Mistress of His Revenge

Bought by the Brazilian #1

by Chantelle Shaw

Dressed in Delgado's diamonds No longer the Brazilian boy born to the streets, Cruz Delgado is the renowned owner of a diamond empire. There is still one dent in his aristocratic Sabrina Bancroft, the only woman to ever walk away from him. With Sabrina's beloved home under threat, Cruz sees his chance for revenge—he will help Sabrina if she becomes his mistress. Having her at his beck and call, in his bed and wearing jewels from his own mine should satisfy him. But once he discovers why she left, he'll realize that of all the riches he's hunted, Sabrina is the most priceless…

Genres: Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Romance, Contemporary Romance

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 15, 2015

About the author

I grew up without a TV, let alone DVD’s, computer games etc that my kids spend so much time engrossed in, but I learned to read at an early age and from then on I was always entertained – so much so that my friends used to hide their books when I visited them because all I wanted to do was read!

When I was a teenager I discovered Mills & Boon romances in my local library, and so began a lifelong love affair. I still remember that feeling of anticipation when I settled down with a pile of books - all bearing the famous rose logo - knowing that I would be drawn into a world of love, passion and emotional intensity that I have never found in any other books. I enjoy reading a wide range of books, especially historical novels, and I am a big fan of Agatha Christie, mainly I think because her characters seem so real, but I love romances and unashamedly admit that I only want to read books with a guaranteed happy ending. Reading is my joy and pleasure and I don’t want to cry buckets at the end of a book or have my sleep disturbed by its gruesome content.

For me, the characters in Harlequin Mills & Boon romances are the key. I love reading and writing about strong, alpha heroes and feisty, independent heroines who find that they can’t fight the blazing attraction between them.

When I married my own tall, dark, but sadly not wealthy hero, we moved out of London to the Kent coast and started a family that grew and grew. I adore my six children, and when they were small I loved being a stay-at-home mum, but there can be days, as I’m sure many of you know, when you feel isolated and – dare I say it – bored of conversing with three-year-olds. Harlequin Mills & Boon romances were my life-line and my sanity and I read them whenever I had a spare five minutes (in the bath, pacing the floor at three am with colicky baby on one shoulder and a book in the other hand!)

My imagination soared and I decided to try and write a book myself. My first attempt was typed up on a manual type-writer with the full-stop key and the letter p missing. Luckily my hero and heroine were not called Paul and Poppy, but it still meant going over my manuscript with a pen to fill in the gaps!

That first book was duly rejected as were my next two. I suppose I was disheartened and by now I had four small children and very little spare time, so although I continued to read romances, I gave up writing. It wasn’t until my youngest son started school that I tried writing again. I was struggling to come to terms with the death of my darling mum Gabrielle and writing became my therapy. Mum had always nagged me to get on and write a book and had an unshakeable belief that I would one day be published – I’m so glad that she was proved right and my biggest regret is that she isn’t here to share my success with me.

I wrote two more books which were both rejected by HM&B, but I was given some advice on my writing from the editorial team that encouraged me to try again. Third time lucky certainly applied to me – the day I received ‘the call’ was exactly four years after Mum had died. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life - but instead of chatting to the editor about contracts I had to dash off and pick my sick daughter up from school. Reality is never far away in my house!

I have now had nine books published - At the Sheikh's Bidding was released in September 08. My next book, Argentinian Playboy, Unexpected Love-Child will be out in the UK in July 09, and The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess in the UK in August 09. I have just had my twelfth book accepted and am already busy on my thirteenth. Now that my children are growing up I am able to write every day between 9 am and 3 pm, but often I become so involved with my characters that I sneak off to write again in the evening!

I feel I must be one of the luckiest people in the world to be doing something that I love, but I work hard at my luck and I believe that w

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Sabrina Bancroft (from England) was 18 and Cruz Delgado was 24 they had a brief affair that lasted less than a year. She was a wealthy aristocrat visiting her father, Earl Bancroft, in Brazil where he was working at his diamond mine. Cruz was one of the miners (who grew up in the slums and later found work mining.) During their affair Sabrina eventually became pregnant but then had a miscarriage. Cruz had asked her to marry him but Sabrina turned him down. She was sure Cruz didn't love her, he only wanted his child. And after witnessing her parents disastrous marriage, she was wary of making a commitment. So they drifted apart, she went back to England, and they haven't seen each other since then.

Ten years later...

Sabrina now has a PhD and works in antique furniture restoration. Her father, Earl Bancroft, has been missing for eighteen months, he's been officially declared a missing person, so his bank accounts have been frozen and Sabrina is running out of money. Opening up her large ancestral home (Eversleigh Hall) for weddings and parties was the only way Sabrina could afford the huge running costs of the estate until her father returns.



Cruz is now a wealthy man and the owner of a diamond empire (Delgado Diamonds). He bought the diamond mine he named "Old Betsy" from Earl Bancroft, and found diamonds, and became rich. He has heard stories about a map with details about an abandoned mine connected somewhere to his mine and he wants that map. (He is especially interested in finding a rare red diamond---the Estrela Vermelha.) Since Earl Bancroft sold him the mine he figures the old Earl has the map. So he goes to England to visit the Earl, not knowing the Earl is missing and he will only be seeing Sabrina.



Cruz arrives at Eversleigh Hall and discovers Sabrina's father is missing and she is having financial difficulties. Cruz asks about the map but Sabrina doesn't know where her father put it. She tells him the Hall has many secret places/rooms to hide things and her father could have put the map in one of these places. So Cruz decides to make Sabrina an offer. He offers her a lot of money and in return she will be his mistress for the next six months. This will give Cruz time to look around Eversleigh Hall for the map and Sabrina will be able to pay expenses for maintaining her estate. Sabrina's younger brother Tristan also needs money for his university education. His dream is to become an airline pilot. Sabrina eventually accepts Cruz's offer and they become lovers again and find they are still very attracted to each other. They also learn a lot more about each other than they did ten years ago.



Sabrina was a cool, classy, aristocratic heroine. I liked how much she cared for her brother, Tristan, and looked out for him for years since her parents were never around much. Her mother left them for her lover when they were young, and their father was always going off somewhere, exploring, mining...

Cruz was aloof and distant towards Sabrina at first. He tried to keep his emotional distance since she rejected him ten years ago. He always (wrongly) felt that Sabrina thought she was too good for him since she was wealthy and he was poor. Cruz is wealthy now but he still feels he isn't accepted by the upper classes because of his poor background.

At first I found the main couple cool/cold because they were both trying to hide their emotions and feelings for each other but they grew on me as the story progressed and they opened up and talked to each other. I also liked the loyalty they had to their families, Sabrina's closeness and devotion to her brother Tristan, and Cruz's love for his family, his mother and sisters that he looked out for after his father died in the mine.

This was an enjoyable read by Chantelle Shaw with lots of misunderstandings, sexy love scenes, and diamonds.

[Alexis Hall]

Source of book: bought for mah damn self
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.

Well, I’ve caught a nasty cold, which means I basically want to lie in bed all day and all night, sniffling and reading category romances. So, um, that’s what I’m doing. Also I realised I’d sort of filed all my HQNs in the same place on my kindle, leaving me with no idea which ones I’ve read and which ones I haven’t—which isn’t meant to be snark, it’s just part of what makes category romances good comfort reading is the way they write and deviate from particular templates.

In any case, there’s no getting away from the fact that Harlequin Presents are kind of … everybody’s guilty pleasure. Even though I genuinely think ‘guilty pleasure’ is an unhelpful term: we shouldn’t feel guilty about our pleasures, and if our pleasures genuinely inspires guilt, then our conscience is probably telling us something we should listen to. But HQN Presents are kind of … built to be problematic? They actively celebrate privilege, revel in uneven power dynamics, tend to be even more heteronormative than your average HQN AND the heroes are usually from countries other than the UK or America, but this primarily used for the purposes of, err, fetishisation rather than representation.

Anyway Mistress of his Revenge ticks all the HQN Presents boxes, for good or ill. The heroine, Sabrina, is the daughter of an Earl (and it mildly bothered me he’s known as Earl Bancroft, since while Earl Surname is possible, Earl of Somewhere is more common, and the heroine’s family does, in fact, own a substantial amount of land) and the hero, Cruz, is a Brazilian miner turned billionaire. Let’s maybe skate lightly over the colonialist implications of the fact that the heroine’s dad owns a bunch of mines in countries that aren’t the UK. Ten years ago, Sabrina—aged eighteen—went out to Brazil to visit her dad and his colonialist diamond mines, where she fell in love with Cruz. Their wild bonking led to an unexpected pregnancy, a proposal, a miscarriage and finally ten years of silence after Sabrina fled back the UK and Cruz’s dad died in Sabrina’s dad's mine.

There’s actually a fair amount of backstory and frontstory here: for example, there’s about six different kinds of emotional misunderstanding around Sabrina and Cruz’s previous relationship, there’s what exactly happened in the mine with Cruz’s dad, there’s Cruz’s current wealth and the chain of high-end jewellery shops he’s just opened, there’s the fact Sabrina’s dad has randomly disappeared leaving her without any money to run the estate, and some stuff about a lost map and a hidden source of ultra-rare red diamonds that, in the end, goes exactly nowhere. IF YOU TELL ME THERE'S A SECRET MAP THAT'S GONNA MAKE ME WANT A SECRET MAP. Essentially, I feel about 30% less plot could have served the book well, especially over this length of story, but it does get eventually get to the setup of the title: Sabrina needing money to keep the estate running, and fund her kid brother’s dream to be a pilot, and therefore agreeing to be Cruz’s mistress for six months.

I had fun with this, because … well … because it’s fun? Both characters are likeable enough: Sabrina is cool and collected, except around Cruz, and Cruz’s general alphaness is tempered by the vulnerability he still feels over his father’s death and his humble background. Ultimately he treats Sabrina in quite a non-ideal way but gradually comes to understand that he has, in fact, treated her in quite a non-ideal way and while there’s not a big grovel scene or anything, the way both characters acknowledge a need to communicate better with each other in general is quite refreshing. While “we didn’t once think of telling the other person how we felt about anything” can be frustrating as a plot point, the fact they were both very young at the time slightly excuses it. Plus, the real grief of miscarriage is treated carefully and respectfully, as is the bodily autonomy of pregnant people, and the right to grieve in the ways you need to grieve without judgement from others.

Of course, it’s also hilariously heteronormative: it doesn’t seem to cross the mind of either character that sex can potentially involve anything other than a penis entering a vagina (they even stop getting it on in a stable because neither of them have protection). And the plot resolves somewhat problematically in that it turns out the poor Brazilian man was actually responsible for his own death, rather than the wealthy English lord. Because commoners, amirite? (Also should Cruz have been referring casually to women as putas? My understanding is that’s quite offensive?)

Ultimately, though, this is a HQN presents. If you like that thing, it does that thing. I do, when I am the right mood, like that thing. So, while not insensible of the issues, I liked this thing.

[Alex is The Romance Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

MISTRESS OF HIS REVENGE by Chantelle Shaw, is the first book in Bought By the Brazilian Mini-Series.

Cruz Delgado and Sabrina Bancroft first met when she visited her father, Earl Bancroft, at his mine in South America. He was one of her father’s workers in the mine, who had been born in the favelas and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks for the aristocratic Sabrina. During this time, the two had embarked on a very torrid relationship, which ended abruptly when she returned back to her home in England.

Ten years later, Cruz is no longer the slum boy and is now a very wealthy owner of a diamond and jewellery design empire. On being told by his partner that Sabrina’s father has in his possession a map of the mine he now owns, which could save it from shutting down, he decides to contact the Earl about purchasing it.

Sabrina’s life since she last saw Cruz has changed dramatically. Her father has gone missing for over a year, all his bank accounts have been frozen and she has resorted to using her ancestral home as a venue for hire to keep it in the family. She also needs funds to pay for her younger brother’s studies.

Cruz finally finds a way to get back at Sabrina. He believes that she had thought he was not good enough for her all those years ago and his ego is still pretty shattered. So he offers her a million pounds if she pretends to be his mistress for six months and help him with being accepted by the aristocracy, of which she is very much part of.

I felt for Sabrina. A father is totally not interested in his children; she is left alone and almost penniless with no family except her younger brother, who she’s determined to do everything for.

I did find her reason for leaving Cruz all those years a bit weird. Instead of talking to him about her feelings, she keeps everything bottled up and just runs away. But then, she was quite young and inexperienced at that time.

Cruz was a bit of a twit at times and I kept thinking that I was just not going to like this guy…but he kind of grew on me towards the end.

The one thing that made the story more believable was the author didn’t make out that the heroine would spend ten years without being with another man….would any woman do that today??? The fact that she did have a relationship with another man during that time apart from Cruz didn’t bother me. And yes, would any man remain celibate for 10 years???? Of course not!!!

Their relationship developed really well, they had a great chemistry and it was great to see the two sorting through the issues in their past and working towards building a life together again.

An enjoyable read.

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't want to read about a heroine who slept with another man during seperation. Sorry not sorry.

[Carol Storm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first title by Chantelle Shaw, and I'm very impressed! I loved how intelligent Sabrina was and how deeply she cared for her little brother and her ancestral home. I also loved how the author gave her a real profession and academic background.

I thought Cruz was a great hero too, especially how hard he tries to make things up to Sabrina once he realizes he was wrong about her all along. The scenes in London where he buys her favors in bed are intoxicating, but the later scenes in Portugal when he's really falling for her are even better!

The only reason I give this book four stars instead of five is that a lot of the plot points are almost comically old-fashioned. The explorer father who conveniently goes "missing" and then turns up five pages before the end, for example. And the map to the lost diamond mine that the hero "must" have, but which he completely forgets and never mentions again after the second or third chapter of the book.

But in spite of all that, MISTRESS OF HIS REVENGE was a very enjoyable reading experience. Chantelle Shaw is definitely a veteran writer whose back titles I will be looking for!

[Alexis-Morgan Roark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story line was too reminiscent of other books I've read, and I guess that is the challenge of writing in this genre. I was also confused if the heroine remained celibate during their 10 YEAR separation. No need to say that the hero did not-oops, guess I said it. I did sincerely appreciate the accurate, at least for me, portrayal of the sense of loss that NEVER goes away with miscarriage.

[Widala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cruz must've been one of the most insecure heroes that ever graced HPlandia. His hung up about his poor past irked me. He dismissed Sabrina's explanations and confessions, and stick to his believe that Sabrina thought him to be unworthy because he's a poor mine laborer and didn't have aristocracy background. Dude, get over yourself. Fortunately, he did, in a fairly satisfying way.
Sabrina's a nice heroine. Beautiful and smart, I might even like her more if only she didn't keep changing her mind every two seconds and could keep it in her panties every time Cruz's nearby.

[❤SanaReads❤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

That's one of the best books I've ever read. A very romantic second chance story. What I loved most about the H is his patience, loyalty to his family and the way Sabrina makes him feel. I enjoyed reading this book. In fact I was deciding to read a chapter but ended up finishing the whole book.

[Belladonnabooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I see this one gets a lot of love but I just didn't like the writing style. It was tell not show, with descriptions that read like travel guides rather than conversations.
The bones of a good story were there, but I didn't enjoy the execution.
Brazilian diamond miner, aristocratic English rose, young lovers torn apart by miscarriage and some serious lack of communication. Back together 10 years later as he pursues the rumour of some lost treasure map in her stately home which is about to get repossessed.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. A hot sexy Brazilian...arrogent with a hidden soft center. Always the best. A sweet beautiful woman. And a lot of misunderstandings from their younger days that need to be resolved.

[3houd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sabrina Bancroft and Cruz Delgado had a flame ten years ago when he used to work in hir father's mines in Brazil. Now, there fortunes are reversed as Cruz is now the millionaire and Sabrina is in somewhat reduced circumstances so to speak.
Cruz, fueled with an old and very overdue resentment makes her an offer obviously she can't refuse.
The thing with these stories that it's always the handsome, young and rich man who proposes these outrageous (offers). It's nwver the big, fat, ugly old man that does that (nevvvver).

[Sheryl C. Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 stars*

[Geraldine Sadiku · Rating 5 out of 5]

A revenge/reunion romance that revolves around misunderstandings and lack of communication on both the Hero and Heroines sides. Very well written and a very romantic tale, Loved it.

[Tilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story that lives up to the Harlequin stamp of approval.

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

*SPOILERS*

I liked a few things, others really bothered me. Truth be told rather than two stars I'd give it two and a half. But I did enjoy reading about the main reason Cruz and Sabrina were not longer together at the start of the story. Both very young when they met. Married for the wrong reason: an unexpected pregnancy. Sabrina the daughter of an Earl, Cruz a labourer in the mine Sabrina's father owned. Cruz blames Sabrina's father for the death of his father and for her lack of emotion when they lost their baby and for leaving Cruz soon after. When they meet again everything has changed: Cruz is a billionaire, Sabrina is about to lose Eversleigh Hall. I always enjoy second chance romance stories. It is always lack of communication and assumptions that pulls couples apart. Sabrina and Cruz got to talk about the past and eventually found their HEA.

What bothered me is how Sabrina kept the truth about their money issues from her younger brother. A brother in university, living a good life, ignorant of everything because big sister felt horrible about her baby brother Tristan not being able to get an education anymore. Please! So she can work but he can't? Tristan couldn't take a year off and figure things out with his sister? What a load of bs! And can HQ authors stop writing about heroines not being able to face their past love interest without losing all ability to think for themselves and stand up to bullies which they were doing until heroes reappears? So, that's why I couldn't give it three stars.

[Raffaella]

Heroine and hero had an affair when they were very young, he was a miner and she was a young lady, she was pregnant, then had a miscarriage and went back to England leaving him behind. 10 years later. Hero thinks she left him because he was not enough, blackmails her to be his mistress, but they fall in love again. Hero and heroine were not celibate the years they were apart and I appreciated this (not only the hero can have other partner!!) The book was sometimes sad because they were really upset and still mourning their lost baby.

[Carmelita Clardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book

This is the 1st book in the series and it was very good. The h and H met 10 years ago, had a brief affair that led to an unexpected pregnancy, a miscarriage and miscommunication broke them up. The H returns 10 years later looking for a map to a hidden diamond mine, the h is trying to save her family home so she agreed to become his mistress. They were able to find their way back to each other. My only complaint is no epilogue, no ending, was the map found. It was an overall good book.

[Mattie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't really like it, both heroine and hero (obviously lots and lots more than the heroine) slept with multiple other people during 10 year separation, they have the right but I just don't like reading about it. Hero was a big jerk but he did feel bad in the end, he didn't grovel or apologize a lot because heroine was pretty easy and ran to him. Np.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

[RomLibrary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dressed in Delgado's diamonds

No longer the Brazilian boy born to the streets, Cruz Delgado is the renowned owner of a diamond empire. There is still one dent in his pride: aristocratic Sabrina Bancroft, the only woman to ever walk away from him.

With Sabrina's beloved home under threat, Cruz sees his chance for revenge—he will help Sabrina if she becomes his mistress. Having her at his beck and call, in his bed and wearing jewels from his own mine should satisfy him. But once he discovers why she left, he'll realize that of all the riches he's hunted, Sabrina is the most priceless… (

[Sissy's Romance Book Review · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cruz Delgado is out for revenge for his fathers death. Cruz blames Sabrina Bancroft father and when he can't find her father he takes it out on her. Sabrina and Cruz had a personal relationship years ago but when she lost their baby Sabrina left him. Cruz has always thought that Sabrina didn't think he was good enough for her.
It was a overall good book but I just couldn't get attached to the characters.

[Harlequin Books]

"Nice sexual tension and good pacing make Shaw’s book an enjoyable read. Sabrina and Cruz’s reestablished relationship builds nicely, and the attraction between them is apparent right from the beginning — even though Sabrina fights it" (RT Book Reviews, 4 stars).

Miniseries: Bought by the Brazilian

[Katrina Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mistress of His Revenge is Book 1 of the Bought by the Brazilian series by Chantelle Shaw. This is a nicely paced second chance at love story which has a nice amount of tension and heat as the couples come to terms with the misunderstandings of the past; wonderfully done.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

1st of a duet. I read the 2nd book first. It did not matter in which order you did read them as they are stand alone storylines. The connection was the relationship of the 2 Brazilian men. I preferred the 2nd story but this was okay.

[Calysta · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was awful. The man was loathsome from start to finish. The woman was a doormat that liked being stepped on. I had to skim all the sex scenes they were so degrading and repulsive.

If I hadn't needed to keep my brain busy I would've stopped reading around chapter 2.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

After 10 long years Cruz comes back into Sabrina's life and Sabrina must rely on his help. A beautiful reunion romance. Great chemistry!

[Harlequin Books]

received 4 stars @ RT Book Reviews
Miniseries: Bought by the Brazilian

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a Chantelle Shaw fan! I love her books. This one was emotional. Sabrina and Cruz have a back story.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite read this year.

Its just OK, I sort of gave up mid reading but its OK just standard.