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The Dimitriades Brothers #1
A Passionate Surrender
The marriage seduction!
Ana had secretly hoped her marriage of convenience to Luc Dimitriades would turn into the real thing, yet one year after exchanging their vows he still seemed susceptible to the charms of his ex-mistress. Holding her head high, Ana knew she had to leave.
Luc wasn't prepared to let his wife go. In fact, he seemed determined to blackmail her back into his bed! Ana fought to resist his passionate persuasion, but Luc held one last trump card: he knew she was carrying his child....
Ana had secretly hoped her marriage of convenience to Luc Dimitriades would turn into the real thing, yet one year after exchanging their vows he still seemed susceptible to the charms of his ex-mistress. Holding her head high, Ana knew she had to leave.
Luc wasn't prepared to let his wife go. In fact, he seemed determined to blackmail her back into his bed! Ana fought to resist his passionate persuasion, but Luc held one last trump card: he knew she was carrying his child....
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2002
About the author
Helen Bianchin
383 books231 followersHelen Shirley was born on February 20 1939 in New Zealand, where she grew up, an only child possessed by a vivid imagination and a love for reading. She wrote stories for amusement in her early teenage years, and when she left leaving school, she took a secretarial job at a father-and-son legal firm.
At age twenty-one Helen joined a girlfriend and embarked on a working holiday in Australia, travelling via cruise ship from Auckland to Melbourne. Alas, no shipboard romance, as she spent all four days in her cabin suffering from sea-sickness! After fifteen months working in Melbourne, Helen and her friend bought a vehicle and took three months to drive the length and breadth of Australia, choosing to work in Cairns in order to fund the final leg of our journey to Sydney.
It was in Cairns that Helen met her future husband, Danilo Bianchin, an Italian immigrant from Treviso. He was a tobacco sharefarmer from the tobacco farming community of Mareeba. His English was pitiful, and her command of Italian was nil. Six months later they married, and Helen was flung into cooking for up to nine tobacco pickers, stringing tobacco, feeding 200 chickens, a few turkeys, ducks... plus killing, cleaning and cooking the same! Her knowledge of Italian improved, and there were hilarious moments in retrospect. Some of what she endured was cooking on a wood-burning stove, having no running hot water, a primitive shower and toilet facilities, washing uniforms for two soccer teams during the soccer season... floods, horrendous hailstone damage to tobacco crops, hardship, and the stillbirth of their first child. Then, to their joy, Helen's daughter, Lucia, was born. Three years later the couple returned to New Zealand, where they settled for sixteen years. During those early years, they added two sons, Angelo and Peter, to the family.
With multiple anecdotes of farm life in an Italian community to friends, the idea of writing a book occurred. A romance, set on a tobacco farm in Australia's far north, Queensland, featuring an Italian hero. Helen says, "the background was authentic, believe me!" However the hero was rich and owned the farm artistic license! It took her a year to complete a passable manuscript, typed on a portable typewriter at the dining room table. That first effort was deemed too short with insufficient detail. Helen rewrote it. This time it was considered too long with too much extraneous detail. She revised, then sent it to London. Four months later she received a telegram from Alan Boon (Mills & Boon) to say they intended to publish and a contract would be sent in the mail. It was the most wonderful news!
Helen wrote ten more books while living in New Zealand, then in 1981, her family resettled in Australia, on Queensland's Gold Coast. She has since published twenty-five more books. Today, with computer technology, the mechanics of writing are much easier. However, the writing process doesn't change. Helen says that she's having a good day if she can achieve 5 good pages, which she is likely to change, edit and rewrite the following day.
She loves creating characters, giving them life and providing a situation where their emotions are tested and love wins out. For her, the greatest praise is for a reader to say they couldn't put the book down... then Helen knows that she has achieved what she set out to do -- "create a moving enjoyable story which holds the reader entertained from beginning to end."
Helen's hobbies are tennis, table-tennis, judo, reading. She loves movies, and leads an active social life.
At age twenty-one Helen joined a girlfriend and embarked on a working holiday in Australia, travelling via cruise ship from Auckland to Melbourne. Alas, no shipboard romance, as she spent all four days in her cabin suffering from sea-sickness! After fifteen months working in Melbourne, Helen and her friend bought a vehicle and took three months to drive the length and breadth of Australia, choosing to work in Cairns in order to fund the final leg of our journey to Sydney.
It was in Cairns that Helen met her future husband, Danilo Bianchin, an Italian immigrant from Treviso. He was a tobacco sharefarmer from the tobacco farming community of Mareeba. His English was pitiful, and her command of Italian was nil. Six months later they married, and Helen was flung into cooking for up to nine tobacco pickers, stringing tobacco, feeding 200 chickens, a few turkeys, ducks... plus killing, cleaning and cooking the same! Her knowledge of Italian improved, and there were hilarious moments in retrospect. Some of what she endured was cooking on a wood-burning stove, having no running hot water, a primitive shower and toilet facilities, washing uniforms for two soccer teams during the soccer season... floods, horrendous hailstone damage to tobacco crops, hardship, and the stillbirth of their first child. Then, to their joy, Helen's daughter, Lucia, was born. Three years later the couple returned to New Zealand, where they settled for sixteen years. During those early years, they added two sons, Angelo and Peter, to the family.
With multiple anecdotes of farm life in an Italian community to friends, the idea of writing a book occurred. A romance, set on a tobacco farm in Australia's far north, Queensland, featuring an Italian hero. Helen says, "the background was authentic, believe me!" However the hero was rich and owned the farm artistic license! It took her a year to complete a passable manuscript, typed on a portable typewriter at the dining room table. That first effort was deemed too short with insufficient detail. Helen rewrote it. This time it was considered too long with too much extraneous detail. She revised, then sent it to London. Four months later she received a telegram from Alan Boon (Mills & Boon) to say they intended to publish and a contract would be sent in the mail. It was the most wonderful news!
Helen wrote ten more books while living in New Zealand, then in 1981, her family resettled in Australia, on Queensland's Gold Coast. She has since published twenty-five more books. Today, with computer technology, the mechanics of writing are much easier. However, the writing process doesn't change. Helen says that she's having a good day if she can achieve 5 good pages, which she is likely to change, edit and rewrite the following day.
She loves creating characters, giving them life and providing a situation where their emotions are tested and love wins out. For her, the greatest praise is for a reader to say they couldn't put the book down... then Helen knows that she has achieved what she set out to do -- "create a moving enjoyable story which holds the reader entertained from beginning to end."
Helen's hobbies are tennis, table-tennis, judo, reading. She loves movies, and leads an active social life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
January 5, 2020
Re A Passionate Surrender - Helen Bianchin gives us her standard HP day at the office.
The H and h have been married for about a year and the h is now expecting a stork visit. But as per the HB playbook, a lover from the H's past is starting drama and the h is tired of it.
So when the story starts, the h has dumped his hiney and moved to the Gold Coast.
The H had been married years earlier to his childhood BFF and then she died after a few months of marriage. He never thought to marry again, but he met the h - who is the daughter of one of his executives- and decided that she was the one for him.
Unfortunately, he never actually tells the h in English that he is really into her, so she has spent the last year waiting for the H's purple passion mojo to fade and the Evil Ex OW isn't helping matters any.
The H decides that 9 days without his girl is too long, so he hies himself over to the Gold Coast and blackmails the h into returning to Sydney with him.
(HB throws out that the h's dad misappropriated funds from the H and thus the HP Blackmail requirement is satisfied.)
We all go back to Sydney and do the usual HB High Society shindigs with OW meetings in the Ladies Room. We also get the lead up to the next book, where the h's sister is pimped out to the H's cousin.
Eventually the Evil OW physically attacks the h in her flower shop. (The OW had deliberately messed up a flower order and then tromped into the h's shop to complain. The h told her that she was in the wrong, cause the h and her sister had investigated, and the OW swept a glass vase off the counter and pushed the h right onto it.)
The h has to go to hospital, she needs stitches, with the H storming in a few hours later and vowing vengeance. Unfortunately we don't actually get any details of the H's Grand Plan O' Vengeance - but he vows there will be legal action involved.
Then the H sweeps the h off to the Coast where he avows his True Love Forever for the h on the beach. The h has been mopeying around this whole time cause she thinks the H did not love her and she rapturously avows her True Love Forever Back.
We leave the two of them finally communicating and deliriously happy and the H's cousin finally managed to score a dinner date with the h's sister to lead us to the next book.
The H and h have been married for about a year and the h is now expecting a stork visit. But as per the HB playbook, a lover from the H's past is starting drama and the h is tired of it.
So when the story starts, the h has dumped his hiney and moved to the Gold Coast.
The H had been married years earlier to his childhood BFF and then she died after a few months of marriage. He never thought to marry again, but he met the h - who is the daughter of one of his executives- and decided that she was the one for him.
Unfortunately, he never actually tells the h in English that he is really into her, so she has spent the last year waiting for the H's purple passion mojo to fade and the Evil Ex OW isn't helping matters any.
The H decides that 9 days without his girl is too long, so he hies himself over to the Gold Coast and blackmails the h into returning to Sydney with him.
(HB throws out that the h's dad misappropriated funds from the H and thus the HP Blackmail requirement is satisfied.)
We all go back to Sydney and do the usual HB High Society shindigs with OW meetings in the Ladies Room. We also get the lead up to the next book, where the h's sister is pimped out to the H's cousin.
Eventually the Evil OW physically attacks the h in her flower shop. (The OW had deliberately messed up a flower order and then tromped into the h's shop to complain. The h told her that she was in the wrong, cause the h and her sister had investigated, and the OW swept a glass vase off the counter and pushed the h right onto it.)
The h has to go to hospital, she needs stitches, with the H storming in a few hours later and vowing vengeance. Unfortunately we don't actually get any details of the H's Grand Plan O' Vengeance - but he vows there will be legal action involved.
Then the H sweeps the h off to the Coast where he avows his True Love Forever for the h on the beach. The h has been mopeying around this whole time cause she thinks the H did not love her and she rapturously avows her True Love Forever Back.
We leave the two of them finally communicating and deliriously happy and the H's cousin finally managed to score a dinner date with the h's sister to lead us to the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2018
Yeah it's official: I shall be taking a break from Helen Bianchin for a while. Helen Bianchin's novels are like a sickness with me. I know that she'll be writing the same hackneyed story line with very few minor alterations but I still tend to read her books. Until this one, that is...
The only 2 people I actually liked in this novel were the H and the heroine's sister Rebekah. Oh and the MC's manservant Petros was cool too. The heroine had shit for brains, annoyed me with her extremely passive aggressive response to the homicidal maniac OW and with her lack of perception when it came to her own marriage. It's fine to be ladylike and take the high road but this heroine took the ladylike dignity a little too far when it came to the OW Celine. The heroine, Ana, needed to really become fluent in Skankanese because that's the only language a slutty obsessive marriage wrecker understands. It didn't work for the heroine when she took the high road and responded with ladylike dignity. The second thing Ana should have done was to get a restraining order out on the bitch and hire a full time body guard ( she's rich enough ). The third thing was to put an investigator to follow Celine and catch her when she F's up. I also hated the fact that Luc waited for so long to tell Ana that he loved her. If he had cleared this up earlier then she wouldn't have been continuously insecure and depressed. He also waited too late to take legal action against Celine. I know that realistically it would have been too much to hope for an epilogue where we hear that Celine drowned in a vat of bleach, but the least the author could have done was to provide solid closure by letting us know the outcome of the legal action against the homicidal OW. This novel deserved such an outcome and I didn't enjoy it because the whole issue of Celine was just brushed under the carpet once the MC's confessed their mutual love. I'm very vengeful and kinda look forward to seeing rat bastard villains and skanky OW get their just desserts. So I'm pissed with Helen Bianchin right now; she and I will have to have a cordial break up ( aka conscious uncoupling ) for a while...
The only 2 people I actually liked in this novel were the H and the heroine's sister Rebekah. Oh and the MC's manservant Petros was cool too. The heroine had shit for brains, annoyed me with her extremely passive aggressive response to the homicidal maniac OW and with her lack of perception when it came to her own marriage. It's fine to be ladylike and take the high road but this heroine took the ladylike dignity a little too far when it came to the OW Celine. The heroine, Ana, needed to really become fluent in Skankanese because that's the only language a slutty obsessive marriage wrecker understands. It didn't work for the heroine when she took the high road and responded with ladylike dignity. The second thing Ana should have done was to get a restraining order out on the bitch and hire a full time body guard ( she's rich enough ). The third thing was to put an investigator to follow Celine and catch her when she F's up. I also hated the fact that Luc waited for so long to tell Ana that he loved her. If he had cleared this up earlier then she wouldn't have been continuously insecure and depressed. He also waited too late to take legal action against Celine. I know that realistically it would have been too much to hope for an epilogue where we hear that Celine drowned in a vat of bleach, but the least the author could have done was to provide solid closure by letting us know the outcome of the legal action against the homicidal OW. This novel deserved such an outcome and I didn't enjoy it because the whole issue of Celine was just brushed under the carpet once the MC's confessed their mutual love. I'm very vengeful and kinda look forward to seeing rat bastard villains and skanky OW get their just desserts. So I'm pissed with Helen Bianchin right now; she and I will have to have a cordial break up ( aka conscious uncoupling ) for a while...
November 20, 2020
2.5-3ish Soapy Stars
I had a feeling I wouldn’t love this, but I found it trolling Ivy’s cunty-bitch-ow shelf 🤣 and crazy OW are my kryptonite. Also, it's the time of the month for me to Scribd binge to justify my membership.
It starts out with Luc Dimitriades reviewing surveillance on his wayward wife Ana who took off toting a baby after a run in with his ex-mistress, because.... that’s normal. After some cajoling/blackmailing he finally gets her to return, and the rest is their rocky road to HEAville.
This is a tough one to review, because there’s not much of a plot or development so I’ll just break it down into likes and dislikes.
Likes
✅ I liked that although stupid, Ana wasn’t a prude. She wasn’t weird and awkward about sex, in fact they had “enjoyed each other in bed” prior to being married. She also continues to partake in Luc’s manly favors despite constantly doubting his every move. This at least broke up the monotony of Ana’s constant inner thoughts.
✅ I also appreciated the pure craziness, and dog after a bone tenacity of Celine Moore. Her stalking skills rivaled Stalker Sierra from Public Marriage, Private Secrets.
✅ I liked Luc, and his endless patience with Ana constantly believing an insane person over him.
Dislikes
❌ Anna and her CONSTANTLY believing the worst of Luc. She’s so annoying, and only get “tough” with her innocent husband. Not her embezzling father or Celine. She slapped, punched and tried to bite him. WTF??
❌ No on page comeuppance, or epilogue.
Bottom Line- That’s all I’ve got. There’s just not much to the book except Celine stalking, Ana doubting, and Luc reassuring. The End.
I had a feeling I wouldn’t love this, but I found it trolling Ivy’s cunty-bitch-ow shelf 🤣 and crazy OW are my kryptonite. Also, it's the time of the month for me to Scribd binge to justify my membership.
It starts out with Luc Dimitriades reviewing surveillance on his wayward wife Ana who took off toting a baby after a run in with his ex-mistress, because.... that’s normal. After some cajoling/blackmailing he finally gets her to return, and the rest is their rocky road to HEAville.
This is a tough one to review, because there’s not much of a plot or development so I’ll just break it down into likes and dislikes.
Likes
✅ I liked that although stupid, Ana wasn’t a prude. She wasn’t weird and awkward about sex, in fact they had “enjoyed each other in bed” prior to being married. She also continues to partake in Luc’s manly favors despite constantly doubting his every move. This at least broke up the monotony of Ana’s constant inner thoughts.
✅ I also appreciated the pure craziness, and dog after a bone tenacity of Celine Moore. Her stalking skills rivaled Stalker Sierra from Public Marriage, Private Secrets.
✅ I liked Luc, and his endless patience with Ana constantly believing an insane person over him.
Dislikes
❌ Anna and her CONSTANTLY believing the worst of Luc. She’s so annoying, and only get “tough” with her innocent husband. Not her embezzling father or Celine. She slapped, punched and tried to bite him. WTF??
❌ No on page comeuppance, or epilogue.
Bottom Line- That’s all I’ve got. There’s just not much to the book except Celine stalking, Ana doubting, and Luc reassuring. The End.
June 7, 2013
3 1/2 Stars ~ When Ana married Luc, she believed he still loved his dead wife but she was confident that his genuine affection and his insatiable desire for her would one day enable him to love her. Their first months of marriage were deliriously happy and Ana's confidence grew. Then returning to their social circle came Celine, a woman Luc had a brief relationship with before she'd married. Celine, now divorced and determined to have Luc back, works her poison, knowing exactly which buttons of Ana's to push and screw down. Independant and a little resentful of Luc's over protective arm, Ana chose to fight Celine on her own. But the evil woman set out to harass and stalk her, and her barbs were hitting home and Ana doubted Luc's fidelity. Ana knew her husband desired her but desire wasn't love, and without his heart she wondered if she could hold him to their marriage.
This is one of those angsty love stories that could have lost all it's angst if only the hero and heroine would communicate. Ms. Bianchin has a charming way of creating an emotional tension that gently embraces her stories. While this story is told predominantly from Ana's POV, we do see how Luc adores his wife and is genuinely worried he might lose her. Under Celine's relentless attack, it is understandable how Ana's confidence can be shaken. She fights valiantly to keep her marriage. There are a few repetitious items that reduced the ranking a 1/2 star, however, this emotionally intense love story kept me turning the pages, needing to know that Ana and Luc would indeed have their HEA.
This is one of those angsty love stories that could have lost all it's angst if only the hero and heroine would communicate. Ms. Bianchin has a charming way of creating an emotional tension that gently embraces her stories. While this story is told predominantly from Ana's POV, we do see how Luc adores his wife and is genuinely worried he might lose her. Under Celine's relentless attack, it is understandable how Ana's confidence can be shaken. She fights valiantly to keep her marriage. There are a few repetitious items that reduced the ranking a 1/2 star, however, this emotionally intense love story kept me turning the pages, needing to know that Ana and Luc would indeed have their HEA.
December 8, 2016
marriage in trouble + separated + heroine in love + hero coveted by another woman + ex lover stalker + describes parties and clothes of the rich in detail
January 29, 2019
Helen Bianchin bores me, which is a pity because she commonly deploys OTT, stalkerific OWs on heroes who are completely indifferent to them and aren't even leveraging them to prod their heroines into confessing their love. These books should be a perfect form of relaxing entertainment for me: I love to see OW/heroine confrontations, while any hint of hero attraction to an OW makes me break out in hives. What ruins every Bianchin book I've read is the constant showering the lack of emotional engagement and the sour grapes portrayal of the "elite" Australian social set. (Bianchin gazes on them in wonder for the clothes they wear and the events they attend while simultaneously critiquing their shallowness by having her heroines be less superficial...although they do the same superficial things. It's some kind of möbius strip social critique and I just don't see the logic. If you don't want to talk about plastic surgery and gym routines with the trophy wives, introduce a different topic of conversation. Start a book club!)
Anyway, I'm specifically disappointed in A Passionate Surrender for three reasons:
1. The husband set or deactivated their home security system a total of six times in 12 chapters. I naively assumed this was foreshadowing and the OTT OW was going to do a home invasion at some point. But no. This is just some form of showering for their house.
2. The hero knows his wife has been bothered by the ex-mistress's blatant pursuit of her husband, so how has he dealt with the OW? "[W]ith skilled diplomacy and the warning to desist." I know this kind of lukewarm response is common in Bianchin, but since you're talking about multiple occasions where the OW "had deliberately orchestrated a compromising situation," it's clear the "warning" isn't working. How about employing some public humiliation? Make it uncomfortable for the OW to be around you because she knows she'll be made to look bad? Or put financial pressure on her? We see this hero wielding his influence left and right over everything EXCEPT the OW until she finally becomes physically violent.
3. In chapter 1, the husband's internal narration re: his reason for marrying the heroine is very MOC:
By chapter 12, that becomes
The only point in making the hero an unreliable narrator for his own emotions is to lend credence to the heroine's strangely unemotive mopeyness about her supposedly unrequited love for her husband. There is absolutely no context for why he wouldn't/couldn't have confessed his love to her at the time he proposed.
So, two-star logic, two-star emotions, but a bonus third star for their faithful family retainer Petros, whose interactions with the heroine are adorably paternalistic.
Anyway, I'm specifically disappointed in A Passionate Surrender for three reasons:
1. The husband set or deactivated their home security system a total of six times in 12 chapters. I naively assumed this was foreshadowing and the OTT OW was going to do a home invasion at some point. But no. This is just some form of showering for their house.
2. The hero knows his wife has been bothered by the ex-mistress's blatant pursuit of her husband, so how has he dealt with the OW? "[W]ith skilled diplomacy and the warning to desist." I know this kind of lukewarm response is common in Bianchin, but since you're talking about multiple occasions where the OW "had deliberately orchestrated a compromising situation," it's clear the "warning" isn't working. How about employing some public humiliation? Make it uncomfortable for the OW to be around you because she knows she'll be made to look bad? Or put financial pressure on her? We see this hero wielding his influence left and right over everything EXCEPT the OW until she finally becomes physically violent.
3. In chapter 1, the husband's internal narration re: his reason for marrying the heroine is very MOC:
They'd dated a few months, enjoyed each other in bed, and for the first time since Emma's death there was an awareness of his own mortality, his accumulated wealth...the need to share his life with one woman, have children with her, forge a future together.
Who better than Ana in the role of his wife? He cared for her, she was eminently suitable, and he could provide her with an enviable lifestyle.
By chapter 12, that becomes
"[You thought] I married you for the convenience of having a woman in my bed, a social hostess? ... If that's all I wanted, I would have remarried years ago. ... I love you, Ana. Love. The till death us do part kind."
The only point in making the hero an unreliable narrator for his own emotions is to lend credence to the heroine's strangely unemotive mopeyness about her supposedly unrequited love for her husband. There is absolutely no context for why he wouldn't/couldn't have confessed his love to her at the time he proposed.
So, two-star logic, two-star emotions, but a bonus third star for their faithful family retainer Petros, whose interactions with the heroine are adorably paternalistic.
October 2, 2018
The heroine had the maturity of a toddler.
The book starts off with the heroine having left her husband in Sydney for a few days because she is upset that his ex-mistress (from several years ago) got divorced and now wants him back. The hero assures her that he is not involved with the ex-mistress and has no interest in getting involved with her.
The hero forces the heroine to come back to Sydney and she goes back to work at the flower shop she owns with her sister. First thing her sister asks is if she told the husband about the extent of the ex-mistresses viciousness towards her. The heroine says no and that she doesn't want to involve him in it. What.
She was upset enough that she left him for a few days and she is holding him responsible for everything the ex-mistress says/does but she won't tell the husband what that is exactly. No wonder he doesn't take it seriously!
Throughout the entire book she is pushing her husband away when the dude hasn't done anything. It comes off as annoying and takes away from any sense of drama or angst because the heroine just looks like a childish brat.
Even the OW drama is lame because we know that the ex-mistress is basically a nut job and no one except the heroine is taking her seriously.
The book starts off with the heroine having left her husband in Sydney for a few days because she is upset that his ex-mistress (from several years ago) got divorced and now wants him back. The hero assures her that he is not involved with the ex-mistress and has no interest in getting involved with her.
The hero forces the heroine to come back to Sydney and she goes back to work at the flower shop she owns with her sister. First thing her sister asks is if she told the husband about the extent of the ex-mistresses viciousness towards her. The heroine says no and that she doesn't want to involve him in it. What.
She was upset enough that she left him for a few days and she is holding him responsible for everything the ex-mistress says/does but she won't tell the husband what that is exactly. No wonder he doesn't take it seriously!
Throughout the entire book she is pushing her husband away when the dude hasn't done anything. It comes off as annoying and takes away from any sense of drama or angst because the heroine just looks like a childish brat.
Even the OW drama is lame because we know that the ex-mistress is basically a nut job and no one except the heroine is taking her seriously.
December 16, 2018
I loved it. The Hero was amazing and put up with her insecurity. She kind of got on my nerves for believing that stupid woman's lies but I could see why she did a little but come on. The other woman is pure evil. I really wished we could see her get her comeuppance but I definitely believed it was coming. I loved her sister Rebekah and hopefully she has her own book. I am not sure I read this before like I thought. That was a nice surprise. Plus I really liked it.
December 17, 2016
Celine needed to be raped up the butt with a curling iron. Seriously, I can't believe she pushed Anna on purpose while she is pregnant because she is such a sore loser. I was disgusted and almost physically sick from the description of the villain, Celine.
February 15, 2021
I don't know why but I wasn't enthusiastic about this book. I think it's one of those situation where it's me not the book... Simply it was too bland for my taste. Ana and Luc have been married for one year, theirs was a marriage with passion but no love (or so she thinks) when one of his former lovers appears and tries to get him back. Ana thinks her husband is cheating on her, because of some lies the OW tells her. So she decides to leave him, but it turns out she's pregnant and he asks her to come back. He assures her he's not cheating but evil OW starts stalking her. At a certain point she also assaults her and her sister and she's hospitalized. Hero was never a jerk, maybe he was a little cold but he cared for her deeply even in the beginning. Maybe he could have been more determined with manic OW, ignoring her was not enough. He didn't act as an alpha man, he was meek and i coulnd't perceive his feelings but anyway he always was true to his wife.
September 15, 2014
Yazarın en vasat kitaplarından gece elime alıp okuyup bitirdim..Seviyorum bu yazarı ne kadar kurgu birbirine yakın şeyler olsa da..En azından kafamı dağıttı..
November 29, 2020
The h is worse than a toddler. So incredibly childish.
Everything the H says, she disputes. So tiring. He is worried about her safety and her health and all she does is bickering.
The OW says things that upset her. She physically attacks the H after that although the poor bloke did nothing wrong.
The H asks her to tell him if the OW harrasses her. She doesn’t tell him. But she does hold him responsible for everything the OW says to her and of which the H knows nothing about. She leaves the H because of the things the OW has said.
I have read several books of Helen Bianchin. Her h’s are all blonde, agressive to the H, ungrateful to the H, childish, annoying.
Why is it anyway that 99% of the HP h’s are blondes?
Everything the H says, she disputes. So tiring. He is worried about her safety and her health and all she does is bickering.
The OW says things that upset her. She physically attacks the H after that although the poor bloke did nothing wrong.
The H asks her to tell him if the OW harrasses her. She doesn’t tell him. But she does hold him responsible for everything the OW says to her and of which the H knows nothing about. She leaves the H because of the things the OW has said.
I have read several books of Helen Bianchin. Her h’s are all blonde, agressive to the H, ungrateful to the H, childish, annoying.
Why is it anyway that 99% of the HP h’s are blondes?
February 15, 2022
The story was there but it got bogged down by repetitiveness and blandness. The heroine says “go to hell and got it in one” like 7 times! The entire story is hinged on the heroine thinking that the hero could maybe perhaps will cheat with an old girlfriend. The girlfriend is bonkers, and is proved to be lying, but the heroine still listens! Just ignore her or get the husband to deal with it, so something instead of moping about. The dad stole money. There were so many little things that should have built the story but nope just ignored. Skip, too boring.
August 2, 2018
Decent enough. Low drama and angst factor. Not a lot of believable conflict but nothing horribly bad so an okay read.
August 27, 2022
One of the ho hum stories with too much bedroom time. OW delusional, lying, obsessed criminal. Read one read them all.
January 8, 2025
meeeeeeeh
July 23, 2015
This is the second book I read by this author. It was a enjoyable read. Yet it didn't come close to the passion I felt when I read, ( His Pregnancy Ultimatum).
Luk was in love with his wife Ana, yet he never said the words. He thought he showed her how much he loved her with his actions. Ann started to doubt the love, and her marriage when Celine started coming between Ann and her husband. Celine thought of it as a game, and she played to win. Celine made sure everyone knew she wanted Luk in her bed. She was one nasty person.
I did enjoy Ana's spunk, and the way she refused to follow orders. Luk made a great hero. He was alpha, but you could tell he was in love with his wife.
Luk was in love with his wife Ana, yet he never said the words. He thought he showed her how much he loved her with his actions. Ann started to doubt the love, and her marriage when Celine started coming between Ann and her husband. Celine thought of it as a game, and she played to win. Celine made sure everyone knew she wanted Luk in her bed. She was one nasty person.
I did enjoy Ana's spunk, and the way she refused to follow orders. Luk made a great hero. He was alpha, but you could tell he was in love with his wife.
October 1, 2013
It was very boring in my opinion and H/h had no chemistry. Not worth reading.
April 29, 2020
قراتها بعنوان عاطفه من ذهب
September 29, 2020
When love is not spoken in a marriage it can and does cause problems. When Ana married Luc she thought he only wanted a marriage of convenience. So when another woman, an old mistress, comes back for him, she is devastated and leaves. But Luc does have feelings for her. And goes after her, blackmails her to come back. Now the OW sets to cause lots of problems for them both. Will Luc be able to protect Ana? This is the first of two books of both Ana and her sister Rebekah and the Greek men who love them. Love Helen Bianchin's style of writing.
January 9, 2019
Loved it! Perfect to just relax and read a little
January 16, 2020
Amor en secreto
April 10, 2020
4 stelle scarse
Una lettura scorrevole e piacevole per chi vuole passare il tempo senza impegno.
Una lettura scorrevole e piacevole per chi vuole passare il tempo senza impegno.
July 20, 2020
Demasiado machista, todo lo quieren cubrir con "se preocupa por mí". Ana no puede hacer nada sin avisarle y sí él no quiere no lo hace o tiene que pelear para que "le den permiso". Ugh
July 12, 2021
It's a beautiful story
May 31, 2022
It was an interesting way of captivating me to read it with the title, but it did lack something. But its a good read.
March 11, 2026
Nice read
I borrowed this from Kindle Unlimited. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. A bit corny but still a fun read. Communication is key. 4 stars
I borrowed this from Kindle Unlimited. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. A bit corny but still a fun read. Communication is key. 4 stars
March 29, 2025
A sweet enough story, though I think it took way too long for Luc to outright tell Anna he loved her. I also thought she was rather annoying in her almost obsessive belief that Luc was having an affair. Some have commented that they wish Luc had taken Celine down, but if you read the following excerpts, it's pretty obvious:
He made a few calls from his cellphone, called in favours, enlisted the services of the city’s top obstetrician, checked with the hospital, then he rang Celine. His eyes hardened as he recalled her sickening coquetry, the shocked surprise, followed by consternation over the accusations he levelled at her. Then, when he left her in no doubt as to his intended action, there was anger and vitriol.
and
His hand slid round to cup her nape, gently massaging the back of her neck and into the base of her skull. ‘I can promise Celine will never get close to you again.’
and again
‘Nasty business.’ Luc shot the older man a level glance. ‘It’s been taken care of.’ ‘One would hope so.’ There was no need for further words. Luc’s influence was a known entity. As an enemy, he was deadly.
That said, the ending was very sweet
'Our child is a wonderful bonus, a joy I rejoice in because it represents life. Yours, mine, ours. But make no mistake. You are my reason for living. My heart. My soul.’
He made a few calls from his cellphone, called in favours, enlisted the services of the city’s top obstetrician, checked with the hospital, then he rang Celine. His eyes hardened as he recalled her sickening coquetry, the shocked surprise, followed by consternation over the accusations he levelled at her. Then, when he left her in no doubt as to his intended action, there was anger and vitriol.
and
His hand slid round to cup her nape, gently massaging the back of her neck and into the base of her skull. ‘I can promise Celine will never get close to you again.’
and again
‘Nasty business.’ Luc shot the older man a level glance. ‘It’s been taken care of.’ ‘One would hope so.’ There was no need for further words. Luc’s influence was a known entity. As an enemy, he was deadly.
That said, the ending was very sweet
'Our child is a wonderful bonus, a joy I rejoice in because it represents life. Yours, mine, ours. But make no mistake. You are my reason for living. My heart. My soul.’
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2011
It was okay. Same as some others that I've read. The same high society couple with the wife being attacked, verbally and then abusively, by his ex-mistress. The endless parties and premieres and charity events where she shows up and puts her two sense in and another instance where the heroine had every right to site harassment, but did the perpetual "I can handle it" routine and then got hurt, so the hero had to handle it anyways. Eh, I ended up skimming quite a bit, but then again it is very similar to her other books that you can pretty much know what is going to happen.
February 4, 2017
I have read some of the other reviews and it seems that this book is a bit like marmite, you either love it or find it 'ok'.
I personally really liked it and the characters. Helen Bianchin had a certain style and if you like that then you would like this.
I personally really liked it and the characters. Helen Bianchin had a certain style and if you like that then you would like this.
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