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Uncovering Her Nine Month Secret
You wouldn’t have been able to resist either, believe me! He broke down my defences as if they were paper. One dark, unfathomable glance from Alejandro, the notorious Duke of Alzacar, and I was his. It was only later that I realised why he’d seduced me, and I had no choice but to flee. Nine months on, he’s found me. No matter how my body and my heart react to him, I can never let the Duke take our son away from me. But Alejandro will stop at nothing. I have just one card left to play…
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 16, 2014
62 people are currently reading
363 people want to read
About the author
Jennie Lucas
554 books331 followersJennie Lucas had a tragic beginning for any would-be writer: a very happy childhood. Her parents owned a bookstore, and she grew up surrounded by books, dreaming about faraway lands. Her mother read aloud to her in French when she was little; when she was ten, her father secretly paid her a dollar for every classic novel (Jane Eyre, War and Peace) that she read. As a chubby teenager, Jennie covered her bedroom with travel posters and always had her nose in a book.
At fifteen, she went to a Connecticut boarding school on scholarship. She took her first solo trip to Europe at sixteen, then put off college and traveled around the U.S., supporting herself with jobs as diverse as gas station cashier and newspaper advertising assistant.
At 22, she met the man who would be her husband. For the first time in her life, she wanted to stay in one place, as long as she could be with him. After their marriage, she graduated from Kent State University with a degree in English, and started writing books a year later.
Jennie was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart contest in 2003 and won the award in 2005. A fellow 2003 finalist, Australian author Trish Morey, read Jennie’s writing and told her that she should write for Harlequin Presents. It seemed like too big a dream, but Jennie took a deep breath and went for it. A year later, after seven years of writing and eight finished manuscripts, Jennie got the magical call from London that turned her into a published author.
Since then, life has been hectic, juggling a writing career, a sexy husband and two young children, but Jennie loves her crazy, chaotic life. Who needs a clean house? Every day, Jennie gets swept into drama, glamour and passion. Now if she can only figure out how to pack up her family and live in all the places she’s writing about!
At fifteen, she went to a Connecticut boarding school on scholarship. She took her first solo trip to Europe at sixteen, then put off college and traveled around the U.S., supporting herself with jobs as diverse as gas station cashier and newspaper advertising assistant.
At 22, she met the man who would be her husband. For the first time in her life, she wanted to stay in one place, as long as she could be with him. After their marriage, she graduated from Kent State University with a degree in English, and started writing books a year later.
Jennie was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart contest in 2003 and won the award in 2005. A fellow 2003 finalist, Australian author Trish Morey, read Jennie’s writing and told her that she should write for Harlequin Presents. It seemed like too big a dream, but Jennie took a deep breath and went for it. A year later, after seven years of writing and eight finished manuscripts, Jennie got the magical call from London that turned her into a published author.
Since then, life has been hectic, juggling a writing career, a sexy husband and two young children, but Jennie loves her crazy, chaotic life. Who needs a clean house? Every day, Jennie gets swept into drama, glamour and passion. Now if she can only figure out how to pack up her family and live in all the places she’s writing about!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
February 3, 2016
Finally an absolute WINNER after some very disappointing Mills & Boon stories that I have read lately.
A first for Mills & Boon…..a romance novel written in 1st person! Now that’s something different.
Jenny Lucas did not disappoint me…..I had the feeling that I was going to love this story…..from the opening lines I was pulled into Lena Carlisle’s head. I experienced what she saw, what she felt, what she touched…..
The gray, lowering sky was falling like a shroud across the old colonial city of San Miguel de Allende when I heard the words I’d feared in nightmares for the past year.”Uncovering Her Nine Month Secret – which in my opinion is a really “sappy” title……is a modern take on a much loved fairytale
A poor orphan, treated cruelly by her family who meets a rich and powerful Duke, she runs away and he travels the world looking for her……I know, it sounds a bit sugary and sweet but it actually works…never mind that it’s far fetched and unrealistic at times…..but it’s written in such a way that you start thinking it it’s so real and believable. Hey, anything is possible in fairy tales and that’s just one of the things I love about Mills & Boon romance novels.
I really connected with Lena – I could understand her actions,
“Sometimes fate chooses better for us than we can choose for ourselves.”and as the story of Alejandro starts unfolding, we learn about his family history and his secrets and the reason for his fears, we begin to understand why he acted the way he did with Lena in the beginning.
You create your own future, step by step, by being brave. By doing the right thing. By telling the truth. By trying your best.”I adored Alejandro’s quirky and “off-the-wall” grandmother….she’s totally OTT……..and totally lovable….their gorgeous baby..Naturally….and some really funny secondary characters…namely Lena’s family villains, who get their just desserts in the end…..I had to smile when I read that scene.
The setting …the slow moving life with heat and warmth in the Spanish countryside….awesome
Sensual, sexy, steamy love scenes………yes, amazing…
But what made this story so special and unforgettable was the author’s incredibly beautiful writing …..so many quotes that were stunningly amazing
Oleander. I shivered a little. So beautiful to the eyes. But so poisonous to the heart.Sheer poetry…
Just like Alejandro, I thought.”
Denial is a beautiful thing. A woman in love can be very good at focusing on the ode and ignoring the thorn-at last until it draws blood.”So well written, so well paced….I just wanted to go on and on reading, even after Lena & Alejandro and their baby get their HEA….I wanted more.
Jennie Lucas…..
October 30, 2016
Well. This had a 2014 copyright date, but I felt like I was reading an old school - I mean - 1970's old school HP because not only was the plot OTT with fun twists, there was a *travelogue* of the Alhambra in Spain. The hero had a deep dark secret that involved ! The OM was a homicidal maniac who was obsessed with the heroine. The heroine was a clueless Cinderella to her evil cousin. Her evil grandmother made the poor orphan live in an attic and sleep in an iron bed with a lumpy mattress for heaven's sake.
Really, so much great HP goodness.
Why not a higher rating? The wobbly first person narrative. I don't mind first person POV, I really don't. But the heroine's voice, was all over the place. Sincere and full of angst and drama, I could warm to, but then she would lapse into chick lit snarkiness, which didn't fit her character or the story - and I would be reminded I was reading OTT ridiculousness rather than being swept away by the story.
Still, who can resist a hero who
This is fun stuff, if you don't mind the first person POV.
Really, so much great HP goodness.
Why not a higher rating? The wobbly first person narrative. I don't mind first person POV, I really don't. But the heroine's voice, was all over the place. Sincere and full of angst and drama, I could warm to, but then she would lapse into chick lit snarkiness, which didn't fit her character or the story - and I would be reminded I was reading OTT ridiculousness rather than being swept away by the story.
Still, who can resist a hero who
This is fun stuff, if you don't mind the first person POV.
Read
November 13, 2019DNF.
I just can't do it.
Too OTT plus I started rooting for the villain.
Oops, just realized why. I gave one of my rare 4 stars for that stinker H from Nine Months to Redeem Him. Hanging my head in shame.
I just can't do it.
Too OTT plus I started rooting for the villain.
Oops, just realized why. I gave one of my rare 4 stars for that stinker H from Nine Months to Redeem Him. Hanging my head in shame.
May 24, 2023
***4.5 Stars***
This is a safe read. Both were celibate during time apart. (HURRAH!) I just completed my fourth read-through. Although I liked it the first time, I was a bit torn but I understand it better now. The first time through I made some hasty judgements because the hero was so horribly mean at the beginning of the story but it takes a couple of chapters to understand that he had good reason to be, but those reasons had been lies told by the heroine's evil cousin who was trying to blackmail the hero into marriage and he quickly begins to piece it together.
Lena is our bluntly honest heroine and she has been treated badly by her cousin since her parents' death when she had no choice but to go live with her Cousin's family. She was more of a slave/maid than anything, living in their unfinished attic, put-down and mistreated daily for more than ten years. She was even expected to relinguish her small salary for being the maid so the other employees could be paid. This was done out of meaness and spitefulness...there was no financial cause for this and she gave it up willingly so her dear friends, the maids and butlers, could continue to draw the meager salaries they were paid.
Then we have Alejandro, our hero, whom at the beginning seems to be an unreasonably mean and nasty man. Fortunately that doesn't last long. Because of Lena's cousin's lies, he was made to believe the worst about her and I could understand why he felt the way he did. Lena was also fed lies by the evil cousin which made her think of the hero as a monster. Once you're in the second chapter you begin to understand the evilness of the nasty, slutty cousin. The H was fed nothing but horrible lies for a year as was the h. The evil cousin was actually trying to steal the good cousins baby because she was sure that was the only way to blackmail the H to marry her. He didn't want to ever love anyone nor did he want a child and he definitely planned to never marry. There was a while that I despised him but when the reasons for him being the way he was came to light, and he had some fairly good reasons, I began to understand him. He grew on me and he also changed for the better since he no longer had the burden of the secret he had been keeping since his youth.
Lena's cousin wanted Alejandro badly. She wanted to acquire the title of Duchess and his billions of dollars but she was not able to have children. She also knew her cousin was pregnant by the H because he dumped the cousin once he met Lena. He had not, however, been intimate with the evil one...thank goodness. That would have been a little too much sharing for my taste.
This turned out to be a great story once I understood Alejandro. I enjoyed it but I would have liked a little more happiness earlier than it happened.
The villian in this story gets his own book in the sequel: Nine Months to Redeem Him also by Jennie Lucas.
This is a safe read. Both were celibate during time apart. (HURRAH!) I just completed my fourth read-through. Although I liked it the first time, I was a bit torn but I understand it better now. The first time through I made some hasty judgements because the hero was so horribly mean at the beginning of the story but it takes a couple of chapters to understand that he had good reason to be, but those reasons had been lies told by the heroine's evil cousin who was trying to blackmail the hero into marriage and he quickly begins to piece it together.
Lena is our bluntly honest heroine and she has been treated badly by her cousin since her parents' death when she had no choice but to go live with her Cousin's family. She was more of a slave/maid than anything, living in their unfinished attic, put-down and mistreated daily for more than ten years. She was even expected to relinguish her small salary for being the maid so the other employees could be paid. This was done out of meaness and spitefulness...there was no financial cause for this and she gave it up willingly so her dear friends, the maids and butlers, could continue to draw the meager salaries they were paid.
Then we have Alejandro, our hero, whom at the beginning seems to be an unreasonably mean and nasty man. Fortunately that doesn't last long. Because of Lena's cousin's lies, he was made to believe the worst about her and I could understand why he felt the way he did. Lena was also fed lies by the evil cousin which made her think of the hero as a monster. Once you're in the second chapter you begin to understand the evilness of the nasty, slutty cousin. The H was fed nothing but horrible lies for a year as was the h. The evil cousin was actually trying to steal the good cousins baby because she was sure that was the only way to blackmail the H to marry her. He didn't want to ever love anyone nor did he want a child and he definitely planned to never marry. There was a while that I despised him but when the reasons for him being the way he was came to light, and he had some fairly good reasons, I began to understand him. He grew on me and he also changed for the better since he no longer had the burden of the secret he had been keeping since his youth.
Lena's cousin wanted Alejandro badly. She wanted to acquire the title of Duchess and his billions of dollars but she was not able to have children. She also knew her cousin was pregnant by the H because he dumped the cousin once he met Lena. He had not, however, been intimate with the evil one...thank goodness. That would have been a little too much sharing for my taste.
This turned out to be a great story once I understood Alejandro. I enjoyed it but I would have liked a little more happiness earlier than it happened.
The villian in this story gets his own book in the sequel: Nine Months to Redeem Him also by Jennie Lucas.
November 28, 2017
I loved this book. It will be on my re-read list for sure. I loved the h. I got all teary eyed when she went back for her son's 'legacy' and I could just see the look on the Heroes face when he realized how she had lived and how she was treated. It was very sad. I hated her cousin. She was unbelievable. When the h asked her why she couldn't love her, it broke my heart. I loved the H after he realized how special she was but I almost deducted a star for the way he left her and wouldn't take her calls. The big reveal was a surprise. Great story. Love my Jennie Lucas!!!!
July 4, 2014
First of all this book is written in first-person perspective, heroine's the narrator.
Heroine is an innocent poor orphan young woman mistreated by her rich evil cousin. She even works for her and sleeps in a shabby attic. A Cinderella heroine! She meets Alejandro a handsome duke and falls for him fast and hard. But so does her evil cousin and she eventually breaks them up.
Nine months later Alejandro finds Lena and their son in a small town in Mexico. He is determined to make her his again but an evil OM an evil OW and his dark deep secret threaten their happiness.
I adore Jennie Lucas. Once again she gives me everything I want in a HP! Cheesy love story, super sweet innocent, warm and naive heroine, alpha ruthless hero, hot love scenes and a beautiful HEA!!
Heroine is an innocent poor orphan young woman mistreated by her rich evil cousin. She even works for her and sleeps in a shabby attic. A Cinderella heroine! She meets Alejandro a handsome duke and falls for him fast and hard. But so does her evil cousin and she eventually breaks them up.
Nine months later Alejandro finds Lena and their son in a small town in Mexico. He is determined to make her his again but an evil OM an evil OW and his dark deep secret threaten their happiness.
I adore Jennie Lucas. Once again she gives me everything I want in a HP! Cheesy love story, super sweet innocent, warm and naive heroine, alpha ruthless hero, hot love scenes and a beautiful HEA!!
July 5, 2014
I loved this book! I was in the mood for something romantic and sweet and this hit the spot just right.Low level angst,sweet heroine,sweet baby,loveable abuela,and a great lead alpha male.I was prepared to dislike him at the beginning, but as the book came to a close,I loved him.Very strong 4.5****
February 19, 2021
Love, like trust, is earned, It is kept, day by day, night by night, as we reveal to each other who we were. Who we are. And most of all, who we hope to be.
The secret baby plot can be a hit or miss for me. But with this one, I can honestly say that I loved this story. It hit all the right spots for me! So many raw emotions between Alejandro and Lena. And it drew me in completely from the first page and made me feel so much up to the last page! Jennie Lucas created this emotional, intense, and passionate story with characters I was rooting for from the very beginning. What more can you ask for in a romance?
August 30, 2020
"Uncovering Her Nine Month Secret" is the story of Lena and Alejandro.
A very cheesy romance between a pretty tame couple. They have a passionate sexathon, and the heroine is told by her evil cousin it was all because the hero wanted her to get pregnant and then they'd steal her baby. She runs away, and is helped by OM. A year later, the hero finds her and coerces her to be his wife. They work out their issues, fall in love, have loads of OM/OW drama/misunderstandings and everything eventually ends in a HEA.
I found it too cheesy and unnecessarily dramatic. The characters were pretty mature and things got sorted very early on- hence the book felt a bit too long and their random issues made no sense.
Safe
3/5
A very cheesy romance between a pretty tame couple. They have a passionate sexathon, and the heroine is told by her evil cousin it was all because the hero wanted her to get pregnant and then they'd steal her baby. She runs away, and is helped by OM. A year later, the hero finds her and coerces her to be his wife. They work out their issues, fall in love, have loads of OM/OW drama/misunderstandings and everything eventually ends in a HEA.
I found it too cheesy and unnecessarily dramatic. The characters were pretty mature and things got sorted very early on- hence the book felt a bit too long and their random issues made no sense.
Safe
3/5
December 22, 2014
I struggled with this book. Unlike most Harlequin Mills & Boon, it was written in the first person and I found this shift of perspective rather jarring. Perhaps angsty romances are more suited to a 3rd POV. I gave up half way through the book. Probably a good read for someone who doesn't mind first POV.
October 20, 2019
Not an interesting read imo. Took a toll on my patience to read it while I kept going back and forth to other books. Didn't like the h or the H as much. The h was seemingly a wallflower but then grew some backbone and kept spewing hate to the H when they meet again. It seemed forced and childish. Like saying "i hate you" every other second to a grown man when you're a grown woman yourself. Pass.
August 25, 2015
This is one of a two part series written in first person point of view. I don't usually like first person but the stories kept me involved.
The heroine Lena fell in love with Alejandro the Duke of Alzacar a year ago when they embarked upon a summer affair. Then he left, before she could tell him she was pregnant. Her step-sister then revealed it was a plot and afraid of having her baby taken from her, Lena fled with the help of a man she thought of as a friend, Edward.
A year later, Alejandro finds her and baby Miguel. He too was told things by step-sister Claudie and the meeting is not friendly.
There are a lot of secrets and lies in this story and it takes a while for Alejandro and Lena to start to trust each other. Even then, some secrets are too big and dangerous and it is this that causes conflict.
This is a story that it's difficult to talk about without giving away the twists and turns. I found it a very emotional read towards the end. The second book is the story of Edward.
The heroine Lena fell in love with Alejandro the Duke of Alzacar a year ago when they embarked upon a summer affair. Then he left, before she could tell him she was pregnant. Her step-sister then revealed it was a plot and afraid of having her baby taken from her, Lena fled with the help of a man she thought of as a friend, Edward.
A year later, Alejandro finds her and baby Miguel. He too was told things by step-sister Claudie and the meeting is not friendly.
There are a lot of secrets and lies in this story and it takes a while for Alejandro and Lena to start to trust each other. Even then, some secrets are too big and dangerous and it is this that causes conflict.
This is a story that it's difficult to talk about without giving away the twists and turns. I found it a very emotional read towards the end. The second book is the story of Edward.
November 17, 2019
Well this was a hot mess and the story was all over the place!
Oh book book let me list thy sins.
I LOATHED the h's POV for the entire story she came across as a total whiny martyr.
The H was kinda Alpha but kind of not really as he was also hiding a secret identity and living someone elses life which is not cool. He needed to be more decisive rather than worrying about his "promise". His enire background wasn't ever really solved in my opinion either just glossed over and it was very convenient he turned out to be the true heir as well!
The OM was actually pretty awesome and decent until the end when he suddenly became a kidnapping maniac - a step too far considering he is the H in a future book. Lesser other men have had far worse inflicted on them. The h definitely used him and should take some of the blame for his poor behaviour.
Still for all of that it wasn't completely awful
Oh book book let me list thy sins.
I LOATHED the h's POV for the entire story she came across as a total whiny martyr.
The H was kinda Alpha but kind of not really as he was also hiding a secret identity and living someone elses life which is not cool. He needed to be more decisive rather than worrying about his "promise". His enire background wasn't ever really solved in my opinion either just glossed over and it was very convenient he turned out to be the true heir as well!
The OM was actually pretty awesome and decent until the end when he suddenly became a kidnapping maniac - a step too far considering he is the H in a future book. Lesser other men have had far worse inflicted on them. The h definitely used him and should take some of the blame for his poor behaviour.
Still for all of that it wasn't completely awful
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2023
Funny because of the pure OTTness of the plot! Lol
November 10, 2019
I read “Nine Months to Redeem Him” first and the villain in this book is the hero in that one, so when I saw his antics in full display here, I was aghast that he would get a book of his own because he was frickin’ psycho in this one. He threatens the heroine, obsessively follows her around, kidnaps her—he’s rich, handsome, powerful, and the only difference between him and the hero is that the heroine doesn’t love him back, ergo he’s the bad guy.
Lena Carlisle is a Cinderella heroine who lived in the attic of her evil cousin, serving as her personal assistant slash slave, while the evil cousin plots to ensnare Alejandro Navarro, the last Duke of Alcazar, for marriage. As these things go, Alejandro takes one look at Lena and decides he wants her, instead, so he courts her and seduces her, and gets her pregnant. Claudie, the evil cousin, tells Lena that the she and Alejandro will be married and only needed Lena’s baby for their family to be complete, so that is why Alejandro seduced her. Meanwhile, Claudie tells Alejandro that she and Lena hatched this plan so that Alejandro will marry Claudie and Lena won’t let Alejandro see the baby unless he marries Claudie. To escape Alejandro’s wrath, Lena has run away with the help of a friend Edward St. Cyr, a ruthless billionaire who has been flying her all over the world so Alejandro won’t find her and her baby. Of course, Edward isn’t doing this for altruistic reasons. As he tells Lena, she needs to get over the Spanish bastard because it’s time that Lena belonged to him. Lena has been living in a house in Mexico managed by shell companies owned by Edward, but Alejandro has found her at last and forces her baby to take a DNA test and commands her to marry him.
Lena tells Alejandro she needs to go to London first before they go to Spain, so she could collect her legacy. Alejandro thinks Lena is just there to get money from Claudie or something—Claudie made Lena’s life to difficult, so she would move out and Lena wouldn’t get her inheritance from her grandmother—but then he discovers that her so-called legacy are actually a bunch of old family albums from her happy childhood with her parents. He also finds out while she was living with Claudie, she stayed in the attic and that she is beloved by all servants because she is very kind to them. Alejandro starts to realize that maybe he was wrong about Lena all this time and it was only due to Claudie’s machinations that they were torn apart. Lena tells him that she will stay with him and marry him, provided that he is true to her and won’t lie to her, but Alejandro says he can’t promise that he won’t lie to her now and in the future. Lena is broken-hearted because she doesn’t want to fall in love with Alejandro again, but he is so good to her and the baby, plus he has an adorable grandmother. What is he lying about? Does he have four dozen mistresses? Alejandro was adamant about not getting married and having kids before Lena got pregnant and he had told her so. She told him she loved him, so he panicked and left her. What is different now?
I’d never really come across an HP told from the first-person POV before, so this was definitely different. It kind of had a “Last night, I dreamt of Manderley…” feel to it. We even get a travelogue of Alhambra, just like the old-fashioned Mills and Boon novels, and that was neat because of the lush, flowing descriptions. Lena is not an annoying heroine and though she is susceptible to Alejandro, she seems to have her own mind. It’s also a nice change of pace because there is no head-hopping between the hero and the heroine and that’s one of the things that drive me nuts about reading the old HPs. This book reads like a Mexican telenovela complete with kidnappings, blackmail, and bitchy cousins. Lena is truly a Cinderella figure who was maltreated by her evil cousin, gets her birth-right stolen, and then swept off her feet by the dashing, handsome duke. She was even living in the attic. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had talking birds and mice that kept her company up there.
When I started reading this book, I thought it would go into some flashbacks of how Lena and Alejandro met and fell in love before evil cousin Claudie threw a monkey wrench into the mix, but there’s none of that. There’s not even a scene or two of her adventuring with Edward St. Cyr, considering he supposedly jetted her around the world in an effort to get her away from Alejandro. I thought maybe there was a previous book I missed or something and this was a continuation. I would have liked to see scenes of Edward and Lena forming a friendship because hey, why does she trust this guy so much? When Lena and Alejandro get to London, the first person Lena contacts is Edward St. Cyr, so he could help her get away from Alejandro. This guy basically drops everything on hand just so he could get to Lena and Lena didn’t believe that Edward had any feelings for her? Girl, a guy like that won't do nothing for free for a lady who looks like you. I’m not blaming Lena for Edward’s crazy behavior or anything, but if she calls him asking to be saved and he drops everything just to get to her, and for her to say “Ooops, never mind,” I’d go a little nuts, too. But Edward has his own issues and his own book for that.
As for Alejandro’s “big secret,” I don’t know if I’ve read one too many Harlequin Presents or something, but his reason for not wanting a wife and kids, kind of made sense to me. He could have found a better way to deal with it, instead of torturing his poor wife with his brooding and secretive act, but I understand that he thought he couldn’t trust her because it’s a pretty big secret that could potentially ruin the lives of many people, not just his and his grandma.
I actually really enjoyed this book. The first-person POV was refreshing, the sex scenes were hot, and the hero wasn’t an all the way an alpha-hole. Oh, he had his moments, but when he was sweet to the heroine, he was adorable. Plus he sings to her in a Spanish cantina with a guitar. *melt*
Lena Carlisle is a Cinderella heroine who lived in the attic of her evil cousin, serving as her personal assistant slash slave, while the evil cousin plots to ensnare Alejandro Navarro, the last Duke of Alcazar, for marriage. As these things go, Alejandro takes one look at Lena and decides he wants her, instead, so he courts her and seduces her, and gets her pregnant. Claudie, the evil cousin, tells Lena that the she and Alejandro will be married and only needed Lena’s baby for their family to be complete, so that is why Alejandro seduced her. Meanwhile, Claudie tells Alejandro that she and Lena hatched this plan so that Alejandro will marry Claudie and Lena won’t let Alejandro see the baby unless he marries Claudie. To escape Alejandro’s wrath, Lena has run away with the help of a friend Edward St. Cyr, a ruthless billionaire who has been flying her all over the world so Alejandro won’t find her and her baby. Of course, Edward isn’t doing this for altruistic reasons. As he tells Lena, she needs to get over the Spanish bastard because it’s time that Lena belonged to him. Lena has been living in a house in Mexico managed by shell companies owned by Edward, but Alejandro has found her at last and forces her baby to take a DNA test and commands her to marry him.
Lena tells Alejandro she needs to go to London first before they go to Spain, so she could collect her legacy. Alejandro thinks Lena is just there to get money from Claudie or something—Claudie made Lena’s life to difficult, so she would move out and Lena wouldn’t get her inheritance from her grandmother—but then he discovers that her so-called legacy are actually a bunch of old family albums from her happy childhood with her parents. He also finds out while she was living with Claudie, she stayed in the attic and that she is beloved by all servants because she is very kind to them. Alejandro starts to realize that maybe he was wrong about Lena all this time and it was only due to Claudie’s machinations that they were torn apart. Lena tells him that she will stay with him and marry him, provided that he is true to her and won’t lie to her, but Alejandro says he can’t promise that he won’t lie to her now and in the future. Lena is broken-hearted because she doesn’t want to fall in love with Alejandro again, but he is so good to her and the baby, plus he has an adorable grandmother. What is he lying about? Does he have four dozen mistresses? Alejandro was adamant about not getting married and having kids before Lena got pregnant and he had told her so. She told him she loved him, so he panicked and left her. What is different now?
I’d never really come across an HP told from the first-person POV before, so this was definitely different. It kind of had a “Last night, I dreamt of Manderley…” feel to it. We even get a travelogue of Alhambra, just like the old-fashioned Mills and Boon novels, and that was neat because of the lush, flowing descriptions. Lena is not an annoying heroine and though she is susceptible to Alejandro, she seems to have her own mind. It’s also a nice change of pace because there is no head-hopping between the hero and the heroine and that’s one of the things that drive me nuts about reading the old HPs. This book reads like a Mexican telenovela complete with kidnappings, blackmail, and bitchy cousins. Lena is truly a Cinderella figure who was maltreated by her evil cousin, gets her birth-right stolen, and then swept off her feet by the dashing, handsome duke. She was even living in the attic. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had talking birds and mice that kept her company up there.
When I started reading this book, I thought it would go into some flashbacks of how Lena and Alejandro met and fell in love before evil cousin Claudie threw a monkey wrench into the mix, but there’s none of that. There’s not even a scene or two of her adventuring with Edward St. Cyr, considering he supposedly jetted her around the world in an effort to get her away from Alejandro. I thought maybe there was a previous book I missed or something and this was a continuation. I would have liked to see scenes of Edward and Lena forming a friendship because hey, why does she trust this guy so much? When Lena and Alejandro get to London, the first person Lena contacts is Edward St. Cyr, so he could help her get away from Alejandro. This guy basically drops everything on hand just so he could get to Lena and Lena didn’t believe that Edward had any feelings for her? Girl, a guy like that won't do nothing for free for a lady who looks like you. I’m not blaming Lena for Edward’s crazy behavior or anything, but if she calls him asking to be saved and he drops everything just to get to her, and for her to say “Ooops, never mind,” I’d go a little nuts, too. But Edward has his own issues and his own book for that.
As for Alejandro’s “big secret,” I don’t know if I’ve read one too many Harlequin Presents or something, but his reason for not wanting a wife and kids, kind of made sense to me. He could have found a better way to deal with it, instead of torturing his poor wife with his brooding and secretive act, but I understand that he thought he couldn’t trust her because it’s a pretty big secret that could potentially ruin the lives of many people, not just his and his grandma.
I actually really enjoyed this book. The first-person POV was refreshing, the sex scenes were hot, and the hero wasn’t an all the way an alpha-hole. Oh, he had his moments, but when he was sweet to the heroine, he was adorable. Plus he sings to her in a Spanish cantina with a guitar. *melt*
January 8, 2015
Well, my first HP of 2015 and my first one in a long while, was a success! I've always been a Jennie Lucas fan since I read her first book. At times she can get OTT with the drama but this one didn't reach that level. I thought the story was very sweet.
Alejandro (after he realized the truth about Lena) was very sweet to Lena. He wasn't a huge jerk, which was refreshing and there were even times that Lena seemed to "win" showing it wasn't all about the hero.
Great love story and I look forward to Edward's book. I hope he can be redeemed!
Alejandro (after he realized the truth about Lena) was very sweet to Lena. He wasn't a huge jerk, which was refreshing and there were even times that Lena seemed to "win" showing it wasn't all about the hero.
Great love story and I look forward to Edward's book. I hope he can be redeemed!
December 8, 2016
I really like to read harlequin since my teenager time. And only some authors become my favorite. One of it is Jennie Lucas.
The book she writing usually have a fast pace, clear plot, and have pregnancy thing. And I really really like how the angst all over the book. So when I need an angst book, I will go for her.
The male lead is acceptable, cold but not cruel and loyal. The heroine is kind of strong in heart and not sassy.
The book she writing usually have a fast pace, clear plot, and have pregnancy thing. And I really really like how the angst all over the book. So when I need an angst book, I will go for her.
The male lead is acceptable, cold but not cruel and loyal. The heroine is kind of strong in heart and not sassy.
July 6, 2014
3.5, I've always been curious on how I will react when an HP is written on first person. Not bad. But I enjoy it more when it's third person. If it's young adult or NA I wouldn't mind. But it's Harlequin.. Maybe it's just me.
July 16, 2024
Explicit. DNF
May 24, 2015
3.5 stars
This was not the best book I've ever read, but I was entertained the whole time, which is a pretty big deal for me. I've grown tired of the secret baby trope, but this one had a few differences that I liked. For one, the heroine, Lena, had a good reason (in my mind anyway) for keeping the baby a secret from the hero, Alejandro. Not only had she tried to contact him repeatedly only for him to block her completely, but (minor spoiler, revealed in the first fifty pages to follow) . For another thing, when the book starts, the baby, Miguel, is only five months old, so Alejandro hasn't missed things like first steps, first words, first day of school, etc. (this doesn't make the secret baby trope okay for me, but I occasionally feel a little bad for the guys that had honorable intentions that missed out on years of their kid's life because of a stupid miscommunication -- Note to authors: if you're going to write a secret baby romance, make sure that there is a good reason, not just some stupid miscommunication that could have been solved by a quick conversation, for the whole thing).
As it is, the book opens with Lena being found by Alejandro. From here, I can summarize the book thusly:
A: "You and the baby are coming with me for a DNA test."
L: "No!"
A: "Yes."
L: "'Kay."
Then later
A: "You and the baby are coming back to Spain with me."
L: "No!"
A: "Yes."
L: "'Kay." (To her credit there was some scheming with this plan, but ultimately, this was the result)
A few pages later (there's a twist with this one)
A: "We are going to get married."
L: "No!"
A: "Yes."
L: "No!"
A: "Too late, I'm announcing it to everyone in a clear attempt to maneuver you."
L: "I'll agree to an engagement, but we're not actually getting married."
A: "We'll get married tonight."
L: "No!"
A: "Yes."
L: "'Kay."
This happens several more times over the course of the book. It would have been nice for Lena to show more spine, but at the same time, it was sort of fun to see Alejandro maneuver her into whatever he wanted her to do. It just didn't make me feel confident for their lives together in the future, with her so obviously out of her mental league.
This was a library read, but I could see me someday re-reading it. I'm not in a hurry to because honestly, there were some seriously dumb plot points involved (the big denouement was straight out of a silent film -- I half-expected Lena to get tied to some railroad tracks ) but it was campy fun and it met my "Did I enjoy this for all of its stupidness?" criteria. It's not something I'd recommend unless you're willing to suspend a lot of disbelief and put up with some "Days of Our Lives" soaptastic plot points, but it was a fun read.
Oh! One thing I should mention about this one. This book is told in first-person, entirely from Lena's standpoint, which is pretty different because I don't think I've read many HP books from that perspective. I personally like first-person, as long as it doesn't shift around for multiple characters (at that point, I just feel like the author should have gone with third-person) but I know a lot of readers don't. I felt like Alejandro's emotions and feelings came across pretty well, even without his narrative perspective and I sort of liked that we had to find out right along with Lena what was going on with him (Alejandro's Big Secret was telegraphed pretty well, but I liked that it was something different than what you usually see in these books).
This was not the best book I've ever read, but I was entertained the whole time, which is a pretty big deal for me. I've grown tired of the secret baby trope, but this one had a few differences that I liked. For one, the heroine, Lena, had a good reason (in my mind anyway) for keeping the baby a secret from the hero, Alejandro. Not only had she tried to contact him repeatedly only for him to block her completely, but (minor spoiler, revealed in the first fifty pages to follow) . For another thing, when the book starts, the baby, Miguel, is only five months old, so Alejandro hasn't missed things like first steps, first words, first day of school, etc. (this doesn't make the secret baby trope okay for me, but I occasionally feel a little bad for the guys that had honorable intentions that missed out on years of their kid's life because of a stupid miscommunication -- Note to authors: if you're going to write a secret baby romance, make sure that there is a good reason, not just some stupid miscommunication that could have been solved by a quick conversation, for the whole thing).
As it is, the book opens with Lena being found by Alejandro. From here, I can summarize the book thusly:
A: "You and the baby are coming with me for a DNA test."
L: "No!"
A: "Yes."
L: "'Kay."
Then later
A: "You and the baby are coming back to Spain with me."
L: "No!"
A: "Yes."
L: "'Kay." (To her credit there was some scheming with this plan, but ultimately, this was the result)
A few pages later (there's a twist with this one)
A: "We are going to get married."
L: "No!"
A: "Yes."
L: "No!"
A: "Too late, I'm announcing it to everyone in a clear attempt to maneuver you."
L: "I'll agree to an engagement, but we're not actually getting married."
A: "We'll get married tonight."
L: "No!"
A: "Yes."
L: "'Kay."
This happens several more times over the course of the book. It would have been nice for Lena to show more spine, but at the same time, it was sort of fun to see Alejandro maneuver her into whatever he wanted her to do. It just didn't make me feel confident for their lives together in the future, with her so obviously out of her mental league.
This was a library read, but I could see me someday re-reading it. I'm not in a hurry to because honestly, there were some seriously dumb plot points involved (the big denouement was straight out of a silent film -- I half-expected Lena to get tied to some railroad tracks ) but it was campy fun and it met my "Did I enjoy this for all of its stupidness?" criteria. It's not something I'd recommend unless you're willing to suspend a lot of disbelief and put up with some "Days of Our Lives" soaptastic plot points, but it was a fun read.
Oh! One thing I should mention about this one. This book is told in first-person, entirely from Lena's standpoint, which is pretty different because I don't think I've read many HP books from that perspective. I personally like first-person, as long as it doesn't shift around for multiple characters (at that point, I just feel like the author should have gone with third-person) but I know a lot of readers don't. I felt like Alejandro's emotions and feelings came across pretty well, even without his narrative perspective and I sort of liked that we had to find out right along with Lena what was going on with him (Alejandro's Big Secret was telegraphed pretty well, but I liked that it was something different than what you usually see in these books).
July 23, 2018
After so many years of living in a cold gray world, my life exploded into color—because of him.
A book that starts with...
A man who’d seduced and betrayed me...says a lot.
Lena Carlisle with her five month old baby Miguel is on the run for the past one year (she stayed for a brief period in Mumbai too, I can’t even imagine how) from Duke Alejandro Navaro, the baby’s father, with whom she thought she was in love once. But find her he did.
The first M&B I have read which is written in first-person narrative, from the POV of Lena. And for that only, this one is for keeps. It sure made it an interesting and altogether different read.
Lena’s cousin, Claudie, is a real character! And Edward St. Cyr, their neighbour is such a snake. Thankfully, the misunderstanding created by Claudie is done away with in the first few chapters, thereby giving way to the start of a beautiful journey.
It is evident early in the book that Alejandro is hiding something, behind his oft spoken words (which Lena is too dense to see), but that’s no reason for being a prick, though Lena behaves nothing less than a heel herself sometimes, what with bringing her admirer, Edward, into every conversation between them.
Uncovering His Lifelong Secret can be another title for the book, the secret being something totally unexpected. And the dramatic way it was brought to the fore for Lena, was nothing short of amazing.
Alejandro’s American Abuela, Maurine, was delightful. I loved how she and Lena, another American, nonetheless, hit it off.
Eee...loved this one more due to the action scene towards the end.
The story was rounded up with a sweet epilogue.
July 10, 2014
Awesome read. A Cinderella HP romance. Told in first person!
Great plot. Great execution.
I admit I was wary, a first person pov in a HP?? Lucas nails it!
There's not a thing I can criticize. Great hero. Great heroine. Compelling plot and storytelling.
I'm glad the hero's pov was left out because he would have spent much of the book angsting over the past. That would have been a distraction.
For those who love the Cinderella fantasy this is perfect fit.
This book will definitely be reread!
Great plot. Great execution.
I admit I was wary, a first person pov in a HP?? Lucas nails it!
There's not a thing I can criticize. Great hero. Great heroine. Compelling plot and storytelling.
I'm glad the hero's pov was left out because he would have spent much of the book angsting over the past. That would have been a distraction.
For those who love the Cinderella fantasy this is perfect fit.
This book will definitely be reread!
February 16, 2022
3.5 αστεράκια απο εμένα. Το πρώτο βιβλίο που διάβασα απο τη συγκεκριμένη.Αν ήταν γραμμένο στο τρίτο πρόσωπο ίσως να έβαζα 4.5.
June 28, 2017
awesome awesome read ♡♡
November 29, 2014
Two reviews down four more to go: attempting to get them all done tonight. We will see how far I get. With that being said I'm going to try to keep these reviews fairly short and just give my thoughts on the books. But if you've read my reviews in the past you know how well that goes. Anyway let's get started:
At first when I found out that this story was being told in first person only, I was little bit wary about it. This story was only told from the perspective of the heroine, Lena. I'm used to having dual perspectives in Harlequin Presents with both the heroine and hero's side/motivation being revealed to the reader, me. I like seeing the hero's point of view because I like to know what's going on his head and whether he really a jerk or just a hurt guy that the only way he knows to respond to the hurt inside him is to b a jerk. So when I saw that we wouldn't get Alejandro's perspective I was scared and I wasn't sure I would like him because I wouldn't know what was behind his façade, but in this case the first person perspective actually worked really well because it kept up with the suspense of the story and kept the secrecy of what Alejandro was actually hiding until it was ready to be revealed. So I enjoyed that little twist on Harlequin Presents. Now it may not work in all Presents stories but this one it definitely did.
The basic premise of the story was that Lena had a baby with Alejandro, but she was in hiding from him because she believed that Alejandro along with her cousin would take her baby and raise him as their own. Lena left because she believed, and what her cousin told her was that Alejandro was only with Lena in the first place was because she could give him a child/heir while her cousin could not so now Alejandro was free to marry the cousin now that he had his heir firmly in Lena's womb. So to prevent him from taking her child, she ran away along with her baby and had her son in Mexico. She was totally in love with Alejandro and was devastated when she learned of his deception of pursuing relationship with her for the intents and purposes of creating a child then taking it from her. So he was in heartbreak for awhile. Alejandro found out about her pregnancy and tracked her down in order to get possession of his son. And the chaos ensues along with their up and down relationship.
The chemistry was there as was the attraction, and apparently it was always there, though Lena tried to resist Alejandro not wanting to falling that trap again, but she still loved and cared about and wanted to be close to him despite the fact she believed he would never love her. It could have been a little bit more spicy for my taste but the passion there with underlying emotions laying beneath on their parts, though Alejandro seemed to be in deep couldn't really tell because I didn't get see his perspective at all, which was one limit of the first person narrative, but they both seemed pretty invested in the relationship.
I could have used a bit more angst throughout the book, and even though there was angst with this big secret that Alejandro keeping that effected his relationship with Lena. It was almost not enough because I didn't know he had a secret going on until the last third of the book. All I knew was that he said he could never love her, but not why. I thought that he might have been hurt by a woman in the past or because he lost his family at a young age he felt he shouldn't love because he could loose Lena the way he lost his parents or something like that I wasn't expecting the secret that he was keeping nor what he was hiding. I would have liked to have known maybe a little bit earlier on then have the angst created from that. Instead it just seemed like he was afraid to fall in love because of what he lost. I guess with the lack of knowledge that there was a secret created a lack drama and that what it needed more drama I think.
Also I hated the character of Edward, and I know you're suppose to, and I can't believe he's getting his own book in January. I can't see me rooting for him at all. Not at all. He has to do some serious redeeming which I guess is what the title had redeem in it. Anyway relating to this book, I thought the end scene though probably set up for his book was totally unnecessary because to rushed. The end where he appeared was like on maybe three pages, and though there were consequences for him not much for the couple because Lena was back in Alejandro's arms in no time. So what was the point? I don't get it. I just thing was too abrupt and just thrown in there for last minute drama.
I did like the scene where Alejandro finally told her the truth by singing it in a song and her figuring it out. I liked that he was vulnerable in that moment and he feared that she would walk away and leave him behind. Of coarse his secret didn't matter to her and she loved him regardless. And also with this scene it showed that he finally trusted Lena with the truth when all along I felt he could have trusted but decided not to. So that was a good scene and it looked like they were headed for their happily ever after and I would have been good if the book ended when they came home and grandma revealed a little secret of her own without having to introduce the whole Edward thing.
Overall this was a good story with a unique way of telling the story for Presents. It did increase the suspense and also made me wonder more what was going on inside of Alejandro's head and just his motivations behind it all. But I felt like there needed to be a little more edge and angst to create a more powerful love story in my opinion. Don't get me wrong this book wasn't bad, but just needed it amped up a bit more. I will still be reading Jennie Lucas's book for years to come I am sure even the dreaded Edward's story. Love see what she's going to do with him. It shall be interesting to see.
At first when I found out that this story was being told in first person only, I was little bit wary about it. This story was only told from the perspective of the heroine, Lena. I'm used to having dual perspectives in Harlequin Presents with both the heroine and hero's side/motivation being revealed to the reader, me. I like seeing the hero's point of view because I like to know what's going on his head and whether he really a jerk or just a hurt guy that the only way he knows to respond to the hurt inside him is to b a jerk. So when I saw that we wouldn't get Alejandro's perspective I was scared and I wasn't sure I would like him because I wouldn't know what was behind his façade, but in this case the first person perspective actually worked really well because it kept up with the suspense of the story and kept the secrecy of what Alejandro was actually hiding until it was ready to be revealed. So I enjoyed that little twist on Harlequin Presents. Now it may not work in all Presents stories but this one it definitely did.
The basic premise of the story was that Lena had a baby with Alejandro, but she was in hiding from him because she believed that Alejandro along with her cousin would take her baby and raise him as their own. Lena left because she believed, and what her cousin told her was that Alejandro was only with Lena in the first place was because she could give him a child/heir while her cousin could not so now Alejandro was free to marry the cousin now that he had his heir firmly in Lena's womb. So to prevent him from taking her child, she ran away along with her baby and had her son in Mexico. She was totally in love with Alejandro and was devastated when she learned of his deception of pursuing relationship with her for the intents and purposes of creating a child then taking it from her. So he was in heartbreak for awhile. Alejandro found out about her pregnancy and tracked her down in order to get possession of his son. And the chaos ensues along with their up and down relationship.
The chemistry was there as was the attraction, and apparently it was always there, though Lena tried to resist Alejandro not wanting to falling that trap again, but she still loved and cared about and wanted to be close to him despite the fact she believed he would never love her. It could have been a little bit more spicy for my taste but the passion there with underlying emotions laying beneath on their parts, though Alejandro seemed to be in deep couldn't really tell because I didn't get see his perspective at all, which was one limit of the first person narrative, but they both seemed pretty invested in the relationship.
I could have used a bit more angst throughout the book, and even though there was angst with this big secret that Alejandro keeping that effected his relationship with Lena. It was almost not enough because I didn't know he had a secret going on until the last third of the book. All I knew was that he said he could never love her, but not why. I thought that he might have been hurt by a woman in the past or because he lost his family at a young age he felt he shouldn't love because he could loose Lena the way he lost his parents or something like that I wasn't expecting the secret that he was keeping nor what he was hiding. I would have liked to have known maybe a little bit earlier on then have the angst created from that. Instead it just seemed like he was afraid to fall in love because of what he lost. I guess with the lack of knowledge that there was a secret created a lack drama and that what it needed more drama I think.
Also I hated the character of Edward, and I know you're suppose to, and I can't believe he's getting his own book in January. I can't see me rooting for him at all. Not at all. He has to do some serious redeeming which I guess is what the title had redeem in it. Anyway relating to this book, I thought the end scene though probably set up for his book was totally unnecessary because to rushed. The end where he appeared was like on maybe three pages, and though there were consequences for him not much for the couple because Lena was back in Alejandro's arms in no time. So what was the point? I don't get it. I just thing was too abrupt and just thrown in there for last minute drama.
I did like the scene where Alejandro finally told her the truth by singing it in a song and her figuring it out. I liked that he was vulnerable in that moment and he feared that she would walk away and leave him behind. Of coarse his secret didn't matter to her and she loved him regardless. And also with this scene it showed that he finally trusted Lena with the truth when all along I felt he could have trusted but decided not to. So that was a good scene and it looked like they were headed for their happily ever after and I would have been good if the book ended when they came home and grandma revealed a little secret of her own without having to introduce the whole Edward thing.
Overall this was a good story with a unique way of telling the story for Presents. It did increase the suspense and also made me wonder more what was going on inside of Alejandro's head and just his motivations behind it all. But I felt like there needed to be a little more edge and angst to create a more powerful love story in my opinion. Don't get me wrong this book wasn't bad, but just needed it amped up a bit more. I will still be reading Jennie Lucas's book for years to come I am sure even the dreaded Edward's story. Love see what she's going to do with him. It shall be interesting to see.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2017
Unfortunately I read this a while back and I don't remember it all that much. So because of that I have to 3 star it. It wasn't bad but since it escapes my mind that means it was good, or at least memorable.
I do remember the heroine got on my nerves. No matter what the hero tried to show her or say she was off in her own head being ridiculous. Here is what I kind of remember:
He spent a year looking for her once he found out he had a child,
he had a really good reason why he told her he didn't love her
he tries hard to get her to stay with him
she wants to run at every chance
her family caused drama
she leads on this other guy because she dumb and can't be that naive.
the ending was cute.
It all works out in the end.
I do remember the heroine got on my nerves. No matter what the hero tried to show her or say she was off in her own head being ridiculous. Here is what I kind of remember:
He spent a year looking for her once he found out he had a child,
he had a really good reason why he told her he didn't love her
he tries hard to get her to stay with him
she wants to run at every chance
her family caused drama
she leads on this other guy because she dumb and can't be that naive.
the ending was cute.
It all works out in the end.
September 3, 2020
Ah, Lena and Alejandro.
This will always have a special place in my heart, my first Jennie Lucas and my first 1st person POV, which was quite something. The POV really helped to make all the fairy tale and Gothic elements of the story convincing, and to sweep me along with all the JL melodrama, which I now know is typical of her earlier work but she just about gets away with in this one.
Some fantastic moments, breathless revelations, though it loses on star because the villain Edward St Cyr is just too OTT. He does redeem himself, quite literally, in Nine Months to Redeem Him which is fabulous.
This will always have a special place in my heart, my first Jennie Lucas and my first 1st person POV, which was quite something. The POV really helped to make all the fairy tale and Gothic elements of the story convincing, and to sweep me along with all the JL melodrama, which I now know is typical of her earlier work but she just about gets away with in this one.
Some fantastic moments, breathless revelations, though it loses on star because the villain Edward St Cyr is just too OTT. He does redeem himself, quite literally, in Nine Months to Redeem Him which is fabulous.
November 10, 2019
I read “Nine Months to Redeem Him” first and the villain in this book is the hero in that one, so when I saw his antics in full display here, I was aghast that he would get a book of his own because he was frickin’ psycho in this one. He threatens the heroine, obsessively follows her around, kidnaps her—he’s rich, handsome, powerful, and the only difference between him and the hero is that the heroine doesn’t love him back, ergo he’s the bad guy.
Lena Carlisle is a Cinderella heroine who lived in the attic of her evil cousin, serving as her personal assistant slash slave, while the evil cousin plots to ensnare Alejandro Navarro, the last Duke of Alcazar, for marriage. As these things go, Alejandro takes one look at Lena and decides he wants her, instead, so he courts her and seduces her, and gets her pregnant. Claudie, the evil cousin, tells Lena that the she and Alejandro will be married and only needed Lena’s baby for their family to be complete, so that is why Alejandro seduced her. Meanwhile, Claudie tells Alejandro that she and Lena hatched this plan so that Alejandro will marry Claudie and Lena won’t let Alejandro see the baby unless he marries Claudie. To escape Alejandro’s wrath, Lena has run away with the help of a friend Edward St. Cyr, a ruthless billionaire who has been flying her all over the world so Alejandro won’t find her and her baby. Of course, Edward isn’t doing this for altruistic reasons. As he tells Lena, she needs to get over the Spanish bastard because it’s time that Lena belonged to him. Lena has been living in a house in Mexico managed by shell companies owned by Edward, but Alejandro has found her at last and forces her baby to take a DNA test and commands her to marry him.
Lena tells Alejandro she needs to go to London first before they go to Spain, so she could collect her legacy. Alejandro thinks Lena is just there to get money from Claudie or something—Claudie made Lena’s life to difficult, so she would move out and Lena wouldn’t get her inheritance from her grandmother—but then he discovers that her so-called legacy are actually a bunch of old family albums from her happy childhood with her parents. He also finds out while she was living with Claudie, she stayed in the attic and that she is beloved by all servants because she is very kind to them. Alejandro starts to realize that maybe he was wrong about Lena all this time and it was only due to Claudie’s machinations that they were torn apart. Lena tells him that she will stay with him and marry him, provided that he is true to her and won’t lie to her, but Alejandro says he can’t promise that he won’t lie to her now and in the future. Lena is broken-hearted because she doesn’t want to fall in love with Alejandro again, but he is so good to her and the baby, plus he has an adorable grandmother. What is he lying about? Does he have four dozen mistresses? Alejandro was adamant about not getting married and having kids before Lena got pregnant and he had told her so. She told him she loved him, so he panicked and left her. What is different now?
I’d never really come across an HP told from the first-person POV before, so this was definitely different. It kind of had a “Last night, I dreamt of Manderley…” feel to it. We even get a travelogue of Alhambra, just like the old-fashioned Mills and Boon novels, and that was neat because of the lush, flowing descriptions. Lena is not an annoying heroine and though she is susceptible to Alejandro, she seems to have her own mind. It’s also a nice change of pace because there is no head-hopping between the hero and the heroine and that’s one of the things that drive me nuts about reading the old HPs. This book reads like a Mexican telenovela complete with kidnappings, blackmail, and bitchy cousins. Lena is truly a Cinderella figure who was maltreated by her evil cousin, gets her birth-right stolen, and then swept off her feet by the dashing, handsome duke. She was even living in the attic. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had talking birds and mice that kept her company up there.
When I started reading this book, I thought it would go into some flashbacks of how Lena and Alejandro met and fell in love before evil cousin Claudie threw a monkey wrench into the mix, but there’s none of that. There’s not even a scene or two of her adventuring with Edward St. Cyr, considering he supposedly jetted her around the world in an effort to get her away from Alejandro. I thought maybe there was a previous book I missed or something and this was a continuation. I would have liked to see scenes of Edward and Lena forming a friendship because hey, why does she trust this guy so much? When Lena and Alejandro get to London, the first person Lena contacts is Edward St. Cyr, so he could help her get away from Alejandro. This guy basically drops everything on hand just so he could get to Lena and Lena didn’t believe that Edward had any feelings for her? Girl, a guy like that won't do nothing for free for a lady who looks like you. I’m not blaming Lena for Edward’s crazy behavior or anything, but if she calls him asking to be saved and he drops everything just to get to her, and for her to say “Ooops, never mind,” I’d go a little nuts, too. But Edward has his own issues and his own book for that.
As for Alejandro’s “big secret,” I don’t know if I’ve read one too many Harlequin Presents or something, but his reason for not wanting a wife and kids, kind of made sense to me. He could have found a better way to deal with it, instead of torturing his poor wife with his brooding and secretive act, but I understand that he thought he couldn’t trust her because it’s a pretty big secret that could potentially ruin the lives of many people, not just his and his grandma.
I actually really enjoyed this book. The first-person POV was refreshing, the sex scenes were hot, and the hero wasn’t an all the way an alpha-hole. Oh, he had his moments, but when he was sweet to the heroine, he was adorable. Plus he sings to her in a Spanish cantina with a guitar. *melt*
Lena Carlisle is a Cinderella heroine who lived in the attic of her evil cousin, serving as her personal assistant slash slave, while the evil cousin plots to ensnare Alejandro Navarro, the last Duke of Alcazar, for marriage. As these things go, Alejandro takes one look at Lena and decides he wants her, instead, so he courts her and seduces her, and gets her pregnant. Claudie, the evil cousin, tells Lena that the she and Alejandro will be married and only needed Lena’s baby for their family to be complete, so that is why Alejandro seduced her. Meanwhile, Claudie tells Alejandro that she and Lena hatched this plan so that Alejandro will marry Claudie and Lena won’t let Alejandro see the baby unless he marries Claudie. To escape Alejandro’s wrath, Lena has run away with the help of a friend Edward St. Cyr, a ruthless billionaire who has been flying her all over the world so Alejandro won’t find her and her baby. Of course, Edward isn’t doing this for altruistic reasons. As he tells Lena, she needs to get over the Spanish bastard because it’s time that Lena belonged to him. Lena has been living in a house in Mexico managed by shell companies owned by Edward, but Alejandro has found her at last and forces her baby to take a DNA test and commands her to marry him.
Lena tells Alejandro she needs to go to London first before they go to Spain, so she could collect her legacy. Alejandro thinks Lena is just there to get money from Claudie or something—Claudie made Lena’s life to difficult, so she would move out and Lena wouldn’t get her inheritance from her grandmother—but then he discovers that her so-called legacy are actually a bunch of old family albums from her happy childhood with her parents. He also finds out while she was living with Claudie, she stayed in the attic and that she is beloved by all servants because she is very kind to them. Alejandro starts to realize that maybe he was wrong about Lena all this time and it was only due to Claudie’s machinations that they were torn apart. Lena tells him that she will stay with him and marry him, provided that he is true to her and won’t lie to her, but Alejandro says he can’t promise that he won’t lie to her now and in the future. Lena is broken-hearted because she doesn’t want to fall in love with Alejandro again, but he is so good to her and the baby, plus he has an adorable grandmother. What is he lying about? Does he have four dozen mistresses? Alejandro was adamant about not getting married and having kids before Lena got pregnant and he had told her so. She told him she loved him, so he panicked and left her. What is different now?
I’d never really come across an HP told from the first-person POV before, so this was definitely different. It kind of had a “Last night, I dreamt of Manderley…” feel to it. We even get a travelogue of Alhambra, just like the old-fashioned Mills and Boon novels, and that was neat because of the lush, flowing descriptions. Lena is not an annoying heroine and though she is susceptible to Alejandro, she seems to have her own mind. It’s also a nice change of pace because there is no head-hopping between the hero and the heroine and that’s one of the things that drive me nuts about reading the old HPs. This book reads like a Mexican telenovela complete with kidnappings, blackmail, and bitchy cousins. Lena is truly a Cinderella figure who was maltreated by her evil cousin, gets her birth-right stolen, and then swept off her feet by the dashing, handsome duke. She was even living in the attic. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had talking birds and mice that kept her company up there.
When I started reading this book, I thought it would go into some flashbacks of how Lena and Alejandro met and fell in love before evil cousin Claudie threw a monkey wrench into the mix, but there’s none of that. There’s not even a scene or two of her adventuring with Edward St. Cyr, considering he supposedly jetted her around the world in an effort to get her away from Alejandro. I thought maybe there was a previous book I missed or something and this was a continuation. I would have liked to see scenes of Edward and Lena forming a friendship because hey, why does she trust this guy so much? When Lena and Alejandro get to London, the first person Lena contacts is Edward St. Cyr, so he could help her get away from Alejandro. This guy basically drops everything on hand just so he could get to Lena and Lena didn’t believe that Edward had any feelings for her? Girl, a guy like that won't do nothing for free for a lady who looks like you. I’m not blaming Lena for Edward’s crazy behavior or anything, but if she calls him asking to be saved and he drops everything just to get to her, and for her to say “Ooops, never mind,” I’d go a little nuts, too. But Edward has his own issues and his own book for that.
As for Alejandro’s “big secret,” I don’t know if I’ve read one too many Harlequin Presents or something, but his reason for not wanting a wife and kids, kind of made sense to me. He could have found a better way to deal with it, instead of torturing his poor wife with his brooding and secretive act, but I understand that he thought he couldn’t trust her because it’s a pretty big secret that could potentially ruin the lives of many people, not just his and his grandma.
I actually really enjoyed this book. The first-person POV was refreshing, the sex scenes were hot, and the hero wasn’t an all the way an alpha-hole. Oh, he had his moments, but when he was sweet to the heroine, he was adorable. Plus he sings to her in a Spanish cantina with a guitar. *melt*
July 15, 2014
Honestly, even after I'd read many good reviews for this book, I was still skeptical about it. I mean, a HP's told by a first person? It'd feel like reading NA contemporary romance with all the silly talks. I like them, but in a HP?
But again...how I'm glad I decided to read this! Jennie Lucas is always one of my fav author and she did it beautifully. I was so engaged I couldn't even skip one sentence. That's rare for me :))
I totally love the heroine, and when she 'wished' Edward to die? I adored her more. Lol. I know I'm mean. And although the 'secret' was so easy to guess (I knew I'd wished the heroine to be smarter), the pace was so good it's a page turner.
I just felt confused with Edward's character. It seemed odd how he changed from a knight in shining armor where he saved a girl in the dark to an ugly villain who kidnapped a woman. Uhm...I guess..love changed people...? :)))
Anyway, I loved it so much and I already can't wait for JL's new book again!
But again...how I'm glad I decided to read this! Jennie Lucas is always one of my fav author and she did it beautifully. I was so engaged I couldn't even skip one sentence. That's rare for me :))
I totally love the heroine, and when she 'wished' Edward to die? I adored her more. Lol. I know I'm mean. And although the 'secret' was so easy to guess (I knew I'd wished the heroine to be smarter), the pace was so good it's a page turner.
I just felt confused with Edward's character. It seemed odd how he changed from a knight in shining armor where he saved a girl in the dark to an ugly villain who kidnapped a woman. Uhm...I guess..love changed people...? :)))
Anyway, I loved it so much and I already can't wait for JL's new book again!
August 10, 2015
Αν αγαπάω κάτι στην εκπληκτική Jennie Lucas είναι τον τρόπο που επιλέγει να χρησιμοποιεί όλα τα κλισέ των ερωτικών ιστοριών και να βγάζει απίστευτο πάθος και χημεία ανάμεσα στους ήρωες της. Η αλήθεια είναι πως στο συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο δείχνει ξεκάθαρα το συγγραφικό της ταλέντο καθώς χρησιμοποιεί την δύσκολη πρωτοπρόσωπη αφήγηση και μάλιστα με χρόνο ενεστώτα.
Η Λένα, η πρωταγωνίστρια και αφηγήτρια του βιβλίου κρύβεται στο Μεξικό ώστε ο πρώην εραστής της και πατέρας του γιου της να μην καταφέρει να της αρπάξει το παιδί της. Τι γίνεται όμως όταν εκείνος, όχι μόνο την βρίσκει, αλλά την αναγκάζει να επιστρέψει πίσω στη ζωή τους; Τι μυστικά κρύβει ο σκοτεινός Δούκας, τα οποία δεν του επιτρέπουν να αισθανθεί αγάπη;
Ένα βιβλίο υπέροχο, γεμάτο πάθος και ένταση και κάπου προς το τέλος, λίγο πριν η Λένα συνειδητοποιήσει την αλήθεια για τον αγαπημένο της, έχει μια από τις πιο λυρικές και ξεχωριστές λογοτεχνικές σκηνές που έχω διαβάσει ποτέ μου.
Η Λένα, η πρωταγωνίστρια και αφηγήτρια του βιβλίου κρύβεται στο Μεξικό ώστε ο πρώην εραστής της και πατέρας του γιου της να μην καταφέρει να της αρπάξει το παιδί της. Τι γίνεται όμως όταν εκείνος, όχι μόνο την βρίσκει, αλλά την αναγκάζει να επιστρέψει πίσω στη ζωή τους; Τι μυστικά κρύβει ο σκοτεινός Δούκας, τα οποία δεν του επιτρέπουν να αισθανθεί αγάπη;
Ένα βιβλίο υπέροχο, γεμάτο πάθος και ένταση και κάπου προς το τέλος, λίγο πριν η Λένα συνειδητοποιήσει την αλήθεια για τον αγαπημένο της, έχει μια από τις πιο λυρικές και ξεχωριστές λογοτεχνικές σκηνές που έχω διαβάσει ποτέ μου.
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