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The Italian's Bride [Sang Pengantin Italia]
Knowing that the powerful Verdi family can easily take her baby son away if they wish, Portia Makepeace has no choice but to go with Lucenzo Verdi to his home in Tuscany. He obviously thinks she is a gold-digger, but to her horror Portia finds herself falling in love with him! So when he offers to make her his bride does he believe in Portia's innocence, or arethere other motives behind his hot-blooded embrace?
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
14 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
About the author
Diana Hamilton
325 books74 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Diana Hamilton was born in a English town. Wanting to be a country child, her imagination came into play at an early age, transforming a neighbor’s tree into a forest, a hole in a stone wall into a gingerbread house, a gas puddle into a fairyland, complete with mountains, lakes and flower meadows. She loathed housework but made to do her share, to lessen the boredom, she told herself stories, in a very loud voice, featuring princesses and flower gardens, discovering that telling herself stories was almost as good as reading them in a book.
She loathed school with an equal passion and got through it by pretending to be somewhere else. Even so she left grammar school with respectable grades... And was sent to art college when she wanted to study to be a vet. This was nowhere as bad as it had seemed because it was there, at age 18, she first saw Peter. He had returned from two years’ active service in Korea to resume his studies, and Diana immediately fell in love with him.
Gaining a degree in advertising copywriting, Diana worked as a copywriter and married Peter. They moved to a remote part of Wales after the birth of their second child, Paul, when their daughter, Rebecca, was three years old. There, Diana enjoyed pony trekking and walking in the mountains; and her third child, Andrew, was born. Itchy feet brought them back to England to the beautiful county of Shropshire four years later and they have been there ever since, gradually restoring the rambling Elizabethan manor that Diana gave her heart to on sight, creating a garden out of a wilderness of nettles, brambles and old bedsteads.
In the mid-'70s Diana took up her pen again to write stories to read to her three children at bedtime. These were never offered for publication but the bug had bitten. Over the next 10 years she combined writing over 30 novels, published by Robert Hale of London, with bringing up her children, gardening and cooking for the restaurant of a local inn—a wonderful excuse to avoid the dreaded housework! In 1987 Diana realized her dearest ambition—the publication of her first Mills & Boon romance, Song in a Strange Land. She had come home. And that feeling persists to this day as, around 30 Harlequin/Mills & Boon romantic novels late, she was still in love with the genre.
Sadly, Diana Hamilton passed away on May 3, 2009, at her home in Shropshire, surrounded by her family. She will be sorely missed by her fans and everyone at Mills & Boon/Harlequin
Diana Hamilton was born in a English town. Wanting to be a country child, her imagination came into play at an early age, transforming a neighbor’s tree into a forest, a hole in a stone wall into a gingerbread house, a gas puddle into a fairyland, complete with mountains, lakes and flower meadows. She loathed housework but made to do her share, to lessen the boredom, she told herself stories, in a very loud voice, featuring princesses and flower gardens, discovering that telling herself stories was almost as good as reading them in a book.
She loathed school with an equal passion and got through it by pretending to be somewhere else. Even so she left grammar school with respectable grades... And was sent to art college when she wanted to study to be a vet. This was nowhere as bad as it had seemed because it was there, at age 18, she first saw Peter. He had returned from two years’ active service in Korea to resume his studies, and Diana immediately fell in love with him.
Gaining a degree in advertising copywriting, Diana worked as a copywriter and married Peter. They moved to a remote part of Wales after the birth of their second child, Paul, when their daughter, Rebecca, was three years old. There, Diana enjoyed pony trekking and walking in the mountains; and her third child, Andrew, was born. Itchy feet brought them back to England to the beautiful county of Shropshire four years later and they have been there ever since, gradually restoring the rambling Elizabethan manor that Diana gave her heart to on sight, creating a garden out of a wilderness of nettles, brambles and old bedsteads.
In the mid-'70s Diana took up her pen again to write stories to read to her three children at bedtime. These were never offered for publication but the bug had bitten. Over the next 10 years she combined writing over 30 novels, published by Robert Hale of London, with bringing up her children, gardening and cooking for the restaurant of a local inn—a wonderful excuse to avoid the dreaded housework! In 1987 Diana realized her dearest ambition—the publication of her first Mills & Boon romance, Song in a Strange Land. She had come home. And that feeling persists to this day as, around 30 Harlequin/Mills & Boon romantic novels late, she was still in love with the genre.
Sadly, Diana Hamilton passed away on May 3, 2009, at her home in Shropshire, surrounded by her family. She will be sorely missed by her fans and everyone at Mills & Boon/Harlequin
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 21, 2018
Warning: one bride, two brothers. But there are caveats. They are half-brothers. The virgin heroine had sex with the half-brother once, which resulted in a pregnancy. The heroine didn't know the half brother was married and never heard from him again after he finally got her into bed. Heroine only realizes he was from a rich Italian family when she sees the report of his death in the paper. The hero only knows about the baby after he finds the heroine's tearful letters in his half-brother's papers.
The heroine is a babe in the woods.
Who cries a lot.
Whose parent's don't love her.
Who takes care of her senior citizens where she waitresses.
Who doesn't care about money.
Who doesn't want to go to Italy to meet her child's family because the sexy hero is mean to her.
Who captivates the hero's father.
Who learns Italian from the adoring servants.
Who only has one dress.
Who has a beautiful smile.
Who befriends the widow of her baby daddy.
Who is a natural between the sheets with the hero.
Who thinks it's selfish to marry the hero if he doesn't love her.
I'm not sure - but I think I saw birds and mice with ribbons in their mouths follow the heroine on her wedding day.
The hero has been dead inside since his young wife died many years ago. He abruptly ends slut-shaming and golddigger taunting the heroine on page 90. From there on in, he's smitten. No one can resist her tearful, sunny unselfishness! Why yes, that's contradictory - this is a koan* of heroine.
*koan - a paradoxical anecdote or riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment.
Sadly, I am not enlightened, but logic is indeed inadequate to describe this bit of fluff.
The heroine is a babe in the woods.
Who cries a lot.
Whose parent's don't love her.
Who takes care of her senior citizens where she waitresses.
Who doesn't care about money.
Who doesn't want to go to Italy to meet her child's family because the sexy hero is mean to her.
Who captivates the hero's father.
Who learns Italian from the adoring servants.
Who only has one dress.
Who has a beautiful smile.
Who befriends the widow of her baby daddy.
Who is a natural between the sheets with the hero.
Who thinks it's selfish to marry the hero if he doesn't love her.
I'm not sure - but I think I saw birds and mice with ribbons in their mouths follow the heroine on her wedding day.
The hero has been dead inside since his young wife died many years ago. He abruptly ends slut-shaming and golddigger taunting the heroine on page 90. From there on in, he's smitten. No one can resist her tearful, sunny unselfishness! Why yes, that's contradictory - this is a koan* of heroine.
*koan - a paradoxical anecdote or riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment.
Sadly, I am not enlightened, but logic is indeed inadequate to describe this bit of fluff.
October 20, 2021
So, apparently I need much more drama and angst in my HPs. Sweet heroine, nice hero, nice secondary characters. Everyone was too nice (except her parents—her mother was obnoxious).
Conceptually, this should have been an absolute angst fest. Oh well, on to something else.
Conceptually, this should have been an absolute angst fest. Oh well, on to something else.
October 5, 2018
Book 3 of the Harlequin's Mini Series 'A Mediterranean Marriage', The Italian's Bride is a story of Luc and Portia (her name gave me the old-world feels).
Portia with her two week old son Sam wants to lead a peaceful existence away from the Verdis. But Lucenzo Verdi, the half-brother of the now-dead Sam's already married father, has some other plans. While Luc thinks of Portia as being nothing more than a gold digger; his younger half-brother was a cheater, who in spite of being married, entered into a dalliance with Portia. Luc thinks of Portia as husband-stealer while her parents think of her as stupid. Luc is who he is, shaped by his sad childhood, and sad adulthood as well.
Her parents are so, so critical of her; always putting her down. But, what can I say, she is very naive in her outlook towards everything in general. The author makes it quite humorous at some points.
I love mischevious relatives, especially those that conspire to get the main characters together. Here Lucenzo's father provided the perfect dose of madness, the most outrageous of proposals. I wasn't surprised, these being heroes of M&B, but certainly shocked at Lucenzo's audacity in handling Portia. She really is naive.
I love books with babies, and here everyone was so taken with little Sam. It has been written from Portia's POV. Due to past circumstances, Luc says he's unable to love anyone anymore, while Portia is extremely emotional, weeping at the smallest pretext.
The book just missed an epilogue.
Portia with her two week old son Sam wants to lead a peaceful existence away from the Verdis. But Lucenzo Verdi, the half-brother of the now-dead Sam's already married father, has some other plans. While Luc thinks of Portia as being nothing more than a gold digger; his younger half-brother was a cheater, who in spite of being married, entered into a dalliance with Portia. Luc thinks of Portia as husband-stealer while her parents think of her as stupid. Luc is who he is, shaped by his sad childhood, and sad adulthood as well.
Her parents are so, so critical of her; always putting her down. But, what can I say, she is very naive in her outlook towards everything in general. The author makes it quite humorous at some points.
Her middle name wasn’t Chickenheart, was it? But it wasn’t Braveheart, either!
I love mischevious relatives, especially those that conspire to get the main characters together. Here Lucenzo's father provided the perfect dose of madness, the most outrageous of proposals. I wasn't surprised, these being heroes of M&B, but certainly shocked at Lucenzo's audacity in handling Portia. She really is naive.
I love books with babies, and here everyone was so taken with little Sam. It has been written from Portia's POV. Due to past circumstances, Luc says he's unable to love anyone anymore, while Portia is extremely emotional, weeping at the smallest pretext.
The book just missed an epilogue.
May 22, 2025
Read the English version but don’t see it on here.
February 18, 2015
3.5 stars. Sweet story. One of the nicer HP heroes. Heroine is adorable if a bit weepy, but who can blame her.
June 21, 2022
My eyes crossed trying to believe this ultra guy would marry his dead brother’s ex girlfriend. It is readable and light, easy enjoyment.
December 13, 2019
(Sigh) This was a muddle for me with some good parts, some "WTH" moments. StMargarets has an excellent review that covers a lot of what I was thinking as I read it.
June 3, 2024
The main female character cannot be dignified with the name heroine. she was more like a bowl of Jell-O.
Read
June 26, 2025The h has slept with the H’s brother (or half-brother) and has a child by him. I don’t like siblings sharing.
July 14, 2013
Portia tidak menyangka kalau kekasihnya, Vito, yang baru saja meninggal dalam kecelakaan telah mempunyai istri dan berasal dari keluarga yang sangat kaya. Ketika keluarga suaminya memintanya datang ke Italia beserta bayinya, Portia awalnya menolak. Dia tahu, bahwa bayinya, Sam, adalah satu-satunya penerus dalam keluarga Verdi.
Lucenzo Verdi diminta ayahnya untuk datang menjemput Portia dan Sam. Lucenzo tidak menyukai Portia, yang mau menjadi simpanan adik tirinya demi harta dan kekuasaan. Apalagi dengan adanya Sam, Portia semakin dekat dengan keinginannya. Meskipun dia tahu sifat Vito, adik tirinya, yang memiliki banyak simpanan. Tetapi hanya Portia yang memiliki anak Vito. Untuk itu, dia harus membawa Portia dan bayinya ke Italia.
Portia akhirnya setuju ikut ke Italia, karena mengetahui kakek si bayi, Eduardo Verdi sedang sakit dan sangat menantikan kedatangan cucunya. Rencana Portia adalah hanya bertemu dengan Eduardo, dan akan berjanji untuk sering mengunjungi kakek dari anaknya itu. Seminggu di Italia, Portia akan kembali ke Inggris menata kehidupannya dengan Sam.
Portia adalah wanita lugu dan tahu diri. Namun, dia tetap memperjuangkan harga dirinya. Hanya saja dia tidak bisa melawan kata hatinya (dan tubuhnya) yang tertarik dengan Lucenzo. Kebencian Lucenzo kepadanya-lah yang membuatnya bisa menahan diri. Lucenzo sendiri berusaha mempertahankan akal sehatnya dengan tetap membenci Portia, meski tubuhnya berkata lain. Ketika akhirnya dia mengetahui kisah Portia yang sesungguhnya, Lucenzo berubah pikiran dan mulai membela Portia dan Sam. Apalagi ketika ayahnya hendak menikahi Portia demi memberi hak legal atas Sam, Lucenzo tahu dia harus segera bertindak.
Kisahnya biasa saja... Tapi diceritakan dengan mengalir. Tapi kisah ini "diselesaikan" dengan terlalu cepat. Entah ini tipikal Harlequin, membangun karakter tokoh dengan baik, kisah awal sangat panjang, dan kemudian "bum.." kedua tokoh saling menyukai secara fisik, dan kasusnya selesai.
Bintang 2 cukup ya...
Lucenzo Verdi diminta ayahnya untuk datang menjemput Portia dan Sam. Lucenzo tidak menyukai Portia, yang mau menjadi simpanan adik tirinya demi harta dan kekuasaan. Apalagi dengan adanya Sam, Portia semakin dekat dengan keinginannya. Meskipun dia tahu sifat Vito, adik tirinya, yang memiliki banyak simpanan. Tetapi hanya Portia yang memiliki anak Vito. Untuk itu, dia harus membawa Portia dan bayinya ke Italia.
Portia akhirnya setuju ikut ke Italia, karena mengetahui kakek si bayi, Eduardo Verdi sedang sakit dan sangat menantikan kedatangan cucunya. Rencana Portia adalah hanya bertemu dengan Eduardo, dan akan berjanji untuk sering mengunjungi kakek dari anaknya itu. Seminggu di Italia, Portia akan kembali ke Inggris menata kehidupannya dengan Sam.
Portia adalah wanita lugu dan tahu diri. Namun, dia tetap memperjuangkan harga dirinya. Hanya saja dia tidak bisa melawan kata hatinya (dan tubuhnya) yang tertarik dengan Lucenzo. Kebencian Lucenzo kepadanya-lah yang membuatnya bisa menahan diri. Lucenzo sendiri berusaha mempertahankan akal sehatnya dengan tetap membenci Portia, meski tubuhnya berkata lain. Ketika akhirnya dia mengetahui kisah Portia yang sesungguhnya, Lucenzo berubah pikiran dan mulai membela Portia dan Sam. Apalagi ketika ayahnya hendak menikahi Portia demi memberi hak legal atas Sam, Lucenzo tahu dia harus segera bertindak.
Kisahnya biasa saja... Tapi diceritakan dengan mengalir. Tapi kisah ini "diselesaikan" dengan terlalu cepat. Entah ini tipikal Harlequin, membangun karakter tokoh dengan baik, kisah awal sangat panjang, dan kemudian "bum.." kedua tokoh saling menyukai secara fisik, dan kasusnya selesai.
Bintang 2 cukup ya...
March 4, 2017
I read his ages ago and have now re-read it...so I can now review it. It was just average for the most part. Vito Verdi has died, leaving his lover behind with his infant son and now the Verdi family would like to meet him...only it turns out that Vito was already married and his older brother, who has come to take the heroine and her son to Italy think she's a homewrecker. I really liked Lucenzo and the fact that he wasn't an asshat...he had some misconceptions about the heroine and treated her like crap for a while, but he was a reasonable fellow and allowed himself to reconsider her personality. The heroine was annoying. She was ditzy, naive and cried at the drop of a hat. She spent entirely too much of this book in tears. She was also not so bright. And I'm not entirely sure about her sanity and falling in love with someone who has believed her to be a promiscuous gold-digger and has treated her thusly their entire acquaintance. Their romance was okay...typical marriage of convenience stuff where the heroine really wants to marry for love but has to weigh the pros and cons of a marriage without it. I do feel that the ending could have been extended a bit as there were some minor loose ends, like his business trips, some sort of confrontation with her parents and maybe the inclusion of an epilogue. Also worth noting: I didn't realize it until re-reading, but this story does not have graphic descriptions of sex. It is entirely fade-to-black.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2010
tega? ga kok ceritanya mirippppppppppppp banget sama novel yang pernah aku baca
*puak*
*puak*
May 24, 2010
Suka sama eduardo, sang kepala keluarga Verdi, yg membantu anak nya menyadari adanya perasaan sayang terhadap Portia.
April 11, 2011
The story was too easy for guess the end. It's too ordinary
March 26, 2013
Lucenzo,I love you :(
December 23, 2014
Enjoyed the story. I always enjoy Ms Hamilton books. The Heroine could have been stronger. I like the alpha male as long as they are not too bitter mean
May 7, 2010
kayanya dah makin bosan ma jalan cerita Harle yg biasa :hiks:
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews