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Castle of the Fountains
The English dove would be the bait
Sicily, the home of her forefathers--and the home of the vendetta! Rosalba Rossi had no idea how vengefully the two were entwined. Then Silvatore Diavolo presented himself.
The hatred between their families had erupted before either Rosalba or Silvatore was born, but family loyalty and fierce Sicilian pride decreed that the insult must still be avenged.
Unwittingly, Rosalba, visiting her grandfather, became the instrument of that vengeance. The Diavolo family must either be destroyed, or united with the Rossis in marriage....
Sicily, the home of her forefathers--and the home of the vendetta! Rosalba Rossi had no idea how vengefully the two were entwined. Then Silvatore Diavolo presented himself.
The hatred between their families had erupted before either Rosalba or Silvatore was born, but family loyalty and fierce Sicilian pride decreed that the insult must still be avenged.
Unwittingly, Rosalba, visiting her grandfather, became the instrument of that vengeance. The Diavolo family must either be destroyed, or united with the Rossis in marriage....
192 pages, Paperback
First published June 8, 1979
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46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 30, 2018
h gets shanghaied to Sicily by manipulative relatives, there she is kidnapped by feuding bandit lord H and held in a cave where she cleverly escapes rape by drugging his wine.
Thinking the dastardly deed has been done, recalcitrant grandfather forces marriage.
Then after a night of rapey H venting in animalistic ways, true love in poverty occurs. This was a kinda weird book.
It wasn't terrible, just really unpc and made no sense.
Thinking the dastardly deed has been done, recalcitrant grandfather forces marriage.
Then after a night of rapey H venting in animalistic ways, true love in poverty occurs. This was a kinda weird book.
It wasn't terrible, just really unpc and made no sense.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2022
This was a dumb one. Even by vintage HP standards, the abrupt & outlandish HEA is cringe-worthy.
Plot summary: A timid, cowering dishrag meets an illogical, blustering creep. He treats her like an emotional punching bag & tries to rape her in a peasant village, because he’s attracted to her despite their familial blood-feud…I guess? The stuff about the vendetta was confusing & poorly reasoned, but who cares because Harlequin. 😶 Meanwhile our Limp Dishrag feels bad for Mimbo McBluster because he studied medicine somewhere & then got beat up by her grandfather’s henchmen for mistreating her. So she marries him. He successfully rapes her on their wedding night, she poses sadface in the garden, & he suddenly feels bad about his behavior. She decides it’s true love because being his macho emo barometer is her lot in life. His violent mood swings & brutal bedroom antics are so sexy!
…Did I mention the heroine is terrified of escalators? Good god, woman. Get a grip. 🙈 She makes the shy, mousy narrator in REBECCA look like Wonder Woman.
Yeah. Not recommended.
Plot summary: A timid, cowering dishrag meets an illogical, blustering creep. He treats her like an emotional punching bag & tries to rape her in a peasant village, because he’s attracted to her despite their familial blood-feud…I guess? The stuff about the vendetta was confusing & poorly reasoned, but who cares because Harlequin. 😶 Meanwhile our Limp Dishrag feels bad for Mimbo McBluster because he studied medicine somewhere & then got beat up by her grandfather’s henchmen for mistreating her. So she marries him. He successfully rapes her on their wedding night, she poses sadface in the garden, & he suddenly feels bad about his behavior. She decides it’s true love because being his macho emo barometer is her lot in life. His violent mood swings & brutal bedroom antics are so sexy!
…Did I mention the heroine is terrified of escalators? Good god, woman. Get a grip. 🙈 She makes the shy, mousy narrator in REBECCA look like Wonder Woman.
Yeah. Not recommended.
June 22, 2024
He hated her and is forced into an old fashioned shotgun marriage to preserve honor, dragged to the altar kicking and screaming (her grandfather literally kept him prisoner in his dungeon until it was time to drag him to the altar). On their wedding night, he rapes her brutally. This was no forced seduction. The next morning, she drags herself from the rape bed sore and bruised both physically and emotionally. Then, he joins her and tells her he loves her because he found out she was a virgin after all!!! And she falls into his arms, even trying to seduce him. With all the epic trainwrecks Harlequins I have read, this was one of the most messed-up!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2018
I love cruel/abusive hero and a saint heroine normally but it was too much in this book.
October 13, 2014
An abrupt and unconvincing ending! Didn't feel like a Harlequin, Ms Rome put effort into creating a plot, interesting characters but lost impetus and then just wrapped everything up in an extremely brutal way.
March 1, 2020
An enjoyable read at the time when published in 1979. The front cover of this edition is for the 1982 Harlequin version. Set in Sicily about a young girl becoming the instrument of vengeance in a vendetta between her family and the family of the male character.
December 14, 2013
على حد السيف
December 21, 2018
رواية ممتعه عن الانتقام والحب في صقلية
مليئة بالحب كعادة روايات عبير
ليس ممله ابداا
مليئة بالحب كعادة روايات عبير
ليس ممله ابداا
March 4, 2020
Eh, was kind of confusing. But it is set in Sicily, so that was kind of fun!
January 19, 2021
Disappointing!
Despotic Sicilian grandfather.
Timid English granddaughter and her unheroic hero.
Old vendetta.
Waste of time.
Despotic Sicilian grandfather.
Timid English granddaughter and her unheroic hero.
Old vendetta.
Waste of time.
September 20, 2023
Can’t connect to neither characters. They are weak MCs. Plot-wise wasn’t very wise. Her relationship with the grandfather wasn’t even worth anything in the book. It didn’t play any importance, seems almost like grandfather was just sus. Suddenly grandfather cares enough to arrange the marriage, blah blah blah. By now the heroine seems to had forgotten about her mom back at home. After all, she was a very accommodating kidnapped victim. She goes with the flow without much sense. On the other hand, twice the hero had the heroine in his palms without anyone nearby, yet he doesn’t kidnap her until sneaking in her room later to take her. Eventually there was the abrupt ending, as others has mentioned, and it was just insufficient. There wasn’t even any romance in the first place, so how we got to where we did was not believable. Do not recommend.
July 5, 2025
Can't say I enjoyed this story, but I was certainly diverted. Hero kidnaps heroine as a part of a vendetta against her wealthy grandfather. Heroine is a dry stick of a girl, frightened of everything with no signs of a personality.
For some reason, hero is attracted to her. Heroine has stockholm syndrome so when they are finally caught, heroine pretends she's pregnant so hero's life will be spared. (Hero thinks he raped her because he passed out from sleeping pills before finishing the deed) Hero is angry heroine tricked him. He has angry sex with her on their wedding night and then proclaims his love when he realizes she's a virgin. The end.
That's right. The end. So many loose ends, such an unbelievable declaration.
If you enjoy a cruel hero and kidnapping scenarios, you'll love this one.
For some reason, hero is attracted to her. Heroine has stockholm syndrome so when they are finally caught, heroine pretends she's pregnant so hero's life will be spared. (Hero thinks he raped her because he passed out from sleeping pills before finishing the deed) Hero is angry heroine tricked him. He has angry sex with her on their wedding night and then proclaims his love when he realizes she's a virgin. The end.
That's right. The end. So many loose ends, such an unbelievable declaration.
If you enjoy a cruel hero and kidnapping scenarios, you'll love this one.
November 6, 2023
Très difficile d’éprouver quelques frisons que ce soit lorsque le personnage principal se nomme Rosalba.
L’introduction traîne en longueur mais que dire de l’intrigue! Je m’attendais absolument qu’elle se fasse kidnapper par un médecin mercenaire communiste. J’ai adorer l’intrigue aussi farfelue que ridicule.
Comme toujours avec cette superbe collection nous avons des magnifiques démonstrations de misogynie et de masculinité toxique que soit dit en passant j’adore. Svp ne me lancer point de roche je suis juste extrêmement curieuse que des femmes propage eux même ce type de pensée dans leur récit. Je crois que c’est l’âge d’or de la brutalité consentie.
Somme toute c’est un très bon roman exécrable avec lequel je partage énormément d’amour et de haine.
L’introduction traîne en longueur mais que dire de l’intrigue! Je m’attendais absolument qu’elle se fasse kidnapper par un médecin mercenaire communiste. J’ai adorer l’intrigue aussi farfelue que ridicule.
Comme toujours avec cette superbe collection nous avons des magnifiques démonstrations de misogynie et de masculinité toxique que soit dit en passant j’adore. Svp ne me lancer point de roche je suis juste extrêmement curieuse que des femmes propage eux même ce type de pensée dans leur récit. Je crois que c’est l’âge d’or de la brutalité consentie.
Somme toute c’est un très bon roman exécrable avec lequel je partage énormément d’amour et de haine.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2021
زوينة القصة 😒💔..
May 8, 2021
The English dove would be the bait
Sicily, the home of her forefathers--and the home of the vendetta! Rosalba Rossi had no idea how vengefully the two were entwined. Then Silvatore Diavolo presented himself.
The hatred between their families had erupted before either Rosalba or Silvatore was born, but family loyalty and fierce Sicilian pride decreed that the insult must still be avenged.
Unwittingly, Rosalba, visiting her grandfather, became the instrument of that vengeance. The Diavolo family must either be destroyed, or united with the Rossis in marriage..
Sicily, the home of her forefathers--and the home of the vendetta! Rosalba Rossi had no idea how vengefully the two were entwined. Then Silvatore Diavolo presented himself.
The hatred between their families had erupted before either Rosalba or Silvatore was born, but family loyalty and fierce Sicilian pride decreed that the insult must still be avenged.
Unwittingly, Rosalba, visiting her grandfather, became the instrument of that vengeance. The Diavolo family must either be destroyed, or united with the Rossis in marriage..
May 20, 2013
one of the most unromantic harlequin ever.maybe the most unromantic one...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews