Reunited by a Baby Secret

Vineyards of Calanetti #3

by Michelle Douglas

She’s back in Calanetti…

After a vacation in paradise, Marianna Amatucci returned to her family vineyard determined to make a fresh start. But her plans changed in an instant when two blue lines on a pregnancy test revealed she’d returned with a souvenir!

When she finds the father, Ryan White, he’s nothing like the laidback surfer she met on the beach. In a tailored suit, he oozes masculine authority, and he’s staying in the penthouse! What will walking into his high-flying corporate world mean for their baby?

Genres: Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Romance

175 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 13, 2015

About the author

"This is Mills & Boon/Harlequin romance at its best!" Goodreads reviewer

Michelle is an award-winning author who has been writing for romance publisher Harlequin Mills & Boon since 2007. "Truly funny and moving", “Poignant and absolutely impossible to put down,” and “Sparkling with warmth, humour and charm” is just a small sample of what the critics have had to say about her romances. In 2019 she graduated with her PhD (her topic area was Contemporary Romance and Feminism). She’s a sucker for happy endings, heroines who have a secret stash of chocolate, and heroes who know how to laugh. She lives in Newcastle on Australia's east coast with her own romantic hero, a house full of dust and books, and an eclectic collection of 60s and 70s vinyl.

Be sure to follow Michelle on:

Bookbub for the latest on sales: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/miche...
Facebook for book gossip: https://www.facebook.com/michelleDoug...
Instagram for pics of the beach: https://www.instagram.com/michelledou...

Reviews

[Melody Cox · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my! I have nothing nice to say and I hate that. I so wanted to love this book but it was unbelievably bad.

I will preface this review by saying that I find no pleasure in leaving a negative review. In this instance I have no choice. There is not one redeemable quality in this whole book that I liked or found positive. Nothing...Nada!!

Wow, what a disappointment! Were my expectations too high? I have waited for this book to arrive at our local library and now I am sorry I read it, sorry that I anxiously awaited its release. It was a waste of time and energy.

The heroine was an okay character and I liked her even if she was somewhat whiny but the hero of this book was one of the worst I have read about. He treated Mari terribly because he felt unwanted by his parents since age four. His Game plan: Withhold love from everyone so when they walk out he won't be crushed! He claims he will love the baby Mari is carrying but he refuses to love Mari (telling her many times) and has no desire to be a family. He is 29 years old for heaven's sake. Is he so immature that he did not realize that every family in the world is not like his? There is simply no excuse for his behavior and withholding love from the woman who loved him. And to top that off when she went to him and told him she was pregnant he was awful, making sure she knew he didn't want this baby, a family or her and asked her if she was going to abort or give the baby up for adoption (apparently that was his preference.) Crude. He upset her so deeply she began vomiting. I don't really know any words strong enough to describe what a horrible man he was. It was beyond anything I have read.

He acted like he was two years old and was ignorant of life outside his little cocoon. I really hurt for Marianna and the way he treated her. He was a selfish ass and I would not waste another minute on this book and will not read anything further in this series. That is how upset I am over this story. It was awful and there will be no recommendation from me.

The way Ryan treated Marianna is what I consider emotional and mental abuse. Sickeningly so! Even though there was a HEA there was nothing that happened that could redeem him.

[Joshualyn Prater · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't even know where to begin on this book.... I didn't read the first book in the series, but I did read the 2nd one and I enjoyed it. So this being the 3rd book in the series I decided to give it a try, needless to say I was very disappointed. I feel like the author mentioned the same thing over and over to fill up pages.... I did not like Mari's character at all... she was very annoying. She is supposed to be 24 years old ( that's how old I am ) and I feel like she was ad 15 year old... she non stop complained, was very immature and was just overall annoying... then there was a long chapter on learning how to change a diaper, I have a daughter, and it's Just self explanatory and common sense, it's not a hard thing to do, so I feel like the learning to be a parent was put on too thick... instead of learning to put on a diaper for 5 pages they should have been thinking more on the line of Co parenting and how that will work out... in the beginning I liked Ryan but the more I read the more I started to not like him either.. He was really rude to her more often then not, and it seems like the only reason he felt as if he " loved her" was when she walked in on him bad mouthing her.... I wish instead of all the complaining and drama it would have went into a story line of her experiencing birth and then the aftercare of them parenting once the baby was born... the baby was never born ( one of the reasons i bought this book was because in the last one it seemed really interesting and I thought it would have been more about the baby rather then just pregnancy ) we never even found out if it was a boy or girl.... I am VERY disappointed in this book and I wouldn't recommend it at all, it was a waste of time when I could have read a different book that I would have enjoyed.. I'm not giving up on the series just yet, I'm going to try the 4th book out in october and I'm hoping it will be better then this..

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book three in The Vineyards of Calanetti series and although I have not read the first two in the series I did enjoy this story the setting is so lovely.

Marianna Amatucci has two older brothers that have doted on her since she was young and all three siblings run the vineyard and each have their jobs to do but Marianna can be fiery and has the habit of breaking up with her boyfriends on a regular basis which in turn causes her brothers to have a nickname for them all so Marianna decides to take some time of and have a holiday to see if when she gets back home that she will settle more and after some time in Australia she stops of in Bali for a quick break and there she has a very sensual fling with surfer Ryan White but when she arrives home things change drastically for her when there are consequences from that fling.

Ryan White grew up with his grandmother after his parents divorced when he was young and he always felt left out of the families they both had later but he has made something of his life and is now well known in the corporate world but he is a loner and shows no emotion he has no intention of ever settling down so one night stands is what he is after although with the fling in Bali that was a week.

When Marianna confronts Ryan with the news about the baby he is shocked and this starts a very rocky journey to a HEA that will have you smiling Marianna is of course Italian and feisty and determined to get Ryan to make peace with his family so as he can move on in life Ryan is such a tortured hero and he is determined that his child will never feel the way he did as a kid and this one had me smiling when Marianna got through to Ryan and he opened up and the banter between them both and Marianna's brothers is wonderful a very enjoyable read.

[Colleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The excerpt was false advertising. This book was terrible. Mari just whined left and right. She sounded like spoiled teenager.

Do yourself a favor and skip this book.You can thank me later.

[Natha · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Almost) two years~!

[Desere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle Douglas writes the prettiest books, they are always so romantic and gosh darn it I don’t how she does it but she always manages to make me cry before the end of chapter one.

This time I met Marianna, after a vacation in paradise she returns to her family vineyard. She’s determined to make a fresh start but two blue lines on a pregnancy test reveals she’s about to face the pitter patter of two little feet instead. It’s not the kind of souvenir anyone brings back from holiday so to say she’s a little freaked out and should rather have grabbed some other trinkets is an understatement.

But the unexpected is about to get a lot worse when she finds out that the farther , Ryan , is nothing like the laid back , charming surfer she met on the beach. He is the opposite as in no shorts but instead a tailored suit, and as far from laid back as can be, and living in a penthouse ! Instantly Marianna is worried about what life would be like for their child if he or she has to grow up with a high flying corporate father.

Firstly I have to say how much I adored the character of Marianna, she was feisty and in your face the whole time, or well rather she was in Ryan’s face the whole time. Worried and scared of course but certainly not the type to back down. Ryan was the tear jerker character for me and his past brought me to tears.

But their journey to happily ever after is one that overshadowed the hurt and anger, it brought such a huge smile to my face that I definitely looked like I just got some kind of love note. In a way I did because the author gave me a stunning message , just as she always does, through the characters and their journey of up’s and down’s I was reminded that our past hurts, but it hurts even more when you don’t face up to it. The pain, anger and frustration from the past will never just up and leave, it will always come back again and again and yet again.

Learning to face up to it, to control it, to understand it, is the only way you will be able to find happiness. I highly recommend this read for all fans of romance reads that have a lot of emotion, emotion that is literally drawn out of you from the very depths of your soul. Michelle Douglas is a true romance author in every sense of the word!


5/5 star review

“She’s back, but can she get him to come back?”

[Dottie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle Douglas adds to the ongoing series "The vineyards of Calanetti" and in her usual way she brings a smile to the readers face. Marianna Amatucci is a spoiled Italian girl that has been pampered by her brothers so they are constantly on their toes with her. Trying to break from them she takes a holiday hoping she will be able to prove she has changed when she gets back. Sounds like a great idea, so she spends time in Australia and stops at Bali for a break where she meets Ryan White a surfer. They have a great time together, because Ryan is a loner and he finds his time with Marianna fun. He keeps the truth of what he really is from her because he knows this is just a fling which is all he ever has, a permanent relationship is not in his plans. Marianna heads home figuring she can now show that she is more settled but she may be more settled then she wants.. test is positive. She does what she should and confronts Ryan which is a surprise for both, he that she is pregnant, and for her that he is not just a surfer. The rest of the story is a sweet ride for a romance reader to find how these two can move on in life. A great story and Ms. Douglas always leaves us with a HEA.

[Nas Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

REUNITED BY A BABY SECRET by author Michelle Douglas is a September 2015 release by Harlequin Romance series.

Marianna Amatucci was back from her Thai holiday but the holiday fling left her with its consequence. She was pregnant and now she needed to see Ryan White, the surfer dude she’d met on a Thai beach.

But coming face-to-face with Ryan was a different matter altogether. He was not her surfer dude, he was a business tycoon. Could she tell him her secret and hope for the best? What would Ryan do? He definitely didn’t think of himself as father material, could he hope for a miracle and get a family with Marianna?

REUNITED BY A BABY SECRET is a shimmering romance filled with emotions. Author Michelle Douglas, once again astounds her readers with her spell-binding storytelling.

Highly recommended for all readers of romance.

[Myra Wardhana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really hoping for a great story and to be honest, just a little disappointed with this book, although it was nice continuation as part of the series, it will not stop me to read the following books from the series that will come later.

To me, I find the story telling gets a little too complicated, I prefer more direct and straight to the point, just like the last books from the same series that I have read and reviewed on Goodreads.

Although I love how the writer blend in the previous characters in the book but I find it the projection of the same character in this books was a little bit off from the previous book where the same character has his or her own story.

But definitely I will look forward to the rest of series.

[Modesty_b · Rating 2 out of 5]

i couldn't take to it... the heroine's emotions were everywhere and she was unreasonable.... she has to do everything coz she thinks 'her brothers think of her as useless'... and her bro's are just babying her and taking too much care of her coz she's pregnant.... at this point I just skimmed the whole book to know the bare bones of it. ooohhh!! and the hero was no better... I better not get into it.

[Harlequin Books]

"Readers will wonder what they would do if they were in the characters’ shoes and sigh heavily during the many romantic kisses strewn throughout the story" (RT Book Reviews, 4 stars).

Miniseries: The Vineyards of Calanetti

[TSN ☮ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't read the first two books in the series. I am little disappointed with this book, and this is crappy review :)

[Katherine 黄爱芬 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saat Marianna mengetahui dirinya hamil, buru-buru dia menemui Ryan, ayah calon jabang bayinya. Ternyata Ryan ini CEO dan bukan gembel pantai yang diduga Marianna saat mereka memadu kasih. Ryan tidak menginginkan bayi ini, namun segera berubah pikiran setelah dilempar Marianna.

Plot ceritanya semua serba nanggung. Marianna gak jelas maunya apa sih? Katanya tidak menginginkan pernikahan, tetapi membiarkan Ryan jadi tamu di manor Calanetti. Belum lagi marah-marah gak jelas dgn alasan hormon kehamilan. Ryan juga galau antara mementingkan pekerjaannya atau menghiraukan keinginan Marianna utk mengikutsertakan dirinya dgn semua perkembangan embrio bla bla bla....

Kemudian tiba-tiba cerita berpindah ke Sydney, dgn alibi ibu Ryan sakit, dan disanalah Marianna membuat keluarga Ryan terpukau, dan tetiba Ryan mendapat "pencerahan". Sejujurnya ini malah makin membingungkan saya, krn chemistry mereka itu juga nanggung. Sedari awal Ryan tidak menginginkan keterlibatan penuh terhadap anaknya, tetapi bagaimana bisa, dgn berbicara ketus dgn ibunya, dia berbalik jadi mau menikahi Marianna?

[Layla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. ddn't realise it was part of a series. Library staff in town have no idea what they are putting on the shelves and never anything in a complete series.

so will have to order the other books.

it seems each book in the series is a individual story set around a vineyard in CALANETTI.
lovely story of Marianne who has had a one night stand with a guy called Ryan when they had a holiday fling.

she ends up knocking on the door of his hotel exautive suite and bluts out that she is pregnant.

but Ryan wants to stay a LONE WOLF...... NO BABYS were ever in the picture let alone a showing up of Marianne and pregnant....

what will they do will they have the baby stay both single...

I loved this book, well worth 4 stars, want to read the rest of the series now.

[Pauline Destinugrainy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lagi-lagi tentang Italia dan Australia.
Marinna, gadis Italia bertemu dengan Ryan, pemuda dari Australia saat berlibur di Thailand. Liburan singkat mereka ternyata membuahkan hasil. Marinna hamil, dan dia dengan impulsif menyampaikan kabar itu kepada Ryan.
Awalnya Ryan tidak ingin menanggapi kabar itu. Tapi mengingat masa lalunya yang ditelantarkan oleh orang tuanya, Ryan tidak ingin menjadi seperti mereka. Maka dimulailah upaya Ryan untuk bisa dekat dengan calon anaknya. Tapi Marinna menginginkan lebih. Dia ingin keluarga yang bahagia dan penuh cinta.
Kesempatan kedua hampir selalu menjadi topik dalam kisah HQ. Yang ini juga mengambil topik yang sama. Kisah yang menarik, tapi sebenarnya bisa lebih baik lagi.

[Debra]

Reunited by a Baby Secret

They had a good time in Thailand as two travelers passing. But when they reconnect later. He has commitment issues. He has always stated that he doesn't want to get married. But when his lover comes to him he lets her know that. She understands. But the more they are working together to get ready for their baby, things change. But will it be enough for a lifetime commitment?

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

They had a good time in Thailand as two travelers passing. But when they reconnect later. He has commitment issues. He has always stated that he doesn't want to get married. But when his lover comes to him he lets her know that. She understands. But the more they are working together to get ready for their baby, things change. But will it be enough for a lifetime commitment?

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful read by Michelle Douglas. I really liked Marianna as a heroine and Ryan complimented her very well. Beautiful setting on an Italian vineyard and deep, emotional conflict. A great read.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book three of the vineyards of Calanetti focuses on Marianna Amatucci the younger sister of Angelo and Nico, and Ryan White a businessman. This was another beautiful romance set in monte Calanetti in Tuscany. It was a very enjoyable book to read and I liked the character growth in the story. After a year long vacation including a week long romance on a beach in Thailand with a blonde surfer Ryan white. Marianna is shocked to discover she’s pregnant and she tracks him down to tell him but his initial reaction isn’t pleasant he’s an emotionally damaged person and can’t see himself being a father or husband because he’s parents divorced and he was abandoned by his mother for years and lived with his grandmother he knows what it is like to feel unwanted and unloved by a parent so he ends up heading to Marianna’s family home to tell he will be there for his baby and help her in any way he can but he won’t marry her or leave the baby. Not really what Marianna pictured In life she always wanted to be mother with the love of her life and have more babies but he doesn’t want that. They agree to co parent and get to know each other since she doesn’t really know him the business side of him anyway. Ryan helps her set up her three bedroom cottage but also balancing his work load with a contract for condi making it hard for him to be there all the time. They grow closer to each other despite his reservations and when his mother is hurt they go look after her together and Marianna tries to help him forgive his parents and reconnect Ryan with his family but he ends up hurting her unintentionally forcing him to see what his actions are causing pain. He loves her he knows she would never abandon their child, it was wrong of him to think that of her, and he has fallen in love with her it breaks his heart at the thought of her with anyone else. He gives up his condi contract because being there for her and the baby is more important to him now he has to convince her that he loves her and hopes she will take him back. Luckily there is a happy ending I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

[Penney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series and highly recommend reading it.

[Trinitee Mitchell-Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads First Reads. I really enjoyed this book.

[Tacha]

I have won this book in the Goodreads Giveaways!

I have not yet read it, but I will review the book as soon as I do!

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.85