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The Secret That Shocked Cinderella
The innocent has forgotten their passion, but she’s had his baby in this amnesia romance by New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates!
The blazing nights she forgot…
And the billionaire who claimed her…
Waking from a coma, Riot Phillips has no memory of the past year, the brooding man by her bedside claiming to be her fiancé or her baby!
Kravann Valenti has been given a second chance. Riot’s amnesia means a chance to rewrite his whirlwind love affair with the innocent—and get it right this time. But when Riot remembers the truth, Krav must face his darkest fears and show Riot all of him or risk losing her, their passion and their precious daughter…
From Harlequin Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.
The blazing nights she forgot…
And the billionaire who claimed her…
Waking from a coma, Riot Phillips has no memory of the past year, the brooding man by her bedside claiming to be her fiancé or her baby!
Kravann Valenti has been given a second chance. Riot’s amnesia means a chance to rewrite his whirlwind love affair with the innocent—and get it right this time. But when Riot remembers the truth, Krav must face his darkest fears and show Riot all of him or risk losing her, their passion and their precious daughter…
From Harlequin Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published August 23, 2022
21 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Maisey Yates
1,179 books3,023 followersNew York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit. In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book.
Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard.
She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard.
She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 6, 2022
Loved the angst! Unplanned pregnancy, rich billionaire, and amnesia! Loved this hot couple! I especially liked the broken and very dark hero! Yummy 🤤
August 12, 2022
This was meh...1.5 stars 🌟 didn't hate it but didn't love it either.
Probably won't be rereading this again and feel it won't be memorable.
Probably won't be rereading this again and feel it won't be memorable.
August 12, 2022
Too much talk and inconsistencies but a good story!
January 27, 2023
I struggled to end this one and I’m sorry because it wasn’t bad.
We have typical hp ingredients:
- virgin clueless heroine
-tortured cold hero
-insta lust resulting in a pregnancy
- cruel rejection of the hero
- heroine runs away
-hero finds out she’s still pregnant ( he thought she lost the baby)
- hero tries to force her into marriage
Then there’s the amnesia trope. The heroine doesn’t remember the hero at all so he can win her back lying to her and making her believe they were a happy couple. Of course she recovers her memory and it’s shit for the hero.
Ok he was abused as a child because he had a cruel and nasty father so he thinks he will be unable to love, though we understand that he’s been in love with her since basically the beginning.
I did not dislike the book but I dislike his reaction to her pregnancy. After all he didn’t always use protection and this behavior of blaming the woman- always- for the pregnancy is coward and irresponsible. She didn’t trick him and never told him she was on the pill so he should have acted with another level of maturity.
Sadly not this time.
But I appreciated that he was celibate for almost one year even if he let the heroine go, and this is a benign sign for future Hp: eventually writers understood that a man can be without sex for long periods without losing their lil one.
And the prose was quite good and compelling, without inconsistencies.
We have typical hp ingredients:
- virgin clueless heroine
-tortured cold hero
-insta lust resulting in a pregnancy
- cruel rejection of the hero
- heroine runs away
-hero finds out she’s still pregnant ( he thought she lost the baby)
- hero tries to force her into marriage
Then there’s the amnesia trope. The heroine doesn’t remember the hero at all so he can win her back lying to her and making her believe they were a happy couple. Of course she recovers her memory and it’s shit for the hero.
Ok he was abused as a child because he had a cruel and nasty father so he thinks he will be unable to love, though we understand that he’s been in love with her since basically the beginning.
I did not dislike the book but I dislike his reaction to her pregnancy. After all he didn’t always use protection and this behavior of blaming the woman- always- for the pregnancy is coward and irresponsible. She didn’t trick him and never told him she was on the pill so he should have acted with another level of maturity.
Sadly not this time.
But I appreciated that he was celibate for almost one year even if he let the heroine go, and this is a benign sign for future Hp: eventually writers understood that a man can be without sex for long periods without losing their lil one.
And the prose was quite good and compelling, without inconsistencies.
August 3, 2022
This is one of my favorite authors. Plus - I'm a sucker for an amnesia story, so I started this with high hopes. I liked the plot overall. A little too much angst and emotional turmoil. But still, the idea of the plot was fun. Main characters were Krav (M) & Riot (F, American). They meet and engage in a passionate time together, fight/part ways, and then reunite when pregnant Riot is hospitalized in a coma after a car accident.
Unfortunately, the mistakes and inconsistencies kept pulling me out of the story. Some of the smaller things I can overlook. Complement instead of compliment. Missing commas. Talking about how she looked so peaceful "these months" [in a coma], when it was clearly and repeatedly stated she was asleep for ONE month. Mistakes happen.
An error I can't believe made it through any reviewer was the baby crawling off the blanket to the grass. The one-month old baby.
The relationship timeline was bizarrely inconsistent. Some references indicated they'd initially been together for "months"; others explicitly/repeatedly stated a single month.
Krav said at least twice they were together for one month. Much of the book occurs 10 months in: 1 month together + 8 months since he saw her + 1 month coma...the math works. Other times they refer to the "months" together - plural. During their time together, they spent awhile at his house in Cambodia, visited a hotel in Siem Reap, then traveled to England, France, Switzerland, and Italy as "one week turned into another". Also, Riot misses a period and eventually decides to takes a test. Sure sounds like more than one month.
After the fight, Riot flees to England, choosing it as a destination because she always wanted to go there. However that was on the list of countries they supposedly visited.
It's been EIGHT months since Krav has seen Riot (time mentioned twice), arriving at her bedside after the accident that put her in a coma. Riot was pregnant when she left - far enough along to have missed a period and waited a bit before a test. Yet he later tells her they monitored the baby closely after delivery (during the coma) since the baby was early. Seems more like the baby was due or overdue.
By the way, Riot believes she got pregnant their first time - the day they met. So if they were indeed together for multiple months, and it's been 8 months since they parted - whoa - she's REALLY pregnant - like 10+ months! (To be fair, I think she did say it could have been a different time.)
I had planned for a fun read; no intention of scrutinizing for errors. But then I'd trip over yet another time inconsistency.
P.S. I purchased this book from the Harlequin site, which releases books the month before their stated publication date.
Unfortunately, the mistakes and inconsistencies kept pulling me out of the story. Some of the smaller things I can overlook. Complement instead of compliment. Missing commas. Talking about how she looked so peaceful "these months" [in a coma], when it was clearly and repeatedly stated she was asleep for ONE month. Mistakes happen.
An error I can't believe made it through any reviewer was the baby crawling off the blanket to the grass. The one-month old baby.
The relationship timeline was bizarrely inconsistent. Some references indicated they'd initially been together for "months"; others explicitly/repeatedly stated a single month.
Krav said at least twice they were together for one month. Much of the book occurs 10 months in: 1 month together + 8 months since he saw her + 1 month coma...the math works. Other times they refer to the "months" together - plural. During their time together, they spent awhile at his house in Cambodia, visited a hotel in Siem Reap, then traveled to England, France, Switzerland, and Italy as "one week turned into another". Also, Riot misses a period and eventually decides to takes a test. Sure sounds like more than one month.
After the fight, Riot flees to England, choosing it as a destination because she always wanted to go there. However that was on the list of countries they supposedly visited.
It's been EIGHT months since Krav has seen Riot (time mentioned twice), arriving at her bedside after the accident that put her in a coma. Riot was pregnant when she left - far enough along to have missed a period and waited a bit before a test. Yet he later tells her they monitored the baby closely after delivery (during the coma) since the baby was early. Seems more like the baby was due or overdue.
By the way, Riot believes she got pregnant their first time - the day they met. So if they were indeed together for multiple months, and it's been 8 months since they parted - whoa - she's REALLY pregnant - like 10+ months! (To be fair, I think she did say it could have been a different time.)
I had planned for a fun read; no intention of scrutinizing for errors. But then I'd trip over yet another time inconsistency.
P.S. I purchased this book from the Harlequin site, which releases books the month before their stated publication date.
June 18, 2022
Quick Summary: Deep and angst-ridden
My Review: The Secret That Shocked Cinderella by Maisey Yates was a story about two wounded souls - Krav (the tiger) and Riot (the tigress). They were two scarred people who fiercely fell toward their forever love. Their coming together and their ultimate love story was peculiar just as much as it was mystical (in a sense). How they met, how they parted, and how they came to realize the love that they had for one another could be categorized as both deep and angst-ridden.
Things That I Appreciated About This Story:
- I love HQ romances that have amnesia weaved into a character's storyline. This story broached the topic fairly well.
- I loved that character growth could be seen in Krav, particularly as it related to his daughter. That needed to happen.
- I liked the final glimpse into the future.
Things That I Questioned About This Story:
- I must confess that I do not see how the title relates to the story. Even as I imagine the Cinderella fairy tale, I simply cannot see how this story compares. I would love to know.
- I could not understand how Riot could be so irresponsible when it came to her safety. There is much that I could say about this. I will simply say that even in fiction, there should be an element of realism when it comes to safety and well being.
- I did not understand how one trip could change Krav's outlook so quickly.
My Final Say: I have read a number of Maisey Yates books. This romance was different. I would rate it as fairly good.
Rating: 2.5/5
Recommend: +/-
Audience: A
Appreciation is extended to the author and to the publisher of this title. Thank you for granting me access to the digital ARC, in exchange for an honest review. The words I have expressed are my own.
My Review: The Secret That Shocked Cinderella by Maisey Yates was a story about two wounded souls - Krav (the tiger) and Riot (the tigress). They were two scarred people who fiercely fell toward their forever love. Their coming together and their ultimate love story was peculiar just as much as it was mystical (in a sense). How they met, how they parted, and how they came to realize the love that they had for one another could be categorized as both deep and angst-ridden.
Things That I Appreciated About This Story:
- I love HQ romances that have amnesia weaved into a character's storyline. This story broached the topic fairly well.
- I loved that character growth could be seen in Krav, particularly as it related to his daughter. That needed to happen.
- I liked the final glimpse into the future.
Things That I Questioned About This Story:
- I must confess that I do not see how the title relates to the story. Even as I imagine the Cinderella fairy tale, I simply cannot see how this story compares. I would love to know.
- I could not understand how Riot could be so irresponsible when it came to her safety. There is much that I could say about this. I will simply say that even in fiction, there should be an element of realism when it comes to safety and well being.
- I did not understand how one trip could change Krav's outlook so quickly.
My Final Say: I have read a number of Maisey Yates books. This romance was different. I would rate it as fairly good.
Rating: 2.5/5
Recommend: +/-
Audience: A
Appreciation is extended to the author and to the publisher of this title. Thank you for granting me access to the digital ARC, in exchange for an honest review. The words I have expressed are my own.
September 16, 2022
Waking from a coma, Riot Phillips has no memory of the past year, the brooding man by her bedside claiming to be her fiancé or her baby!
Kravann Valenti has been given a second chance. Riot’s amnesia means a chance to rewrite his whirlwind love affair with the innocent—and get it right this time. But when Riot remembers the truth, Krav must face his darkest fears and show Riot all of him or risk losing her, their passion and their precious daughter…
Kravann Valenti has been given a second chance. Riot’s amnesia means a chance to rewrite his whirlwind love affair with the innocent—and get it right this time. But when Riot remembers the truth, Krav must face his darkest fears and show Riot all of him or risk losing her, their passion and their precious daughter…
October 15, 2022
Riot Phillips is in Cambodia with her flaky friends, who abandon her. By chance, she meets billionaire Kravann Valenti, and they embark on an immediate affair. When she reveals she's pregnant, they get into an argument, and she leaves him. Several months later, she is hit by a car and falls into a coma.
When she wakes up, Riot has amnesia. She can't remember Kravann or the fact she has given birth. Kravann takes advantage of this, wanting to right the wrongs of their parting, and tells her that they are in love and about to get married. At first Riot is thrilled with her new life, until they make love again and Kravann's magic penis makes her remembering everything....
The Mills & Boon Modern line (aka Harlequin Presents) is just so...neutered these days. Where there used to be lots of angst, melodrama and borderline abusive heroes - and indeed, I needed to be in the right frame of mind to even read one, nowadays it's just a continual retread of the heroine not wanting to remain in a loveless marriage, and this book is no different. It's just so flat and uninteresting. Also, this is all telling and not showing. It seems all it takes for Riot to fall in love with Kravann - pre and post amnesia - is some hot sex and the fact he buys her nice things and takes her nice places. Their dialogue certainly didn't convince me of their passion!
I was able to grasp Riot's internal dilemma of not wanting to be in a loveless marriage, but I couldn't get my head around Kravann's motivations whatsoever. When Riot regains her memories and wants to leave, he says she must go through with the marriage. But because this line is so neutered now, there's no toxic threats of taking her baby away from her. It basically amounts to, "Just because," or, "Because it suits the plot." Kravann will say to himself that he will dedicate himself to winning Riot back...and then does nothing about it. It culminates in a rather distasteful scene where Riot asks him if he loves her and his response is to push her up against the bar and finger her.
Yuck.
As is too often the case with this line, this spends too much time with the characters musing about their own internal conflicts without actually ever talking to one another, which is usually the best way to convey characters' feelings towards one another. Riot was a likable heroine, but Kravann was an enigma, with decisions that never make sense or get followed through on, and complete with off-putting mommy issues.
When she wakes up, Riot has amnesia. She can't remember Kravann or the fact she has given birth. Kravann takes advantage of this, wanting to right the wrongs of their parting, and tells her that they are in love and about to get married. At first Riot is thrilled with her new life, until they make love again and Kravann's magic penis makes her remembering everything....
The Mills & Boon Modern line (aka Harlequin Presents) is just so...neutered these days. Where there used to be lots of angst, melodrama and borderline abusive heroes - and indeed, I needed to be in the right frame of mind to even read one, nowadays it's just a continual retread of the heroine not wanting to remain in a loveless marriage, and this book is no different. It's just so flat and uninteresting. Also, this is all telling and not showing. It seems all it takes for Riot to fall in love with Kravann - pre and post amnesia - is some hot sex and the fact he buys her nice things and takes her nice places. Their dialogue certainly didn't convince me of their passion!
I was able to grasp Riot's internal dilemma of not wanting to be in a loveless marriage, but I couldn't get my head around Kravann's motivations whatsoever. When Riot regains her memories and wants to leave, he says she must go through with the marriage. But because this line is so neutered now, there's no toxic threats of taking her baby away from her. It basically amounts to, "Just because," or, "Because it suits the plot." Kravann will say to himself that he will dedicate himself to winning Riot back...and then does nothing about it. It culminates in a rather distasteful scene where Riot asks him if he loves her and his response is to push her up against the bar and finger her.
Yuck.
As is too often the case with this line, this spends too much time with the characters musing about their own internal conflicts without actually ever talking to one another, which is usually the best way to convey characters' feelings towards one another. Riot was a likable heroine, but Kravann was an enigma, with decisions that never make sense or get followed through on, and complete with off-putting mommy issues.
October 26, 2022
4.5 stars because I can't avoid the obvious. Keep reading to know what I mean.
The Secret that Shocked Cinderella by Maisey Yates is a game changer; an unexpected pregnancy/amnesia book so great it hurts.
Riot Phillips uses all her savings to go to a once in a lifetime trip to Cambodia with her roommate. She get lost in one of the touristic stops, without any way to connect with her friend. There, she meets Kravann Valenti and, just like that, she starts an affair with him. Then, she founds out she's pregnant with his child. He gets furious and tells her he doesn't want to have kids, so he left her. She decides not to go back to Georgia (she's American, he's Italian) and establishes in a village in the north of England, keeping her baby and making a new life for both. But when she's eight months pregnant, she has an accident that left her in coma for a whole month. When she finally wakes up, she has amnesia, only remembering her life before she went to Cambodia. And there she is, in Rome because she was moved there while she was unconscious, with a "fiancée" and a baby girl—she instinctively knows is hers—she didn't remember!
After their split, Krav always had felt guilty about how things turned out between him and Riot. She was the best thing that had happened to him, after all. When he knows about what happened to Riot, he goes to England to take Riot back to Rome and take care of her and the baby. As soon as he founds out she has amnesia, he sees that as a second chance to start over again with her, lying about their relationship in the process. What will happen when she recovers from her amnesia?
Riot and Krav are very alike. Both have been isolated people desperate to have someone who unconditionally loves them. What makes them different is how they deal with it: Riot, always a cautious woman, seeks love through pink lenses, while Krav doesn't bother to look for love by being detached of all emotions. It's their way to survive the pain, the loneliness, the abandonment and the lack of love they had in their childhoods. When their unexpected encounter in Cambodia happens, they were surprisingly in a vulnerable moment. Krav that day was burying his mother, which was taken from him when his father kidnapped him at the age of five. Riot, on her part, never met her father and has a complicated relationship with her mother, who always saw her as a burden. That encounter in Cambodia exploded in a chemistry and passionate romance we can see throughout all the story. They're intense, hot, sexy. Their fierce attraction and desire in its most basic form.
"Did a lamb return volley when the Tiger pounced?
No. And she knew it.
Only a tigress did that.
Only a tigress would ever stand against something quite so fearsome."
I use to call Ms. Yates "The Queen of Tortured Heroes" and Krav is the perfect example of that: a pure alpha male with a troubled past that nearly destroys him. And for someone as fierce as Krav, you need a heroine like Riot. She's a strong, also fierce, determined woman who defies and challenges her man. A bit shy and idealistic at the beginning, but her evolution throughout the story is evident and fantastic. The "Tiger and Tigress" analogy fits perfectly to them.
I've never been a fan of books who doesn't have physical secondary characters and having the main ones conducting every scene. That said, this is what makes this book spectacular. Especially when the two secondary characters are non-active ones; only you see them by the main characters' mentions. Krav's parents (his father, to be exact) and Riot's mother define their personalities to a point that negatively affects them. But, at the same time, Riot and Krav's parents are the path they have to avoid to heal their broken souls.
The author has a clever writing to create stories full of angst, drama and intensity. But I can't avoid mentioning the obvious thing in this book; the times are VERY inconsistent. As an example, in the story was established at some point that they spent only a month before they split. But a few chapters later, the hero says "Those months with her..." What happened here? I want to think it was an error while editing the book... Not to mention the pace of the plot isn't a balanced one. To be fair with this story, it grows in intensity with each page you read. And its ending—with a beautiful epilogue—is a masterpiece.
Maisey Yates is one of my so-called "fetish authors", and this book is one of the reasons. I LOVED reading Riot and Krav's road to happily ever after. A story that raises the bar to future amnesia books.
• ARC given by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
The Secret that Shocked Cinderella by Maisey Yates is a game changer; an unexpected pregnancy/amnesia book so great it hurts.
Riot Phillips uses all her savings to go to a once in a lifetime trip to Cambodia with her roommate. She get lost in one of the touristic stops, without any way to connect with her friend. There, she meets Kravann Valenti and, just like that, she starts an affair with him. Then, she founds out she's pregnant with his child. He gets furious and tells her he doesn't want to have kids, so he left her. She decides not to go back to Georgia (she's American, he's Italian) and establishes in a village in the north of England, keeping her baby and making a new life for both. But when she's eight months pregnant, she has an accident that left her in coma for a whole month. When she finally wakes up, she has amnesia, only remembering her life before she went to Cambodia. And there she is, in Rome because she was moved there while she was unconscious, with a "fiancée" and a baby girl—she instinctively knows is hers—she didn't remember!
After their split, Krav always had felt guilty about how things turned out between him and Riot. She was the best thing that had happened to him, after all. When he knows about what happened to Riot, he goes to England to take Riot back to Rome and take care of her and the baby. As soon as he founds out she has amnesia, he sees that as a second chance to start over again with her, lying about their relationship in the process. What will happen when she recovers from her amnesia?
Riot and Krav are very alike. Both have been isolated people desperate to have someone who unconditionally loves them. What makes them different is how they deal with it: Riot, always a cautious woman, seeks love through pink lenses, while Krav doesn't bother to look for love by being detached of all emotions. It's their way to survive the pain, the loneliness, the abandonment and the lack of love they had in their childhoods. When their unexpected encounter in Cambodia happens, they were surprisingly in a vulnerable moment. Krav that day was burying his mother, which was taken from him when his father kidnapped him at the age of five. Riot, on her part, never met her father and has a complicated relationship with her mother, who always saw her as a burden. That encounter in Cambodia exploded in a chemistry and passionate romance we can see throughout all the story. They're intense, hot, sexy. Their fierce attraction and desire in its most basic form.
"Did a lamb return volley when the Tiger pounced?
No. And she knew it.
Only a tigress did that.
Only a tigress would ever stand against something quite so fearsome."
I use to call Ms. Yates "The Queen of Tortured Heroes" and Krav is the perfect example of that: a pure alpha male with a troubled past that nearly destroys him. And for someone as fierce as Krav, you need a heroine like Riot. She's a strong, also fierce, determined woman who defies and challenges her man. A bit shy and idealistic at the beginning, but her evolution throughout the story is evident and fantastic. The "Tiger and Tigress" analogy fits perfectly to them.
I've never been a fan of books who doesn't have physical secondary characters and having the main ones conducting every scene. That said, this is what makes this book spectacular. Especially when the two secondary characters are non-active ones; only you see them by the main characters' mentions. Krav's parents (his father, to be exact) and Riot's mother define their personalities to a point that negatively affects them. But, at the same time, Riot and Krav's parents are the path they have to avoid to heal their broken souls.
The author has a clever writing to create stories full of angst, drama and intensity. But I can't avoid mentioning the obvious thing in this book; the times are VERY inconsistent. As an example, in the story was established at some point that they spent only a month before they split. But a few chapters later, the hero says "Those months with her..." What happened here? I want to think it was an error while editing the book... Not to mention the pace of the plot isn't a balanced one. To be fair with this story, it grows in intensity with each page you read. And its ending—with a beautiful epilogue—is a masterpiece.
Maisey Yates is one of my so-called "fetish authors", and this book is one of the reasons. I LOVED reading Riot and Krav's road to happily ever after. A story that raises the bar to future amnesia books.
• ARC given by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
September 3, 2023
3 stars
Tropes: ONS to mistress, accidental pregnancy, second chance, amnesia
Ending: HEA with more kids
Triggers: child abuse (H’s dad towards him), death of parents, almost miscarriage
Spice: 🌶️/5
Angst:🔥🔥/5
OM/OW drama: none
Celibate while separated: yes (the H has been celibate for a year before he met h), h was a virgin before she met the H
This supposed to be angsty but I couldn’t really connect with it. The emotion was lacking (mine) and idk why. The oush and pull was a tad too much for me and it got to the point where I was annoyed by it.
The ending kinda dragged a bit. The way the H keep denying his love towards the h while she kept demanding him to love him. She came out too desperate.
But I read it till the end so it must’ve meant something. Not a bad book by all means.
Tropes: ONS to mistress, accidental pregnancy, second chance, amnesia
Ending: HEA with more kids
Triggers: child abuse (H’s dad towards him), death of parents, almost miscarriage
Spice: 🌶️/5
Angst:🔥🔥/5
OM/OW drama: none
Celibate while separated: yes (the H has been celibate for a year before he met h), h was a virgin before she met the H
This supposed to be angsty but I couldn’t really connect with it. The emotion was lacking (mine) and idk why. The oush and pull was a tad too much for me and it got to the point where I was annoyed by it.
The ending kinda dragged a bit. The way the H keep denying his love towards the h while she kept demanding him to love him. She came out too desperate.
But I read it till the end so it must’ve meant something. Not a bad book by all means.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2022
A lackluster hp that bordered a bit on boring. Riot and Kravann have a passionate affair. When she tells him she is pregnant, he is enraged. Riot runs away, falls and thinks that she has miscarried. Months later, Riot get into an accident, still pregnant and wakes up a month later, with a newborn, amnesia and Kravann. He wants Riot but his past abuse at the hands of his father make him believe that he cannot be a good husband or father. The problem that I had was that he was so unemotional and his feelings towards his baby and Riot were so distant. The interactions that they had were so cold that I was left feeling a bit bored.
August 8, 2022
I haven’t even finished reading this book yet but the errors and inconsistencies are irritating me. Inconsistencies like:
How can a 1 month old baby crawl?
The H said they were only together for one month, but then month(s) together is mentioned.
If he kept his people watching her while she gone, nobody thought to mention to him that she was pregnant.
I couldn’t even finish that silliness! Waste of my time! 😡
How can a 1 month old baby crawl?
The H said they were only together for one month, but then month(s) together is mentioned.
If he kept his people watching her while she gone, nobody thought to mention to him that she was pregnant.
I couldn’t even finish that silliness! Waste of my time! 😡
September 24, 2022
Our heroine Riot (wacky name, boring personality) lives in a small town in Georgia and works as a waitress. Her free-spirited roommate invites her to go to Cambodia and explore some ruins along with her wacky (read: unreliable) friends. They go to Angkor-Wat (which I thought was in Malaysia) to have spiritual experiences (consequently, my favorite movie “In the Mood for Love” features Angkor-Wat, which is how I know it's in Malaysia) and so-called friends ditch her while she's out exploring around.
Of course it rains, so she seeks refuge in a temple and there just happens to be a ridiculously hot Cambodian dude there named Krav. The first time she sees this man, she's thinking “tiger” which means predator who could eat her. He offers to take her to his tree house in the forest and she’s like, “Yep, sign me up.” Girl, this guy could have been a white slaver. You crazy.
Anyway, he takes her to his tree house which turns out to be mansion and he says “let's get you out of these wet clothes.” Afterwards, they sit down together and have tea. He tells her his mom died and she sympathizes. Then they get their sexin’ on the double. Yeah, it happened real quick.
Would I go with a gorgeous stranger in a foreign country back to his house and immediately get it on with him? Ah, shit, probably. I have the brains of a Harlequin Presents heroine.
The sex is fabulous, of course, so Riot decides she's going to have her own vacation and stays with him. He’s wildly rich, so he takes her all over Europe, bumpin and grindin the whole time.
Riot knows it can't possibly last forever, but she still falls in love with the guy even though he indicates he's not really into relationships. Lo and behold, she gets pregnant and he overreacts, so she runs into the rain and trips over a rock and hurts herself. They both think she had a miscarriage, so she leaves him and goes to live somewhere else without him following her.
But as it turns out, she’s still pregnant and now she lives in Northern England as a cartoon American until one day, she gets run over by car (truck-kun!) and has to go to hospital. Meanwhile, Krav has been stalking her all this time and goes to pick her up while she's in a coma.
Amnesia alert! Riot is in a coma for a month, during which she has the baby. When she wakes up, she's been living in a villa in Italy and she's got a baby. The problem is, she can only remember up to the point before she meets Krav, so she doesn’t know who he is.
The secret that shocked Cinderella? Krav is half-Italian!
Krav takes advantage of Riot’s amnesia and tells her they're about to get married even though Riot actually hates him. He implies they’re in love and takes her to nice places and proposes to her in front of the Eiffel Tower under fireworks. The scumbag!
Krav’s issue is he thinks he's dead inside because of the way his father raised him. He is the result of his father’s affair with a Cambodian woman and is ripped from her arms when the father needed an heir. His dad raises him to be tough and self-reliant, without the benefit of love. In short, Krav thinks love is for idiots and he'll never ever fall in love.
Until he meets Riot and becomes obsessed with her.
After having sex one rainy night, Riot suddenly remembers everything. The secret that shocked Cinderella? Krav isn’t in love with her and basically rewrote the story of their relationship. He removes all the parts where he acts like a total dirtbag. So of course, Riot gets mad at him because she had purposely left him and lived in Northern England for several months so he wouldn’t find her.
What is love? Baby, don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me no more.
Krav is one of those heroes who think building a relationship with a woman is a waste of time because he has to build up his business and think of nothing else. He was torn away from his mom's arms by his father and raised without love. Therefore he’s a hard, unyielding man.
Do I buy it? Sure, he never had a role model on how to be a decent human being, so he acts like a jerk all the time.
There's this part of the book where he touches his daughter for the first time (he's been avoiding her) and she squeezes his finger in her tiny fist and I was like awww.
Riot is a serviceable heroine, feistier than your average HP lady, though the first half of the book, she was a bit more passive and just allowed things to happen to her. In the latter part of the book, she takes charge of the situation and goes after what she wants.
I enjoyed most of this book. I liked the lush description of the jungle in the beginning. Hero is appropriately angsty-brooding. This one is going on the “meh” pile because ultimately, I wasn’t riveted enough to finish the book in one sitting. That's my definition of an exciting book.
Of course it rains, so she seeks refuge in a temple and there just happens to be a ridiculously hot Cambodian dude there named Krav. The first time she sees this man, she's thinking “tiger” which means predator who could eat her. He offers to take her to his tree house in the forest and she’s like, “Yep, sign me up.” Girl, this guy could have been a white slaver. You crazy.
Anyway, he takes her to his tree house which turns out to be mansion and he says “let's get you out of these wet clothes.” Afterwards, they sit down together and have tea. He tells her his mom died and she sympathizes. Then they get their sexin’ on the double. Yeah, it happened real quick.
Would I go with a gorgeous stranger in a foreign country back to his house and immediately get it on with him? Ah, shit, probably. I have the brains of a Harlequin Presents heroine.
The sex is fabulous, of course, so Riot decides she's going to have her own vacation and stays with him. He’s wildly rich, so he takes her all over Europe, bumpin and grindin the whole time.
Riot knows it can't possibly last forever, but she still falls in love with the guy even though he indicates he's not really into relationships. Lo and behold, she gets pregnant and he overreacts, so she runs into the rain and trips over a rock and hurts herself. They both think she had a miscarriage, so she leaves him and goes to live somewhere else without him following her.
But as it turns out, she’s still pregnant and now she lives in Northern England as a cartoon American until one day, she gets run over by car (truck-kun!) and has to go to hospital. Meanwhile, Krav has been stalking her all this time and goes to pick her up while she's in a coma.
Amnesia alert! Riot is in a coma for a month, during which she has the baby. When she wakes up, she's been living in a villa in Italy and she's got a baby. The problem is, she can only remember up to the point before she meets Krav, so she doesn’t know who he is.
The secret that shocked Cinderella? Krav is half-Italian!
Krav takes advantage of Riot’s amnesia and tells her they're about to get married even though Riot actually hates him. He implies they’re in love and takes her to nice places and proposes to her in front of the Eiffel Tower under fireworks. The scumbag!
Krav’s issue is he thinks he's dead inside because of the way his father raised him. He is the result of his father’s affair with a Cambodian woman and is ripped from her arms when the father needed an heir. His dad raises him to be tough and self-reliant, without the benefit of love. In short, Krav thinks love is for idiots and he'll never ever fall in love.
Until he meets Riot and becomes obsessed with her.
After having sex one rainy night, Riot suddenly remembers everything. The secret that shocked Cinderella? Krav isn’t in love with her and basically rewrote the story of their relationship. He removes all the parts where he acts like a total dirtbag. So of course, Riot gets mad at him because she had purposely left him and lived in Northern England for several months so he wouldn’t find her.
What is love? Baby, don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me no more.
Krav is one of those heroes who think building a relationship with a woman is a waste of time because he has to build up his business and think of nothing else. He was torn away from his mom's arms by his father and raised without love. Therefore he’s a hard, unyielding man.
Do I buy it? Sure, he never had a role model on how to be a decent human being, so he acts like a jerk all the time.
There's this part of the book where he touches his daughter for the first time (he's been avoiding her) and she squeezes his finger in her tiny fist and I was like awww.
Riot is a serviceable heroine, feistier than your average HP lady, though the first half of the book, she was a bit more passive and just allowed things to happen to her. In the latter part of the book, she takes charge of the situation and goes after what she wants.
I enjoyed most of this book. I liked the lush description of the jungle in the beginning. Hero is appropriately angsty-brooding. This one is going on the “meh” pile because ultimately, I wasn’t riveted enough to finish the book in one sitting. That's my definition of an exciting book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2022
Wow! I certainly wasn't expecting this much angst (or sex) in a Harlequin Presents novel, but Maisey Yates, one of my favorite authors, never seems to go halfway, and she certainly didn't do so in this novel, which I read in one sitting until 5:00 a.m. Having stated that, I must admit that I didn't think the title fit this story of two damaged people from very different backgrounds at all-- Riot was no Cinderella, and Krav was certainly no Prince Charming--and how did she come up with those names? Additionally there were more than a few hiccups in the timeline, which is one of the main reasons for my 4-, rather than 5-star rating.
Riot Phillips was the unwanted child of a neglectful, self-absorbed mother, and never really knew her father. She's 22 years old, and when her roommate, Jaia, suggests joining some of her high school friends on a trip to Cambodia, and she agrees to use all her savings to join the group, who are wildly disorganized. While touring Angkor Wat, she's caught in a monsoon, drenched, her friends abandon her there, and although she believes she's there alone, suddenly a man appears--a gorgeous man, and she follows him to his magnificent house in the treetops, learns only his first name, and spends that night and every other night having wild, passionate sex with him (she was a virgin and had never been on a date or even kissed a man before meeting Krav).
It's here that the timeline gets confusing, because after a week or so, they start touring Europe together, spending time in England, France, Switzerland and on the Amalfi coast, spending much of that time in bed. The timeline suggests the affair has gone on for a month, but it seemed longer, until Riot realizes she's missed her period, buys a test kit and discovers she's pregnant. Krav's reaction to the news is pure rage, and he's as cold as an Arctic winter. Riot runs into the street in tears, falls, starts to bleed, and believes she's miscarried. She can't get away from Krav fast enough, but she eventually ends up in a small English village, finds a job, and prepares to have her baby alone, until she's hit by a car one morning.
When she wakes up from her coma, one month later, she has no idea where she is or what happened to her, and she has no memory of Krav at all, or the past 10 months of her life. But as soon as she hears a baby cry, she runs to find it and discovers her one-month old daughter, although she doesn't remember being pregnant either, she simply knows the baby girl is hers. It's Krav's chance to start over with her, and he chooses to lie to her about everything, telling her that they are engaged and had a whirlwind romance--and that he can't wait to marry her. She doesn't seem to notice that Krav never touches their baby, who, surprisingly can crawl at one month old. Riot falls in love with Krav all over again, but as romance readers, we know that lies soon get discovered, and lost memories don't stay lost forever.
Although the math/timeline in this novel didn't add up, the story of how these two emotionally damaged and neglected people did, and in Krav's case, here's your trigger warning for past child abuse and kidnapping. It was Riot, who always saw herself as unremarkable, who was the standout in this novel--her emotional growth and determination to try to understand and repair the damage Krav suffered at his father's hands, that made her character and this story work for this reader. Although it was somewhat confusing, and the plot as hard to believe as the Cinderella reference in the title, I still found this novel to be a gripping, angst-filled, and emotion-charged read, and I'm happy to recommend it.
I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.
Riot Phillips was the unwanted child of a neglectful, self-absorbed mother, and never really knew her father. She's 22 years old, and when her roommate, Jaia, suggests joining some of her high school friends on a trip to Cambodia, and she agrees to use all her savings to join the group, who are wildly disorganized. While touring Angkor Wat, she's caught in a monsoon, drenched, her friends abandon her there, and although she believes she's there alone, suddenly a man appears--a gorgeous man, and she follows him to his magnificent house in the treetops, learns only his first name, and spends that night and every other night having wild, passionate sex with him (she was a virgin and had never been on a date or even kissed a man before meeting Krav).
It's here that the timeline gets confusing, because after a week or so, they start touring Europe together, spending time in England, France, Switzerland and on the Amalfi coast, spending much of that time in bed. The timeline suggests the affair has gone on for a month, but it seemed longer, until Riot realizes she's missed her period, buys a test kit and discovers she's pregnant. Krav's reaction to the news is pure rage, and he's as cold as an Arctic winter. Riot runs into the street in tears, falls, starts to bleed, and believes she's miscarried. She can't get away from Krav fast enough, but she eventually ends up in a small English village, finds a job, and prepares to have her baby alone, until she's hit by a car one morning.
When she wakes up from her coma, one month later, she has no idea where she is or what happened to her, and she has no memory of Krav at all, or the past 10 months of her life. But as soon as she hears a baby cry, she runs to find it and discovers her one-month old daughter, although she doesn't remember being pregnant either, she simply knows the baby girl is hers. It's Krav's chance to start over with her, and he chooses to lie to her about everything, telling her that they are engaged and had a whirlwind romance--and that he can't wait to marry her. She doesn't seem to notice that Krav never touches their baby, who, surprisingly can crawl at one month old. Riot falls in love with Krav all over again, but as romance readers, we know that lies soon get discovered, and lost memories don't stay lost forever.
Although the math/timeline in this novel didn't add up, the story of how these two emotionally damaged and neglected people did, and in Krav's case, here's your trigger warning for past child abuse and kidnapping. It was Riot, who always saw herself as unremarkable, who was the standout in this novel--her emotional growth and determination to try to understand and repair the damage Krav suffered at his father's hands, that made her character and this story work for this reader. Although it was somewhat confusing, and the plot as hard to believe as the Cinderella reference in the title, I still found this novel to be a gripping, angst-filled, and emotion-charged read, and I'm happy to recommend it.
I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.
September 1, 2022
3.5 stars.
This story followed Riot and Krav through their whirlwind affair, lots of Krav's awful mistakes, pregnancy, and Riot coming down with amnesia that caused her to forget all about their relationship. So yeah, this was definitely dramatic. That drama kept me hooked, even when Krav was ruining things with lies, pushing Riot away, and just generally being a jerk. He had lots of issues due to being ripped away from his mother by his monster of a father, who physically abused him. To get through that, Krav learned to distance himself from feeling, so when he met Riot, he pushed her away emotionally. As for Riot, she had her own issues with her mother, but she still kept putting herself out there. She was the strong one out of the two of them, and I don't think Krav would've ever come to his senses without her pushing him to be better. I liked this overall, though I thought Krav suddenly realizing all of his feelings near the end was rushed. Still, this was a short, quick read. If you're up for some angst and a bit of a messy couple, give this a shot.
This story followed Riot and Krav through their whirlwind affair, lots of Krav's awful mistakes, pregnancy, and Riot coming down with amnesia that caused her to forget all about their relationship. So yeah, this was definitely dramatic. That drama kept me hooked, even when Krav was ruining things with lies, pushing Riot away, and just generally being a jerk. He had lots of issues due to being ripped away from his mother by his monster of a father, who physically abused him. To get through that, Krav learned to distance himself from feeling, so when he met Riot, he pushed her away emotionally. As for Riot, she had her own issues with her mother, but she still kept putting herself out there. She was the strong one out of the two of them, and I don't think Krav would've ever come to his senses without her pushing him to be better. I liked this overall, though I thought Krav suddenly realizing all of his feelings near the end was rushed. Still, this was a short, quick read. If you're up for some angst and a bit of a messy couple, give this a shot.
August 13, 2022
Shocking, yes, but probably not the way the author intended.
Maisey Yates has long been one of my favorite authors, one whose books always have excellent writing, plenty of steam, and strong female characters. All that is here in this one, but what kept me from loving it is the fact that the MMC is horribly abusive to the FMC, and instead of a redemption arc we're given a sympathetic background where he encourages the FMC to excuse all of his abuse without him ever having to admit he was wrong or even come close to apologizing.
It's like as soon as she understands what his parents did to him, everything he did to her - actual felonies in addition to the emotional abuse - is all just one big misunderstanding and he never really meant any harm. I needed groveling, remorse, or recriminations of some sort. I was sorely disappointed. It's an HEA if you believe Stockholm Syndrome is a solid foundation for romance.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Maisey Yates has long been one of my favorite authors, one whose books always have excellent writing, plenty of steam, and strong female characters. All that is here in this one, but what kept me from loving it is the fact that the MMC is horribly abusive to the FMC, and instead of a redemption arc we're given a sympathetic background where he encourages the FMC to excuse all of his abuse without him ever having to admit he was wrong or even come close to apologizing.
It's like as soon as she understands what his parents did to him, everything he did to her - actual felonies in addition to the emotional abuse - is all just one big misunderstanding and he never really meant any harm. I needed groveling, remorse, or recriminations of some sort. I was sorely disappointed. It's an HEA if you believe Stockholm Syndrome is a solid foundation for romance.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
August 24, 2022
Amnesia.
I was excited to see how amnesia would work in this book.
First off, Riiot is a complete innocent, which was fairly unbelievable. She didn't know Krav's last name (its Valenti) even though they were together traveling for a month. Passports, airports, and such. So in that month, he never told her his full name (she didn't ask) They just travelled and bonked (its fiction). Riot gets pregnant and Krav kicks her to the curb as she's bleeding, thinking she lost their baby. This happened when she told him she was pregnant. For someone who is supposed to be so experienced )Krav) he did zero to prevent a pregnancy. Then, he tricks her into thinking they are to marry when she has amnesia, has been unconcious for a month and had a baby, who Krav named. He's all over the place! I did not care for Krav. He was so damged from his father, but did not redeem himself or make amends to Riot.
I was excited to see how amnesia would work in this book.
First off, Riiot is a complete innocent, which was fairly unbelievable. She didn't know Krav's last name (its Valenti) even though they were together traveling for a month. Passports, airports, and such. So in that month, he never told her his full name (she didn't ask) They just travelled and bonked (its fiction). Riot gets pregnant and Krav kicks her to the curb as she's bleeding, thinking she lost their baby. This happened when she told him she was pregnant. For someone who is supposed to be so experienced )Krav) he did zero to prevent a pregnancy. Then, he tricks her into thinking they are to marry when she has amnesia, has been unconcious for a month and had a baby, who Krav named. He's all over the place! I did not care for Krav. He was so damged from his father, but did not redeem himself or make amends to Riot.
June 15, 2022
Quick read and a delightful story. Unplanned pregnancy, rich billionaire, and amnesia… the blurb just sets the stage for a fascinating story!
What did I like? Krav and Riot meet in a setting that feels like kismet. After a whirlwind trip, Riot has her eyes opened after an unplanned pregnancy. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in this fun HEA!
Would I recommend or buy? This story had a bit of angst to it but it was an easy book to devour. If your in for a fun but quick read then this is definitely for you. I’d buy a copy for my collection!
I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left this opinion!
What did I like? Krav and Riot meet in a setting that feels like kismet. After a whirlwind trip, Riot has her eyes opened after an unplanned pregnancy. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in this fun HEA!
Would I recommend or buy? This story had a bit of angst to it but it was an easy book to devour. If your in for a fun but quick read then this is definitely for you. I’d buy a copy for my collection!
I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left this opinion!
August 20, 2022
*scroll to the bottom for content warnings*
Trope: sort-of-secret baby, amnesia
General review: I really enjoyed this one. It's been a while since I've read an amnesia story but I always appreciate them in a Harlequin- it's not long and dragged out and you get the HEA. The H's actions and trauma was plausible and I loved how strong the h was- she was not going to let H treat her poorly. Loved seeing her find her inner tigress!
Angst style: refusal to admit feelings
POV: 3rd, both H & h
Relationship stage reached: married
Epilogue? Yes, 11 years later
Content warnings: possible miscarriage, child abuse, child taken from mother
I received an ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.
Trope: sort-of-secret baby, amnesia
General review: I really enjoyed this one. It's been a while since I've read an amnesia story but I always appreciate them in a Harlequin- it's not long and dragged out and you get the HEA. The H's actions and trauma was plausible and I loved how strong the h was- she was not going to let H treat her poorly. Loved seeing her find her inner tigress!
Angst style: refusal to admit feelings
POV: 3rd, both H & h
Relationship stage reached: married
Epilogue? Yes, 11 years later
Content warnings: possible miscarriage, child abuse, child taken from mother
I received an ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.
August 31, 2022
Riot and Krav have a whirlwind romance. When he mistakenly believes she’s a gold digger, he breaks it off. Eight months later, he learns she’s been in an accident—and has given birth to his daughter! She has no memory of their time together. Is this his chance to make up for his hasty actions so they can become a family?
This is a steamy insta-love story about two damaged people coming together and leaning to heal.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
This is a steamy insta-love story about two damaged people coming together and leaning to heal.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
September 18, 2022
It was ok but the flowery descriptions of feelings was a bit too much for me with this length of a book. How hero reacted when he was told heroine was pregnant was pretty bad but I totally get it after learning about his childhood. I liked that he was celibate during the separation and had regrets of how he reacted. P.
* Also Krav in his thoughts recalled his father coming to get him because his son died but then he tells heroine that his father never had any other children. Was is it a lie or did Author just forget?
* Also Krav in his thoughts recalled his father coming to get him because his son died but then he tells heroine that his father never had any other children. Was is it a lie or did Author just forget?
August 6, 2022
What an incredible story of Riot meeting Krav, having a passionate affair and then being separated by Krav's stubbornness. After a while Riot is involved in an accident and Krav sweeps in to look after her. Riot had amnesia and was unable to remember Krav, but she was brave and full of love for him so she fought for their second chance.
September 14, 2022
To be fair I am a huge Maisey Yates fan. This book did not disappoint. I love a good Cinderella story! Yates characters in this quick read were just what you would want: a man tortured by his past and a strong female to love him. As always love her story telling!!
September 4, 2022
An ok story, way to good to be true.
October 1, 2022
Had a few plot holes and Krav was a dick
October 28, 2022
This is the 1st book I read by Maisey Yates. I'm sorry I stopped reading this story 📖 at chapter 2 because it didn't grab my interest.
January 26, 2023
could have been better
Too many mistakes! One month old baby crawling around the blanket into the grass. Happened throughout the book. Too unbelievable!
Too many mistakes! One month old baby crawling around the blanket into the grass. Happened throughout the book. Too unbelievable!
April 1, 2023
Vergeten geluk~NL versie
May 26, 2023
This writer is one of those I like but I didn’t enjoy this book. Took me forever to read it. Not great
November 24, 2023
...not as shocking as the 1 month baby crawling in this book🚶🏿♀️
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