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Pregnant Brides #2
Ruthless Magnate, Convenient Wife
Russian billionaire Sergei Antonovich was famous for being knee-deep in stunning supermodels and aspiring actresses. But not one was suitable bride material. Would he ever grant his aging babushka her dearest wish and present her with a grandchild?
So, why not handle this challenge as business? Without emotion, but with a contract of convenience that would grant Sergei the perfect deal: a wife he'd bed, wed, get pregnant...and then discard....
So, why not handle this challenge as business? Without emotion, but with a contract of convenience that would grant Sergei the perfect deal: a wife he'd bed, wed, get pregnant...and then discard....
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 18, 2009
251 people are currently reading
1294 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Graham
1,763 books1,450 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
March 10, 2013
I found this book very charming. I guess I was just in the mood for it. Sergei comes off as ridiculously appealing, despite his flaws. This is one of those times that I can totally understand why the heroine has a hard time resisting the hero. He's got the powerful, billionaire who happens to be drop-dead gorgeous and has the sexy vibe down big time. And add on him being identifiably Russian.... He really is a sex bomb.
I really liked Alissa. She's a very sweet person. She does stand up for herself, but she's also a giving, caring person. I wanted her to get her sexy Russian billionaire, and he shows that he deserves her, which is even better.
The love scenes were sizzling, and the chemistry between Alissa and Sergei is off the charts. This is one of the books where the author just hits all the right notes for me. While I can't get over how evil Alissa's sister is, at least it doesn't wreck Alissa and Sergei's happy ending. And it was great to see Sergei's babuskha Yelena as well. Before, she was his only weakness and he adores her and would do anything for her. Now Alissa and their family adds a deeper dimension to Sergei's life. This reader loves to see a hard hero fall from an arrow through the heart.
Books like this are why I love Harlequin Presents. A quick, delicious helping of fairy tale romance. This is what Lynne Graham does best.
I have to give this one a high rating because I can't say that there was anything wrong with this book for me. Plus, I loved that I got to practice my Russian.
So, Five Stars!
I really liked Alissa. She's a very sweet person. She does stand up for herself, but she's also a giving, caring person. I wanted her to get her sexy Russian billionaire, and he shows that he deserves her, which is even better.
The love scenes were sizzling, and the chemistry between Alissa and Sergei is off the charts. This is one of the books where the author just hits all the right notes for me. While I can't get over how evil Alissa's sister is, at least it doesn't wreck Alissa and Sergei's happy ending. And it was great to see Sergei's babuskha Yelena as well. Before, she was his only weakness and he adores her and would do anything for her. Now Alissa and their family adds a deeper dimension to Sergei's life. This reader loves to see a hard hero fall from an arrow through the heart.
Books like this are why I love Harlequin Presents. A quick, delicious helping of fairy tale romance. This is what Lynne Graham does best.
I have to give this one a high rating because I can't say that there was anything wrong with this book for me. Plus, I loved that I got to practice my Russian.
So, Five Stars!
November 25, 2022
***4.5 Stars***
I enjoyed this book and reread it every few months. I have enjoyed it more on rereads than the first time through.
Hero wants a marriage so he can produce a grandchild for his grandmother without love or commitment involved. He has his attorneys do the wife search for him and lucky for him there was a hiccup. The woman that was chosen has a twin unbeknownst to the lawyers. The chosen one is evil and wicked and has blackmailed and used her sister throughout her whole life and the parents stood by and allowed this to happen. They were never together that the evil one wasn't putting down the good sister telling her she wasn't good enough, wasn't beautiful like her, that no man would ever want her because she wasn't stick thin! I wanted her to drive off a cliff! She fell for another wealthy man and blackmailed her twin into taking her place in the marriage that she had already received payment for - spending it so quickly your head would spin.
The heroine's family was a mess. Her sister was so far beyond evil it was hard to believe. Her father can't keep his pants zipped and quickly left his family for the woman he was having an affair with. They're in a financial crisis. The mother is about to lose her house. It is a just mess!
What happens when the hero finds out about the deceit? It is the woman he married (the good twin) who breaks down and tells him the truth. Look out! This is one furious man who feels he has been set up and used.
What troubled me the most was that the evil twin sister did 'not' get her comeuppance...AT ALL!!! She preyed on her sister like a menacing wild animal and wounded her consistently throughout their life. She stole money but was never required to make restitution...never even apologized when caught red-handed (and we are talking millions...not just a couple hundred dollars) I felt that was extremely unfair and offered us a poor example. It showed us that you can keep doing illegal things and gaining wealth,fancy cars, designer clothes and never have to atone for those sins.
Although it is small I also was disturbed by the name they gave their baby girl. It was very similar to the hero's ex-wife's name and the last syllables rhymed: The ex-wife's: ROZALINA Their baby girl: EVELINA. That was just too weird and strange especially since he couldn't stand the ex-wife and she had aborted his baby. I just found these similar names creepy!
I reread this frequently but it does get off to a slow start. The hero makes a huge turn-around in the end and they ended up so happy. Also a great epilogue!
Definitely recommend.
One last complaint...the bad twin really never got her comeuppance. I so wanted the hero to tell her family and her husband what she had done, how she refused to return the money and how she continuously blackmailed the good but very naive sister. It made the good twin seem very dense...just not bright at all.
There were absolutely no consequences and that is troubling.
I enjoyed this book and reread it every few months. I have enjoyed it more on rereads than the first time through.
Hero wants a marriage so he can produce a grandchild for his grandmother without love or commitment involved. He has his attorneys do the wife search for him and lucky for him there was a hiccup. The woman that was chosen has a twin unbeknownst to the lawyers. The chosen one is evil and wicked and has blackmailed and used her sister throughout her whole life and the parents stood by and allowed this to happen. They were never together that the evil one wasn't putting down the good sister telling her she wasn't good enough, wasn't beautiful like her, that no man would ever want her because she wasn't stick thin! I wanted her to drive off a cliff! She fell for another wealthy man and blackmailed her twin into taking her place in the marriage that she had already received payment for - spending it so quickly your head would spin.
The heroine's family was a mess. Her sister was so far beyond evil it was hard to believe. Her father can't keep his pants zipped and quickly left his family for the woman he was having an affair with. They're in a financial crisis. The mother is about to lose her house. It is a just mess!
What happens when the hero finds out about the deceit? It is the woman he married (the good twin) who breaks down and tells him the truth. Look out! This is one furious man who feels he has been set up and used.
What troubled me the most was that the evil twin sister did 'not' get her comeuppance...AT ALL!!! She preyed on her sister like a menacing wild animal and wounded her consistently throughout their life. She stole money but was never required to make restitution...never even apologized when caught red-handed (and we are talking millions...not just a couple hundred dollars) I felt that was extremely unfair and offered us a poor example. It showed us that you can keep doing illegal things and gaining wealth,fancy cars, designer clothes and never have to atone for those sins.
Although it is small I also was disturbed by the name they gave their baby girl. It was very similar to the hero's ex-wife's name and the last syllables rhymed: The ex-wife's: ROZALINA Their baby girl: EVELINA. That was just too weird and strange especially since he couldn't stand the ex-wife and she had aborted his baby. I just found these similar names creepy!
I reread this frequently but it does get off to a slow start. The hero makes a huge turn-around in the end and they ended up so happy. Also a great epilogue!
Definitely recommend.
One last complaint...the bad twin really never got her comeuppance. I so wanted the hero to tell her family and her husband what she had done, how she refused to return the money and how she continuously blackmailed the good but very naive sister. It made the good twin seem very dense...just not bright at all.
There were absolutely no consequences and that is troubling.
February 7, 2019
Evil twin applies for bride to be to mega-rich Russian. Good twin has to fill in. Her winsome ways and untried vagina win the Russian over.
Evil twin needs to die a slow and painful death. Maybe a shallow grave for a shallow girl?
Bette Davis movie plot.
Evil twin needs to die a slow and painful death. Maybe a shallow grave for a shallow girl?
Bette Davis movie plot.
November 24, 2023
11/23/23 read it again as a Thanksgiving gift to myself! I adore this book! And it still makes me go ahhh at the end! Wonderful romance!
I love this book
I love kind heroines. She stood up for herself and I liked that. The scene at the disco where she started dancing with someone else because he was ignoring her was priceless. Her sister was just evil. Hated her. Such opposites. I loved the H too. You could feel h in changing from this cold oligarch to a kind loving man. I just loved his transformation. You could feel him falling in love with her too. Just a great book!!! It's another keeper!
I love this book
I love kind heroines. She stood up for herself and I liked that. The scene at the disco where she started dancing with someone else because he was ignoring her was priceless. Her sister was just evil. Hated her. Such opposites. I loved the H too. You could feel h in changing from this cold oligarch to a kind loving man. I just loved his transformation. You could feel him falling in love with her too. Just a great book!!! It's another keeper!
December 30, 2017
"Good" identical twin is forced into marriage with a Russian Billionaire because the "bad" identical twin signed a contract saying she would marry him and bear him a child for a pile of money. The "bad" twin doesn't want to ruin her figure with a pregnancy so she forges the heroine's name and then waltz's off with the money to marry another man.
Heroine goes along with the contract because the "bad" twin gave her mother enough money to buy out their adulterous mid-life crisis father and stay in the family home. She also has the hots for the hero and he for her.
When the hero finds out the deception, he's angry for a few days. But a trip on his yacht through the Greek Islands and lots of sex calm him right down. The final act is the heroine coming to terms with her feelings for the hero, hiding her wedding night pregnancy, and the hero showing a clear preference for her over her twin.
Lynne Graham checklist:
Selfish family member
Virgin heroine
Ruthless hero who is a marshmallow with his elderly grandmother, the heroine, and a stray dog
Super tall hero/petite heroine
Stray dog who worms his way into the hero's heart. This one has 3 legs
Hero hot for the heroine despite the wrong clothes and figure type.
Chocolate loving heroine
Heroine who can't hold her liquer
Heroine who loves to eat
Insta pregnancy
Heroine doesn't care about money
Epilogue with family and dog
Heroine goes along with the contract because the "bad" twin gave her mother enough money to buy out their adulterous mid-life crisis father and stay in the family home. She also has the hots for the hero and he for her.
When the hero finds out the deception, he's angry for a few days. But a trip on his yacht through the Greek Islands and lots of sex calm him right down. The final act is the heroine coming to terms with her feelings for the hero, hiding her wedding night pregnancy, and the hero showing a clear preference for her over her twin.
Lynne Graham checklist:
Selfish family member
Virgin heroine
Ruthless hero who is a marshmallow with his elderly grandmother, the heroine, and a stray dog
Super tall hero/petite heroine
Stray dog who worms his way into the hero's heart. This one has 3 legs
Hero hot for the heroine despite the wrong clothes and figure type.
Chocolate loving heroine
Heroine who can't hold her liquer
Heroine who loves to eat
Insta pregnancy
Heroine doesn't care about money
Epilogue with family and dog
November 11, 2017
Sergei is unique among Lynne's heroes because he loves football ! YAAAAY. I love football too. And it's called football where I'm from; not soccer. LOL. And Sergei also loves his big boys' type of toys like mega luxury yachts. Where was Sergei when I was single and looking for a husband? Haha it's good that my husband never comes on goodreads. Sergei was also kinda sweet. He could have treated Alissa like in a really cruel vengeful manner, the way a Charlotte Lamb or Anne Hampson hero would have done. However, he was lenient to Alissa and way too lenient to her disgusting slutty thief of a twin sister Alexa. I wished that less time had been spent on Alexa and her stupid idiot husband. That made the romance being Sergei and Alissa feel a bit rushed.
As for Alissa, well I loved her because she saved a stray dog who had had an accident in the street. That was so sweet. Anybody who saves a stray dog gets a vote from me ! Sergei wasn't really into dogs at first but he grew to love the little mutt because of Alissa. Sigh. So adorable. The epilogue was so romantic. Sergei and Alissa had their little baby girl Evelina. I remembered reading a subsequent novel by Lynne G ( Lindy and Atreus' novel ) where there's mention of Sergei and Alissa having a baby boy as well. Sergei definitely has a special place in my romancelandia book boyfriend hall of fame for being so very unique.
As for Alissa, well I loved her because she saved a stray dog who had had an accident in the street. That was so sweet. Anybody who saves a stray dog gets a vote from me ! Sergei wasn't really into dogs at first but he grew to love the little mutt because of Alissa. Sigh. So adorable. The epilogue was so romantic. Sergei and Alissa had their little baby girl Evelina. I remembered reading a subsequent novel by Lynne G ( Lindy and Atreus' novel ) where there's mention of Sergei and Alissa having a baby boy as well. Sergei definitely has a special place in my romancelandia book boyfriend hall of fame for being so very unique.
March 30, 2021
4.25 stars
I loved Sergei, the Russian hero. His chemistry with heroine Alissa sizzled, resulting in some passionate love scenes. There were fun moments too which enhanced my enjoyment.
Sergei was very arrogant, but I found this character trait more amusing than annoying because his positive traits like honesty, fairness, and generosity outweighed this negative. I also loved his sweet relationship with his grandmother, Yelena. He loved her so much that he was willing to do anything to make her happy, even sacrificing his cherished bachelorhood to give her a great-grandchild!
But back to his relationship with Alissa. Sergei definitely had a right to be angry with Alissa after she'd revealed her thoughtless (read: naive) part in her evil twin's scam, but because he loved her he didn't pursue legal action. He instead added a new condition to their arrangement. It may have been a bit ruthless (he's the "ruthless magnate" after all), but I thought the bargain a fair one considering the situation.
Definitely the best book in the Pregnant Bride series by a landslide!
I loved Sergei, the Russian hero. His chemistry with heroine Alissa sizzled, resulting in some passionate love scenes. There were fun moments too which enhanced my enjoyment.
Sergei was very arrogant, but I found this character trait more amusing than annoying because his positive traits like honesty, fairness, and generosity outweighed this negative. I also loved his sweet relationship with his grandmother, Yelena. He loved her so much that he was willing to do anything to make her happy, even sacrificing his cherished bachelorhood to give her a great-grandchild!
But back to his relationship with Alissa. Sergei definitely had a right to be angry with Alissa after she'd revealed her thoughtless (read: naive) part in her evil twin's scam, but because he loved her he didn't pursue legal action. He instead added a new condition to their arrangement. It may have been a bit ruthless (he's the "ruthless magnate" after all), but I thought the bargain a fair one considering the situation.
Definitely the best book in the Pregnant Bride series by a landslide!
July 23, 2017
4.5 stars
Just saying, if I ever marry it's going to be in my country where you can choose to marry by separate or joint goods (or whatever is it called in English)... That is unless I marry a billionaire 😈
So what did LG give me in this book that totally worked for me?
- The super evil thin and attractive twin sister (Alexa) that always takes advantage of the super good plump and plain h (Alissa). One of mynot so guilty pleasures.
- The I-don't-do-love H (because dad was a criminal, mom was a drunk and first shallow wife aborted his baby) wants to make grandma happy without risking his heart, aha.
So, H (Sergei) wants to get the temporary wife (for two years) to give him the child that's going to make grandma happy and comes with the typical HP solution: ask his lawyers to find him someone that ticks the right boxes, sign a contract and live HEA with his son and no wife.
Here comes the evil twin that applies for the job but using the h's name because being educated is a requirement and evil sisters don't go to college. Somehow the lawyers choose Alexa but when Sergei sees the photo and report he's not sure the chosen one is for him. Meanwhile Alexa is using emotional blackmail on Alissa because she's found another rich idiot to marry, whom won't demand her to have a child and make her lose her figure, oh and Alexa forgets to mention the job description BTW.
H and h meet at a club and H is horrible because she looks different and wants to sleep with her there and then; so doesn't give her much attention, dances with women and gets all caveman when she dares dance with a guy but she won't let him walk over her so he is obviously shocked.
Blah, blah, blah... He sends her expensive gifts everyday, wins mom. They marry, she wins grandma, the wedding sounded sweet and very real and they manage to get away and have the virgin surprise, then go back to the wedding where the guests demand endless kisses.
So far so good according to the H but the h is feeling guilty because she's the honest and moral sister and can't deceive him and when there's a mention of having a baby she spills the beans. Obviously he doesn't take it graciously and thinks the sisters were in it together so blackmail is the way to go.
The H and h have a honeymoon on a yacht and he is so nice for being the angry blackmailer so we need to stress the h and here comes the morning sickness. H takes her to confront the evil sister to add to Alissa's insecurities (actually he wanted her to realize how toxic was Alexa) and watching her thinner sister flirting with Sergei is too much for her so she flees but H soon finds her and tells her he's not letting her go .
His reaction to her pregnancy announcement was worthy of the 5 stars, any bad behavior of his was erased from my mind with that.
So why not the whole 5 stars? Here are the minor complaints:
- The parents divorce and trying to help mom not to lose her house to scum dad could have been solved with a decent lawyer but then I've read worse excuses for needing the H's money so I didn't mind that much.
- The evil sister should have run off a bridge in the car she bought with the H's money, or something. But at least she suffers the H's sardonic tongue every family function, which is more than some evil relatives get as punishment.
- The parents reconciliation should never ever have happened, unless mom cut dad's balls or something more painful.
Just saying, if I ever marry it's going to be in my country where you can choose to marry by separate or joint goods (or whatever is it called in English)... That is unless I marry a billionaire 😈
So what did LG give me in this book that totally worked for me?
- The super evil thin and attractive twin sister (Alexa) that always takes advantage of the super good plump and plain h (Alissa). One of my
- The I-don't-do-love H (because dad was a criminal, mom was a drunk and first shallow wife aborted his baby) wants to make grandma happy without risking his heart, aha.
So, H (Sergei) wants to get the temporary wife (for two years) to give him the child that's going to make grandma happy and comes with the typical HP solution: ask his lawyers to find him someone that ticks the right boxes, sign a contract and live HEA with his son and no wife.
Here comes the evil twin that applies for the job but using the h's name because being educated is a requirement and evil sisters don't go to college. Somehow the lawyers choose Alexa but when Sergei sees the photo and report he's not sure the chosen one is for him. Meanwhile Alexa is using emotional blackmail on Alissa because she's found another rich idiot to marry, whom won't demand her to have a child and make her lose her figure, oh and Alexa forgets to mention the job description BTW.
H and h meet at a club and H is horrible because she looks different and wants to sleep with her there and then; so doesn't give her much attention, dances with women and gets all caveman when she dares dance with a guy but she won't let him walk over her so he is obviously shocked.
Blah, blah, blah... He sends her expensive gifts everyday, wins mom. They marry, she wins grandma, the wedding sounded sweet and very real and they manage to get away and have the virgin surprise, then go back to the wedding where the guests demand endless kisses.
So far so good according to the H but the h is feeling guilty because she's the honest and moral sister and can't deceive him and when there's a mention of having a baby she spills the beans. Obviously he doesn't take it graciously and thinks the sisters were in it together so blackmail is the way to go.
The H and h have a honeymoon on a yacht and he is so nice for being the angry blackmailer so we need to stress the h and here comes the morning sickness. H takes her to confront the evil sister to add to Alissa's insecurities (actually he wanted her to realize how toxic was Alexa) and watching her thinner sister flirting with Sergei is too much for her so she flees but H soon finds her and tells her he's not letting her go .
His reaction to her pregnancy announcement was worthy of the 5 stars, any bad behavior of his was erased from my mind with that.
So why not the whole 5 stars? Here are the minor complaints:
- The parents divorce and trying to help mom not to lose her house to scum dad could have been solved with a decent lawyer but then I've read worse excuses for needing the H's money so I didn't mind that much.
- The evil sister should have run off a bridge in the car she bought with the H's money, or something. But at least she suffers the H's sardonic tongue every family function, which is more than some evil relatives get as punishment.
- The parents reconciliation should never ever have happened, unless mom cut dad's balls or something more painful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2023
I don’t know how many times I’ve read this, still a favorite!
December 19, 2014
It was a pleasant read but I didn't really enjoy this one as much as others by Graham. Heroine and her sister were caricatures of Good and evil. Her sister was just too one-dimensionally awful (not a virgin of course so must be the equivalent of a whore) and the heroine too insecure and pathetic. The hero was not a good person...his solution to difficult divorce and custody proceedings he describes (where women only seek custody of their own children out of greed, because no women love their own children) is to purchase a baby. Very Michael Jackson-Debby Rowe. A actually exactly that. Adoption is a beautiful thing, but the particular type of surrogacy (pretend marriage, mother selling and abandoning her baby for load of cash) that was planned by hero, and demanded by him of heroine even when it was clear that she didn't know what she signed up for, was offensive to me.
I also didn't like the whole reason for needing money. The backstory of the father and mother was pathetic, wonder where the heroine learned to be a doormat. Mother nursed father for cancer, then he leaves her for another woman and demands a buyout for half of the mother's childhood home and her business while he keeps his good salary? (How was that legally possible?). And then mother takes him back...really sad.
Hard for me to read Graham's series with its throwaway mention of other couples (jarring and irrelevant to the story) because it's just not believable that there are these 3 beautiful virgins well over age of consent who happen to be roommates. Also, the loss of her virginity here was distressing to me...hero is not treating her well, doesn't really care about her as a person, threatens to prosecute her even though she was clearly duped, demands that she prostitute herself to pay back money he knows she doesn't have. And he never really sees what was wrong with his original plan....I never warmed to him, couldn't understand why heroine loved him (her first sexual attraction = insta love. I'm already suspending disbelief of knowing how Russian billionaires really make their money, so when they have cold, cruel elements without hints of real sweetness, it just brings too much reality in. I thought his sudden declarations of love were silly and out of nowhere.
The Ruthless Magnate's Virgin Mistress was flawed but a better Russian hero.
I also didn't like the whole reason for needing money. The backstory of the father and mother was pathetic, wonder where the heroine learned to be a doormat. Mother nursed father for cancer, then he leaves her for another woman and demands a buyout for half of the mother's childhood home and her business while he keeps his good salary? (How was that legally possible?). And then mother takes him back...really sad.
Hard for me to read Graham's series with its throwaway mention of other couples (jarring and irrelevant to the story) because it's just not believable that there are these 3 beautiful virgins well over age of consent who happen to be roommates. Also, the loss of her virginity here was distressing to me...hero is not treating her well, doesn't really care about her as a person, threatens to prosecute her even though she was clearly duped, demands that she prostitute herself to pay back money he knows she doesn't have. And he never really sees what was wrong with his original plan....I never warmed to him, couldn't understand why heroine loved him (her first sexual attraction = insta love. I'm already suspending disbelief of knowing how Russian billionaires really make their money, so when they have cold, cruel elements without hints of real sweetness, it just brings too much reality in. I thought his sudden declarations of love were silly and out of nowhere.
The Ruthless Magnate's Virgin Mistress was flawed but a better Russian hero.
November 7, 2018
"Ruthless Magnate, Convenient Wife" is the story of Sergei and Alissa.
Basically our hero, Russian billionaire Sergei Antonovich has been burned by marriage before and comes up with the genius idea of having a bride of convenience to give him a baby and scram off, in order to please his elderly grandmother. He auditions many women, only to find the perfect "Alissa", who as per her interviews and picture is supposed to be ideal, however leaves him cold. However, when he meets her, he finds himself getting hard and realizes he is very attracted to her!
Alissa is living a peaceful life, trying to help her family after her father runs out on her mother- when her sister Alexa informs her that she has pretended to be Alissa, entered into a contract with a Russian billionaire, taken and spent all the money, and now wants Alissa to fulfill it as Alexa is pregnant with another man's baby, and wants to marry him! Initially reluctant, Alissa soon agrees to help out her family.
As Alissa and Sergei begin their marriage, Sergei finds himself intrigued by the shy yet passionate and very different Alissa. But as he spells out the terms of contract for her, she confesses the deception and Sergei is infuriated. Can their doomed marriage really work?
A very quick yet interesting read with a passionate hero, willful heroine, hot lovemaking, quick resolution of conflicts and HEA. I liked that the lies were confessed easily without much drama, the hero wasn't overly hurtful to the heroine, and the couple was genuinely into one another. I really wanted to smack Alexa though, and wished she got a on page smackdown.
Enjoyed it!
Safe
4/5
Basically our hero, Russian billionaire Sergei Antonovich has been burned by marriage before and comes up with the genius idea of having a bride of convenience to give him a baby and scram off, in order to please his elderly grandmother. He auditions many women, only to find the perfect "Alissa", who as per her interviews and picture is supposed to be ideal, however leaves him cold. However, when he meets her, he finds himself getting hard and realizes he is very attracted to her!
Alissa is living a peaceful life, trying to help her family after her father runs out on her mother- when her sister Alexa informs her that she has pretended to be Alissa, entered into a contract with a Russian billionaire, taken and spent all the money, and now wants Alissa to fulfill it as Alexa is pregnant with another man's baby, and wants to marry him! Initially reluctant, Alissa soon agrees to help out her family.
As Alissa and Sergei begin their marriage, Sergei finds himself intrigued by the shy yet passionate and very different Alissa. But as he spells out the terms of contract for her, she confesses the deception and Sergei is infuriated. Can their doomed marriage really work?
A very quick yet interesting read with a passionate hero, willful heroine, hot lovemaking, quick resolution of conflicts and HEA. I liked that the lies were confessed easily without much drama, the hero wasn't overly hurtful to the heroine, and the couple was genuinely into one another. I really wanted to smack Alexa though, and wished she got a on page smackdown.
Enjoyed it!
Safe
4/5
May 27, 2010
Nothing really wrong with this romance, other than that I'm put off by characters who sacrifice themselves for the sake of really nasty relatives. I found it readable, but not especially interesting. It's a good twin/evil twin story, if that floats your boat.
October 14, 2011
I liked this one much better than the first one. The premise was a little different in that the hero decided to acquire a wife by having his lawyers pick one working off of a bullet list. But of course the girl they pick is the evil one of a set of twins who talks her sister into following through with the marriage without telling our heroine, the good twin, that she had committed her to bearing a child and giving it up to him. She was sweet and I liked the way she kept the hero off balance. I would have liked there to have been a bit more of the story during their honeymoon where they fell in love. That part was a whole bunch of telling rather than showing. I think it was a result of too much story to tell in the amount of space available in the HP format. So the first 2/3rds of the book was wonderful with all the scenes fully shown in action and dialog. The last part half was not as good but all together I liked it.
February 5, 2022
This is very PC 2009 trying hard to seem like an old school Harlequin and failing.
He seems like a ruthless mean asshole but he’s really just a besotted teddy bear.
The twin swap aspect and evil twin saved it from being a bore. I just wish the evil twin had gotten more of a comeuppance. I really wanted the H to hand her her ass, but it never happened. 😐
Bottom Line? This book was fine but was missing some edge. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- OW drama - the night the MCs meet, the H allows random women to dance with him and monopolize his time - also he allows the h’s twin to flirt outrageously with him, but he was just trying the show the h what a terrible the twin is
- OM drama - the h dances with OM to give the H some of his own medicine - the H thinks he has pics of the h with OM, and gets very angry, but the man in pics is her dad
- no dubcon
- h is a 23 yr old virgin (surprise!)
- the H is maybe late 20s?? His age isn’t given - he is divorced and has an active social life
He seems like a ruthless mean asshole but he’s really just a besotted teddy bear.
The twin swap aspect and evil twin saved it from being a bore. I just wish the evil twin had gotten more of a comeuppance. I really wanted the H to hand her her ass, but it never happened. 😐
Bottom Line? This book was fine but was missing some edge. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- OW drama - the night the MCs meet, the H allows random women to dance with him and monopolize his time - also he allows the h’s twin to flirt outrageously with him, but he was just trying the show the h what a terrible the twin is
- OM drama - the h dances with OM to give the H some of his own medicine - the H thinks he has pics of the h with OM, and gets very angry, but the man in pics is her dad
- no dubcon
- h is a 23 yr old virgin (surprise!)
- the H is maybe late 20s?? His age isn’t given - he is divorced and has an active social life
May 28, 2018
This is the usual hp story. You will forget it the next day:D...hmm...Separately both the h and H are good characters but not a match in this story. He is cute and sweet and all but just not for her. She is the alpha. How he got to be a billionaire beats me..
wait wait i cant end the review and not say about the dog... the cute little 3 leg dog
wait wait i cant end the review and not say about the dog... the cute little 3 leg dog
March 13, 2013
I thought this would be an arranged marriage book. Instead it was a story about twin sisters one of them being evil. Both the hero and heroine were likable but the novel needed more scenes with them as in together. Their chemistry and relationship was seriously underdeveloped in my opinion!
November 21, 2011
This review is also published on Always a Booklover .
I really dunno what to say about this book. It had me hooked right from the beginning, but somehow, I just can't say I love it. I really don't have any complaints about this book, but neither do I have anything that particularly stood out to me.
Sergei and Alissa are just two very different people. Sergei is cold, sometimes unfeeling and have that idea that women are all not very good people. Alissa is just the entire opposite. She's friendly, sweet and sometimes quite gullible. Oh, one thing that they have in common is that both of them are really loyal to their family.
Ok, let's get started with the plot. Pace of the book was alright, it didn’t jump forward too quickly and with barely a word to suggest otherwise. It wasn’t long-winded, each part was elaborated just enough. The plot was interesting and I liked seeing how Sergei was so affected by Alissa.
I really liked Alissa. She was really sweet and even though she was tricked by her sister (I hate that girl), she still manages to adapt. As for Sergei, I didn’t really understand him, so I can’t really comment on his character. He’s kinda a little weird. At first, I couldn’t stand him after he described the coat attendant as just a menial servant and was so rude to her. But later, when he was so sweet to Alissa, like buying her chocs frequently, and his actions to her sister, just made me like him.
I want to rant about Alissa’s sister, Alexa. Pardon my language, but that woman is a bi**h. Seriously. Gosh, what woman could even do what she did? She totally lied to her twin sister without even batting an eyelid. What’s best is that she totally did not feel remorseful. I hate her! Ok, this part may be a little bit of a spoiler. Let’s see, so first she convinced Alissa to marry Sergei because she’s pregnant and want to marry some guy called Henry. Guess what? There’s no baby. Another thing, she can’t stand it that Alissa can actually attract Sergei. Hello Alexa? You practically threw her into his path and now you’re unhappy and jealous that she’s the one with him. Wth? Oh, and she tried making a play for Sergei. In front of Alissa and her husband, Henry. Can I point out the fact that Alissa and Sergei were married at that time? Gosh, wth is wrong with her! Why oh why is she such a slut? And a bitch? Pardon my language, I’m really very annoyed with her right now. Haha I was so happy when Sergei just completely ignored her every move for him and was just so nonchalant about it. Gosh, that girl is soooo immature, childish and seriously, a bi**h. Ok, I’m not gonna talk about her anymore.
I know I said earlier that I didn’t have any complaints about the book. But there is one thing I didn’t really like. I felt that the love between Alissa and Sergei wasn’t very prevalent. Sure, they were wildly attracted to each other, neither having felt the same way before. But I couldn’t feel the love. They hardly spent any time talking to each other, instead most of the scenes containing both of them were of them making love. And they may have good sex, but that doesn’t mean they are in love. I just couldn’t feel it. Sure, all the signs were there. Possessiveness, some jealousy, happiness when they were together, but I just didn’t see the love. And that’s the main problem I have with it. Considering that this is supposed to be a romance, I’m pretty disappointed that it didn’t contain those aspects.
But all in all, this was a pretty good book. Yes, I was hooked from the start, but somehow there was just something missing. I think it’s the lack of love that I felt, or rather, didn’t feel. After I finished the book, I had this feeling of dissatisfaction. Oh well, it was still a rather enjoyable read!
I really dunno what to say about this book. It had me hooked right from the beginning, but somehow, I just can't say I love it. I really don't have any complaints about this book, but neither do I have anything that particularly stood out to me.
Sergei and Alissa are just two very different people. Sergei is cold, sometimes unfeeling and have that idea that women are all not very good people. Alissa is just the entire opposite. She's friendly, sweet and sometimes quite gullible. Oh, one thing that they have in common is that both of them are really loyal to their family.
Ok, let's get started with the plot. Pace of the book was alright, it didn’t jump forward too quickly and with barely a word to suggest otherwise. It wasn’t long-winded, each part was elaborated just enough. The plot was interesting and I liked seeing how Sergei was so affected by Alissa.
I really liked Alissa. She was really sweet and even though she was tricked by her sister (I hate that girl), she still manages to adapt. As for Sergei, I didn’t really understand him, so I can’t really comment on his character. He’s kinda a little weird. At first, I couldn’t stand him after he described the coat attendant as just a menial servant and was so rude to her. But later, when he was so sweet to Alissa, like buying her chocs frequently, and his actions to her sister, just made me like him.
I want to rant about Alissa’s sister, Alexa. Pardon my language, but that woman is a bi**h. Seriously. Gosh, what woman could even do what she did? She totally lied to her twin sister without even batting an eyelid. What’s best is that she totally did not feel remorseful. I hate her! Ok, this part may be a little bit of a spoiler. Let’s see, so first she convinced Alissa to marry Sergei because she’s pregnant and want to marry some guy called Henry. Guess what? There’s no baby. Another thing, she can’t stand it that Alissa can actually attract Sergei. Hello Alexa? You practically threw her into his path and now you’re unhappy and jealous that she’s the one with him. Wth? Oh, and she tried making a play for Sergei. In front of Alissa and her husband, Henry. Can I point out the fact that Alissa and Sergei were married at that time? Gosh, wth is wrong with her! Why oh why is she such a slut? And a bitch? Pardon my language, I’m really very annoyed with her right now. Haha I was so happy when Sergei just completely ignored her every move for him and was just so nonchalant about it. Gosh, that girl is soooo immature, childish and seriously, a bi**h. Ok, I’m not gonna talk about her anymore.
I know I said earlier that I didn’t have any complaints about the book. But there is one thing I didn’t really like. I felt that the love between Alissa and Sergei wasn’t very prevalent. Sure, they were wildly attracted to each other, neither having felt the same way before. But I couldn’t feel the love. They hardly spent any time talking to each other, instead most of the scenes containing both of them were of them making love. And they may have good sex, but that doesn’t mean they are in love. I just couldn’t feel it. Sure, all the signs were there. Possessiveness, some jealousy, happiness when they were together, but I just didn’t see the love. And that’s the main problem I have with it. Considering that this is supposed to be a romance, I’m pretty disappointed that it didn’t contain those aspects.
But all in all, this was a pretty good book. Yes, I was hooked from the start, but somehow there was just something missing. I think it’s the lack of love that I felt, or rather, didn’t feel. After I finished the book, I had this feeling of dissatisfaction. Oh well, it was still a rather enjoyable read!
December 11, 2017
Loved this book! I’m a sucker for a plot that has a heroine who has a mean and selfish sister/cousin/friend etc... This might be my favorite Russian hero so far. This book was a welcome change for me as, though I am a HUGE Lynne Graham fan, I’ve been feeling kind of “ewww” about some of her books lately.
If you like the hero Sergei in this book, you will love Apollo from Lynne Graham’s other book “The Greek’s Christmas Bride.” Both are super alpha males who are used to being spoiled by women and are surprised when the heroine doesn’t act the way they expect other women to.
If you like the hero Sergei in this book, you will love Apollo from Lynne Graham’s other book “The Greek’s Christmas Bride.” Both are super alpha males who are used to being spoiled by women and are surprised when the heroine doesn’t act the way they expect other women to.
August 1, 2013
I really liked the concept, but it sort of fell flat for me. A Russian hero is a nice change of pace from all the Greek Tycoon's (that entire country must be populated by them).
It wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. The twin was just too up-front nasty/evil to be believable.
It wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. The twin was just too up-front nasty/evil to be believable.
April 17, 2016
It's been a long time and I've finally found a recent book by Lynne Graham that didn't make me cringe or suffer from boredom. RMCW features a hero who's alpha without being cruel (is also surprisingly mature and mostly gets amused at the heroine's many missteps, instead of turning into a raging volcano) and a heroine who kind of has a spine and doesn't roll over to please her vicious relatives at every turn (in this case a malicious twin). So there were the usual elements - an express pregnancy, allusions to the H's many supermodel/actress lovers (thankfully, none of them had an important role to play; but it's important for a harlequin hero to be something of a man-whore i think, for readers to believe in his virility) and of course, the heroine's (predictable) virginity. But even with all these cliches, I quite enjoyed the story - although I really wasn't expecting to (hated the first one in this series - the typical cruel hero and helpless heroine trope thingy again). Fortunately, it seems like Ms. Graham finally got some of her groove back with this one and I can finally stop hesitating (hopefully) about whether to read her new releases or not. If not, I can always re-read The Cozakis Bride (one of my absolute favourites by this author :) ).
September 19, 2013
what an absolutely awesome read !! i simply loved it ! loved how from the first moment seige cud not keep away from alissa. he just had the hots 4 her n it was so funny how he jumped on her in the interval of the wedding reception. the stupid man..he ravished a poor virgin..just fucked her wildly. the 2nd time was no better, he took her on the table. he clearly cud not control himself where she was concerned !! LOL
November 14, 2017
Yazarın okumadığım kitabı kalmamıştır diye düşünüyordum..Özlemişim okumayı...
September 11, 2025
Entertainingly melodramatic, marriage-of-convenience, switched-twins romance from 2009 with a 1990s, dark-alpha vibe
Alissa and Alexa Bartlett are identical twins but, at age 23, after years of entirely different lifestyles, they don't look nearly as alike as they used to. Alissa is an upright, compassionate, voluptuous virgin who dresses conservatively, and Alexa is a greedy, promiscuous, rail-thin narcissist who dresses like a high-class hooker.
Gorgeous, self-made Russian billionaire, Sergei Antonovich, has only ever loved one person, his maternal grandmother. His babushka is a scrappy old lady who has lived in the same tiny village in Russia her entire life. Sergei was well on his way to ending up as a thug serving hard time when his grandmother took him in at age 13, after the untimely demise of his criminal father and alcoholic mother. Everything Sergei has achieved as a self-made tycoon over the past almost 20 years he firmly believes he owes entirely to his grandmother. But she refuses to allow him to build her a bigger home and shower her with luxuries. She continues to live simply in the tiny cottage where she raised him, only allowing him to indirectly better her life by acting as a benevolent patron to everyone else in her village. All she wants from her grandson is for him to marry and produce grandchildren for her to dandle on her knee.
After a failed first marriage to a beautiful woman who wanted nothing from Sergei but his money, and who aborted the grandchild he was greatly hoping to present to his grandmother, he has decided that the only way he will ever marry again is to do it as a business deal. For a huge amount of money, based on an ironclad contract, he will hire a woman to briefly marry him, produce a child, and then walk away.
Unfortunately for both Sergei and Alissa, Alexa has stolen her twin's identity in order to be hired for this morally dubious assignment, and she has squandered every penny of the enormous advance Sergei gave her. Having no desire to spoil her figure with the ravages of pregnancy--though she has zero hesitation about giving away her own child--Alexa is determined to dump fulfillment of Sergei's iniquitous contract on Alissa. Because Alexa is a talented con artist, by means of extremely persuasive lies, as well as completely omitting mention of the broodmare cause of the contract, she convinces naively trusting Alissa to stand in for her and marry Sergei.
Similar to the HP sheikh romances, HP Russian oligarch romances have very little resemblance to the real world. But if you can roll with the fact that this story is 95% fantasy and suspend disbelief, it is quite entertaining.
LG doesn't write MMCs like Sergei anymore, but fortunately for fans of her dark-alpha romances, all but two or three of the almost 130 novels she has written over the past 40 years are still in print in ebook format.
Alissa and Alexa Bartlett are identical twins but, at age 23, after years of entirely different lifestyles, they don't look nearly as alike as they used to. Alissa is an upright, compassionate, voluptuous virgin who dresses conservatively, and Alexa is a greedy, promiscuous, rail-thin narcissist who dresses like a high-class hooker.
Gorgeous, self-made Russian billionaire, Sergei Antonovich, has only ever loved one person, his maternal grandmother. His babushka is a scrappy old lady who has lived in the same tiny village in Russia her entire life. Sergei was well on his way to ending up as a thug serving hard time when his grandmother took him in at age 13, after the untimely demise of his criminal father and alcoholic mother. Everything Sergei has achieved as a self-made tycoon over the past almost 20 years he firmly believes he owes entirely to his grandmother. But she refuses to allow him to build her a bigger home and shower her with luxuries. She continues to live simply in the tiny cottage where she raised him, only allowing him to indirectly better her life by acting as a benevolent patron to everyone else in her village. All she wants from her grandson is for him to marry and produce grandchildren for her to dandle on her knee.
After a failed first marriage to a beautiful woman who wanted nothing from Sergei but his money, and who aborted the grandchild he was greatly hoping to present to his grandmother, he has decided that the only way he will ever marry again is to do it as a business deal. For a huge amount of money, based on an ironclad contract, he will hire a woman to briefly marry him, produce a child, and then walk away.
Unfortunately for both Sergei and Alissa, Alexa has stolen her twin's identity in order to be hired for this morally dubious assignment, and she has squandered every penny of the enormous advance Sergei gave her. Having no desire to spoil her figure with the ravages of pregnancy--though she has zero hesitation about giving away her own child--Alexa is determined to dump fulfillment of Sergei's iniquitous contract on Alissa. Because Alexa is a talented con artist, by means of extremely persuasive lies, as well as completely omitting mention of the broodmare cause of the contract, she convinces naively trusting Alissa to stand in for her and marry Sergei.
Similar to the HP sheikh romances, HP Russian oligarch romances have very little resemblance to the real world. But if you can roll with the fact that this story is 95% fantasy and suspend disbelief, it is quite entertaining.
LG doesn't write MMCs like Sergei anymore, but fortunately for fans of her dark-alpha romances, all but two or three of the almost 130 novels she has written over the past 40 years are still in print in ebook format.
November 25, 2017
I really enjoy Grahams works,and almost all of them has earned a five star from me.This one lacked the all too intense element of a kind,but the romance were still hot and exciting.
Sergei Antonovich is a russian business tyccon,famous for being cold-hearted and ruthless who wants a convenient wife who can give him a child for his grandmothers sake-a marriage based on contract.
He meets the honest and innocent Alissa,and both of them falls into the puddle of sexual desire,all the while Alissa fights the love...and the hidden secret of her not being what he thinks she is.
Enjoyed this book immensely and i give Graham a credit for being so talented when it comes to hell of a hot steamy scenes!
Sergei Antonovich is a russian business tyccon,famous for being cold-hearted and ruthless who wants a convenient wife who can give him a child for his grandmothers sake-a marriage based on contract.
He meets the honest and innocent Alissa,and both of them falls into the puddle of sexual desire,all the while Alissa fights the love...and the hidden secret of her not being what he thinks she is.
Enjoyed this book immensely and i give Graham a credit for being so talented when it comes to hell of a hot steamy scenes!
December 2, 2021
I am astonished at the 5 star reviews.
This could have been a fabulous story were it not for the ridiculous ‘evil’ twin and the stupid, naive, credulous idiotic other twin aka our heroine. Her behaviour towards the hero Sergei was just so ridiculously unreal. Her sister is an absolute horror - not a single redeeming feature but the heroine twin allows her to walk all over her, denigrate her and treat her like an idiot. I just could not engage with her at all. Shame because the hero,was fabulous! Sorry, but I am getting really fed up,with the number of LG stories which have an unsympathetic heroine. It is so annoying because LG can really write - why does she create such ridiculous characters?
This could have been a fabulous story were it not for the ridiculous ‘evil’ twin and the stupid, naive, credulous idiotic other twin aka our heroine. Her behaviour towards the hero Sergei was just so ridiculously unreal. Her sister is an absolute horror - not a single redeeming feature but the heroine twin allows her to walk all over her, denigrate her and treat her like an idiot. I just could not engage with her at all. Shame because the hero,was fabulous! Sorry, but I am getting really fed up,with the number of LG stories which have an unsympathetic heroine. It is so annoying because LG can really write - why does she create such ridiculous characters?
February 6, 2011
I Love Sergei and Allissa. I love the concept, but Allissa's sister what an a#$hole sorry for that term but when you read the book you will detest her sister as well, money does things to people. Any way I enjoyed my read I still love Lynne Grahman of course you know her men are a little overbearing.
May 14, 2020
قراءتها بعنوان بريئة بين يديه بترجمة منتدى روايتي
احببت هذه الروايه كثييراا كانت ممتعه
احببت هذه الروايه كثييراا كانت ممتعه
December 8, 2018
Meh. This was wordy. Like really wordy. And I like words. But it just felt it but superfluous (see!). Sergei was a jerk, Alissa was too mealy mouthed, and Alexa got away with far too much. The entire plot was propelled by lies, deceptions, and a refusal to communicate on both of the main characters part. They just really weren't that likable, but for some reason I felt compelled to finish the book in hopes that Alissa would grow a pair, even though I KNEW how it would all play out. And Alissa never did woman up. Sigh... 2 out of 5 wine glasses.
July 14, 2019
Didn't like this one. Didn't even feel like it was written by LG. Sergei seemed robotic and the twins, way too annoying. The evil one was predictable and the nice one was a total frump. She lacked finesse (like scolding a billionaire like his mother to be nice to the girl at the coat check out).
It's like the writer tried way too hard to make the nicer one seem nice. Couldn't stand her try hard ways.
It's like the writer tried way too hard to make the nicer one seem nice. Couldn't stand her try hard ways.
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