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Husbands and Wives
Second Marriage
Mills & Boon Sexy series delivers what you love in contemporary romance - glamour and scandal in exotic locations…
The second Mrs. Bellini
Claire would make some man the perfect wife everyone said so. But after being jilted by her fiance , she wasn't sure she believed in love anymore. Until she saw her best friend reunited with the husband she thought she'd lost forever and Claire's faith in romance was restored.
Staying with the happy couple, it seemed like fate when she met their closest friend, Romano Bellini. He was beautiful, and for a fleeting moment Claire wondered if . But Romano had been married before and didn't want his life complicated by a second wife. Curious, then, that the subject of marriage just kept coming up!
HUSBANDS & WIVES
Sometimes the perfect marriage is worth waiting for!
Claire would make some man the perfect wife everyone said so. But after being jilted by her fiance , she wasn't sure she believed in love anymore. Until she saw her best friend reunited with the husband she thought she'd lost forever and Claire's faith in romance was restored.
Staying with the happy couple, it seemed like fate when she met their closest friend, Romano Bellini. He was beautiful, and for a fleeting moment Claire wondered if . But Romano had been married before and didn't want his life complicated by a second wife. Curious, then, that the subject of marriage just kept coming up!
HUSBANDS & WIVES
Sometimes the perfect marriage is worth waiting for!
169 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 8, 1997
29 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Helen Brooks
407 books121 followersRita Bradshaw was born on 1949 in Northampton, England, where she was educated as a good Christian. She met Clive, her husband, at the age of 16 andnow the magic is still there. They have three lovely children, Cara, Faye, and Benjamin, and have always had a menagerie of animals in the house, which at the present is confined to two endearing and very comical dogs who would make a great double act on TV! The children, friends, and pets all keep the house buzzing and the food cupboards empty but Helen wouldn't have it any other way. She still lives today in Northampton with her family. Although having enjoyed some wonderful holidays abroad she has never been tempted to live anywhere else, although she rather likes the idea of a holiday home close to the sea one day.
Being a committed Christian and fervent animal lover she finds spare time is always at a premium, but long walks in the countryside with her husband and dogs, meals out followed by the cinema or theatre, reading, swimming, and having friends over for dinner are all fitted in somehow. She also enjoys sitting in her wonderfully therapeutic, rambling old garden in the sun with a glass of red wine, (under the guise of resting while thinking of course!)
For years, she was a secretary. She began writing in 1990 as she approached that milestone of a birthday 40! She realized her two teenage ambitions (writing a novel and learning to drive) had been lost amid babies and hectic family life, so set about resurrecting them.
Her first novel was for Mills and Boon and was accepted after one rewrite in 1992 as Helen Brooks, and she passed her driving test (the former was a joy and the latter an unmitigated nightmare!) She has written 50 novels as well as several sagas as Rita Bradshaw.
Since becoming a full-time writer she has found her occupation one of pure joy and often surprised when her characters develop a mind of their own but she loves exploring what makes people tick and finds the old adage "truth is stranger than fiction" to be absolutely true. She would love to hear from any readers care of Mills & Boon.
Being a committed Christian and fervent animal lover she finds spare time is always at a premium, but long walks in the countryside with her husband and dogs, meals out followed by the cinema or theatre, reading, swimming, and having friends over for dinner are all fitted in somehow. She also enjoys sitting in her wonderfully therapeutic, rambling old garden in the sun with a glass of red wine, (under the guise of resting while thinking of course!)
For years, she was a secretary. She began writing in 1990 as she approached that milestone of a birthday 40! She realized her two teenage ambitions (writing a novel and learning to drive) had been lost amid babies and hectic family life, so set about resurrecting them.
Her first novel was for Mills and Boon and was accepted after one rewrite in 1992 as Helen Brooks, and she passed her driving test (the former was a joy and the latter an unmitigated nightmare!) She has written 50 novels as well as several sagas as Rita Bradshaw.
Since becoming a full-time writer she has found her occupation one of pure joy and often surprised when her characters develop a mind of their own but she loves exploring what makes people tick and finds the old adage "truth is stranger than fiction" to be absolutely true. She would love to hear from any readers care of Mills & Boon.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 30, 2019
Re Second Marriage - Helen Brooks second book in her Husbands and Wives mini series is a very standard day at the HB HP office.
This is a direct sequel to the first book and takes place three years after the fatal car crash of the Evil Sister in Husband By Contract. The BFF widower who was married to the Evil Sister is paired up with the now pregger with twins h of the first book's sister from another mister BFF.
These two both carry baggage. The h's comes from a bad car accident when she was nannying and had the children in the back of the car when an 18 year old speed demon young man hit them and he died.
The h was engaged to a guy she thought she loved at the time, but he turned out to have a thing about physical imperfections - even if they were temporary ones from a bad car accident.
When the h was almost out of her two months of accident recovery, the h's fiance broke things off. Later her really nice older brother explained that the ex-fiance found a leggy blonde at his gym and took up with her about a month after the h got hurt.
The h's very nice brother told her not to worry tho, when he saw the cheatin' duo in the pub, he made sure that the ex-fiance was going to need serious dental work, cause the h's brother didn't believe the ex-fiance was able to find all his teeth that got knocked out in the dim lighting.
The h was very depressed and has now internalized that she is imperfect and unworthy of love because of some faint scaring on her abdomen. The h is convinced that no man is ever going to take a serious marital interest in her because she is too damaged.
The h is also unable to take another nannying job, her PTSD from hearing the children cry while she was pinned in the car is too fraught with trauma for her to be able to function.
But when her BFF calls her to go over to Italy and give her moral support in a houseful of worried Alpha Italian men and Benito the Parrot, the h doesn't hesitate to pack a bag and prepare for a long stay.
The H on the other hand, is all about rejecting any close relationships besides his BFF and his lovely pregnant wife. The H's baggage is that his marriage to his BFF's adopted sister was a nightmare she manipulated him into by faking a suicide attempt.
But his real damage is that the foolish man married a woman just like his icy, berating, socialite, neglectful mother and he expected a different result than what he got.
(Okay, none of us were prepared for the dead Evil Sister's total crazy and ruthless removal, but this H had a LOT of baggage that did not quite gel for me. Mainly because while his father saw him as an adjunct of himself and his heir and not as a person, plus his mother despised having to be preggers with him and then promptly ignored him except on special occasions, this H was pretty much adopted by his BFF's family.
As we know from the prior book, his BFF's mother was an utter Mum Madonna Type and very nurturing. As soon as this H was at an age to have a BFF, he was practically living with his BFF's family and spent a lot of time with then growing up. So he had some very positive role models for relationships, as well as how badly people can behave and he did his time on the pay to play lady buffet circuit too.)
Anyhows, the H is elected to pick up the h at the airport and right away they both feel the Lurve Force Mojo tension. But the h interprets it as the H is a wolf on the prowl and the H is upset that he is feeling anything.
We then get eight chapters of verbal baiting, with both of them vacillating between Treacherous Body Syndrome Tremors and bitter misunderstandings of where the other one is at mentally.
The main activity that both of them share is that the H will start acting like a Lothario Seducer, the h will forget she is a good girl and respond, then one or the other will remember that they are almost going to drop their personal baggage in the intensity of their Lurve Mojo Response to each other, so they have to stop their roofie kissing moment to pick it back up.
These little tempests end in one or the other of them saying some really bitter things to each other - such as the H claiming that he isn't all that into the h and the h taking that as further confirmation that she is too ruined for a romance.
Or we have the h claiming that the H is a lady buffet frequent flyer nematode and the H gets furious over what he sees as a impingement on his Manly Alpha Italian H Good Guy Honor - cause he has been seeking solace only with himself for the last three years.
Throw in a bored and huge pregger BFF and Benito's Parrot antics, along with little brother Lorenzo, and all this baggage drama is blown out of proportion by the continual attempts to pimp the H and h out to each other.
Which causes a lot of frustration, because by this point I was going to start looking up LG's HP Relate counselors so these two could sort themselves out before trying anything with other people.
The biggest frustration is that when they're in verbal combat mode, the mutual dialog is great and witty. When they get into conversational mode, they both point out that maybe they only saw what they wanted to see in their prior partners, (tho the Evil Sister's behavior is a deep dark seekrit for this h until the very end,) and that is why their relationships did not work.
Yet they both internalize that they are wildly attracted to each other, they both think the other isn't on their page and because we get both POV's, they still don't seem to see that their big Lurve Mojo is based again on what they are projecting on to the other person and the fact that both the H and h have excellent manners.
We almost get a breakthrough when little brother Lorenzo almost drowns and the h jumps into save him and the H has to save them both. But it all falls apart again when the H refuses to acknowledge that he really cares about the h and the h believes that the H is rejecting her because of her physical scars and that his impassioned "thank heavens you're safe" kiss was the H feeling pity for her.
Eventually the h realizes that to continue to stay in Italy is the equivalent of her continuing to beat her head against a brick wall and she makes arrangements to leave. Her BFF had a lovely set of twins and since they are a boy and a girl, each one is named after the H and h, who are now twin baby godparents.
There is a final confrontation between the H and h where the H is pushing for an affair and the h is holding out for commitment. She explains how much she loves the H and he is horrified. So the h ends things with a pretty good speech about not wanting to be a lady buffet sample and runs off to find her BFF.
Then the matching making BFF get her turn to be horrified that her matchmaking attempts almost pushed the h into a tacky affair instead of True Love and Marriage. The BFF is equally horrified to discover that the h is firmly convinced the H is still in love with his dead Evil Sister wife.
(The BFF still dances around admitting what really happened and the h still has no clue about the prior book's machinations.)
At least the h has recovered enough of her spirit to decide that she is going back to nannying again and the h also seems to have accepted her body image, she dresses up in a stunning cocktail dress for her big goodbye party and stokes herself up enough to really scintillate the guests.
The h succeeds so well that the H just has to have another jealousy inspired roofie kissing gropey moment and then when it finally hits him that this h has standards and a back bone and isn't going to go for a quick impersonal fling, he curtly says goodbye.
The next day the h is ready to go, we get a angsty parting from Benito the Parrot scene and the H shows up at the airport right before the h is to board her plane. He finally tells her all about how manipulative and evil the Evil Sister was and then reaffirms that he may love the h, but he can't handle being her committed partner.
The h cries all the way back home and decides to volunteer with mentally and physically challenged kids who live nearby. She is having a huge mopey moment until the H pops back up again, this time he is REALLY ready to marry her and they both declare they love each other as the H sweeps her off in his shiny Lamborghini for the big HEA.
This book is intense on the back and forth agony and the angst is very well done. But I got frustrated with the endless circling around their baggage and the big reconciliation scene still has this Grumpy Eeyore H claiming that he was going to be difficult to deal with.
So I wasn't buying the love here, I felt that both the H and h saw a few good mannered behaviors from the other one, spiced up with a fair amount of lust, and they both called it True Love.
Plus the ending was too abrupt to convince me they were really soulmates, this book cried out for an epilogue a few years later so we could see the H and h relaxed and truly bonded together.
I give this one kudos for the angst and tension, and drop points for the continual frustration in the repeated reinvestment in their individual baggage.
Interestingly, I think HB might have picked up on that frustration too, this is one of her very few HP outings where she has the H and h at equal internal low points. Most of her future backlist will only have either the H or the h being damaged and the other has to work to counteract that.
In any event, I am being grumpy and whiny on this one, but it really is a good story. I also liked seeing Benito the Parrot and little brother Lorenzo, they are great for lighthearted moments to break up the dramatic tension.
We do get an HEA at the end and it was a nice sweeping the h off her feet moment, so it is with minimal reservation that I recommend this one for an HB HP outing.
This is a direct sequel to the first book and takes place three years after the fatal car crash of the Evil Sister in Husband By Contract. The BFF widower who was married to the Evil Sister is paired up with the now pregger with twins h of the first book's sister from another mister BFF.
These two both carry baggage. The h's comes from a bad car accident when she was nannying and had the children in the back of the car when an 18 year old speed demon young man hit them and he died.
The h was engaged to a guy she thought she loved at the time, but he turned out to have a thing about physical imperfections - even if they were temporary ones from a bad car accident.
When the h was almost out of her two months of accident recovery, the h's fiance broke things off. Later her really nice older brother explained that the ex-fiance found a leggy blonde at his gym and took up with her about a month after the h got hurt.
The h's very nice brother told her not to worry tho, when he saw the cheatin' duo in the pub, he made sure that the ex-fiance was going to need serious dental work, cause the h's brother didn't believe the ex-fiance was able to find all his teeth that got knocked out in the dim lighting.
The h was very depressed and has now internalized that she is imperfect and unworthy of love because of some faint scaring on her abdomen. The h is convinced that no man is ever going to take a serious marital interest in her because she is too damaged.
The h is also unable to take another nannying job, her PTSD from hearing the children cry while she was pinned in the car is too fraught with trauma for her to be able to function.
But when her BFF calls her to go over to Italy and give her moral support in a houseful of worried Alpha Italian men and Benito the Parrot, the h doesn't hesitate to pack a bag and prepare for a long stay.
The H on the other hand, is all about rejecting any close relationships besides his BFF and his lovely pregnant wife. The H's baggage is that his marriage to his BFF's adopted sister was a nightmare she manipulated him into by faking a suicide attempt.
But his real damage is that the foolish man married a woman just like his icy, berating, socialite, neglectful mother and he expected a different result than what he got.
(Okay, none of us were prepared for the dead Evil Sister's total crazy and ruthless removal, but this H had a LOT of baggage that did not quite gel for me. Mainly because while his father saw him as an adjunct of himself and his heir and not as a person, plus his mother despised having to be preggers with him and then promptly ignored him except on special occasions, this H was pretty much adopted by his BFF's family.
As we know from the prior book, his BFF's mother was an utter Mum Madonna Type and very nurturing. As soon as this H was at an age to have a BFF, he was practically living with his BFF's family and spent a lot of time with then growing up. So he had some very positive role models for relationships, as well as how badly people can behave and he did his time on the pay to play lady buffet circuit too.)
Anyhows, the H is elected to pick up the h at the airport and right away they both feel the Lurve Force Mojo tension. But the h interprets it as the H is a wolf on the prowl and the H is upset that he is feeling anything.
We then get eight chapters of verbal baiting, with both of them vacillating between Treacherous Body Syndrome Tremors and bitter misunderstandings of where the other one is at mentally.
The main activity that both of them share is that the H will start acting like a Lothario Seducer, the h will forget she is a good girl and respond, then one or the other will remember that they are almost going to drop their personal baggage in the intensity of their Lurve Mojo Response to each other, so they have to stop their roofie kissing moment to pick it back up.
These little tempests end in one or the other of them saying some really bitter things to each other - such as the H claiming that he isn't all that into the h and the h taking that as further confirmation that she is too ruined for a romance.
Or we have the h claiming that the H is a lady buffet frequent flyer nematode and the H gets furious over what he sees as a impingement on his Manly Alpha Italian H Good Guy Honor - cause he has been seeking solace only with himself for the last three years.
Throw in a bored and huge pregger BFF and Benito's Parrot antics, along with little brother Lorenzo, and all this baggage drama is blown out of proportion by the continual attempts to pimp the H and h out to each other.
Which causes a lot of frustration, because by this point I was going to start looking up LG's HP Relate counselors so these two could sort themselves out before trying anything with other people.
The biggest frustration is that when they're in verbal combat mode, the mutual dialog is great and witty. When they get into conversational mode, they both point out that maybe they only saw what they wanted to see in their prior partners, (tho the Evil Sister's behavior is a deep dark seekrit for this h until the very end,) and that is why their relationships did not work.
Yet they both internalize that they are wildly attracted to each other, they both think the other isn't on their page and because we get both POV's, they still don't seem to see that their big Lurve Mojo is based again on what they are projecting on to the other person and the fact that both the H and h have excellent manners.
We almost get a breakthrough when little brother Lorenzo almost drowns and the h jumps into save him and the H has to save them both. But it all falls apart again when the H refuses to acknowledge that he really cares about the h and the h believes that the H is rejecting her because of her physical scars and that his impassioned "thank heavens you're safe" kiss was the H feeling pity for her.
Eventually the h realizes that to continue to stay in Italy is the equivalent of her continuing to beat her head against a brick wall and she makes arrangements to leave. Her BFF had a lovely set of twins and since they are a boy and a girl, each one is named after the H and h, who are now twin baby godparents.
There is a final confrontation between the H and h where the H is pushing for an affair and the h is holding out for commitment. She explains how much she loves the H and he is horrified. So the h ends things with a pretty good speech about not wanting to be a lady buffet sample and runs off to find her BFF.
Then the matching making BFF get her turn to be horrified that her matchmaking attempts almost pushed the h into a tacky affair instead of True Love and Marriage. The BFF is equally horrified to discover that the h is firmly convinced the H is still in love with his dead Evil Sister wife.
(The BFF still dances around admitting what really happened and the h still has no clue about the prior book's machinations.)
At least the h has recovered enough of her spirit to decide that she is going back to nannying again and the h also seems to have accepted her body image, she dresses up in a stunning cocktail dress for her big goodbye party and stokes herself up enough to really scintillate the guests.
The h succeeds so well that the H just has to have another jealousy inspired roofie kissing gropey moment and then when it finally hits him that this h has standards and a back bone and isn't going to go for a quick impersonal fling, he curtly says goodbye.
The next day the h is ready to go, we get a angsty parting from Benito the Parrot scene and the H shows up at the airport right before the h is to board her plane. He finally tells her all about how manipulative and evil the Evil Sister was and then reaffirms that he may love the h, but he can't handle being her committed partner.
The h cries all the way back home and decides to volunteer with mentally and physically challenged kids who live nearby. She is having a huge mopey moment until the H pops back up again, this time he is REALLY ready to marry her and they both declare they love each other as the H sweeps her off in his shiny Lamborghini for the big HEA.
This book is intense on the back and forth agony and the angst is very well done. But I got frustrated with the endless circling around their baggage and the big reconciliation scene still has this Grumpy Eeyore H claiming that he was going to be difficult to deal with.
So I wasn't buying the love here, I felt that both the H and h saw a few good mannered behaviors from the other one, spiced up with a fair amount of lust, and they both called it True Love.
Plus the ending was too abrupt to convince me they were really soulmates, this book cried out for an epilogue a few years later so we could see the H and h relaxed and truly bonded together.
I give this one kudos for the angst and tension, and drop points for the continual frustration in the repeated reinvestment in their individual baggage.
Interestingly, I think HB might have picked up on that frustration too, this is one of her very few HP outings where she has the H and h at equal internal low points. Most of her future backlist will only have either the H or the h being damaged and the other has to work to counteract that.
In any event, I am being grumpy and whiny on this one, but it really is a good story. I also liked seeing Benito the Parrot and little brother Lorenzo, they are great for lighthearted moments to break up the dramatic tension.
We do get an HEA at the end and it was a nice sweeping the h off her feet moment, so it is with minimal reservation that I recommend this one for an HB HP outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2018
I didn't understand why the author had to kill off the sister-in-law in Husband By Contract, but I can see why now. She needed to free up the husband so he could be haunted by his disastrous marriage as the hero in this story.
Yes, the H/h, the brother (now 13) and the parrot are all back to welcome the heroine into their Italian household as she helps her friend, now pregnant with twins. The heroine doesn't understand why the hero blows hot and cold, and her friend won't tell her any secrets.
Not a whole lot happens in this story as both the H/h are smitten from the start
This was a nice sequel to the first book in this series, but the pleasure come from seeing the characters from book one again, rather than the romance.
Yes, the H/h, the brother (now 13) and the parrot are all back to welcome the heroine into their Italian household as she helps her friend, now pregnant with twins. The heroine doesn't understand why the hero blows hot and cold, and her friend won't tell her any secrets.
Not a whole lot happens in this story as both the H/h are smitten from the start
This was a nice sequel to the first book in this series, but the pleasure come from seeing the characters from book one again, rather than the romance.
April 16, 2013
I enjoyed this better than I thought. I typically don't like sequels, whether they are books or movies. However, this one was very good. Again, I loved the hero and heroine in this book and I thought the author did an incredible job of bringing both stories together. I really enjoyed the secondary characters and seeing Donato and Grace gave me a good feeling all over again. Benito the parrot is a riot, he has such a starring role in both books.
I would have given this one 5 stars as well, except I was slightly disappointed in the ending. It was a bit anticlimactic relative to the rest of the book.
I recommend this and the first one..They were both page turners!
I would have given this one 5 stars as well, except I was slightly disappointed in the ending. It was a bit anticlimactic relative to the rest of the book.
I recommend this and the first one..They were both page turners!
September 12, 2018
"Second Marriage" is the story of Claire and Romano.
When Claire is invited to help her best friend Grace out with her stressful twin pregnancy to Italy, she instantly agrees as it would give her the much needed time to recover from her recent trauma.
She however does not expect to be picked at the airport by Romano, Grace and Donatelo's brother in law, nor does she expect attraction to sizzle- especially with her past history with her ex!
Both carry different kinds of physical and mental baggage- but while she craves love and stability, he plans to give her only sexual gratification due to his past- something that is insufficient for her.
They have a volatile courtship filled with heated kisses, jealousy, and relentless pursual. But when Claire demands more, will she be left standing alone this time too?
Another good Helen Brooks story with a devoted kind hero, a frustrated independent heroine, loads of mental distress and anguish, will-they-wont-they, draaamaaaa, enjoyable secondary characters and a big slice of angst.
The story is very predictable, but I did enjoy it in parts, especially the angsty ones. I always want detailed epilogues/lovemaking scenes in these books, which I sorely missed.
Overall, an average read.
Safe
3/5
When Claire is invited to help her best friend Grace out with her stressful twin pregnancy to Italy, she instantly agrees as it would give her the much needed time to recover from her recent trauma.
She however does not expect to be picked at the airport by Romano, Grace and Donatelo's brother in law, nor does she expect attraction to sizzle- especially with her past history with her ex!
Both carry different kinds of physical and mental baggage- but while she craves love and stability, he plans to give her only sexual gratification due to his past- something that is insufficient for her.
They have a volatile courtship filled with heated kisses, jealousy, and relentless pursual. But when Claire demands more, will she be left standing alone this time too?
Another good Helen Brooks story with a devoted kind hero, a frustrated independent heroine, loads of mental distress and anguish, will-they-wont-they, draaamaaaa, enjoyable secondary characters and a big slice of angst.
The story is very predictable, but I did enjoy it in parts, especially the angsty ones. I always want detailed epilogues/lovemaking scenes in these books, which I sorely missed.
Overall, an average read.
Safe
3/5
July 11, 2015
Delicious angst, lovable characters and a very intense love story even with zero sex scenes.
October 21, 2018
I enjoyed this. The passion without sex! It was indeed an emotional story and quite uplifting theme about recovery, self esteem and acceptance. Adore the couple from the Ist book. Great ending!
January 30, 2018
19th Read of 2018
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars
This is book 2 in the series (although you don't need to have read book 1). Sweet, cute, read in 2 hours and it has a talking parrot. What else needs to be said? :-).
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars
This is book 2 in the series (although you don't need to have read book 1). Sweet, cute, read in 2 hours and it has a talking parrot. What else needs to be said? :-).
October 2, 2020
The second Mrs. Bellini. Claire would make some man the perfect wife--everyone said so. But after being jilted by her fiance, she wasn't sure she believed in love anymore. Until she saw her best friend reunited with the husband she thought she'd lost forever--and Claire's faith in romance was restored. Staying with the happy couple, it seemed like fate when she met their closest friend, Romano Bellini. He was beautiful, and for a fleeting moment Claire wondered if.... But Romano had been married before and didn't want his life complicated by a second wife. Curious, then, that the subject of marriage just kept coming up!
November 20, 2013
A passionate emotional read.
January 3, 2026
Thanks to the author & publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Two Wives tells the story of Eve, a nanny, who comes to stay and work with Eve, minding her daughter Maisie. Eve’s husband, Oliver, is a well known cardiologist, divorced from Carla, who continues to antagonise Eve regularly. This worsens when Carla moving into a rental property next door. Then Oliver goes missing and in trying to piece together what may have happened to him, the 3 women find blood in the cellar of the house. It seems Oliver has many enemies, and everyone has a motive for wanting to get rid of him. So where is he? I’d recommend this book although it was a little slow in the first half. The second half tied together the other characters and their motives nicely. Definitely worth a read
Two Wives tells the story of Eve, a nanny, who comes to stay and work with Eve, minding her daughter Maisie. Eve’s husband, Oliver, is a well known cardiologist, divorced from Carla, who continues to antagonise Eve regularly. This worsens when Carla moving into a rental property next door. Then Oliver goes missing and in trying to piece together what may have happened to him, the 3 women find blood in the cellar of the house. It seems Oliver has many enemies, and everyone has a motive for wanting to get rid of him. So where is he? I’d recommend this book although it was a little slow in the first half. The second half tied together the other characters and their motives nicely. Definitely worth a read
May 25, 2020
Second Marriage
This is a book about second chances. He had been married to another who was not as she seemed. After reading the book before this one I understood the reasons. She was as recovering from not only an accident but the break up with her fiance. He had image issues. She was no longer perfect. They were introduced by mutual friends. He has issues of trust. Of any good looking females. She has become to think of being alone after her ex. What happens next is the rest of the story. Glad to see both get their own happy ending.
This is a book about second chances. He had been married to another who was not as she seemed. After reading the book before this one I understood the reasons. She was as recovering from not only an accident but the break up with her fiance. He had image issues. She was no longer perfect. They were introduced by mutual friends. He has issues of trust. Of any good looking females. She has become to think of being alone after her ex. What happens next is the rest of the story. Glad to see both get their own happy ending.
April 4, 2026
Claire was a warm delightful character and Romano was a bit of a jerk. I know he had a tough childhood a terrible first marriage but really Claire deserved better. Yes it all worked out in the end but other than he was hot, rich and knew how to kiss why did Claire love him? I did appreciate that the author gave us a few insights into Romano’s thoughts but it was pretty much only Claire’s point of view in the book. Not worth owning or a re-read but okay for a light read
May 4, 2019
Nice story, sweet love story
I liked all the people in the book and the love story was heartwarming. I would like to read the story of how her friends got together.
I liked all the people in the book and the love story was heartwarming. I would like to read the story of how her friends got together.
January 20, 2020
Two depressed people find one another, only for him to be the “I don’t want to ever marry again” martyr.
March 2, 2024
Great book that will make you tear up. Must read the first book in the series before reading this one. It's another fantastic read.
October 28, 2016
I loved Benito the parrot. I was invested more in the secondary characters to be honest.
January 2, 2012
I enjoyed this book better than I expected. The h has principal and she knows what she wants in a relationship from the start. There are so many books out there that the h will surrender to a moment of "physical weakness" and forgot all about the good old principal that when you walk into a relationship, you intend to work on it and see if it can be a long term one. There are too many h out there just scrumble to the moment of "physical pleasure", forgot caution and get themselves pregnant in HP books. I might possilby be old fashioned but I am glad to read a book with the h who has the courage to walk away when she believes all H wants is only a short term relationship without commitment.
April 25, 2017
After reading the first book in the series, we know all about what Romano Bellini had to go through . Claire, Grace's friend, is invited to come and help out Grace for several months while she's pregnant. She's forced into the company of Romano, who she takes an instant dislike to (it's really just attraction) and he seems to reciprocate. When the attraction is revealed, Romano makes it clear they can only have an affair, because he will not commit to another person, even her. Claire seems to think this is because he is still pining for his lost wife and Romano isn't making it clear otherwise. So, Claire gets ready to leave Italy broken hearted.
This is a fairly good, 90's style emotional book, even if it is a clean romance (which is never really my preference). I don't dislike Romano, but he's as changeable as the wind. He blows hot and cold - passionate and charming one minute and irascible the next. I actually kind of like the gruff heroes, but he is pretty damn rude to Claire. So of course she falls in love with him. And that was my biggest problem with this story - it's where I struggled teh most. He was so rude to her and she spent so much time trying to avoid being anywhere near him, that when she realized she was in love with him, I was confused, trying to figure out why. What was that deciding factor? It wasn't believable. And sadly, because we don't get Romano's POV, his sudden appearance at the end of the story begging for her to come back is kind of out of the blue. And his reasons, "I can't live without you," "I don't care if I make you miserable as long as you're with me." sort of excuses fell as selfish, rather than loving. That was rather disappointing, but it was still a pretty good emotional journey. This author is good for that sort of emotional angst.
This is a fairly good, 90's style emotional book, even if it is a clean romance (which is never really my preference). I don't dislike Romano, but he's as changeable as the wind. He blows hot and cold - passionate and charming one minute and irascible the next. I actually kind of like the gruff heroes, but he is pretty damn rude to Claire. So of course she falls in love with him. And that was my biggest problem with this story - it's where I struggled teh most. He was so rude to her and she spent so much time trying to avoid being anywhere near him, that when she realized she was in love with him, I was confused, trying to figure out why. What was that deciding factor? It wasn't believable. And sadly, because we don't get Romano's POV, his sudden appearance at the end of the story begging for her to come back is kind of out of the blue. And his reasons, "I can't live without you," "I don't care if I make you miserable as long as you're with me." sort of excuses fell as selfish, rather than loving. That was rather disappointing, but it was still a pretty good emotional journey. This author is good for that sort of emotional angst.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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