Book #48: The Italian’s One-Night Baby by Lynne Graham

With this ring…  

Beautiful doctor Ellie Dixon once rejected Rio Benedetti’s passionate advances—and the fiery Italian hasn’t forgotten the insult! Ellie arrives in Italy bearing an antique sapphire ring and claiming to be the daughter of Rio’s godfather, which reawakens his rage…and a devastating longing! 

I thee claim!  

Rio won’t stop until he uncovers Ellie’s captivating curves—her heated surrender can’t come quickly enough! Facing the consequences of their abandon, Rio realizes Ellie’s pregnancy will break his godfather’s heart. There’s one solution: Rio will have to seduce her all the way to the altar…

Psst. I have a deep dark secret. I’m one of those girls who reads Harlequin romances. You know, the kind where the heroine is a virgin and she gives into the seduction of some billionaire or royal. I like them because they are outrageous, they are filled with drama, and I can finish one in a day. They make for a great break between reads.

Some of them are hits and some of them are misses. Rarely do I find a Harlequin that I’m on the fence or had issues with a character, but also really liked the story. This one happens to be one of those.

First off, the characters aren’t that bad. They both have that Pride and Prejudice feel to them. Ellie can be judgmental and it takes a while for her to recognize the good in a person. Rio is the same way, he believes Ellie is a gold digger and that thought is the crux of most of the story.

Ellie is strong, opinionated, and doesn’t seem to back down despite being placed in the demure virgin trope. Rio is equally strong and opinionated. He’s also on that rocky line between Alpha male and Abusive male. I’m sorry, but I felt like Ellie needed to be saved sometimes.

That was the big issue about the book. I didn’t care for Rio’s abrasive and bordering abusive behavior. He didn’t seem to take no as an answer and used his body to seduce Ellie. I know this can be considered attractive, but I tried to keep away from those moments. They bothered me.

Despite that glaring issue, I actually liked the book. I kept reading ahead (something I try not to do most times) and forced myself back to where I belonged. The story was engaging and I was anticipating the moment that Rio realized that Ellie wasn’t a gold digger. It actually makes me want to read the other two in the trilogy and not many Harlequins do that.

Yeah, I actually really liked this story.