الحب لعبة

In Love with Her Boss #5

by Cathy Williams, كاتي ويليامز

Italian millionaire businessman Bruno Giannella is every woman's dream: handsome, sexy and successful. So Katy thinks she must be dreaming when he demands that she become his live-in secretary! Surely she's imagining the electricity that sparks between them - after all, Bruno is an experienced man of the world. What would he want with a timid virgin like her? But Bruno seems convinced that there's a sensual woman hiding beneath his secretary's mousy exterior . . . and unleashing her inner desires is top on his agenda!

Genres: Harlequin, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin Presents, Romance, Contemporary, Harlequin Romance

Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

Cathy Williams, born in Trinidad and Tobago, is a British author who has written romance novels for Mills & Boon since 1990. She lives in Chiswick, London, with her three daughters and continues to craft engaging, heartfelt love stories.

Reviews

[Mtve41 · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 on a re-read. I must’ve been on something that day.. this is dull and boring and the MCs are wary of each other for the entire length of the book. The h plays to be a sweetie by not actually saying what she’s intending to say except that she does. She’s blunt and gauche and I didn’t want to have anything to do with her.




4.5 🌟

Basic and predictable but no complains. Pretty similar to other CW workplace settings where the H is high handed and the h is quite a dowdy wall flower. I liked both the MCs. The H was hot in his loving and the h talked back a bit. Great comfort reading!

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katy has been dithering about for ages as the personal assistant to nice old Joseph, who has her living with him at his country estate. Joseph sort of has her around to type up his memoirs, but most of the time they just have chats and go for walks, and Katy drives Joseph around so he can spend time with his cronies. It’s not very demanding work, which is right up Katy’s alley. Also, I think Joseph appreciates the eye candy of girl in rumpled librarian chic. If he were thirty years younger, he’d hit that, I’m sure.

Then Joseph has to go into hospital, and his godson, Bruno, descends upon them both. Bruno is a high-powered businessman and sexy Italian guy and has no time for dithering women. Katy dresses badly and won’t look him in the eye, and she’s all stutters and handwringing and Bruno has absolutely no patience for it.

Given that she’s clearly incompetent, Bruno decides to move in while Joseph is convalescing in hospital. And Katy will have to be his secretary while he’s staying, so she’d better smarten up and learn to type more than two words per minute. Oh, and she’ll have to get a pool built. He recommends that she throw cash at the workers and then yell at them so they know she’s boss.

Awesomely, Bruno wouldn’t dream of forcing his own secretary to come down from London, because she has kids. Bruno is a good boss, although Katy is initially terribly nervous and treats her every mistake as if she’s just sunk the Titanic.

I thought this book was really sweet. Sure, Bruno’s an arrogant prat and Katy’s got a noodle for a backbone, but he learns to appreciate her sweetness and the knockout boobs she’s hiding under some really atrocious clothes. She also gets a confidence boost from building a pool and doing it her nice way, so good for her. And she learns to appreciate Bruno’s manly physique, and probably how masterful he is.

At one stage, Bruno brings his girlfriend down to meet Joseph, because he’s thinking of asking her to marry him. But really, he’s doing a side-by-side comparison with Katy, and it’s always satisfying when the sweet, badly dressed girl wins.

This book is nothing fancy, but it some mostly fun.

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

No spark, no chemistry, very flat with extremely lame passionless love scenes(only one to be exact). I know these are not supposed to be explicit but I expected better.

[Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I'm putting myself through this; reading Williams' books is like deja vu - especially the male protagonists! THEY'RE ALL THE SAME!!! Supremely rich, arrogant, forbidding, and attracted to our main protagonist because she's "different" and they're "curious" about the chick, as they talk back/stand up to them.

At least they didn't end up together because she turned out to be pregnant due to that one time they had relations without protection =_=

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet romance. I like how he tries to win her over.

This is an older book of 2004 by Cathy Williams. As with other HP writers such as Penny Jordan, I like her older books far more than the newer ones and I think that that’s Harlequin’s fault. Because it can’t be a coincidence anymore.

Anyway, what’s up with the cover? It’s confusing that the woman on the cover has sleek, blonde hair and the book says that the woman has curly brown hair.

[Shivani Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. I was never able to read it before. The starting used to put me off.

I did this time.

It’s dated of course.

Hero is perfect- rich. Tall. Handsome.
Heroine is a naive innocent whose mind wanders off mid conversation.

She’s a companion to hero’s godfather.

Sweet romance in the old style.

Quite readable.

[Diamond]

الحب لعبة
كاتي ويليامز
إنها تحلم ! هذا ما شعرت به كاتي عندما طلب منها رجل الاعمال الايطالي الوسيم برونو غيانيلا أن تصبح سكرتيرة شخصية له .. في المنزل
إنه حلم تحول الى صدمة عندما ظنت ان ثمة ما يجذبهاما الى بعضهما البعض كيف يعقل هذا وبرونو رجل ذو خبرة في امور النساء ! ما الذي يعجبه فيها هي الفتاة المتحفظة الخجول!
إلا ان برونو مقتنع بأن سكرتيرته تخفي تحت مظهرها البارد نارا ملتهبة .. وإضرام هذه النار مهمة تتصدر جدول أعماله

كانت دائما تهرب من رؤيته عند زيارته لعرابه

[Shanelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this one

[crazy1bad]

I didn't feel like the H really loved the h. He was ready to marry the bitch ow but only wanted an affair with the h and criticized her choice waiting for the right man and being virtuous when she refused. Note that he was glad she was a virgin before he defiled her. I wonder how their relationship would have ended if not the ow's ´´revenge´´. It doesn't feel like they would have ended together if not the ow.

[Manly Manster · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the book until I couldn't take it anymore and then I had to stop.

I only read to 18% but in none of that time was there any sexy chemistry or any interesting mood or vibe between the two characters. He was just trying to be annoying to her, and she just figured that was what men like him do. It didn't make for a romance story about falling in love that was fun or enjoyable.

It was painful and annoying.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute. But we needed more point of view from the hero, his was sprinkled in there. The ending was too random. There was a large problem that was tossed in near the end that should have been half the book. But cute and quick.

[Dany · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars!

[Julie C-F · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost DNF i just has to finish even if I thought I am wasting time.

[Calysta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the woman a lot and the guy grew on me, it was a charming and fun read

[Kobie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF... hero is being so impolite that I really can't give him much sympathy

[Brigitte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book from my mother... not the type I like at all, but the main female character was good.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katy is a companion and assistant to Bruno's godfather, hired by him to help out - more for her personal charm than her secretarial skills. I honestly don't think I've ever read a romance where the hero despised the heroine so genuinely as this one did. Most of the time the "hatred" stems from lust or resentment. Bruno pretty much hated everything about Katy, from her dowdy appearance, her shyness and nervousness and how she cowered and avoided him when he came near her. And he isn't shy about letting her know it either. So when Bruno moves into his godfather's house and appropriates Katy to be his secretary while his godfather is in the hospital, he's outright mean to her about some things. But apparently during this time he warms up to her, but it's too bad we don't get his POV to establish this. Because it felt pretty callous when he finally saw Katy in her bathing suit and decided he wanted to have some of that and he kisses her in front of his girlfriend. Unfortunately we don't learn that he'd only invited his girlfriend to keep his mind off of falling for Katy. But because of that, I was convinced he'd hated Katy until he'd actually seen her figure. Needless to say, I didn't warm up to him very quickly. And even less so as he forces Katy to pretend to be his fiance, as he gets pretty manipulative. But he is one of those heroes that has the potential to be unforgettable for me...mostly because he's really kind of cold and mean on the outside, but when these kind of heroes become protective and total softies for their heroine and maintain that meanness towards others, I love it. Unfortunately, Bruno doesn’t soften up quite enough for the heroine. I didn’t totally buy his being in love with Katy.

[RomLibrary]

Millionaire business tycoon Bruno Giannella is gorgeous, proud and successful. Katy cannot believe her ears when the sexy Italian demands that she become his personal assistant!

But Bruno is determined to find the real woman hiding beneath Katy's quiet and timid exterior. And when he does, Katy is amazed by the passion he unleashes within her..