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Bad Blood/The Notorious Wolfes #7
La reina de hielo
Una poderosa dinastía donde los secretos y el escándalo nunca duermen
Annabelle era la única chica entre ocho hermanos, tendría que estar acostumbrada a los hombres. Sin embargo, su confianza se había quebrado la noche en que su padre estuvo a punto de matarla de una paliza. Desde entonces se convirtió en una elegante reina de hielo a la que ningún hombre había tocado.
Esteban Cortez podía domar un caballo salvaje más rápidamente que ningún otro hombre sobre la tierra. La pasión hacía que la sangre le hirviera en las venas. Tal vez Annabelle pareciera intocable, pero Esteban veía su auténtico yo, el de una mujer desesperada por volver a vivir.
Annabelle era la única chica entre ocho hermanos, tendría que estar acostumbrada a los hombres. Sin embargo, su confianza se había quebrado la noche en que su padre estuvo a punto de matarla de una paliza. Desde entonces se convirtió en una elegante reina de hielo a la que ningún hombre había tocado.
Esteban Cortez podía domar un caballo salvaje más rápidamente que ningún otro hombre sobre la tierra. La pasión hacía que la sangre le hirviera en las venas. Tal vez Annabelle pareciera intocable, pero Esteban veía su auténtico yo, el de una mujer desesperada por volver a vivir.
161 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2011
41 people are currently reading
426 people want to read
About the author
Jennie Lucas
554 books331 followersJennie Lucas had a tragic beginning for any would-be writer: a very happy childhood. Her parents owned a bookstore, and she grew up surrounded by books, dreaming about faraway lands. Her mother read aloud to her in French when she was little; when she was ten, her father secretly paid her a dollar for every classic novel (Jane Eyre, War and Peace) that she read. As a chubby teenager, Jennie covered her bedroom with travel posters and always had her nose in a book.
At fifteen, she went to a Connecticut boarding school on scholarship. She took her first solo trip to Europe at sixteen, then put off college and traveled around the U.S., supporting herself with jobs as diverse as gas station cashier and newspaper advertising assistant.
At 22, she met the man who would be her husband. For the first time in her life, she wanted to stay in one place, as long as she could be with him. After their marriage, she graduated from Kent State University with a degree in English, and started writing books a year later.
Jennie was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart contest in 2003 and won the award in 2005. A fellow 2003 finalist, Australian author Trish Morey, read Jennie’s writing and told her that she should write for Harlequin Presents. It seemed like too big a dream, but Jennie took a deep breath and went for it. A year later, after seven years of writing and eight finished manuscripts, Jennie got the magical call from London that turned her into a published author.
Since then, life has been hectic, juggling a writing career, a sexy husband and two young children, but Jennie loves her crazy, chaotic life. Who needs a clean house? Every day, Jennie gets swept into drama, glamour and passion. Now if she can only figure out how to pack up her family and live in all the places she’s writing about!
At fifteen, she went to a Connecticut boarding school on scholarship. She took her first solo trip to Europe at sixteen, then put off college and traveled around the U.S., supporting herself with jobs as diverse as gas station cashier and newspaper advertising assistant.
At 22, she met the man who would be her husband. For the first time in her life, she wanted to stay in one place, as long as she could be with him. After their marriage, she graduated from Kent State University with a degree in English, and started writing books a year later.
Jennie was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart contest in 2003 and won the award in 2005. A fellow 2003 finalist, Australian author Trish Morey, read Jennie’s writing and told her that she should write for Harlequin Presents. It seemed like too big a dream, but Jennie took a deep breath and went for it. A year later, after seven years of writing and eight finished manuscripts, Jennie got the magical call from London that turned her into a published author.
Since then, life has been hectic, juggling a writing career, a sexy husband and two young children, but Jennie loves her crazy, chaotic life. Who needs a clean house? Every day, Jennie gets swept into drama, glamour and passion. Now if she can only figure out how to pack up her family and live in all the places she’s writing about!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
August 15, 2012
I'll be the first to tell you I can't stand womanizers. So I had to get past that off-putting aspect of Stefano's character, and the fact that he set out to cold-bloodedly seduce Annabelle just because she was a 'new woman', one who he hadn't slept with. Ick! I think the execution was well done here, but the message that because Stefano was so good at knowing what women wanted sexually, he was the one who could open Annabelle's heart. I don't think this is necessarily the case. A man who met her emotional needs what was Annabelle needed. It wasn't about sex, as he finds out. Yes, they have explosive chemistry between them, but being 'good in bed' would never be enough for a woman like Annabelle. She had deeper emotional needs that she was starved for fundamentally. I think that Stefano learned along the way that while he had believed that Annabelle was the fearful one, he was too in a different way. He was happy to spend a night with a woman but walk away, but no deeper emotional or intellectual engagement than that. I like the fact that Annabelle challenged him to be about more in his interaction with her. Even as he challenged her to truly live and connect with the world, not just behind the lens of one of her cameras. She wasn't just another conquest. She was 'the one.' Of course, he had to almost lose her to find that out.
A huge strength of this book was the view of life on a Spanish horse-breeding farm. This made Stefano a more likable hero to me. His deep love and knowledge of horses, and his desire to help others and give of himself generously to make their lives better. It was almost incongruous with his callous attitude towards women, in fact. His reasons for being that way with women so didn't necessarily ring true, but the fact that he felt Annabelle was the real coward when he was just as much definitely created a sense of irony in this book.
Annabelle was one of my favorite Wolfes from the beginning, so it was great to see a book solely focused on her. After reading her book, she is still one of my favorites. She was in a state of suspended animation due to her very traumatic past. I loved seeing her grow as a person, come out of her shell, and realize that she was capable of loving and being loved. The only regret I have is that I didn't get to see her interact with her brothers, other than a quick phone call with Jacob. I am hoping that in Jacob's book we will finally see all the siblings together, bonding, since that is one of the reasons I love this series.
I'm kind of sad that I only have one book left in this series, but excited that Jacob's long-awaited book is up next. Stay tuned!
A huge strength of this book was the view of life on a Spanish horse-breeding farm. This made Stefano a more likable hero to me. His deep love and knowledge of horses, and his desire to help others and give of himself generously to make their lives better. It was almost incongruous with his callous attitude towards women, in fact. His reasons for being that way with women so didn't necessarily ring true, but the fact that he felt Annabelle was the real coward when he was just as much definitely created a sense of irony in this book.
Annabelle was one of my favorite Wolfes from the beginning, so it was great to see a book solely focused on her. After reading her book, she is still one of my favorites. She was in a state of suspended animation due to her very traumatic past. I loved seeing her grow as a person, come out of her shell, and realize that she was capable of loving and being loved. The only regret I have is that I didn't get to see her interact with her brothers, other than a quick phone call with Jacob. I am hoping that in Jacob's book we will finally see all the siblings together, bonding, since that is one of the reasons I love this series.
I'm kind of sad that I only have one book left in this series, but excited that Jacob's long-awaited book is up next. Stay tuned!
October 23, 2012
Oh My Goodness! This book was totally 100% implausible. As I read it I saw it as an old fashioned melodrama where all the actors loudly declaimed every line and threw their hands around wildly for emphasis. Every action of the heroine was exaggerated and over the top. She ran off from him into the forest several times. Every action of the hero was unbelievable and hokey. The whole undying love affair took place over a week. I could give examples but really, either trust me or read it yourself.
March 31, 2022
Even if the MCs behaviors OTT dramatic I liked it very much! 🙈
December 26, 2014
I was so disappointed when I discovered that this book lost its seriously wonderful title somewhere along the way and just became ‘Forgotten Daughter.’ All the way through this fairly bland story I was thinking about how the girl that love forgot could maybe go to the land that time forgot and find for me the chocolate down the back of the cupboard that I forgot was there.
I know about the Wolfes, oh yes, I’ve read about them before. So I know about Annabelle and that time her father took a whip to her (not a spoiler, it’s in the blurb), so the fact that she gets a book comes as no surprise. The fact that she gets a fairly bland book with a strangely boring sexy hero is.
Annabelle takes photos of horses as a job. I’m glad she has an interesting job, but she does it in linen pant suits and heels, because apparently taking photos of horses is generally done in studio conditions, I guess? I mean, the horses come to you and stand under hot lights while you give instructions like: think sexy, angle towards the light, and smize?
In the opening pages of the book she arrives at playboy Stefano’s horse ranch in Spain and starts insulting him. He’s like: welcome to my horse ranch, Miss Wolfe, and she’s immediately all: I’m not sleeping with you sleazebag, and your ranch is mucky and your horses are overpriced nags.
It comes as no surprise that Stefano is delighted. He maybe has a bit of a twinge about her badmouthing his horses, but by gum he’s going to sleep with Annabelle Wolfe, and it’s going to be grand. Many men have tried, only one has succeeded, so now it’s his turn, etc.
That’s the plot. Stefano wants to sleep with Annabelle, and she wants to sleep with him. But she can’t because she’s got issues. And also, she just wants to wear high heels and take pictures of horses and enjoy being bitter about how flabby rich men keep wanting to sleep with her. And he wants it to be super hot sex but no big thing. Really, there’s nothing to complain about here, except …
I couldn’t warm to Annabelle. I can see some likeability in a character that is so prickly from previous experiences with men that she upfront tells a guy to get bent. It’s sadly all too realistic. Annabelle has scars from her father’s attack and she carries a lot of emotional scarring from its consequences, from her survivor guilt in a childhood of abuse, and she’s screwed over by her mentor. This should all make her just explode with interesting character hooks. Instead, I fixated on the most inconsequential thing: her clothing. She’s wearing heels and business attire to photograph horses in stable buildings and paddocks, and dammit, I can’t deal with how this is her job and she won’t dress sensible. She also drops her camera at least twice and appears to be swanning around taking professional shots without a tripod. Or giving me any interesting geek stuff about her equipment.
I couldn’t warm to Stefano either, because under that sexy playboy exterior, he was a saint. All his employees were local teenagers, so clearly he’s providing jobs in the community. I hope he’s paying award rates. When, because he thinks her photos of horses lack heart (what?), Stefano decides Annabelle must take a break from shooting horses and shoot some villagers (as all horse photographers must?), everyone in town basically genuflects when he walks by. I think I’m not conditioned to want romance heroes to just have more sexy playboy under their exterior, with a dark and spicy tang of dumb that leads him to treat the heroine quite horribly before then grovelling like a grovel champ.
From the very beginning, Annabelle is torn between her sexual desire for Stefano, and her assumption that he’s a conniving bastard out for that One Thing. Unfortunately, each of them make the point at least once that no one’s forcing either of them to be here on this ranch. Annabelle’s working for a magazine and the magazine is paying Stefano for the story about his horses, but there isn’t even a proverbial gun against anyone’s temple so we’re kind of lacking in any urgent need to stay together and ignore the sniping. If the lovers are busy succumbing to that urgent, desperate need to be together I want a really juicy trumped up whatever keeping them apart, or less sniping and some other crazy source of conflict.
I know about the Wolfes, oh yes, I’ve read about them before. So I know about Annabelle and that time her father took a whip to her (not a spoiler, it’s in the blurb), so the fact that she gets a book comes as no surprise. The fact that she gets a fairly bland book with a strangely boring sexy hero is.
Annabelle takes photos of horses as a job. I’m glad she has an interesting job, but she does it in linen pant suits and heels, because apparently taking photos of horses is generally done in studio conditions, I guess? I mean, the horses come to you and stand under hot lights while you give instructions like: think sexy, angle towards the light, and smize?
In the opening pages of the book she arrives at playboy Stefano’s horse ranch in Spain and starts insulting him. He’s like: welcome to my horse ranch, Miss Wolfe, and she’s immediately all: I’m not sleeping with you sleazebag, and your ranch is mucky and your horses are overpriced nags.
It comes as no surprise that Stefano is delighted. He maybe has a bit of a twinge about her badmouthing his horses, but by gum he’s going to sleep with Annabelle Wolfe, and it’s going to be grand. Many men have tried, only one has succeeded, so now it’s his turn, etc.
That’s the plot. Stefano wants to sleep with Annabelle, and she wants to sleep with him. But she can’t because she’s got issues. And also, she just wants to wear high heels and take pictures of horses and enjoy being bitter about how flabby rich men keep wanting to sleep with her. And he wants it to be super hot sex but no big thing. Really, there’s nothing to complain about here, except …
I couldn’t warm to Annabelle. I can see some likeability in a character that is so prickly from previous experiences with men that she upfront tells a guy to get bent. It’s sadly all too realistic. Annabelle has scars from her father’s attack and she carries a lot of emotional scarring from its consequences, from her survivor guilt in a childhood of abuse, and she’s screwed over by her mentor. This should all make her just explode with interesting character hooks. Instead, I fixated on the most inconsequential thing: her clothing. She’s wearing heels and business attire to photograph horses in stable buildings and paddocks, and dammit, I can’t deal with how this is her job and she won’t dress sensible. She also drops her camera at least twice and appears to be swanning around taking professional shots without a tripod. Or giving me any interesting geek stuff about her equipment.
I couldn’t warm to Stefano either, because under that sexy playboy exterior, he was a saint. All his employees were local teenagers, so clearly he’s providing jobs in the community. I hope he’s paying award rates. When, because he thinks her photos of horses lack heart (what?), Stefano decides Annabelle must take a break from shooting horses and shoot some villagers (as all horse photographers must?), everyone in town basically genuflects when he walks by. I think I’m not conditioned to want romance heroes to just have more sexy playboy under their exterior, with a dark and spicy tang of dumb that leads him to treat the heroine quite horribly before then grovelling like a grovel champ.
From the very beginning, Annabelle is torn between her sexual desire for Stefano, and her assumption that he’s a conniving bastard out for that One Thing. Unfortunately, each of them make the point at least once that no one’s forcing either of them to be here on this ranch. Annabelle’s working for a magazine and the magazine is paying Stefano for the story about his horses, but there isn’t even a proverbial gun against anyone’s temple so we’re kind of lacking in any urgent need to stay together and ignore the sniping. If the lovers are busy succumbing to that urgent, desperate need to be together I want a really juicy trumped up whatever keeping them apart, or less sniping and some other crazy source of conflict.
June 13, 2011
At the start of the book Annabelle arrives at a horse ranch in Spain owned by notorious playboy Stefano, the hero. Annabelle is a well known photographer and has earned a reputation of being untouchable, she was left scarred after a horrific beating by her father and has not let anyone close since. She rarely stays in one place for long and hides her scars as well as her emotions. Stefano sees Annabelle as a challenge and immediately desires her but he gets frustrated by her constant rebuffs. In order to be successful at seducing her Stefano begins spending more time with her, but as he gets to know her he begins to have other feelings towards her and senses that she is hiding her real self. When Annabelle finally succumbs to Stefano's seduction they are both shocked at the level of passion between them. Stefano realises that Annabelle means a lot more to him than simply a challenge but Annabelle is determined not to let him close and to move on.
This is a very intense book, since Annabelle's past is very dark you would expect this, and it was done perfectly. Annabelle was written with the perfect mix of vulnerability and detachment, I liked how she had managed to drag herself out into the world and make something of herself even though she was still very tortured by what had happened to her. This was a little hint of the strength inside her that was just waiting for the right man bring it out. Cue Stefano! I'll be honest, I hated him at the start, yes hated! All he could think about was the challenge of bedding her, so he could brag about it perhaps, that I just wanted to hit him over the head the book! However, once he managed to get his head out of the gutter he gradually let his gentle and caring side shine through, sigh! All is forgiven Stefano! To make you change your mind on a character that much shows how strong the writing is.
The chemistry between the two is very, er, intense (sorry that's apparently my favourite word at the moment!). Annabelle's back story is explained and written well and right at the perfect moments to add more layers of emotion to the story, I really felt that the love story between the two characters was believable.
As expected from Jennie Lucas the writing is spectacular, the book is fast-paced and exciting and the characters are well developed. Quite simply, I loved it!
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
This is a very intense book, since Annabelle's past is very dark you would expect this, and it was done perfectly. Annabelle was written with the perfect mix of vulnerability and detachment, I liked how she had managed to drag herself out into the world and make something of herself even though she was still very tortured by what had happened to her. This was a little hint of the strength inside her that was just waiting for the right man bring it out. Cue Stefano! I'll be honest, I hated him at the start, yes hated! All he could think about was the challenge of bedding her, so he could brag about it perhaps, that I just wanted to hit him over the head the book! However, once he managed to get his head out of the gutter he gradually let his gentle and caring side shine through, sigh! All is forgiven Stefano! To make you change your mind on a character that much shows how strong the writing is.
The chemistry between the two is very, er, intense (sorry that's apparently my favourite word at the moment!). Annabelle's back story is explained and written well and right at the perfect moments to add more layers of emotion to the story, I really felt that the love story between the two characters was believable.
As expected from Jennie Lucas the writing is spectacular, the book is fast-paced and exciting and the characters are well developed. Quite simply, I loved it!
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
March 20, 2023
Rating 3.5
Reread and downgrading.
I just found the two main characters relationship development this time around over the top.
Way to much drama (even for HP).
Hero also got on my nerves.
Reread and downgrading.
I just found the two main characters relationship development this time around over the top.
Way to much drama (even for HP).
Hero also got on my nerves.
April 5, 2011
This is Anabelle's story. 20 years ago her father almost killed her, he didn't but he killed her innocence and joy in life and her mentor in college through his lies completed the job. She is a world renowned photographer who hides behind the camera and her make-up. The world calls her the ice-queen. She goes for a photo-assignment to our heroes Stefano's place. Stefan came from a poor family but made it big. He is a womanizer and tries to seduce Anabelle's just for the hell of it but gradually gets to know her and helps her find joy in life again. The story is well done.
January 22, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful love story that pulled me in from the start and held me in rapt attention throughout. Annabelle is really pure in heart despite her hard childhood/abusive father and despite the mask she is wearing to keep people away. She is beautiful and courageous and I was happy when finally Stefano took a chance and found a love unlike anything he'd ever known. I even shed a few tears. The epilogue was sweet beyond words! :)
December 15, 2014
This book was really a lot of fun despite there were some dark issues coming into play. It had the perfect balance of light and dark moments, passionate, serious, and humorous moments with a charming alpha male coming to play and loved every single second.
I was really engrossed in the story and felt time fly as I flipped through the pages. My only regret for this book was it wasn't longer. Would have liked to spent more time with Annabelle & Stefano. Just I was really invested in the story and captured by both characters. I really enjoyed both of them especially him. He was so sexy and charming and would do anything to win the girl.
This book is part of the notorious wolves miniseries with all the siblings in the Wolf family getting their own book. This one was about Annabelle Wolf, the only sister in the entire herd of eight kids, and they had an abusive father and had a hard childhood so there follows that their lives were all roses despite their wealth. Annabelle was at the brunt of all this turmoil with her father nearly killing her by beating her severely and leaving her with both of motional and physical scars. Her brother Jacob pulled her father off of her and her father hit his head on the ground when Jacob punched in the face to protect his sister. And it later followed that Jacob was tried for the murder of his father but then later acquitted due to self defense. But for that date on the thing was the save and the bull family was severely broken and damaged by the events of that night especially Annabelle and Jacob. So the wolf children were severely messed up and had tons of issues to say the least. Now i've only read two of the eight books in the series 3 if you get this one and they definitely had so heartbreak going on. And I could tell that it would take somebody special for them to get to trust and love us for another person. And my heart broke for Annabelle and I wanted her to get her happily ever after after experiencing oh much pain and loss ed just isolation that she put herself in after she was nearly killed by her father. So I was really rooting for her and I hoped that Stefano could really get her out of her shell and get her to love and trust him so she would have a happier life and be more in the light than the dark and lonely this that her life was where she shut everyone out and associated closeness with loss and betrayal.
Stefano had his work cut out for him and you can imagine. He refused to give up and was assured that Annabelle would wide up in his bed at some point before she left after finishing her week long job on his ranch. But he was determined. Oh boy was he determined and he upped his game 100 fold that was pretty cute and charming. I loved how he set out to seduce her. Now at first he looked at her as a challenge, so would that would be able to bend her with so many others tried and failed. He was going to be the one to break her and get her to warm his sheets and he would be victorious and he would be winner. That challenge drove him and I thought that a bet might come into play here but didn't though it was more of an unspoken one. He wanted to melt the ice princess, the nickname she was given by men and the media. With his playboy ways he thought he would have no problems and break her down in a day. The game was on and it was entertaining to see his seduction technique as well as fun to see the cat and mouse game they played.
Now before she got on his ranch, she was warned how much of a charming playboy he was and knew that he would try to seduce her. And though she was worried about his reputation she was determined she would resist him because she didn't anyone physically or emotionally close to her because of her past. Plus she didn't want others to see her scars which thought made her a monster. But once she met him all logic went out the window as she felt this deep consuming passion and attraction to him. Every time he came close to her she felt the sizzle of attracted which made it very hard to resist him. But for awhile she did but it was only a matter of time until she succumbed to him.
Stefano was determined to have and though at fist he thought of it as a challenge and that he could have a bit of fun with her, his tune changed and he began to feel the same consuming attraction and passion that Annabelle did. Now it was that he wanted her not just the pleasure of carnal delights. He wanted to get close to her in every way imaginable especially when he noticed that she had mental scars that kept her hidden away from the world. He wanted to help and get her out of her shell and not be afraid to live or fear passion. And he used his charm to coax her, but he did it in a really beautiful way where I could tell his emotions were involved. And it was also cute to see how hot and out of control he was with her. I just loved seeing all of his sides from charming to caring to vulnerable. Just he was a great hero and I loved him.
The passion between them was smoking from the minute they met and didn't stop. Steam was coming off the pages that's for sure. It was great. There was just this overwhelming attraction and I just loved seeing it played out. What I also thought was great was the out of control attraction felt natural and real and not the bit contrived. I felt it right along with them. My pulse raced with theirs. My heart beat in tune with them. I could feel the passion coming off the pages and it felt completely right. Plus it felt they needed each other especially her and helping her heal past wounds. Wounds that were embedded deep in her psyche. It just seemed like a natural progression of where there were headed and I loved that.
And when their passion was finally released it was an explosion. It was so hot and sexy and with all that anticipation built up I was ready for them to finally consummate their relationship. They were both ready for it and needed. And even though it was hot and sexy, it was also sweet and tender especially when he was gently kissing her scars and showing her that she wasn't a monster and that he was still very much attracted to her and wanted her. It was a beautiful moment between them and this was where Annabelle finally let her guard down and let him in. Just the whole scene was beautifully written. Now even though it was sweet and tender I could feel how hot and uncontrollable their passion was for another and loved. So good. And it didn't hurt he was absolutely delicious. Yummy.
Also what I loved about this book was the relationship development though there was some hot sexual tension going on and kept in building throughout the book, there was also emotions building as well and I loved seeing that as they got to know one another. I loved she didn't give into him to easy or that the lovemaking scene didn't happen until near the middle. I liked seeing the growth going on and how important their relationship was coming to mean to both of them. It was really nice to see that progression and not have them hop into bed too early. Annabelle needed more time to get used to him before jumping into that type of relationship with him. Needed to learn to open up and trust him.
That was another thing I liked about this book was the fact that their relationship made them better people as well as grow as people with love being that healing force that they both needed in order to have happy lives as well as love. Especially in Annabelle case. This relationship was the best thing for her and for him as well but for her especially. It taught her to open up and live again. I love when romance do that where love heals and the main characters grow as people which was the case here. I just loving seeing meaningful relationships played out where it makes people stronger.
I highly recommend this book because I loved every moment of it. I dare you to read it and not fall in love with the characters or the story. It had a really nice balance of light and dark elements. At times it was heartbreaking especially for Annabelle who needed to have some light at the end of the tunnel. That light happened to be Stefano and what a light to have. She was a lucky girl. And lucky to have had this sweet, charming, and caring man by her side who wanted to protect and help her so she would get more out of life than she was getting. The scorching passion between them didn't hurt either. Just everything was right with this book. The right amount of feels, passion, and credibility that felt natural and never contrived. It was just the perfect blend and everything a good romance should be.
So I applaud you Jennie Lucas for creating another emotional and passionate read with some very likable and root able characters. So good job. You know how to get to the heart of the matter as well as create a powerful love story. And thank you for creating the character of Stefano. Who I completely love by the way. He was just utterly perfect and very sexy never coming off as sleezy despite his playboy ways. Even though he was a bi arrogant in the beginning, I found him entertaining.
So go out and read this book guys totally worth it. Also Jacob makes a brief appearance in this book and learning a little bit about him has me seriously intrigued and makes me want to read his book next despite the fact that is the last book in the series and I haven't yet read about the other brothers' story yet that has come before his. Though I read this one and this is the 2nd to last book in series before reading the others so it's not a big deal. Thank goodness you don't have to read them in order if you don't want to. So Jacob might be the next Wolf I read about.
I was really engrossed in the story and felt time fly as I flipped through the pages. My only regret for this book was it wasn't longer. Would have liked to spent more time with Annabelle & Stefano. Just I was really invested in the story and captured by both characters. I really enjoyed both of them especially him. He was so sexy and charming and would do anything to win the girl.
This book is part of the notorious wolves miniseries with all the siblings in the Wolf family getting their own book. This one was about Annabelle Wolf, the only sister in the entire herd of eight kids, and they had an abusive father and had a hard childhood so there follows that their lives were all roses despite their wealth. Annabelle was at the brunt of all this turmoil with her father nearly killing her by beating her severely and leaving her with both of motional and physical scars. Her brother Jacob pulled her father off of her and her father hit his head on the ground when Jacob punched in the face to protect his sister. And it later followed that Jacob was tried for the murder of his father but then later acquitted due to self defense. But for that date on the thing was the save and the bull family was severely broken and damaged by the events of that night especially Annabelle and Jacob. So the wolf children were severely messed up and had tons of issues to say the least. Now i've only read two of the eight books in the series 3 if you get this one and they definitely had so heartbreak going on. And I could tell that it would take somebody special for them to get to trust and love us for another person. And my heart broke for Annabelle and I wanted her to get her happily ever after after experiencing oh much pain and loss ed just isolation that she put herself in after she was nearly killed by her father. So I was really rooting for her and I hoped that Stefano could really get her out of her shell and get her to love and trust him so she would have a happier life and be more in the light than the dark and lonely this that her life was where she shut everyone out and associated closeness with loss and betrayal.
Stefano had his work cut out for him and you can imagine. He refused to give up and was assured that Annabelle would wide up in his bed at some point before she left after finishing her week long job on his ranch. But he was determined. Oh boy was he determined and he upped his game 100 fold that was pretty cute and charming. I loved how he set out to seduce her. Now at first he looked at her as a challenge, so would that would be able to bend her with so many others tried and failed. He was going to be the one to break her and get her to warm his sheets and he would be victorious and he would be winner. That challenge drove him and I thought that a bet might come into play here but didn't though it was more of an unspoken one. He wanted to melt the ice princess, the nickname she was given by men and the media. With his playboy ways he thought he would have no problems and break her down in a day. The game was on and it was entertaining to see his seduction technique as well as fun to see the cat and mouse game they played.
Now before she got on his ranch, she was warned how much of a charming playboy he was and knew that he would try to seduce her. And though she was worried about his reputation she was determined she would resist him because she didn't anyone physically or emotionally close to her because of her past. Plus she didn't want others to see her scars which thought made her a monster. But once she met him all logic went out the window as she felt this deep consuming passion and attraction to him. Every time he came close to her she felt the sizzle of attracted which made it very hard to resist him. But for awhile she did but it was only a matter of time until she succumbed to him.
Stefano was determined to have and though at fist he thought of it as a challenge and that he could have a bit of fun with her, his tune changed and he began to feel the same consuming attraction and passion that Annabelle did. Now it was that he wanted her not just the pleasure of carnal delights. He wanted to get close to her in every way imaginable especially when he noticed that she had mental scars that kept her hidden away from the world. He wanted to help and get her out of her shell and not be afraid to live or fear passion. And he used his charm to coax her, but he did it in a really beautiful way where I could tell his emotions were involved. And it was also cute to see how hot and out of control he was with her. I just loved seeing all of his sides from charming to caring to vulnerable. Just he was a great hero and I loved him.
The passion between them was smoking from the minute they met and didn't stop. Steam was coming off the pages that's for sure. It was great. There was just this overwhelming attraction and I just loved seeing it played out. What I also thought was great was the out of control attraction felt natural and real and not the bit contrived. I felt it right along with them. My pulse raced with theirs. My heart beat in tune with them. I could feel the passion coming off the pages and it felt completely right. Plus it felt they needed each other especially her and helping her heal past wounds. Wounds that were embedded deep in her psyche. It just seemed like a natural progression of where there were headed and I loved that.
And when their passion was finally released it was an explosion. It was so hot and sexy and with all that anticipation built up I was ready for them to finally consummate their relationship. They were both ready for it and needed. And even though it was hot and sexy, it was also sweet and tender especially when he was gently kissing her scars and showing her that she wasn't a monster and that he was still very much attracted to her and wanted her. It was a beautiful moment between them and this was where Annabelle finally let her guard down and let him in. Just the whole scene was beautifully written. Now even though it was sweet and tender I could feel how hot and uncontrollable their passion was for another and loved. So good. And it didn't hurt he was absolutely delicious. Yummy.
Also what I loved about this book was the relationship development though there was some hot sexual tension going on and kept in building throughout the book, there was also emotions building as well and I loved seeing that as they got to know one another. I loved she didn't give into him to easy or that the lovemaking scene didn't happen until near the middle. I liked seeing the growth going on and how important their relationship was coming to mean to both of them. It was really nice to see that progression and not have them hop into bed too early. Annabelle needed more time to get used to him before jumping into that type of relationship with him. Needed to learn to open up and trust him.
That was another thing I liked about this book was the fact that their relationship made them better people as well as grow as people with love being that healing force that they both needed in order to have happy lives as well as love. Especially in Annabelle case. This relationship was the best thing for her and for him as well but for her especially. It taught her to open up and live again. I love when romance do that where love heals and the main characters grow as people which was the case here. I just loving seeing meaningful relationships played out where it makes people stronger.
I highly recommend this book because I loved every moment of it. I dare you to read it and not fall in love with the characters or the story. It had a really nice balance of light and dark elements. At times it was heartbreaking especially for Annabelle who needed to have some light at the end of the tunnel. That light happened to be Stefano and what a light to have. She was a lucky girl. And lucky to have had this sweet, charming, and caring man by her side who wanted to protect and help her so she would get more out of life than she was getting. The scorching passion between them didn't hurt either. Just everything was right with this book. The right amount of feels, passion, and credibility that felt natural and never contrived. It was just the perfect blend and everything a good romance should be.
So I applaud you Jennie Lucas for creating another emotional and passionate read with some very likable and root able characters. So good job. You know how to get to the heart of the matter as well as create a powerful love story. And thank you for creating the character of Stefano. Who I completely love by the way. He was just utterly perfect and very sexy never coming off as sleezy despite his playboy ways. Even though he was a bi arrogant in the beginning, I found him entertaining.
So go out and read this book guys totally worth it. Also Jacob makes a brief appearance in this book and learning a little bit about him has me seriously intrigued and makes me want to read his book next despite the fact that is the last book in the series and I haven't yet read about the other brothers' story yet that has come before his. Though I read this one and this is the 2nd to last book in series before reading the others so it's not a big deal. Thank goodness you don't have to read them in order if you don't want to. So Jacob might be the next Wolf I read about.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2019
A book full of exaggerations. Romance novels are allowed some amount of creative license, but when every page is flooded with corny cliches, it does get tiring.
Forget the story, its just the same silly old nonsense. A girl with a history of family abuse finds it difficult to trust and love a man. Hero breaks the barriers, blah blah ...
Now let's come to a couple of the crazy exaggerations I was talking about:
- 33 year old shrinking violet virgin !?!??!?@!?@
- Daddy beats up daughter one night after she returns from a party, that is her nightmare
- 8-10 hours non-stop romp in the hay. Is it even humanly possible?
There are many more, but I just lost interest in listing them down. Not worthwhile.
Forget the story, its just the same silly old nonsense. A girl with a history of family abuse finds it difficult to trust and love a man. Hero breaks the barriers, blah blah ...
Now let's come to a couple of the crazy exaggerations I was talking about:
- 33 year old shrinking violet virgin !?!??!?@!?@
- Daddy beats up daughter one night after she returns from a party, that is her nightmare
- 8-10 hours non-stop romp in the hay. Is it even humanly possible?
There are many more, but I just lost interest in listing them down. Not worthwhile.
January 8, 2017
A good read.
A little off putting with Stefano's cold blooded plan to seduce Annabelle before he even meets her just to see if he can. Kind of gross, but then we knew there really are people out in the world like this. It is a credit to the author that she actually makes him likable. He realizes the error of his ways and decides to change for the better. He is charmed by Annabelle and his "White Knight" ego comes to the rescue.
In the end they both find love and save each other. Nice read.
A little off putting with Stefano's cold blooded plan to seduce Annabelle before he even meets her just to see if he can. Kind of gross, but then we knew there really are people out in the world like this. It is a credit to the author that she actually makes him likable. He realizes the error of his ways and decides to change for the better. He is charmed by Annabelle and his "White Knight" ego comes to the rescue.
In the end they both find love and save each other. Nice read.
June 20, 2017
Annabelle you broke my heart girl
November 4, 2018
Okay.. Just okay..
April 27, 2013
The heroine, a renowned photographer, is sent to Spain to take photographs of an exclusive horse ranch. She is warned by others that the ranch owner will try to seduce her, as he had (and succeeded) with other women. Knowing this, she fights off his advanced by being rather rude to him, but he still manages to break down the walls she’s erected to protect herself.
I really liked Stefano’s character. Total alpha with a bit of recklessness in him and yet a very honest man. Even though he doesn’t want her to leave, he doesn’t lie about loving her to keep her with him. Both characters have had bad experiences when it came to being used by people that they had loved and it was so sweet to see them find love with each other.
The black moment for the hero seemed a bit rushed, but I think the author just didn’t want the hero and heroine to be separated for long.
Presents are usually a hit or miss for me, but I’m finding Jennie Lucas to be a very consistent writer.
I really liked Stefano’s character. Total alpha with a bit of recklessness in him and yet a very honest man. Even though he doesn’t want her to leave, he doesn’t lie about loving her to keep her with him. Both characters have had bad experiences when it came to being used by people that they had loved and it was so sweet to see them find love with each other.
The black moment for the hero seemed a bit rushed, but I think the author just didn’t want the hero and heroine to be separated for long.
Presents are usually a hit or miss for me, but I’m finding Jennie Lucas to be a very consistent writer.
January 22, 2012
good grief, these category romances are just gettiing worse and worse. this one features a 33 year old virgin with a badly scarred face which has kept her from ever getting close to anyone else since she was a teenager, and the hero is a randy horse farm owner who doesn't do commitment. she falls in love with, and in bed, with him within a few days but when he can't commit to her--remember, this is all happening within a week's time--she leaves. not a believable story at all for me. i'm going to have to seriously reconsider my buying habits for books.
ETA published in the US as THE GIRL THAT LOVE FORGOT
ETA published in the US as THE GIRL THAT LOVE FORGOT
June 3, 2021
Sister to seven brothers, Annabelle should be used to men, but her trust was shattered the night her father almost killed her. Now Annabelle is a poised, polished ice queen, whom no man has ever touched....
Stefano Cortez can tame a wild horse quicker than any man alive, and passion heats the blood in his veins. Annabelle might appear untouchable, but Stefano sees beneath the frost, sees the real her—a woman desperate to be brought to life again.
Stefano Cortez can tame a wild horse quicker than any man alive, and passion heats the blood in his veins. Annabelle might appear untouchable, but Stefano sees beneath the frost, sees the real her—a woman desperate to be brought to life again.
April 19, 2015
¡Absolutamente hermosa! ¡Cómo he suspirado con esta historia de amor! Debo advertir que todo ocurre en poco tiempo, pero el drama de Anabel y todo lo que vive con Esteban es tan intenso que le perdono esto a la autora, Jennie Lucas. Amé a esta pareja. A mí me ha fascinado, cautivado, enamorado profundamente...
April 10, 2015
Chorei feita Madalena.
É um livro pequeno, com uma profundidade inusitada para um Harlequin.
Adorei os protagonistas, o conflito - o da "bela e o monstro" mas de uma perspectiva diferente, o contexto, o passado de ambos... Ainda estou a digerir.
É um livro pequeno, com uma profundidade inusitada para um Harlequin.
Adorei os protagonistas, o conflito - o da "bela e o monstro" mas de uma perspectiva diferente, o contexto, o passado de ambos... Ainda estou a digerir.
February 28, 2013
Its been a long time since a HP has been able to make me cry but this story sure did. Great read!
February 23, 2012
Very well written, and kept me reading long after I needed to get some sleep.
September 9, 2015
It was amazing but very hard to try and read this book. How do you read it? I would like some answers please!
August 6, 2011
As with all the other books in this collection, I loved this. Read it it one setting :-)
October 16, 2025
If you're in the mood for OTT angst with dark family secrets, then look no further.
Heroine is the reclusive daughter of the messed-up Wolfe family. A virgin at 33 with a boatload of trauma from the inciting incident: She's holding it together - kinda - when she travels to hero's Spanish horse ranch on a photography assignment.
Hero is world-class seducer of woman because his heart was broken when he was 19. He has a rags to riches story - but heroine wins hands down in the trauma stakes.
Of course hero's love saves the day and heroine is a happy, pregnant newlywed by the end of the story. It's a well-written story but plausible only if you've never suffered any sort of trauma. If you have - well - I'm sorry and don't read this. You'll find its treatment of childhood wounds insulting and glib. As a romance and as part of the series, it's fine. Hence 3 stars.
Heroine is the reclusive daughter of the messed-up Wolfe family. A virgin at 33 with a boatload of trauma from the inciting incident: She's holding it together - kinda - when she travels to hero's Spanish horse ranch on a photography assignment.
Hero is world-class seducer of woman because his heart was broken when he was 19. He has a rags to riches story - but heroine wins hands down in the trauma stakes.
Of course hero's love saves the day and heroine is a happy, pregnant newlywed by the end of the story. It's a well-written story but plausible only if you've never suffered any sort of trauma. If you have - well - I'm sorry and don't read this. You'll find its treatment of childhood wounds insulting and glib. As a romance and as part of the series, it's fine. Hence 3 stars.
July 4, 2022
I did enjoy the book. The backstory of the heroine was heartbreaking. and enough angst was felt (especially by me) on the almost misogynist playboy that thought it was 'okay' to almost aggressively push his sexual interest on a vulnerable woman that seemed against it for most of the book.
I dropped a star as I must admit that using 'mistress' in the 21st century just sounds....offensive to women. Why not use lover or girlfriend? Not all men end up marrying the two latter examples. Maybe it is just me, but I totally cringe at the title, unless in a historical romance novel.
Also, it was used wrongly in this instance anyway (IMO): 'A mistress is a woman who is in a relatively long-term sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is MARRIED to a different woman.'
I dropped a star as I must admit that using 'mistress' in the 21st century just sounds....offensive to women. Why not use lover or girlfriend? Not all men end up marrying the two latter examples. Maybe it is just me, but I totally cringe at the title, unless in a historical romance novel.
Also, it was used wrongly in this instance anyway (IMO): 'A mistress is a woman who is in a relatively long-term sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is MARRIED to a different woman.'
June 24, 2022
I had high hopes for this penultimate book in the notorious Wolfes’ series; however, it has been thoroughly disappointing. So melodramatic and badly written. I read the entire book in order to try and find something positive to say but, unfortunately, there is nothing. I was so looking forward to reading Annabelle’s story, in the right hands it could have been spectacular.
August 24, 2019
They are so cute together. I love how the heroine could resist the hero, and she wasn't that naive stupid girl who would just fall in love with a man just because they slept together. And i love how the hero understood her so much, and he was also very patient with her.
May 25, 2020
قرات الرواية بعنوان انابيلا وستيفانو
بترجمة منتدى روايتي
الجزء السابع من سلسلة bad blood
هذه المره مع انابيلا الاخت الوحيده للاخوة وولف
الفتاة التي تحملت اقسى غضب من والدها
احببت القصه لكنني تمنيت اكثر ان ارى علاقتها مع اخوتها
خصوصا بعد ابتعادهم عنها
بترجمة منتدى روايتي
الجزء السابع من سلسلة bad blood
هذه المره مع انابيلا الاخت الوحيده للاخوة وولف
الفتاة التي تحملت اقسى غضب من والدها
احببت القصه لكنني تمنيت اكثر ان ارى علاقتها مع اخوتها
خصوصا بعد ابتعادهم عنها
November 6, 2016
Assim que terminei de ler o sexto volume da série "Wolfe, A Dinastia", decidi logo pegar no sétimo e penúltimo em seguida pois estava verdadeiramente curiosa acerca do que iria encontrar - e fico muito contente por tê-lo feito, uma vez que me deparei com outro cativante livro!
Este é mais um livro leve e descontraído que facilmente proporciona uma agradável leitura graças a alguns ingredientes como a atracção, o drama, a esperança, o mistério, a coragem e o amor desde o princípio até ao fim da narrativa. O enredo é ritmado e, apesar de a acção decorrer num curto espaço de tempo, mostra-se envolvente e plausível e as personagens são muito carismáticas e apelativas - ao mesmo tempo, a escrita da autora é fluida e simples, captando sem dificuldade a atenção do leitor.
Estava muito ansiosa por esta história, não só por contar com a única rapariga da família Wolfe como protagonista mas também por causa do seu traumático passado - como tal, gostei mesmo muito de ver a maneira como lidou finalmente com isso neste livro.
Esta foi mais uma óptima leitura que me deixou ainda mais curiosa acerca do último volume desta série!
Este é mais um livro leve e descontraído que facilmente proporciona uma agradável leitura graças a alguns ingredientes como a atracção, o drama, a esperança, o mistério, a coragem e o amor desde o princípio até ao fim da narrativa. O enredo é ritmado e, apesar de a acção decorrer num curto espaço de tempo, mostra-se envolvente e plausível e as personagens são muito carismáticas e apelativas - ao mesmo tempo, a escrita da autora é fluida e simples, captando sem dificuldade a atenção do leitor.
Estava muito ansiosa por esta história, não só por contar com a única rapariga da família Wolfe como protagonista mas também por causa do seu traumático passado - como tal, gostei mesmo muito de ver a maneira como lidou finalmente com isso neste livro.
Esta foi mais uma óptima leitura que me deixou ainda mais curiosa acerca do último volume desta série!
May 14, 2017
leído el 11/08/2012
July 23, 2017
Read it in french. Story just ok.
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