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Bedded and Wedded for Revenge
Self-made billionaire Andreas Trigliani is set on revenge. Spoiled heiress Gemma, who wrecked his past, needs a husband--fast! And he's more than happy to help. Women may throw themselves at his feet every day, but it's this stunning socialite whom he wants to see begging.However when Andreas finally has Gemma in his bed, he finds the stakes have changed. Now she's shy, innocent and vulnerable.
Andreas always gets what Andreas wants, and it's no longer a marriage of revenge....
Andreas always gets what Andreas wants, and it's no longer a marriage of revenge....
192 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2006
24 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 16, 2017
I don't care how big a bitch you are, in no universe anywhere does a woman deserve to be drugged and raped cause step-mommy dearest is a cunt and set her up for harm. I think the utter lack of justice and having an h grovel to the skanky slime swiller step mother is just about the lowest of the low - even for HPlandia.
This is why I absolutely despise most of MM's backlist.
I also have to throw in that MM continually sets up the Gay BFF as a using betrayer and that sub plot is getting really, really old in my book.
This is why I absolutely despise most of MM's backlist.
I also have to throw in that MM continually sets up the Gay BFF as a using betrayer and that sub plot is getting really, really old in my book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2017
A revenge story that is really about unrequited love. A redemption story that has commenced before the hero comes on the scene.
Poor little rich girl heroine grew up in the hotel her father owned. She was rude to the staff (our hero when he was a young man), rude to her stepmother and engaged in all sorts of self-destructive behaviour all in a bid to gain her father’s attention. She ends up causing the smitten hero to be fired for sexual harassment even though he didn’t do anything wrong. He goes back to Italy.
The heroine’s bad behaviour continues until the heroine is raped on her 21st birthday Then she is in a horrible car accident that shatters her leg, scars her face and inflicts a lifetime of guilt because her passenger is now in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. She also is suffering from partial amnesia, not remembering the accident at all.
That the passenger (her gay best friend) doesn’t blame her for the accident is a big hint to the reader that all is not as it seems.
When the story opens the heroine is six days away from her 25th birthday and must be married to inherit her father’s estate. He died without reconciling with his daughter, but he didn’t leave anything to the stepmother – so the heroine doesn’t know what to think.
She and her friend in the wheelchair will have a MOC for six months. She wants the money for her friend at the woman’s shelter. Her daughter needs life saving treatment in the US.
The heroine’s plans are derailed when the hero paid off the friend and put himself in the role of groom. The heroine pretends not to remember him because she’s afraid he’ll extract revenge for her bad behaviour. She’ll take it after the wedding, but not before since she needs that money for her friend. The hero says she must give him a son, and the heroine has to lie and agree, knowing the chances are slim after her accident.
They marry. The hero tries to be mean to her, but he can’t. Their housekeeper (who used to work at the hotel) tries to be mean but she can’t because the heroine apologizes sincerely. That turnaround from judgmental older lady to mother figure the heroine always craved is really sweet.
There’s a wannabe OW who calls for the hero, but that doesn’t go very far.
They eventually end up in bed and the heroine feels healed from the horrors of her rape. She tells the hero all about it and the hero doesn’t know what to think. He wants revenge not to fall in love again.
They go to Italy to meet his family. Two of his sisters have babies while they are there. More guilt for the heroine.
The estate is tied up in legal problems and the heroine is desperate for cash, so the hero gives it to her. She won’t tell him what it’s for.
When her friend in the wheelchair shows up to tell her that she wasn’t the cause of the accident, the heroine realizes she needs to tackle her stepmother. (The housekeeper overhears and they go together). There is a big showdown where the stepmother blurts out all of her hate and what she did to ruin the heroine’s life. The hero also happens to be there and hears it all. The heroine then apologizes to the stepmother for her part in the bad feelings and tells her she just wants the money for the woman’s shelter friend and she can have the rest.
Hero realizes he love the heroine, doesn’t want revenge. HEA with a paragraph about a baby nine months later.
The end was a bit abrupt as was the “reconciliation” between the stepmother and h. I don’t think step mom should have been forgiven so easily. The hero was a great guy – totally unsuited for the revenge game. The heroine obviously needed the asking-forgiveness part of her twelve-step program, and it felt right when she confronted the H and the housekeeper. The stepmother scene was overkill, though. The woman was truly horrible to the heroine as the years went by.
I would have liked a longer epilogue with the heroine’s state of mind. She suffered a lot and I would have liked a “peaceful easy feelings” scene for her and the hero. Still, this was an intense story of self-destruction and healing and the kind of love that never dies.
Poor little rich girl heroine grew up in the hotel her father owned. She was rude to the staff (our hero when he was a young man), rude to her stepmother and engaged in all sorts of self-destructive behaviour all in a bid to gain her father’s attention. She ends up causing the smitten hero to be fired for sexual harassment even though he didn’t do anything wrong. He goes back to Italy.
The heroine’s bad behaviour continues until the heroine is raped on her 21st birthday Then she is in a horrible car accident that shatters her leg, scars her face and inflicts a lifetime of guilt because her passenger is now in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. She also is suffering from partial amnesia, not remembering the accident at all.
That the passenger (her gay best friend) doesn’t blame her for the accident is a big hint to the reader that all is not as it seems.
When the story opens the heroine is six days away from her 25th birthday and must be married to inherit her father’s estate. He died without reconciling with his daughter, but he didn’t leave anything to the stepmother – so the heroine doesn’t know what to think.
She and her friend in the wheelchair will have a MOC for six months. She wants the money for her friend at the woman’s shelter. Her daughter needs life saving treatment in the US.
The heroine’s plans are derailed when the hero paid off the friend and put himself in the role of groom. The heroine pretends not to remember him because she’s afraid he’ll extract revenge for her bad behaviour. She’ll take it after the wedding, but not before since she needs that money for her friend. The hero says she must give him a son, and the heroine has to lie and agree, knowing the chances are slim after her accident.
They marry. The hero tries to be mean to her, but he can’t. Their housekeeper (who used to work at the hotel) tries to be mean but she can’t because the heroine apologizes sincerely. That turnaround from judgmental older lady to mother figure the heroine always craved is really sweet.
There’s a wannabe OW who calls for the hero, but that doesn’t go very far.
They eventually end up in bed and the heroine feels healed from the horrors of her rape. She tells the hero all about it and the hero doesn’t know what to think. He wants revenge not to fall in love again.
They go to Italy to meet his family. Two of his sisters have babies while they are there. More guilt for the heroine.
The estate is tied up in legal problems and the heroine is desperate for cash, so the hero gives it to her. She won’t tell him what it’s for.
When her friend in the wheelchair shows up to tell her that she wasn’t the cause of the accident, the heroine realizes she needs to tackle her stepmother. (The housekeeper overhears and they go together). There is a big showdown where the stepmother blurts out all of her hate and what she did to ruin the heroine’s life. The hero also happens to be there and hears it all. The heroine then apologizes to the stepmother for her part in the bad feelings and tells her she just wants the money for the woman’s shelter friend and she can have the rest.
Hero realizes he love the heroine, doesn’t want revenge. HEA with a paragraph about a baby nine months later.
The end was a bit abrupt as was the “reconciliation” between the stepmother and h. I don’t think step mom should have been forgiven so easily. The hero was a great guy – totally unsuited for the revenge game. The heroine obviously needed the asking-forgiveness part of her twelve-step program, and it felt right when she confronted the H and the housekeeper. The stepmother scene was overkill, though. The woman was truly horrible to the heroine as the years went by.
I would have liked a longer epilogue with the heroine’s state of mind. She suffered a lot and I would have liked a “peaceful easy feelings” scene for her and the hero. Still, this was an intense story of self-destruction and healing and the kind of love that never dies.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 25, 2018
This seemingly routine reunion-revenge-moc drama was so much more. No recent HP (I read) has invested as much in character development as this one. The h’s growth as a person from a mean and spoilt young socialite, to a bitter and hurt woman to true forgiveness is heart-breakingly moving and inspiring. Her suffering, her self hatred, her bitterness all pull you in deep, and thankfully the author instead of losing momentum actually manages to elevate it to true angsty perfection. it's refreshing to read damaged mcs - especially the h.
I’ve seen redemptions and then this!
It was a true cleansing and deliverance of her soul (from her actual and self adjudged sins) to a hitherto unknown place - happiness.
As much as I was enjoying this I was still mentally prepared for the usual love-redemption-hea routine, but the ending totally moved it to another level.
The H seems more like a secondary character, as it was the h all the way. A journey of self-discovery/nirvana of sorts. And for all his intentions of retribution, he never really does anything to hurt her. Even his thoughts of revenge are mild and whimsical. I mean, landing her in his bed (where she's plenty happy!) is not revenge. I waited for him to have plans to get her disinherited but non, he wasn’t even that vicious!
I’ve seen redemptions and then this!
It was a true cleansing and deliverance of her soul (from her actual and self adjudged sins) to a hitherto unknown place - happiness.
As much as I was enjoying this I was still mentally prepared for the usual love-redemption-hea routine, but the ending totally moved it to another level.
The H seems more like a secondary character, as it was the h all the way. A journey of self-discovery/nirvana of sorts. And for all his intentions of retribution, he never really does anything to hurt her. Even his thoughts of revenge are mild and whimsical. I mean, landing her in his bed (where she's plenty happy!) is not revenge. I waited for him to have plans to get her disinherited but non, he wasn’t even that vicious!
May 23, 2017
Barf and ick.
It's hard to root for book or a romance when you don't like any of the characters.
The h was unpleasant from the start: a cruel Mean Girl when she was younger lying, spiteful and overly prickly now. The hero who alternates between being a mega-beta understanding H and a crafty handwringing vengeful villain.
Those are just the major characters. Minor annoyances are the lying and deceitful "best friend", the snooty housekeeper, and the piece d'resistance, the evil step-mother.
I wish I could say I bought the redemption of the heroine or some of the others, but I did not.
It's hard to root for book or a romance when you don't like any of the characters.
The h was unpleasant from the start: a cruel Mean Girl when she was younger lying, spiteful and overly prickly now. The hero who alternates between being a mega-beta understanding H and a crafty handwringing vengeful villain.
Those are just the major characters. Minor annoyances are the lying and deceitful "best friend", the snooty housekeeper, and the piece d'resistance, the evil step-mother.
I wish I could say I bought the redemption of the heroine or some of the others, but I did not.
February 24, 2022
2 Everybody Sucks Stars
I have a feeling you’ll either love or hate this one. Bedded and Wedded for Revenge is an OTT, drama-llama second chance romance for reformed mean girl Gemma and Andreas, a self-made billionaire.
These two met when Andreas was a poor immigrant working as a bellboy at her dad’s hotel. He (for some insane reason) was head over heels in love with Gemma a mean-spirited, spoiled party girl that led him on for fun (while insulting all the other workers) then humiliated him by cruelly and publicly rejecting him. She also lied to her father that he sexually harassed her getting him fired and blacklisted in the industry. This forced Andreas to return to Italy with the bad news that he couldn’t pay his father’s debts which caused his dad to have a heart attack and die.
The book opens ten years later with Gemma having one week to marry or lose her inheritance. After her “fiancé” bails, Andreas steps in to take his place. Gemma is now nice and regretful for her former mean girl ways. Later, we learn this is because she was in a car accident that gave her a limp and a scar on her forehead… and date raped several years earlier. (we’ll revisit that later) My problem was instead of getting “Reformed Gemma” we get this…
Her memory returned with a rush of shame at how she had treated the young man who had tried so hard to please her all those years ago…. She inwardly cringed at how she had been back then. How could she have been so cruel?
‘I’m sorry…’ She lowered her gaze hoping he wouldn’t be able to read the lie for what it was. ‘I can’t remember…I—I had a serious car accident a few years ago. There are still parts of my memory missing.’
‘You’ve certainly come a long way from being a bellboy,’ she observed, covering her uneasiness with a glib tone. ‘What did you do? Win the lottery or something?’
And Andreas Trigliani was marrying her to give him a child, a child she could never give him. What would he do when he found out the truth?
Gemma reflects a lot about her old ways.
She recalled her taunting, despicable behavior with a deep pang of shame. She had been well aware of her father’s philosophy, but out of a perverse desire to inflict hurt on him had deliberately not adopted it herself.
She recalled every insult and every mocking laugh she’d shared with her shallow friends.
And she remembered each and every word of that one little lie she had told her father about Andreas, the little lie that had been blown out of all proportion, sending him home to Italy in disgrace.
Does she apologize for all these wrong doings?
He frowned again at her tone. ‘Look, Gemma, I understand this is difficult for you, but, after all, I am the one helping you, so the very least you could do is show some measure of enthusiasm.’ She lifted her dark blue eyes to his. ‘I am looking forward to having the money that is rightly mine to do with as I wish. If I am showing a little less enthusiasm than you require at sharing my life with a man I can’t even remember, then I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do to change that.
How about when he tells her about his father? Think she apologizes or shows compassion?
‘He died of a massive heart attack the following week. I’ve always imagined it was from the stress of my ignominious return without the money he needed to salvage the family’s financial situation.’
Why didn’t you try for another job at another hotel?”
How about when he tells her about her father?
A couple of years ago he called me out of the blue and apologized for his treatment of me. It was generous of him under the circumstances. "Why did he change his mind?" He no longer believed the other person’s account of what had happened,’ he answered after another momentary pause. ‘Apparently it hadn’t been the first time they had lied to him.’
“So… where is your family home in Italy?” she asked in a desperate attempt to redirect the conversation.
Or when she's angry because his housekeeper (the former hotel cleaning lady she mistreated) was nasty to her.
"Come now Gemma," he said. Have your lunch and leave your temper where it belongs- in the past.
‘I do not have a temper,’ she bit out through clenched teeth. His soft chuckle of laughter flicked the hair- trigger on her control. She got to her feet and, with a savage grasp of her hand at the edge of the starched white tablecloth, cleared the table with a shattering explosion of glass, cutlery and crockery onto the tiled floor below.
You get the picture. If that’s not bad enough. We have her BFF who lied and said she caused the accident and her stepmom who encouraged a man to get her drunk and take advantage of her. (he actually roofied and raped her)
My issue is this book is full of horrible people, and everything is excused for stupid reasons. Gemma was cruel, but it was because she wanted her dad to notice her. She lied to Andreas to get him to marry her, but it was justified because she wants to give her money to a battered woman. The BFF lied, but he was poor and paralyzed, so that makes it ok. The stepmom, who is HORRIBLE gets forgiven and apologized to because Gemma ruined her life… because her dad refused to have a kid with the stepmom since Gemma was such a terrible person. And the cherry on top of this shit-sundae is that there’s this underlying vibe that the rape was OK because Gemma was a total bitch and that getting raped somehow made her a kind person… which is ridiculous.
Bottom Line- I thought almost everybody sucked and I didn’t think any of them redeemed themselves. IMO, Gemma showed her true colors throughout the entire book, and the stepmom deserved MAJOR consequences. Andreas should’ve just moved back to Italy and washed his hands of everyone.
I have a feeling you’ll either love or hate this one. Bedded and Wedded for Revenge is an OTT, drama-llama second chance romance for reformed mean girl Gemma and Andreas, a self-made billionaire.
These two met when Andreas was a poor immigrant working as a bellboy at her dad’s hotel. He (for some insane reason) was head over heels in love with Gemma a mean-spirited, spoiled party girl that led him on for fun (while insulting all the other workers) then humiliated him by cruelly and publicly rejecting him. She also lied to her father that he sexually harassed her getting him fired and blacklisted in the industry. This forced Andreas to return to Italy with the bad news that he couldn’t pay his father’s debts which caused his dad to have a heart attack and die.
The book opens ten years later with Gemma having one week to marry or lose her inheritance. After her “fiancé” bails, Andreas steps in to take his place. Gemma is now nice and regretful for her former mean girl ways. Later, we learn this is because she was in a car accident that gave her a limp and a scar on her forehead… and date raped several years earlier. (we’ll revisit that later) My problem was instead of getting “Reformed Gemma” we get this…
Her memory returned with a rush of shame at how she had treated the young man who had tried so hard to please her all those years ago…. She inwardly cringed at how she had been back then. How could she have been so cruel?
‘I’m sorry…’ She lowered her gaze hoping he wouldn’t be able to read the lie for what it was. ‘I can’t remember…I—I had a serious car accident a few years ago. There are still parts of my memory missing.’
‘You’ve certainly come a long way from being a bellboy,’ she observed, covering her uneasiness with a glib tone. ‘What did you do? Win the lottery or something?’
And Andreas Trigliani was marrying her to give him a child, a child she could never give him. What would he do when he found out the truth?
Gemma reflects a lot about her old ways.
She recalled her taunting, despicable behavior with a deep pang of shame. She had been well aware of her father’s philosophy, but out of a perverse desire to inflict hurt on him had deliberately not adopted it herself.
She recalled every insult and every mocking laugh she’d shared with her shallow friends.
And she remembered each and every word of that one little lie she had told her father about Andreas, the little lie that had been blown out of all proportion, sending him home to Italy in disgrace.
Does she apologize for all these wrong doings?
He frowned again at her tone. ‘Look, Gemma, I understand this is difficult for you, but, after all, I am the one helping you, so the very least you could do is show some measure of enthusiasm.’ She lifted her dark blue eyes to his. ‘I am looking forward to having the money that is rightly mine to do with as I wish. If I am showing a little less enthusiasm than you require at sharing my life with a man I can’t even remember, then I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do to change that.
How about when he tells her about his father? Think she apologizes or shows compassion?
‘He died of a massive heart attack the following week. I’ve always imagined it was from the stress of my ignominious return without the money he needed to salvage the family’s financial situation.’
Why didn’t you try for another job at another hotel?”
How about when he tells her about her father?
A couple of years ago he called me out of the blue and apologized for his treatment of me. It was generous of him under the circumstances. "Why did he change his mind?" He no longer believed the other person’s account of what had happened,’ he answered after another momentary pause. ‘Apparently it hadn’t been the first time they had lied to him.’
“So… where is your family home in Italy?” she asked in a desperate attempt to redirect the conversation.
Or when she's angry because his housekeeper (the former hotel cleaning lady she mistreated) was nasty to her.
"Come now Gemma," he said. Have your lunch and leave your temper where it belongs- in the past.
‘I do not have a temper,’ she bit out through clenched teeth. His soft chuckle of laughter flicked the hair- trigger on her control. She got to her feet and, with a savage grasp of her hand at the edge of the starched white tablecloth, cleared the table with a shattering explosion of glass, cutlery and crockery onto the tiled floor below.
You get the picture. If that’s not bad enough. We have her BFF who lied and said she caused the accident and her stepmom who encouraged a man to get her drunk and take advantage of her. (he actually roofied and raped her)
My issue is this book is full of horrible people, and everything is excused for stupid reasons. Gemma was cruel, but it was because she wanted her dad to notice her. She lied to Andreas to get him to marry her, but it was justified because she wants to give her money to a battered woman. The BFF lied, but he was poor and paralyzed, so that makes it ok. The stepmom, who is HORRIBLE gets forgiven and apologized to because Gemma ruined her life… because her dad refused to have a kid with the stepmom since Gemma was such a terrible person. And the cherry on top of this shit-sundae is that there’s this underlying vibe that the rape was OK because Gemma was a total bitch and that getting raped somehow made her a kind person… which is ridiculous.
Bottom Line- I thought almost everybody sucked and I didn’t think any of them redeemed themselves. IMO, Gemma showed her true colors throughout the entire book, and the stepmom deserved MAJOR consequences. Andreas should’ve just moved back to Italy and washed his hands of everyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2022
Pre-review:
Again, I was lured to read this novel because of the pretty manga adaptation: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Outline of the story:
Years ago, Gemma was a shallow poor little rich girl who laughed at a bellboy's affection to her, but now years later, the will of Gemma's late estranged father demanded her to get married before her next birthday or lost her inheritance all together and Michael, her friend and intended bridegroom, had said goodbye to her unexpectedly, just days before the wedding.
Enters Andreas, the hapless bellboy from Gemma's past who now became a self-made hotel-chains owner, offered to marry Gemma on days notice and the young woman must accept the bargain or lose her late father's fortune entirely.
My thoughts:
At some point, I had Billy Idol's White Wedding Pt 1 playing in my mind when I read this.
And I appreciate that the hero of this story actually had a somewhat workable plan for revenge against the heroine (at least the plan is solid, on paper!)
Plus the heroine isn't some blushing virgin? That's good.
Well, it's a story centered on the topics of redemption and finding forgiveness, and somehow it works! The characters' change of heart is pretty believable and well crafted, plus I actually like how it's explained why the heroine .
Last but not least, I also like the role that the heroine's ex-fiancé played in the story.
However, , please tell them to seek professional help instead of dealing with it alone or waiting for true love to heal the broken heart. Please, pretty please.
PS: in the face of the WuHan virus pandemic, everyone please stay safe! Avoid crowded places, wear faceamasks or other protections when you go out, wash your hands often, work-from-home if you can, give support to your local medics, pressure your local government to take responsibility to safeguard your community if you must, and don't trust listen to people who tell you the virus isn't dangerous, these people do not have your best interest in their mind.
Again, I was lured to read this novel because of the pretty manga adaptation: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Outline of the story:
Years ago, Gemma was a shallow poor little rich girl who laughed at a bellboy's affection to her, but now years later, the will of Gemma's late estranged father demanded her to get married before her next birthday or lost her inheritance all together and Michael, her friend and intended bridegroom, had said goodbye to her unexpectedly, just days before the wedding.
Enters Andreas, the hapless bellboy from Gemma's past who now became a self-made hotel-chains owner, offered to marry Gemma on days notice and the young woman must accept the bargain or lose her late father's fortune entirely.
My thoughts:
At some point, I had Billy Idol's White Wedding Pt 1 playing in my mind when I read this.
Hey little sister, what have you done
Hey little sister, who's the only one
Hey little sister, who's your superman
Hey little sister, who's the one you want
Hey little sister, shotgun
It's a nice day to start again
It's a nice day for a white wedding
It's a nice day to start again
And I appreciate that the hero of this story actually had a somewhat workable plan for revenge against the heroine (at least the plan is solid, on paper!)
Plus the heroine isn't some blushing virgin? That's good.
Well, it's a story centered on the topics of redemption and finding forgiveness, and somehow it works! The characters' change of heart is pretty believable and well crafted, plus I actually like how it's explained why the heroine .
Last but not least, I also like the role that the heroine's ex-fiancé played in the story.
However, , please tell them to seek professional help instead of dealing with it alone or waiting for true love to heal the broken heart. Please, pretty please.
PS: in the face of the WuHan virus pandemic, everyone please stay safe! Avoid crowded places, wear faceamasks or other protections when you go out, wash your hands often, work-from-home if you can, give support to your local medics, pressure your local government to take responsibility to safeguard your community if you must, and don't trust listen to people who tell you the virus isn't dangerous, these people do not have your best interest in their mind.
August 16, 2013
Melanie Milburne is starting to win me over as an author. This is another book by her that I enjoyed and which also had a lot of character depth and emotional content that made it a deeper and meaningful read. Readers who long for a heroine who has made mistakes and wasn't always a nice person, would appreciate Gemma. Gemma was a mean girl growing up. She was sharp-tongued and bitter-spirited, lashing out because of her guilt, loneliness, and just plain feeling unloved for who she was. I really respected her for owning up to her past mistakes, and I felt that her journey was realistic and just plain heart-wrenching. Despite her mean acts as a teen, she didn't deserve what happened to her. She was betrayed by a person who should have been there for her, and that escalated into an even worse situation. But at the end, she was still able to forgive that persona and own up to her own wrongs. I respect her madly.
Andreas was a good guy. He started out wanting revenge against Gemma for the past, but he treats her very well from the beginning, even though he wants to get her back for her cruel rejection and the lie she told. He showed a lot of depth, and wasn't just the run of the mill Italian billionaire who can have any women he wants. I think he never stopped loving Gemma, and that love continued to motivate his actions towards her. He was the right man to give her heart to, and he proves it again and again.
This is one of those books you don't want to put down when you start reading it. Love that with Harlequin Presents books, because they are books you can finish in two hours if you are able to. When you get one that makes you want to dive in, and you're sad when it's over, it just feeds the desire to read more. Of course, I had to find and read more Harlequin Presents this weekend as a result.
I'm giving this 4.5/5.0 stars because this really was an excellent book. Definitely recommend it!
Andreas was a good guy. He started out wanting revenge against Gemma for the past, but he treats her very well from the beginning, even though he wants to get her back for her cruel rejection and the lie she told. He showed a lot of depth, and wasn't just the run of the mill Italian billionaire who can have any women he wants. I think he never stopped loving Gemma, and that love continued to motivate his actions towards her. He was the right man to give her heart to, and he proves it again and again.
This is one of those books you don't want to put down when you start reading it. Love that with Harlequin Presents books, because they are books you can finish in two hours if you are able to. When you get one that makes you want to dive in, and you're sad when it's over, it just feeds the desire to read more. Of course, I had to find and read more Harlequin Presents this weekend as a result.
I'm giving this 4.5/5.0 stars because this really was an excellent book. Definitely recommend it!
August 26, 2013
Well written story of a spoiled rich girl who was truly awful and who has truly changed. I loved her character and how repentant she was for the rotten way she behaved as a teenager. The hero was well done as a man who had been ruined by her antics and who had come back for revenge. You could tell he still loved her and was trying hard to keep his anger up in the face of all the changes he could see in her. Altogether a satisfying read.
October 19, 2014
Talk about an intense, emotional, and passionate story. Whew! It packed quick a big of a wallop for me. And it was just so good and I loved every minute of it.
I just really felt deeply for this book with a big part of that being the main character of Gemma. She broke my heart on so many levels and it pained me to see what this girl went through in her life. Now in the past was she a bit of a witch. Yes, and she even acknowledged the fact that she was and took responsibility for the fact that she was and she was deeply sorry for all the hurt she caused in those around here. She knew she was wrong and I really liked she admitted it and came to terms that she wasn't the nicest of person in the past, but she did everything in her power to change, which she did and became a better person because of that change and hated the person that she was. But even though it wasn't right, I could understand why she acted the way she did. She was a child and didn't know how to deal with the loss of her mother so she acted out and was a brat in order to get her father's attention in hopes that he would show his love for her, but it never really happened because he pushed her off to the side and sent her away while he set up with a new wife and live his life like he had no child or a deceased wife. He pushed out of his life for all intents in a purposes. That caused Gemma to become even angrier and act out more in order to punish her father and inflict hurt on him like he inflicted on him plus Gemma blamed her father for her mother's death believing that his work was number one while his family didn't rate with him. So she had all this built up anger towards him and needed to vent. He never really comforted her when her mother died or provided really and support or love towards her instead, like I said, he pushed her out of his life because she was difficult and married someone else then tried to force Gemma to have a relationship with her stepmother, which as you can imagine didn't go over well and that made her even angrier, but her father just didn't want to deal with all. She was just a wreck emotionally and angry and she put up this wall by acting like she was better than everyone else including a young Andreas, who was very much in love with her at the time, but she wasn't ready for that love because she had all these intense deep emotions going on. She shut people out, and did so with her haughty attitude so she could keep them at a distance for fear of being vulnerable to them and later getting hurt like her father did. Andreas could see how much hurt she was dealing with a tried to reach her and help her with his love, but again she wasn't ready to accept it (plus she was jealous of the fact that Andreas got more of her father's attention than she did and her father adored Andreas and not her so that didn't go over well either). In fact she rejected it in this cruelest way possible by using her haughtiness and accused him of attacking her to her father, who for the first time comforted her and fired Andreas on the spot and basically ruined his reputation as an "attacker of women." So the first person that actually seemed to care about she turned on. So yeah what she did to Andreas wasn't the right thing, but she didn't want him behind her walls or see her pain, which he threatened to do and saw more than her father ever did.
And if that wasn't bad enough then she went through even more painful stuff. I mean this girl went through the wringer and my heart really broke for her and I felt for her. I just felt so bad for her. First, during an argument with her father, where she was trying to tell him how her stepmother treated her and put her down where she developed this complex about herself that she wasn't good enough and then later on developed an eating a disorder because of it, and it was a heated argument where things were said, but the worse things that were said were from her father who said she wished she wasn't born and wished she died instead of her mother. That damaged her psyche even more and caused her to lash out even more at her father when he said those words, hiding her pain from him. It was just so harsh of a thing for him to say to her, and it pierced my heart and I cried a little bit when I read that part because I knew how much pain was really in her heart.
Next she was drugged and raped at her 21st birthday party, which diminished her trust in men not that she had a lot in the first plus but that put another layer of amour on her. Then when she told her dad what happened, he didn't believe her especially after she cried wolf with Andreas, who he father believed didn't attack her after the fact and felt bad for ruining his reputation and even called to apologize him. So once again she was alone to face her emotions and just the degradation that she felt as well as how violated she felt, and made her feel even more poorly about herself.
And that would have been enough to break any person at the point, but the pain in her life continued when she was in a car accident severely injured and without any memory of what happened. She believed she was the cause of the accident since it was her car and her fingerprints on the wheel. And adding to her guilt not only was she injured but her best friend Michael was also and found that he would be paralyzed for the rest of her life. So this dark cloud came over and guilt that she could hurt someone that she actually cared about, and felt that her injuries were punishment, as well as all the bad things that happened to her, for the way she behaved in the past. So she has massive guilt going on because of this accident and blamed herself fully. She was even charged with the crime but her father got her out of trouble so she wouldn't have to serve time. But it didn't stop her from blaming herself and her having a black cloud over her head so she choose to isolate herself away and be alone with the exception of Michael who she tried her best to make it up to him as much as she could, even though he didn't deserve it because he betrayed her not once but twice and really stabbed her in the heart.
So this girl had been dealt with some serious hurt and the pain was just palatable that could feel it ooze off the pages. I wanted to give her a big hug and let her cry and release all those pent up emotions going on inside of her. She just really sucker punched me in the gut, and I was praying that she would have a happy ending because she deserved it and deserved it especially to be happy with the man she loved Andreas, who came back into her life again.
Though I did feel like she fell too quickly in love with him or at least said it aloud, I did like the fact that she recognized the fact that she shouldn't have thrown away Andreas's love away so quickly or at least not have rejected him so cruelly when he was the best person for her at the time, who acted kindly and generously to her and would have given her the world if she gave it a chance, but she wasn't ready to. She used her cruelness as a shield so he couldn't get to her or get under her skin. At the time when he came into her life in the past, she hated herself and felt unworthy of love and respect because she got none from her father so she felt like she wasn't worth it, but Andreas saw her as so much more before she cruelly rejected him. Anyway in the present and when he came into her life again she recognized just what kind of guy he was. A special one. And one she should have given a shot and let her guard down with. Someone who would have been there when no one else was. She came to this realization as she got to know him more and more as the planned their marriage and later were married, and I did like she was falling deeper and deeper with him, I just think she acknowledged too quickly that she was falling in love with him and even admitted to him. But at the same time I could see that she was heading in that direction, but I didn't feel she was quite there yet.
Now Andreas came back into her life in hopes of exacting his revenge on her for all the hurt she caused him, one with her rejection, two her ruining his reputation in the hotel world that caused him to go home to Italy to his family and earn money his family needed, and thirdly he blamed her for his father's death. So he was intent on hurting her and hurt her badly not knowing all the hurt she had faced in the past and just how much pain she was holding inside of her. I didn't want to see that cruelness come from him especially since she had been hurt so much in the past, but soon enough I realized his plan for exacting revenge was for naught or was a half hearted attempt at most even though he did have in mind to do so. I think the only time his revenge came into play was after they made love for the first time then he got up from the bed and distanced himself from her, leaving her once again alone. She understood it and even thought she deserved it and suspected that he married her out of revenge but that didn't make the pain of him leaving her alone hurt any less. But other that he really didn't really get his revenge on her and was less harsh then I thought he would be as I read about their past. I thought their married was going to be a lot worse and he was going to be as cruel as she was in the past and that would have broke my heart for her even more. She was already empty and lonely inside, she didn't need anymore.
But really he was the complete opposite with her. He was caring. He was supportive. He listened to her when she spilled some of her deepest darkest secrets. He built up and called her beautiful every chance he got. And he was very attentive to her needs and wants. Plus he made it no secret that he was attracted to her and wanted her. He couldn't wait to make love to her whenever she could.
In fact he never really gave up his love for her, it was just buried under the surface with his mind for revenge just being the top layer and what he intended to focus on instead of the deeper emotions she inspired in him. But of coarse she wormed her way more and more into his heart as he saw for himself not only the changes that she went through and how she was trying to be a better person, but he also saw all the pain that had been inflicted both externally and internally. And soon he reacted to her vulnerability and let himself soften towards her even though he tried a couple time to harden his heart against her, but in reality he never stood a chance. He was still as ever in love with her as he was when he was 21. And I thought that was really a refreshing change to see that in the past that the guy was the one besotted and deeply in love with her heroine usually it's the other way around. And I liked seeing him being kind and trying to understand her and not take advantage of her in a flashback scene, but I also liked that he cared about her in the present despite what she did to him. Yes his original plans was for revenge, but that went out the window as soon as he saw her I think and acted tenderly towards her ever since. And I really liked seeing that it showed how much he loved her as well as the fact that he was a genuine guy. He was one of the good ones. He was very special just like Gemma came to realize and soon began to fall in love with him.
Even though he acted loving towards her, she didn't quite trust him and didn't fully let her guard down. She kept some secrets from him until the very end. True she deceived him in the beginning when she agreed to have his child because she knew she couldn't have children but she was trying to get the money so she could help a mother and her child from the monster the child's father was and who inflicted permanent damage on their child. Gemma wanted to protect them as much as possible, and I understood why she didn't totally trust Andreas and thought in the back of her mind that he was just after revenge when he agreed to marry her so she always had that possibility in her mind, which was a shame because I saw him as her rock she could count on. But I am glad he didn't hold it against her and understood why she did what she did. But I still felt for her that she felt she couldn't quite trust him despite him showing his kindness.
Now the love scenes. They were passionate and full of emotions. Now they weren't hottest scenes I've ever read but that didn't make them not satisfying from an emotional point of view. I liked seeing their passion for one another, and the ones presented in this novel worked really well I thought and I didn't care that they weren't extremely steamy or explicit. Now don't get me wrong they were hot enough and the emotions in those moments really packed a punch to them and it worked for the context of the story. There was plenty of intensity to it and it showed how they were developing this bond and building their relationship together. I actually loved the scenes they had together. I had no fault with them, which just shows that those scenes don't have too be scorching hot every time to be satisfying or be impactful because these scenes were very poignant especially to their relationship and showing how far she was coming in trusting him with her body in fact he was the first man she had been with since her rape. She trusted him and wanted him and reveled in their lovemaking and enjoyed every moment. In fact it was the first time she enjoyed intimacy with her other encounters with men being less than satisfying. With her being able to be with Andreas after her trauma just showed how important he was becoming in her life as well as her realizing that she was falling in love with him. She felt safe with him even though she knew she shouldn't. That lovemaking scene was so important and a powerful moment for both of them but for her especially. And I like when love scenes have that impact and punch to them because then it doesn't matter how hot they are because they are emotionally hot. It just worked really well for the story that I didn't mind the lack of extreme heat.
This story was just intense all around especially from her point of view. I don't know if I ever encountered a heroine that went through this much in her past/present as well as going through the gambit of emotions that she faced in this novel. A novel that was less than 200 pages all packed in and providing a really powerful punch to it. And I felt so much during this story like I said above and felt for her. I wanted her to get that happily ever after with the man she loved. She changed and grew from the past and had major sufferings throughout that can't be taken lightly. I liked that she had the realization that she had to change and that she was wrong in how she treated people in the past. I just loved seeing her character arc, and she made me cry and really got to me emotionally. That's why I think love this book so much was that it touched me on such a deep emotional level that I couldn't help but root for her to get love in her life after a lifetime of loneliness. Just I loved seeing her story being told.
Plus it didn't hurt that I loved Andreas as well. I just loved him as a character and was so glad that he abandoned his plans for revenge pretty quickly as he came to get to know her all over again and saw the change in her and saw the broken, vulnerable woman that she really was. I think he was the only man that could have gotten and helped her through her trauma that had been handed to her during her life. He was just sweetheart that had a huge heart and was caring and sweet to her.
In summary I just loved this book. I loved the emotional intensity. I loved the character arcs. I loved how their relationship played out. This book just really got to me and affected me in an emotional way. I cried. I hurt for her. I hurt for him as well. I loved how she finally found the safety that love can provide. It was just a really well done and well written story. Even though there wasn't a lot of romance, I was okay with it because the emotional intensity more than made up for it and made the book very satisfying and something I deeply enjoyed. Bravo Melanie Milburne. I loved the journey that you took me on as well as the love story between Gemma and Andreas. That's how you do it.
I just really felt deeply for this book with a big part of that being the main character of Gemma. She broke my heart on so many levels and it pained me to see what this girl went through in her life. Now in the past was she a bit of a witch. Yes, and she even acknowledged the fact that she was and took responsibility for the fact that she was and she was deeply sorry for all the hurt she caused in those around here. She knew she was wrong and I really liked she admitted it and came to terms that she wasn't the nicest of person in the past, but she did everything in her power to change, which she did and became a better person because of that change and hated the person that she was. But even though it wasn't right, I could understand why she acted the way she did. She was a child and didn't know how to deal with the loss of her mother so she acted out and was a brat in order to get her father's attention in hopes that he would show his love for her, but it never really happened because he pushed her off to the side and sent her away while he set up with a new wife and live his life like he had no child or a deceased wife. He pushed out of his life for all intents in a purposes. That caused Gemma to become even angrier and act out more in order to punish her father and inflict hurt on him like he inflicted on him plus Gemma blamed her father for her mother's death believing that his work was number one while his family didn't rate with him. So she had all this built up anger towards him and needed to vent. He never really comforted her when her mother died or provided really and support or love towards her instead, like I said, he pushed her out of his life because she was difficult and married someone else then tried to force Gemma to have a relationship with her stepmother, which as you can imagine didn't go over well and that made her even angrier, but her father just didn't want to deal with all. She was just a wreck emotionally and angry and she put up this wall by acting like she was better than everyone else including a young Andreas, who was very much in love with her at the time, but she wasn't ready for that love because she had all these intense deep emotions going on. She shut people out, and did so with her haughty attitude so she could keep them at a distance for fear of being vulnerable to them and later getting hurt like her father did. Andreas could see how much hurt she was dealing with a tried to reach her and help her with his love, but again she wasn't ready to accept it (plus she was jealous of the fact that Andreas got more of her father's attention than she did and her father adored Andreas and not her so that didn't go over well either). In fact she rejected it in this cruelest way possible by using her haughtiness and accused him of attacking her to her father, who for the first time comforted her and fired Andreas on the spot and basically ruined his reputation as an "attacker of women." So the first person that actually seemed to care about she turned on. So yeah what she did to Andreas wasn't the right thing, but she didn't want him behind her walls or see her pain, which he threatened to do and saw more than her father ever did.
And if that wasn't bad enough then she went through even more painful stuff. I mean this girl went through the wringer and my heart really broke for her and I felt for her. I just felt so bad for her. First, during an argument with her father, where she was trying to tell him how her stepmother treated her and put her down where she developed this complex about herself that she wasn't good enough and then later on developed an eating a disorder because of it, and it was a heated argument where things were said, but the worse things that were said were from her father who said she wished she wasn't born and wished she died instead of her mother. That damaged her psyche even more and caused her to lash out even more at her father when he said those words, hiding her pain from him. It was just so harsh of a thing for him to say to her, and it pierced my heart and I cried a little bit when I read that part because I knew how much pain was really in her heart.
Next she was drugged and raped at her 21st birthday party, which diminished her trust in men not that she had a lot in the first plus but that put another layer of amour on her. Then when she told her dad what happened, he didn't believe her especially after she cried wolf with Andreas, who he father believed didn't attack her after the fact and felt bad for ruining his reputation and even called to apologize him. So once again she was alone to face her emotions and just the degradation that she felt as well as how violated she felt, and made her feel even more poorly about herself.
And that would have been enough to break any person at the point, but the pain in her life continued when she was in a car accident severely injured and without any memory of what happened. She believed she was the cause of the accident since it was her car and her fingerprints on the wheel. And adding to her guilt not only was she injured but her best friend Michael was also and found that he would be paralyzed for the rest of her life. So this dark cloud came over and guilt that she could hurt someone that she actually cared about, and felt that her injuries were punishment, as well as all the bad things that happened to her, for the way she behaved in the past. So she has massive guilt going on because of this accident and blamed herself fully. She was even charged with the crime but her father got her out of trouble so she wouldn't have to serve time. But it didn't stop her from blaming herself and her having a black cloud over her head so she choose to isolate herself away and be alone with the exception of Michael who she tried her best to make it up to him as much as she could, even though he didn't deserve it because he betrayed her not once but twice and really stabbed her in the heart.
So this girl had been dealt with some serious hurt and the pain was just palatable that could feel it ooze off the pages. I wanted to give her a big hug and let her cry and release all those pent up emotions going on inside of her. She just really sucker punched me in the gut, and I was praying that she would have a happy ending because she deserved it and deserved it especially to be happy with the man she loved Andreas, who came back into her life again.
Though I did feel like she fell too quickly in love with him or at least said it aloud, I did like the fact that she recognized the fact that she shouldn't have thrown away Andreas's love away so quickly or at least not have rejected him so cruelly when he was the best person for her at the time, who acted kindly and generously to her and would have given her the world if she gave it a chance, but she wasn't ready to. She used her cruelness as a shield so he couldn't get to her or get under her skin. At the time when he came into her life in the past, she hated herself and felt unworthy of love and respect because she got none from her father so she felt like she wasn't worth it, but Andreas saw her as so much more before she cruelly rejected him. Anyway in the present and when he came into her life again she recognized just what kind of guy he was. A special one. And one she should have given a shot and let her guard down with. Someone who would have been there when no one else was. She came to this realization as she got to know him more and more as the planned their marriage and later were married, and I did like she was falling deeper and deeper with him, I just think she acknowledged too quickly that she was falling in love with him and even admitted to him. But at the same time I could see that she was heading in that direction, but I didn't feel she was quite there yet.
Now Andreas came back into her life in hopes of exacting his revenge on her for all the hurt she caused him, one with her rejection, two her ruining his reputation in the hotel world that caused him to go home to Italy to his family and earn money his family needed, and thirdly he blamed her for his father's death. So he was intent on hurting her and hurt her badly not knowing all the hurt she had faced in the past and just how much pain she was holding inside of her. I didn't want to see that cruelness come from him especially since she had been hurt so much in the past, but soon enough I realized his plan for exacting revenge was for naught or was a half hearted attempt at most even though he did have in mind to do so. I think the only time his revenge came into play was after they made love for the first time then he got up from the bed and distanced himself from her, leaving her once again alone. She understood it and even thought she deserved it and suspected that he married her out of revenge but that didn't make the pain of him leaving her alone hurt any less. But other that he really didn't really get his revenge on her and was less harsh then I thought he would be as I read about their past. I thought their married was going to be a lot worse and he was going to be as cruel as she was in the past and that would have broke my heart for her even more. She was already empty and lonely inside, she didn't need anymore.
But really he was the complete opposite with her. He was caring. He was supportive. He listened to her when she spilled some of her deepest darkest secrets. He built up and called her beautiful every chance he got. And he was very attentive to her needs and wants. Plus he made it no secret that he was attracted to her and wanted her. He couldn't wait to make love to her whenever she could.
In fact he never really gave up his love for her, it was just buried under the surface with his mind for revenge just being the top layer and what he intended to focus on instead of the deeper emotions she inspired in him. But of coarse she wormed her way more and more into his heart as he saw for himself not only the changes that she went through and how she was trying to be a better person, but he also saw all the pain that had been inflicted both externally and internally. And soon he reacted to her vulnerability and let himself soften towards her even though he tried a couple time to harden his heart against her, but in reality he never stood a chance. He was still as ever in love with her as he was when he was 21. And I thought that was really a refreshing change to see that in the past that the guy was the one besotted and deeply in love with her heroine usually it's the other way around. And I liked seeing him being kind and trying to understand her and not take advantage of her in a flashback scene, but I also liked that he cared about her in the present despite what she did to him. Yes his original plans was for revenge, but that went out the window as soon as he saw her I think and acted tenderly towards her ever since. And I really liked seeing that it showed how much he loved her as well as the fact that he was a genuine guy. He was one of the good ones. He was very special just like Gemma came to realize and soon began to fall in love with him.
Even though he acted loving towards her, she didn't quite trust him and didn't fully let her guard down. She kept some secrets from him until the very end. True she deceived him in the beginning when she agreed to have his child because she knew she couldn't have children but she was trying to get the money so she could help a mother and her child from the monster the child's father was and who inflicted permanent damage on their child. Gemma wanted to protect them as much as possible, and I understood why she didn't totally trust Andreas and thought in the back of her mind that he was just after revenge when he agreed to marry her so she always had that possibility in her mind, which was a shame because I saw him as her rock she could count on. But I am glad he didn't hold it against her and understood why she did what she did. But I still felt for her that she felt she couldn't quite trust him despite him showing his kindness.
Now the love scenes. They were passionate and full of emotions. Now they weren't hottest scenes I've ever read but that didn't make them not satisfying from an emotional point of view. I liked seeing their passion for one another, and the ones presented in this novel worked really well I thought and I didn't care that they weren't extremely steamy or explicit. Now don't get me wrong they were hot enough and the emotions in those moments really packed a punch to them and it worked for the context of the story. There was plenty of intensity to it and it showed how they were developing this bond and building their relationship together. I actually loved the scenes they had together. I had no fault with them, which just shows that those scenes don't have too be scorching hot every time to be satisfying or be impactful because these scenes were very poignant especially to their relationship and showing how far she was coming in trusting him with her body in fact he was the first man she had been with since her rape. She trusted him and wanted him and reveled in their lovemaking and enjoyed every moment. In fact it was the first time she enjoyed intimacy with her other encounters with men being less than satisfying. With her being able to be with Andreas after her trauma just showed how important he was becoming in her life as well as her realizing that she was falling in love with him. She felt safe with him even though she knew she shouldn't. That lovemaking scene was so important and a powerful moment for both of them but for her especially. And I like when love scenes have that impact and punch to them because then it doesn't matter how hot they are because they are emotionally hot. It just worked really well for the story that I didn't mind the lack of extreme heat.
This story was just intense all around especially from her point of view. I don't know if I ever encountered a heroine that went through this much in her past/present as well as going through the gambit of emotions that she faced in this novel. A novel that was less than 200 pages all packed in and providing a really powerful punch to it. And I felt so much during this story like I said above and felt for her. I wanted her to get that happily ever after with the man she loved. She changed and grew from the past and had major sufferings throughout that can't be taken lightly. I liked that she had the realization that she had to change and that she was wrong in how she treated people in the past. I just loved seeing her character arc, and she made me cry and really got to me emotionally. That's why I think love this book so much was that it touched me on such a deep emotional level that I couldn't help but root for her to get love in her life after a lifetime of loneliness. Just I loved seeing her story being told.
Plus it didn't hurt that I loved Andreas as well. I just loved him as a character and was so glad that he abandoned his plans for revenge pretty quickly as he came to get to know her all over again and saw the change in her and saw the broken, vulnerable woman that she really was. I think he was the only man that could have gotten and helped her through her trauma that had been handed to her during her life. He was just sweetheart that had a huge heart and was caring and sweet to her.
In summary I just loved this book. I loved the emotional intensity. I loved the character arcs. I loved how their relationship played out. This book just really got to me and affected me in an emotional way. I cried. I hurt for her. I hurt for him as well. I loved how she finally found the safety that love can provide. It was just a really well done and well written story. Even though there wasn't a lot of romance, I was okay with it because the emotional intensity more than made up for it and made the book very satisfying and something I deeply enjoyed. Bravo Melanie Milburne. I loved the journey that you took me on as well as the love story between Gemma and Andreas. That's how you do it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2020
It was good but not good enough...it couldn't reach the potential of the premise..all the plots where there to make this a great book but they werent explored properly. I could not end without saying something about the H, he was an afterthought,less than that
August 28, 2012
This is a lovely story of love and redemption between two people who thought it would never happen. Gemma had been a spoiled little rich girl, acting out against her father and stepmother after the loss of her own mother at ten years old.
In the cross fire of this behaviour, young Andreas, an Italian backpacker working in her fathers hotel who fell in love with her, took a hit when Gemma accused him of trying to assault her.
Ten years later and much has changed. Fate has ensured that Gemma pay for the false accusation in a way that has left emotional scars. As if that weren't enough, a car accident has left her physically scarred and with an abiding sense of guilt for the paralysis of the young man in the car.
Andreas turns up at the eleventh hour when Gemma needs a husband to ensure her inheriting her father's estate. He has justice on his side when seeking revenge but he is disconcerted by the changes he sees in the formerly arrogant party girl.
This story tells the moving and emotional journey the two go on through their marriage of convenience. Lies and evasions and dark memories complicate things and it takes some pretty radical revelations to clear the air for the HEA.
Andreas is an adorable, gentle and loving hero right from the start. We see that he's not really the harsh avenger he would like to be.
Gemma almost immediately responds to him and sees the man she should have seen all those years ago in the young man she so abused.
In the cross fire of this behaviour, young Andreas, an Italian backpacker working in her fathers hotel who fell in love with her, took a hit when Gemma accused him of trying to assault her.
Ten years later and much has changed. Fate has ensured that Gemma pay for the false accusation in a way that has left emotional scars. As if that weren't enough, a car accident has left her physically scarred and with an abiding sense of guilt for the paralysis of the young man in the car.
Andreas turns up at the eleventh hour when Gemma needs a husband to ensure her inheriting her father's estate. He has justice on his side when seeking revenge but he is disconcerted by the changes he sees in the formerly arrogant party girl.
This story tells the moving and emotional journey the two go on through their marriage of convenience. Lies and evasions and dark memories complicate things and it takes some pretty radical revelations to clear the air for the HEA.
Andreas is an adorable, gentle and loving hero right from the start. We see that he's not really the harsh avenger he would like to be.
Gemma almost immediately responds to him and sees the man she should have seen all those years ago in the young man she so abused.
February 28, 2012
3 ½ Stars! ~~~ As an impressionable young man, Andreas had been devastated by Gemma's rejection and cruel lies that brought shame to his family name. Now ten years later, he's in a position to wrack his revenge. He'll help Gemma retain her inheritance, but she'll pay for her teenage cruelty. The shock of the matter is, that Andreas discovers a woman who has been punishing herself for years already. Where is the spoiled rich girl that used to taunt him?
This is a compelling read about a revenge plot that goes awry, for when Andreas arrives to finally enact his revenge it's too late. Gemma's a tortured soul, determined to pay for her mistakes and is already on a path of self destruction. She's well aware that Andreas wants his pound of flesh. As all the secrets and lies and tragedies of the past unravel, both realize that all could have been so much different if only they'd had that one kiss so many years ago. This is a moving lovestory of a young woman wracked with emotional turmoil over the mistakes from her youth. Surprisingly it's the man she once destroyed that becomes her saviour. Theirs is a heart-wrenching journey, with a well deserved HEA.
This is a compelling read about a revenge plot that goes awry, for when Andreas arrives to finally enact his revenge it's too late. Gemma's a tortured soul, determined to pay for her mistakes and is already on a path of self destruction. She's well aware that Andreas wants his pound of flesh. As all the secrets and lies and tragedies of the past unravel, both realize that all could have been so much different if only they'd had that one kiss so many years ago. This is a moving lovestory of a young woman wracked with emotional turmoil over the mistakes from her youth. Surprisingly it's the man she once destroyed that becomes her saviour. Theirs is a heart-wrenching journey, with a well deserved HEA.
February 25, 2013
very intense story..showed how karma got back at gemma. how she got raped, how she got crippled, how her so-called friends left her when she was at her lowest. infact everyone disliked her intensely because she was a BITCH. even andreas married her for revenge and he had good cause but he never did anything mean to her. he could not bring himself to, think he never stopped loving her. he loved her right back when she was that bitch and 10 years later when she had a complete personality change he loved her still. it was a formidable read..how she transformed from that spoilt sluting first class bitch into someone nice, vulnerable and sensitive..someone with a conscience. someone kind. unbelievable !! the journey was hard and you got what you deserved but you made it emma. and i'm proud of you !! hats off to melanie milburne. she finally did it.best book i read so far by her
February 29, 2020
So, mixed feeling with this one. I did like different heroine! Not a doormat, not self conscious for no reason, not perfectly virginal, one who has depth, one who has reasons for the behavior(even though not many people grasped that, she did at least) and who has made mistakes and attempting to atone for them. That is interesting to read about. The heroes are the ones who get the torture and angst and growth, so to see it flipped was nice and refreshing. The author, even though it was stated, treated the heroine badly because she wasn't 'virginal, and liked to party' and that I don't agree with. You've had sex, so oop you raped. You drank sometimes, so ooop car crash leaving you and a friend permanently injured. Just whoa. Slow down with your punishment of female sexuality and choices. The hero, bless his heart, is just kinda a plot device, and bank. I did like, the second he remet the heroine, even though he might not have realized it at the time, he couldn't go through with his revenge fantasies. And that was a wondering thing. Wish this evil witch stepmother was up in this book, nope she like this shadow we meet in the last chapter annnnnd all is well. I know, no one is gonna admit this but I say this is about 70% bad fathering. Just saying. I'd say read but be prepared to be conflicted all the way through.
May 11, 2018
3.75*
I am surprised by the depth of feelings this book invoked! I was totally expecting a fluffy and easy read but there's so much feels!
Gemma was like an anti-hero. The more we know how she was in the past, the less we liked her...by right. Yet we also found out why she did what she did, why she was how she was, the more we sympathised with her.
She was terrible as a teen, after losing her perfect mother, got a young stepmother, and a negligent father with shallow "friends" hanging around for the good times. But nothing she did was out of wicked and evil intentions...it was a cry for attention and love she never got.
Gemma was really b!tchy and mean to Andreas back then, because she was jealous he got the attention her father never gave her. What she did to Andreas was not premeditated, and nobody, not even Andreas expected the tragic consequences, leading to his father's death and him working so hard to settle the family debts before making it big. From a debt ridden 21 year-old to billionaire in a decade, unbelievable! But this is Mills&Boon land hehe...
Andreas might have had revenge on his mind when he came back for her, but at no point was he cruel, nasty or even rude to her. Actions spoke much louder than words or thoughts here!
The transformation of Gemma from spoilt brat to insecure cripple, who's more mature and selfless, was amazing to read. How she forgave her stepmother was incredible. Gemma was a "Mean Girl" but no way did she deserve all the bad things that had happened to her. Her stepmother deserved pity for not having the child she had wanted but her constant mental abuse and sabotage of father and daughter relationship was terrible...what she did on Gemma's 21st birthday party was too horrible for words, and the cover up later and deception unconscionable. Her daring to contest the will, despite knowing Gemma's father probably did not leave her anything was because he knew she was having an affair, was pure shamelessness!
So Gemma was really the greater person for forgiving her so easily. Gemma was not blameless but again, she did not deserve the bad things that had happened to her.
Andreas was likeable all the way, so different from the usual alpha a$$hole heroes bent on revenge.
I am surprised by the depth of feelings this book invoked! I was totally expecting a fluffy and easy read but there's so much feels!
Gemma was like an anti-hero. The more we know how she was in the past, the less we liked her...by right. Yet we also found out why she did what she did, why she was how she was, the more we sympathised with her.
She was terrible as a teen, after losing her perfect mother, got a young stepmother, and a negligent father with shallow "friends" hanging around for the good times. But nothing she did was out of wicked and evil intentions...it was a cry for attention and love she never got.
Gemma was really b!tchy and mean to Andreas back then, because she was jealous he got the attention her father never gave her. What she did to Andreas was not premeditated, and nobody, not even Andreas expected the tragic consequences, leading to his father's death and him working so hard to settle the family debts before making it big. From a debt ridden 21 year-old to billionaire in a decade, unbelievable! But this is Mills&Boon land hehe...
Andreas might have had revenge on his mind when he came back for her, but at no point was he cruel, nasty or even rude to her. Actions spoke much louder than words or thoughts here!
The transformation of Gemma from spoilt brat to insecure cripple, who's more mature and selfless, was amazing to read. How she forgave her stepmother was incredible. Gemma was a "Mean Girl" but no way did she deserve all the bad things that had happened to her. Her stepmother deserved pity for not having the child she had wanted but her constant mental abuse and sabotage of father and daughter relationship was terrible...what she did on Gemma's 21st birthday party was too horrible for words, and the cover up later and deception unconscionable. Her daring to contest the will, despite knowing Gemma's father probably did not leave her anything was because he knew she was having an affair, was pure shamelessness!
So Gemma was really the greater person for forgiving her so easily. Gemma was not blameless but again, she did not deserve the bad things that had happened to her.
Andreas was likeable all the way, so different from the usual alpha a$$hole heroes bent on revenge.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2018
I really enjoyed this story. The ending tied up a lot of things. The best part was the very last sentence. :)
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July 13, 2024
Bastante mala la historia y su deselance
June 30, 2013
I enjoyed this book. I try to avoid books about heiresses but this one is exceptional because it's a story about a rich girl who's changed for the better after series of misfortunes -- from being neglected by her father, to being raped then a car accident. Now a changed woman, Gemma sought out to correct her past mistakes by helping people at the shelter, without getting paid. She's gone accustomed over the years to a regular life without staff and all. To me it's kinda hard to believe a socialite can resort to that kind of living standards but the author pulled it off. I enjoy much of Melanie M. books. I think there were only 1 or 2 that I'm not too too sold but in general I enjoy her writing style.
July 23, 2021
This is actually a pretty nice H, even though he wants some sort of revenge for the humiliation she put him through 10 years before.
The h has had an accident, she now has a light scar on her face, she limps a bit and she can’t have children, but he loves her anyway. It’s so sweet that it all doesn’t matter to him and that the only thing he wants is to be with her. He’s a good man.
The stepmother is pure evil for arranging for her teenage stepdaughter to get raped. But in the end the h tells her stepmother that she is sorry that she used to be a difficult child and that her stepmother can have anything she wants out of her inheritance. Huh?? No matter how difficult she was as a child, that doesn’t excuse rape.
The h has had an accident, she now has a light scar on her face, she limps a bit and she can’t have children, but he loves her anyway. It’s so sweet that it all doesn’t matter to him and that the only thing he wants is to be with her. He’s a good man.
The stepmother is pure evil for arranging for her teenage stepdaughter to get raped. But in the end the h tells her stepmother that she is sorry that she used to be a difficult child and that her stepmother can have anything she wants out of her inheritance. Huh?? No matter how difficult she was as a child, that doesn’t excuse rape.
January 12, 2015
awesome
December 1, 2016
"A story without emotion is like eating cardboard."
YEP
So rushed, so boring, so meh.
YEP
So rushed, so boring, so meh.
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