Since the hero in this book, Vladimir shows up as a peripheral character in the last Jennie Lucas book I read, A Night of Living Dangerously, I decided to reach for this one. It also happens that the hero is Russian (and I swoon over Russian heroes). Talking about drama, wow!

Man, this book was sizzling. The whole scenario and the dialogue and action was crazy. I couldn't believe the bet that Bree makes. I completely understands why. I loved that she isn't the typical, sweet, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth heroine. She has a history of being a card shark and con artist from childhood, but decides to go straight when she falls in love with Vladimir. Even though he abandons her and turns his back on her.

Their reunion is titillating, to say the least. There are some pretty outrageous moments in this book. A couple of scenes are just all kinds of inappropriate, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page. It works for the book, and I like that the author wasn't afraid to go there.

I liked the descriptions and imagery of St. Petersburg. I wanted to be there, feel the cold on my skin and experience the over the top luxury with my own eyes. The Hawaii scenes were good, but since I am a contrarian who'd rather be walking around in a snow-covered vista than on a beach, I liked St. Petersburg more. Plus, it's Russia. Enough said.

Vladimir could throw money at Bree like nobody's business. He really doesn't get that she didn't want his money. That she loved him and wanted to protect her sister. That she had changed and wanted to do the right thing, but she was between a rock and a hard place. Vladimir is the real deal. He's really ruthless, ambitious and cutthroat (in the boardroom). He doesn't change over night. A broken heart made a fundamentally decent young man into a shark, and it takes time for reunited love to change him back. I felt that his character was very three-dimensional and I liked that. Bree was also well-developed. Towards the end, she had me worried. I really thought she was going to go through with something that was just so wrong, even if she was doing it for the right reasons.

This was another book I couldn't put down. I give it a thumbs up on the drama and the sizzling romance. Lots of romantic tension and also tension in hoping that the characters get a clue and eventually own up to their love for each other and doing what's right out of love. I thought this was a very good book.

How funny that I read "Cinderella" and "Beauty and the Beast" in a couple of days of each other. I consider this a "Beauty and the Beast" style romance because the sweet, innocent heroine (Beauty) takes the place of her relative and beards the beast in his den. In this case, the beast is a gorgeous, but cold-hearted Prince Zakour (goes by Zak) who wants to make her brother pay for embezzling millions of dollars. He refuses to let Emily go and is determined to believe she's mercenary and scheming, that her act of innocence is feigned. He can't believe anyone can be that sweet and honest. When she bonds with his lonely nephew, abandoned by his mother, he is skeptical, but is more than willing to utilize her skills at managing a five-year-old to his advantage. And before he knows it, he's demanding marriage.

I liked this book. I felt that Emily was a sweet-heart. I did do a bit of eye rolling at how she constantly seemed to swoon over Zak's good looks. Now I feel like a hypocrite. If I was in the present of Benedict Cumberbatch for days on end, I'd probably be doing the same. But anyway, it seems a bit over the top how it was described.

Overall, the chemistry between Emily and Zak was well done. I think that the tension of not knowing each other's feelings was believable. When Emily's brother shows up, I liked how that was handled. He acquits his sister with an impassioned plea, and makes Zak feel like the heel he was. And I liked Zak's love declaration. He says that he will keep her imprisoned for ever and give her the many babies she always wanted. Yeah, this isn't a romance for cynics. I'm not one, so it worked for me.

A good escapist Harlequin Presents is just what the doctor ordered when a reader needs a boost. Take this book and get a good night's rest, and you'll be good as new.

Jennie Lucas is the author to reach for when you want the high drama quotient and the fairy tale vibe to your Harlequin Presents. Lilley is so starry-eyed, it will probably make a more cynical reader roll her eyes. I didn't mind it so much. I think that if I'm in the mood, it works for the story. I felt that she definitely deserved better than she got with Alessandro, but in his defense he did try to push her away initially to protect her. I didn't want her to go back to him when she has important news. I wanted her to go in the other direction. I think it's because I strongly like when the hero has to do the chasing. I don't like when the heroine falls into his arms so easily. Lilley is a true love believer. She has a heart that is so sweet and kind, I just wanted to protect her from the world. I could identify with her fear about taking risks. I think we all feel like that sometimes. Especially when the root is a sense of inadequacy and that no one truly accepts you for who you are. I hate that Alessandro contributed to that feeling of inadequacy in how he treats her when they are married. He needed and did receive a hard wake up call, but it came at a high price to Lilley.

Jennie Lucas can be a bit over the top sometimes, but in a way, I like that. I think the best Harlequin Presents are the ones that don't feel like real life, but take you away to 100% escapism. When that's combined with a story full of emotional genuineness it's a great combination. While I won't ever hang out with billionaires, I can identify with the human emotions that both Lilley and Alessandro feel, and their struggles with family and a sense of meaning for their lives.

I would have to give this four stars because it kept my eyes glued on the page, the sensuality was sizzling, and the character's emotions felt real and powerful and their story unfolded in a way that I was entranced with and didn't want to stop reading. Plus, the Cinderella vibe is very well done.

I can't rate this very highly because it felt rather tame and didn't really touch my emotions. I read this on a Harlequin Presents Weekend Binge, and while I enjoy those, just picking books randomly from my Pile o' Harlequin Presents, sometimes you get this feeling of incongruity when you read a book that isn't as intense and emotional as the other ones. Unfortunately, this book felt like the ugly stepsister because I was 'feeling' the other books I read so much this weekend.

Patricia Wilson is a proven vintage Harlequin Presents author. I really enjoy her books and she has more than a few that are all time faves for me. However, no author has a completely winning streak. This one is just decent. Not bad, but not particularly memorable.

What I liked:

*I really liked Brett, Kit's grandfather. I love how Charley immediately bonded with the old man, and how he approved of her and liked her.
*Kit's possessive/jealous leanings. I am unrepentant about my love for jealous/possessive heroes. He could have been more demonstrative of those traits, but I liked it when I saw it.
*Overall, Charley was a heroine that I liked. She's a bit on the meek side, but that doesn't bother me as much as it might some readers.

What didn't impress me:

*Kit's way of treating Charley was weird. He sent out so many mixed signals. He admitted at the end that he needed to stop lying and I totally agree. If I was Charley, I think I would have had whiplash at how often Kit's behavior changed.
*I didn't like the whole Antebellum thing. I think it's my own personal issues with that time period in US History and so it rubbed me the wrong way.
*The evil other woman plot didn't impress me much. I did like that Brett couldn't stand her but he liked Charley.

I think I have high expectations for the authors I really like, so when I read books by them that are just okay or decent, it's disappointing. I think I might have enjoyed this more if I hadn't read it between two really intense, dramatic books. It was a cute book overall.

This was a pretty intense read. One of those romances where extreme hate between the main couple is really suppressed longing and desire. In real life, I don't know if I think that suppressed love translates into hate, but "Hope deferred does make the heart sick." My goodness, Andreas and Sienna are super-duper mean to each other. And Andreas is a hypocrite. He's the kind of guy who calls a woman a whore because she doesn't do what he wants her to do and she doesn't fit his mold for what he wants a woman to be. I didn't like that about him at all. I did like the fact that Sienna could easily trade insults with him. It took me a while to think that I even wanted these two to be together. There were times when I didn't particularly like either character. Sienna says and thinks some really mercenary and selfish things, and I didn't like that about her. However, I could understand why she was so prickly and thick-skinned, considering her tough life and living with an arrested development mother with terrible morals and being rejected by her married father. I wish that Andreas had shown more sympathy and empathy for Sienna. When he finally starts acting like a decent man, it was almost too late for me to feel I wanted him to be with Sienna. I did like that he went after her when she left him.

I thought that despite the meanness between them, there was good chemistry and I did see their relationship change, develop and blossom. With the conclusion of the book, I had hopes that they would not take each other for granted any longer, and that love had changed both of their hearts and lives.

I don't know if this book will work for everyone. The leads are at times unlikable and mean-spirited. However, I did see a change in both characters and that their feelings for each other weren't just reluctant lust, but real love. For that reason, I gave it four stars.