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Rich, Ruthless & Greek #2
Pacto seductor
La proposición del playboy era demasiado tentadora como para ignorarla… Constantine Skalas podía parecer holgazán y arrogante, pero ocultaba una afilada sed de venganza contra la familia Payne. ¿La clave? Su antigua hermanastra, Molly, un patito feo trasformado en una maravillosa supermodelo. Constantine le ofrecerá una proposición absolutamente escandalosa… Molly conocía el peligro de entrar en la guarida de un hombre poderoso, pero solo un pacto con el diablo podría salvar a su querida madre de la bancarrota. Constantine siempre había sido pecaminosamente seductor y, tras atarse mediante el pacto, Molly ardía por él. Ya no habrá vuelta atrás… El mejor regalo para San Valentín, una novela de amor de Harlequin
147 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2022
128 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Caitlin Crews
1,098 books595 followersCaitlin Crews discovered her first romance novel at the age of twelve, in a bargain bin at the local five and dime. It involved swashbuckling pirates, grand adventures, a heroine with rustling skirts and a mind of her own, and a seriously mouthwatering and masterful hero. The book (the title of which remains lost in the mists of time) made a serious impression. Caitlin was immediately smitten with romances and romance heroes, to the detriment of her middle school social life. And so began her life-long love affair with romance novels, many of which she insists on keeping near her at all times, thus creating a fire hazard of love wherever she lives.
Caitlin has made her home in places as far-flung as York, England and Atlanta, Georgia. She was raised near New York City, and fell in love with London on her first visit when she was a teenager. She has backpacked in Zimbabwe, been on safari in Botswana, and visited tiny villages in Namibia. She has, while visiting the place in question, declared her intention to live in Prague, Dublin, Paris, Athens, Nice, the Greek Islands, Rome, Venice, and/or any of the Hawaiian islands. Writing about exotic places seems like the next best thing to actually moving there.
She currently lives in Oregon with her animator/comic book artist husband and their menagerie of ridiculous animals.
Caitlin has made her home in places as far-flung as York, England and Atlanta, Georgia. She was raised near New York City, and fell in love with London on her first visit when she was a teenager. She has backpacked in Zimbabwe, been on safari in Botswana, and visited tiny villages in Namibia. She has, while visiting the place in question, declared her intention to live in Prague, Dublin, Paris, Athens, Nice, the Greek Islands, Rome, Venice, and/or any of the Hawaiian islands. Writing about exotic places seems like the next best thing to actually moving there.
She currently lives in Oregon with her animator/comic book artist husband and their menagerie of ridiculous animals.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
April 3, 2021
3.5 stars.
Revenge is in the spotlight, once again, in Caitlin Crews' new novel and it's built upon 2 other popular tropes: The Stepbrother and Enemies to Lovers romance.
This is the second installment in the Skalas Brothers' duet, that began last month with The Secret That Can't Be Hidden.
Constantine is Balthazar's younger brother and much like the H from The Secret That Can't Be Hidden, he's determined to seek vengeance for the wrongs done to his mom.
In his case, he's out for revenge against Isabel, the woman he believes had stolen his mom's rightful place in the Skalas household. The instrument of his revenge, is Isabel's daughter, Molly ( aka the heroine ).
Constantine reminds me ( his persona and not his physical appearance ) of Chuck Bass - the character played by Ed Westwick, in Gossip Girl. They're both surly, brooding, rich, hedonistic anti-heroes, who hide their great Man-Pain™️ with fickle and deceptively lazy smiles.
This is the H, Constantine:
He's older and less sartorially elegant than Chuck Bass but he's equally skilled at doling out his mocking one liners to folks who frequently misunderstand and underestimate him.
Unlike his brother Balthazar, who was more openly cold, ruthless and rigid, Constantine deliberately adopts the camouflage of a light hearted ne'er do well; a jet setting libertine who is always casually rumpled and appears not to care much about anything except the narcissistic pursuit of life's shallow pleasures.
He's used this persona to his advantage, against his business rivals and he unleashes it on the hitherto unsuspecting heroine, at the start of the story.
This is the heroine, Molly:
At the start of the story, we're told that it's the final phase in Constantine's decade long vengeance scheme against the heroine and her mother. He's managed to drive Isabel to the edge of bankruptcy and intends to leverage her daughter's private and public humiliation, as the price for recompense.
I'd thought that Balthazar, his brother, had been outrageously shocking when he'd demanded that his heroine strip off her clothing in his office. But Constantine's ploys and mindgames are even more twisted.
Revenge hadn't been a game to Balthazar, but a necessity - a burden or task that must be completed, had it been a business deal. Balthazar was the bull in a china shop, searching for the fastest route to the exit. Constantine, however, was the rattlesnake, lurking in the grass and savouring the fear he knows he instills in his prey.
It's too involved for me to outline, in detail, but the revenge plot had begun 10 years before, right after the MC's became step-siblings. Unlike Balthazar, who wore his hostility like a bespoke suit, Constantine's antagonism was shielded by his fake friendliness towards the heroine and his new stepmother.
Phase 1 of his vengeance scheme focused on the public humiliation of his new stepmother and so he'd befriended the shy and awkward teen heroine, in order to milk as much private information as possible, about her mother's past.
This scheme is something that might've come from the devious mind of Gossip Girl's Chuck Bass and that's why Constantine reminded me so much of him.
The then 20 year old Constantine had weaponized this personal information against his stepmother, by giving it, for free to all the sleazy tabloids, who then published scandalous, suggestive headlines about the new Mrs. Skalas' former life as a housekeeper and the fact that she refused to identify the man who'd fathered her only child ( the heroine ).
And when he meets the heroine again, after 10 long years of hostile estrangement, he knows she'll do whatever needs to be done to save her mother from bankruptcy. He doesn't even soften the blow, when he blandly outlines the most ruthless and humiliating part of the agreement.
That's when she finally realized the most important truth:
Constantine is so OTT with his demands and conditions, that I started to wonder what kinda crazy shit he'd been smoking...
But Molly's not a simpering, scared weakling. She gives as good as she gets and never lets him see how much she's unnerved by his strange requests. She's a world famous supermodel who's been around some of the most catty and vicious individuals. Moreover, she's not scared or bashful and Constantine's surprised when she laughs in his face and turns on the heat, by flaunting herself in the most nonchalant manner.
The shoe's now on the other foot, because he's the one who has to deal with his rapidly accelerating lust.
I won't spoil the rest of it, except to say that Constantine's world view is shattered after he realizes that Isabel isn't and had never been the enemy. He'd needed her to be the big, bad stepmother because to believe otherwise, would've been the ultimate betrayal of the mother he adored - the mother who was permanently comatose and stuck in an institution.
His most eye opening moment was when he discovered that Isabel had been regularly visiting his mom, in the hospital, over the last decade. And, unlike the case in The Secret That Can't Be Hidden, there's no need for a villain's comeuppance because it turns out that, ironically, the only villain in this scenario, is Constantine himself.
His acknowledgement of this fact, is perhaps the single most humbling experience in his life:
And Isabel, like the gracious lady she is, didn't make him grovel but actually urged him to reconcile with her daughter, so that he too, could get his HEA.
He grovels quite a lot, when he goes to see Molly and she doesn't let him off easily. In fact, she insists cockily, that he repays her by doing exactly what he'd made her do: strip off and do whatever the other person orders.
It's a task that the besotted H is more than happy to do...
This isn't as intense as The Secret That Can't Be Hidden and Constantine did come off a bit whiny and emo, at times. In fact, at times, I'd swear that he's actually a Beta pretending to be an alpha, whereas his brother Balthazar IS the alpha. There's no arguing about that. And, after finishing this duet, I can categorically state, without a doubt that I think Balthazar is sexier.
But I quite enjoyed this. It's not the conventional type of HPlandia excursion and Constantine is more of an anti-hero for 80% of the story. In fact I'm sure there are readers who will loathe him because he strays very far from the arc of a cookie cutter HPlandia H. But I'm in it for the angsty excitement and OTT entertainment and I enjoy experiencing the process via which a thoroughly unlikable H eventually earns my sympathy.
Caitlin Crews solidifies the latter point by writing a fabulous epilogue, set 10 years in the future, that allows me to see that the new and improved Constantine ( the domesticated faithful husband and father of 4 ), is here to stay.
Safety: No OM, no OW and both MC's are celibate during their few months' separation. This is not a second chance romance because the heroine had been only 16 years old when they were step-siblings and they hadn't had any hint of a romantic attachment then.
Revenge is in the spotlight, once again, in Caitlin Crews' new novel and it's built upon 2 other popular tropes: The Stepbrother and Enemies to Lovers romance.
This is the second installment in the Skalas Brothers' duet, that began last month with The Secret That Can't Be Hidden.
Constantine is Balthazar's younger brother and much like the H from The Secret That Can't Be Hidden, he's determined to seek vengeance for the wrongs done to his mom.
In his case, he's out for revenge against Isabel, the woman he believes had stolen his mom's rightful place in the Skalas household. The instrument of his revenge, is Isabel's daughter, Molly ( aka the heroine ).
Constantine reminds me ( his persona and not his physical appearance ) of Chuck Bass - the character played by Ed Westwick, in Gossip Girl. They're both surly, brooding, rich, hedonistic anti-heroes, who hide their great Man-Pain™️ with fickle and deceptively lazy smiles.
This is the H, Constantine:
He's older and less sartorially elegant than Chuck Bass but he's equally skilled at doling out his mocking one liners to folks who frequently misunderstand and underestimate him.
Unlike his brother Balthazar, who was more openly cold, ruthless and rigid, Constantine deliberately adopts the camouflage of a light hearted ne'er do well; a jet setting libertine who is always casually rumpled and appears not to care much about anything except the narcissistic pursuit of life's shallow pleasures.
He's used this persona to his advantage, against his business rivals and he unleashes it on the hitherto unsuspecting heroine, at the start of the story.
This is the heroine, Molly:
At the start of the story, we're told that it's the final phase in Constantine's decade long vengeance scheme against the heroine and her mother. He's managed to drive Isabel to the edge of bankruptcy and intends to leverage her daughter's private and public humiliation, as the price for recompense.
I'd thought that Balthazar, his brother, had been outrageously shocking when he'd demanded that his heroine strip off her clothing in his office. But Constantine's ploys and mindgames are even more twisted.
Revenge hadn't been a game to Balthazar, but a necessity - a burden or task that must be completed, had it been a business deal. Balthazar was the bull in a china shop, searching for the fastest route to the exit. Constantine, however, was the rattlesnake, lurking in the grass and savouring the fear he knows he instills in his prey.
It's too involved for me to outline, in detail, but the revenge plot had begun 10 years before, right after the MC's became step-siblings. Unlike Balthazar, who wore his hostility like a bespoke suit, Constantine's antagonism was shielded by his fake friendliness towards the heroine and his new stepmother.
Phase 1 of his vengeance scheme focused on the public humiliation of his new stepmother and so he'd befriended the shy and awkward teen heroine, in order to milk as much private information as possible, about her mother's past.
This scheme is something that might've come from the devious mind of Gossip Girl's Chuck Bass and that's why Constantine reminded me so much of him.
The then 20 year old Constantine had weaponized this personal information against his stepmother, by giving it, for free to all the sleazy tabloids, who then published scandalous, suggestive headlines about the new Mrs. Skalas' former life as a housekeeper and the fact that she refused to identify the man who'd fathered her only child ( the heroine ).
And when he meets the heroine again, after 10 long years of hostile estrangement, he knows she'll do whatever needs to be done to save her mother from bankruptcy. He doesn't even soften the blow, when he blandly outlines the most ruthless and humiliating part of the agreement.
That's when she finally realized the most important truth:
Constantine is so OTT with his demands and conditions, that I started to wonder what kinda crazy shit he'd been smoking...
But Molly's not a simpering, scared weakling. She gives as good as she gets and never lets him see how much she's unnerved by his strange requests. She's a world famous supermodel who's been around some of the most catty and vicious individuals. Moreover, she's not scared or bashful and Constantine's surprised when she laughs in his face and turns on the heat, by flaunting herself in the most nonchalant manner.
The shoe's now on the other foot, because he's the one who has to deal with his rapidly accelerating lust.
I won't spoil the rest of it, except to say that Constantine's world view is shattered after he realizes that Isabel isn't and had never been the enemy. He'd needed her to be the big, bad stepmother because to believe otherwise, would've been the ultimate betrayal of the mother he adored - the mother who was permanently comatose and stuck in an institution.
His most eye opening moment was when he discovered that Isabel had been regularly visiting his mom, in the hospital, over the last decade. And, unlike the case in The Secret That Can't Be Hidden, there's no need for a villain's comeuppance because it turns out that, ironically, the only villain in this scenario, is Constantine himself.
His acknowledgement of this fact, is perhaps the single most humbling experience in his life:
And Isabel, like the gracious lady she is, didn't make him grovel but actually urged him to reconcile with her daughter, so that he too, could get his HEA.
He grovels quite a lot, when he goes to see Molly and she doesn't let him off easily. In fact, she insists cockily, that he repays her by doing exactly what he'd made her do: strip off and do whatever the other person orders.
It's a task that the besotted H is more than happy to do...
This isn't as intense as The Secret That Can't Be Hidden and Constantine did come off a bit whiny and emo, at times. In fact, at times, I'd swear that he's actually a Beta pretending to be an alpha, whereas his brother Balthazar IS the alpha. There's no arguing about that. And, after finishing this duet, I can categorically state, without a doubt that I think Balthazar is sexier.
But I quite enjoyed this. It's not the conventional type of HPlandia excursion and Constantine is more of an anti-hero for 80% of the story. In fact I'm sure there are readers who will loathe him because he strays very far from the arc of a cookie cutter HPlandia H. But I'm in it for the angsty excitement and OTT entertainment and I enjoy experiencing the process via which a thoroughly unlikable H eventually earns my sympathy.
Caitlin Crews solidifies the latter point by writing a fabulous epilogue, set 10 years in the future, that allows me to see that the new and improved Constantine ( the domesticated faithful husband and father of 4 ), is here to stay.
Safety: No OM, no OW and both MC's are celibate during their few months' separation. This is not a second chance romance because the heroine had been only 16 years old when they were step-siblings and they hadn't had any hint of a romantic attachment then.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2021
Finally a hero that made me want to slap him in the first few chapters!
Wound up really enjoying this one,now to read the 1st book of this revenge themed duology.
Wound up really enjoying this one,now to read the 1st book of this revenge themed duology.
May 31, 2021
"Her Deal with the Greek Devil" is the reunion story of Molly and Constantine.
Oh I hated this.
Hero wants revenge from his stepsister. She's a famous model on the verge of bankruptcy- he blackmails her using her mother as a leverage. Forcing her to be his mistress, he humiliates her by making her parade nude, dressing her up like a servant, treating her like a whore, verbally abusing her, making her beg... only for her to forgive him in a minute? So all her explanations made no sense, but her hymen did? His motive for revenge was so.. childish.
Girl hell nah.
Unsafe
1/5
Oh I hated this.
Hero wants revenge from his stepsister. She's a famous model on the verge of bankruptcy- he blackmails her using her mother as a leverage. Forcing her to be his mistress, he humiliates her by making her parade nude, dressing her up like a servant, treating her like a whore, verbally abusing her, making her beg... only for her to forgive him in a minute? So all her explanations made no sense, but her hymen did? His motive for revenge was so.. childish.
Girl hell nah.
Unsafe
1/5
May 14, 2021
4.5
Always like the revenge plot. But what I love most was the development of these two characters. Also their romance, the sparks and the chemistry.
The epilogue was excellent and the perfect ending.
Always like the revenge plot. But what I love most was the development of these two characters. Also their romance, the sparks and the chemistry.
The epilogue was excellent and the perfect ending.
April 15, 2021
At least H was not so perfect!
May 15, 2021
This is another of those cc books with dysfunctional relationship that has no chance to have a happy ending. No chance in the world. The premises are also hilarious. The hero seeks revenge on his stepsister who is guilty to be ... his stepsister (really????), that is the daughter of the woman his pig of a father once married after he divorced his mother. So he has planned to ruin her and her mother for 10 years (really???). Oh before that, when the 16 year old heroine, shy and awkward teenager, came to Greece to be his stepsister he pretended to be her friend and then revealed all the secrets she told him to the press, like that. What a hero. So, this freak is now jealous because his stepsister is a famous supermodel and he wants to have an affair with her so she will end like all the women he has affairs with, that is ruined and in love with him. Ahahahahahahah! Now, I think I’m going to die. And how does he plan to do this? By completely debasing her, forcing to stay all day long naked and telling her what dresses she has to put on, things like that. Of course what woman would not immediately fall in love with a freak like that? The heroine? Not at all. But please, please don’t. Just don’t. It is an insult to every reader’s intelligence. It would have been more believable if the hero tried to pretend to be in love with her, seducing her with his wonderful charms, and then when she was besotted he would have left her and told her that it was all revenge. But this. He forces her to be his mistress and confess he was the one who ruined her mother, and he wants her to beg him to make love with her. How can any sane woman find anything to love in a twisted freak like that? He’s not even sexy, became his reasons are those of a sulking 6 years old boy. Really. Eventually it turns out the heroine is a virgin ( a 26 year old supermodel??? With all the plenty of man models, stars, billionaire around????) and he realizes he got it all wrong with her and he was only a poor jealous boy abandoned by his mother and neglected by his father that was jealous of her and her mother. Oh my god. No, this cannot be. I can’t believe him when he said he loved her, this was only a twisted obsession where he and only he was the protagonist, while the heroine was never considered. And the desire for revenge on a teenager who was as guilty as him if their parents were brainless people? It was ridiculous. And the heroine in the end fell in love with him? After what he did to her? Could you explain to me what she found in him to love? Because he was sexy and handsome? Maybe if she were 14. Not 26. I’m sorry but this story was too stretched.
January 8, 2023
Another bad boy hero reformed by an innocent heroine! Nice couple and nice story but not as good as the first one in the series!
April 24, 2021
2.5 stars - rounded down since I wanted a revenge story and instead I got erotica-lite. Hero has no real motivation for revenge except for walking off a bad childhood that the heroine was only a part of for two years.
Hero resents that she outgrew her gawky adolescent self and turned into a super-model. (As you do)
He has plotted to ruin her mother (who married his divorced father when hero was 20) and his stage of revenge is to humiliate the heroine privately and publicly.
Heroine agrees to his terms (stay with him as his latest mistress) so he won't completely bankrupt her mother. The private humiliation begins when he orders her to be naked at all times unless he leaves clothing on her bed.
Heroine is embarrassed, but she has a great body and just swans around the Greek island estate in the all-together, driving the hero crazy.
They don't have sex until the heroine begs. More erotica-lite.
And at this point everyone -including the author - has forgotten about revenge.
*sigh*
The first revenge story in the series, about the hero's brother, worked better for me. Ivy has all the details in her excellent review.
Hero resents that she outgrew her gawky adolescent self and turned into a super-model. (As you do)
He has plotted to ruin her mother (who married his divorced father when hero was 20) and his stage of revenge is to humiliate the heroine privately and publicly.
Heroine agrees to his terms (stay with him as his latest mistress) so he won't completely bankrupt her mother. The private humiliation begins when he orders her to be naked at all times unless he leaves clothing on her bed.
Heroine is embarrassed, but she has a great body and just swans around the Greek island estate in the all-together, driving the hero crazy.
They don't have sex until the heroine begs. More erotica-lite.
And at this point everyone -including the author - has forgotten about revenge.
*sigh*
The first revenge story in the series, about the hero's brother, worked better for me. Ivy has all the details in her excellent review.
May 2, 2021
Revenge seeking hero with mommy and daddy issues, seeks revenge because the heroine’s mom married his already divorced father, somehow this is an insult to his mother. Huh? Your father was the issue, not the step-mom and certainly not the step-sister, but whatever. Their verbal interaction is quite clever and she holds her own.
April 7, 2021
Constantine Skalas.... My, my! What a guy!
So twisted... One would think he is like this because his step mom was really bad and did something cruel to him. Turns out he cannot tolerate nice. He is not nice!
I loved Molly. Strong, bold and sassy. She gave as good as she got. She didn't let him win at all.
One of the best reads of this month for sure!
So twisted... One would think he is like this because his step mom was really bad and did something cruel to him. Turns out he cannot tolerate nice. He is not nice!
I loved Molly. Strong, bold and sassy. She gave as good as she got. She didn't let him win at all.
One of the best reads of this month for sure!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
April 21, 2021This was included in the Mills and Boon Modern Romance April collection, which was a comfort because there was at least one other book in there that I loved!
Sorry but I disliked this story even more than the first book in the series. I usually love CC’s amazing stories with her fabulous prose, operatic plots and dramatic characters, but I found this story really unpleasant and painful to read. Constantine is seeking revenge - but the explanation as to why he wants to inflict such painful revenge on Isabel and her daughter Molly- is never satisfactorily detailed. I just didn't believe it. His actions are so melodramatically over the top, one would expect that the murder of a pet dog and false imprisonment of a sibling at the very least, was his reason.
His treatment of Molly borders on the psycopathic. It really is a pantomime level of cruelty and abasement which no one would see as anything other than unacceptable. Moll’s willingness to allow this was simply a step too far. It lacked any credibility in my eyes. Her ability to continuously utter clever, supposedly witty retorts to Constantine's ridiculous, confrontational speeches became boring and impossible to believe.
Constantine had no redeeming features and for me, he was far too cruel, for far too long in the book - and by the time he had his moment of revelation, it was far too late for me to believe in him as a hero.
There was no sense of real love between him and Molly. The epilogue might as well have been written about two completely different characters because I could get no satisfaction from what would otherwise have been a great wee epilogue.
CC has always been willing to push boundaries and be edgy in her writing, but my fear is that she has pushed the envelope so far, she has forgotten how to deliver the nuance and emotional depth which always made her books so wonderfully satisfying.
Instead, she has made her characters incredibly one dimensional. I didn’t find an iota of romance or emotional satisfaction in this story - which kind of defeats the purpose of reading Mills and Boon.
I don't feel able to give it a star rating. It's still incredibly well written but it's not my cup of tea.
Sorry but I disliked this story even more than the first book in the series. I usually love CC’s amazing stories with her fabulous prose, operatic plots and dramatic characters, but I found this story really unpleasant and painful to read. Constantine is seeking revenge - but the explanation as to why he wants to inflict such painful revenge on Isabel and her daughter Molly- is never satisfactorily detailed. I just didn't believe it. His actions are so melodramatically over the top, one would expect that the murder of a pet dog and false imprisonment of a sibling at the very least, was his reason.
His treatment of Molly borders on the psycopathic. It really is a pantomime level of cruelty and abasement which no one would see as anything other than unacceptable. Moll’s willingness to allow this was simply a step too far. It lacked any credibility in my eyes. Her ability to continuously utter clever, supposedly witty retorts to Constantine's ridiculous, confrontational speeches became boring and impossible to believe.
Constantine had no redeeming features and for me, he was far too cruel, for far too long in the book - and by the time he had his moment of revelation, it was far too late for me to believe in him as a hero.
There was no sense of real love between him and Molly. The epilogue might as well have been written about two completely different characters because I could get no satisfaction from what would otherwise have been a great wee epilogue.
CC has always been willing to push boundaries and be edgy in her writing, but my fear is that she has pushed the envelope so far, she has forgotten how to deliver the nuance and emotional depth which always made her books so wonderfully satisfying.
Instead, she has made her characters incredibly one dimensional. I didn’t find an iota of romance or emotional satisfaction in this story - which kind of defeats the purpose of reading Mills and Boon.
I don't feel able to give it a star rating. It's still incredibly well written but it's not my cup of tea.
August 14, 2021
Angsty but also quite ridiculous, we have a hero who makes the heroine walk around naked in his house and beg for sex, like he has been reading fifty shades-novels, it’s just too much-)
Also, I could not into buy his reason for revenge, or why he had to take it out on the poor heroine.
Also, I could not into buy his reason for revenge, or why he had to take it out on the poor heroine.
April 4, 2021
The playboy’s proposition:
Too enticing to ignore…
Constantine Skalas may seem idle and arrogant, but he hides a razor-sharp need for vengeance against the Payne family. The key? His former stepsister, Molly, who’s blossomed from ugly duckling into gorgeous supermodel. Constantine will offer her a perfectly outrageous proposition…
Virgin Molly knows the danger of walking into a powerful man’s den. Yet only a deal with the devil himself will save her beloved mother from bankruptcy. Constantine has always been sinfully seductive, but now, bound by their pact, Molly burns for him. And there’s no going back…
Too enticing to ignore…
Constantine Skalas may seem idle and arrogant, but he hides a razor-sharp need for vengeance against the Payne family. The key? His former stepsister, Molly, who’s blossomed from ugly duckling into gorgeous supermodel. Constantine will offer her a perfectly outrageous proposition…
Virgin Molly knows the danger of walking into a powerful man’s den. Yet only a deal with the devil himself will save her beloved mother from bankruptcy. Constantine has always been sinfully seductive, but now, bound by their pact, Molly burns for him. And there’s no going back…
April 17, 2021
Wow! Just wow. This revenge plot was even more dark and twisted than the first book in this duet. Loved it.
May 11, 2021
There is absolutely nothing to like about this book. The hero - if that's what you can call him - is an absolute waste of space. His motives for treating Molly the way he does make no sense. No man should treat a woman the way he did .... and then turn around and say he loves her? For the heroine to also put up with the level of abuse she deals with from this man is mind-blowing. Crews isn't saying anything too positive about women here.
For once, I would have loved this heroine to tell this man to go to hell and mean it. A couple happy pages at the end can't redeem this unsavory book.
For once, I would have loved this heroine to tell this man to go to hell and mean it. A couple happy pages at the end can't redeem this unsavory book.
July 23, 2021
No tree should’ve been wasted for this ever. This story was such a sorry excuse of a book. No proper romance, there was absolutely no story. Three-four chapters in was just one scene & a bunch of distracting dialogues/monologue. I didn’t like him or her. Revenge was all pathetic. She was too, begging for sex. It should be the other way around.
May 8, 2021
A bully romance in HP form. Not that I've ever read a bully romance (why are there no wikipedia articles on the various romance subgenres?), so a more knowledgeable reader should feel free to correct me if I'm making inaccurate assumptions about their contents, but what I've gleaned from their cover copy is that the bullies tend to be idly rich, motivated by frustrated love, and frequently target their step-siblings with their unrestrained rage against authority figures.
They're also usually teenagers or young adults, but this being an HP we see instead an emotionally stunted 30-year-old targeting his former step-sister with humiliation supposedly to avenge the abuse his now-comatose mother suffered at the hands of his sadistic father.
Crews is a talented author who doesn't shy from the absurdity of the male lead's misplaced motivations, having the heroine lampshade them at every opportunity. Unfortunately, I missed any lampshading of the heroine's own motivations for being in love with this guy. Lust, absolutely. Crews writes a sybaritically sexy hero like no other author in the HP line, but love for one's tormentor is so clearly a dysfunctional response that I kept waiting for Crews to call it out by showing us a heroine so filled with pity for the hero's broken nature that she couldn't help but love him and want to heal him (helloooo, eighties romance)...but, no.
It's a pity this is a bully romance instead of a revenge romance, because public humiliation via love affair is one of my favorite forms of vengeance in romance. I would have enjoyed seeing this story play out if the hero's actions could be justified by the internal logic of revenge instead of an overaged toddler's tantrum.
They're also usually teenagers or young adults, but this being an HP we see instead an emotionally stunted 30-year-old targeting his former step-sister with humiliation supposedly to avenge the abuse his now-comatose mother suffered at the hands of his sadistic father.
Crews is a talented author who doesn't shy from the absurdity of the male lead's misplaced motivations, having the heroine lampshade them at every opportunity. Unfortunately, I missed any lampshading of the heroine's own motivations for being in love with this guy. Lust, absolutely. Crews writes a sybaritically sexy hero like no other author in the HP line, but love for one's tormentor is so clearly a dysfunctional response that I kept waiting for Crews to call it out by showing us a heroine so filled with pity for the hero's broken nature that she couldn't help but love him and want to heal him (helloooo, eighties romance)...but, no.
It's a pity this is a bully romance instead of a revenge romance, because public humiliation via love affair is one of my favorite forms of vengeance in romance. I would have enjoyed seeing this story play out if the hero's actions could be justified by the internal logic of revenge instead of an overaged toddler's tantrum.
March 12, 2022
(read in french, under the title « Pacte scandaleux avec un Grec »)
When the « politically correct » contemporary romance decides to disguise herself with some of the dark romance's attributes, you got « Rich, Ruthless & Greek ». The first book was already going a bit more far in blackmail than your regular Harlequin Presents, but this one goes even further, and divides its readers, either american or french, in its reviews.
« Her Deal with the Greek Devil » has this kind of selfish hero you'll love to hate, described in the book as a toxic man, and who'll do everything trying to humiliate Molly. It could have been disgusting, but it doesn't, because Molly is not ashamed at all. If fact, she just doesn't care and plays along. The overconfident-type of heroine who can easily become annoying, but it won't happen here because Molly stays human and not as haughty as her spicy exchanges with Constantine let him believe she is.
Clearly, if your thing are cute and fluffy romances, run away, this book is not for you. Molly and Constantine's relationship is not as unhealthy as it looks, but the base idea behind the plot is, and their exchanges stay quite harsh for most of the story. But nevertheless, you'll read it like you'd eat a wasabi peas bag, as the story flows smoothly, and despite the lack of scenery or sub-characters. The whole plot revolves only around the main couple, nothing else.
So... yeah, it's a good read. In its style. Definitely a not-for-everyone book. But it doesn't has any real flaws.
Except for the numerous typos and other errors in the french translation.
7/10, rounded down to 3 stars.
When the « politically correct » contemporary romance decides to disguise herself with some of the dark romance's attributes, you got « Rich, Ruthless & Greek ». The first book was already going a bit more far in blackmail than your regular Harlequin Presents, but this one goes even further, and divides its readers, either american or french, in its reviews.
« Her Deal with the Greek Devil » has this kind of selfish hero you'll love to hate, described in the book as a toxic man, and who'll do everything trying to humiliate Molly. It could have been disgusting, but it doesn't, because Molly is not ashamed at all. If fact, she just doesn't care and plays along. The overconfident-type of heroine who can easily become annoying, but it won't happen here because Molly stays human and not as haughty as her spicy exchanges with Constantine let him believe she is.
Clearly, if your thing are cute and fluffy romances, run away, this book is not for you. Molly and Constantine's relationship is not as unhealthy as it looks, but the base idea behind the plot is, and their exchanges stay quite harsh for most of the story. But nevertheless, you'll read it like you'd eat a wasabi peas bag, as the story flows smoothly, and despite the lack of scenery or sub-characters. The whole plot revolves only around the main couple, nothing else.
So... yeah, it's a good read. In its style. Definitely a not-for-everyone book. But it doesn't has any real flaws.
Except for the numerous typos and other errors in the french translation.
7/10, rounded down to 3 stars.
February 14, 2023
"I love you.
You must know that you're the only reason I have feelings in the first place. It took me a long time to realize what they were, that's all."
God, this book reminded me of the first romance books I read so long ago.
The perfect Harlequin romance with the perfect tropes: blackmail, fake relationship, true enemies to lovers, revenge, greek millionaire bad boy and the tall but cute and (virginal) heroine that even if she was naive at times, she had so much fire inside that I LOVED all the times she defeated him at his own game.
The hero arranged his entire life around revenge and then when they reunited (at last!) he wasn't so sure about anything.
I was going to talk about the grovel part of the story but between Constantine doing some deep soul searching and facing his demons, and Molly being firm in her stance and instead of being petty and hateful towards him, she imparted wisdom. A true Queen.
"First Molly had taught him to love. Then she taught him to grieve."
You must know that you're the only reason I have feelings in the first place. It took me a long time to realize what they were, that's all."
God, this book reminded me of the first romance books I read so long ago.
The perfect Harlequin romance with the perfect tropes: blackmail, fake relationship, true enemies to lovers, revenge, greek millionaire bad boy and the tall but cute and (virginal) heroine that even if she was naive at times, she had so much fire inside that I LOVED all the times she defeated him at his own game.
The hero arranged his entire life around revenge and then when they reunited (at last!) he wasn't so sure about anything.
I was going to talk about the grovel part of the story but between Constantine doing some deep soul searching and facing his demons, and Molly being firm in her stance and instead of being petty and hateful towards him, she imparted wisdom. A true Queen.
"First Molly had taught him to love. Then she taught him to grieve."
May 20, 2021
I didnt find the H endearing and the level of confidence of h is to be admired
dnf
April 4, 2023dnf. I think this is good for a harlequin, but life is too short for me to finish this
April 23, 2021
I couldn’t even finish this book! Constantine is borderline abusive! All that revenge stuff is over the top!
Read
April 2, 2021Categories
Contemporary Romance, Romance
Miniseries
Rich, Ruthless & Greek (Book #2)
Contemporary Romance, Romance
Miniseries
Rich, Ruthless & Greek (Book #2)
May 7, 2021
Reviewed at Happily Ever After Romance
I am, quite frankly, so very torn on my reactions to Her Deal with the Greek Devil. Constantine is so over-the-top revenge-driven over something that he blamed the wrong people for, came close to destroying someone whose biggest crime was loving unwisely, and set forth a carefully executed plan of vengeance that took years, lots of money, and time for all the wrong reasons. Which, in the end, all came back to bite him most uncomfortably.
If Balthazar was cold and calculating in The Secret That Can’t Be Hidden, then Constantine ran hot with heated emotions that boiled for years before finally coming to a head. Constantine came uncomfortably close to borderline abuse, in my opinion, toward not only Molly but Isabel, her mother who had simply fallen in love with his no-good father and tried to be a friend to her two young stepsons.
It was sad and unfortunate what happened to his mother, yet that was, in so many ways, her own choice once she was no longer married to the brothers’ father. The only person to blame for the situation was their father, and while his abuse was well known, he was the man who had shaped his sons in their mindsets. Something that took Constantine so very long to realize – and he had to have an eye-opening experience, and trust in his own emotions before he could admit to the truth.
I adored Molly. Her inner strength is amazing. What Constantine put her through was beyond belief… yet, she loved him, had always loved him, and he had betrayed, used, and almost destroyed her with his need for vengeance over something that was simply human nature with the wrong people punished for someone else’s actions.
This isn’t the way I’d normally write up a review. This story struck hard at my emotions. Watching Constantine put forth his calculated plan was painful because there was always just a hint of the man he could have been in almost every action with Molly. He had his shining, discovery moment. Molly had her chance to enact just as much pain on him as he had on her but love won out.
Her Deal with the Greek Devil wasn’t a comfortable story to read… but it was compelling in so many ways as well. The ten years later epilogue made all the difference in my ultimate reaction to the Rich, Ruthless & Greek duet. Would I recommend this duet? Oh, yes. A story couldn’t have affected me this strongly if it wasn’t really good at the core. Simply know going in that you will be feeling a lot of emotions in Molly and Constantine’s story, at times, not very comfortable emotions but real nonetheless.
I own a Kindle edition of this title.
I am, quite frankly, so very torn on my reactions to Her Deal with the Greek Devil. Constantine is so over-the-top revenge-driven over something that he blamed the wrong people for, came close to destroying someone whose biggest crime was loving unwisely, and set forth a carefully executed plan of vengeance that took years, lots of money, and time for all the wrong reasons. Which, in the end, all came back to bite him most uncomfortably.
If Balthazar was cold and calculating in The Secret That Can’t Be Hidden, then Constantine ran hot with heated emotions that boiled for years before finally coming to a head. Constantine came uncomfortably close to borderline abuse, in my opinion, toward not only Molly but Isabel, her mother who had simply fallen in love with his no-good father and tried to be a friend to her two young stepsons.
It was sad and unfortunate what happened to his mother, yet that was, in so many ways, her own choice once she was no longer married to the brothers’ father. The only person to blame for the situation was their father, and while his abuse was well known, he was the man who had shaped his sons in their mindsets. Something that took Constantine so very long to realize – and he had to have an eye-opening experience, and trust in his own emotions before he could admit to the truth.
I adored Molly. Her inner strength is amazing. What Constantine put her through was beyond belief… yet, she loved him, had always loved him, and he had betrayed, used, and almost destroyed her with his need for vengeance over something that was simply human nature with the wrong people punished for someone else’s actions.
This isn’t the way I’d normally write up a review. This story struck hard at my emotions. Watching Constantine put forth his calculated plan was painful because there was always just a hint of the man he could have been in almost every action with Molly. He had his shining, discovery moment. Molly had her chance to enact just as much pain on him as he had on her but love won out.
Her Deal with the Greek Devil wasn’t a comfortable story to read… but it was compelling in so many ways as well. The ten years later epilogue made all the difference in my ultimate reaction to the Rich, Ruthless & Greek duet. Would I recommend this duet? Oh, yes. A story couldn’t have affected me this strongly if it wasn’t really good at the core. Simply know going in that you will be feeling a lot of emotions in Molly and Constantine’s story, at times, not very comfortable emotions but real nonetheless.
I own a Kindle edition of this title.
January 11, 2026
I paid twenty-five cents for this Harlequin romance paperback being discarded from my friendly local public library, which will for better or worse go on record as my first completed read of 2026.
Based on the book's crisp condition, I suspect it enjoyed low circulation since it was only published in 2021 and was on the weeding cart beginning of 2026.
Still, as a 43-year-old man, I figured I would actually read a bona fide paperback romance novel rather than continue to operate purely on assumptions about the genre at large. This was my first. Turns out, the assumptions provide pretty accurate heuristics.
After reading, I find it interesting that conservative-leaning would-be book banners rarely raise hell about romance novels in public libraries but will fly off the handle if a character in a YA novel happens to be gay. In terms of explicitness, for example, this book may not use the words penis or cock or vagina or clitoris but we are never very far from them. That is in fact, it seems, the point. Their surrogates are in use a lot. And certainly breasts and nipples and mounds are thoroughly explicated.
The plot here is laid out neatly and repeatedly explained to us: a gorgeous virgin fashion model is forced by her ruthless and handsome step-brother into walking around his Greek villa naked for a week as part of a revenge plot to punish her mother, then taking a whirlwind press tour of some sort pretending to be in love while he variously arouses and shames her.
It cannot really be a spoiler that in the end the pair fall in love by virtue of their, shall we say, genuine lust and actual lifelong mutual desire finally openly admitted; the otherwise abhorrent guy learns forgiveness; the girl's heart remains true; her virginity is sacrificed; and, after much somewhat hot sexual activity occurs, she bears him four children.
Somewhere in there is a half-hearted critique of architectural digest magazines concerning rich people's furnishings and floor plans.
There are also provocative passages such as these gems:
"He fished around for his trousers, pulling out protection and sheathing himself with one hand."
"Then his thigh was between hers and she found herself pressing the place she ached the most against his brutally hard, deliciously tough thigh."
"He knelt there before her, drawing one leg over his shoulder so he could lick her straight over the edge."
Throughout, she does a lot of melting. He does a lot of thrusting. And in the end there is an advertisement for more readalikes in the series.
This book is pretty much exactly what you imagine it will be based on the cover, and that is why the genre -- like pornography -- continue to exist. They fulfill human desires. They simplify the complex. They appeal to psychological truths. They cut beneath the mind to the gut and loins. I don't utter this paragraph ironically. It seems to me to be evidence of what humans want and need within the culture or cultures available to us. There is a reason these things exist and persist. We should not pretend to deny that.
This book is easy to read in that the author -- who to her credit is quite prolific and obviously an efficient master of the genre -- tells the reader over and over again precisely what is happening, why the characters are doing what they are doing, thinking and feeling what they do, and reminding us of their simmering desire.
To her further credit, there is a level of twisted psychological realism to the characters' key relationships and how much internal double-talk occurs because she wants it to work the plot out, which is probably one thing that appeals to perennial readers of the genre even more than the overt sex scenes. Everyone is from some kind of damaged family relationship, and for these quasi-Freudian dramas to be played out by the pawnlike characters on the field of white and black provided by the romance novel checkerboard, creates a sense of order from the chaos.
The writing is clear, breezy, repetitive, yes, but in the way that redundancy is baked into DNA sequences or unneeded consonants strung into words beyond their soundings. It is not in itself spectacular writing, but it is accomplished rough-hewn craftsmanship, as though one simply continued typing all day to narrate a story without much if any editing, and we should respect that this form of storytelling persists and continues to evolve almost in an extension of the oral tradition.
It's not to me terribly potent. The level of arousal provoked by this book is more of the eyebrow-raising rather than core-temperature-raising, but there are a few hot spots. They exist within a really unbelievable emotional transformation arc, though, so you have to take everything lightly because to continue to read the book is to accept a willing sense of disbelief throughout.
In terms of itself, I imagine this is an effective genre read. That is pretty much what it is: a lesson in the commerce of book buying and selling. Sex sells.
I'm glad I read it: to face and experience something I had not before. Learning does imply discretion for future choices, however, and so I can say that this is not a book or a genre to which I imagine I would return for its own sake.
Based on the book's crisp condition, I suspect it enjoyed low circulation since it was only published in 2021 and was on the weeding cart beginning of 2026.
Still, as a 43-year-old man, I figured I would actually read a bona fide paperback romance novel rather than continue to operate purely on assumptions about the genre at large. This was my first. Turns out, the assumptions provide pretty accurate heuristics.
After reading, I find it interesting that conservative-leaning would-be book banners rarely raise hell about romance novels in public libraries but will fly off the handle if a character in a YA novel happens to be gay. In terms of explicitness, for example, this book may not use the words penis or cock or vagina or clitoris but we are never very far from them. That is in fact, it seems, the point. Their surrogates are in use a lot. And certainly breasts and nipples and mounds are thoroughly explicated.
The plot here is laid out neatly and repeatedly explained to us: a gorgeous virgin fashion model is forced by her ruthless and handsome step-brother into walking around his Greek villa naked for a week as part of a revenge plot to punish her mother, then taking a whirlwind press tour of some sort pretending to be in love while he variously arouses and shames her.
It cannot really be a spoiler that in the end the pair fall in love by virtue of their, shall we say, genuine lust and actual lifelong mutual desire finally openly admitted; the otherwise abhorrent guy learns forgiveness; the girl's heart remains true; her virginity is sacrificed; and, after much somewhat hot sexual activity occurs, she bears him four children.
Somewhere in there is a half-hearted critique of architectural digest magazines concerning rich people's furnishings and floor plans.
There are also provocative passages such as these gems:
"He fished around for his trousers, pulling out protection and sheathing himself with one hand."
"Then his thigh was between hers and she found herself pressing the place she ached the most against his brutally hard, deliciously tough thigh."
"He knelt there before her, drawing one leg over his shoulder so he could lick her straight over the edge."
Throughout, she does a lot of melting. He does a lot of thrusting. And in the end there is an advertisement for more readalikes in the series.
This book is pretty much exactly what you imagine it will be based on the cover, and that is why the genre -- like pornography -- continue to exist. They fulfill human desires. They simplify the complex. They appeal to psychological truths. They cut beneath the mind to the gut and loins. I don't utter this paragraph ironically. It seems to me to be evidence of what humans want and need within the culture or cultures available to us. There is a reason these things exist and persist. We should not pretend to deny that.
This book is easy to read in that the author -- who to her credit is quite prolific and obviously an efficient master of the genre -- tells the reader over and over again precisely what is happening, why the characters are doing what they are doing, thinking and feeling what they do, and reminding us of their simmering desire.
To her further credit, there is a level of twisted psychological realism to the characters' key relationships and how much internal double-talk occurs because she wants it to work the plot out, which is probably one thing that appeals to perennial readers of the genre even more than the overt sex scenes. Everyone is from some kind of damaged family relationship, and for these quasi-Freudian dramas to be played out by the pawnlike characters on the field of white and black provided by the romance novel checkerboard, creates a sense of order from the chaos.
The writing is clear, breezy, repetitive, yes, but in the way that redundancy is baked into DNA sequences or unneeded consonants strung into words beyond their soundings. It is not in itself spectacular writing, but it is accomplished rough-hewn craftsmanship, as though one simply continued typing all day to narrate a story without much if any editing, and we should respect that this form of storytelling persists and continues to evolve almost in an extension of the oral tradition.
It's not to me terribly potent. The level of arousal provoked by this book is more of the eyebrow-raising rather than core-temperature-raising, but there are a few hot spots. They exist within a really unbelievable emotional transformation arc, though, so you have to take everything lightly because to continue to read the book is to accept a willing sense of disbelief throughout.
In terms of itself, I imagine this is an effective genre read. That is pretty much what it is: a lesson in the commerce of book buying and selling. Sex sells.
I'm glad I read it: to face and experience something I had not before. Learning does imply discretion for future choices, however, and so I can say that this is not a book or a genre to which I imagine I would return for its own sake.
August 16, 2024
Molly and Constantine.
This book was even worse than the first. At least in that book, there were feelings, if of some idealized-for-three-years versions of each other.
This book, I just couldn’t buy that there were feelings.
The MMC, Constantine, was abused by his psychopath of a father and emotionally neglected by his mother, who overdosed in his teens and ended up in a permanent coma. So he’s an emotional mess.
He meets the FMC first as his sixteen year old stepsister, and apparently becomes fixated on her. But instead of pulling her pigtails, he launches a campaign against her and her mom to “avenge his mom.”
He betrayed her when they were young, and at their reunion, conducted an abusive relationship with her.
Oh, the FMC had an orgasm when the MMC coerced her into letting him fondle her? Oh, at the 11th hour, the FMC says everything must have been consensual because she’d been “excited” to see him again, and if he couldn’t have made her do anything she really hadn’t wanted to do? Oh, but when she was allowed to put clothes on, it was fancy stuff? So we’re just going to pretend this wasn’t an abusive situation?
A lot of romance novels are written about MMC’s who tick off a list of red flags…
This book was even worse than the first. At least in that book, there were feelings, if of some idealized-for-three-years versions of each other.
This book, I just couldn’t buy that there were feelings.
The MMC, Constantine, was abused by his psychopath of a father and emotionally neglected by his mother, who overdosed in his teens and ended up in a permanent coma. So he’s an emotional mess.
He meets the FMC first as his sixteen year old stepsister, and apparently becomes fixated on her. But instead of pulling her pigtails, he launches a campaign against her and her mom to “avenge his mom.”
He betrayed her when they were young, and at their reunion, conducted an abusive relationship with her.
Oh, the FMC had an orgasm when the MMC coerced her into letting him fondle her? Oh, at the 11th hour, the FMC says everything must have been consensual because she’d been “excited” to see him again, and if he couldn’t have made her do anything she really hadn’t wanted to do? Oh, but when she was allowed to put clothes on, it was fancy stuff? So we’re just going to pretend this wasn’t an abusive situation?
A lot of romance novels are written about MMC’s who tick off a list of red flags…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2021
This one made me a bit crazy, the hero was pretty vile throughout most of the book and yet at the end him realizing how wrong he was and apologizing to heroine and her mother made me feel bad for him (because I understand that his father was awful). I just can't get past how awful he was and everything he did to heroine just because her and her mother were nice to him (even heroes in other books that think heroine cheated dont treat them as awful as he did to her over 10 year period). Heroine was a nice person and all but when she did what hero wanted and begged him to have sex with her it came across as heorine being submissive (sub stuff totally grosses me out). I get it was because she loved him but I dont get why when he was awful at every turn, I guess just because he had a pretty face. P.
May 7, 2021
the story is cute, but i feel like the hero should heal himself first before he actually came to her. he's the one with a lot of issues, parental issues. he blamed everyone but himself and his mother. i think he got like Oedipus Complex or something.
I like the heroine though. She's able to fight back and she's not too easy, she didn't believe he loved her when he first confessed. She's independent.
I like the heroine though. She's able to fight back and she's not too easy, she didn't believe he loved her when he first confessed. She's independent.
June 12, 2022
Slow, but ends well
Overall, I liked this story. The first few chapters are really slow. I, eventually, started scanning pages for dialogue instead of actually reading. About halfway through the book, it finally started moving along. Again, overall, the book is good and worth the read. The ending of the main story was pretty spectacular. I think the general reader will enjoy the book.
Overall, I liked this story. The first few chapters are really slow. I, eventually, started scanning pages for dialogue instead of actually reading. About halfway through the book, it finally started moving along. Again, overall, the book is good and worth the read. The ending of the main story was pretty spectacular. I think the general reader will enjoy the book.
May 1, 2021
An okay read
This was a very hard book to get into, it took too long for the plot to develop. The H wanted revenge against the h and her mother for marrying into his family. A very stupid plot because the h and her mother didn’t do anything wrong to the H or his brother, in fact his family was cruel to them. Normally, this author writes great characters, this was not good.
This was a very hard book to get into, it took too long for the plot to develop. The H wanted revenge against the h and her mother for marrying into his family. A very stupid plot because the h and her mother didn’t do anything wrong to the H or his brother, in fact his family was cruel to them. Normally, this author writes great characters, this was not good.
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