
Onun da çektiği sıkıntılar olmuş tamam ama bu Daisy ye davranıl şeklini açıklamıyor.Şahsen hayal kırıklığı oldu benim için...
September 21, 2020
I was sooooooo ready for a really good Lynne Graham story with an alpha hero, a misjudged heroine and their angst and trials. Delicious.
July 26, 2022
Second-Time Bride was about Daisy (Thornton) and Alessio Leopardi. Daisy and Alessio met when she was 17 and he was 19. Their mutual attraction was hot and instantaneous, leading to Daisy getting pregnant and the two of them basically being forced to marry because of the baby. Although they were very much in love, neither one of them was really old (or mature) enough to handle the responsibility of marriage, let alone becoming parents...which proved to be a fact for both of them when they each allowed Alessio's parents and twin sister, Bianca, to run rough-shod over their union.
Alessio's father convinced him to move out of their bedroom while Daisy was in the early stages of the pregnancy because, the man said, pregnant women did not enjoy marital intimacies. Alessio, who had the usual healthy sexual appetite of a teenage boy (and who was afraid he'd do damage to both Daisy and the baby), did not bother talking it over with his wife and did as his father suggested.
At the same time, Daisy was convinced that Alessio no longer wanted to be married since he had moved out of their room. Her sister-in-law reinforced this belief by telling her that he was disgusted with how much weight Daisy had gained with her pregnancy and that he had, in fact, returned to his relationship with his previous girlfriend, Sophia. It didn't help matters that Alessio had stopped talking with her, or that they spent very little time together. Nor was it productive when her mother-in-law tried to convince her she would be a lousy mother and should give the baby to her inlaws and leave after giving birth.
When Daisy miscarried the baby, Alessio never even visited her in the hospital . But his father did, and he tried to convince her to take a financial settlement and he bullied her into divorcing his son. Though she did not take the settlement, Daisy did give in to her father-in-law regarding the divorce, and she returned to England. Alessio was under the mistaken belief that Daisy had accepted the financial settlement over him , and was angry and resentful to the point that he let his father convince him not to follow her to England.
However, what none of the Leopardi family knew was that Daisy had been pregnant with twins and had only miscarried one of them. Within a few months of returning to London, Daisy gave birth to their daughter, Tara...and never reached out to them because she believed that 1) Alessio wouldn't want the baby, and 2) his parents would try to take her away from Daisy.
Fast forward 13 years. Daisy was a successful real estate agent, and Alessio was the head of his family's banking conglomerate. When she was called in to do a showing in the stead of a sick coworker, Daisy got the shock of her life, for the people she would be showing a house to was none other than Alessio...who had another woman clinging to him. Harsh words spewed from Alessio when he saw her, though they didn't last long. .
Within the course of a week, Alessio had been apprised of the fact he had a teenage daughter, that Daisy had not accepted the settlement (though he still didn't believe that yet), and he purchased the realtor company where Daisy worked . They married the following weekend, then traveled to Italy where they spent their honeymoon before planning on settling down in the villa he had bought from his father .
On their wedding night, Alessio had been looking at Daisy's photo albums that their daughter had shared with him back in England. He kept asking her who each of the men were that were in the photos and, suddenly believing that Daisy had been with multiple men, he was angry. Their daughter had told him she never dated, but the photos proved otherwise. To say he was unreasonably upset...and living a double standard, would be putting it mildly. "Dio … you’ve been sleeping around ever since you divorced me!" Needless to say, the wedding night had not been consummated.
The next morning Alessio's sister, Bianca, and the Wannabe OW showed up to do a photo shoot on the property...and the evil SIL immediately started in on destroying the renewed relationship between Alessio and Daisy, except she made her brother think that it was Daisy who was the one unwilling to let bygones be bygones. Alessio believed his sister and tried to force Daisy to apologize, but she refused and left for a long walk, not returning until evening. When a shouting match blew up between Daisy and Alessio, and he angrily threw it in her face about the settlement she had supposedly received from his father, she tore into him and let him know that she hadn't been the one to take it, but that her aunt had accepted the money instead of her . When he finally began to believe her, Alessio tried to convince her back to bed, but rather than doing so, Daisy slept in a chair.
The next day, Alessio took Daisy to have lunch with his parents. While there, he confronted them about their duplicity 13 years before, and both the father and mother had the good grace to be ashamed of their actions, and they both apologized for their past treatment of her...and that was the end of that. No comeuppance, no retribution, even though they appeared to be sincere and truly believed what they had done was in their son's and her best interest. Just, "We're sorry, we thought we knew what was best for you" scenario. Me? I would have ripped them a new hole and made certain they would never have anything to do with my child. Ugh! Okay, I eventually believed they were sorry...BUT, I would have loved to see them have some kind of payback. Color me sadistic, eh?
Upon returning home, Daisy was told one of her former co-workers in England was on the telephone. Not knowing how he had gotten her number in Italy, she took the call, much to Alessio's disapproval. She asked the man how he'd gotten the number, but all he said was that it had been waiting for him and he figured she had left him a message to return her call. After telling him to never call again and hanging up, she told Alessio the only way the man could have known how to get in touch with her was from either Bianca or the OW. That pissed Alessio off, and he refused to listen to her "conspiracy theories". Later, while swimming in the pool, Daisy confronted Alessio about his jealousy over the men in the photos. When she accused him of believing she had slept with all those men, he said, "What do you think?". So she tried to reassure him, though he told her he didn't want to know. But she insisted that he should know she hadn't been with anyone since him. That led to them finally consummating their new marriage, during which Alessio finally realized she had spoken the truth about not having been with anyone else but him. Alessio finally asked her, why she'd not been with anyone else but him, her reasoning was, "When you have to look at a man and think, How would I feel if I got pregnant by him? It kind of chills your bones.". Good point. But then, Alessio got upset when he realized he had not used any precaution to keep her from getting pregnant. He had told her (and his parents) that there would be no more children, which crushed Daisy a bit, for she wanted another baby, and it also confirmed what his sister had said, that he only married her to gain custody of Tara. Though he spouted words of guilt, he still tried to comfort Daisy as she pulled away from him, but she told him to go away. He told her to get some sleep, that he had to go out for a while, and she told him not to return.
After he left, Alessio's sister called and again tried to run Daisy off by telling her that her brother was back to cheating on her with the woman Daisy had met in London . Though she told her sister-in-law off, Daisy was still uncertain enough that she went out in the pouring rain and drove to the address Bianca had given her and, sure enough, there was Alessio with Nina. It broke her to realize he had left their bed after having sex, only to go to the other woman immediately afterward. To Daisy, it was enough proof that he had only married her in order to steal their daughter away from her. It was then that she recalled his words after he had realized she had kept Tara a secret from him, "If it is the last thing I do in this lifetime, I will punish you for this...".
Crushed, Daisy hurried home, only to find her sister-in-law waiting for her in the drawing room. Knowing Bianca had come to witness her devastation firsthand, Daisy poured herself a glass of brandy and swallowed it down in one gulp. She demanded Bianca return the housekey she had and leave, which wasn't exactly the reaction the woman had expected. Undeterred, though, she offered to drive Daisy to the airport since she appeared too drunk to drive herself. However, Daisy told her she wasn't the one who would be leaving. At that point, Daisy heard a noise outside the room but wasn't sure what it was and ignored it. Bianca lost her cool when her sister-in-law said she wasn't leaving. With neither of them being aware that Alessio was outside the door and hearing how evil his sister had always been to his wife, Daisy finally confronted Bianca about the lies she had used to ruin their marriage . Suddenly, the door swung open and Alessio walked into the room, shocking the two women. For the first time ever, Bianca's brother turned on her in righteous anger, though the woman tried to deny everything he had just heard...and everything he had learned from the other woman. But Alessio had seen the true character of his sister , and chose not to believe her protests. As he escorted her from the room, they continued a shouting match, followed by the slamming of the front door. Upon returning to the room where Daisy had collapsed (dripping wet from having stood in the rain outside the OW's home), Alessio picked her up and, as he carried her to the bedroom, he explained that he and Nina had only ever been casual friends, that "a prudent male thinks twice before he becomes intimately involved with the daughter of family friends", then he explained why he had been at the other woman's residence (his sister was staying with her and he had gone there to confront them both. When Daisy called him on the fact he had driven away with the OW, he realized why she was wet and she confessed to the phone call from his sister, which made him even angrier at Bianca). After taking a bath to ward off the chills, although he didn't allow her to wallow in the tub for too long because they had to get all of the past issues worked out between them, he took a moment and explained his earlier expression of guilt after having unprotected sex...he believed that, since she "had been so miserable" with the first pregnancy, Daisy would hate him if he got her pregnant again. Daisy told him that wasn't the case. She reminded him of all that had been going on during her first pregnancy that contributed to her state of mind, and that she really did want another child. Finally, they were able to have a HEA, with a flash forward a year to the morning after the surprise party thrown by his parents in celebration of Alessio and Daisy's first anniversary....
There wasn't much comeuppance where the sister was concerned, other than she had self-exiled herself for several months, only to turn up at their anniversary party with a gift and a sulky attitude, although Alessio had been neither welcoming nor forgiving. In fact, his reaction was priceless, "We made it in spite of you,’ Alessio had growled ungraciously, only accepting the present after Daisy had given him a speaking glance, but then adding, ‘And do I need to remind you what people say about Greeks bearing gifts?’". Had to love that last jab, right?!
I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to reading this book. I had, in fact, passed it multiple times and glared at it each time it was recommended to me. However, I'm very glad I did read it and I found it both humorous and enjoyable. It was definitely unlike most of LG's other books, and a good deal tamer. I liked that the Hero was just that...a HERO, for he learned from his mistakes and, even though he wanted a bit of revenge, he didn't allow that to hinder the reunion. Also, once the truth was out, he didn't drag it out for months or years, but faced it head-on and dealt with it as soon as it was revealed.
The Heroine, being 30 rather than the much younger characters that LG uses, was much more mature, better able to deal with a wrecking ball that tried to take her out, and she chose not to run away but rather to face things full-on. The teenager definitely made things a bit...awkward at times, but she was fun too. She was like 13-going on 40, but she was definitely enjoyable.
While most other reviewers gave it a lower rating, I'm definitely giving it five stars. It kept me entertained and I actually believed in the HEA. I will also be adding it to my Keeper for the Shelves collection.
Alessio's father convinced him to move out of their bedroom while Daisy was in the early stages of the pregnancy because, the man said, pregnant women did not enjoy marital intimacies. Alessio, who had the usual healthy sexual appetite of a teenage boy (and who was afraid he'd do damage to both Daisy and the baby), did not bother talking it over with his wife and did as his father suggested.
At the same time, Daisy was convinced that Alessio no longer wanted to be married since he had moved out of their room. Her sister-in-law reinforced this belief by telling her that he was disgusted with how much weight Daisy had gained with her pregnancy and that he had, in fact, returned to his relationship with his previous girlfriend, Sophia. It didn't help matters that Alessio had stopped talking with her, or that they spent very little time together. Nor was it productive when her mother-in-law tried to convince her she would be a lousy mother and should give the baby to her inlaws and leave after giving birth.
When Daisy miscarried the baby, Alessio never even visited her in the hospital . But his father did, and he tried to convince her to take a financial settlement and he bullied her into divorcing his son. Though she did not take the settlement, Daisy did give in to her father-in-law regarding the divorce, and she returned to England. Alessio was under the mistaken belief that Daisy had accepted the financial settlement over him , and was angry and resentful to the point that he let his father convince him not to follow her to England.
However, what none of the Leopardi family knew was that Daisy had been pregnant with twins and had only miscarried one of them. Within a few months of returning to London, Daisy gave birth to their daughter, Tara...and never reached out to them because she believed that 1) Alessio wouldn't want the baby, and 2) his parents would try to take her away from Daisy.
Fast forward 13 years. Daisy was a successful real estate agent, and Alessio was the head of his family's banking conglomerate. When she was called in to do a showing in the stead of a sick coworker, Daisy got the shock of her life, for the people she would be showing a house to was none other than Alessio...who had another woman clinging to him. Harsh words spewed from Alessio when he saw her, though they didn't last long. .
Within the course of a week, Alessio had been apprised of the fact he had a teenage daughter, that Daisy had not accepted the settlement (though he still didn't believe that yet), and he purchased the realtor company where Daisy worked . They married the following weekend, then traveled to Italy where they spent their honeymoon before planning on settling down in the villa he had bought from his father .
On their wedding night, Alessio had been looking at Daisy's photo albums that their daughter had shared with him back in England. He kept asking her who each of the men were that were in the photos and, suddenly believing that Daisy had been with multiple men, he was angry. Their daughter had told him she never dated, but the photos proved otherwise. To say he was unreasonably upset...and living a double standard, would be putting it mildly. "Dio … you’ve been sleeping around ever since you divorced me!" Needless to say, the wedding night had not been consummated.
The next morning Alessio's sister, Bianca, and the Wannabe OW showed up to do a photo shoot on the property...and the evil SIL immediately started in on destroying the renewed relationship between Alessio and Daisy, except she made her brother think that it was Daisy who was the one unwilling to let bygones be bygones. Alessio believed his sister and tried to force Daisy to apologize, but she refused and left for a long walk, not returning until evening. When a shouting match blew up between Daisy and Alessio, and he angrily threw it in her face about the settlement she had supposedly received from his father, she tore into him and let him know that she hadn't been the one to take it, but that her aunt had accepted the money instead of her . When he finally began to believe her, Alessio tried to convince her back to bed, but rather than doing so, Daisy slept in a chair.
The next day, Alessio took Daisy to have lunch with his parents. While there, he confronted them about their duplicity 13 years before, and both the father and mother had the good grace to be ashamed of their actions, and they both apologized for their past treatment of her...and that was the end of that. No comeuppance, no retribution, even though they appeared to be sincere and truly believed what they had done was in their son's and her best interest. Just, "We're sorry, we thought we knew what was best for you" scenario. Me? I would have ripped them a new hole and made certain they would never have anything to do with my child. Ugh! Okay, I eventually believed they were sorry...BUT, I would have loved to see them have some kind of payback. Color me sadistic, eh?
Upon returning home, Daisy was told one of her former co-workers in England was on the telephone. Not knowing how he had gotten her number in Italy, she took the call, much to Alessio's disapproval. She asked the man how he'd gotten the number, but all he said was that it had been waiting for him and he figured she had left him a message to return her call. After telling him to never call again and hanging up, she told Alessio the only way the man could have known how to get in touch with her was from either Bianca or the OW. That pissed Alessio off, and he refused to listen to her "conspiracy theories". Later, while swimming in the pool, Daisy confronted Alessio about his jealousy over the men in the photos. When she accused him of believing she had slept with all those men, he said, "What do you think?". So she tried to reassure him, though he told her he didn't want to know. But she insisted that he should know she hadn't been with anyone since him. That led to them finally consummating their new marriage, during which Alessio finally realized she had spoken the truth about not having been with anyone else but him. Alessio finally asked her, why she'd not been with anyone else but him, her reasoning was, "When you have to look at a man and think, How would I feel if I got pregnant by him? It kind of chills your bones.". Good point. But then, Alessio got upset when he realized he had not used any precaution to keep her from getting pregnant. He had told her (and his parents) that there would be no more children, which crushed Daisy a bit, for she wanted another baby, and it also confirmed what his sister had said, that he only married her to gain custody of Tara. Though he spouted words of guilt, he still tried to comfort Daisy as she pulled away from him, but she told him to go away. He told her to get some sleep, that he had to go out for a while, and she told him not to return.
After he left, Alessio's sister called and again tried to run Daisy off by telling her that her brother was back to cheating on her with the woman Daisy had met in London . Though she told her sister-in-law off, Daisy was still uncertain enough that she went out in the pouring rain and drove to the address Bianca had given her and, sure enough, there was Alessio with Nina. It broke her to realize he had left their bed after having sex, only to go to the other woman immediately afterward. To Daisy, it was enough proof that he had only married her in order to steal their daughter away from her. It was then that she recalled his words after he had realized she had kept Tara a secret from him, "If it is the last thing I do in this lifetime, I will punish you for this...".
Crushed, Daisy hurried home, only to find her sister-in-law waiting for her in the drawing room. Knowing Bianca had come to witness her devastation firsthand, Daisy poured herself a glass of brandy and swallowed it down in one gulp. She demanded Bianca return the housekey she had and leave, which wasn't exactly the reaction the woman had expected. Undeterred, though, she offered to drive Daisy to the airport since she appeared too drunk to drive herself. However, Daisy told her she wasn't the one who would be leaving. At that point, Daisy heard a noise outside the room but wasn't sure what it was and ignored it. Bianca lost her cool when her sister-in-law said she wasn't leaving. With neither of them being aware that Alessio was outside the door and hearing how evil his sister had always been to his wife, Daisy finally confronted Bianca about the lies she had used to ruin their marriage . Suddenly, the door swung open and Alessio walked into the room, shocking the two women. For the first time ever, Bianca's brother turned on her in righteous anger, though the woman tried to deny everything he had just heard...and everything he had learned from the other woman. But Alessio had seen the true character of his sister , and chose not to believe her protests. As he escorted her from the room, they continued a shouting match, followed by the slamming of the front door. Upon returning to the room where Daisy had collapsed (dripping wet from having stood in the rain outside the OW's home), Alessio picked her up and, as he carried her to the bedroom, he explained that he and Nina had only ever been casual friends, that "a prudent male thinks twice before he becomes intimately involved with the daughter of family friends", then he explained why he had been at the other woman's residence (his sister was staying with her and he had gone there to confront them both. When Daisy called him on the fact he had driven away with the OW, he realized why she was wet and she confessed to the phone call from his sister, which made him even angrier at Bianca). After taking a bath to ward off the chills, although he didn't allow her to wallow in the tub for too long because they had to get all of the past issues worked out between them, he took a moment and explained his earlier expression of guilt after having unprotected sex...he believed that, since she "had been so miserable" with the first pregnancy, Daisy would hate him if he got her pregnant again. Daisy told him that wasn't the case. She reminded him of all that had been going on during her first pregnancy that contributed to her state of mind, and that she really did want another child. Finally, they were able to have a HEA, with a flash forward a year to the morning after the surprise party thrown by his parents in celebration of Alessio and Daisy's first anniversary....
There wasn't much comeuppance where the sister was concerned, other than she had self-exiled herself for several months, only to turn up at their anniversary party with a gift and a sulky attitude, although Alessio had been neither welcoming nor forgiving. In fact, his reaction was priceless, "We made it in spite of you,’ Alessio had growled ungraciously, only accepting the present after Daisy had given him a speaking glance, but then adding, ‘And do I need to remind you what people say about Greeks bearing gifts?’". Had to love that last jab, right?!
I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to reading this book. I had, in fact, passed it multiple times and glared at it each time it was recommended to me. However, I'm very glad I did read it and I found it both humorous and enjoyable. It was definitely unlike most of LG's other books, and a good deal tamer. I liked that the Hero was just that...a HERO, for he learned from his mistakes and, even though he wanted a bit of revenge, he didn't allow that to hinder the reunion. Also, once the truth was out, he didn't drag it out for months or years, but faced it head-on and dealt with it as soon as it was revealed.
The Heroine, being 30 rather than the much younger characters that LG uses, was much more mature, better able to deal with a wrecking ball that tried to take her out, and she chose not to run away but rather to face things full-on. The teenager definitely made things a bit...awkward at times, but she was fun too. She was like 13-going on 40, but she was definitely enjoyable.
While most other reviewers gave it a lower rating, I'm definitely giving it five stars. It kept me entertained and I actually believed in the HEA. I will also be adding it to my Keeper for the Shelves collection.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2018
One of the most memorable secret baby, second chance romances I've ever read! So angsty, and the balance of responsibilities and faults was great. Seeing through older eyes what had happened thirteen years ago, she realised he was just only nineteen, a scared child about to become a father. He had his own issues to deal with and she wasn't the only victim.
It helped that the evil in-laws were fully aware of what they did and felt remorse...I just wanted Alessio to be more angry with his parents and evil twin sis, if you know what I mean?! I also know it's too much to ask for, but if Daisy was celibate during their separation/divorce, couldn't he have been too? Nah, too much to ask from a man...
Great HEA. Tara was too precocious!
It helped that the evil in-laws were fully aware of what they did and felt remorse...I just wanted Alessio to be more angry with his parents and evil twin sis, if you know what I mean?! I also know it's too much to ask for, but if Daisy was celibate during their separation/divorce, couldn't he have been too? Nah, too much to ask from a man...
Great HEA. Tara was too precocious!
June 8, 2021
Once a teenage bride...Daisy would always vividly remember her brief marriage at age seventeen to Alessio Leopardi. He'd tired of her within months of their wedding, so she'd left him to give birth to their child alone. Now a teenage daughter...
Now Alessio was back and Daisy was torn: he didn't know he had a thirteen-year-old daughter. But Tara was dying to meet her father. Daisy realized that if she couldn't forget, she must at least forgive - and come clean with Alessio about Tara'a existence .
Now Alessio was back and Daisy was torn: he didn't know he had a thirteen-year-old daughter. But Tara was dying to meet her father. Daisy realized that if she couldn't forget, she must at least forgive - and come clean with Alessio about Tara'a existence .
October 10, 2016
I thought that the plot was a bit dicey because I thought that thirteen years was too much of a wait. But LG made it work because the immature reasons that caused Alessio and Daisy to divorce when they were mere teenagers just wouldn't fly if they had been mature adults who had to deal with what they did. I'm glad to have given this book a chance because it actually turned out better than what the blurb suggested at first glance. And second-chance romances is a particular weakness.
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