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Marriage by Command #2
Accordo a sorpresa
Cresciuto nei bassifondi di Atene, Sergios Demonides pensava che la vita non potesse riservargli alcuna sorpresa, almeno fino al giorno in cui Beatriz Blake non irrompe nel suo ufficio proponendogli un matrimonio di convenienza! Orgogliosa e indipendente, Bea è lontana anni luce dal tipo di donna che solitamente scalda le lenzuola del ricco Sergios. Lui però non ha bisogno di un ulteriore, inutile trofeo, quello che cerca adesso è ben altro. Così i due stringono un patto conveniente per entrambi: quanto conveniente però non lo immaginano nemmeno loro.
114 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 16, 2012
162 people are currently reading
509 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Graham
1,783 books1,452 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
August 25, 2020
August 2020 reread: LG does such a convincing job of reforming her stinkers. She seeds in loving or insightful thoughts into the hero's PoV early enough in the story to make his change seem realistic and inevitable. Love gets the alpha every time!
Original review:
Cute marriage of convenience story between a teacher heroine who also pole dances for exercise and a grumpy billionaire who learns to show his soft side to the three children left in his care.
It's the heroine who makes this story. She knows how to handle little kids and billionaire heroes who have never been told 'no.' To obtain a hotel he wants, the hero offers a deal for their marriage of convenience - hero will take care of her mother if she will take care of the children. He will keep his mistress and -
Heroine is having none of that and points out that if she can't have sex with another, neither can he. He has been smitten with the heroine's cleavage since he saw her at a party and doesn't think it will be long before he can seduce her. They both have each other tied up in knots in no time.
This is the middle story of a trilogy. I didn't read the other two, but it wasn't necessary to enjoy this book.
Original review:
Cute marriage of convenience story between a teacher heroine who also pole dances for exercise and a grumpy billionaire who learns to show his soft side to the three children left in his care.
It's the heroine who makes this story. She knows how to handle little kids and billionaire heroes who have never been told 'no.' To obtain a hotel he wants, the hero offers a deal for their marriage of convenience - hero will take care of her mother if she will take care of the children. He will keep his mistress and -
Heroine is having none of that and points out that if she can't have sex with another, neither can he. He has been smitten with the heroine's cleavage since he saw her at a party and doesn't think it will be long before he can seduce her. They both have each other tied up in knots in no time.
This is the middle story of a trilogy. I didn't read the other two, but it wasn't necessary to enjoy this book.
July 30, 2018
Sorry, but not for me, I rather liked Navarre and Tawny to be honest. At least there is no abuse. This sad SOB is going to keep a mistress which is non negotiable yet the wife will have to stay faithful? What kind of sick double standard is that? He also offers to "sacrifice" himself and offers to sleep with his wife when he's not with the mistress? Hold that thought while I go and throw up.
How do writers think it is ok to show such POV? Because I'm refusing to believe any such things happens in real life.
There is nothing to like about this hero in my opinion. He's sadistic with hypocritical double standard!
How do writers think it is ok to show such POV? Because I'm refusing to believe any such things happens in real life.
There is nothing to like about this hero in my opinion. He's sadistic with hypocritical double standard!
May 19, 2012
Okay, I enjoyed this one a lot. I admit I was pretty annoyed at Sergios for most of the book, and highly offended that he expected a wife who would look the other way at his sexual infidelities but wasn't allowed to have her own. Don't get me wrong. Cheating/marital infidelity is a big, fat, huge, no no for me, across the board. But I despised his double standard. Why was it okay for him to 'get some' outside of his marriage but not his wife? No way, buddy! Surprisingly, I could understand why Beatriz agreed to his terms. She wanted to see her mother cared for and she had already started bonding with Sergios' orphaned nephews and niece. Another aspect that had the steam coming out of my ears was how the hotness of Sergios just made Bee melt like ice cream on a Texas summer day. Will power...gone! I respect that you feel an incredible sexual attraction sometimes, but, ugh, I just wish that it didn't made the heroines in these books act so marshmallowy. On the good side, she fought it longer than some do in these books. A good point in this book was Bee. She was fairly mature and grounded. I think she was a bit on the insecure side, but other than that affecting some of her decisions more than I liked, I liked her and respected her a lot. Even Sergios wasn't a total write-off. Although I wished that his feelings for Bee were a bit more obvious to me as a reader earlier on (other than lust), he was a decent guy, for the most part. Even though he started off way too smug about his attractions (a real turnoff even if he is hot), presumptuous, manipulative, and self-absorbed, I could see a discernible change in him for the better, and I loved how he lays his cards on the table near the end. Let me tell you, though, I was seething, wondering if he really did go there on his wedding night. I am pretty certain that I think I would be driven to physical violence were I some of the women in these books. It's a good thing I am not a Harlequin Presents-caliber heroine!
Final Thoughts: This was an enjoyable read for me. I know many long time Lynne Graham fans have not been happy with her newer books, I felt like this one was more or less on par with some of her older books, although it's not a favorite of mine. I like that this heroine is a bit more mature and not dizzy like she tends to do with her heroines. I liked that she knew her mind and she was an independent thinker, for the most part. The romance was good and at the end, I felt like Sergios had proven worthy of Bee. At any rate, I didn't feel like holding him off from her like a maiden aunt with a rolling pin. I'd give this one a thumbs up and a solid four stars. If you like Harlequin Presents novels, you might like this one. I did.
Final Thoughts: This was an enjoyable read for me. I know many long time Lynne Graham fans have not been happy with her newer books, I felt like this one was more or less on par with some of her older books, although it's not a favorite of mine. I like that this heroine is a bit more mature and not dizzy like she tends to do with her heroines. I liked that she knew her mind and she was an independent thinker, for the most part. The romance was good and at the end, I felt like Sergios had proven worthy of Bee. At any rate, I didn't feel like holding him off from her like a maiden aunt with a rolling pin. I'd give this one a thumbs up and a solid four stars. If you like Harlequin Presents novels, you might like this one. I did.
July 17, 2018
Original review:
3.5 stars but it were way better than the first.
Ok so Bee is a brown-haired sweetheart, Sergios is unfeeling and controlling.
Both have lived difficult childhoods thanks to their parents, the results: he distrusts everything that moves and she has low self-esteem.
He married young a blonde depressive woman and it was a disaster, she was in a serious relationship but the bastard dumped her for a profitable blonde.
He became the guardian of three little kids, she has to take care of her disabled mother financial security.
He was engaged (a business-like deal) to her blonde half-sister, she was blackmailed by her father to take her sister's place when said engagement was broken.
They got a deal: he wanted to keep his blonde mistress, she wanted a platonic marriage (because virgin).
Did you notice the blonde pattern? Bee did.
So they marry and he notices she has big breasts, she notices he's a flawed but decent guy.
He wants to bed her, she wants more.
Blah, blah, blahs and they live HEA.
Re-read:
He's still an ass but she notices an tells him about his manipulative and double-standard ways.
3.5 stars but it were way better than the first.
Ok so Bee is a brown-haired sweetheart, Sergios is unfeeling and controlling.
Both have lived difficult childhoods thanks to their parents, the results: he distrusts everything that moves and she has low self-esteem.
He married young a blonde depressive woman and it was a disaster, she was in a serious relationship but the bastard dumped her for a profitable blonde.
He became the guardian of three little kids, she has to take care of her disabled mother financial security.
He was engaged (a business-like deal) to her blonde half-sister, she was blackmailed by her father to take her sister's place when said engagement was broken.
They got a deal: he wanted to keep his blonde mistress, she wanted a platonic marriage (because virgin).
Did you notice the blonde pattern? Bee did.
So they marry and he notices she has big breasts, she notices he's a flawed but decent guy.
He wants to bed her, she wants more.
Blah, blah, blahs and they live HEA.
Re-read:
He's still an ass but she notices an tells him about his manipulative and double-standard ways.
March 21, 2020
I'm giving this a B- for Lynne Graham. It's no The Petrakos Bride or A Ring to Secure His Heir (I promised I would not compare it to The Spanish Groom) but it's no An Insatiable Passion/Bride for Real11086210] either.
The heroine is the sister of the heroine in Roccanti's Marriage Revenge who was engaged to the hero in a MOC by the evil father. That h escapes, and the evil father blackmails this heroine into approaching the stone cold and stone cold sexy hero. Pops needs a hotel deal done or he will take away the heroine's handicapped mother's house away. Well, the H and h make a deal and happily the heroine's father gets squeezed more than he wants but that's all that happens to him.
The Sexy H says he will keep his mistress and any other sexy minnows that swim by, thank you very much, and the heroine can stay celibate. The hero is not very endearing. The heroine goes through with the marriage in part to protect her paraplegic mother (this is an HP after all) and to mother the H's inherited insta family.
The marriage is celibate until the hero sees the heroine exercising by pole dancing. The evil OW makes an appearance and has no class. A rare heroine that holds her own with the OW. The hero does come around, but he is off page a surprising amount.
Just too much was dropped from the first book. That heroine doesn't even make it to her half-sister's wedding and obviously dropped the ball with the H's adopted kids. Plus the heroine's father really needed more of a comeuppance as he was absolutely horrible in the first book and merely terrible in this one. There is a third book with a third half sister as apparently the father was not careful with his condoms.
The heroine is the sister of the heroine in Roccanti's Marriage Revenge who was engaged to the hero in a MOC by the evil father. That h escapes, and the evil father blackmails this heroine into approaching the stone cold and stone cold sexy hero. Pops needs a hotel deal done or he will take away the heroine's handicapped mother's house away. Well, the H and h make a deal and happily the heroine's father gets squeezed more than he wants but that's all that happens to him.
The Sexy H says he will keep his mistress and any other sexy minnows that swim by, thank you very much, and the heroine can stay celibate. The hero is not very endearing. The heroine goes through with the marriage in part to protect her paraplegic mother (this is an HP after all) and to mother the H's inherited insta family.
The marriage is celibate until the hero sees the heroine exercising by pole dancing. The evil OW makes an appearance and has no class. A rare heroine that holds her own with the OW. The hero does come around, but he is off page a surprising amount.
Just too much was dropped from the first book. That heroine doesn't even make it to her half-sister's wedding and obviously dropped the ball with the H's adopted kids. Plus the heroine's father really needed more of a comeuppance as he was absolutely horrible in the first book and merely terrible in this one. There is a third book with a third half sister as apparently the father was not careful with his condoms.
May 2, 2012
I wasn't going to read this book, since I am over my LG love, but then some friends said this book is not that bad and I did. The sister of the heroine jilted the hero in the first book, it was to be a business marriage, she looks after his three orphaned niece and nephews while he continues on with his life. The heroine is threatened by her father to propose to the hero and she does because of her disabled mother. She is 24 and a school-teacher and has a spine.
The hero suggests that he has a mistress and will continue to have one, while she gets security for her mother and looks after the kids. I liked how the heroine challenged the hero, when he tried to spruce up her appearance and didn't allow him to run her life. She changes him and soon their marriage become intimate. Of course there are both their ex'es on the horizon and the hero kind of distraught tells her that he hasn't been with his mistress since he married her and gave her, her walking papers. Then, we get the typical LG epilogue, with h/H ecstatically happy and expecting.
The hero suggests that he has a mistress and will continue to have one, while she gets security for her mother and looks after the kids. I liked how the heroine challenged the hero, when he tried to spruce up her appearance and didn't allow him to run her life. She changes him and soon their marriage become intimate. Of course there are both their ex'es on the horizon and the hero kind of distraught tells her that he hasn't been with his mistress since he married her and gave her, her walking papers. Then, we get the typical LG epilogue, with h/H ecstatically happy and expecting.
April 20, 2012
I enjoyed this latest entry of one my fav HP authors who really has been hit/miss as of late with her books.In this book,typical bossy,autocrate,my word is GOD hero who is paired with just the right heroine for him.She calls him on everything and takes no bull.One of my fav tropes is used with the MOC and the story moved along nicely.I loved the pole dancing scene and then he became all HE-MAN and possessive.Glad that the old LG was back with this book and looking forward to the last in this 3 book series with the younger sister Tawny.
February 17, 2012
The heroine Beatriz is forced into approaching the her Sergios about a marriage of convenience - her sister had originally meant to marry him - otherwise her father will stop all his financial support for Beatriz's disabled mother. At first Sergios is uninteresting in Bee, as she is nothing like his usual type of woman, but he realised that she is exactly the kind of woman he needs to help him raise his late cousin's three children. Sergios expects to be able to marry Bee and continue with his life as usual and also expects her to do as he says, but he soon realises that Bee is far from amenable. Bee doesn't like the situation she is in but knows it is best for her mother as well as the three children she has become a mother to. When circumstance forces Sergios and Bee to be closer than they expected, Sergios begins to see that he is wildly attracted to Bee and she means so much more to him than he first thought. But Bee is determined to keep her heart, knowing that Sergios doesn't ever plan on losing his freedom.
I was so hoping that I would like this book, but... oh, I really didn't. And that is mainly down to one fact - the hero had a mistress (yuk, hate that word!) all the way through the book. Regardless of the fact that it was revealed eventually that he hadn't actually been with her since marrying the heroine, that his future cheating was almost glorified throughout the book was really, really unappealing. This kind of thing is not, and never will be, something that appeals to the 'romantic fantasy' that we read romance novels for.
Needless to say, I didn't like the hero. I wanted to like the heroine, and I did - she was very fiery and independent up to a point, but I found her overlooking the whole mistress thing, as well as the fact that she gave up her job, and let the hero give her a 'make over' a little hard to swallow.
Throughout reading this book my mind kept saying "no, no, no, no..."! Not for me, is this book! YMMV.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
I was so hoping that I would like this book, but... oh, I really didn't. And that is mainly down to one fact - the hero had a mistress (yuk, hate that word!) all the way through the book. Regardless of the fact that it was revealed eventually that he hadn't actually been with her since marrying the heroine, that his future cheating was almost glorified throughout the book was really, really unappealing. This kind of thing is not, and never will be, something that appeals to the 'romantic fantasy' that we read romance novels for.
Needless to say, I didn't like the hero. I wanted to like the heroine, and I did - she was very fiery and independent up to a point, but I found her overlooking the whole mistress thing, as well as the fact that she gave up her job, and let the hero give her a 'make over' a little hard to swallow.
Throughout reading this book my mind kept saying "no, no, no, no..."! Not for me, is this book! YMMV.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
August 13, 2019
"A Deal at the Altar" is the story of Bee and Sergio.
Our hero needs a convenient wife to take care of his cousin's three kids. He has already done the deed, and regretted it, hence he basically needs a smokescreen babysitter, because he already has a hot mistress. When his to be fiance ditches him, he is surprised when her ferocious and curvy sister offers herself instead for the deal. Her motivation: to prevent her disabled mother from being homeless, thanks to her cad of a sperm donor. After some thought, the hero agrees.
Thus begins a paper marriage which soon turns into so much more..filled with hot lovemaking, typical OW/OM drama, cute kids and interfering relatives.
The hero was an arrogant but oblivious billionaire who was obsessed with the heroine's breasts and made asinine demands from her. The heroine was strong, filled with spunk and carved her niche in his life. There is romance, angst, drama and HEA. Adored the epilogue.
Enjoyed it!
Safe..ish
3.5/5
Our hero needs a convenient wife to take care of his cousin's three kids. He has already done the deed, and regretted it, hence he basically needs a smokescreen babysitter, because he already has a hot mistress. When his to be fiance ditches him, he is surprised when her ferocious and curvy sister offers herself instead for the deal. Her motivation: to prevent her disabled mother from being homeless, thanks to her cad of a sperm donor. After some thought, the hero agrees.
Thus begins a paper marriage which soon turns into so much more..filled with hot lovemaking, typical OW/OM drama, cute kids and interfering relatives.
The hero was an arrogant but oblivious billionaire who was obsessed with the heroine's breasts and made asinine demands from her. The heroine was strong, filled with spunk and carved her niche in his life. There is romance, angst, drama and HEA. Adored the epilogue.
Enjoyed it!
Safe..ish
3.5/5
April 18, 2012
A deal at the Altar is the second book in Lynne Graham’s stories of three sisters. I enjoyed the first book, Roccanti’s Marriage Revenge and liked meeting Beatriz and looked forward to her book. Also wanted to know more about the mysterious Sergios Demonides.
Talk about a dysfunctional family. Mothers, stepmothers, mistresses, and the most obnoxious and awful father, which really amazes me how sweet and nice the sisters turn out. Blackmailed by her father, with threats that he will to cut all financial aid to Beatriz’s invalid mother unless he marries Sergios so he can avoid financial ruin, she has no other option but to agree to this mad plan…why would Sergios agree to her proposal after at her sister Zara had done to him and it’s not as if she is even beautiful and the kind of women he is seen with.
She is surprised and shocked when he agrees to marry her, but with certain provisos. Bee will look after his cousin’s three orphaned children, it will not be a normal marriage as he will continue his affair with Melita and other women…in his words…”I have a mistress. Melita is nonnegotiable…Occasionally I have other interests as well. I will be very discreet.”….I would have run a mile if a guy said that to me!!!!!!! But for poor Bee, there is no way out!!!!
Wow…but this is no little pushover……she makes it quite clear she has her own conditions and he had better abide by them!!! I liked that in her.
Sergios…wow…this is some cold guy…of course he’s very very rich, very very good looking but what a creep…that’s what I thought about him…he leaves Bee alone on their first wedding night…she is devastated but this makes her even more determined not to give in to the attraction she is beginning to feel towards him. I really hated him….even when he felt a certain attraction to her, he continued with his cold attitude…making his demands and telling her she must obey him….in this day and age.??? Get a life Sergios…even if you had a terrible childhood, this was not a good reason to treat such a good woman!!!!!!!!
The dialogue between the two is really good and humorous…loved her talk back to him…not afraid to voice her opinions and ideas….gave him as good as she got!!!!!!!!
Bee is a much more deeper person than I found in Zara….though she has problems of her own…having to care for her mother since she was young, fighting the battle of the bulge….which by the way Sergios loves her body…and I had to laugh at the description of her fabulous cleavage….”shaped like a violin”……….she shows love, patience, interest and caring to the three children who are now her family.
And spunk!!!!! Melita sms her to meet and to discuss Sergios….loved the way she handled the situation….with finesse and class…what a way to deal with a mistress!!!!!!!!!!! He’s my man and you better believe it!!!!!!!!!! You go girl!!!!!!!!
Thank heavens Sergios finally gets his head together and realizes what a gem he has in Bee.
This is really a sweet HEA….and I loved it. Can’t wait for the next story of the third sister.
I love Lynne Graham’s books and have most of her collection in the favorite shelf of my bookcase and this will certainly have a place there.
Book Blurb: Her indecent proposal! Having pulled himself up from the streets of Athens, Sergios Demonides thought he had seen it all. Then Beatriz Blake walked into his office and asked him for a marriage of convenience! Independent, proud and unadorned, Beatriz is a far cry from the usual glamorous women who grace his bed. But Sergios doesn't need another trophy - he needs a mother for his late cousin's children. The overlooked Blake heiress and the ruthless billionaire strike a deal. But she doesn't read the small print - that sees them sharing a bed!
Talk about a dysfunctional family. Mothers, stepmothers, mistresses, and the most obnoxious and awful father, which really amazes me how sweet and nice the sisters turn out. Blackmailed by her father, with threats that he will to cut all financial aid to Beatriz’s invalid mother unless he marries Sergios so he can avoid financial ruin, she has no other option but to agree to this mad plan…why would Sergios agree to her proposal after at her sister Zara had done to him and it’s not as if she is even beautiful and the kind of women he is seen with.
She is surprised and shocked when he agrees to marry her, but with certain provisos. Bee will look after his cousin’s three orphaned children, it will not be a normal marriage as he will continue his affair with Melita and other women…in his words…”I have a mistress. Melita is nonnegotiable…Occasionally I have other interests as well. I will be very discreet.”….I would have run a mile if a guy said that to me!!!!!!! But for poor Bee, there is no way out!!!!
Wow…but this is no little pushover……she makes it quite clear she has her own conditions and he had better abide by them!!! I liked that in her.
Sergios…wow…this is some cold guy…of course he’s very very rich, very very good looking but what a creep…that’s what I thought about him…he leaves Bee alone on their first wedding night…she is devastated but this makes her even more determined not to give in to the attraction she is beginning to feel towards him. I really hated him….even when he felt a certain attraction to her, he continued with his cold attitude…making his demands and telling her she must obey him….in this day and age.??? Get a life Sergios…even if you had a terrible childhood, this was not a good reason to treat such a good woman!!!!!!!!
The dialogue between the two is really good and humorous…loved her talk back to him…not afraid to voice her opinions and ideas….gave him as good as she got!!!!!!!!
Bee is a much more deeper person than I found in Zara….though she has problems of her own…having to care for her mother since she was young, fighting the battle of the bulge….which by the way Sergios loves her body…and I had to laugh at the description of her fabulous cleavage….”shaped like a violin”……….she shows love, patience, interest and caring to the three children who are now her family.
And spunk!!!!! Melita sms her to meet and to discuss Sergios….loved the way she handled the situation….with finesse and class…what a way to deal with a mistress!!!!!!!!!!! He’s my man and you better believe it!!!!!!!!!! You go girl!!!!!!!!
Thank heavens Sergios finally gets his head together and realizes what a gem he has in Bee.
This is really a sweet HEA….and I loved it. Can’t wait for the next story of the third sister.
I love Lynne Graham’s books and have most of her collection in the favorite shelf of my bookcase and this will certainly have a place there.
Book Blurb: Her indecent proposal! Having pulled himself up from the streets of Athens, Sergios Demonides thought he had seen it all. Then Beatriz Blake walked into his office and asked him for a marriage of convenience! Independent, proud and unadorned, Beatriz is a far cry from the usual glamorous women who grace his bed. But Sergios doesn't need another trophy - he needs a mother for his late cousin's children. The overlooked Blake heiress and the ruthless billionaire strike a deal. But she doesn't read the small print - that sees them sharing a bed!
January 31, 2016
4.5 stars
Yet another solid read by Lynne Graham. It was enjoyable. It was engaging. Lynne drew me into the world of Sergios and Bee immediately and made me want to delve deeper into their love story and see the journey that they went on together. There was passion. There were emotional stepping stones in the story until they grew into the people that they were by book's end. Both Sergios and Bee were completely likable, and I enjoyed them together as a couple. This was just a good, quick entertaining read that any Lynne Graham fan would find enjoyable.
Not that I was surprised for the most part I do enjoy Lynne Graham books, but every once in awhile she doesn't quite hit it out of the park. For her example, her first book in this trilogy that involved the character of Zara, Bee's sister and kind of connected with this story being that she was supposed to marry Sergios in book one, but instead she ran off with her hero. I read Zara's book a long time ago but I remember being disappointed in that book and not quite liking it like I liked this one. So coming into this book my expectations weren't so high, but once I got into the story I really enjoyed it and liked in a hundred times better than book number one. So that was good.
I think one of the surprising things about this book was the things that I usually crave in romance book wasn't exactly in this book, but I didn't care because the story worked as whole that I barely missed the themes that I was used to and expect from a great love story. I didn't miss them yet I enjoyed this book immensely.
For example, the angst, which I love and just savor in romance wasn't here in this story. In fact there wasn't a lot of angst, or at least in my view. There was conflict for sure as well as an attraction between them, but it wasn't this dragging angst that went on for pages upon pages where I was impatient for them getting it on, and in this instance it was a good thing. The story had a nice pace and a steady build up that would later lead to Bee's and Sergios's happily ever after, and it worked really well I thought. There was tension between them but it wasn't overwhelming or that angsty, which was fine. Again it worked. When a story worked as well as this story did then the high intensity angst really wasn't needed nor did I feel that I was missing something that made their story lacking. It wasn't.
One critical point that I have of this book was the fact that Sergios seemed to do a one eighty pretty quickly. One moment he didn't want his wife and vowed he wouldn't get intimately involved with her and would only be physical to his mistress, which he was totally upfront with Bee from the beginning and even stated he only wanted marriage to her as a mother for the children he was now raising, then suddenly Sergios wanted his wife without any really hint that it was coming. Yes, he stated he was attracted to her body from the moment he met her, but I didn't feel that he had this deep seated want for her that was drenched in his bones until he couldn't stand it any longer. There was really no evidence of that until he came onto her in the bathroom then in was full steam ahead for him. I felt that was a huge jump and would have been okay if there would have been more serious hints on his parts before that bathroom scene, but with that being said it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book, it was just a little jarring and kind of unexpected that he suddenly wanted a physical relationship with her. I thought there would be more time in between and his want for her would just build and build, but again it didn't effected my enjoyment of the story.
In regards to the love scenes, there really was only one proper, full blown, descriptive love scene that occurred in the book and that was her first time. There was another hot, steamy scene between them that was delicious to watch, but it wasn't the all the way scene that came later. Even though there was only one descriptive love scene with a couple other love scene that were summarized for the most part, it worked, and it worked really well I thought. It was funny in my review that I wrote yesterday that was my biggest complaint of the story was the lack of love scenes except for one big one, and I wanted more love scenes to occur in the book because I felt they were needed for a lack of a better word, but for here I didn't feel that way, which just goes to show you what works for one book may not work for another book. Funny how that works. I think the big thing was that I was satisfied with this love scene and felt that it conveyed everything that needed to be conveyed in that one little scene. It showed their passion for one another but it also showed that they had an emotion connection that was just starting to build and build and would just grow over time. It was a beautiful love scene and was very well written I thought and it fit perfectly into the story. There was another summarized love scene near the end, and it not only showed their passion but their need and connection to one another and it was an easy conclusion that they were both in love. And I think that was what the big difference was between this story and the story I read yesterday. It worked.
I enjoyed both characters as I stated above. I loved Bee and her feistiness as well as her loyalty and just how self-sacrificing she was. She thought about everybody else before she thought of herself. She ignored her wants and needs or even her comfort just to make sure everyone around her was living happily and comfortably. She was sweet and loving, yet had a backbone. She had no problem standing up to Sergios along the way, and I loved that about her. She wasn't a doormat. She had some hurts from her past mainly dealing with her father, which caused her to have many insecurities about herself which made her believe that she would never have a chance with Sergios in any real way. What I really liked about that plotline was that it wasn't overdone or overwhelming, it was stated and clear that was what she believed, but she wasn't wallowing or having her issues drag the story down where it would border on pathetic. It was just enough to show the conflict as well as the tension in their love story.
Sergios was a great character as well. I enjoyed him, and even though he was very much an alpha male, he wasn't too over the top. He was never overly cruel or mean spirited towards Bee in fact he did everything in his power to boost her up and get her to be more confident in herself. Now even though I didn't agree with his philosophy, I did admire that he was upfront with her from the very beginning of what he wanted from the marriage and he didn't sugar coat it. Basically he said he was marrying Bee for the children and that was it and he intended to keep his mistress and would engage in physical intimacy whenever the mood arose for him to do so and vowed to do that with other women as well. Now, of coarse he didn't keep his mistress or cheat on Bee once they got married, which probably made it more palatable about his pompous declarations of what he planned to do while he and Bee married with his mistress so it was easier to swallow his earlier declarations and made him that likable guy. If he did indeed was with his mistress at any point, my view would have totally changed of him. To say I admire that he didn't cheat on his wife is kind of ridiculous, but what I am more saying was that I enjoyed his honesty and that he really held nothing back from Bee about his expectations of marriage, and I respect that, not that actions he played on engaging in. I liked seeing him grow over time and see him change from this harden man to this family man that was devoted to his children and his wife. I loved his tender side and how was with the children later on the book. It was really sweet to see.
Speaking of the children, I loved that they were in this story. Sometimes I can be a little iffy of children in a Harlequin Presents. Usually their purpose is to get the hero and the heroine together, and that was the case here as well, but I felt there was more of a purpose for them. It was sweet to see Bee and Sergios actually become parents to them and grow to love them and formed this little safe family unit that became the upmost importance. They weren't pushed to the side, and they were very much cared for. In Presents stories, I sometimes feel that the children are pushed aside and the couple isn't really parenting with their focus only being on their passion and their time as a couple and that's it. There's no real bonding in a real way, but in this story the opposite was true and I felt very much that they bonded as a family and that two of them acted as parents in the story and not just focused on their own little world. I liked seeing that and seeing them grow as parents, and it made it worth it to have the children in the story instead of seeing them as an afterthought or even an annoyance. Sometimes children in a story just don't work. Here it did. Plus the children were really cute and adorable that I couldn't resist falling for them just as Sergios and Bee did.
This was just a really great book overall with a perfect blend of passion, emotions, and tension between Sergios and Bee before they got their happily ever after. I believed that they were developing a relationship in the story. I believed that their connection was based on more than just the physical even though they had some great chemistry together. I believed they were falling in love, which should be the aim of any romantic story. The pace of the story just worked really well, and it was a steady build from the time they met to the end of the story. Overall the story didn't rush nor did in drag, it just was a nice flow that kept the story going and kept my interest throughout the book. Just so many things about this story worked and meshed really well together in order to create this great story. Was it perfect? Not quite otherwise I would have given it a five stars, but it was really solid and enjoyable and totally worth the read.
This story reminded me why I like Lynne Graham books so much, or for most part. Hopefully book three will be just as good, but I probably won't read it for a little bit just because I find that if I read two books from the same miniseries back to back I find that I develop expectations what I think the next book should be, and I compare the two books, which isn't a good thing because I have a set idea already what it should be and then when it isn't then I am disappointed and my enjoyment definitely decreases. So I won't be reading that book right away. Hopefully sometime this year, and I will have an unbiased opinion going in and therefore my review/likability will be more fair. We will see.
I recommend this book to fans of Lynne Graham, if you enjoy her, read this book, I don't think you'll be disappointed in it.
Yet another solid read by Lynne Graham. It was enjoyable. It was engaging. Lynne drew me into the world of Sergios and Bee immediately and made me want to delve deeper into their love story and see the journey that they went on together. There was passion. There were emotional stepping stones in the story until they grew into the people that they were by book's end. Both Sergios and Bee were completely likable, and I enjoyed them together as a couple. This was just a good, quick entertaining read that any Lynne Graham fan would find enjoyable.
Not that I was surprised for the most part I do enjoy Lynne Graham books, but every once in awhile she doesn't quite hit it out of the park. For her example, her first book in this trilogy that involved the character of Zara, Bee's sister and kind of connected with this story being that she was supposed to marry Sergios in book one, but instead she ran off with her hero. I read Zara's book a long time ago but I remember being disappointed in that book and not quite liking it like I liked this one. So coming into this book my expectations weren't so high, but once I got into the story I really enjoyed it and liked in a hundred times better than book number one. So that was good.
I think one of the surprising things about this book was the things that I usually crave in romance book wasn't exactly in this book, but I didn't care because the story worked as whole that I barely missed the themes that I was used to and expect from a great love story. I didn't miss them yet I enjoyed this book immensely.
For example, the angst, which I love and just savor in romance wasn't here in this story. In fact there wasn't a lot of angst, or at least in my view. There was conflict for sure as well as an attraction between them, but it wasn't this dragging angst that went on for pages upon pages where I was impatient for them getting it on, and in this instance it was a good thing. The story had a nice pace and a steady build up that would later lead to Bee's and Sergios's happily ever after, and it worked really well I thought. There was tension between them but it wasn't overwhelming or that angsty, which was fine. Again it worked. When a story worked as well as this story did then the high intensity angst really wasn't needed nor did I feel that I was missing something that made their story lacking. It wasn't.
One critical point that I have of this book was the fact that Sergios seemed to do a one eighty pretty quickly. One moment he didn't want his wife and vowed he wouldn't get intimately involved with her and would only be physical to his mistress, which he was totally upfront with Bee from the beginning and even stated he only wanted marriage to her as a mother for the children he was now raising, then suddenly Sergios wanted his wife without any really hint that it was coming. Yes, he stated he was attracted to her body from the moment he met her, but I didn't feel that he had this deep seated want for her that was drenched in his bones until he couldn't stand it any longer. There was really no evidence of that until he came onto her in the bathroom then in was full steam ahead for him. I felt that was a huge jump and would have been okay if there would have been more serious hints on his parts before that bathroom scene, but with that being said it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book, it was just a little jarring and kind of unexpected that he suddenly wanted a physical relationship with her. I thought there would be more time in between and his want for her would just build and build, but again it didn't effected my enjoyment of the story.
In regards to the love scenes, there really was only one proper, full blown, descriptive love scene that occurred in the book and that was her first time. There was another hot, steamy scene between them that was delicious to watch, but it wasn't the all the way scene that came later. Even though there was only one descriptive love scene with a couple other love scene that were summarized for the most part, it worked, and it worked really well I thought. It was funny in my review that I wrote yesterday that was my biggest complaint of the story was the lack of love scenes except for one big one, and I wanted more love scenes to occur in the book because I felt they were needed for a lack of a better word, but for here I didn't feel that way, which just goes to show you what works for one book may not work for another book. Funny how that works. I think the big thing was that I was satisfied with this love scene and felt that it conveyed everything that needed to be conveyed in that one little scene. It showed their passion for one another but it also showed that they had an emotion connection that was just starting to build and build and would just grow over time. It was a beautiful love scene and was very well written I thought and it fit perfectly into the story. There was another summarized love scene near the end, and it not only showed their passion but their need and connection to one another and it was an easy conclusion that they were both in love. And I think that was what the big difference was between this story and the story I read yesterday. It worked.
I enjoyed both characters as I stated above. I loved Bee and her feistiness as well as her loyalty and just how self-sacrificing she was. She thought about everybody else before she thought of herself. She ignored her wants and needs or even her comfort just to make sure everyone around her was living happily and comfortably. She was sweet and loving, yet had a backbone. She had no problem standing up to Sergios along the way, and I loved that about her. She wasn't a doormat. She had some hurts from her past mainly dealing with her father, which caused her to have many insecurities about herself which made her believe that she would never have a chance with Sergios in any real way. What I really liked about that plotline was that it wasn't overdone or overwhelming, it was stated and clear that was what she believed, but she wasn't wallowing or having her issues drag the story down where it would border on pathetic. It was just enough to show the conflict as well as the tension in their love story.
Sergios was a great character as well. I enjoyed him, and even though he was very much an alpha male, he wasn't too over the top. He was never overly cruel or mean spirited towards Bee in fact he did everything in his power to boost her up and get her to be more confident in herself. Now even though I didn't agree with his philosophy, I did admire that he was upfront with her from the very beginning of what he wanted from the marriage and he didn't sugar coat it. Basically he said he was marrying Bee for the children and that was it and he intended to keep his mistress and would engage in physical intimacy whenever the mood arose for him to do so and vowed to do that with other women as well. Now, of coarse he didn't keep his mistress or cheat on Bee once they got married, which probably made it more palatable about his pompous declarations of what he planned to do while he and Bee married with his mistress so it was easier to swallow his earlier declarations and made him that likable guy. If he did indeed was with his mistress at any point, my view would have totally changed of him. To say I admire that he didn't cheat on his wife is kind of ridiculous, but what I am more saying was that I enjoyed his honesty and that he really held nothing back from Bee about his expectations of marriage, and I respect that, not that actions he played on engaging in. I liked seeing him grow over time and see him change from this harden man to this family man that was devoted to his children and his wife. I loved his tender side and how was with the children later on the book. It was really sweet to see.
Speaking of the children, I loved that they were in this story. Sometimes I can be a little iffy of children in a Harlequin Presents. Usually their purpose is to get the hero and the heroine together, and that was the case here as well, but I felt there was more of a purpose for them. It was sweet to see Bee and Sergios actually become parents to them and grow to love them and formed this little safe family unit that became the upmost importance. They weren't pushed to the side, and they were very much cared for. In Presents stories, I sometimes feel that the children are pushed aside and the couple isn't really parenting with their focus only being on their passion and their time as a couple and that's it. There's no real bonding in a real way, but in this story the opposite was true and I felt very much that they bonded as a family and that two of them acted as parents in the story and not just focused on their own little world. I liked seeing that and seeing them grow as parents, and it made it worth it to have the children in the story instead of seeing them as an afterthought or even an annoyance. Sometimes children in a story just don't work. Here it did. Plus the children were really cute and adorable that I couldn't resist falling for them just as Sergios and Bee did.
This was just a really great book overall with a perfect blend of passion, emotions, and tension between Sergios and Bee before they got their happily ever after. I believed that they were developing a relationship in the story. I believed that their connection was based on more than just the physical even though they had some great chemistry together. I believed they were falling in love, which should be the aim of any romantic story. The pace of the story just worked really well, and it was a steady build from the time they met to the end of the story. Overall the story didn't rush nor did in drag, it just was a nice flow that kept the story going and kept my interest throughout the book. Just so many things about this story worked and meshed really well together in order to create this great story. Was it perfect? Not quite otherwise I would have given it a five stars, but it was really solid and enjoyable and totally worth the read.
This story reminded me why I like Lynne Graham books so much, or for most part. Hopefully book three will be just as good, but I probably won't read it for a little bit just because I find that if I read two books from the same miniseries back to back I find that I develop expectations what I think the next book should be, and I compare the two books, which isn't a good thing because I have a set idea already what it should be and then when it isn't then I am disappointed and my enjoyment definitely decreases. So I won't be reading that book right away. Hopefully sometime this year, and I will have an unbiased opinion going in and therefore my review/likability will be more fair. We will see.
I recommend this book to fans of Lynne Graham, if you enjoy her, read this book, I don't think you'll be disappointed in it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2022
I expected a better story.
The hero was jilted by the heroine's younger sister in a previous book, so the heroine offers herself as a substitute to be a wife/ nanny for his cousin's children.
The hero is a womanizer and a chauvinist, he has a mistress and tells the heroine that he will keep her but the heroine won't be allowed to have a lover, so she is forced to accept to have her mother's health care paid.
This was very sad and unfair, but after their marriage he changes his mind and decides to change the terms of their agreement, and they have sex.
There's the matter of his mistress.
Ow tells the heroine the hero never stopped visiting her, so the heroine is pissed and the hero, who knows she's been visiting his mistress, is suddenly all worried and trembling.
The thing is not entirely believable, he declares he's been faithful since they've been married and he paid off the mistress, because now he's in love with heroine and doesn't even look at other women.
yeah, right.
This hero was a waste of space, in the previous book he seemed a brooding and tortured man and I had expectation that he would be tamed by the heroine. He was a useless manwhore, the usual selfish narcissist, male chauvinist, with double standard.
He wasn't even celibate after he asked the heroine to marry him, and he had all the intentions to have sex with his mistress during his wedding night, changing his mind only because he thought it would be tacky.
Thank god for little mercies.
I didn't feel he loved the heroine, I know that "love" in LG world is a fleeting and light thing, but this one was really ...flimsy. He only declares his love in the last page and out of the blue.
And the heroine was as usual a victim of a bad case of TBS, hopeless and clueless. I would have liked her more if she wasn't so ready to fall for him. In the first part of the book she was smart, kind and proud, a good teacher and a clever woman, also able to understand the children and their problem, not the usual loser that LG so much loves. I would have loved to have her as a teacher for my son!
The mistress trope was thrown in the middle to make sense of the book, but eventually it turns out to be very shabby and sad.
Not the best LG for me.
The hero was jilted by the heroine's younger sister in a previous book, so the heroine offers herself as a substitute to be a wife/ nanny for his cousin's children.
The hero is a womanizer and a chauvinist, he has a mistress and tells the heroine that he will keep her but the heroine won't be allowed to have a lover, so she is forced to accept to have her mother's health care paid.
This was very sad and unfair, but after their marriage he changes his mind and decides to change the terms of their agreement, and they have sex.
There's the matter of his mistress.
Ow tells the heroine the hero never stopped visiting her, so the heroine is pissed and the hero, who knows she's been visiting his mistress, is suddenly all worried and trembling.
The thing is not entirely believable, he declares he's been faithful since they've been married and he paid off the mistress, because now he's in love with heroine and doesn't even look at other women.
yeah, right.
This hero was a waste of space, in the previous book he seemed a brooding and tortured man and I had expectation that he would be tamed by the heroine. He was a useless manwhore, the usual selfish narcissist, male chauvinist, with double standard.
He wasn't even celibate after he asked the heroine to marry him, and he had all the intentions to have sex with his mistress during his wedding night, changing his mind only because he thought it would be tacky.
Thank god for little mercies.
I didn't feel he loved the heroine, I know that "love" in LG world is a fleeting and light thing, but this one was really ...flimsy. He only declares his love in the last page and out of the blue.
And the heroine was as usual a victim of a bad case of TBS, hopeless and clueless. I would have liked her more if she wasn't so ready to fall for him. In the first part of the book she was smart, kind and proud, a good teacher and a clever woman, also able to understand the children and their problem, not the usual loser that LG so much loves. I would have loved to have her as a teacher for my son!
The mistress trope was thrown in the middle to make sense of the book, but eventually it turns out to be very shabby and sad.
Not the best LG for me.
August 29, 2019
Re-read.
Definitely better than Aristides' Convenient Wife H was not liar and hopefully not cheater.
Definitely better than Aristides' Convenient Wife H was not liar and hopefully not cheater.
July 11, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and gave it a five star rating mostly because of the heroine, but also surprisingly the hero. Beatrice is quite the bundle. She is a strong, witty, loving, caring, person with a backbone made of steel. She is so committed to her mother, that she approaches Sergios offering to marry him, so that her disabled mother will not lose her home and care. She is very realistic. She doesn't believe love is in the cards for her, and she has first hand knowledge that Sergios is not the loving, HEA, kind of guy.
Sergio has three children that he has adopted due to the tragic death of his cousin. Bea offers to be a mother to the children in exchange for buying her father's business, thus protecting her mother.
The surprise for me, came in the form of Sergios. I actually really liked him...throughout the book. True, he was alpha and hard, but he was never mean spirited. I respected that he laid down his terms. Since this was not a love match, he did not expect to sleep with his wife, and so wanted to keep his mistress. He also agreed that her mother was now HIS responsibility and he would do all he could for her care, even if they would later divorce. Unlike her father, he couldn't possibly throw a disabled woman out on the street.
I think that's when I "fell" for him. (sigh)
I loved that Bea held strong and challenged him every step of the way and she did it with such class.
What surprises them both is the wild attraction and they eventually do start sleeping together. From there, an intimacy forms and Sergio finds that he does love Bea and very much wants to be her husband (sans mistress) and father to his adopted children.
If your are looking for a wonderful, refreshing HP read, I highly recommend this one!
Sergio has three children that he has adopted due to the tragic death of his cousin. Bea offers to be a mother to the children in exchange for buying her father's business, thus protecting her mother.
The surprise for me, came in the form of Sergios. I actually really liked him...throughout the book. True, he was alpha and hard, but he was never mean spirited. I respected that he laid down his terms. Since this was not a love match, he did not expect to sleep with his wife, and so wanted to keep his mistress. He also agreed that her mother was now HIS responsibility and he would do all he could for her care, even if they would later divorce. Unlike her father, he couldn't possibly throw a disabled woman out on the street.
I think that's when I "fell" for him. (sigh)
I loved that Bea held strong and challenged him every step of the way and she did it with such class.
What surprises them both is the wild attraction and they eventually do start sleeping together. From there, an intimacy forms and Sergio finds that he does love Bea and very much wants to be her husband (sans mistress) and father to his adopted children.
If your are looking for a wonderful, refreshing HP read, I highly recommend this one!
November 20, 2023
Reread
Very low angst.
Very low angst.
March 14, 2023
One of Lynne Graham's better romances
Beatriz Blake is 24 and a virgin, mostly because she's never met a man she trusted enough to become that vulnerable to him outside marriage, and her sole serious relationship ended in her being dumped several years ago, when her boyfriend could not accept marrying her as a package deal with responsibility for her mother. Her mother became a paraplegic after a car accident when Bee was four. Her callous, wealthy father could not hide that he is revolted by any kind of disfigurement or disability, and Bee’s mother gracefully bowed out, agreeing to a divorce so he could marry again. Her father has supported her mother for the past 20 years, purchasing her a disability-accommodated house, paying to maintain it and the salary of a live-in carer. He also paid for Bee’s post-secondary schooling, which has allowed her to have a career as a second-grade teacher. But now her father angrily informs her that he is in major financial trouble, and he wants Bee to marry Sergios Demonides, a Greek billionaire interested in purchasing his hotel chain, so he can get a better price from the sale.
Sergios's beloved cousin recently died and left him guardian of his three, very young children, and Sergios wants a wife of convenience to basically care for his home and raise the children, while he carries on his life as if he were still single. Sergios was married once before, when he was very young, and after that disastrous mistake, he never wanted to marry again, until compelled to do so when the problem of raising his cousin’s children arose.
There is no way that Bee would submit to such an outrageous arrangement except for the fact that her father cruelly declares that if she doesn’t convince Sergios to marry her, he will stop paying for her mother’s care. Bee knows that on her meager salary she can’t afford to pick up the slack, and she would never abandon her mother. So, in desperation, she meets with Sergios and has a very frank discussion with him about what her father has said and what she can offer his children as a stepmother.
Sergios is impressed by her honesty, which is rare in his world, and her good sense and obvious intelligence. But he is surprised, and dismayed, that he is very attracted to Bee’s voluptuous figure as well. Most importantly, because getting into a sexual relationship with a convenient wife would bring all sorts of messy, emotional complications that he has no desire to wade into. But also because a sexual pull toward a woman like Bee is very out of character for him, and he hates anything in his life that is unpredictable. He normally likes primped and polished, rail-thin beauties, and by those standards Bee is plump and, worst of all, to a sophisticated man of the world, she is downright frowsy with her plain clothing, unstyled hair and lack of makeup. Bee is anything but fat, however. Hidden underneath her loose clothing, she has an hourglass, Sophia Loren type figure, and she has kept in shape the past three years since her boyfriend dumped her by pole dancing.
When Bee meets Sergio’s young wards, she is immediately drawn to them. Eleni is a baby girl who seems poorly responsive and whom Bee soon realizes needs to be tested for hearing problems. Milo is a clingy, fearful toddler. And Paris is an angry, resentful seven-year-old who is struggling at school. Sergio soon realizes that Bee, with her training as a teacher and heartfelt tenderness toward his wards, would be exactly what these children need, and they soon strike a bargain to be married.
This book has the usual intensity that is an enjoyable hallmark of Lynne Graham’s romances that draws me back to them again and again, even though there is no other Harlequin Presents author that I enjoy, and the only type of billionaire romance I tend to read (Jill Blake’s Without a Net was a recent exception). This is a well-done redemption romance. Both Bee and Sergios have abandonment issues from difficult childhoods and from each having suffered a previous, bad romantic relationship. But Bee, by personality and due to a loving mother, has retained compassion and an ability to love and nurture others. Sergios has instead withdrawn into himself and given up on love.
While Lynne Graham (LG) does include fairly explicit sex scenes in her novels, she never uses crude language or includes gratuitous sex. It always contributes to the growth of the relationship and/or creates conflict between the protagonists. This particular book is a “slow-burn” romance, one of my favorite kinds, where the protagonists do not instantly leap into bed, but rather they have time to develop a relationship before the sex begins.
I also always enjoy it when LG includes children as the inciting incident for the start of the relationship between the romantic protagonists, and these children are adorable.
I was particularly happy to note that both the hero and heroine in this novel have earned the beautiful, fit bodies that are an expected component of any contemporary romance. Sergios has a gym in the basement of his fancy, London townhouse and, as mentioned, Bee does intensive workouts. I also liked how LG utilizes the unusual type of exercise that Bee engages in to further the sexual side of the convenient marriage in this romance.
It is a very common trope in an LG romance that there is an unplanned pregnancy that leads to a marriage of convenience. This is one of the rare books in her 100-plus body of work in which that does not happen, which is a nice change. I like her work in spite of the unplanned pregnancies, not because of it.
Finally, Bee is one of LG’s more assertive heroines (not quite to the degree of the heroine of Bond of Hatred, my all-time favorite LG novel, but close). She frequently goes toe-to-toe with Sergios, and most of the time comes out on top. This is also not a “King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid” type story, which is not my favorite type of billionaire story, as Bee is initially introduced as the heiress to a rich man.
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 4 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Romance Plot: 4 stars
Children Plot: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Overall: 4 stars
Beatriz Blake is 24 and a virgin, mostly because she's never met a man she trusted enough to become that vulnerable to him outside marriage, and her sole serious relationship ended in her being dumped several years ago, when her boyfriend could not accept marrying her as a package deal with responsibility for her mother. Her mother became a paraplegic after a car accident when Bee was four. Her callous, wealthy father could not hide that he is revolted by any kind of disfigurement or disability, and Bee’s mother gracefully bowed out, agreeing to a divorce so he could marry again. Her father has supported her mother for the past 20 years, purchasing her a disability-accommodated house, paying to maintain it and the salary of a live-in carer. He also paid for Bee’s post-secondary schooling, which has allowed her to have a career as a second-grade teacher. But now her father angrily informs her that he is in major financial trouble, and he wants Bee to marry Sergios Demonides, a Greek billionaire interested in purchasing his hotel chain, so he can get a better price from the sale.
Sergios's beloved cousin recently died and left him guardian of his three, very young children, and Sergios wants a wife of convenience to basically care for his home and raise the children, while he carries on his life as if he were still single. Sergios was married once before, when he was very young, and after that disastrous mistake, he never wanted to marry again, until compelled to do so when the problem of raising his cousin’s children arose.
There is no way that Bee would submit to such an outrageous arrangement except for the fact that her father cruelly declares that if she doesn’t convince Sergios to marry her, he will stop paying for her mother’s care. Bee knows that on her meager salary she can’t afford to pick up the slack, and she would never abandon her mother. So, in desperation, she meets with Sergios and has a very frank discussion with him about what her father has said and what she can offer his children as a stepmother.
Sergios is impressed by her honesty, which is rare in his world, and her good sense and obvious intelligence. But he is surprised, and dismayed, that he is very attracted to Bee’s voluptuous figure as well. Most importantly, because getting into a sexual relationship with a convenient wife would bring all sorts of messy, emotional complications that he has no desire to wade into. But also because a sexual pull toward a woman like Bee is very out of character for him, and he hates anything in his life that is unpredictable. He normally likes primped and polished, rail-thin beauties, and by those standards Bee is plump and, worst of all, to a sophisticated man of the world, she is downright frowsy with her plain clothing, unstyled hair and lack of makeup. Bee is anything but fat, however. Hidden underneath her loose clothing, she has an hourglass, Sophia Loren type figure, and she has kept in shape the past three years since her boyfriend dumped her by pole dancing.
When Bee meets Sergio’s young wards, she is immediately drawn to them. Eleni is a baby girl who seems poorly responsive and whom Bee soon realizes needs to be tested for hearing problems. Milo is a clingy, fearful toddler. And Paris is an angry, resentful seven-year-old who is struggling at school. Sergio soon realizes that Bee, with her training as a teacher and heartfelt tenderness toward his wards, would be exactly what these children need, and they soon strike a bargain to be married.
This book has the usual intensity that is an enjoyable hallmark of Lynne Graham’s romances that draws me back to them again and again, even though there is no other Harlequin Presents author that I enjoy, and the only type of billionaire romance I tend to read (Jill Blake’s Without a Net was a recent exception). This is a well-done redemption romance. Both Bee and Sergios have abandonment issues from difficult childhoods and from each having suffered a previous, bad romantic relationship. But Bee, by personality and due to a loving mother, has retained compassion and an ability to love and nurture others. Sergios has instead withdrawn into himself and given up on love.
While Lynne Graham (LG) does include fairly explicit sex scenes in her novels, she never uses crude language or includes gratuitous sex. It always contributes to the growth of the relationship and/or creates conflict between the protagonists. This particular book is a “slow-burn” romance, one of my favorite kinds, where the protagonists do not instantly leap into bed, but rather they have time to develop a relationship before the sex begins.
I also always enjoy it when LG includes children as the inciting incident for the start of the relationship between the romantic protagonists, and these children are adorable.
I was particularly happy to note that both the hero and heroine in this novel have earned the beautiful, fit bodies that are an expected component of any contemporary romance. Sergios has a gym in the basement of his fancy, London townhouse and, as mentioned, Bee does intensive workouts. I also liked how LG utilizes the unusual type of exercise that Bee engages in to further the sexual side of the convenient marriage in this romance.
It is a very common trope in an LG romance that there is an unplanned pregnancy that leads to a marriage of convenience. This is one of the rare books in her 100-plus body of work in which that does not happen, which is a nice change. I like her work in spite of the unplanned pregnancies, not because of it.
Finally, Bee is one of LG’s more assertive heroines (not quite to the degree of the heroine of Bond of Hatred, my all-time favorite LG novel, but close). She frequently goes toe-to-toe with Sergios, and most of the time comes out on top. This is also not a “King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid” type story, which is not my favorite type of billionaire story, as Bee is initially introduced as the heiress to a rich man.
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 4 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Romance Plot: 4 stars
Children Plot: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Overall: 4 stars
August 30, 2019
Where was the romance? I didn't feel Sergios and Beatriz had much chemistry between them, or had fallen madly in love.
Sergios' cold, bossy, and serious demeanor towards Beatriz, especially at the beginning, didn't thaw fast enough for me. Beatriz, meanwhile, came off as verrry prickly as she negotiated an agreement with Sergios to secure her mother's comfort and financial security. I did like both characters more by the time the novel ended, although that wasn't enough to make me forget the lack of romance.
Sergios' cold, bossy, and serious demeanor towards Beatriz, especially at the beginning, didn't thaw fast enough for me. Beatriz, meanwhile, came off as verrry prickly as she negotiated an agreement with Sergios to secure her mother's comfort and financial security. I did like both characters more by the time the novel ended, although that wasn't enough to make me forget the lack of romance.
July 30, 2015
Edited on 30 July 2014
So I just reread a review I wrote 2 years ago. I wonder if I read this book now, if I would love it. Because I love the delicious OW angst so much, and I love alphahole heroes even more than I used to (don't ask me, I don't know how that is possible. And also, I disagree with what I wrote about McNaught writing better heroes. Diana Palmer does them the best, hands down. She's The Queen, Diana Palmer.)
Original review
There were several things I liked about this book and several things I hated. This time I won't start off my review with the heroine, I'm just going to state the things I liked and disliked in chronological order.
First off, I absolutely hated Sergios. He was one of the most overbearing, cruel and bulldozing heroes I've ever read about. He had a big personality and was an alpha in every definition. (I don't know what's wrong with me, I used to like alphas! Now I just want a strong, dependable beta. Or a Diana Palmer alpha. She writes them like no one else. Okay okay, Judith McNaught writes alphas better, but Diana Palmer still is my favourite author. Anyhoo, I digress. As usual.) So back to Sergios. I hated the way he blackmailed Bee into marrying him, and I hated his 'conditions' even more. Keeping a mistress after they married? He didn't want sexual relations with his own wife? God. I didn't like him throughout the course of the book. He didn't grow on me and I couldn't see any redeeming qualities about him. (But yes, admitted, he was good to the children. Plus I don't really care, I'm always on the hero's side, even if he is an ass.)
Now let's move onto Beatriz. (Yeah yeah, I know I said that I wouldn't do this review the usual way but this is what comes to my mind, even in chronological order! I guess old habits die hard.) Anyways, Beatriz. I must say that she walked a very thin line between being practical and being bitchy. She teetered over the edge once, when she argued about not wanting to change her appearance and keeping on looking like an ol' sack of rotten potatoes. But thankfully she realizes her mistake quickly and she was back in my good graces. It went uphill from there, except at towards the end. But I'll talk about what I loved about her now. I loved that she was practical and sensible and yet had a big, generous heart and was considerate of the others, especially the children. I liked that she wasn't bitchy, and most of all, I loved her blunt honesty. But that fails her when it was most needed, when she finds out about Sergios' mistress. She should have asked him about it right away and given him a chance to explain himself rather than vex over it for days and believing whatever BS said mistress fed her. I really disliked that part and it pretty much ruined the story for me. (Not that there was much left to ruin. *pause* Okay, that was unfair. Lynne Graham is a terrific writer, but I just don't like her stories that much.)
Now back to the 'chronological order'. What I also disliked about this novel was the way the hero says 'I love you.' There was absolutely no pomp or splendour! *wailing* There was nothing special about his grovelling and his declaration of love and it wasn't in the least bit flowery. The main reason I read romance novels is BECAUSE I LIKE ROMANCE. But meh, at least he said it, didn't he?
Now I'll come to way all the misconceptions were cleared up and how Graham very neatly gave explanations for all the wrong, misunderstanding-worthy things that were said-slash-done. I liked that very much. I wish Betty Neels or Ida Crowe would do that in their Halerquins. But I suppose if they did, the stories wouldn't be themselves. *sigh* It's only Diana Palmer who always gives me what I want :')
LOL I don't even want to count the number of times I've gone off track in this review. But it was a good read. Not amazing but not hate-worthy either. And anyways, I enjoyed Lynne Graham's writing, she is a superb writer.
So I just reread a review I wrote 2 years ago. I wonder if I read this book now, if I would love it. Because I love the delicious OW angst so much, and I love alphahole heroes even more than I used to (don't ask me, I don't know how that is possible. And also, I disagree with what I wrote about McNaught writing better heroes. Diana Palmer does them the best, hands down. She's The Queen, Diana Palmer.)
Original review
There were several things I liked about this book and several things I hated. This time I won't start off my review with the heroine, I'm just going to state the things I liked and disliked in chronological order.
First off, I absolutely hated Sergios. He was one of the most overbearing, cruel and bulldozing heroes I've ever read about. He had a big personality and was an alpha in every definition. (I don't know what's wrong with me, I used to like alphas! Now I just want a strong, dependable beta. Or a Diana Palmer alpha. She writes them like no one else. Okay okay, Judith McNaught writes alphas better, but Diana Palmer still is my favourite author. Anyhoo, I digress. As usual.) So back to Sergios. I hated the way he blackmailed Bee into marrying him, and I hated his 'conditions' even more. Keeping a mistress after they married? He didn't want sexual relations with his own wife? God. I didn't like him throughout the course of the book. He didn't grow on me and I couldn't see any redeeming qualities about him. (But yes, admitted, he was good to the children. Plus I don't really care, I'm always on the hero's side, even if he is an ass.)
Now let's move onto Beatriz. (Yeah yeah, I know I said that I wouldn't do this review the usual way but this is what comes to my mind, even in chronological order! I guess old habits die hard.) Anyways, Beatriz. I must say that she walked a very thin line between being practical and being bitchy. She teetered over the edge once, when she argued about not wanting to change her appearance and keeping on looking like an ol' sack of rotten potatoes. But thankfully she realizes her mistake quickly and she was back in my good graces. It went uphill from there, except at towards the end. But I'll talk about what I loved about her now. I loved that she was practical and sensible and yet had a big, generous heart and was considerate of the others, especially the children. I liked that she wasn't bitchy, and most of all, I loved her blunt honesty. But that fails her when it was most needed, when she finds out about Sergios' mistress. She should have asked him about it right away and given him a chance to explain himself rather than vex over it for days and believing whatever BS said mistress fed her. I really disliked that part and it pretty much ruined the story for me. (Not that there was much left to ruin. *pause* Okay, that was unfair. Lynne Graham is a terrific writer, but I just don't like her stories that much.)
Now back to the 'chronological order'. What I also disliked about this novel was the way the hero says 'I love you.' There was absolutely no pomp or splendour! *wailing* There was nothing special about his grovelling and his declaration of love and it wasn't in the least bit flowery. The main reason I read romance novels is BECAUSE I LIKE ROMANCE. But meh, at least he said it, didn't he?
Now I'll come to way all the misconceptions were cleared up and how Graham very neatly gave explanations for all the wrong, misunderstanding-worthy things that were said-slash-done. I liked that very much. I wish Betty Neels or Ida Crowe would do that in their Halerquins. But I suppose if they did, the stories wouldn't be themselves. *sigh* It's only Diana Palmer who always gives me what I want :')
LOL I don't even want to count the number of times I've gone off track in this review. But it was a good read. Not amazing but not hate-worthy either. And anyways, I enjoyed Lynne Graham's writing, she is a superb writer.
September 28, 2014
So I found the book to be an exciting read but hated the hero's inexplicable cruelty. Sergios had no reason to hate or punish Beatriz. In exchange for her sacrifice to marry him and raise his adopted children, he demands fidelity from her....but in a celibate, barren marriage where she is never permitted to be with a man and he intends to keep his mistress, which he describes as a non-negotiable matter. So what is she supposed to be faithful to when marriage is nothing more than a nanny arrangement? Such vicious, selfish cruelty could only be explained if he had a reason to be taking brutal revenge. It seems like the author is trying to show an arrogant Greek...but that only works in a consummated real marriage...given the expectation of no intimacy between them, his plan is sadistic.
When she expresses her pain at the miserable, barren life he has planned for her, he tells her (in a condescending, almost "I'm making a big sacrifice" way), that he'll sleep with her if she wants a man in her bad...at least when he's not sleeping with his mistress. She sets him straight that she couldn't be with him if he was with other women (I loved that!)...but he just punts on the issue, as if it isn't the most critical thing for them to resolve. And it's not to him, because his plan for her suffering at his selfish hands is no skin off his back.
I don't think he said, ok I'll be faithful or ok, you can have your own romantic lead since this is a fake marriage never to be consummated. I think his deal still would result in her living a barren, celibate life, because he wasn't willing to give up his mistress or let her have an open marriage if it was platonic between them. So she made a selfless but loony sacrifice, and he felt free to go to his mistress on their wedding night. Of course, it worked out because he decided he wanted her, but imagine if he didn't fall for her her...she was at his mercy and he was very cruel and unfair in his selfish bargain. He would have had his mistress and she would have had to be alone for 18 years or accept him in her bed coming back and forth from the bed of another woman. So that aspect was very revolting to me and I found it hard to like him as a person. I love a possessive hero but only in the context of him wanting the heroine, not one who is basically saying "I'm going to keep a mistress and although I have no interest in you I'll make a big sacrifice to do you too if you need a man in your bed otherwise you can suffer through giving up your youth never to be touched or loved." For me, he was a bad guy as he had no cause to hate or punish her. In the absence of some unpardonable sin, his proposition was evil.
There is nothing better than a possessive alpha hero, and if he has reason to be cruel (misunderstanding that heroine betrayed him, for example) that can be exciting. When she realized the hell he had planned for her and said "my youth" in that forlorn way, my heart broke for her. This hero was abusive.
When she expresses her pain at the miserable, barren life he has planned for her, he tells her (in a condescending, almost "I'm making a big sacrifice" way), that he'll sleep with her if she wants a man in her bad...at least when he's not sleeping with his mistress. She sets him straight that she couldn't be with him if he was with other women (I loved that!)...but he just punts on the issue, as if it isn't the most critical thing for them to resolve. And it's not to him, because his plan for her suffering at his selfish hands is no skin off his back.
I don't think he said, ok I'll be faithful or ok, you can have your own romantic lead since this is a fake marriage never to be consummated. I think his deal still would result in her living a barren, celibate life, because he wasn't willing to give up his mistress or let her have an open marriage if it was platonic between them. So she made a selfless but loony sacrifice, and he felt free to go to his mistress on their wedding night. Of course, it worked out because he decided he wanted her, but imagine if he didn't fall for her her...she was at his mercy and he was very cruel and unfair in his selfish bargain. He would have had his mistress and she would have had to be alone for 18 years or accept him in her bed coming back and forth from the bed of another woman. So that aspect was very revolting to me and I found it hard to like him as a person. I love a possessive hero but only in the context of him wanting the heroine, not one who is basically saying "I'm going to keep a mistress and although I have no interest in you I'll make a big sacrifice to do you too if you need a man in your bed otherwise you can suffer through giving up your youth never to be touched or loved." For me, he was a bad guy as he had no cause to hate or punish her. In the absence of some unpardonable sin, his proposition was evil.
There is nothing better than a possessive alpha hero, and if he has reason to be cruel (misunderstanding that heroine betrayed him, for example) that can be exciting. When she realized the hell he had planned for her and said "my youth" in that forlorn way, my heart broke for her. This hero was abusive.
February 9, 2017
A nice read.
Bee offers herself to Sergios in place of her sister Zara (HP #3055), when said sister marries Vitale. Sergios is an absolute unfeeling jerk to Bee....telling her: hey give up yourlife, your youth, your dreams, have no kids of your own, bow and scrap to my every whim, and I will give up nothing not even my mistress but hey, if you want to share me, I can lower myself to sleep with you. What a major jerk! She of course does not want him that way and tells him so......
They get married, his money saves her father, he sleeps with his mistress on their wedding night, and Bee proves she can be an amazing stand-in mom. She slowly starts charming him and soon he is obessed with claiming his WIFE! He gives up his mistress and starts changing his life to include his new wife and family.
A well written read. I liked Bee and the kids but Sergios left a bad taste behind. He never fully redeems himself in my eyes.
Bee offers herself to Sergios in place of her sister Zara (HP #3055), when said sister marries Vitale. Sergios is an absolute unfeeling jerk to Bee....telling her: hey give up yourlife, your youth, your dreams, have no kids of your own, bow and scrap to my every whim, and I will give up nothing not even my mistress but hey, if you want to share me, I can lower myself to sleep with you. What a major jerk! She of course does not want him that way and tells him so......
They get married, his money saves her father, he sleeps with his mistress on their wedding night, and Bee proves she can be an amazing stand-in mom. She slowly starts charming him and soon he is obessed with claiming his WIFE! He gives up his mistress and starts changing his life to include his new wife and family.
A well written read. I liked Bee and the kids but Sergios left a bad taste behind. He never fully redeems himself in my eyes.
June 1, 2012
Totally enjoyed this book. I found it to be very different and much better than the first one. The thing I found most refreshing is that the heroine Bee stood up for herself the entire time. She called him on his shit and refused to be walked over. He wasn't an ass to her and the whole thing was a great story of two people falling in love. Okay there was that one goofy thing Great writing as always from LG.
Recommended for a little something different.
Recommended for a little something different.
August 18, 2012
This second book in this short series was another good read. It was slow in some parts but still enjoyable. I was not a big fan of Sergios in the beginning of the book. He was so arrogant and autocratic. He seemed very stubborn and not willing to change. He did improve by the end of the book but I wanted to see more of his change. I love books with children involved and they had a fair amount of "screen time". For a short book it seemed even enough.
A good read but not as good as some of her older books.
A good read but not as good as some of her older books.
December 27, 2012
Loved it so much! The tension and chemistry was palpable and I rooted for these two so much. The other woman was a character I loved to hate and so was the heroine's ex boyfriend. Plus the sex scenes where very well written!
April 7, 2019
3.5 stars
November 15, 2021
Boring.
September 27, 2012
The second book in LG latest series Marriage By Command. It's a MOC story, nothing unusual about it, but LG created two likeable characters with Bee & Sergios. Bee is kind & warm, she agrred to the moc for her mother sake & for the sake of 3 orphaned kids. She is feisty, outspoken & she manages to challenge Sergios every step of the way. Sergios is arrogant, dominant & he sometimes acts like a complete jerk, but somehow I warmed to him, and he redeemed himself by the end. An enjoyable read, but it lakes LG s high level of angesty, passion & conflict of old.
June 11, 2022
This was actually an improvement on the first in the trilogy. Sergios was an utter douchebag at the beginning but he redeemed himself in my eyes. This was a tightly written story that had great characters including a heroine who stood up for herself (and her mother) and a hero who was basically a decent guy and just needed to be taught how to behave better.
October 16, 2021
It's good. Meski aku berharap interaksi dengan anak-anaknya diperbanyak 😊
March 2, 2012
I thought the story was "cute" but it just didn't have that moment where all you want to do is sit there and read the book. I didn't feel too involved or invested in the emotions of the characters unfortunately. Don't get me wrong, it was a darling book but just wasn't what I thought it would be.
When Sergios made a deal with Beatriz and Zara's father, it was simple, Zara would marry Sergios and he would buy their fathers hotel. However things got a bit out of order when Zara ran away and married someone else. So Beatriz aka Bee's father sent her to Sergios for marriage instead.
Sergios thought Bee was a willing female, easily manipulated and she would back down and listen to him. Boy was he wrong, she talked back, anger him and had him crashing into walls at every turn. When she married him, she became an amazing mother to his cousin's children which he had custody over. He was all together impressed and he was obsessed with Bee. She stood up to him and he admired that.
When Sergios dumped his mistress and began having a normal marriage with Bee, Melita fought back with a vengeance. Melita, Sergios now ex mistress was trying to hurt Bee because she was horrible cruel and jealous but Bee fought it out with Melita and won Sergios heart over, that in turn giving him her heart.
When Sergios made a deal with Beatriz and Zara's father, it was simple, Zara would marry Sergios and he would buy their fathers hotel. However things got a bit out of order when Zara ran away and married someone else. So Beatriz aka Bee's father sent her to Sergios for marriage instead.
Sergios thought Bee was a willing female, easily manipulated and she would back down and listen to him. Boy was he wrong, she talked back, anger him and had him crashing into walls at every turn. When she married him, she became an amazing mother to his cousin's children which he had custody over. He was all together impressed and he was obsessed with Bee. She stood up to him and he admired that.
When Sergios dumped his mistress and began having a normal marriage with Bee, Melita fought back with a vengeance. Melita, Sergios now ex mistress was trying to hurt Bee because she was horrible cruel and jealous but Bee fought it out with Melita and won Sergios heart over, that in turn giving him her heart.
February 23, 2013
I enjoyed this book much better than its prequel Roccanti's Marriage Revenge. There was a lot of sexual tension between the leads who were likeable. I also liked the fact that the focus was on the hero and heroine and NOT their family members. This one featured a memorable pole-dancing scene.
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