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I really liked the heroine Sara. She was sweet, shy, and classy. I like the way, as the book progressed, that she became a stronger person who started standing up for herself. I didn't particularly like Nicolas. He was cold, heartless, and a total idiot at times. He supposedly loved Sara but never listen
Married couple Sara and Nicolas Santino become estranged after Nicolas believes Sara cheated on him (which she didn't). After Sara (and Nicolas's) daughter is kidnapped Nicolas tries to help out…I really liked the heroine Sara. She was sweet, shy, and classy. I like the way, as the book progressed, that she became a stronger person who started standing up for herself. I didn't particularly like Nicolas. He was cold, heartless, and a total idiot at times. He supposedly loved Sara but never listened to her or took her side in anything. His father Alfredo was trying to break them up, Sara tried to tell him, he wouldn't listen, he'd get angry. Sara was shy, had a hard time fitting into a different way of life than she was used to, and Nicolas wasn't very helpful. He was gone away from home a lot. They both had a sweet little daughter (Lia) that Nicolas didn't acknowledge because he believed that Sara was a cheater and Lia wasn't his, so Nicolas lost years of his daughter's life. (view spoiler)[Nicolas's father Alfredo, who disliked Sara, was behind the cheating set-up... Sara was to meet Nicolas at a hotel that they frequently went to. Eventually another man, an acquaintance of Sara's, shows up at her hotel room door (who was in cahoots with Alfredo) and embraced her right when Nicolas came. Nicolas was furious and didn't wait around for explanations and sent Sara away for good. Since Sara seemed like such a sincere and shy person Nicolas could have at least listened once to what she had to say. (hide spoiler)]
But I did find the storyline engrossing which kept me reading. Even towards the end of the book some of the characters I didn't like started to become a bit more likable.
This was a very angst-filled read. The hero Nicolas did sort of spoil it for me at times. Sara and Lia deserved better. But he did seem genuinely upset at the end.
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Flora Kidd did innumerable takes on the topic, over half her backlist is all about this trope. Charlotte Lamb even threw her opinion in with a remarkably similar story line, right down to some very familiar themes in her 1981 Abduction.
But MR sh
Re Gold Ring of Betryal - Michelle Reid tackles one of the founding tropes of HPlandia in this one, the married couple reunited after a long separation. Anne Mather introduced us to it, way back in 1973 with The Sanchez Tradition, HP outing number eight.Flora Kidd did innumerable takes on the topic, over half her backlist is all about this trope. Charlotte Lamb even threw her opinion in with a remarkably similar story line, right down to some very familiar themes in her 1981 Abduction.
But MR shows her true HPlandia genius with this one. She takes a common everyday HP trope and she makes literal HP magic that will keep an HP Voyager glued to the page.
The story starts with an ominous kidnapping. Our fragile, introverted, blonde fairy princess Sara is sitting on her settee, counting roses in a small square of carpet in the most meticulous way. That settee is sitting in a luxury seven bedroom upscale London home that is more prison than cozy nest and we are all waiting for an arrival.
Sara's two year old daughter, Lia, has been kidnapped. Stolen out of the local park whilst playing. Sara has a legion of staff to guard and watch her, and yet somehow Sara's beloved mini-Sara was stolen away.
A tall, dark and domineering man arrives, Sara is surprised because she thought it would be hours yet, but the Arrogant Sicilian Alpha Nicolas, explains he took the Concorde. Sara wryly thinks it must have been a jolt for the man to have to use public transportation.
Then in a shocking contrast to the formal and stilled quiet tension that is the tone for this scene, Sara leaps to her feet and demands to know why her Nematode Husband Nic and his Sewer Gulper Father Alfredo have taken her daughter.
Nic denies any and all responsibility for taking the child, yet Sara is adamant. He must have done this - or his father did. We are all left in stunned shock at the accusation, as the backstory begins to unfold.
Sara was the only child of a retired schoolteacher father. Her mother died when she was very young and her father moved her to the Fells of Yorkshire and home schooled her. When he died when she was 13, she was sent to an indifferent boarding school where her only friend was the elderly gardener and at twenty, unable to go to uni, she took a job at garden center.
Part of her job was to go around to various office buildings and care for the plants. On one of these trips, it was raining heavily and she collided with a man in a rush who dropped his wallet. She picked the wallet up, decided to return it to him and thus her fate was sealed.
The man turned out to be big, domineering Sicilian Alpha Nicolas, who took one look at Sara's long blonde locks and big blue eyes and fell head over heels into love. There was a whirlwind courtship and a marriage and then disaster struck. Nic and Sara moved into the family manse in Sicily.
Nicolas's equally domineering and quite evil father, Alfredo, despised Nic's choice of a wife. He sent Nic off on ever increasing and long business trips and in the interim ruthlessly derided, belittled and betrayed Sara on every level he could, hoping to oust her and find a more socially equal daughter in law.
There were snide asides from Alfredo's and Nic's societal compatriots, rudeness and negativity from the household staff and introverted Sara was forced into a social strata she hated, locked in a house she loathed and forced to accept pricey clothes and jewels that she did not give a damn about.
When she tried to tell Nic that she wasn't happy, Nic refused to hear it. All he wanted was a willing and warm bed partner and she needed to just put up and shut up, really she should just be grateful to be there.
It all ended in a high Italian Opera Drama when Sara was told to meet Nic one night at a nearby hotel. Sara waited and waited and finally got ready for bed, figuring Nic had been delayed. But when there was a knock on the door, a social gigolo up to no good and commissioned by Alfredo, barged into the room and grabbed Sara up in an embrace.
Nic walked in at the perfectly wrong time to misinterpret the situation and after one contemptuous glance, announced Sara was nothing to him and turned and walked away. The gigolo had jumped out the window by that point and Sara was sent to live in isolated luxury in London, because if Nic couldn't have her, no man would.
But Sara happened to discover she was pregnant, tho Nic refused to believe the baby was his. She even attempted to get Nic's BFF and personal assistant Toni to intervene for her, but outraged Sicilian males stick together and Sara was tried, condemned and banished without ever getting a hearing.
Alfredo was delirious with joy, Nic was coldly furious and Toni dismissed Sara as a trampy tart. So Sara buckled down and settled in and devoted herself to her beloved and angelic daughter Lia, seekritly hoping against hope that time and patience would bring about a sea change of tides.
Now that long awaited moment, almost three years after the big breakup, has arrived. There are several verbal battles as we wait for the kidnapper's contact and wonder about their demands and Sara finally gets to have her say.
She may be introverted, but she is no longer silent and Nicolas doesn't get everything his own way, Sara gives him smackdown after smackdown and angrily demands he find her daughter. All the tension and angst lead to a big passion lurve club explosion and then Lia is rescued.
Nic has decided that he can't be without Sara any longer, tho he has ostensibly tried with other women, Sara is the only one his passion wants.
So we all go back to Sicily and Alfredo, ill and in a wheelchair, is hovering like a poisonous spider in a fat web of lies, ready and waiting to strike. Sara worries that now that Alfredo has met Lia and become very attached to her, there are moves afoot to get Sara out of the way.
Warnings and threats are issued on both sides of the Alfreado/Sara war and Nic refuses to even acknowledge Lia's existence. After a few nights of purple passion, Nic has determined that Sara and Lia will be staying. But Lia is sectioned off to another area of the house and Nic will have his manly way.
Until Sara hears Lia screaming from a nightmare one night and rushes to the two year old's side. There is an EPIC Mum on the Rampage smackdown and Nic admits that he has been trying to reconnect with Sara while ignoring her child.
Sara is having none of that and if she had the power, the nanny that Nic and Alfredo provided would have been fired for her actions. That doesn't happen, but Nic is told that since he has another woman that he sees regularly twice a week, her name is Anastasia, he can go seek an outlet for his manly desires elsewhere. Sara's bed warming days and being treated like she is a disgrace are over.
Sara and Nic generate some powerful lurve force mojo, because barely a week goes by and then Nic is back, begging to start over on the marriage and Anastasia is now a liaison in the past. Nic even try's to make a connection with Lia, who only calls him "Man" and he allows Lia to call him papa.
Alfredo is still scheming and being nasty behind the scenes, but he needs medical treatment in Switzerland, his heart is failing and he is dying - but even the threat of death is not enough to mend his lying, evil ways.
Still, it is a break for the small family while he is gone and Sara even gets her own little residence inside the family manse. Lia is very attached to Alfredo, she calls him Grandpa, so Sara makes allowances to include him in their daily lives when he gets back.
Then another disaster strikes and it starts at a local society major event. Alfredo, Nic and Sara all dress in their best and make an appearance. As Sara is wandering around, much more socially confident now and indifferently accepting the local's turn about on her prior harassment, she sees Nic holding a tall and lovely brunette in his arms and kissing her.
Sara knows that this is Nic's Anastastia and that all Nic's words were just like his father's - utter lies. So Sara makes Alfredo take her back to the family pile, but when she gets there, she walks into a life and death situation.
Alfredo has a live in nurse and little Lia is very sick. The nurse suspects meningitis. In a mad rush to get the helicopter to the hospital. Sara and Lia take off for medical treatment, leaving Nic and a cursing and wailing Alfredo behind.
Nic eventually makes it to the hospital, later followed by Alfredo, and we learn the situation is very, very dire - there is no word yet on how much damage Lia might have sustained or even if Lia made to hospital and antibiotics in time.
There is a very tense wait of several days, Sara is totally focused on willing Lia to get better and live. Nic is unsure of what to do, but he tries his best to be supportive. Until Alfredo makes his grand confession of how he destroyed Nic and Sara's relationship three years earlier and lied to Nic about Sara's long term adultery.
Nic crashes and Sara, more aware now that Lia has passed the most dangerous point, steps up to care for all the casualties Alfredo's confession has created. Alfredo believes that Lia might die and that it is his fault. In his eagerness to show off the child, he took her to a village where there was a meningitis exposure and so to atone for his sins, he told Nic the truth about his sneaky antics.
Sara manages to bolster Nic up enough to wait with her until Lia is better. But once Lia is released from the hospital, Nic has to runway and be a big baby, cause he is so ashamed of himself. Alfredo isn't much better. He has lost the respect and love of his only child and so Compassionate Sara tries to help him mend it.
But Nic stays gone and Sara has rescinded the right to worry about it, then Nic shows up as Sara is running into the house to escape the rain. In a recreation of the first time they met, Sara tells Nic to drop his wallet. After he gets her dried off and her hair blown out, Nic tosses his wallet to Sara and a reconnection is made.
They finally talk and forgive each other and then Sara asks the big question about Anastasia. Nic is very ashamed of himself as he admits that Anastasia is his BFF Tony's fiancee. But Tony works for Nic a LOT and Anastasia's mum is really ill, so Nic goes and visits her when Tony can't.
He couldn't introduce Anastasia at the party because of his prior lies that she was his mistress, so he had to explain to Anastasia about that and his kissing her was an act of contrition.
Sara believes Nic and then she tells him that he has to forgive his father too, because Lia loves the nasty old man and it is time that Nic learned how to be a father. Nic is willing to try, if Sara will lurve him up first, so we leave the two of them reconnecting on all levels for the big, dramatic and sparkly pink passionate HEA.
This story is very intense and Michelle Reid shows just exactly what a really great HP author can do with a very common trope. The tension never lets up, the passion and the True Love avowals are utterly believable and via Alfredo and his many snarky and nasty comments, we learn that Nic very likely never cheated - even while they were apart.
Alfredo gets a big comeuppance too, in a karmic justice moment. His visits with Lia are now on Sara's sufferance and his own son, who once adored and looked up to him, absolutely despises him and only tolerates being around him for Lia's sake.
There is also the fact that this man, who once strode around causing angst and terror among anyone he perceived as lesser than himself, is slowly dying in the most confining and painful kind of way and very reliant on the very people he treated so badly.
I must admit that I don't think Nic suffered enough in all of this. If I had my way and in my own little ending re-creation, Sara and Lia would have had to go back to London for treatment and Sara would decide there to sort out the mistress situation. While Lia recovered, Sara would file for divorce and cite adultery - with Anastasia as a cross complainant.
The snide and snot BFF Tony would be the one to accept the divorce petition, and upon reading it, would then punch Nic in the face and break his nose for sullying the name of his most unicorn grooming fiancee - who has the gynecological cert and a daddy with a shotgun to prove it.
Eventually, after a year of Nic being unhappy and alone, stuck in a mouldering house in Sicily and only able to eat beans on crumbs because Alfredo died and all the staff quit after Nic's lies about the Beloved Anastasia. Sara would relent after the very nice Anastasia shows up to plead Nic's case. Anastasia and Tony are married by then, but Anastasia has a baby on the way and Tony needs to make a decent living, so Nic will have to hire him back and make him a partner.
Sara decides that Lia really needs a father, and Nic deserves to have to live through the Trying Threes and Eff You Fours. So after a suitably repentant Nic apologizes on his KNEES and humbly extends his wallet, Sara and Nic reunite and live in London and Sara gets a Gold at the Chelsea Garden Show, for a much more satisfying (at least in my rewritten book,) ending to this HP outing.
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Had a re-read today, March 5, 2016. It's as good as I remembered it. The opening sentences reach out and grab you from the beginning.
London. Big house. Big address close to Hyde Park. The time: 17:45 pm. Six hours since it happened.
And the tension in the formal drawing room was so fraught it picked at the flesh.
*happy sigh* I picked this off my shelf and read every word unti
Very emotional read. The heroine's pain was palpable. A perfect agony read if you're in the mood for that sort of thing.Had a re-read today, March 5, 2016. It's as good as I remembered it. The opening sentences reach out and grab you from the beginning.
London. Big house. Big address close to Hyde Park. The time: 17:45 pm. Six hours since it happened.
And the tension in the formal drawing room was so fraught it picked at the flesh.
*happy sigh* I picked this off my shelf and read every word until I had read it again. I love when a story sweeps you along.
M.R. doesn't let up once the initial tension of the kidnapping was resolved, she layered in a "second kidnapping" - this time the heroine was whisked away to Sicily and caught in her father-in-law's trap yet again.
I also appreciated that not a scene was wasted. And how there were scenes that mirrored the past - the hero sees heroine in a compromising situation - which lead to their estrangement, the heroine sees the hero in a compromising situation at a party (which lead to the eventual resolution). In both situations they have the father-in-law to thank for their wrong interpretations. And they both had a chance to feel what the other felt - jealousy and betrayal of not being trusted. Then there was the business with the wallet - how they initially met and how they made up. Lovely.
MR never quite explained the kidnapping and critics have said the father-in-law got off too easily. I kind of liked how he became less evil in stages (after he sees how miserable his son was), then when he meets his granddaughter, and then after his last surgery. And he's still kinda of evil and manipulative at the end. That seems more realistic than a complete 180.
I liked the hero. I liked the heroine. Their backstory was sweet and it was easy to see why they were both so susceptible to the old man's manipulations. Hero was not a cynical guy - just a passionate one. Heroine grew up a lot and was a fierce mama lion. Hero had no chance, really, and I think he realized that if he wanted her he had to accept her child. His remorse at learning the truth was heartbreaking and I loved how the heroine was worried she had to take care of him on top of everyone else.
This was a great re-read!
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Hmm...
I really don't get why people like this book so much.
He treats her like crap, she suffers big-time and, when he finally finds out how wrong he was, does she get an abject apology or good grovelling? No. He leaves and, when he comes back, he's upset so she's the one who has to comfort him -- and at the end she's the one who has to make the first move to get them back together.
I mean, wtf? For what he put her through, he should've done all the comforting and all the chasing. I can't stand it
Hmm...
I really don't get why people like this book so much.
He treats her like crap, she suffers big-time and, when he finally finds out how wrong he was, does she get an abject apology or good grovelling? No. He leaves and, when he comes back, he's upset so she's the one who has to comfort him -- and at the end she's the one who has to make the first move to get them back together.
I mean, wtf? For what he put her through, he should've done all the comforting and all the chasing. I can't stand it when these so-called "heroes" put the heroines through hell and then, when they find out how wrong they were, well, boo-hoo they feel really bad about it so the heroine has to make it all better and, not only that, has to convince the dumb s.o.b. to give their relationship another try.
It makes for a really unsatisfying read, imo.
Oh yeah, and when you're separated and trying to sleep with other women? Unsuccessfully or not, that is cheating.
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As mentioned by StMargarets
Michelle Reid and Gold Ring of Betrayal make a total hypocrite out of me. The unforgiving husband, hero behaving very badly, the wife willing to take on a second chance marriage by his terms, endangered plot moppet, and the unrepentant evil FIL just for starters in another book would have me ranting and one-starring. For whatever reason, Michelle Reid's writing, archetypical strong and bitter hero and misjudged yet strong heroine are written with more depth than usual.As mentioned by StMargarets, the drama and atmosphere starts from the very first page where Sara, the heroine, is frozen in a state of stasis at the thought of her baby being kidnapped I was hooked.
(view spoiler)[ The premise is the heroine was setup by her FIL as an adulterer. The hero believes her guilt as well as the fact that her tiny little blonde doppelgƤnger is the result of the affair. Big strong silent type banishes her to England and the lap of luxury. They only come back together because her child is kidnapped. The child is found, shockerama, in Sicily literally in the hands of the heroine's greatest enemy, the hero's father. Gramps is besotted with the little girl and now the heroine has a new concern that he will want the little girl. The H and h reunite under the condition he does not have to deal with child which is tough to read, but the "Sicilian" unforgiving nature, alpha nature is driven home. I don't fault the hero for cutting her given that he thinks she committed adultery, I do fault him for not listening to her. Passion and angst done very well and swells out of control when the little girl gets sick. The H's father finally confesses his evil doings and the hero goes into a the typical guilt-ridden, poor pitiful me decline for a few days. Guilt overwhelms him as it should. The heroine gets a little fussed about it, as once again and still, it is all about the hero. This time, Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! Regarding complaints that the FIL never gets a comeuppance, I respectfully disagree. The son that he sold his soul to the devil for wants nothing to do with his dying father now, plus he's in danger of never seeing the grandchild he never knew he would adore. If it weren't for the fact that the plot moppet loves him too he would be out of luck. (hide spoiler)]
A highly emotional read. Do not read this book unless you want something really angsty. The biggest problem I have with this book is that the author made the lead male character and his father so unlikable that no reader with an ounce of self preservation and respect could bring themselves to accept the ending. It makes the readers question the unrealistic and what seems to be a forced happily ever after for the sake of writing a HEA book. I would have had more respect for the author if
3.5 starsA highly emotional read. Do not read this book unless you want something really angsty. The biggest problem I have with this book is that the author made the lead male character and his father so unlikable that no reader with an ounce of self preservation and respect could bring themselves to accept the ending. It makes the readers question the unrealistic and what seems to be a forced happily ever after for the sake of writing a HEA book. I would have had more respect for the author if she took the unpopular route and allowed the lead female character walk away from these two very nasty men. She didn't look saintly, she looked stupid for forgiving them.
I should also mention, in fiction I want to see antagonists pay dearly for what they did, since in real life they usually get to walk away unharmed. Also, I don't want to see the lead male character having had his share of liaison when he was the one at fault for breaking up due to what ever reason, unless the female character gets a chance of having the same sexually full filed life. I hate it when the authors write a born again virgin lead female characters waiting for the lead male character to come to his senses and give them a crumb of attention. it is basically freezing their life into nothing less and make us believe the female character is nothing unless the male character decide to come back to them. It makes the book very unrealistic and is an insult to all the women who fought for equality and same sexual freedom as men.
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"'Fabia will see to the child,' he ordained. 'We have unfinished business to discuss here.'
'Except I prefer to see to Lia myself.'
'And I am telling you you ca
You can have your pick of reasons to hate this book: hypocritical rapey hero, illogical heroine, or tortured purple prose. Or you can just enjoy the ride. The prose actually calms down fairly soon, or else I got used to it, though I continued to be amused by Reid's creative way of making virtually any word into the equivalent of "he said.":"'Fabia will see to the child,' he ordained. 'We have unfinished business to discuss here.'
'Except I prefer to see to Lia myself.'
'And I am telling you you cannot!' he snapped, then made an effort to get ahold of himself. 'This is more important. So leave it,' he clipped."
And then there was this fabulous comment, "grated" and "snarled" by Nicolas:
"'I worshipped the very ground you stood upon! You were mine -- mine!' He shook her hard. 'I found you! I woke you! I owned this beautiful body and those beautiful words!'"
I really wasn't in the right mood for a book involving lots of child angst -- (view spoiler)[The book begins with their daughter kidnapped, and later she gets meningitis (hide spoiler)] -- especially with that used as a way of making a hero suffer for his sins. So this wasn't an entirely satisfying cathartic read for me. Enjoyable, though.
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However, this is HP, and it appears the heroes need to f*ck OW during separation to keep their dicks in shape. Basically if they have a row and he walks out for a smoke and comes back half an hour later, chances are he already have had sex with someone else.
So I am not willing to give him benefit of doubt.
And between no grovelling, no apologies and no comeup I know in real life people's life doesn't revolve around sex, so if this was true story I wouldn't automatically assume he wasn't celibate.
However, this is HP, and it appears the heroes need to f*ck OW during separation to keep their dicks in shape. Basically if they have a row and he walks out for a smoke and comes back half an hour later, chances are he already have had sex with someone else.
So I am not willing to give him benefit of doubt.
And between no grovelling, no apologies and no comeuppance for bad guys this book was terrible! ...more
'But you came back,' she said gently. 'Even believing all those things about me. You came back to me. You wanted to try again. I think you even forgave!'
Yeah. No.
Sara excused his behavior because he'd had his pride to consider and because he had been mistakenly led to believe in her infidelity. WTF!? As if that absolved the big baby of any responsibility. Big Baby never emotionally supported her during their first y
Nic didn't express much remorse, if any, for his crappy treatment of Sara and their daughter, which was my biggest problem with this book. He believed she'd cheated on him, but once he discovered the truth he still didn't apologize or grovel.Sara excused his behavior because he'd had his pride to consider and because he had been mistakenly led to believe in her infidelity. WTF!? As if that absolved the big baby of any responsibility. Big Baby never emotionally supported her during their first year of marriage either so who was he to judge?
The story gets two-stars for keeping my interest even though the lead characters annoyed me so, so much.
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As I have already stated I really wanted to give this 5 stars but can't and it is such a shame because it is a fantastic read for anyone who loves loads of angst in their Harlequins.
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You disgust me Pay-pay. Why on earth did you read this one?
You disgust me Pay-pay. Why on earth did you read this one?
A truly heartbreaking and satisfying read, this book had a separated couple who go through various trials and tribulations, learn the meaning of love and trust, before reuniting again.
Two years ago, the hero suspected the heroine of cheating and banished her from his household when she was pregnant. He however, refuses to divorce her wanting her to belong to no other man, and the perpetrator to all the misunderstandings is the hero's conn
"Gold Ring of Betrayal" is the story of Sara and Nicolas.A truly heartbreaking and satisfying read, this book had a separated couple who go through various trials and tribulations, learn the meaning of love and trust, before reuniting again.
Two years ago, the hero suspected the heroine of cheating and banished her from his household when she was pregnant. He however, refuses to divorce her wanting her to belong to no other man, and the perpetrator to all the misunderstandings is the hero's conniving father, whom he has blind faith in. He also refuses to acknowledge the child when the heroine gives birth, and instead settles the h down in his house in London.
Flash forward to now, when the child is kidnapped and the H is called forth to rescue her (since he did not publicly denounce the paternity), as well as wake h from the anxious stupor she is in since the tragedy occurs. They have war of words, old resentments are exposed, heated kisses and passion ensues, and the child is finally rescued...only to be transported to Sicily and be claimed by the now dying grandfather!
Then we have the h trapped in Sicily, dealing with an antagonistic h, devious FIL and a scared child. More health scares occur, insecurities come forth and after much lovemaking, crying and confessions, the h and H find their HEA.
The positives:
- I am a angst hoe. I love crying with a good, tearjerker and the book certainly delivered on those accounts. The scenes where the h missed her child, the reunion, her anguish when the baby had nightmares; the h and grandfather's scenes- gave me a good sob fest
- The grovel scenes were good. I really liked when the H finally broke down, as well as when the FIL confessed all his wrongdoing for repentance
- The passion between the couple was HOT! They were insanely obsessed and jealous, and their love was filled with possession.
- The child Lia was adorable
The negatives:
- I think the H definitely tried to "move on" when he was married, so NOT being a fan of even almost cheating, especially when he had trapped the h and had her under surveillance, really annoyed me
- I felt the H was a bit "too" jealous and quite condescending with the h. The first trial at marriage was definitely doomed, with her immaturity and naivety, and his insecure temper
- His behavior with Lia throughout the book. I know he was uncomfortable with her presence, but his behavior bordered on ignorance until he realized she shared his DNA- but I appreciate that he rescued her (mainly because she belonged to the h)
- He could have groveled more
Overall, really enjoyed it! I just felt it had something..missing.
SWE
3.5/5
The heroine's story is a nice little potted bildungsroman, too, as we see how her shyness and reliance on the sophisticated hero (and his impatience with it, despite being a big part of her initial appeal) helped doom their relationship, even without the Machiavellian manipulations of his horrible father. Our Shy-Di heroine has since grown up with a vengeance, however, and shows that she's now, mostly, a match for our autocratic alpha hero.
I didn't love the Big Mis/communication-breakdown plot development re: an OW, but it did serve to extend the conflict between our MCs--although it struck me as flimsy that the heroine wouldn't say something about it to the hero because she didn't feel she had the right, given what the hero (falsely) believed about her. So that was a little weak, but otherwise, every
time I thought "but what about..." or "seriously?," MR would move the characters and action in such a way that it erased my brief dissatisfaction.
Boogenhausen and other reviewers do a great job of laying out the details and how MR polishes up the tropes and makes them shine. In the end, the themes of forgiveness (and self-forgiveness) and acknowledging that even the worst people can change and grow (looking at you, Grandpa, evil old man with a soft spot for plot moppets) are what elevated this story for me. (Poor plot moppet Lia--she's put through the ringer even more than Neel's poor little moppet in Hannah--but, to coin a phrase or two, needs must and all's well that ends well).
Intense, wrecky, and skillfully done, GRoB shows MR at her angsty, twisty best!
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Sara and Nicolas are married, only they've been separated for three years, ever since Nicolas thinks he caught her cheating. As a result, he's automatically disowned her child and
I'm going back and forth between 1 and 2 stars right now. I'm inclined to rate it at 2 only because I managed to finish this piece of crap and it held my interest for a long time before I realized that there was not going to be nearly enough appropriate page time for recovery from all the asshattery that was happening.Sara and Nicolas are married, only they've been separated for three years, ever since Nicolas thinks he caught her cheating. As a result, he's automatically disowned her child and has never even seen it. The book begins when Sara's daughter (I refuse to call her Nicolas's too because he is a sperm donor, plain and simple) is kidnapped and held for ransom by a bunch of shadowy bad guys who we never hear much about. Nicolas comes in, the two fight, Sara falls apart, they fight, Sara falls apart, they fight, they shag, and then Sara falls apart again (seriously, have this woman checked to see if she's related to those fainting goats - she faints, like six times during this book).
(See the resemblance?)
Eventually Sara gets her beloved daughter back, then proceeds to do a bunch of mental hand wringing over how Nicolas is missing out and longing for him to get the chance to love his little girl. Sorry for him, babe, but he threw you both away and it's not even like he had a mildly legit reason, like an incompetent doctor telling him he was sterile or something, to not get a blood test (although even in the cases involving incompetent doctors, I still marvel at the stupidity of HP alpholes and their reluctance to even check out the possible pregnancy claims). The bottom line is, whether or not Nicolas believes Lia is his, he has every chance to love that little girl. A kid is a kid. She's an innocent child and Nic spends a good chunk of the book acting like she doesn't exist. That's all well and good because your wittle pwide got a bwuise, but you don't get to pick the mother without the kid, douchenugget.
Sorry for the rant. This book threw me back to Sarah's Child, where the two MCs are so busy being selfish fuckheads they forget about the psychological harm they might be inflicting on an innocent kid.
I bitch a lot on GR about how if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and floats like a duck, a character should be given a little leeway for not immediately leaping to the conclusion that Oh hey, it's the entrance to the top-secret lair of the Secret Society of Supervillains in the middle of Lake Onawana! And seriously, I normally would. But for Nic not even to say, Oh, hm, maybe I should just double-check and get a blood test as an alternative to missing the first two years of his kid's life, nuh-uh. Sorry dude, you don't get a pass on that. TSTL.
And Sara... oh ho ho, Sara. For someone who claims she's all mama-bear-hear-me-roar now she sure is a spineless weenie. Your husband spends 75% of the book implying you're a ho but oh wait, he'll magnanimously forgive you and do his best to work it out with you and you're just okay with that. Seriously, Nic doesn't even really grovel. And when he tries to, Sara stops it. Sorry but watching him verbally and mentally abuse her for the length of the book made me deserve a grovel, Sara, so shut your mouth and let him get down to business.
As for Nic's big come-to-Jesus moment... (view spoiler)[Not a big fan of the sick kid being what makes the MMC regret his choices. As someone who's had two siblings affected in big ways by life-threatening childhood situations, I find I don't have much patience for this trope. Hell, the kid had already been kidnapped in this book and now the author gives her meningitis on top of that? It was just too much to believe. (hide spoiler)]
So nope. Not a fan of this one. Hated him, hated her, hated the father-in-law, hated Nic's best friend, hated the nanny, hated pretty much everyone with a speaking role in this book.
Safety: Both celibate during the 3 year separation. OM drama as the H believe his wife cheated. OW drama as the H lets the h think he has a mistress and that he is going to her.
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I gave it this book 5 stars few years ago, but was until today: Feb/28/2015 after I confirmed that the hero wasn't celibate during their separation, so I changed my rating to 3 stars. Yes, the book has many angst, it's emotional, intense... BUT they were still married, she was faithfull to him during their separation, there is not any excuse to cheat on her :S
P.S.: I deleted my last review by mistake, luckily I copied it before, so I could post it again.
Updated:
Sep/08/2020
2 stars! X
I gave it this book 5 stars few years ago, but was until today: Feb/28/2015 after I confirmed that the hero wasn't celibate during their separation, so I changed my rating to 3 stars. Yes, the book has many angst, it's emotional, intense... BUT they were still married, she was faithfull to him during their separation, there is not any excuse to cheat on her :S
P.S.: I deleted my last review by mistake, luckily I copied it before, so I could post it again.
Updated:
Sep/08/2020
2 stars! XD
"Two years since she'd seen him, coming closer to three? He had changed little."
"The eyes of a hard, cold, ruthless predator. Cruel and unforgiving."
"Three years since he had last allowed himself to share the same space as her."
"I am not here to listen to your lies. I am here to recover your child lost child!' He emphasised bitterly. 'Whoever the father is, it certainly is not me!'
EVIL FATHER-IN-LAW!
"Alfredo's mocking little jibes about her failing marriage and his son's preference for being any
"Two years since she'd seen him, coming closer to three? He had changed little."
"The eyes of a hard, cold, ruthless predator. Cruel and unforgiving."
"Three years since he had last allowed himself to share the same space as her."
"I am not here to listen to your lies. I am here to recover your child lost child!' He emphasised bitterly. 'Whoever the father is, it certainly is not me!'
EVIL FATHER-IN-LAW!
"Alfredo's mocking little jibes about her failing marriage and his son's preference for being anywhere but with his pathetic little wife."
'So my father was right. You bitch,' he said. That was all.
"Alfredo. Alfredo had set her up-set this up! Alfredo. 'Nic-please!' Her blue eyes were"
'Never,' he said through gritted teeth. 'You no longer exist.'
"Then she'd discovered she was pregnant, and everything had changed. She'd tried phoning him; he'd refused to take her calls. She'd tried writing to him; he hadn't acknowledged her letters. In the end she'd turned to Toni for help, called him on the phone and begged him-begged him to persuade Nicolas to see her, listen to what she had to say! 'I'm going to have his baby, Toni!'
'You are a fix I can get from no other source!' 'You've tried?' she asked painfully. 'Of course I have tried!' he admitted. 'Do you think I like feeling this way about you?' 'No,'
'Don't talk,' he commanded bleakly. 'I have to remember what you are when you talk. And I need this, need it!' he repeated hoarsely.
'Yes, I'm sure I shall manage.' Her sarcasm bit. 'I'm used to being alone, after all,' she added bleakly. 'I've been alone since I was thirteen.'
"His hand snaking round her neck and yanking her forcefully towards him stopped the words. 'Hold your tongue, you little shrew!' he rasped. 'Before I bite it off!' 'I hate and despise you!'
"Cancer. Alfredo was a cancer that lived on the weaknesses of others."
'You can be as two- faced as your father when it really comes down to it, can't you?'
'What do you want me to do?' he muttered when she didn't answer. 'Deny the other woman's existence? Is that what this is all about?'
'What are you, Sara?' he rasped in angry disbelief. 'Some kind of saint that you can forgive me the unforgivable? I denounced your love! Your trust! Your honesty! I even denounced our own child!'...more
Nicolas Santino never forgave Sara, his wife, for what he believed as an ultimate betrayal of his love. He doesn't accept that Lia is his daughter. Until one day every mother's nightmare came true, Lia has been kidnapped. That means he has to save the little girl's life with every ounce of his intelligence & money. But seeing Sara again after 3 years of separation has unwittingly opened up his suppressed desire for her & made hi
One of the best Michelle Reid books absolute intense tear jerk storyNicolas Santino never forgave Sara, his wife, for what he believed as an ultimate betrayal of his love. He doesn't accept that Lia is his daughter. Until one day every mother's nightmare came true, Lia has been kidnapped. That means he has to save the little girl's life with every ounce of his intelligence & money. But seeing Sara again after 3 years of separation has unwittingly opened up his suppressed desire for her & made him think of starting new. Sara has grown up from the painfully shy girl that everyone - from Nicolas' adored father & high-class friends - snubbed into a strong-willed woman who fights tooth & nail to get what she deserves & not being brow-beaten anymore by Nicolas & the bullying father-in-law. But of course, Nicolas, the dark-haired, sexy-as-hell Sicilian millionaire, scored a few points himself in their battle of wills, with his unflinching determination to break down Sara's barrier.
really enjoyed this book, the characters are dynamic and the plot moves quickly.the best thing about the book was Reid portrays heroine as weak & submissive early on in relationship and shows her growing emotionally & maturing with strength as she struggled through her relationship crisis. Writing pulled me in emotionally & made the book hard to put down
Absolute Keeper
Recommend it
Mos
I felt Sara forgave Nicolas and his father way too quickly for what they did. Nicolas' father didn't like Sara because of her lower class, so he made a plot to have Sara seem like she was cheating on Nicolas. Although it is not in Sara's character to cheat, Nicolas easily believes that Sara cheated. He even goes as far as to disown his baby because he is sure he is not the father. The truth wasn't revealed until the end so there wasn't much groveling from Nicolas, which was a disappointment.Most of the book involved a lot of bitter fights between Sara and Nicolas that never fixed anything. I hate reading a romance novel that leaves me wondering if the relationship is actually going to survive. Lots of problems in the marriage were not clearly solved. Not a book I would recommend.
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Background story: Hero saw his wife in a compromising situation that led him to believe that she cheated on him. Unlike most Heros and all real-life men, he remembered when she told him of her last period and concluded that the baby she was carrying was not his. Of course he told her to fuck off but not without honourably putting her up in a swank address in London complete with chauffeur, cook and nanny. Oh yeah, s
The beginning had such a tight grip on me that I almost forgot it was a HP book.Background story: Hero saw his wife in a compromising situation that led him to believe that she cheated on him. Unlike most Heros and all real-life men, he remembered when she told him of her last period and concluded that the baby she was carrying was not his. Of course he told her to fuck off but not without honourably putting her up in a swank address in London complete with chauffeur, cook and nanny. Oh yeah, sorry, definitely a HP novel.
They get reunited in the most horrendous way possible, their child has been kidnapped. The author handles the scenes remarkably well: the mother's angst, the hero's anger at being reminded of her betrayal and yet suffering for her because of her obvious pain and horror for her missing child, plus their mutual hatred and resentment at how their marriage had broken down. The way how they end up in bed together is also poignant, sexy and not contrived; another major plus point for me.
Of course our hero comes through and manages the rescue of his daughter so mother and daughter are safely reunited in Sicily at H and his father's place. But here's where the author lost me a little. We know the extent to which the Hero's father has interfered in their life as he had never approved of the marriage. So he is the villain. But because they are forced to live together in Sicily, she seems to have resigned herself to her fate and forms a grudging relationship with him and he ends up being instrumental in bringing H and h back together. The jump from nasty to nice grandpa was a bit too flimsy for me as was H's explanation for being caught with another woman later.
But I do like how the heroine grows from the shy introvert new bride to the now confident, spirited fighter to her alpha male husband and I love that her husband wanted to be with her and give their marriage a second go despite believing her to have cheated on him. His fierce, protective love was obvious from the start so I adored him despite his high-handedness at deciding what was best for the family. Also nicely handled was the relationship between hero and his daughter. It's irritating when magically a bond appears between a child and estranged father so I like the natural awkwardness they shared.
Some well-written scenes and the alpha male hero's tender moments with the heroine made this book worth the read for me.
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This is a true classic when it comes to both Michelle Reid's books and Harlequin Presents. There is so much to this book - angst, hate, betrayal, passion, fear, love, forgiveness, sadness, etc - and it is all woven together perfectly. The hero and heroine's story is intense and it plays out wonderfully, at times this book is impossible to put down. So often in books where there is a supposed betrayal I find the reluctance of a certain character to believe in the other very frustrating, but in this book I could understand exactly why the hero felt this way. Even though the POV from the hero is rather sporadic I was still able to sympathise with him, as well as rooting for the heroine. That is all down to Michelle Reid's powerful writing.
This book is drama with a capital D, and totally absorbing. Highly recommended.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
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Has one of the biggest tongue tied, stuttering doormats in HP. A shy, timid mouse who's scared of everyone and everything. She's so shy that she has no friends, her friend are the plants outside.š if you like kickass, strong heroines, don't read this.
Here's what she says about her hubs mistress. She doesn't confront him, but continue to sleep with the asshole;
"Nicolas would take himself off to Taormina and not come back until late in the night. Those were the only nights he didn't t
Re read 2021Has one of the biggest tongue tied, stuttering doormats in HP. A shy, timid mouse who's scared of everyone and everything. She's so shy that she has no friends, her friend are the plants outside.š if you like kickass, strong heroines, don't read this.
Here's what she says about her hubs mistress. She doesn't confront him, but continue to sleep with the asshole;
"Nicolas would take himself off to Taormina and not come back until late in the night. Those were the only nights he didn't touch her. And that trapped her too, because she wanted him to touch her, she wanted him to come from his mistress and still need her, still need to drown himself in her kisses, her body, her arms, her - love."
Spoiler
Of course it's all's misunderstanding. This book is literally the most over hyped hp ever. I must've been roaring drunk when I read this years ago to give it 4 stars. This fucking book is pure doormat none sense.
So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....
Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn't a great average when compared with some aut
Hi, my name is Michelle Reid and I've been writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon for the last twenty years, and the crazy part about it is that I only realised it had been twenty years while updating this page!So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....
Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn't a great average when compared with some authors but it sounds pretty good to me!
So what was I doing twenty years ago before I wrote books? Well, I did the all of the usual things, like growing up and attending school, finishing at secretarial college, which I hated, then spent the next several years wandering aimlessly from job to job. Eventually I met my husband, we married and produced two daughters who then grew up and between them presented us with two gorgeous grandsons and one beautiful granddaughter. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Somewhere in between my girls growing up and the grandchildren arriving on the scene, I started writing. To this day I don't know why, unless it was a natural progression from my never being without a book close by—often several—because books have always been an important part of my life for as far back as I can recall.
So, I started to write, by hand at first, scribbling short stories in notebooks which never saw the light of day. At some point I discovered Mills & Boon Romance books and that was pretty much it for me. I'd found my new love, as in reading romantic fiction and inevitably writing it too.
So twenty years on and almost forty books on, here I am still writing and still loving it!
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