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Christmas Seductions #2
Bound by Their Christmas Baby
From under the mistletoe…
…to down the aisle!
When brooding bachelor Gabe Arantini learns the innocent beauty he shared a steamy festive night with is the daughter of his business rival, he’s furious. The following Christmas, Abby returns with shocking news—she’s had his child! Gabe knows he must marry Abby to legitimize his son. But can this be a marriage in name only, or will their red-hot chemistry take over?
Feel the heat in this festive secret baby romance!
…to down the aisle!
When brooding bachelor Gabe Arantini learns the innocent beauty he shared a steamy festive night with is the daughter of his business rival, he’s furious. The following Christmas, Abby returns with shocking news—she’s had his child! Gabe knows he must marry Abby to legitimize his son. But can this be a marriage in name only, or will their red-hot chemistry take over?
Feel the heat in this festive secret baby romance!
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 10, 2023
149 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Clare Connelly
517 books405 followersFor all things Clare Connelly, please see www.clareconnelly.co.uk, the official home of Clare Connelly on the web.
Clare Connelly grew up in a small country town in Australia. Surrounded by rainforests, and rickety old timber houses, magic was thick in the air, and stories and storytelling were a huge part of her childhood.
From early on in life, Clare realised her favourite books were romance stories, and read voraciously. Anything from Jane Austen to Georgette Heyer, to Mills & Boon and (more recently) 50 Shades, Clare is a romance devotee. She first turned her hand to penning a novel at fifteen (if memory serves, it was something about a glamorous fashion model who fell foul of a high-end designer. Sparks flew, clothes flew faster, and love was born.)
Clare has a small family and a bungalow near the sea. When she isn't chasing after energetic little toddlers, or wiping fingerprints off furniture, she's writing, thinking about writing, or wishing she were writing.
Clare Connelly grew up in a small country town in Australia. Surrounded by rainforests, and rickety old timber houses, magic was thick in the air, and stories and storytelling were a huge part of her childhood.
From early on in life, Clare realised her favourite books were romance stories, and read voraciously. Anything from Jane Austen to Georgette Heyer, to Mills & Boon and (more recently) 50 Shades, Clare is a romance devotee. She first turned her hand to penning a novel at fifteen (if memory serves, it was something about a glamorous fashion model who fell foul of a high-end designer. Sparks flew, clothes flew faster, and love was born.)
Clare has a small family and a bungalow near the sea. When she isn't chasing after energetic little toddlers, or wiping fingerprints off furniture, she's writing, thinking about writing, or wishing she were writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
November 6, 2018
If there’s one thing Clare Connelly can do almost as well the the famous old school/vintage authors of HPlandia, it’s her ability to create a mean, cold, cruel, rude, inflexible and unforgiving asshole H. Lol. Now, I’m laughing while I say this because I actually enjoyed this book. After overdosing on some of the vintage HPlandia trainwrecks, I’ve developed a little lady boner for the asshole H of HPlandia – but ONLY when he refrains from cheating, remains celibate during a separation and balances his super assholery with a healthy dose of grovelling at the end.
But, in this specific novel, I understood why the H had acted like an asshole to the heroine because she was the one who had set out to betray him by stealing corporate secrets so that her father’s company would be able to use them.
Abby's father wanted the schematics for the H's new prototype smartphone. I doubt there are a lot of folks – male or female – who can easily forgive someone for that level of deception, betrayal and near thievery. The fact that the heroine didn’t go ahead with her plans didn’t actually matter to me because she had sex with the H and while he was in the shower, she used her phone to take photographs of important documents that belonged to him. Gabe found the proof on her phone when he confronted her later. That kind of corporate espionage is the height of lowness ! Abby did feel bad about what she'd tried to do but it didn't alter Gabe's opinion of her. He still saw as her a calculating little Mata Hari who'd traded her virginity for access to his corporate secrets. On a side note, I did find it very weird that the H would've had those technical design schematics, for that smartphone, just lying around in his bedroom...
The heroine didn't give the information to her father but her budding relationship with the H was wrecked. Abby was destroyed after the H kicked her out of his life. Her father also threw her out when she had no corporate secrets to share and also revealed that she was pregnant. Abby really suffered for what she'd done. And, even though she annoyed me a little, I didn’t hate her because she had her own daddy issues; she'd thought that if she got the documents for her father, then he would love her and be proud of her...
This is the second of this month's new HP novels that highlights a heroine who is so obsessed with earning her father's love and approval, that she ruins her own personal life in her quest to satisfy an uncaring parent. The other one is Claiming His Christmas Wife by Dani Collins. I'm not gonna lie: this H was extremely mean and cold ! In fact, he was so unbending and unforgiving that these MC's would have never gotten back together if they hadn't had a baby to bind them. But I understood the H's unforgiving stance because I'll be equally vindictive towards somebody who had slept with me and then tried to steal my corporate secrets too - not that I have any corporate secrets for anyone to steal...
Gabe, the H, had been hit with a little insta-love when he'd met Abby and that's why her betrayal had hit him so hard. In fact, he became so hurt and disenchanted that he lost all interest in women and was actually celibate during their entire separation. Abby had tried to contact him when she discovered she was pregnant but he refused her phone calls and when she went to Rome to see him, he got his security guards to escort her out of the building ! Some readers will totally hate this guy. Lol.
This is the H, Gabe:
This is the heroine, Abby:
And this is their adorable baby, Raf:
When the MC's meet again, Gabe is still filled with hate; so much so that he not only humiliates Abby at her place of employment but he gets her fired from her job too ! And, if that's not bad enough, he takes great sadistic satisfaction in seeing how hurt she is and lets her know that he actually loathes her:
‘Stop.’
He lifted a hand into the air, his manner imperious.
‘I do not want to rehash the past. I don’t care about you. I don’t care about your father. I don’t care about that night except for one reason. You taught me a lesson I’ll never forget. I let my guard down with you in a way I hadn’t done in years. And you reminded me why I don’t make a habit of that.’
He said with a shrug that was an emulation of nonchalance, ‘Now I want you to get out of my life, for the last time.’
However, since this is set in modern HPlandia, the author allows us to see that Gabe's verbal nastiness is just a cover for the deep feelings he still has for Abby. The reader is able to see this via Gabe's internal monologues:
Great. Now he was becoming poetic about a woman who’d seduced him with the sole intention of ruining him.
In the old/vintage HP novels, authors rarely gave us a bird's eye view into the inner thoughts of an asshole H. In this novel, it's interesting to explore the dichotomy between Abe's outward behaviour and his innermost feelings. That's why I enjoyed this story; if I hadn't seen signs of his true feelings for her, then I would've rated this with either 1 or 2 stars and plainly labelled him a stock character asshole. But Gabe's complexities meant that he was more than just a stock character asshole H, like the guys in old school HPlandia. When he finds out about his toddler son, he is shocked but doesn't ask for a DNA test. This surprised me, but I guess he didn't need to since the little baby resembled him a lot. He also took to fatherhood like a duck to water and forged an instant bond of love with little Raf:
He made a guttural noise of surrender as he cradled Raf to his chest, pressing his face to the boy’s sweet, downy head, breathing in his intoxicating baby fragrance.
‘You’re my son,’ he whispered, the words not entirely even. ‘And I am going to take all the care in the world of you.’
He breathed in once more. ‘I love you.’
He became very controlling and tried to manage everything that related to the baby's well being, but the heroine wasn't entirely a pushover when it came to her child. She was a very protective mother who wasn't willing to share control of her child's life, until she was sure that she could trust the H. She was kinda like this doggy mommy who's suspicious of all outsiders trying to come near to her little pup:
Gabe bullied her into a marriage of convenience that was supposed to be totally platonic, since he claimed that he still couldn't stand her. But the funniest part was how much he still kept lusting after her all the time, as if she was a cupcake beyond his reach and he was a hungry dog:
LOL.
His hatred soon took second place to his possessiveness, when he grew jealous of her budding friendship with the gardener, Hughie:
Just the sight of another man looking at Abby like Hughie was stirred a dark, possessive lust within Gabe’s bones. She was the mother of his child, the woman who’d given her virginity to him. She was his in so many ways... He just had to remind her of that.
Most of the angst in the second half of this story, stemmed from the MC's inability to be happy with a purely sexual connection. Both had thought that the sex would be adequate compensation for an otherwise empty marriage, filled with little meaningful verbal communication. The more intense their sexual connection, the further apart they grew. The heroine was in love with him and shared those feelings, but it backfired because love was anathema to Gabe's personal ideals.
Love had ruined his mother's life and he wasn't willing to open his heart to a woman ( Abby ) whom he still couldn't trust:
‘That night, last Christmas, my God, if you knew how I felt. How I wanted you. How I fell for you.’
He swore softly under his breath. ‘It was my fault that the Calypso debacle cut me to the quick. For the first time in my life, I let my guard down. I let you in. I wanted every single piece of you. Not just your body—all of you. I’ve never felt that way before.’
‘And I lied to you,’ she muttered.
‘You lied to me,’ he confirmed grimly. ‘And I couldn’t forgive you for that. But nor could I forget you.’
This is a novel about betrayal, broken trust, forgiveness and the power of love. Gabe did grovel and I believed he was sincere. But, this might not be a novel that will appeal to readers with a low tolerance for super assholery in their H's. The epilogue was also set around Christmastime, the MC's are having another baby and the heroine is reconciled with her odious father. That last part bothered me because I'm not so forgiving and I think that man had been too horrible to deserve forgiveness. But, if the heroine's happy to be reconciled with her dad, then who am I to begrudge her that joy ?
Safety: No OW, no OM, no cheating and both MC's had been celibate during their separation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2018
ARC provided by NetGalley and Harlequin for an honest review.
I enjoyed the storyline and characters. The hero took a little to warm up to but half way through the book he won me over. Liked the heroine, she was both strong, outspoken and sweet.
Abby was asked by her father to collect documents/information from Gabe Arantini. They met at a party, instant attraction and slept together (Abby new of him and kind of had an infatuation with him but that's not revealed till a little later in the book). Abby was then caught taking pictures of documents that had information on Gabes business. He felt betrayed and kicked her out, saying he never wanted to see her again. The one time he lets down is guard and this is what happens. Major trust issue with Gabe.
Abby becomes pregnant and tries to contact Gabe to let him know. He wants nothing to do with her (he didn't know she was pregnant and didn't give her a chance to explain). Abby never gave her Father the info he wanted and when he found out she was pregnant he threw her out of the house.
One year later. Gabe is at a company party and spies someone that looks like Abby. She works in the kitchen as help. Gabe storms the kitchen, knows the chef and has her fired. She lets him know she had a child, his child and everything changes for Gabe from that point on.
He takes Abby and the baby to his home, actually a castle, in Italy. And from this point on the layers of both their stories and character unfold. The two see different sides of each other, what shaped and molded them into the people they are as well as all the pain from past parental issues that's hindered them. Love how Gabe was a good Father and Abby a wonderful Mother. I appreciated Abby standing up to Gabe when he was a jerk. But what I appreciate most was the last third of the book and how Gabe redeems himself and the relationship. But the best part was the Epilogue, it was wonderful.
Good pacing, nice storyline and good to great character development.
I enjoyed the storyline and characters. The hero took a little to warm up to but half way through the book he won me over. Liked the heroine, she was both strong, outspoken and sweet.
Abby was asked by her father to collect documents/information from Gabe Arantini. They met at a party, instant attraction and slept together (Abby new of him and kind of had an infatuation with him but that's not revealed till a little later in the book). Abby was then caught taking pictures of documents that had information on Gabes business. He felt betrayed and kicked her out, saying he never wanted to see her again. The one time he lets down is guard and this is what happens. Major trust issue with Gabe.
Abby becomes pregnant and tries to contact Gabe to let him know. He wants nothing to do with her (he didn't know she was pregnant and didn't give her a chance to explain). Abby never gave her Father the info he wanted and when he found out she was pregnant he threw her out of the house.
One year later. Gabe is at a company party and spies someone that looks like Abby. She works in the kitchen as help. Gabe storms the kitchen, knows the chef and has her fired. She lets him know she had a child, his child and everything changes for Gabe from that point on.
He takes Abby and the baby to his home, actually a castle, in Italy. And from this point on the layers of both their stories and character unfold. The two see different sides of each other, what shaped and molded them into the people they are as well as all the pain from past parental issues that's hindered them. Love how Gabe was a good Father and Abby a wonderful Mother. I appreciated Abby standing up to Gabe when he was a jerk. But what I appreciate most was the last third of the book and how Gabe redeems himself and the relationship. But the best part was the Epilogue, it was wonderful.
Good pacing, nice storyline and good to great character development.
September 21, 2019
The hero had a hard time forgiving the heroine for an act of betrayal by her that she was forced to do by her Father. Corporate espionage really but the heroine did not sleep with him to do that. She slept with him because he was hit and Wendell into insta-love more with him. If course she got pregnant and wanted to tell him but Chewbacca total jerk and had her forcibly removed from his office. They meet up in a restaurant by chance and has her fired. She tries to tell him about his son but he thinks she is lying. He shows up at her house for sex and years her baby and knows it was the truth. He takes her to his castle but he is an ass and eventually he sends her away. This book ended at About 85% and it was kind of abrupt. I still loved it. He was celibate and I really was glad I read it.
November 28, 2018
Hero was deliciously cruel at the beginning – seeing his ONS from the year before and then making sure she was fired from her job. I mean who does that besides an alpha HP hero who feels betrayed?
Virgin heroine had his secret baby, was kicked out by her father and has been living in poverty with her 3 month-old son ever since.
When hero finds out about his son (finally – she tried so hard to tell him all through her pregnancy) he immediately demands she move to Italy and marry him.
All good alpha behavior, the pace is great, and then . . .
A weird shift in tone. Heroine is enchanted by his castle in the Italian Alps and visits the town for a bit of a travelogue. The heroine overdoses on Christmas decorations and the hero alternates between hot sex and cruel taunts/reminders of her transgressions.
It supposed to be a magical time (I guess) where the H/h get to know one another and are drawn closer so that the black moment feels extra black when it comes about.
The problem for me is that I still don’t know *why* the heroine tried to betray the hero to her father for some business plans. She keeps saying it was for love of her father – not hatred of the hero – but this tremendous emotional tie to her father was never shown – or explained. The hero says he never would have talked to the heroine -never mind - forgive her if it hadn’t been for their son. This does not sound like character growth or true love.
At the end I felt like the H/h liked having sex and wanted a family and are willing to leave the past behind – but I didn’t feel that any transforming love was displayed. I think the author must have realized they needed a lot more time to get past their differences because the epilogue is their wedding two years later.
See Ivy's excellent review for more details.
Virgin heroine had his secret baby, was kicked out by her father and has been living in poverty with her 3 month-old son ever since.
When hero finds out about his son (finally – she tried so hard to tell him all through her pregnancy) he immediately demands she move to Italy and marry him.
All good alpha behavior, the pace is great, and then . . .
A weird shift in tone. Heroine is enchanted by his castle in the Italian Alps and visits the town for a bit of a travelogue. The heroine overdoses on Christmas decorations and the hero alternates between hot sex and cruel taunts/reminders of her transgressions.
It supposed to be a magical time (I guess) where the H/h get to know one another and are drawn closer so that the black moment feels extra black when it comes about.
The problem for me is that I still don’t know *why* the heroine tried to betray the hero to her father for some business plans. She keeps saying it was for love of her father – not hatred of the hero – but this tremendous emotional tie to her father was never shown – or explained. The hero says he never would have talked to the heroine -never mind - forgive her if it hadn’t been for their son. This does not sound like character growth or true love.
At the end I felt like the H/h liked having sex and wanted a family and are willing to leave the past behind – but I didn’t feel that any transforming love was displayed. I think the author must have realized they needed a lot more time to get past their differences because the epilogue is their wedding two years later.
See Ivy's excellent review for more details.
November 9, 2018
Entertaining book. I especially loved the cruel and cold hero. The romance was good but not great.
November 6, 2018
I loved it, a real tearjerker! My GR friends know that the more cruel the H, the better for me. His groveling was not as good as the other CC’s heroes but better than the most. So 4,5 stars.
January 9, 2019
Enjoyed this holiday read, nothing says "Christmas" than meeting up with your "secret baby daddy " at your place of employment and cruel bastard that he is,gets you fired and vilifies you to your boss. This hero has a great backstory, the heroine I found way too forgiving of her father ,reminded me of a Jennie Lucas heroine who I disliked which is rare.
March 5, 2020
TBH I wasn't a massive fan of this one the h was wrong, wrong, wrong with what she did to the H and tbh I'm not convinced she wouldn't have given the info to her awful dad tbh. I found her to be quite childish and at the end of the day she was guilty AF.
The H was rightly annoyed at the h although its totally his fault about missing the first few months of his sons life as he ruthlessly cut her out of it and wouldn't tolerate any kind of communication.
Not convinced about the love between these 2 and we aren't told or shown what happened to him in Australia after his mum died which obviously has some affect on his upbringing.
St Margarets and Ivy have all the deets on this one so check out their reviews for a more in depth run down
The H was rightly annoyed at the h although its totally his fault about missing the first few months of his sons life as he ruthlessly cut her out of it and wouldn't tolerate any kind of communication.
Not convinced about the love between these 2 and we aren't told or shown what happened to him in Australia after his mum died which obviously has some affect on his upbringing.
St Margarets and Ivy have all the deets on this one so check out their reviews for a more in depth run down
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2021
Very melodramatic and OTT.
A year after a life changing ONS is spoiled by potential corporate espionage, the hero discovers the woman he hates with every fiber of his being has given birth to his baby. After very little back and forth, he convinces her to move to Italy and marry him.
I can’t imagine being on the receiving end of the level of vitriol that he throws at her. It’s brutal and almost impossible to come back from. We’re in his head through all of it, he spends 80% of the story in inner turmoil. At times, it’s just too much.
3 over the top stars. The backdrop of the story is a castle in the Italian Alps at Christmas time, that alone was worth a star.
A year after a life changing ONS is spoiled by potential corporate espionage, the hero discovers the woman he hates with every fiber of his being has given birth to his baby. After very little back and forth, he convinces her to move to Italy and marry him.
I can’t imagine being on the receiving end of the level of vitriol that he throws at her. It’s brutal and almost impossible to come back from. We’re in his head through all of it, he spends 80% of the story in inner turmoil. At times, it’s just too much.
3 over the top stars. The backdrop of the story is a castle in the Italian Alps at Christmas time, that alone was worth a star.
November 6, 2018
Felt like reading 2 different books , in the first half the H was a bastard ! And I hated him, he got her fired ! The asshole! Yes I hated him at first but in the 2nd part he changed , I liked this alot the h was sweet , kind and such a good mother , she loves the H alot and she healed him .
November 27, 2018
Clare Connelly really knows how to get to the heart and soul of her characters and this one is a beauty, sensual, moving and a must read for any romance reader that loves some tension and sensuality with a wounded hero and heroine, throw in a castle in the Alps of Italy, a baby and it is Christmas time, what more could you want?
Gabe Arantini is a self- made billionaire, tough and hard he swears never to love after the way he was treated as a child, he only has one person that means a lot to him and that is his best friend and business partner Noah, so when he spends a very sensual night with Abby Howard and finds her the most untrustworthy woma, he is even more determined to not love, so when one year later he runs into her he is shocked at the feelings he has and the announcement that she makes shakes him even further.
Abby has done it really tough since that night she spent with Gabe, finding herself pregnant and not pleasing her wealthy father she is abandoned and left to manage with her beautiful son Raf working hard in a top restaurant and is stunned when the man she has never forgotten walks in and has her sacked on the spot. Abby is determined to finally be able to tell Gabe about Raf and when she does he pushes her into marriage and a move to Italy, this pushes Abby’s emotions sky high.
This is a fantastic story, I savoured every word as I got to know and love both Gabe and Abby, yes there were times I could have yelled at Gabe’s pushing and the reasons why he wanted marriage so much, but the spark between them was no way going away and their journey to a HEA is and up- hill battle of wits and understanding, then trust needs to be there, and then a beautiful ending. This is a story that I highly recommend, thank you MS Connelly for hours of reading pleasure and it was so good catching up with Noah and Holly.
Gabe Arantini is a self- made billionaire, tough and hard he swears never to love after the way he was treated as a child, he only has one person that means a lot to him and that is his best friend and business partner Noah, so when he spends a very sensual night with Abby Howard and finds her the most untrustworthy woma, he is even more determined to not love, so when one year later he runs into her he is shocked at the feelings he has and the announcement that she makes shakes him even further.
Abby has done it really tough since that night she spent with Gabe, finding herself pregnant and not pleasing her wealthy father she is abandoned and left to manage with her beautiful son Raf working hard in a top restaurant and is stunned when the man she has never forgotten walks in and has her sacked on the spot. Abby is determined to finally be able to tell Gabe about Raf and when she does he pushes her into marriage and a move to Italy, this pushes Abby’s emotions sky high.
This is a fantastic story, I savoured every word as I got to know and love both Gabe and Abby, yes there were times I could have yelled at Gabe’s pushing and the reasons why he wanted marriage so much, but the spark between them was no way going away and their journey to a HEA is and up- hill battle of wits and understanding, then trust needs to be there, and then a beautiful ending. This is a story that I highly recommend, thank you MS Connelly for hours of reading pleasure and it was so good catching up with Noah and Holly.
November 30, 2018
Bound by Their Christmas Baby by Clare Connelly is a sensual second chance holiday themed romance.
Gabe Arantini doesn’t think he’ll ever see Abigail Howard again. They shared one passionate night together that was ruined when he caught her trying to take photos of his company’s plans and discovering that she was none other than his rival’s daughter. Though Abby had tried to explain, and to contact him since that fateful night a year earlier, he’d ignored her completely.
To his surprise, he discovers her working in the kitchen of a fancy dinner party he’s attending. From there come the revelations of how her life has turned upside down since their night together– kicked out by her father, working in a restaurant kitchen to make ends meet and having a baby. His baby, as it turns out. Gabe won’t let any child of his grow up without knowing their father so he proposes a solution – marry him, and they’ll raise the boy together. No love required, it’ll be a marriage of convenience. But can he forgive Abby for her deception and give their marriage a real chance?
For more of this review please visit Harlequin Junkie: http://harlequinjunkie.com/review-bou...
A copy of this story was provided by the publisher for review.
Gabe Arantini doesn’t think he’ll ever see Abigail Howard again. They shared one passionate night together that was ruined when he caught her trying to take photos of his company’s plans and discovering that she was none other than his rival’s daughter. Though Abby had tried to explain, and to contact him since that fateful night a year earlier, he’d ignored her completely.
To his surprise, he discovers her working in the kitchen of a fancy dinner party he’s attending. From there come the revelations of how her life has turned upside down since their night together– kicked out by her father, working in a restaurant kitchen to make ends meet and having a baby. His baby, as it turns out. Gabe won’t let any child of his grow up without knowing their father so he proposes a solution – marry him, and they’ll raise the boy together. No love required, it’ll be a marriage of convenience. But can he forgive Abby for her deception and give their marriage a real chance?
For more of this review please visit Harlequin Junkie: http://harlequinjunkie.com/review-bou...
A copy of this story was provided by the publisher for review.
December 29, 2019
2.75
Otro libro de estos que no son más que para pasar el rato y relajarme, como siempre no puedo decir que sean un sobra de arte o una gran revelación, pero me gustan, en su gran mayoría me ayudan a pasar el rato y me entretienen. Es en sí, otra historia con un romance cliché y con final feliz. Creé una puntuación especial para estos libros, aunque me gustan no soy capaz de recomendarlos por eso tienen 2.75 , los libros por debajo de esa puntuación no me gustan.
Otro libro de estos que no son más que para pasar el rato y relajarme, como siempre no puedo decir que sean un sobra de arte o una gran revelación, pero me gustan, en su gran mayoría me ayudan a pasar el rato y me entretienen. Es en sí, otra historia con un romance cliché y con final feliz. Creé una puntuación especial para estos libros, aunque me gustan no soy capaz de recomendarlos por eso tienen 2.75 , los libros por debajo de esa puntuación no me gustan.
November 19, 2018
Abby and Gabe shared an incredible night of passion, one that was started by instant attraction and shattered by a betrayal by Abby. Gabe pushed Abby out of his life that night and ignored all her attempts to contact him. A year later Gabe unexpectedly sees Abby and all the lust, hate and anger erupts. He approaches her and ultimately costs her the job she had to get to try to survive. That night Gabe is shocked to find out he and Abby have a son, he takes control and makes Abby and their son move to Italy with him. Gabe is a jerk, he’s cruel and can’t get past the fact that Abby had betrayed him but he also hasn’t been able to move on from his deeply resented feelings of lust for her. Abby knows she did wrong, but she can’t get over her feelings for Gabe either, she is willing to put up with him for the sake of their son.
Gabe was totally justified in his feelings, he is a man with wounded pride and anger that someone he had instant attraction and feelings for was trying to sabotage his life. Underneath it all he is a man with a good heart, he instantly fell in love with Rafael and he can’t fight his feelings of possessiveness and growing love for Abby. When he tries to force Abby to marry him she bails when she realizes their incredible sex isn’t enough she wants love and he refuses to give it. Remember when I said Gabe was a jerk? Well this causes him to face his feelings and to grovel to win Abby back and I loved it!
I truly enjoyed Gabe and Abby’s story, so much so that I read it from cover to cover without putting it down. The setting of the story being in a small town in Italy at Christmas time made it magical!
December 11, 2019
With this particular story, I had a very complicated relationship with it. I found myself even conflicted because there were parts that I really liked and there were parts I didn’t like or connected with. It made me very undecided whether I liked the romance between Gabe and Abby, or not. This was not the worst romance that I have ever read, but at the same time it was hard to get behind the romance of Gabe and Abby because of some problematic things that happened or I felt happened within the story itself.
I did like the fact that this was a love-hate trope that started from the beginning because of the setup from the year before to when they were reunited again. It was summarized the fact that over a year ago Gabe and Abby slept together for the first time with a connection that was really strong until Gabe caught Abby going through his work papers with confidential information about his business in order to give it to her father his competitor in the same field. Gabe felt a mass amount of betrayal and kicked her out of his bedroom, even after Abby tried to apologize to him realizing she made a big mistake then fast forward to a year later when they were reunited again where the story began. I would have preferred if that night a year previous had be shown instead of told to show off their meeting, their passionate encounter, the guilt, the betrayal, and just overall intensity that I know that scene would have brought to the story if it was in fact shown in detailed. I just think then I would have gotten the full impact of what happened between them, instead of just being told it. Nonetheless I did love that was the setup because that whole love-hate relationship came off so well and sparks really still flew between them. There was so much heat and passion between these two that made the story even more intense along with all those feelings of betrayal and guilt that coated near the surface. It was nice to see them butting heads throughout the story as they were dealing with each other. It created some lovely tension and angst between them that I really enjoyed seeing play out on the pages and all the raw emotions that went along with it.
The love scenes were really good as well, showing off their passionate nature with each other after so much built up tension between them. They had some steamy scenes together that just showed off how much of a physical connection that they had. They really soared in the bedroom together, letting emotions fly and expressing them in a physical way. That side of their relationship was where they connected the most and allowed for them to get close to one another even when words weren’t spoken. It really the only way they knew how to connect and create some intimacy between them.
Even though Gabe was a big,old, cruel jerk a majority of the book, I liked him. He made a lot of mistakes along the way, and he may not have handled things correctly with Abby, but I understood what his motives were. He was hurt and felt deeply betrayed by what Abby had done by to trying to get info on his company. He thought that she played him for a sucker and seduced him in order to get that information. For the first time, he opened himself up to someone, and he was betrayed by her. He didn’t want to be a fool again so when they were reunited he acted like a big old jerk to her, inflicting lots of pain and hurt on Abby in the process. It wasn’t right, but it wasn’t without cause either. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he did because he wanted to keep her at arms length and the only way to do that was to push her away. I didn’t agree with this method, but still I understood him. Plus he more than made up for it with that grovel scene in the end that I could easily forgive him just like Abby.
As for the character of Abby, I didn’t like or connect with her that much. I felt she was a very childish character despite the fact that she was a mother. I felt like some of her reactions to Gabe were just overall juvenile like her wanting to stick her tongue at him or give him this teenage look. It really wasn’t appealing. It just came off as very immature. Yes, I understood her motivations. I understood where she was coming from throughout the story with her father and with Gabe, but she didn’t come across as someone I could connect with. She was not a favorite heroine of mine.
Another thing that I didn’t care for was the flow in the story. It just seemed to jump a little bit from thing to thing and made it kind of choppy instead of natural and easy flow. That made it really hard to connect with them as a couple because there wasn’t a natural flow to their relationship nor development. Yes, there was passionate scenes between them then it jumped with them hating each other and hurting each other then they went back to desiring each other then they would go to a nightmare scene then back to hating each then bedroom time. I just felt like it was all over the place and really hard to connect with because of that. Aside from the love-hate part and the passionate encounters between them, I didn’t find a lot of connection between the two of them. They just didn’t make sense as a couple in the grand scheme of things because there was this lack of emotional connection between them. They really didn’t work in my opinion if they weren’t in the bedroom or they were hating each other. There was no softness or tenderness between them. There were no moments comfort between them even when the revealed truth to each other. It just felt like they told stories about themselves but it really didn’t bring in together as a couple it was just as means of information that they collected about each other. I know it was meant to create intimacy between them, but it didn’t come across that way for me at all. It was just there. I didn’t feel the connection there even after these stories were told. It didn’t work for me, and it didn’t make me believe that they were falling in love with each other or it deepened their relationship at all, instead it felt a little awkwardly be honest. I didn’t connect with it at all. It made little sense of at all of them being an actual couple in the end. I think a lot more could have been done to bring them closer together and wasn’t.
Overall this book wasn’t the worse that i have ever read nor was it the best. I needed more connection that I actually got while reading this book. To me, Abby and Gabe really didn’t work as a couple unless they engaged in moments of passion like the bedroom or hating on each other. They just didn’t mesh well in my opinion. There wasn’t enough connection on an emotional level, or at least that was what I felt while reading it. It felt more like just words on the page telling me they were feeling it when in reality while reading I didn’t feel lit. There were no tender or sweet moments that would have lead me to believe that they were falling in love with each other. I believed they wanted each other, but love I wasn’t so sure about that. I think to Abby purporting that it was love at first sight with her didn’t do it for me either especially when I’m not a believer in the love first sight trope so that really didn’t do it for me either. I just think there needed to be more shown then told in the story and not having the same conversations over and over again throughout the course of the book that got a little old. I did like Gabe though even though he did some very cruel and hurtful things to Abby. I get why he did them, but he shouldn’t have done them, but I still liked him anyway. He made up for it in the end. I loved that they had that love-hate type of relationship, which was really what made the story soar. That’s when sparks came to life. That’s when most of the passion between them was shown. It was where they butted heads the most and made the story very entertaining. It was where tension and conflict was really clear in those moments and made the story worth reading just for that alone. It was the most enjoyable part of the entire story. If the flow of that carried on to the emotional part of their story I would have liked this book so much more. The love-hate thing really worked while other things really didn’t. It was an interesting read for me where I liked fifty percent story, but then wasn’t feeling it for the other fifty percent. I just think there could have been more done and shown to give me the feels than what it actually did.
I did like the fact that this was a love-hate trope that started from the beginning because of the setup from the year before to when they were reunited again. It was summarized the fact that over a year ago Gabe and Abby slept together for the first time with a connection that was really strong until Gabe caught Abby going through his work papers with confidential information about his business in order to give it to her father his competitor in the same field. Gabe felt a mass amount of betrayal and kicked her out of his bedroom, even after Abby tried to apologize to him realizing she made a big mistake then fast forward to a year later when they were reunited again where the story began. I would have preferred if that night a year previous had be shown instead of told to show off their meeting, their passionate encounter, the guilt, the betrayal, and just overall intensity that I know that scene would have brought to the story if it was in fact shown in detailed. I just think then I would have gotten the full impact of what happened between them, instead of just being told it. Nonetheless I did love that was the setup because that whole love-hate relationship came off so well and sparks really still flew between them. There was so much heat and passion between these two that made the story even more intense along with all those feelings of betrayal and guilt that coated near the surface. It was nice to see them butting heads throughout the story as they were dealing with each other. It created some lovely tension and angst between them that I really enjoyed seeing play out on the pages and all the raw emotions that went along with it.
The love scenes were really good as well, showing off their passionate nature with each other after so much built up tension between them. They had some steamy scenes together that just showed off how much of a physical connection that they had. They really soared in the bedroom together, letting emotions fly and expressing them in a physical way. That side of their relationship was where they connected the most and allowed for them to get close to one another even when words weren’t spoken. It really the only way they knew how to connect and create some intimacy between them.
Even though Gabe was a big,old, cruel jerk a majority of the book, I liked him. He made a lot of mistakes along the way, and he may not have handled things correctly with Abby, but I understood what his motives were. He was hurt and felt deeply betrayed by what Abby had done by to trying to get info on his company. He thought that she played him for a sucker and seduced him in order to get that information. For the first time, he opened himself up to someone, and he was betrayed by her. He didn’t want to be a fool again so when they were reunited he acted like a big old jerk to her, inflicting lots of pain and hurt on Abby in the process. It wasn’t right, but it wasn’t without cause either. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he did because he wanted to keep her at arms length and the only way to do that was to push her away. I didn’t agree with this method, but still I understood him. Plus he more than made up for it with that grovel scene in the end that I could easily forgive him just like Abby.
As for the character of Abby, I didn’t like or connect with her that much. I felt she was a very childish character despite the fact that she was a mother. I felt like some of her reactions to Gabe were just overall juvenile like her wanting to stick her tongue at him or give him this teenage look. It really wasn’t appealing. It just came off as very immature. Yes, I understood her motivations. I understood where she was coming from throughout the story with her father and with Gabe, but she didn’t come across as someone I could connect with. She was not a favorite heroine of mine.
Another thing that I didn’t care for was the flow in the story. It just seemed to jump a little bit from thing to thing and made it kind of choppy instead of natural and easy flow. That made it really hard to connect with them as a couple because there wasn’t a natural flow to their relationship nor development. Yes, there was passionate scenes between them then it jumped with them hating each other and hurting each other then they went back to desiring each other then they would go to a nightmare scene then back to hating each then bedroom time. I just felt like it was all over the place and really hard to connect with because of that. Aside from the love-hate part and the passionate encounters between them, I didn’t find a lot of connection between the two of them. They just didn’t make sense as a couple in the grand scheme of things because there was this lack of emotional connection between them. They really didn’t work in my opinion if they weren’t in the bedroom or they were hating each other. There was no softness or tenderness between them. There were no moments comfort between them even when the revealed truth to each other. It just felt like they told stories about themselves but it really didn’t bring in together as a couple it was just as means of information that they collected about each other. I know it was meant to create intimacy between them, but it didn’t come across that way for me at all. It was just there. I didn’t feel the connection there even after these stories were told. It didn’t work for me, and it didn’t make me believe that they were falling in love with each other or it deepened their relationship at all, instead it felt a little awkwardly be honest. I didn’t connect with it at all. It made little sense of at all of them being an actual couple in the end. I think a lot more could have been done to bring them closer together and wasn’t.
Overall this book wasn’t the worse that i have ever read nor was it the best. I needed more connection that I actually got while reading this book. To me, Abby and Gabe really didn’t work as a couple unless they engaged in moments of passion like the bedroom or hating on each other. They just didn’t mesh well in my opinion. There wasn’t enough connection on an emotional level, or at least that was what I felt while reading it. It felt more like just words on the page telling me they were feeling it when in reality while reading I didn’t feel lit. There were no tender or sweet moments that would have lead me to believe that they were falling in love with each other. I believed they wanted each other, but love I wasn’t so sure about that. I think to Abby purporting that it was love at first sight with her didn’t do it for me either especially when I’m not a believer in the love first sight trope so that really didn’t do it for me either. I just think there needed to be more shown then told in the story and not having the same conversations over and over again throughout the course of the book that got a little old. I did like Gabe though even though he did some very cruel and hurtful things to Abby. I get why he did them, but he shouldn’t have done them, but I still liked him anyway. He made up for it in the end. I loved that they had that love-hate type of relationship, which was really what made the story soar. That’s when sparks came to life. That’s when most of the passion between them was shown. It was where they butted heads the most and made the story very entertaining. It was where tension and conflict was really clear in those moments and made the story worth reading just for that alone. It was the most enjoyable part of the entire story. If the flow of that carried on to the emotional part of their story I would have liked this book so much more. The love-hate thing really worked while other things really didn’t. It was an interesting read for me where I liked fifty percent story, but then wasn’t feeling it for the other fifty percent. I just think there could have been more done and shown to give me the feels than what it actually did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2018
Sexy Italian Tycoon, Gabe fell for Abbey in a party. The instant attraction and the volcanic passion erupted between these two. Gabe later discovered that Abbey was his rival's daughter sent to spy on a secret project. He blew a fuse and justifiably threw her out. He hated her for the betrayal even though she was pure as snow.
Abby finds herself in dilemma, she didn't betray Gabe, disappointed her father and got pregnant by the man who hated her. Her father threw her out and disowned her, she tried contacting Gabe to inform him of his impending parentage which was shunned because he literally wanted her wiped out from his life. After a year and three months, Abby forces Gabe to listen to her and confessed her pregnancy and having the baby. Gabe held her one mistake against her and judged her continuously. He saw her as a liar and a cheat and even doubted the existence of the baby.
After discovering the truth, Abby and Raffael, the baby, was rushed to Italy with an impending marriage. Gabe settled for having Abby for a wife but he never understood why she tried to obtain the secret information and will never forgive her for it. He consistently hurt her with words and turned every beautiful moment into something thrash and worthless.
Abby realised she loved him and before the Christmas Day surprise wedding she wanted Gabe's love before walking down the aisle. Gabe couldn't love her because he didn't know how for he was never taught and he wasn't going to fool her like his father fooled his mom. Albeit, Gabe loved his son,passionately. After realising how much he was hurting Abby and realising she wanted be loved and happy. Absolving the empty threats of custody he finally lets her go.
The most emotional part of the story was Gabe holding his son before sending Abby and the baby to the Airport...tears welled up! Even Abby didn't have the heart to take the child away from Gabe but he think it was best they left. After a week without his family Gabe understood what he wanted and lacked. He may not know the term 'love' but he knew what it meant...His powerful explanation redeemed him from all his angst, harshness and cold callous treatments. His grovel did absolved him from his wicked and cruel.manners ....in the end they found their HEA.....Loved the story.
Abby finds herself in dilemma, she didn't betray Gabe, disappointed her father and got pregnant by the man who hated her. Her father threw her out and disowned her, she tried contacting Gabe to inform him of his impending parentage which was shunned because he literally wanted her wiped out from his life. After a year and three months, Abby forces Gabe to listen to her and confessed her pregnancy and having the baby. Gabe held her one mistake against her and judged her continuously. He saw her as a liar and a cheat and even doubted the existence of the baby.
After discovering the truth, Abby and Raffael, the baby, was rushed to Italy with an impending marriage. Gabe settled for having Abby for a wife but he never understood why she tried to obtain the secret information and will never forgive her for it. He consistently hurt her with words and turned every beautiful moment into something thrash and worthless.
Abby realised she loved him and before the Christmas Day surprise wedding she wanted Gabe's love before walking down the aisle. Gabe couldn't love her because he didn't know how for he was never taught and he wasn't going to fool her like his father fooled his mom. Albeit, Gabe loved his son,passionately. After realising how much he was hurting Abby and realising she wanted be loved and happy. Absolving the empty threats of custody he finally lets her go.
The most emotional part of the story was Gabe holding his son before sending Abby and the baby to the Airport...tears welled up! Even Abby didn't have the heart to take the child away from Gabe but he think it was best they left. After a week without his family Gabe understood what he wanted and lacked. He may not know the term 'love' but he knew what it meant...His powerful explanation redeemed him from all his angst, harshness and cold callous treatments. His grovel did absolved him from his wicked and cruel.manners ....in the end they found their HEA.....Loved the story.
December 14, 2018
OMG--this. Book! It's one heck of a trope-fest: virgin heroine, secret baby, marriage of convenience, and enemies-to-lovers, all in one Christmas-set story...
Gabe spent a good portion (okay, nearly all) of the book being a complete jerk. Yes, he had a reason for it at first, but with all the attempts that Abby had made to let him know about the consequences of their one night stand it felt like it wasn't all 100% justified. (Plus, he didn't believe her--At. All. Dude, checking to see if someone actually has a baby is super easy. You don't believe it's yours? Fine. Do a DNA test. Easy-peasy. Get over your butt-hurt self.) And then his jealousy of her friendship with the groundskeeper...? and his constant ignoring of her, except in the bedroom (of course)...? it made it really hard to like him for quite a bit of the book. If you looked up alpha-hole hero, I'm pretty sure you'd find his picture.
(Similarly, if you look up "plot moppet" I'm pretty sure you'd find a direct reference to their child, Raf. I don't think he was actually on the page for a full page's worth out of the 224 that encompass the entire book.)
Gabe eventually gets his head out of his butt—mostly--and we get to an HEA for everyone (finally…sort of. Though I still really think that Abby could so much do better) and you can almost forget what a complete and total jerk he was.
Almost.
Maybe Harlequin Presents just aren't for me?
Rating: 3 1/2 stars / C+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Gabe spent a good portion (okay, nearly all) of the book being a complete jerk. Yes, he had a reason for it at first, but with all the attempts that Abby had made to let him know about the consequences of their one night stand it felt like it wasn't all 100% justified. (Plus, he didn't believe her--At. All. Dude, checking to see if someone actually has a baby is super easy. You don't believe it's yours? Fine. Do a DNA test. Easy-peasy. Get over your butt-hurt self.) And then his jealousy of her friendship with the groundskeeper...? and his constant ignoring of her, except in the bedroom (of course)...? it made it really hard to like him for quite a bit of the book. If you looked up alpha-hole hero, I'm pretty sure you'd find his picture.
(Similarly, if you look up "plot moppet" I'm pretty sure you'd find a direct reference to their child, Raf. I don't think he was actually on the page for a full page's worth out of the 224 that encompass the entire book.)
Gabe eventually gets his head out of his butt—mostly--and we get to an HEA for everyone (finally…sort of. Though I still really think that Abby could so much do better) and you can almost forget what a complete and total jerk he was.
Almost.
Maybe Harlequin Presents just aren't for me?
Rating: 3 1/2 stars / C+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
November 27, 2020
This is such a tough story to reflect on. Other reviews have done great plot summaries so I’m commenting on my impressions...
The heroine was manipulated by her father to do something bad and the Hero loudly despises the heroine for almost the entire book. It’s not that he’s wrong to do so but it would’ve been nice to see him forming other impressions of her beyond hatred and lust. She made a huge mistake, and prevented it from being a bigger mistake. He and circumstances had punished her quite a bit.
I’m not sure about the Epilogue with the father... he wasn’t deserving of another place in this story. And the fact that it took two years to get the H&h married was disappointing somehow... it seemed like a long wait if they were supposedly finally happy.
The Epilogue thankfully includes mention of the Hero’s business partner Noah from the Harlequin Dare book “The Season to Sin.” (Book #1 of this series... a story worth reading.)
I loved that the Hero was celibate during their separation. It was a positive in the midst of all his a**hole moments (and there were a lot... he said a lot of truly nasty things to her). She was celibate also, but being pregnant, etc. through most of the year apart made hers less surprising. For him to be seemed very meaningful.
It’s not that I completely doubt their HEA but his unforgiving harshness was really prominent for so long. He did grovel, which was necessary to save this story, yet I can’t say I was truly convinced at the book’s end, even though I was rooting for them.
The heroine was manipulated by her father to do something bad and the Hero loudly despises the heroine for almost the entire book. It’s not that he’s wrong to do so but it would’ve been nice to see him forming other impressions of her beyond hatred and lust. She made a huge mistake, and prevented it from being a bigger mistake. He and circumstances had punished her quite a bit.
I’m not sure about the Epilogue with the father... he wasn’t deserving of another place in this story. And the fact that it took two years to get the H&h married was disappointing somehow... it seemed like a long wait if they were supposedly finally happy.
The Epilogue thankfully includes mention of the Hero’s business partner Noah from the Harlequin Dare book “The Season to Sin.” (Book #1 of this series... a story worth reading.)
I loved that the Hero was celibate during their separation. It was a positive in the midst of all his a**hole moments (and there were a lot... he said a lot of truly nasty things to her). She was celibate also, but being pregnant, etc. through most of the year apart made hers less surprising. For him to be seemed very meaningful.
It’s not that I completely doubt their HEA but his unforgiving harshness was really prominent for so long. He did grovel, which was necessary to save this story, yet I can’t say I was truly convinced at the book’s end, even though I was rooting for them.
November 25, 2018
Sweet. Sad. Enjoyable. Lots of pain and anger.
The h met the H a year ago when she seduced him to steal his secrets for a new product for her father.
They spent a hot night together and then he caught her taking photos of confidential information. He was not pleased. After that night she tried to contact him numerous times but he refused to speak to her or see her.
Fast forward one year. She is working as kitchen staff at one of the top London restaurants. The H see’s her by chance and gets her fired. He is absolutely vile to her. He follows her home and learns that he’s the father of a three month old.
He forces the h to go to Italy with him so he can be a full time dad. He plans to marry her, even though he despises her.
The H is a really unforgiving guy. He’s hard, cold and arrogant. He wants a MOC where he gets his baby and sex on tap but also gets to treat the h like pond scum.
The h was desperate, stressed and exhausted when you first meet her. She’s submissive and willing to give in to the H’s demands. However, as the story develops she becomes stronger and pushes back at the H. He soon realized that she wasn’t the meek girl he thought she was.
Enjoyable and worth the read.
The h met the H a year ago when she seduced him to steal his secrets for a new product for her father.
They spent a hot night together and then he caught her taking photos of confidential information. He was not pleased. After that night she tried to contact him numerous times but he refused to speak to her or see her.
Fast forward one year. She is working as kitchen staff at one of the top London restaurants. The H see’s her by chance and gets her fired. He is absolutely vile to her. He follows her home and learns that he’s the father of a three month old.
He forces the h to go to Italy with him so he can be a full time dad. He plans to marry her, even though he despises her.
The H is a really unforgiving guy. He’s hard, cold and arrogant. He wants a MOC where he gets his baby and sex on tap but also gets to treat the h like pond scum.
The h was desperate, stressed and exhausted when you first meet her. She’s submissive and willing to give in to the H’s demands. However, as the story develops she becomes stronger and pushes back at the H. He soon realized that she wasn’t the meek girl he thought she was.
Enjoyable and worth the read.
November 9, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Usually, in this type of storyline, the h is innocent of the accusation. This one is actually guilty so I kinda understood why the H was such an a-hole to her. I especially liked the Christmas theme, and the scene with the ornaments made me cry! Lovely read.
Read
December 1, 2018Miniseries: Christmas Seductions
Read
December 1, 2018Miniseries: Christmas Seductions
November 20, 2018
Superb emotional roller coaster of a read, loved it.
December 13, 2018
Harlequin Presents fans are going to lap up Bound by Their Christmas Baby, an intensely emotional, highly dramatic and wholly mesmerizing contemporary romance from a fast rising star of the line: Clare Connelly.
Billionaire bachelor Gabe Arantini had learned from a very early age not to rely on anybody other than himself and not to trust anybody. Other than his good friend and business partner Nate, Gabe keeps his guard up at all times, his emotions firmly under lock and key and his heart barricaded behind an impenetrable wall of steel. Having grown up with nothing, Gabe had worked his fingers to the bone to become one of the richest men in the world and the owner of one of the most successful technology businesses in the universe. Good-looking, brooding and successful, Gabe could have had any woman he wanted, but despite having no qualms about indulging in no strings affairs, he had always made it perfectly clear that long-term relationships are strictly off the table for him – a resolve that had worked perfectly well until he had met Abigail Howard and fallen for her hook, line and sinker. Gabe thought that Abby reciprocated his feelings for her and that she could be the woman with whom he could spend the rest of his life with – until he had found out that Abby had had ulterior motives for seducing him and had betrayed him in the cruelest way possible. Gabe had vowed never to clap eyes on Abby ever again – but fate had other plans…
Gabe had been stunned when a year after he had thrown Abby out of his life, he had been having dinner at an exclusive restaurant in Manhattan and caught a glimpse of Abby. Only the woman standing in front of him was not the pretty society heiress with a wardrobe full of expensive designer clothes, but a kitchen hand eking out a living and earning minimum wage. Gabe had never forgotten or forgiven her vicious betrayal, but he couldn’t help but wonder what Abby was doing working in a kitchen for a pittance. However, it looks like the surprises are just going to keep on coming for Gabe for he discovers that Abby had been pregnant with his child when he had broken things off with her – and that he is now the father of a son!
Abby couldn’t believe her eyes when Gabe walked through the doors of the restaurant kitchen she had been working in. Abby had tried for a year to try and convince Gabe to see her so that she could tell him about baby Raf, but when he had refused to even give her five minutes of his time, she had vowed to bring up her son by herself and give him the best possible childhood. However, bringing up a child by herself in New York has been anything but easy and when Gabe saunters back in her life, demanding to see his son, Abby is delighted that her son will have his father back in his life, but shocked by the maelstrom of emotions which his return unleashes deep within her…
Gabe is not going to miss a single moment of his son’s life, so he whisks his new family to Italy and proposes a marriage of convenience for Raf’s sake. However, as old feelings resurface with a vengeance, Gabe and Abby soon realise that there is nothing convenient about their attraction for one another! Will it be second time lucky for Gabe and Abby? Or are there simply too many obstacles standing in their way?
Clare Connelly’s Bound By Their Christmas Baby sizzles and sparkles with red-hot sensuality, heart-wrenching pathos, emotionally compelling drama and powerful and uplifting romance. A poignant tale of second chances, healing from old wounds and finding the courage to fall in love again, Bound by Their Christmas Baby is an escapist and enjoyable romance with a deliciously brooding Italian hero readers will love and an intelligent, resourceful and resilient heroine they will cheer for.
A first-class contemporary tale I absolutely adored, Bound by Their Christmas Baby is a must-read for Harlequin Presents fans the world over!
Billionaire bachelor Gabe Arantini had learned from a very early age not to rely on anybody other than himself and not to trust anybody. Other than his good friend and business partner Nate, Gabe keeps his guard up at all times, his emotions firmly under lock and key and his heart barricaded behind an impenetrable wall of steel. Having grown up with nothing, Gabe had worked his fingers to the bone to become one of the richest men in the world and the owner of one of the most successful technology businesses in the universe. Good-looking, brooding and successful, Gabe could have had any woman he wanted, but despite having no qualms about indulging in no strings affairs, he had always made it perfectly clear that long-term relationships are strictly off the table for him – a resolve that had worked perfectly well until he had met Abigail Howard and fallen for her hook, line and sinker. Gabe thought that Abby reciprocated his feelings for her and that she could be the woman with whom he could spend the rest of his life with – until he had found out that Abby had had ulterior motives for seducing him and had betrayed him in the cruelest way possible. Gabe had vowed never to clap eyes on Abby ever again – but fate had other plans…
Gabe had been stunned when a year after he had thrown Abby out of his life, he had been having dinner at an exclusive restaurant in Manhattan and caught a glimpse of Abby. Only the woman standing in front of him was not the pretty society heiress with a wardrobe full of expensive designer clothes, but a kitchen hand eking out a living and earning minimum wage. Gabe had never forgotten or forgiven her vicious betrayal, but he couldn’t help but wonder what Abby was doing working in a kitchen for a pittance. However, it looks like the surprises are just going to keep on coming for Gabe for he discovers that Abby had been pregnant with his child when he had broken things off with her – and that he is now the father of a son!
Abby couldn’t believe her eyes when Gabe walked through the doors of the restaurant kitchen she had been working in. Abby had tried for a year to try and convince Gabe to see her so that she could tell him about baby Raf, but when he had refused to even give her five minutes of his time, she had vowed to bring up her son by herself and give him the best possible childhood. However, bringing up a child by herself in New York has been anything but easy and when Gabe saunters back in her life, demanding to see his son, Abby is delighted that her son will have his father back in his life, but shocked by the maelstrom of emotions which his return unleashes deep within her…
Gabe is not going to miss a single moment of his son’s life, so he whisks his new family to Italy and proposes a marriage of convenience for Raf’s sake. However, as old feelings resurface with a vengeance, Gabe and Abby soon realise that there is nothing convenient about their attraction for one another! Will it be second time lucky for Gabe and Abby? Or are there simply too many obstacles standing in their way?
Clare Connelly’s Bound By Their Christmas Baby sizzles and sparkles with red-hot sensuality, heart-wrenching pathos, emotionally compelling drama and powerful and uplifting romance. A poignant tale of second chances, healing from old wounds and finding the courage to fall in love again, Bound by Their Christmas Baby is an escapist and enjoyable romance with a deliciously brooding Italian hero readers will love and an intelligent, resourceful and resilient heroine they will cheer for.
A first-class contemporary tale I absolutely adored, Bound by Their Christmas Baby is a must-read for Harlequin Presents fans the world over!
November 17, 2019
I had high hopes for Bound by their Christmas Baby, as I absolutely adored The Season to Sin, which - despite that novel being part of Mills and Boon's DARE Collection, and this novel being part of their MODERN one - is a companion standalone in Clare Connelly's Christmas Seductions Series, and even though Gabe had a minor role to play in The Season to Sin, he still left me intrigued enough to want to know more about him, and so I was over the moon to discover that he had a book of his own.
Unfortunately, it was just not for me.
At first I thought that maybe I just wasn't in the mood to read it? But as the story progressed, I found that not only did it lack passion, but that the characters lacked chemistry too - making the intimate scenes really hard to read. Not only that, but I also felt like Gabe was too emotionally manipulative for my taste, and though he did (semi-) redeem himself by the end of this novel, he was overall just too much of an asshole for me to really, actually like him. I liked Abby though - enough to have me rating this book two stars, and even though a part of me is glad we didn't have to read Gabe and Abby's first meeting together, I nevertheless feel like it would've made me enjoy this story more to have seen that initial spark between them, along with the impact of Abby's betrayal against Gabe.
But those are just my own opinions, and something not everyone will agree with.
Overall, I love Clare Connelly, and I'll continue to love her and her books, as I've enjoyed many of her stories prior to reading this one. Unfortunately, Bound by their Christmas Baby just wasn't for me.
Unfortunately, it was just not for me.
At first I thought that maybe I just wasn't in the mood to read it? But as the story progressed, I found that not only did it lack passion, but that the characters lacked chemistry too - making the intimate scenes really hard to read. Not only that, but I also felt like Gabe was too emotionally manipulative for my taste, and though he did (semi-) redeem himself by the end of this novel, he was overall just too much of an asshole for me to really, actually like him. I liked Abby though - enough to have me rating this book two stars, and even though a part of me is glad we didn't have to read Gabe and Abby's first meeting together, I nevertheless feel like it would've made me enjoy this story more to have seen that initial spark between them, along with the impact of Abby's betrayal against Gabe.
But those are just my own opinions, and something not everyone will agree with.
Overall, I love Clare Connelly, and I'll continue to love her and her books, as I've enjoyed many of her stories prior to reading this one. Unfortunately, Bound by their Christmas Baby just wasn't for me.
April 13, 2021
I loved this one, the heroine is the villain of the story, she tried to steal the secret projects from the hero after having sex with him, to save her father's business. The hero was furious and threw her out. Now, one year later, he meets her again and has her fired from her job, so she finds her without money and surprise surprise, with the 3 months child she had with the hero. So she goes to the hero and tells him he has a son. She tried to tell him about the child but he had her removed from his offices more than once. He proposes marriage to her and they fall in love. This hero was not so bad, it's true he didn't listen to her and he had her bodily removed when she came back to tell him about the baby, but it's understandable since she deceived in a very bad way, seducing him and then trying to steal from him. She was lucky that he didn't call the police, she would have deserved it. He fell for her since the beginning, he didn't have other women since he met her because he wasn't interested, even though she was a con and a thief he couldn't forget her and get over her. He was a good man because he forgave her and he loved her, I think it's the first time the heroine has more than she deserve. It's a sweet love story and I liked it.
August 17, 2022
It wasn't horrible but I wouldn't want to re-read. The hero was a bit hard to like, he was a jerk for majority of the book not just half of the book. I liked the heroine and really wanted her to be treated well and hero just could not be nice for more than a few minutes and would constantly bring up the past. I did like that he was celibate during the year they were seperated. P.
I was thrown by how truly cold he was and how he cut off communication totally and that he got her fired so ruthlessly from her restaurant job. If he wasn't celibate during the year I would not have believed him when he said he loved her from the first (his declaration at the end that he loved her from the first time they were together).
I was thrown by how truly cold he was and how he cut off communication totally and that he got her fired so ruthlessly from her restaurant job. If he wasn't celibate during the year I would not have believed him when he said he loved her from the first (his declaration at the end that he loved her from the first time they were together).
June 6, 2019
This man was an unrelenting asshole. From start to finish he was worthless and unworthy of even the least bit of love from the woman and yet we're expected to believe that she fell in love with him anyway. And since the author specifically mentions the woman reading Jane Austen, I find her 'love' for the man even less understandable since no Austen male love interest was ever even close to as shitty as this dude was.
June 10, 2021
When brooding bachelor Gabe Arantini learns the innocent beauty he shared a steamy festive night with is the daughter of his business rival, he’s furious. The following Christmas, Abby returns with shocking news—she’s had his child! Gabe knows he must marry Abby to legitimize his son. But can this be a marriage in name only, or will their red-hot chemistry take over?
March 23, 2020
2.5 stars
dislike how the H was so hell bent on holding a grudge while he knows she didn't act on it and apologised over and over again. the h has the typical 'betraying body' disease. some scenes just seems incomplete or disappear and it just seems off.. 80% of the book about the H being a big ass hateful jerk. I only like Raf and he's so inconsequential in this story.. gah
dislike how the H was so hell bent on holding a grudge while he knows she didn't act on it and apologised over and over again. the h has the typical 'betraying body' disease. some scenes just seems incomplete or disappear and it just seems off.. 80% of the book about the H being a big ass hateful jerk. I only like Raf and he's so inconsequential in this story.. gah
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