I write book reviews, I also write books, and occasionally I write about myself!

Wednesday 23 March 2011

365 books in 365 days Challenge ... book #3


The Wedding Charade - Melanie Milburne
Mills and Boon Modern
Harlequin Mills and Boon, 2011
ISBN: 9780263886306



My rating



From the back cover:


"Her trust fund is dwindling. If Jade Sommerville is to continue living in the manner she's become accustomed to she has only one option...make the notorious Nic Sabbatini marry her!
The youngest of the Sabbatini brothers, Nic doesn't suffer fools, or respond well to ultimatums - especially those in his grandfather's will! But when the stunning, wilful Jade breezes into his office and announces their upcoming nuptials to the world's media, Nic might have finally met his match.
He's turned Jade down once before. But this time?"


I have mentioned before that the Modern series is my favourite, I find that they are always faced paced, passionate, and just a little bit aspirational! This book certainly doesn't disappoint the series. Before I discuss the story I just wanted to write a little about the cover (here I go banging on about the covers again!). These new style of covers were introduced by Mills and Boon in September 2010 which included a series wide makeover. I think the new covers are fantastic, I certainly find them more palatable than previous ones, which let's face it, were a tad cheesy and embarrassing! The new ones are more modern (no pun intended!) looking. Bravo for the new covers!

OK, so coming back to the story. This is the third and final installment to Melanie Milburne's 'The Sabbatini Brothers' mini-series (The first two books are 'Scandal: Unclaimed Love-Child' and 'Shock: One-Night Heir' respectively, both of which I have read). I think this is the best out of the bunch. Melanie Milburne is one of my favourite author's.

The male character, Nic, is your typical Italian Alpha-Male, loves his freedom and doesn't want to settle down anytime soon. Unfortunately, the details of his late Grandfather's will dictates that in order to claim his inheritance he must marry the daughter of a long time family friend, and stay married for a year. He and Jade, the female, character have known each other since childhood, and previously had an attraction to one another. Nic is disgusted at the thought of not only having to marry, but having to marry Jade, who's party-girl and, seemingly, loose lifestyle he doesn't approve of.
Jade had struggled through her life with the loss of her mother and much loved brother, lack of affection from her father, as well as a severe learning difficulty she has kept to herself. Hiding behind the facade of outrageous and scandalous behaviour, she keeps her difficulties and lack of self confidence to herself.
As their marriage progresses, Nic learns that there is a lot more to Jade than the front she presents to the world, and Jade has to battle against her growing feelings for Nic, knowing that this marriage is only temporary.

This was a really great book, I applaud Melanie for having a female character that was flawed and had a serious learning difficulty. Her difficulty with accepting herself was handled really well, and quite sad at times that I really felt empathy with the character. The chemistry between the characters is fantastic and the passion between them is hot! The only tiny gripe I have is that I found Nic's attitude towards Jade's supposed sexual promiscuity a little hypocritical, considering his own history, however this is made a joke out of in the story, and of course, what more could you expect from a typical Alpha-Male!

The book immediately grabbed my attention, and I actually finished it in one sitting!

Xx

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