RAFFAELE: TAMING HIS TEMPESTUOUS VIRGIN by Sandra Marton

Raffaele: Taming His

Tempestuous Virgin

by

Sandra Marton

Harlequin Presents

#2869

November 2009

Raffaele Orsini's father isn't just connected, he is what everyone in the neighborhood wants to be connected to.

Raffaele and his brothers despise his father and what he does. One day his father pulls the "sick" card and makes Raffaele give his solemn word to keep an old promise of his fathers.

This is the first book of four about the Orsinis brothers. All Lady Mischief can say about Raffaelo is WOW!

Yours forever behind the covers of a book,

Lady Mischief

THE RUTHLESS ITALIAN'S INEXPERIENCED WIFE by Christina Hollis

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The Ruthless Italian's

Inexperienced Wife

by

Christina Hollis

Harlequin Presents

Extra #63

July 2009

The story isn't bad, but the back cover is misleading. The blurb's headline proclaims "Virgin nanny".

She is not a virgin.

Lady Mischief would not have a problem with this if the cover hadn't misled her. Hey, Harlequin! Let's have a little truth in advertising.

Yours forever between the covers of a book,

Lady Mischief

BOUGHT FOR MARRIAGE by Margaret Mayo

Bought For Marriage

by

Margaret Mayo

Harlequin Presents

Extra #64

July 2009

Dione Keristari's father is a real piece of work. He is a bully who stole her away from her mother and controlled her life. He has run his business into the ground and now he is in the hospital with heart problems (who knew he had a heart?) and is insisting Dione approach a business enemy for the money he needs to save his business.

Theo Tsardikos cannot stand Bully Keristari, but he is turned on by the three minutes he spends in Dione's company. He tells her, you marry me and you can have the money for your father.

She agrees but says it will be on her terms. She is not that young. She is an educated woman. Nobody could force her to marry for this money. Her father was not deserving of this kind of sacrifice. This works for "good fathers" or when the heroines are young and extremely innocent. It did not work as a plot devise for this character.

Lady Mischief did not like any character in this book. She is wishing she had spent the money on Ben & Jerry instead.

Yours forever between the covers of a book,

Lady Mischief

THE GREEK TYCOON'S BLACKMAILED MISTRESS by Lynne Graham

The Greek Tycoon's

Blackmailed Mistress

by

Lynne Graham

Harlequin Presents

#2836

July 2009

Seven years ago Aristandros Xenakis was engaged to Ella for about five minutes. Just long enough to announce the glad tidings to his entire family and friends and for her to find out he expected her to give up her medical training to become a wife and mother.

Now Aristandros is the sole guardian of the child Ella wants. He makes Ella sign a devil's pact with him in order for her to be able to be near the child. Is it for revenge? Or does he have deeper reasons?

If you like a take-charge-anything-goes-alpha-hero, and Lady Mischief does (in books) Aristandros is a good example, until the end.

The story is solid, but the end comes too quick. In the end he caves and gives her everything she wants and she gives him a quarter inch.

But after saying that, both the characters are likable. The book is worth the money and the time it takes to read it.

Yours forever behind the covers of a book,

Lady Mischief

ONE NIGHT WITH THE REBEL BILLIONAIRE by Trish Wylie

ONE NIGHT WITH THE
REBEL BILLIONAIRE
by
Trish Wylie

Harlequin Presents #2833
June 2009

Roane Elliot (the heroine) sees a naked stranger on the beach and the first thought to enter her "innocent heart" is . . .

The second thought is to challenge him for trespassing. The woman isn't carrying a gun, a tazer, mace, or even a big stick. If she has even an ounce of common sense shouldn't her first thought be to get the hell out of there before he sees her?

Adam Bryant is the hero who had basically run away from home ten years earlier.

From there the story goes down hill.

Lady Mischief loves Harlequin Presents, but she finds she has been very disappointed in them recently. As a result this will be her last Presents for a while. Perhaps after a moratorium the books will either improve or Lady Mischief's expectations will be suitably lowered.

As a matter of kindness this book is rated:

Yours forever between the covers of a book,
Lady Mischief

SALZANO'S CAPTIVE BRIDE by Daphne Clair

Salzano's Captive Bride

by

Daphne Clair
Harlequin Presents
Extra #62
July 2009

After receiving a letter demanding money for the care of a child he didn't know existed Marco Salzano flies halfway across the world to take his child and the mother home with them. To provide them with the care they need.

Instead he finds Amber, the "fragile" sister of the baby's mother. Amber pretends she is her sister and tries to get rid of Marco.

Finally Marco finds out the truth about the sister switch and demands Amber replace the child they are denying him. Amber agrees, in order to "save" her sister, and then she spends the rest of the book trying to cheat Marco in every way she can.

Lady Mischief is tired of women who have no honor being shown as heroines and the supposed alpha males who think the women are loyal, honest, and sincere.

Amber's sister was not in a life and death situation when she tried to extort money from Marco. Amber did not have to agree to marry Marco and have a baby which she would then leave behind in order to protect her nephew. How dumb can one woman be if she thought her love for her nephew would out weigh the love she would feel for her own child?

Amber was dishonest from the beginning to the end. There was nothing redeemable about her character.

On the other hand this book is a great travelogue.

This book rates:

Your's forever between the covers of a book,
Lady Mischief

THE ITALIAN COUNT'S DEFIANT BRIDE by Catherine George

The Italian Count's
Defiant Bride
by
Catherine George

Harlequin Presents #2830
June 2009

On her eighteenth birthday Alicia Cross dropped her purse and fell into the arms of Count Francesco da Luca. Alicia knew who he was immediately because she had grown up with his smiling face on her bedroom wall. He had been her favorite rugby player.

Within months they are married. Within hours she runs away from him.

Years later Francesco is in Cardiff for the Wales/Italy rugby game when he sees Alicia again and makes sure they speak. After all, they are still married.

This is a cute story.

Francesco is a likable character, even though during the years of his wife's absence and after he gave up on finding her, he had "allowed" beautiful woman to give him pleasure, he is not a sleaze.

Alicia is a character that started out as a young girl and matured into a strong woman who could finally speak for herself and decide what it was she wanted.

However, there were some problems with this book. Let's start with the most obvious. How many years went by between when Alicia and Francesco were married and when they "met" again? We know she went to college and gained a career. So was it five years? Ten? Twenty? It makes a difference.

How old is Alicia now?

How old is Francesco? When they met he actually thought Alicia was younger then eighteen. He was already retired from rugby. Was he thirty-six? Twenty-two? Somewhere in between? Was he a perv?

When the author doesn't want Lady Mischief to know the important facts about her characters then Lady Mischief will fill in the blanks and it may not turn out well for the story. When the Heroine is in her twenties Lady Mischief does not have a problem with the Hero being older, but when the Heroine is in her teens the Hero had better be in the same generation or else he comes across as a child molester.

The reason for the runaway bride was simple and a simple conversation would have taken care of it, but how often do people actually resolve things with a simple conversation. There was nothing unforgivable to keep these two lovers apart, so their reconciliation is easy to accept.

If not for the questions about how long they had been apart and the age thing Lady Mischief would have marked this book up. It is a good book and has a solid rating of:

Yours forever between the covers of a book,
Lady Mischief

VIRGIN MISTRESS, SCANDALOUS LOVE-CHILD by Jennie Lucas

Virgin Mistress,
Scandalous Love-Child
by
Jennie Lucas
Harlequin Presents #2831
June 2009

Ellie Jensen had to go to Rio during Carnaval with her handsome Brazilian boss. There he seduced his virgin junior secretary, but only for that one night. For three months after that he watched as she tried not to show her broken heart too openly.

Until the morning she pushed her way past Diogo Serrado's guard dog secretary and announced she was quitting immediately and leaving to get married.

Oh, and by the way, she was pregnant, but since he promised he couldn't get her pregnant it was his, right?

Five hours later Diogo crashes into the church and steals her away from her wedding and off they go to Rio.

Then there is Catia. Diogo's five year old daughter. The girl had just lost her dancer/hooker mother months before. She grew up in Rio. Hated and feared Diogo. (Who didn't know she existed until after the mother had died.) But in spite of all this the child spoke perfect English to Ellie and even understood the word sibling. If you do not have access to a five year old in your home try talking to a kid at the Burger King Playground and ask them how many siblings they have. I mean really! For that matter, ask one of the kids behind the counter, I'll bet the answer will still be the same.

Once Ellie mentioned siblings to Catia she stopped in the middle of a "shrieking" tamtrum and said "babies?", immediately became all smiles and couldn't wait to start a new life with her daddy.

When someone was suppose to be thinking I was never sure who it was. The voice of the hero and heroine in thought sounded the same, particularly when not only were there paragraphs that started out with her thoughts, then became his. There were sentences that started as hers, became his, and returned to hers without any warning. You only found out when something was clarified. I was getting motion sickness just trying to follow them.

This story had wonderful potential, if only it had more depth than the cover.

This book sadly rates:

Yours forever between the covers of a book,

Lady Mischief

VALENTINO'S LOVE-CHILD (Harlequin Presents #2820, May 2009)

VALENTINO'S LOVE-CHILD

By Lucy Monroe

Harlequin Presents #2820

May 2009
Contemporary Romance

Faith has suffered great loss in her life and has relocated to a sunny Sicilian village to live a quiet life and to create her art. She meets Valentino and they become lovers. They have been lovers for almost a year.

Although Faith has been his lover longer than any of his previous mistresses Valentino will never love her or marry her. He had promised his dead wife he would never put another in her place in his heart or in his life.

Faith thinks she can never have a family of her own. And then the condom breaks.

Faith's hopes for a future with Valentino start to build when he begins to act out of character, but they are soon dashed against the cruel rocks of his honesty. Her expectations are not unreasonable. She is led to believe he is thawing in his attitudes. She is really a very likable character.

There are two problems with this book. On page 9 the dead Sicilian wife's name is Ranata on page 36 her name becomes Maura which I always thought was an Irish name. For several chapters I thought Ranata and Maura were two different women and I wondered how many women he had loved and pledged his eternal devotion to. "Maura" is mentioned often throughout the book and is integral to the romance. When you have to go back to re-read names or struggle to find out which character is which it detracts from your enjoyment of the overall story.

My other problem was the ending was too rushed. I have felt this way about all Harlequin Presents since they shortened the length of the books. I keep waiting for the authors to adjust to the shorter length by making adjustments in the body and making sure there will still be a satisfying wind-up at the end. But it hasn't happened that way. Everything gets rushed in the end. And we are told what happens rather then being allowed to observe it happening.

The story is wonderful. It made me cry, it made me care, it made me laugh. It did everything a good story should. The overall writing is strong it would have rated a five, but due to the above mentioned problems I could not give it a higher rating then .

It wasn't just the name change, but the name it was changed to. It just didn't fit the story and so detracted from it.

However, this is a MUST READ book.

For more information about Lucy Monroe's books please visit the author's website at: http://www.lucymunroe.com

Yours forever between the covers of a book,
Lady Mischief