REVIEW: Deserving of his Diamonds? by Melanie Millburne

This is such an emotional, poignant, gut wrenching and so powerful story. At times I was so moved I felt my eyes moisten as I felt the heartache and sadness in Giselle’s life. 
She is now living in Australia trying to pick up the pieces of her life and the man she has never forgotten.

Emilio had thrown Giselle into the streets after he believed that she was not the person he thought he knew after a story broke out that she was in a porn movie. Despite her denial that it was not her, he had abandoned her and cruelly told her that she was never to contact him again.

Two years later he discovers the truth and knows he has to apologize to her and try and make amends. He flies to Australia where he soon realizes that Giselle is not the person he thought. She does not want anything to do with him and she lets him know how much she hates him.
But seeing Giselle again, Emilio realizes that he wants her back and he is going to do everything to get her trust and belief in him back again. But she is not interested in going through the pain again and shuts him off. He then blackmails her to go back to Italy with him for a month to find if they should be together again. Wasn’t crazy that he had to resort to blackmail….offering her $2million dollars if she stayed with him for the month, during which he will make her fall in love with him again. What he doesn’t realize is that Giselle decides to go along with the proposal but her plan is not reconciliation but vengeance.

I loved Giselle. Going through so much in her life, she has become stronger but still has a softness about her that is truly amazing. Emilio I liked….he was prepared to grovel and beg for forgiveness, even though he had no idea of the consequences caused to Giselle through his heartlessness. To see his tears when he discovers the real suffering she went through really tore me apart.

I was so emotionally involved in their story that I was really sad when I got to the last page. I wanted to continue knowing more about them.

REVIEW: The Man Who Risked It All by Michelle Reid

Michelle Reid writes such passionate stories and The Man Who Risked It All is just that. She does the lost and found love themes so well….like 
Marchese's Forgotten Bride, one of my favourite reads.

Lexi Hamilton, a young English actress meets Franco Tolle, the ultimate Italian rich, spoilt playboy and immediately falls under his spell. Things don’t work out too well for both of them….she discovers that he slept with her for a bet….she’s even sent the video via her mobile of him accepting the winnings…she then discovers she is pregnant, he marries her and it’s a total disaster from there onwards. He becomes cold and distant, his family hates her, her mother is suddenly killed in a car crash with her stepfather, who has stolen all her earnings and then she loses the baby!!!!!!! She decides to go back to London and rebuild her life.

Three years later, Franco is injured in a boat accident and Lexi agrees to look after him, after being asked by his father to fly to Italy as Franco is not doing very well and has refused to see anyone except Lexi.
I disliked Franco intensely from the beginning…the way he cut her off and then suddenly wanted her, needed her…but I warmed up to him as the story unfolded. Lexi trying so hard to be strong and the pain she felt in realizing that she had never stopped loving him. So many misunderstandings. Betrayed by family and friends that caused such heartache and unhappiness in their relationship.

I cared so much for them. It pulled at my heartstrings…the poignancy of how much suffering and sadness their lives had been. Franco had a lot of work cut out for him to getting Lexi back and he was determined to do everything possible for her to realize his feelings for her. There is so much angst, so emotional and as I read I just wanted them to find happiness together.
Some great scenes…..Franco waiting for Lexi in bedroom balcony with a bottle of wine and two glasses…..when Lexi gives him a present in the hospital room…..and how he places it among her soft frog toys collection that she had left behind and he had kept all these years…taking her sailing….there were so many other amazing scenes.

I loved the passion, sensuality and fast pace of this story. I couldn’t stop reading…in fact I finished the entire book in one read.

What I also like about this author’s books is how she always engages the reader with the characters in such a way that makes you feel so strongly for their true happiness. She is a fabulous fabulous writer and you know when you pick up any of her books that you will more than just like it….you will love it!!!!!!

Oh yes….I absolutely loved the cover of this book!!!!!!!!!! Just like I pictured Franco in my head!!!

REVIEW: A Mistake, a Prince and a Pregnancy by Maisey Yates

Reading the blurb on the back cover of this book, I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy reading the whole IVF thing…but I loved loved the cover…so I thought..why not???? Also I have enjoyed reading some of Maisey Yates’s books. 

This is quite a different plot from the usual secret pregnancy in that the heroine, Allison Whitman has never met the baby’s father and she became pregnant, after longing for years to be a mother has chosen to do it the IVF way. She did this not only because of the pain that her parents’ divorce caused but also has never met a man that she wanted to marry…she’s a career orientated She has selected the donor and is horrified to discover that she had been impregnated by an anonymous donor when a mix-up occurred during the operation. She has to contact the donor to ensure that her baby is not a risk due to a gene she carries.

Maximo Rossi had longed for a child but his wife had been unable to have children so they had decided to fertilize her eggs with his sperm but unfortunately she had died before they could do it and he had never contact the clinic to have his sperm donation destroyed….resulting in Allison’s problem.
When Max discovers he has a child he immediately gets things going. He cannot allow his child to be born illegitimately ….he is after all the crown prince of Turan!
He blackmails Allison into marrying him even though they don’t even know each other but also that they have to put the child first.
Allison tries not to allow herself to get close to Max and gives him a real hard time before she relents. I can’t believe how she did it though…I mean, the man is titled and gorgeous and a fantastic artist as well. How did it take her so long before she realized what a hot and great guy she had!!!!!

Maisey Yates writes surprising and admirable books… story lines that make you think and feel differently about finding your HEA..

She just a way of writing about tortured, dark heroes and damaged heroines that despite their flaws are able to find love and each other.

After a “bumpy” beginning with one of the first books I read by this author....which I absolutely hated …….I do admit that I am now a Maisey Yates fan for life!!!!

REVIEW: A Deal at the Altar by Lynne Graham

A deal at the Altar is the second book in Lynne Graham’s stories of three sisters. I enjoyed the first book, Roccanti’s Marriage Revenge and liked meeting Beatriz and looked forward to her book. Also wanted to know more about the mysterious Sergios Demonides.

Talk about a dysfunctional family. Mothers, stepmothers, mistresses, and the most obnoxious and awful father, which really amazes me how sweet and nice the sisters turn out. Blackmailed by her father, with threats that he will to cut all financial aid to Beatriz’s invalid mother unless he marries Sergios so he can avoid financial ruin, she has no other option but to agree to this mad plan…why would Sergios agree to her proposal after at her sister Zara had done to him and it’s not as if she is even beautiful and the kind of women he is seen with.

She is surprised and shocked when he agrees to marry her, but with certain provisos. Bee will look after his cousin’s three orphaned children, it will not be a normal marriage as he will continue his affair with Melita and other women…in his words…”I have a mistress. Melita is nonnegotiable…Occasionally I have other interests as well. I will be very discreet.”….I would have run a mile if a guy said that to me!!!!!!! But for poor Bee, there is no way out!!!!
Wow…but this is no little pushover……she makes it quite clear she has her own conditions and he had better abide by them!!! I liked that in her. 

Sergios…wow…this is some cold guy…of course he’s very very rich, very very good looking but what a creep…that’s what I thought about him…he leaves Bee alone on their first wedding night…she is devastated but this makes her even more determined not to give in to the attraction she is beginning to feel towards him. I really hated him….even when he felt a certain attraction to her, he continued with his cold attitude…making his demands and telling her she must obey him….in this day and age.??? Get a life Sergios…even if you had a terrible childhood, this was not a good reason to treat such a good woman!!!!!!!!

The dialogue between the two is really good and humorous…loved her talk back to him…not afraid to voice her opinions and ideas….gave him as good as she got!!!!!!!!

Bee is a much more deeper person than I found in Zara….though she has problems of her own…having to care for her mother since she was young, fighting the battle of the bulge….which by the way Sergios loves her body…and I had to laugh at the description of her fabulous cleavage….”shaped like a violin”……….she shows love, patience, interest and caring to the three children who are now her family.
And spunk!!!!! Melita sms her to meet and to discuss Sergios….loved the way she handled the situation….with finesse and class…what a way to deal with a mistress!!!!!!!!!!! He’s my man and you better believe it!!!!!!!!!! You go girl!!!!!!!!

Thank heavens Sergios finally gets his head together and realizes what a gem he has in Bee.
This is really a sweet HEA….and I loved it. Can’t wait for the next story of the third sister.

I love Lynne Graham’s books and have most of her collection in the favorite shelf of my bookcase and this will certainly have a place there.

Book Blurb: Her indecent proposal! Having pulled himself up from the streets of Athens, Sergios Demonides thought he had seen it all. Then Beatriz Blake walked into his office and asked him for a marriage of convenience! Independent, proud and unadorned, Beatriz is a far cry from the usual glamorous women who grace his bed. But Sergios doesn't need another trophy - he needs a mother for his late cousin's children. The overlooked Blake heiress and the ruthless billionaire strike a deal. But she doesn't read the small print - that sees them sharing a bed!

REVIEW: Bought for the Frenchman's Pleasure by Abby Green

   This is one of the most poignant, intense and moving stories I have ever read from Mills & Boon. Bought for the Frenchman’s Pleasure was the first book I read by Abby Green and I was so emotionally engaged with Sorcha Murphy and Romain de Valois that I never wanted their story to end.  It was also the beginning of my “love affair” with this author’s books...


This is the first of two books set in the exciting and glamorous world of the  fashion industry ...models, designers, photographers and all the rich and famous, so if you are a fan of all the glitz and shine you will enjoy meeting the supermodels jetting all over the world and the meet they meet...and more!!!

Sorcha has now reached the top of the model world, despite the setback she had years before when Romain, the head of a successful and huge fashion conglomerate, had made comments about her drug use to the tabloids leaving her reputation and career in tatters. . His aunt had over the years,  helped her rebuild her career and who believes she is the right model to represent Romain’s new fashion line. But he still believes she is not to be trusted and that she is still a drug user.

From the time their eyes first meet across the room at a glamorous fashion affair, they are unable to deny the chemistry between them. You can feel the desire, the sexual attraction between them and the intensity it reaches when they begin to work together after Romain decides to give her a chance and her agreeing to do his campaign which only happens once in your lifetime.

Both have such emotional baggage.....the battles they have to go through to destroy the defences they built around themselves...just an arduous journey before they can learn to love and trust again.                        
At times I felt moisture in my eyes and found my heart going out to both as they walked through their journey.

I loved the pace of the story...how they slowly begin getting to know each other...opening up to each other, discover the inner person and not what preconceived ideas they had. . So romantic, so touching....some of the scenes of them together blew me away.....when Romain sees her getting off the plane in the island where they are doing the first shoot, when they explore India....having lunch in Ireland with Sorcha looking fabulous and natural with a ponytail and reading glasses.  and their sensual and so sexy and so passionate  love scenes....so amazingly written!!!

Loved the settings of the story...New York, Ireland, India, France...glamorous and so jet setting!!!! The life of the fashion world!!!

Sorcha is really an amazing and incredible heroine...passionate, loyal, caring....and what she does with her time and money to build an outreach program to help young drug addicts is really admirable. She has inner strength and strong beliefs. And she is a gorgeous Irish woman as well!!!!

Though I thought Romain was a cold and unfeeling person in the beginning, I began warming up to him as I continued finding out the reasons why he behaved the way he did. In the end, I knew without a doubt that these two people would find each other no matter what. They were meant to be together...true soul mates who had been searching all their lives to find true happiness.

I have read this book so many times that I stopped counting and each reread I am as touched as the first time I opened page 1.........and so sad when getting to the last page....but the good news ....we will meet again in Tiarnan, Sorcha’s brother’s story. I loved the parts where he appears in the story.
This is one of the books in the favourite’s shelf in my bookcase....and please do yourself a favour...and read this book. It will blow you away!!!!!

Book Description:
His price? She'll become his mistress!

As a top model, Sorcha Murphy can command a high price. But her fame hides a terrible secret from her past - one she has tried to put behind her, but which is about to return to haunt her...
Romain de Valois knows Sorcha is damaged goods - her hedonistic reputation speaks for itself. But he needs and wants her for one final assignment, and he's prepared to pay...

REVIEW: The Sheik's Undoing by Sharon Kendrick

The Sheik’s Undoing by Sharon Kendrick is a story about a sheik and an English rose…a story used over and over by different authors…..but I found Sheik Tariq and Isobel aka Izzy (I hate that nickname!!!!!) Mulholland, his PA for the last 5 years to be quite refreshing. 

Firstly, they love affair doesn’t have him “winging” her on his private jet (yes he does have one or two) to his desert country but the seduction happens in London and the English countryside. Although he’s your typical ultra alpha-male, makes all these endearments in some language I have no clue what during their lovemaking scenes, he’s essentially more Westernized, which I liked for a change!!!!
Isobel is your typical English rose…corkscrew titian curls, soft skin, etc etc…..oh yes….this we discover only later…she starts off as this starchy, stiff, dowdy person who changes once she is totally ravished by her Sheik boss….forgot to mention that she is also a virgin….Sheiks need to be the first man to deflower the woman he marries…she has to be pure and not soiled by any other man!!!!!! So, the first time he does her…a bit unromantic I felt…up against a wall in the office and immediately sends her alone to her home whilst he goes off gallivanting. Well, he is known as the Playboy who lives in the fast lane so that should have told Isobel something.
Of course he can’t get her out of his head…….wow he has never felt this way for any other woman before….but as he discovers, she is no walkover!!!!!!

The part of the story that takes place in Isobel’s very basic cottage in the country is really funny and cute. It’s a place that has none of the things Tariq is used to….TV..no….it has low ceilings, lumpy beds but a great view!!!!! Loved the way he slowly begins to enjoy himself and Isobel….he who has never read anything but financial books/magazines..maybe a car magazine is now into getting into the thrillers from the bookshelf in the cottage….for a minute I thought he would have to read something like her Mills & Boon romances….just kidding.

From being this cold, spoilt, selfish man we slowly begin to see how Isobel’s influence and love change him for the better. Also like seeing his brother King Zahid and his queen Francesca from this author’s previous book, Monarch of the Sands
An enjoyable read.

Book Blurb: Ultimate playboy Sheikh Tariq lives life firmly in the fast lane! Independent to his core, Tariq relies on no one but himself – with a little bit of help from his indispensable, sensibly dressed PA, Isobel Mulholland. When a car accident leaves this dynamic sheikh injured and reliant on Isobel, his first reaction is to be furious! The only way through it is to make the most of having Isobel at his beck and call – and under her enchanting touch Tariq’s thoughts turn to seduction… This sweet girl, who has been under his nose the whole time, could just be the Sheikh’s undoing