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The Pearl House #6
Needed: One Convenient Husband
To inherit her fortune, she has three weeks to find a convenient groom… Eva Atraeus must marry. But every suitor is bought off by the will's formidable Kyle Messena. He has made himself the last available groom! Kyle broke her heart years ago. Now the dark, dangerous banker is the last man she'd marry—even in name only… If Kyle can't have Eva, no man will. No, he won't fall for the fiery, passionate Eva, but he'll keep her safe from men who would use her. Then, after the will is satisfied, he'll walk away. But Kyle makes one he sweeps his wife to their marriage bed…
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 2, 2016
20 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Fiona Brand
156 books49 followersFiona Brand has always wanted to write.
After working eight years for the New Zealand Forest Service as a clerk, she decided she could spend at least that much time trying to get a novel published.
Luckily it took five years, not eight, before Fiona wrote her first award-winning novel.
She has won the Australian Romantic Book of the Year award (category section) twice, one of her novels was listed by Romantic Times as one of their all-time top two hundred favorite romance books and she has been featured in Next and She magazines.
Fiona lives in a subtropical South Seas paradise called the Bay of Islands with her two sons.
After working eight years for the New Zealand Forest Service as a clerk, she decided she could spend at least that much time trying to get a novel published.
Luckily it took five years, not eight, before Fiona wrote her first award-winning novel.
She has won the Australian Romantic Book of the Year award (category section) twice, one of her novels was listed by Romantic Times as one of their all-time top two hundred favorite romance books and she has been featured in Next and She magazines.
Fiona lives in a subtropical South Seas paradise called the Bay of Islands with her two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 13, 2025
***SPOILERS****I read this one back in 2016 when it was first published and my review was deleted. I posted several times between then and now and each time it gets removed, so hopefully this time it will stick....
Anyway, this the first book that started the I-HATE-THE-DEAD-EX-TROPE! I hated it then and I loathe it today. So yeah…still NO!
SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Plot:
Heroine had a deadly genetic disease in her family that only her Guardian/Adopted Dad knew (along with her Bio family) and that he didn't tell her until after Hero had walked away from her. This disease ran in her family tree and when she was 5, she lost her twin sister and 2 younger siblings all within a short time frame. Conveniently, no name is given for this disease. She was with all of her siblings when they passed holding their hands and willing them to live (yeah, right 'cause all 5 yr old know about death) and her life from that moment on to when she ran away at age 13 was a living nightmare with her father leaving & her mother checking out. I guess author likes to torture heroines because boy did she do a good job on this one! This disease that killed her siblings somehow bypassed her & her mother but she still carries the gene so she knows marriage & kids for her future are out for her.
When heroine was 13, she was found by H's uncle Mario and he adopted her. At age 17, she and H who was 19 or 20 got close and shared a kiss on the beach. Heroine developed strong feelings for him that in 11 years never went away. But not so for H because when Uncle/Daddy Mario learns of their closeness, he asks H to walk away from h. Thinking that she needs "protection" from some emotional trauma or something, he decides to do as his uncle tells him and walk away from her. And that is what he does without another thought or regret.
In one of the brother's books, one of his brother's teases him that he was a player before he met his wife (OW) of always going after blondes. In this story, we learn he joined the army or something and met his Captain's daughter and fell in love. I believe this is 2-3 years after leaving FMC. Anyway, he got engaged and married OW and had a baby boy and said that he married OW because she "understood the life". But when the child was 3 months old, he was stationed in Germany and wanted to spend Christmas with his little family because he missed them so much so he asked his wife to come to him. However, a roadside bomb killed his wife & baby son right in front of him and he suffered a few injuries too. That was 4 years prior.
When heroine learns of his engagement, marriage and baby son, she is devastated. She wanted to go after him when he first ghosted her and to fight for him but Daddy Mario told her about her disease and she let him go because she could never give him kids and also because he chose OW over her.
Heroine does end up going to the hospital where he was recovering from his injuries when he lost his family just to make sure he was okay but leaves when he wakes up and they don't say anything to one another. Later on in the story, MMC asks her why she came & left. In this scene, she basically flew across the country just to make sure he was okay because she cared & was worried about him but he never gave her a thought because she was not that important in his life as he was to her. He later on says he tried to avoid her at all costs in family occasions or when she was in the press because he was honoring his vows.
Now I should mention that after heroine learns about her disease & the loss of H, she starts to shut down her emotions and rebel against the authoritarian ways of Daddy Mario who was trying to marry her off. So in rebellion, she becomes a lingerie model and gets a reputation as a cold bitch & party girl. This is BTW how H & his family viewed her in this & all the other books - someone very beautiful & exotic but no substance & loose morals. H married the OW because she was a homebody (a Mary-Sue really) and is surprised several times by h when she does something like buying towels & bath sheets for the bathroom and holding a baby. His image of her all the years they knew each other is that she must be a cold bitch & party girl and can't be a nice marriageable girl like his former wife. Even when she loses her cherry with him and he thinks maybe he was wrong about her, she still doesn't stack up against the sainted one he married.
And heroine? She cultivated this cold party girl persona when she was a lingerie model to avoid being harassed by men. Uhm.., author? Wouldn't that have the opposite effect?
Anyway, in the present (which is 11 years after he walked away), we have Daddy Mario leaving H as the trustee of h's inheritance which requires her to be married before she can receive the funds which she needs to grow her wedding business otherwise she has to wait until she is 40 yrs old to collect it. H who is not happy about this role he was placed in, keeps buying out her suitors who she hires to marry her for a temp marriage. Until that is she is fed up and he decides to marry her himself to make sure she is safe from the vultures and because he wants to have sex with her regularly - but not before making his stand that it will not be a real marriage and only temporary and no kids. Of course she ignores everything because afterall, she is a wedding planner extraordinaire and a simple marriage license in the courtroom is not going to suffice for her, so to hell with what H wants. She wants the real thing with white dress & church and a party with loved ones afterwards. H of course sighs because his kid sister/her BFF had to point out to him that he is so clueless - she IS a wedding planner after all. Duh.
Only the whole wedding turns into a fiasco of epic proportions for them starting with him reminiscing his own wedding with OW and what a happy occasion that was and feeling guilt, which follows a quick visit to the cemetery to say I'll always love you and goodbye. Then we have the bride stalking him to make sure he is not going to spend some frisky times with a yet another OW, only to find him visiting his beloved in the grave. Whew! that's okay then...
So we are now at the church wedding where his brothers & sisters are asking him if he really wants to go through with it and there is still time to chicken out and run for the hills. Uhm...wasn't this his idea? Shouldn't they be asking this of the heroine who is after-all related to them through marriage? Yeah, who cares about this harpy/seductress, right?
And let's add a playroom full of kids in church, a rainstorm to drench everyone, a newly purchased house that hasn't even had a chance to be cleaned, much less painted or with furniture for the reception, an evil stepdad coming out of the woodworks to make threats, a pregnancy test that spells death to this oh-not-so-convenient marriage that hasn't even started yet, and gruesome death to the little kiddo before he/she is actually born. Oh, and let's add a quick ILY that is never returned by you-know-who 'cause the poor idiot is still mourning his lost love, a bride who hightails it out in the wee hours after a little quicky with new hubby in the supposedly dirty sheets of whoever lived in this brand new house of theirs and a bridegroom who finally gets a clue after she is gone that she is his poor tortured soulmate and he can't live without her & his kids! Whew!
Oh....I should also mention that H's family have some major jewelry in their vault which you would think that since they are soulmates and all, he would have given her his Mother's/Grandmother's heirloom ring or something, right? Yeah no. He is too cheap for that and I guess that special gift was reserved for the special dearly departed one. Lol.
I should give an honorable mention that throughout this whole thing, we have him still grieving his wife & son from start to finish. We get to learn a lot about the dead ex-wife of how much he loved her and their kid in every chapter. How they met, pictures he took of her & their kid that garners his walls, their engagement & wedding and how beautiful she looked walking to him to exchange their vows, holding/rocking his baby and how he smelled like a newborn, the day they died, etc.
OW was described as beautiful, smart, funny and full of sunshine. He was very happy with OW and the life & home they build. He said that she understood the "life" of a marine or whatnot and that was why he chose her as she was his perfect partner for that time/life. Meaning that FMC would not understand or respect the life of a marine spouse and how they would have to move constantly and be alone most of the time. Since he never really got to know heroine or even ask her, that was a lot of hog wash IMO and personally I think that was a load of crap inserted by author to contrast the difference between both women/relationship in the before & now. (For the record, heroine is the loser here because she got a wet blanket of a man and one who isn't even good in the sack(!), while OW got all his firsts and a love returned!).
So adding the "soulmates' part at the end was a lot of bull-crap IMO because OW was the love of his life. Even in the end when author tries to make us believe the MCs are soulmates because apparently through the h's pregnancy, he is able to feel her contractions, kicking by the babies, etc. - where he was not able to do so before with OW. For this reader, it left me not convinced he is over the OW & his first kiddo. They never even have "the" talk for Pete's sake if he can get over their deaths!
I should also mention that h takes the morning-after pill when she learns she is pregnant to get rid of the kid(s) as she thinks they will die. Whatever one's views is about abortion and whatnot, I don't believe that should ever be inserted in a fictional romance as whatever last thread I was clinging on with this awful read, that sentence destroyed it for me. She kind of regrets it later BTW when she has healthy babies with no genetic markers to this unknown disease, but still.....
And another mention on the first sex scene of how h lost her cherry. This one was the most unromantic one I ever read and for the records because they go from sparing and not having much to do with one another for 11 years, to suddenly kissing on the beach and getting down to business where he leaves her a memento of the condom inside her (hence why she got pregnant) and he doesn't even realize she was a virgin. No foreplay, no lead through of sexy talk & foreplay or much of anything. Just BAM and THANK YOU MAM and done.🤢 Most unromantic sex scene goes to this couple.
And this here folks is why I will never again read the ex-dead trope. I think I was traumatized by this one forever.
Safety:
OW - Besides the memories of the dead wife, there is an OW who briefly appears whom H went on several casual dinner dates with but never slept with. He was contemplating doing so at the beginning before he saw h but she is just a colleague from a rival Bank and doesn't cause any trouble other than to give h some slight jealousy. Poor woman didn't even get a heads-up that he ended things with them until he introduced h as his fiancée. This is the OW that h thought he was going to see on his wedding day. Lol.
FMC - virgin & frozen. Wish she had fooled around and lost her cherry with anyone else in the 11 years separation...
-HEA with them becoming BFFs, lovers and true soulmates/partners & parents to baby boy & girl who are spared of the unnamed killer disease and plans for him to get a nip & tuck in the very near future to avoid any more babies coming their way who may carry the disease.
Side Note: FMC is used as a plotline in other books by all H's brothers and Cousins as a decoy to make their heroines jealous. She said she was happy to help all of them find their true mates & HEA. But the problem is that they don't think very highly of her in this book or all the previous others that she pops in on. She was described as "very beautiful, exotic looking and sexy- yet none of the other MCs ever had an attraction to her.
Her Dad Mario even tried to set her up with H's brothers but they wouldn't go for it. In Gabriel's story (H's older brother), she & Daddy max show up to his condo for dinner where he & his heroine are suppose to dine with them. He asked his heroine to join him for dinner to save him from machinations from his uncle and our heroine here. Gabriel had also invited our Hero/his brother to the dinner to save him from her clutches. Problem is that we are never shown in other books that heroine has any attraction to any of the brothers or cousins. She just wanted to fit in the family but none of them welcomed her up until the end when one of the cousins made an effort by escorting her down the aisle. She did though act kind of territorial in Gabriel's dinner party by showing his h that she knew where his cutlery was in his kitchen and playing with his stereo, etc. That scene was weird and author very inconsistent with her MCs character in all of the other books. Other than that, they didn't see her as a good fit for him and in that dinner, we were shown as the MCs being sort of antagonistic of each other with H being indifferent to her. We were also told that H's mother whom h supposedly has a good relationship with, tried to play matchmaker to him with other women. She never once saw h as a possible candidate for her son. Not even her BFFs (his twin younger sisters) gave a rat ass about her or to ask her if she was okay or whatnot.
So all in all, this is a good thumbprint of how NOT to write a dead-ex trope - or any trope for that matter, if you don't have any idea what a fictional romance is suppose to be.
Anyway, this the first book that started the I-HATE-THE-DEAD-EX-TROPE! I hated it then and I loathe it today. So yeah…still NO!
SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Plot:
Heroine had a deadly genetic disease in her family that only her Guardian/Adopted Dad knew (along with her Bio family) and that he didn't tell her until after Hero had walked away from her. This disease ran in her family tree and when she was 5, she lost her twin sister and 2 younger siblings all within a short time frame. Conveniently, no name is given for this disease. She was with all of her siblings when they passed holding their hands and willing them to live (yeah, right 'cause all 5 yr old know about death) and her life from that moment on to when she ran away at age 13 was a living nightmare with her father leaving & her mother checking out. I guess author likes to torture heroines because boy did she do a good job on this one! This disease that killed her siblings somehow bypassed her & her mother but she still carries the gene so she knows marriage & kids for her future are out for her.
When heroine was 13, she was found by H's uncle Mario and he adopted her. At age 17, she and H who was 19 or 20 got close and shared a kiss on the beach. Heroine developed strong feelings for him that in 11 years never went away. But not so for H because when Uncle/Daddy Mario learns of their closeness, he asks H to walk away from h. Thinking that she needs "protection" from some emotional trauma or something, he decides to do as his uncle tells him and walk away from her. And that is what he does without another thought or regret.
In one of the brother's books, one of his brother's teases him that he was a player before he met his wife (OW) of always going after blondes. In this story, we learn he joined the army or something and met his Captain's daughter and fell in love. I believe this is 2-3 years after leaving FMC. Anyway, he got engaged and married OW and had a baby boy and said that he married OW because she "understood the life". But when the child was 3 months old, he was stationed in Germany and wanted to spend Christmas with his little family because he missed them so much so he asked his wife to come to him. However, a roadside bomb killed his wife & baby son right in front of him and he suffered a few injuries too. That was 4 years prior.
When heroine learns of his engagement, marriage and baby son, she is devastated. She wanted to go after him when he first ghosted her and to fight for him but Daddy Mario told her about her disease and she let him go because she could never give him kids and also because he chose OW over her.
Heroine does end up going to the hospital where he was recovering from his injuries when he lost his family just to make sure he was okay but leaves when he wakes up and they don't say anything to one another. Later on in the story, MMC asks her why she came & left. In this scene, she basically flew across the country just to make sure he was okay because she cared & was worried about him but he never gave her a thought because she was not that important in his life as he was to her. He later on says he tried to avoid her at all costs in family occasions or when she was in the press because he was honoring his vows.
Now I should mention that after heroine learns about her disease & the loss of H, she starts to shut down her emotions and rebel against the authoritarian ways of Daddy Mario who was trying to marry her off. So in rebellion, she becomes a lingerie model and gets a reputation as a cold bitch & party girl. This is BTW how H & his family viewed her in this & all the other books - someone very beautiful & exotic but no substance & loose morals. H married the OW because she was a homebody (a Mary-Sue really) and is surprised several times by h when she does something like buying towels & bath sheets for the bathroom and holding a baby. His image of her all the years they knew each other is that she must be a cold bitch & party girl and can't be a nice marriageable girl like his former wife. Even when she loses her cherry with him and he thinks maybe he was wrong about her, she still doesn't stack up against the sainted one he married.
And heroine? She cultivated this cold party girl persona when she was a lingerie model to avoid being harassed by men. Uhm.., author? Wouldn't that have the opposite effect?
Anyway, in the present (which is 11 years after he walked away), we have Daddy Mario leaving H as the trustee of h's inheritance which requires her to be married before she can receive the funds which she needs to grow her wedding business otherwise she has to wait until she is 40 yrs old to collect it. H who is not happy about this role he was placed in, keeps buying out her suitors who she hires to marry her for a temp marriage. Until that is she is fed up and he decides to marry her himself to make sure she is safe from the vultures and because he wants to have sex with her regularly - but not before making his stand that it will not be a real marriage and only temporary and no kids. Of course she ignores everything because afterall, she is a wedding planner extraordinaire and a simple marriage license in the courtroom is not going to suffice for her, so to hell with what H wants. She wants the real thing with white dress & church and a party with loved ones afterwards. H of course sighs because his kid sister/her BFF had to point out to him that he is so clueless - she IS a wedding planner after all. Duh.
Only the whole wedding turns into a fiasco of epic proportions for them starting with him reminiscing his own wedding with OW and what a happy occasion that was and feeling guilt, which follows a quick visit to the cemetery to say I'll always love you and goodbye. Then we have the bride stalking him to make sure he is not going to spend some frisky times with a yet another OW, only to find him visiting his beloved in the grave. Whew! that's okay then...
So we are now at the church wedding where his brothers & sisters are asking him if he really wants to go through with it and there is still time to chicken out and run for the hills. Uhm...wasn't this his idea? Shouldn't they be asking this of the heroine who is after-all related to them through marriage? Yeah, who cares about this harpy/seductress, right?
And let's add a playroom full of kids in church, a rainstorm to drench everyone, a newly purchased house that hasn't even had a chance to be cleaned, much less painted or with furniture for the reception, an evil stepdad coming out of the woodworks to make threats, a pregnancy test that spells death to this oh-not-so-convenient marriage that hasn't even started yet, and gruesome death to the little kiddo before he/she is actually born. Oh, and let's add a quick ILY that is never returned by you-know-who 'cause the poor idiot is still mourning his lost love, a bride who hightails it out in the wee hours after a little quicky with new hubby in the supposedly dirty sheets of whoever lived in this brand new house of theirs and a bridegroom who finally gets a clue after she is gone that she is his poor tortured soulmate and he can't live without her & his kids! Whew!
Oh....I should also mention that H's family have some major jewelry in their vault which you would think that since they are soulmates and all, he would have given her his Mother's/Grandmother's heirloom ring or something, right? Yeah no. He is too cheap for that and I guess that special gift was reserved for the special dearly departed one. Lol.
I should give an honorable mention that throughout this whole thing, we have him still grieving his wife & son from start to finish. We get to learn a lot about the dead ex-wife of how much he loved her and their kid in every chapter. How they met, pictures he took of her & their kid that garners his walls, their engagement & wedding and how beautiful she looked walking to him to exchange their vows, holding/rocking his baby and how he smelled like a newborn, the day they died, etc.
OW was described as beautiful, smart, funny and full of sunshine. He was very happy with OW and the life & home they build. He said that she understood the "life" of a marine or whatnot and that was why he chose her as she was his perfect partner for that time/life. Meaning that FMC would not understand or respect the life of a marine spouse and how they would have to move constantly and be alone most of the time. Since he never really got to know heroine or even ask her, that was a lot of hog wash IMO and personally I think that was a load of crap inserted by author to contrast the difference between both women/relationship in the before & now. (For the record, heroine is the loser here because she got a wet blanket of a man and one who isn't even good in the sack(!), while OW got all his firsts and a love returned!).
So adding the "soulmates' part at the end was a lot of bull-crap IMO because OW was the love of his life. Even in the end when author tries to make us believe the MCs are soulmates because apparently through the h's pregnancy, he is able to feel her contractions, kicking by the babies, etc. - where he was not able to do so before with OW. For this reader, it left me not convinced he is over the OW & his first kiddo. They never even have "the" talk for Pete's sake if he can get over their deaths!
I should also mention that h takes the morning-after pill when she learns she is pregnant to get rid of the kid(s) as she thinks they will die. Whatever one's views is about abortion and whatnot, I don't believe that should ever be inserted in a fictional romance as whatever last thread I was clinging on with this awful read, that sentence destroyed it for me. She kind of regrets it later BTW when she has healthy babies with no genetic markers to this unknown disease, but still.....
And another mention on the first sex scene of how h lost her cherry. This one was the most unromantic one I ever read and for the records because they go from sparing and not having much to do with one another for 11 years, to suddenly kissing on the beach and getting down to business where he leaves her a memento of the condom inside her (hence why she got pregnant) and he doesn't even realize she was a virgin. No foreplay, no lead through of sexy talk & foreplay or much of anything. Just BAM and THANK YOU MAM and done.🤢 Most unromantic sex scene goes to this couple.
And this here folks is why I will never again read the ex-dead trope. I think I was traumatized by this one forever.
Safety:
OW - Besides the memories of the dead wife, there is an OW who briefly appears whom H went on several casual dinner dates with but never slept with. He was contemplating doing so at the beginning before he saw h but she is just a colleague from a rival Bank and doesn't cause any trouble other than to give h some slight jealousy. Poor woman didn't even get a heads-up that he ended things with them until he introduced h as his fiancée. This is the OW that h thought he was going to see on his wedding day. Lol.
FMC - virgin & frozen. Wish she had fooled around and lost her cherry with anyone else in the 11 years separation...
-HEA with them becoming BFFs, lovers and true soulmates/partners & parents to baby boy & girl who are spared of the unnamed killer disease and plans for him to get a nip & tuck in the very near future to avoid any more babies coming their way who may carry the disease.
Side Note: FMC is used as a plotline in other books by all H's brothers and Cousins as a decoy to make their heroines jealous. She said she was happy to help all of them find their true mates & HEA. But the problem is that they don't think very highly of her in this book or all the previous others that she pops in on. She was described as "very beautiful, exotic looking and sexy- yet none of the other MCs ever had an attraction to her.
Her Dad Mario even tried to set her up with H's brothers but they wouldn't go for it. In Gabriel's story (H's older brother), she & Daddy max show up to his condo for dinner where he & his heroine are suppose to dine with them. He asked his heroine to join him for dinner to save him from machinations from his uncle and our heroine here. Gabriel had also invited our Hero/his brother to the dinner to save him from her clutches. Problem is that we are never shown in other books that heroine has any attraction to any of the brothers or cousins. She just wanted to fit in the family but none of them welcomed her up until the end when one of the cousins made an effort by escorting her down the aisle. She did though act kind of territorial in Gabriel's dinner party by showing his h that she knew where his cutlery was in his kitchen and playing with his stereo, etc. That scene was weird and author very inconsistent with her MCs character in all of the other books. Other than that, they didn't see her as a good fit for him and in that dinner, we were shown as the MCs being sort of antagonistic of each other with H being indifferent to her. We were also told that H's mother whom h supposedly has a good relationship with, tried to play matchmaker to him with other women. She never once saw h as a possible candidate for her son. Not even her BFFs (his twin younger sisters) gave a rat ass about her or to ask her if she was okay or whatnot.
So all in all, this is a good thumbprint of how NOT to write a dead-ex trope - or any trope for that matter, if you don't have any idea what a fictional romance is suppose to be.
October 6, 2017
Sometimes, I rate a truly terrible book 5 stars because it is so stunning in its ineptitude that I feel everybody should read it. This book nearly gets there. Nearly! However, not quite, so it's saddled with one star.
What can I say?
Firstly, I didn't like the plot set-up. Eva Atraeus has to marry in a short space of time in order to get her inheritance, otherwise she can't touch it until she's 40. The will's trustee is Kyle Messena, the man she was once in love with when she was 17. Kyle is buying off all of Eva's potential hubbies, because he apparently doesn't want her to marry a man who only wants her for the money. Of course, this is really because he has feelings for her, plus the will's other stipulation is that Eva gets her inheritance if she marries a member of the Messena family.
There's a lot wrong with this for me! Basically, Eva's entire life is being controlled by the men around her, even from beyond the grave. That's not a romantic set-up in any way, shape or form! All of her decisions are predicated on the dictations of her dead adopted father and the machinations of the man who has decided "Eva was his". Blurgh!
From there, it just gets ridiculous. Eva is a virgin, because she's held out for Kyle for 11 years, but she also used to be a lingerie model, and doesn't like the fact sexy pictures of her are plastered all over the backs of buses. I'm not saying that lingerie models can't be virgins, but this particular vocation is completely at odds with every other facet of Eva's personality! It makes no sense, and adds little to the story, other than Eva fearing being a former lingerie model will be scandalous when married to a conservative banker. Huh? I'm fairly sure most guys would say to any conservative banker married to a lingerie model, "Your wife's hot!"
On top of this, Eva is the carrier of a genetic disorder - THAT IS NEVER NAMED. How convenient. This magic tragic only-found-in-bad-melodrama disorder runs the risk of killing her babies if she gets pregnant. Said disorder has already killed her twin sister, and another sister and brother. The loss of so many kids eventually killed Eva's mother, which is why she ended up being adopted by the Atraeus family when she a young teen. Whew! When Fiona Brand goes for a tragic backstory, she sure goes all out!
ON TOP OF THIS, Eva has an evil ex-stepfather who is breaking into her apartment (conveniently forcing her to stay in her dream house that Kyle bought because he wanted her to move in with him), and trying to blackmail her about her trashy past. This makes no sense. Having several siblings die from a rare disease and running away from another (!) stepfather who was trying to molest her would most likely garner empathy and support, would it not? Don't we live in a society that is striving to stamp out sexual and domestic abuse? Oh, that's right - Fiona Brand thinks it's still the 1950s and women should be ashamed of these things, and as another reviewer succinctly pointed out, sets women's rights back 40 years.
As for Kyle, before he became a rich, hot banker, he was in the military and his wife and infant son were killed in a bomb blast right before his eyes. Yeesh. I certainly understood why he would still harbour guilt over the incident and still mourn the loss - especially since it was only 4 years ago! It certainly didn't make me believe he'd be ready to move on to a new wife and family any time soon. On top of his controlling behaviour in regards to Eva's choice of suitors and her inheritance (which I just found gross), his asshole behaviour came to the fore in regards to the financial adviser, Elise, he had been casually dating before agreeing to marry Eva for convenience. Yech. Even worse, when he runs into Elise on the street, he cheerfully introduces Elise to "his fiance, Eva," which Elise clearly had no idea about. What a jerk! Even Eva feels sorry for her.
When Eva does indeed get pregnant because the condom slipped out during their first sex scene, (which was one of the most unerotic sex scenes I've ever read, by the way) and because Eva's morning after pill miraculously didn't work, she figures Kyle will never cope with the possibility of losing another child, and runs out on him. Instead of, you know, talking to him about it? Cowardly and infuriating, and behaviour I particularly despise by female characters in category romances. It takes two people to make a baby, and the father has rights too! Also, there's a reason for the existence of the phrase "Assume makes an ass out of you and me." Eva personifies it!
But it's all good. After an excruciatingly overlong epilogue, Eva delivers two perfectly healthy TWINS, and I'm left wondering if Eva will be able to get her pre-baby body back so that she can return to lingerie modelling.
So there you have it. Inane. Preposterous. Misses the so-bad-it's-good mark by just a fraction! I've renamed it Needed: Three Hours Of My Life Back.
What can I say?
Firstly, I didn't like the plot set-up. Eva Atraeus has to marry in a short space of time in order to get her inheritance, otherwise she can't touch it until she's 40. The will's trustee is Kyle Messena, the man she was once in love with when she was 17. Kyle is buying off all of Eva's potential hubbies, because he apparently doesn't want her to marry a man who only wants her for the money. Of course, this is really because he has feelings for her, plus the will's other stipulation is that Eva gets her inheritance if she marries a member of the Messena family.
There's a lot wrong with this for me! Basically, Eva's entire life is being controlled by the men around her, even from beyond the grave. That's not a romantic set-up in any way, shape or form! All of her decisions are predicated on the dictations of her dead adopted father and the machinations of the man who has decided "Eva was his". Blurgh!
From there, it just gets ridiculous. Eva is a virgin, because she's held out for Kyle for 11 years, but she also used to be a lingerie model, and doesn't like the fact sexy pictures of her are plastered all over the backs of buses. I'm not saying that lingerie models can't be virgins, but this particular vocation is completely at odds with every other facet of Eva's personality! It makes no sense, and adds little to the story, other than Eva fearing being a former lingerie model will be scandalous when married to a conservative banker. Huh? I'm fairly sure most guys would say to any conservative banker married to a lingerie model, "Your wife's hot!"
On top of this, Eva is the carrier of a genetic disorder - THAT IS NEVER NAMED. How convenient. This magic tragic only-found-in-bad-melodrama disorder runs the risk of killing her babies if she gets pregnant. Said disorder has already killed her twin sister, and another sister and brother. The loss of so many kids eventually killed Eva's mother, which is why she ended up being adopted by the Atraeus family when she a young teen. Whew! When Fiona Brand goes for a tragic backstory, she sure goes all out!
ON TOP OF THIS, Eva has an evil ex-stepfather who is breaking into her apartment (conveniently forcing her to stay in her dream house that Kyle bought because he wanted her to move in with him), and trying to blackmail her about her trashy past. This makes no sense. Having several siblings die from a rare disease and running away from another (!) stepfather who was trying to molest her would most likely garner empathy and support, would it not? Don't we live in a society that is striving to stamp out sexual and domestic abuse? Oh, that's right - Fiona Brand thinks it's still the 1950s and women should be ashamed of these things, and as another reviewer succinctly pointed out, sets women's rights back 40 years.
As for Kyle, before he became a rich, hot banker, he was in the military and his wife and infant son were killed in a bomb blast right before his eyes. Yeesh. I certainly understood why he would still harbour guilt over the incident and still mourn the loss - especially since it was only 4 years ago! It certainly didn't make me believe he'd be ready to move on to a new wife and family any time soon. On top of his controlling behaviour in regards to Eva's choice of suitors and her inheritance (which I just found gross), his asshole behaviour came to the fore in regards to the financial adviser, Elise, he had been casually dating before agreeing to marry Eva for convenience. Yech. Even worse, when he runs into Elise on the street, he cheerfully introduces Elise to "his fiance, Eva," which Elise clearly had no idea about. What a jerk! Even Eva feels sorry for her.
When Eva does indeed get pregnant because the condom slipped out during their first sex scene, (which was one of the most unerotic sex scenes I've ever read, by the way) and because Eva's morning after pill miraculously didn't work, she figures Kyle will never cope with the possibility of losing another child, and runs out on him. Instead of, you know, talking to him about it? Cowardly and infuriating, and behaviour I particularly despise by female characters in category romances. It takes two people to make a baby, and the father has rights too! Also, there's a reason for the existence of the phrase "Assume makes an ass out of you and me." Eva personifies it!
But it's all good. After an excruciatingly overlong epilogue, Eva delivers two perfectly healthy TWINS, and I'm left wondering if Eva will be able to get her pre-baby body back so that she can return to lingerie modelling.
So there you have it. Inane. Preposterous. Misses the so-bad-it's-good mark by just a fraction! I've renamed it Needed: Three Hours Of My Life Back.
February 20, 2018
When will romance novelists learn that the alpha male persona is not necessarily synonymous with ruthlessness, treachery, deceit, connivance, high-handedness or arrogance? When Jane Eyre’s lover proved to be a cunning, would-be bigamist, she left him. In modern romances, the women forgive their men when they try to trick them and marry them! Consider this passage from this novel:
Kyle dragged at his tie, loosening it. Damian thought he had fallen for Eva and had bought her the house as a gift. He should correct him, but there was no way he could lay bare the truth that he had used the house as leverage in order to convince Eva that she should move in with him.
The whole business had involved a ruthless streak he had not known he possessed, although it was a fact that ruthless male behavior ran in the family. Constantine had kidnapped Sienna, and Lucas had decided not to mess with a successful formula and had done the same with his wife, Carla. Kyle’s oldest brother, Gabriel, had proposed a fake engagement to keep his wife Gemma in his bed, and Nick had not been much better, luring Elena to the Dolphin Bay Resort under false pretenses then cheating on a bet to get her in his bed.
Kidnapping? Fake engagements? Betting?!? Wow, these guys are just princes, aren’t they? More like frog princes!
From the beginning, Kyle demonstrates that he’s not above using his money, power and influence to keep Eva from marrying other men. He’s so certain that none of them are good for her, wanting only her money, and the author obliges by setting Eva up with one gold-digging loser after another. Each one is willing to take Kyle’s money and ditch her. So guess what? She’s forced to marry him if she wants to get her inheritance in a timely fashion and not have it put in trust for her until she’s forty-five-years old. Oh, she’s got a job but it’s as a wedding planner—one of the most feminine roles out there—and presumably it’s just not enough to cover the bills.
The author has Kyle tracking her pretty much wherever she goes in order to keep other men away from her. He’s been keeping tabs on her electronically, hiring investigators to check on the men she dates and has had her followed by car. Great, we can add stalking to his charming habits.
But it all turns out all right in the end, because they’ve loved each other since they were teenagers. He married and had a child with another woman while she remained a virgin waiting for him to pop her cherry (wow, the experienced male and inexperienced female—clichéd much?). And after all this, Eva decides that Kyle is an honorable man. Ha!
This romance hits almost all the old formulae that went out of style with the 1970s bodice-rippers, setting feminism back 40 years. Knowing that it’s part of a series (in all likelihood dealing with the other grossly behaved men mentioned in the excerpt), I’m going to make it a point to stay away from the others.
There is a short story included with this and it’s the only thing that gets this book its one-star rating. The couple in it have filed for divorce—or, rather, she has. He’s finally agreed but he’s secretly baffled. Their marriage hadn’t been great for a long time but he doesn’t necessarily want it to end. Why does she?
During one encounter in a cabin, the two are forced to hash out their differences because a terrible snowstorm has trapped them together. In this story, the obligatory sex romp is firmly saved for later, after the couple has talked about their problems, mending fences, getting past the roadblocks in communication.
In real life, they would probably require weeks if not months of couples therapy to deal with their situation. But this is a romantic novella and just one talk happens to straighten out their marriage. But it is talk without the ugly coercion that runs through the main story like poison in an ill-prepared fugu dish. The sex that follows feels earned, the natural outcome of two people who’ve been married a long time, know each other very well and have learned what it is to fall in love all over again.
Kyle dragged at his tie, loosening it. Damian thought he had fallen for Eva and had bought her the house as a gift. He should correct him, but there was no way he could lay bare the truth that he had used the house as leverage in order to convince Eva that she should move in with him.
The whole business had involved a ruthless streak he had not known he possessed, although it was a fact that ruthless male behavior ran in the family. Constantine had kidnapped Sienna, and Lucas had decided not to mess with a successful formula and had done the same with his wife, Carla. Kyle’s oldest brother, Gabriel, had proposed a fake engagement to keep his wife Gemma in his bed, and Nick had not been much better, luring Elena to the Dolphin Bay Resort under false pretenses then cheating on a bet to get her in his bed.
Kidnapping? Fake engagements? Betting?!? Wow, these guys are just princes, aren’t they? More like frog princes!
From the beginning, Kyle demonstrates that he’s not above using his money, power and influence to keep Eva from marrying other men. He’s so certain that none of them are good for her, wanting only her money, and the author obliges by setting Eva up with one gold-digging loser after another. Each one is willing to take Kyle’s money and ditch her. So guess what? She’s forced to marry him if she wants to get her inheritance in a timely fashion and not have it put in trust for her until she’s forty-five-years old. Oh, she’s got a job but it’s as a wedding planner—one of the most feminine roles out there—and presumably it’s just not enough to cover the bills.
The author has Kyle tracking her pretty much wherever she goes in order to keep other men away from her. He’s been keeping tabs on her electronically, hiring investigators to check on the men she dates and has had her followed by car. Great, we can add stalking to his charming habits.
But it all turns out all right in the end, because they’ve loved each other since they were teenagers. He married and had a child with another woman while she remained a virgin waiting for him to pop her cherry (wow, the experienced male and inexperienced female—clichéd much?). And after all this, Eva decides that Kyle is an honorable man. Ha!
This romance hits almost all the old formulae that went out of style with the 1970s bodice-rippers, setting feminism back 40 years. Knowing that it’s part of a series (in all likelihood dealing with the other grossly behaved men mentioned in the excerpt), I’m going to make it a point to stay away from the others.
There is a short story included with this and it’s the only thing that gets this book its one-star rating. The couple in it have filed for divorce—or, rather, she has. He’s finally agreed but he’s secretly baffled. Their marriage hadn’t been great for a long time but he doesn’t necessarily want it to end. Why does she?
During one encounter in a cabin, the two are forced to hash out their differences because a terrible snowstorm has trapped them together. In this story, the obligatory sex romp is firmly saved for later, after the couple has talked about their problems, mending fences, getting past the roadblocks in communication.
In real life, they would probably require weeks if not months of couples therapy to deal with their situation. But this is a romantic novella and just one talk happens to straighten out their marriage. But it is talk without the ugly coercion that runs through the main story like poison in an ill-prepared fugu dish. The sex that follows feels earned, the natural outcome of two people who’ve been married a long time, know each other very well and have learned what it is to fall in love all over again.
June 14, 2020
Monotono, banale e senza alcun mordente, un racconto noioso e privo di un qualsiasi guizzo di vivacità e, per di più, con avvenimenti appena accennati e poi lasciati in sospeso.
I due protagonisti non mi hanno suscitato alcuna simpatia ma solo una totale indifferenza.
In sostanza non una lettura ma solo una perdita di tempo.
I due protagonisti non mi hanno suscitato alcuna simpatia ma solo una totale indifferenza.
In sostanza non una lettura ma solo una perdita di tempo.
February 19, 2016
It could have been one of my favorite romance books if the author had not made it clear that Kyle turned his back on Eva, then quickly fell in love, married and had a baby with another woman (his reason for abandoning Ava was just too lame....). Ava in turn only ever loved Kyle and stayed true to him, but Kyle's obsession & grief for his deceased wife & baby son was inserted throughout the book up to the very end and it felt that Ava had settled for being 2nd best - not the love of his life as we were suppose to believe.
May 22, 2016
There are certain things that through me in this novel but what is first, foremost in my mind is how the heck didn't they know they were having twins? An amniocentesis would of shown that, to my knowledge.. maybe I'm wrong but certain issues like that take me away from the story.
Also, maybe it's because I was reading fairly quickly, I never saw them mention her genetic disorder by name? Go figure.
Also, maybe it's because I was reading fairly quickly, I never saw them mention her genetic disorder by name? Go figure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 13, 2016"Kyle and Eva are both headstrong and have painful issues from the past that add extra layers of tension to their already volatile chemistry. Their sexy vibe is enhanced by sharp dialogue and a fast-paced story, ..." (RT Book Reviews)
Miniseries: The Pearl House
Miniseries: The Pearl House
January 17, 2016
It was ok but could have been better. I felt they didn't deal with their issues, eva with her abandonment issues and Kyle with the death of his wife and son.
August 30, 2018
Kyle's and Eva's story isn't too bad. The premise? Eva was adopted in her teens. Her new family, the Atreus, are very rich. Dad died. In order for Eva to access her inheritance she either marries a Messena (another rich family, close to the Atreus) or a man who wants her and not her money. In comes Kyle Messena, acting as Eva's trustee. His job is to ensure that Mario Atreus' wishes are respected. You all know the rest. Eva picks a candidate, Kyle makes sure said candidate is gone. Eventually Kyle does the expected: "Why don't you marry me instead?" And the rest we all know how it ends.
However, rather than two stars I gave it three because of a bonus story by Brenda Jackson: 'Never Too Late'. I liked this one the best. A second chance romance done very well. Sienna and Dane are about to get a divorce. Both still in love with each other but lack of communication and assumptions almost destroyed their marriage. While clearing the cottage and because fate decided to interfere Sienna and Dane are stranded because of a snow storm. Forced to talk and because they both decided it was their last chance, Sienna and Dane went through everything that had gone wrong. They were sexy times but only at the end because like the mature adults that they are they agreed that sex wasn't the answer. So , it is possible to write romance without falling for the same old, same old. This story is why I haven't given up on the Romance genre.
However, rather than two stars I gave it three because of a bonus story by Brenda Jackson: 'Never Too Late'. I liked this one the best. A second chance romance done very well. Sienna and Dane are about to get a divorce. Both still in love with each other but lack of communication and assumptions almost destroyed their marriage. While clearing the cottage and because fate decided to interfere Sienna and Dane are stranded because of a snow storm. Forced to talk and because they both decided it was their last chance, Sienna and Dane went through everything that had gone wrong. They were sexy times but only at the end because like the mature adults that they are they agreed that sex wasn't the answer. So , it is possible to write romance without falling for the same old, same old. This story is why I haven't given up on the Romance genre.
November 20, 2016
Needed: One Convenient Husband by Fiona Brand. When Eva Atraeus's adopted dad passed away he left a will. In the will it said she was to marry within a few months and stay married for two years before she can collect the family money, which is a lot. Eva sets out to find a husband, in name only, then divorce in two years. The Trustee to her will is Kyle Messena. Eva and Kyle have been in love with each other for years but her stepdad told Kyle to leave her along because of issues in Eva's past. Kyle didn't know what the issues are, but he is determined to marry Eva now that her dad has passed away. Eva's issue is that she has a health problem that her kids could end up getting if she delivered children. Eva had a brother and sister who died from this disease. Eva gets pregnant and doesn't want to put Kyle though losing a child he would end up loving. Eva leaves Kyle. Kyle searches for her and finds out what her issues are. A good read.
not-celibate-manwhore
August 9, 2025note : dead wife who was his soulmate and whom he chose over the fmc.
he only married fmc to fulfill his uncle's will and only stayed with her because she got pregnant. he mourned and still loved his dead wife to the very end
he also whored around while the fmc remained a virgin for 11 years after he left, untill he took her virginity
he only married fmc to fulfill his uncle's will and only stayed with her because she got pregnant. he mourned and still loved his dead wife to the very end
he also whored around while the fmc remained a virgin for 11 years after he left, untill he took her virginity
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May 12, 2024Old reads
February 12, 2016
Loved this book. It was very interesting and was very well written. I loved the series and plan on purchasing the rest of them. I would recommend this book to everyone
March 12, 2016
Ended too quickly
April 8, 2016
3.5 stars!!!
March 29, 2017
D2430 Feb16. The Pearl House #6. Eva Atreaus' father has died and she must marry to get control her inheritance. Kyle Messena, trustee, has stopped several wedding and with just a few weeks left to meet the will's turns, he's her only option. The twists and turns, wedding no wedding, their family connections, the death of his wife and son in a bomb blast, that she has a serious gene defect. It kept me reading!
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