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Giordanni's Proposal
A marriage proposal -- Italian-style!
Beth was left breathless when gorgeous Italian tycoon Dex Giordanni proposed marriage--within days of meeting her! But then she overheard a conversation that chilled her: Dex wanted to wed her to settle a family score.
Beth prepared herself to end their engagement--how could she ham born so naive as to think Dex was really interested in a virgin like her? But Dex didn't take no for an answer. If a diamond ring couldn't seduce her to the altar, then he would!
Beth was left breathless when gorgeous Italian tycoon Dex Giordanni proposed marriage--within days of meeting her! But then she overheard a conversation that chilled her: Dex wanted to wed her to settle a family score.
Beth prepared herself to end their engagement--how could she ham born so naive as to think Dex was really interested in a virgin like her? But Dex didn't take no for an answer. If a diamond ring couldn't seduce her to the altar, then he would!
184 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
32 people are currently reading
267 people want to read
About the author
Jacqueline Baird
276 books258 followersJacqueline Baird was born on the 1st of April at home in a small village Northumbria, England, UK, where she raised. She went to the local village school, and later an all-girls' grammar school where she passed the University of Oxford General Certificate of Education in various subjects. On leaving school she joined the civil service in the then Post Office department.
She met her husband Jim, when she was only eighteen. Eight years later, after working as a hotel receptionist in a five-star hotel in Scotland and traveling abroad for a few years, she came home and married him. They still live in Northumbria and have two grown sons.
Her number one love is writing. She has always been an avid reader, and she had her first success as a writer at the age of eleven, when she won the first prize in the Nature Diary of the Year competition at school. But she always felt a little guilty because her diary was more fiction than fact. Apart from a spell as a hopeful painter in oils, when she actually did have a painting accepted for the Federation of Northern Artists' annual exhibition her real passion was for romance novels. When her sons went to school all day she thought she would try writing one. Jacqueline Baird's been writing for Mills & Boon since 1988, and she still gets a thrill every time a new book is published.
When Jacqueline is not busy writing she likes to spend her time traveling, reading and playing cards. She was a keen sailor until a knee injury ended her sailing days, but she still enjoys swimming in the sea. She visits a gym twice a week now and has made the surprising discovery that she gets some good ideas while doing the mind-numbingly boring exercises on the cycling and weight machines.
She met her husband Jim, when she was only eighteen. Eight years later, after working as a hotel receptionist in a five-star hotel in Scotland and traveling abroad for a few years, she came home and married him. They still live in Northumbria and have two grown sons.
Her number one love is writing. She has always been an avid reader, and she had her first success as a writer at the age of eleven, when she won the first prize in the Nature Diary of the Year competition at school. But she always felt a little guilty because her diary was more fiction than fact. Apart from a spell as a hopeful painter in oils, when she actually did have a painting accepted for the Federation of Northern Artists' annual exhibition her real passion was for romance novels. When her sons went to school all day she thought she would try writing one. Jacqueline Baird's been writing for Mills & Boon since 1988, and she still gets a thrill every time a new book is published.
When Jacqueline is not busy writing she likes to spend her time traveling, reading and playing cards. She was a keen sailor until a knee injury ended her sailing days, but she still enjoys swimming in the sea. She visits a gym twice a week now and has made the surprising discovery that she gets some good ideas while doing the mind-numbingly boring exercises on the cycling and weight machines.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 30, 2019
Re Giordanni's Proposal - Jacqueline Baird brings us an old skool utter whackfest trainwreck of an HP outing.
The H in this one is named Dexter - it means towards the right hand side. His last name is Giordanni and of course he is Italian. He is 33 and his back story is that his mother had him 18 months after she was widowed. Apparently in Dex's conservative Italian hometown, this was a tremendous scandal.
The shadow of his being born on the 'left side of the blanket', (in other words he was illegitimate,) and even worse the son of a widow who should have been properly wearing black and mourning for the rest of her life, has left a very negative aura around Dex for most of his HP existence.
Throw in a bad marriage to a Pay to Play Popsie, who happened to be the first woman he slept with and married cause he did not know any better, who then threw him over for a older, richer man and you can assume that Dex Darling has some issues.
In fact, in classic JB style, Dex is an utter donkey hiney nematode snot snarfer. And that is probably being too kind to him and very unfair to donkey posteriors. But that is the juxtaposition upon which JB's Shire of HPlandia rests.
JB H's are ALWAYS nematodes, they just can't help themselves and JB obviously has never met a member of the Chromadorea class that she did not like.
In comparison, her h's- this one is named Beth- are usually smart and talented career ladies - or working towards a career and while they may suffer the spine dissolving effects of the HP Lurve Force Mojo, they also are pretty quick with a sharp comeback and they at least try to remember their seekrit calcium supplements.
Beth is 21 and is a graphic artist in London. Her beloved godfather Paul got her a job in an ad agency and also helped her pay for her uni degree - Paul was her deceased father's BFF and has stood in as a surrogate dad since Beth was two.
Beth's mother has made a career out of singing, with an intense focus on multiple marriages. It was during one of her five or six marriages that Beth met her stepbrother.
When the story starts, Beth's stepbrother wants Beth to dress up and do a little dance routine with him in his boss's office, the stepbrother made some kind of bet and needs Beth's help to win it.
Beth allows herself to be cajoled into participating and during the course of their dance routine in the Big Office, Beth falls flat on her back. Dex is right there to help Beth up in all his smouldering Italian Male HP Alpha Glory. Before poor Beth even has time to find the calcium bottle, Dex is all about sweeping her off her feet.
Little does Beth know that Dex is actually pulling a sneaky counter maneuver and trying to score at the same time. It turns out that Paul was seeing Dex's older sister. Dex's sister is very passionate and a bit incendiary and when she and Paul had a tiff, Paul went home to London.
Once in London, Paul did his godfatherly duty and took Beth out for a chat and dinner. Dex and his sister saw the two of them together and in a classic 'fight for your man' move, Dex's sister dumped Paul's lamb chops on his head. Dex quickly whisked his irate sister out of the exclusive restaurant, while Beth sat in stunned surprised.
Beth was so surprised, she never got a good look at Dex and now is an innocent butterfly unknowingly waiting for the net to strike. Before Beth can catch a deep breath, Dex has offered her a ring and a huge amount of roofie kisses.
Beth is in love and joyous with it. Until she inadvertently overhears Dex and his male assistant talking about her and Dex reveals that he is only looking for a bang with a babe and keeping Paul safe for his sister.
Beth realizes that Dex thinks she is Paul's bed warmer and is gravely hurt to realize that he has never actually said he loved her, or actually proposed for that matter. Beth decides to dig out that calcium supplement right away. After riding around on the bus for a few hours to give the calcium a little time to work, Beth goes back to her flat and is ready to facedown Dex.
Beth dumps Dex, but doesn't explain what she heard or reveal the family connection to Paul. Dex, being a sensitive big baby about a lot of things, decides a little forced seduction is the perfect reprisal to Beth attempting to kick him out.
Beth reluctantly gives into the Lurve Force Purple Passion, but then realizes that her body overrode her brain and tells Dex off royally in the aftermath. Dex goes, but it is clear he is not happy and Beth does a good job of trying to get over him for a few weeks.
It all goes pear shaped when Dex shows up as Beth and her stepbrother and his new fiancee are going out for a Halloween party. Dex decides that two weeks without Beth is quite long enough. But since Beth took extra strength calcium and bought a chastity belt for extra reinforcement, Dex is forced to try and blackmail Beth into being his mistress.
He twirls his invisible mustache and tells Beth that if she doesn't agree to be his new Penthouse Popsie, he will get her beloved stepbrother fired. He writes his number on her hand with a Sharpie and tells her the deadline for her answer is 10 AM.
Beth is almost tempted, cause her Treacherous Body Syndrome is being very treacherous, but staying up all night fretting tends to wear a body out and in a stunningly hilarious moment, Beth sleeps through Dex's deadline.
Dex is already off and leaves the country before Beth can call him up. Since Beth has no clue where Dex really lives, she figures all is lost. But nothing happens and her stepbrother is fine.
Then Beth gets a wedding invitation from Paul. He and Dex's sister are finally getting married and Beth figures that the wedding date being set has finally warded Dex off - his sister got her man.
Beth goes to Italy for the wedding and who should magically appear just as Beth is giving a daughterly kiss to Paul's cheek? Why it is Dex, of course and in an astounding fit of rage, Dex hits Paul in the face and drags Beth off.
After driving like a mad person, Dex pulls over and Beth yells at him for beating up her godfather and honorary dad. Dex feels a teensy bit ashamed and eventually he apologizes to every one BUT Beth.
Later that night, Beth finds out she is staying at Dex's house and Dex tries to negotiate a truce because Beth has been making glarey faces at Dex all through dinner. Beth reluctantly agrees and then shows up at the wedding in a red Chanel suit that drives Dex wild.
He snaps and snarls at every man who even looks at her and after an unsuccessful seduction attempt later on, Beth takes herself off to bed and is counting the hours until she can escape from the raving toe rag snot pustule that Dex has turned out to be.
The next morning, Beth oversleeps again and Dex is really cranky. He decides to take Beth back to the Italian mainland using his high speed launch.
In a comedy of slapstick errors, he knocks Beth off the back of his boat, literally knocks her out as she is trying to swim to the dock ladder and frantically strips off both of their clothes when he tries to get Beth in the shower to warm her back up.
All of this frenetic action from a man who is usually as smooth as glass really sets Beth off. Clutching her towel fiercely, Beth steps up for round two of Totally Telling Dex Off. Dex is finally forced to admit he is madly in love with Beth and has been for weeks.
He claims he has been unable to sleep for stressing about how to bind Beth to him, but she can't possibly feel the same because every time he tries to issue and ultimatum to her, Beth just falls asleep and has absolutely no consideration for Dex's frighteningly tender feelings.
(Poor Dex was so outraged that he was pacing the floor all night in gut wrenching anxiety when he delivered his "be my mistress or the step brother gets it" ultimatum and Beth just sleeps right through it. )
Dex also admits that being in love makes him feel out of control and of course he has to be a Big Bullying Baby about it. Then Dex almost has a heart incident when Beth starts crying during the course of his big declaration speech. But Beth is crying tears of joy as she timidly admits that she is in love with Dex too.
Dex and Beth marry and the epilogue is Paul and Dex's sister waiting for Dex and Beth to show up for their daughter's christening. They are running late and when Dex is taxed about it and Beth can only blush, the only explanation Dex will give is that he and Beth overslept.
I like this book, even tho Dex is a nematode for most of it. Mainly because this is the definitive book of the ultimate JB HP style. JB is the queen of blackmail in HPlandia, her H's will always go the coercive route to get their h.
But JB also gives a clear understanding that while the H's may be trying to use blackmail and coercion to deny their feelings and still win their h, they aren't really going to do whatever heinous action they threaten.
JB H's really are big marshmallows at heart, tho they will push their luck and toss off a lot of guff to try and make things go their way. But at the end of the day, they really do have a bedrock moral standard and they aren't truly going to use rape as a means of getting their h.
Even tho there is borderline forced seduction, a JB h will give enthusiastic consent before any lurve club events take place. The same thing cannot be said of many of the other old skool Vintage HPlandia authors.
JB can be confusing, but this book makes her favorite HP trope clear, if a JB h will just stand up for herself, (or at least decide she wants to romp with the H anyway,) the H will fall into the standard HP HEA design much quicker and usually we get a very entertaining HPlandia outing along the way.
The H in this one is named Dexter - it means towards the right hand side. His last name is Giordanni and of course he is Italian. He is 33 and his back story is that his mother had him 18 months after she was widowed. Apparently in Dex's conservative Italian hometown, this was a tremendous scandal.
The shadow of his being born on the 'left side of the blanket', (in other words he was illegitimate,) and even worse the son of a widow who should have been properly wearing black and mourning for the rest of her life, has left a very negative aura around Dex for most of his HP existence.
Throw in a bad marriage to a Pay to Play Popsie, who happened to be the first woman he slept with and married cause he did not know any better, who then threw him over for a older, richer man and you can assume that Dex Darling has some issues.
In fact, in classic JB style, Dex is an utter donkey hiney nematode snot snarfer. And that is probably being too kind to him and very unfair to donkey posteriors. But that is the juxtaposition upon which JB's Shire of HPlandia rests.
JB H's are ALWAYS nematodes, they just can't help themselves and JB obviously has never met a member of the Chromadorea class that she did not like.
In comparison, her h's- this one is named Beth- are usually smart and talented career ladies - or working towards a career and while they may suffer the spine dissolving effects of the HP Lurve Force Mojo, they also are pretty quick with a sharp comeback and they at least try to remember their seekrit calcium supplements.
Beth is 21 and is a graphic artist in London. Her beloved godfather Paul got her a job in an ad agency and also helped her pay for her uni degree - Paul was her deceased father's BFF and has stood in as a surrogate dad since Beth was two.
Beth's mother has made a career out of singing, with an intense focus on multiple marriages. It was during one of her five or six marriages that Beth met her stepbrother.
When the story starts, Beth's stepbrother wants Beth to dress up and do a little dance routine with him in his boss's office, the stepbrother made some kind of bet and needs Beth's help to win it.
Beth allows herself to be cajoled into participating and during the course of their dance routine in the Big Office, Beth falls flat on her back. Dex is right there to help Beth up in all his smouldering Italian Male HP Alpha Glory. Before poor Beth even has time to find the calcium bottle, Dex is all about sweeping her off her feet.
Little does Beth know that Dex is actually pulling a sneaky counter maneuver and trying to score at the same time. It turns out that Paul was seeing Dex's older sister. Dex's sister is very passionate and a bit incendiary and when she and Paul had a tiff, Paul went home to London.
Once in London, Paul did his godfatherly duty and took Beth out for a chat and dinner. Dex and his sister saw the two of them together and in a classic 'fight for your man' move, Dex's sister dumped Paul's lamb chops on his head. Dex quickly whisked his irate sister out of the exclusive restaurant, while Beth sat in stunned surprised.
Beth was so surprised, she never got a good look at Dex and now is an innocent butterfly unknowingly waiting for the net to strike. Before Beth can catch a deep breath, Dex has offered her a ring and a huge amount of roofie kisses.
Beth is in love and joyous with it. Until she inadvertently overhears Dex and his male assistant talking about her and Dex reveals that he is only looking for a bang with a babe and keeping Paul safe for his sister.
Beth realizes that Dex thinks she is Paul's bed warmer and is gravely hurt to realize that he has never actually said he loved her, or actually proposed for that matter. Beth decides to dig out that calcium supplement right away. After riding around on the bus for a few hours to give the calcium a little time to work, Beth goes back to her flat and is ready to facedown Dex.
Beth dumps Dex, but doesn't explain what she heard or reveal the family connection to Paul. Dex, being a sensitive big baby about a lot of things, decides a little forced seduction is the perfect reprisal to Beth attempting to kick him out.
Beth reluctantly gives into the Lurve Force Purple Passion, but then realizes that her body overrode her brain and tells Dex off royally in the aftermath. Dex goes, but it is clear he is not happy and Beth does a good job of trying to get over him for a few weeks.
It all goes pear shaped when Dex shows up as Beth and her stepbrother and his new fiancee are going out for a Halloween party. Dex decides that two weeks without Beth is quite long enough. But since Beth took extra strength calcium and bought a chastity belt for extra reinforcement, Dex is forced to try and blackmail Beth into being his mistress.
He twirls his invisible mustache and tells Beth that if she doesn't agree to be his new Penthouse Popsie, he will get her beloved stepbrother fired. He writes his number on her hand with a Sharpie and tells her the deadline for her answer is 10 AM.
Beth is almost tempted, cause her Treacherous Body Syndrome is being very treacherous, but staying up all night fretting tends to wear a body out and in a stunningly hilarious moment, Beth sleeps through Dex's deadline.
Dex is already off and leaves the country before Beth can call him up. Since Beth has no clue where Dex really lives, she figures all is lost. But nothing happens and her stepbrother is fine.
Then Beth gets a wedding invitation from Paul. He and Dex's sister are finally getting married and Beth figures that the wedding date being set has finally warded Dex off - his sister got her man.
Beth goes to Italy for the wedding and who should magically appear just as Beth is giving a daughterly kiss to Paul's cheek? Why it is Dex, of course and in an astounding fit of rage, Dex hits Paul in the face and drags Beth off.
After driving like a mad person, Dex pulls over and Beth yells at him for beating up her godfather and honorary dad. Dex feels a teensy bit ashamed and eventually he apologizes to every one BUT Beth.
Later that night, Beth finds out she is staying at Dex's house and Dex tries to negotiate a truce because Beth has been making glarey faces at Dex all through dinner. Beth reluctantly agrees and then shows up at the wedding in a red Chanel suit that drives Dex wild.
He snaps and snarls at every man who even looks at her and after an unsuccessful seduction attempt later on, Beth takes herself off to bed and is counting the hours until she can escape from the raving toe rag snot pustule that Dex has turned out to be.
The next morning, Beth oversleeps again and Dex is really cranky. He decides to take Beth back to the Italian mainland using his high speed launch.
In a comedy of slapstick errors, he knocks Beth off the back of his boat, literally knocks her out as she is trying to swim to the dock ladder and frantically strips off both of their clothes when he tries to get Beth in the shower to warm her back up.
All of this frenetic action from a man who is usually as smooth as glass really sets Beth off. Clutching her towel fiercely, Beth steps up for round two of Totally Telling Dex Off. Dex is finally forced to admit he is madly in love with Beth and has been for weeks.
He claims he has been unable to sleep for stressing about how to bind Beth to him, but she can't possibly feel the same because every time he tries to issue and ultimatum to her, Beth just falls asleep and has absolutely no consideration for Dex's frighteningly tender feelings.
(Poor Dex was so outraged that he was pacing the floor all night in gut wrenching anxiety when he delivered his "be my mistress or the step brother gets it" ultimatum and Beth just sleeps right through it. )
Dex also admits that being in love makes him feel out of control and of course he has to be a Big Bullying Baby about it. Then Dex almost has a heart incident when Beth starts crying during the course of his big declaration speech. But Beth is crying tears of joy as she timidly admits that she is in love with Dex too.
Dex and Beth marry and the epilogue is Paul and Dex's sister waiting for Dex and Beth to show up for their daughter's christening. They are running late and when Dex is taxed about it and Beth can only blush, the only explanation Dex will give is that he and Beth overslept.
I like this book, even tho Dex is a nematode for most of it. Mainly because this is the definitive book of the ultimate JB HP style. JB is the queen of blackmail in HPlandia, her H's will always go the coercive route to get their h.
But JB also gives a clear understanding that while the H's may be trying to use blackmail and coercion to deny their feelings and still win their h, they aren't really going to do whatever heinous action they threaten.
JB H's really are big marshmallows at heart, tho they will push their luck and toss off a lot of guff to try and make things go their way. But at the end of the day, they really do have a bedrock moral standard and they aren't truly going to use rape as a means of getting their h.
Even tho there is borderline forced seduction, a JB h will give enthusiastic consent before any lurve club events take place. The same thing cannot be said of many of the other old skool Vintage HPlandia authors.
JB can be confusing, but this book makes her favorite HP trope clear, if a JB h will just stand up for herself, (or at least decide she wants to romp with the H anyway,) the H will fall into the standard HP HEA design much quicker and usually we get a very entertaining HPlandia outing along the way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2020
Hero takes the heroine out because he thinks she is dating his sister's love interest. The sister's love interest is the h's godfather. Heroine realizes this when she overhears a conversation between the hero and his friend. She jilts the hero without explaining what she heard, but he can't take no for an answer. He forcibly seduces her and takes her virginity.
Heroine is shattered and doesn't want to see him ever again. The hero shows up a few weeks later with a proposition of being his mistress or else he'll pull her stepbrother's promotion. Heroine oversleeps when she's supposed to tell him her answer.
Meanwhile her godfather patched it up with the hero's sister. She flies to Italy for the wedding and the hero sees her kissing her godfather 'hello' so he assumes they are still having an affair. He hits the godfather and takes off with the heroine who finally tells him the of the relationship she has with her godfather. Hero apologizes to the godfather and his sister but not the heroine.
He's still a raving jealous lunatic during the wedding and afterward when the heroine falls overboard and he has to rescue her. He finally declares his love. HEA
This is standard JB fare. Her heroines are usually career girl virgins with a lot of pride to keep the big misunderstanding going. Her heroes are always jealous fools who have been burned by another woman. I enjoyed the angsty portions of the story, but the hero needed more grovel along with his declaration.
Heroine is shattered and doesn't want to see him ever again. The hero shows up a few weeks later with a proposition of being his mistress or else he'll pull her stepbrother's promotion. Heroine oversleeps when she's supposed to tell him her answer.
Meanwhile her godfather patched it up with the hero's sister. She flies to Italy for the wedding and the hero sees her kissing her godfather 'hello' so he assumes they are still having an affair. He hits the godfather and takes off with the heroine who finally tells him the of the relationship she has with her godfather. Hero apologizes to the godfather and his sister but not the heroine.
He's still a raving jealous lunatic during the wedding and afterward when the heroine falls overboard and he has to rescue her. He finally declares his love. HEA
This is standard JB fare. Her heroines are usually career girl virgins with a lot of pride to keep the big misunderstanding going. Her heroes are always jealous fools who have been burned by another woman. I enjoyed the angsty portions of the story, but the hero needed more grovel along with his declaration.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2020
He was horrible and she made him eat out of her hand. 😎
dnf
July 19, 2017She said no, he kept going. That IS rape.
"I know you want me" or "let me prove you want me" is still using force and coercion and grossly supporting rape culture.
The hero picked heroine up from one room to the other when she kept on saying "no" and "stop" and stripped her naked through her protest and counting on her consent because she said she wanted him at the peak of the moment.
I don't know how old this book is, but it nauseating! On top of that he calls her a whore a number of time! And then he claims he loves her so everyone's happy.
"I know you want me" or "let me prove you want me" is still using force and coercion and grossly supporting rape culture.
The hero picked heroine up from one room to the other when she kept on saying "no" and "stop" and stripped her naked through her protest and counting on her consent because she said she wanted him at the peak of the moment.
I don't know how old this book is, but it nauseating! On top of that he calls her a whore a number of time! And then he claims he loves her so everyone's happy.
June 13, 2020
"Giordanni's Proposal" is the story of Beth and Dex.
When the heroine accompanies her beloved stepbrother to perform a wild dance in a party, she never expects things to go horribly wrong.. or to be rescued, pursued and charmed by the enigmatic hero. They have a whirlwind courtship, and he proposes..only for her to realize the true purpose behind his intentions. She refuses, they spar and the engagement ends before it truly begins. But soon the heroine finds herself pursued by the hero again, this time without any promise of commitment. Will she give in?
Another crazy romance with a jealous possessive hero who always wins in the fights, a spunky heroine who tries her best, wild non descriptive sex, baseless OM drama, confessions and actually a very cute epilogue.
Liked it.
Safe
3/5
When the heroine accompanies her beloved stepbrother to perform a wild dance in a party, she never expects things to go horribly wrong.. or to be rescued, pursued and charmed by the enigmatic hero. They have a whirlwind courtship, and he proposes..only for her to realize the true purpose behind his intentions. She refuses, they spar and the engagement ends before it truly begins. But soon the heroine finds herself pursued by the hero again, this time without any promise of commitment. Will she give in?
Another crazy romance with a jealous possessive hero who always wins in the fights, a spunky heroine who tries her best, wild non descriptive sex, baseless OM drama, confessions and actually a very cute epilogue.
Liked it.
Safe
3/5
October 9, 2016
The H was creepy and rapey. And the back story presented to justify his actions did nothing to redeem his character for me. The h was ok and as with all JB's novels; the writing was good enough to merit a 2 star rating. (would have been higher without the heavy handed Hero).
August 31, 2015
I dug this book a lot, surprisingly, considering it's more than 15 years old and features a LOT of alphole asshattery. Beth is innocently going about her life when Dex (is that an Italian name? I'm actually asking because I don't know and these books do tend to stick to traditional ethnicities when naming their MMCs. It didn't bother me, but I am kind of curious about it) Giordanni begins wooing her. Of course it's love at first sight for Beth (let me pause for a minute so I can roll my eyes) and she's in love with him by, like, the second date. It's ridiculous.
Anyway, as the back cover says, we find out along with Beth that she has actually been targeted by Dex for his own Alpha Male Nefarious Purposes and he doesn't actually want to marry her. Armed with a legitimate reason, but way too much pride to tell him the truth and avoid a lot of drama, Beth decides to dump Dex without telling him the real reasons. Of course Dex isn't going to allow any of that women's lib girl-dumping-him garbage and decides the solution is to bang her like a Salvation Army drum, call her a whore, then leave. As you might imagine this isn't the end of it and this results in a tumultuous I-want-you-I-hate-you-go-away-kiss-me-you-fool cycle of events.
Here's the thing though. These books are going to have a certain amount of sexual... psychotic-ness (sorry, can't think of any other word that fits this). For me to pick up this book and get pissed that the FMC is lead by her vag is like picking up a snake and being shocked when it bites me (or picking up my cat, for that matter). What makes or breaks the story is whether the FMC allows her sexual attraction to rule her emotions and tell her that the MMC's behavior is okay because she has had sex with him so she must luuuurv him and that makes everything fine. Beth didn't. Halle-freaking-lujah! She was totally into Dex physically and, yeah, he uses that against her a lot, but when the mad passionate whatever is over she stands up for herself and kicks his ass out, which I dig.
Dex... it's hard to like him, honestly. This book might have gotten five stars and full keeper status if he'd been a little better thought out. I'm not a fan of alpholes who do everything in their power to make it with the FMC and then use her sexual desires as a character assassination. Like, Ha ha, you like making out with me, don't you, WHORE! And make no mistake. At one point Dex out-and-out calls her a whore. For that I felt like he deserved a punch in the mouth... right before Beth ran over him with his car then proceeded to go back home and find a nice shapeshifting motorcycle-riding billionaire step-brother (or whatever alpha male archetype is trending right now). I won't say Dex redeems himself by the end, but Beth does give him quite a bit of grief for his assumptions, so both my angst whore and my inner feminist did both get something out of it.
I would totally read this one again. I might not even be embarrassed while doing it. I probably wouldn't add it to the keeper shelf, because in order to get added to that shelf it has to be one I want to re-read and gives me the ooey-gooeys and is a book I would want to find in every format possible (in case the worst happens and I lose every book in my Kindle library or something)... but it was an e-book so I won't be getting rid of it either. One out of those three criteria still makes me pretty happy.
Would I recommend it? Hmmmm... Only if you're cool with slightly rapey and emotionally abusive alpholes, lots of angst, and ridiculously uncommunicative MCs. In other words, basically, just about any HP ever published.
Anyway, as the back cover says, we find out along with Beth that she has actually been targeted by Dex for his own Alpha Male Nefarious Purposes and he doesn't actually want to marry her. Armed with a legitimate reason, but way too much pride to tell him the truth and avoid a lot of drama, Beth decides to dump Dex without telling him the real reasons. Of course Dex isn't going to allow any of that women's lib girl-dumping-him garbage and decides the solution is to bang her like a Salvation Army drum, call her a whore, then leave. As you might imagine this isn't the end of it and this results in a tumultuous I-want-you-I-hate-you-go-away-kiss-me-you-fool cycle of events.
Here's the thing though. These books are going to have a certain amount of sexual... psychotic-ness (sorry, can't think of any other word that fits this). For me to pick up this book and get pissed that the FMC is lead by her vag is like picking up a snake and being shocked when it bites me (or picking up my cat, for that matter). What makes or breaks the story is whether the FMC allows her sexual attraction to rule her emotions and tell her that the MMC's behavior is okay because she has had sex with him so she must luuuurv him and that makes everything fine. Beth didn't. Halle-freaking-lujah! She was totally into Dex physically and, yeah, he uses that against her a lot, but when the mad passionate whatever is over she stands up for herself and kicks his ass out, which I dig.
Dex... it's hard to like him, honestly. This book might have gotten five stars and full keeper status if he'd been a little better thought out. I'm not a fan of alpholes who do everything in their power to make it with the FMC and then use her sexual desires as a character assassination. Like, Ha ha, you like making out with me, don't you, WHORE! And make no mistake. At one point Dex out-and-out calls her a whore. For that I felt like he deserved a punch in the mouth... right before Beth ran over him with his car then proceeded to go back home and find a nice shapeshifting motorcycle-riding billionaire step-brother (or whatever alpha male archetype is trending right now). I won't say Dex redeems himself by the end, but Beth does give him quite a bit of grief for his assumptions, so both my angst whore and my inner feminist did both get something out of it.
I would totally read this one again. I might not even be embarrassed while doing it. I probably wouldn't add it to the keeper shelf, because in order to get added to that shelf it has to be one I want to re-read and gives me the ooey-gooeys and is a book I would want to find in every format possible (in case the worst happens and I lose every book in my Kindle library or something)... but it was an e-book so I won't be getting rid of it either. One out of those three criteria still makes me pretty happy.
Would I recommend it? Hmmmm... Only if you're cool with slightly rapey and emotionally abusive alpholes, lots of angst, and ridiculously uncommunicative MCs. In other words, basically, just about any HP ever published.
November 23, 2021
This book has much that I like in a HP:
- virgin h
- besotted, alpha male, arrogant, passionate, jealous H
- some steamy scenes
- a h who is not stupid or annoying
- he has to pursue her
- she doesn’t sleep with him the same night they meet
- no children in the story
- she doesn’t get oopsie-pregnant
- good pacing in the story
- not the stereotype blonde, slender, tall h
Yesss, no pregnancy in this story. 🥳 Finally an adult man who behaves responsible by using protection. And the protection even works because she doesn’t get pregnant! In HP-landia that she doesn’t get pregnant, is a miracle on its own.
And what a relief it is that she isn’t blonde like more than 98% of the HP h’s.
Well done, Jacqueline Baird.
- virgin h
- besotted, alpha male, arrogant, passionate, jealous H
- some steamy scenes
- a h who is not stupid or annoying
- he has to pursue her
- she doesn’t sleep with him the same night they meet
- no children in the story
- she doesn’t get oopsie-pregnant
- good pacing in the story
- not the stereotype blonde, slender, tall h
Yesss, no pregnancy in this story. 🥳 Finally an adult man who behaves responsible by using protection. And the protection even works because she doesn’t get pregnant! In HP-landia that she doesn’t get pregnant, is a miracle on its own.
And what a relief it is that she isn’t blonde like more than 98% of the HP h’s.
Well done, Jacqueline Baird.
July 16, 2014
I did not care for this book. I thought Dex's speaking voice in the book was very annoying. It sounded like a mixture of 70's Hollywood producer stereotype voice and some Italian; He was suppose to be a very high-end Italian casino owner. She sounded childish.
There was no chemistry between the characters. It just didn't work.
There was no chemistry between the characters. It just didn't work.
July 28, 2012
Jaqueline Baird is one of my favorite category romance authors. But this book was just awful. I felt she crossed the line with the hero and the heroine was beyond TSTL.
This was just pitiful
This was just pitiful
February 4, 2021
Hero goes out with heroine for revenge, because he thinks she has an affair with a much older man with whom his sister is in love. He offers her an engagement ring after a few days. She listens to him saying to a friend that he doesn’t mean to marry her and he’s only doing this for his sister’s benefit, so she jilts him afterwards. Much angst, forced seduction, blackmailing, more angst, misunderstandings and in the end all is well and he declares her that he loves her since the first day. I didn’t like: forced seduction that for me is like rape. I’m so sorry but if a woman says no the man must stop, and when afterwards he says but you enjoyed it I had my hairs standing everywhere... this is unacceptable. Nothing forced is good or romantic and I don’t think that her first time should have been like this. It’s not a good memory at all. I hated him when he made contemptuous comments about her being a virgin. It was crass and really low. He mistreated her and abused her and called her a whore and she falls in love with him. This was disturbing and creepy. I could not believe him in the end when he said he always loved her. Man are you serious? Imagine if he didn’t. Thumbs down for me.
November 11, 2013
great read ! dex was a big conniving swine n did not have any scruples. ofc his pitiful past shud account 4 such abominable behaviour. just coz his ex-wife was a frigid n mercenary woman, dat does not give him the right 2 treat beth the way he did. what abt his sister ?? wasn't she in love wid an older man !? so, if indeed beth was having an affair wid paul, how can he believe she's after his money !? double standards u tell u !! der was no rape scene here. it was a forced seduction maybe but no rape. our poor beth still wanted him even after knowing how she was being used. how pathetic !! i'm much more vindictive than her
November 27, 2022
Very old-school slut-shamey alpha. It works, ultimately.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2021
4 stars of pure entertainment.
August 24, 2025
'I am an insensitive jerk.’ And, swinging her up in his arms, he carried her through to the bedroom and placed her gently on the bed.
When he would have stood up, Beth curled her hand around the back of his neck.
‘So long as you are my jerk,’ she prompted, a questioning light in her green eyes.
A doormat heroine with body betrayal syndrom.
When he would have stood up, Beth curled her hand around the back of his neck.
‘So long as you are my jerk,’ she prompted, a questioning light in her green eyes.
A doormat heroine with body betrayal syndrom.
November 18, 2018
This was surprisingly better than expected.
The H was a complete Neanderthal, with strong alphole tendencies. He was overbearing, obnoxious, and way too arrogant. He treated the h like a possession he didn’t give a damn about. Something he had to have because he thought someone else wanted it. His dog in a manger attitude irritated the heck out of me.
The h was a feisty kitten. She had her stupid moments, but she fought back through most of the book. She didn’t take the H’s bull crap at all. She was a bit too mushy at the beginning of the book but once she learned the truth, girlfriend got savage with her retaliation.
I loved the drama of it all. This is a beautifully written story that kept me entranced. I needed to know what was going to happen next, and I wasn’t disappointed.
My only complaint was the coerced consent. It’s technically rape dude. You forced her into a position where she had no choice but to say “yes” after you ignored ALL her repeated “no’s”.
That really angered me. I don’t know how the author had the h justify this because the H said “ILY” but it stuck with me. If this were real life I would have been seriously concerned for the h after they married. If he could do that to you at the start of the relationship m, what the hell will he feel empowered to do after you’re married. It was very disturbing.
All in all a great read, IF you can overlook the coerced consent bit.
The H was a complete Neanderthal, with strong alphole tendencies. He was overbearing, obnoxious, and way too arrogant. He treated the h like a possession he didn’t give a damn about. Something he had to have because he thought someone else wanted it. His dog in a manger attitude irritated the heck out of me.
The h was a feisty kitten. She had her stupid moments, but she fought back through most of the book. She didn’t take the H’s bull crap at all. She was a bit too mushy at the beginning of the book but once she learned the truth, girlfriend got savage with her retaliation.
I loved the drama of it all. This is a beautifully written story that kept me entranced. I needed to know what was going to happen next, and I wasn’t disappointed.
My only complaint was the coerced consent. It’s technically rape dude. You forced her into a position where she had no choice but to say “yes” after you ignored ALL her repeated “no’s”.
That really angered me. I don’t know how the author had the h justify this because the H said “ILY” but it stuck with me. If this were real life I would have been seriously concerned for the h after they married. If he could do that to you at the start of the relationship m, what the hell will he feel empowered to do after you’re married. It was very disturbing.
All in all a great read, IF you can overlook the coerced consent bit.
April 14, 2016
A good read.
Lots of simmering passion brewing between Dex and Beth keep this book interesting.
They met and Beth is instantly left speachless with her attraction to this stranger. When he appears equally drawn to her, she can't believe her good luck. Not realizing that there is more to Dex's interest in her until she overhears a conversation.....which leads to his downfall and now he will have to prove himself.
These two have a lot of chemistry going for them and a hot spark that will keep you reading. Well written read and interesting characters.....Dex is not as developed as he could be so I was left feeling like I didn't know him as well. There are some emotional moments and some entertaining ones. Overall a nice fast read.
Lots of simmering passion brewing between Dex and Beth keep this book interesting.
They met and Beth is instantly left speachless with her attraction to this stranger. When he appears equally drawn to her, she can't believe her good luck. Not realizing that there is more to Dex's interest in her until she overhears a conversation.....which leads to his downfall and now he will have to prove himself.
These two have a lot of chemistry going for them and a hot spark that will keep you reading. Well written read and interesting characters.....Dex is not as developed as he could be so I was left feeling like I didn't know him as well. There are some emotional moments and some entertaining ones. Overall a nice fast read.
June 11, 2022
A marriage proposal -- Italian-style. Beth was left breathless when gorgeous Italian tycoon Dex Giordanni proposed marriage--within days of meeting her! But then she overheard a conversation that chilled her: Dex wanted to wed her to settle a family score. Beth prepared herself to end their engagement--how could she ham born so naive as to think Dex was really interested in a virgin like her? But Dex didn't take no for an answer. If a diamond ring couldn't seduce her to the altar, then he would! (less)
January 29, 2020
The H is an arrogant misogynist and h is definitely not yet a woman. She is barely a girl who had the misfortune to suffer from lust at first sight and then into a relationship where she has no voice. The H is a jealous misogynist with no impulse control.
July 23, 2020
This is another one where Boogenhagen has a far better review than I can write so I say check out hers.
I liked the h she was a little feisty and didn't cave to the H's bullying tactics. She could also say no to blackmail so YAY! Poor H didn't know what hit him. I did find it rather strange that he uses his surname when he introduces himself I mean come on you're not Bond, James Bond!
I liked the h she was a little feisty and didn't cave to the H's bullying tactics. She could also say no to blackmail so YAY! Poor H didn't know what hit him. I did find it rather strange that he uses his surname when he introduces himself I mean come on you're not Bond, James Bond!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2016
3.5 stars
I would have liked the H to grovel a bit at the least.
Nevertheless a good read.
I would have liked the H to grovel a bit at the least.
Nevertheless a good read.
May 6, 2021
This book gets 2 stars instead of 1 because I liked the h's moxie at times. The H was completely irredeemable and I can't remember even one scene where he was likable or charming in any shape or form. Still managing to find a way to fall in love with him is, of course, a tried and true Harlequin trope. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't. I think it works when the H isn't a crazed loon the majority of the book, stalking, blackmailing, etc. and is maybe just kind of grouchy and bitter at times until his inner beauty shines through, lol. I don't think this book aged well at all, it's hard to believe that even in the 90's forced seduction was apparently still cool and calling her a whore and a bitch won't ruin a relationship. Yes, the h suffered from Treacherous Body Syndrome, but this was frankly the book version of the song Blurred Lines with that uncomfortable scene. That just felt so....1980's. Frankly, I don't give a crap if his childhood was hard or his first wife was a gold digger. Big deal. Any therapist worth her salt will tell you to avoid these type of men until they acknowledge and work on their issues and that difficult life experiences are still not an excuse to treat a woman like crap.
June 15, 2022
So this book kicked off my JB binge. I read this a few days ago, but instead of writing a review, I went straight into my next book by JB. I spent too much time on that review and do not have the energy to do another. But here is the good news, I don’t have to! These ladies captured the story perfectly!
Boogenhagen: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Stmargarets: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I like that the h made the H do the chasing. It is always nice when an oversexed, wealthy H gets his world turned upside down by a petite h.
I like that JB gave us an unofficial epilogue 18 months into the future!
Boogenhagen: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Stmargarets: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I like that the h made the H do the chasing. It is always nice when an oversexed, wealthy H gets his world turned upside down by a petite h.
I like that JB gave us an unofficial epilogue 18 months into the future!
September 23, 2021
On the surface, this could’ve been an angsty read but somehow I didn’t really feel any pain from the heroine when the hero was cruel. That’s why I give this 3 stars - I like when books make me feel things. Usually sad first then happy at the end but this one I felt no sorrow and skimmed the end cuz I didn’t care. Heroine is not a doormat on this one and I did like that.
November 7, 2019
Whoa. This hero is a freaking tornado! Just saying one thing, then doing the opposite the next seconds later. Like our heroine, we cannot keep up with this flip floppy behavior. Skip, too much and not enough romance involved.
April 18, 2019
why do I keep doing this to myself??!!! why do I continue reading books I am 99% sure i will hate?
January 16, 2020
Un breve compromiso
dnf
April 9, 2020Boring.
July 25, 2021
Nice book but h deserved more groveling by the H.
January 25, 2021
Εξαιρετικό!!! Πολύ - πολύ αγαπημένο!!!!!! ΠΑΡΑ ΠΟΛΥ ΑΓΑΠΗΜΕΝΗ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ!!!!
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