Excerpt, THE INNOCENT’S FORGOTTEN WEDDING by Lynne Graham

Early the following morning, alarm bells rang and lights flashed from the machinery by the bed. The woman came awake and went into panic, eyes focusing on an unfamiliar room and then on the arrival of two nurses, their faces both concerned and excited at the same time. She clawed at the breathing tube in her throat because she couldn’t speak and the women tried to both restrain and soothe her, telling her over and over again that the doc-tor was coming, everything would be all right and that there was nothing to worry about. She thought they were crazy. Her body wouldn’t move. She could only move one hand and her arm felt as if it didn’t belong to her. How could she possibly have nothing to worry about? Why were they talking nonsense? Did they think she was stupid?

The panic kept on clawing at her, even after the doctor arrived and the breathing tube was re-moved. He kept on asking her questions, questions she couldn’t answer until she couldn’t hide from the truth any longer. She didn’t know who she was. What was her name? She didn’t know why she was lying in a hospital bed. She didn’t have a last memory to offer because her mind was a blank, a complete blank. It was a ridiculous relief to receive an approving nod when she evidently got the name of the Prime Minister right and contrived to name colors correctly.

‘What happened to me?’ she whispered brokenly, her breath rasping. ‘Have I been ill?’

‘You were in an accident.’ The doctor paused there, exchanging a glance with the staff surrounding the bed.

‘What’s my name?’ she asked shakily.

‘Your name is Brooke… Brooke Tassini.’ The name meant absolutely nothing to her, didn’t even sound slightly familiar.

‘Your husband will be here very soon.’ Brooke’s eyes widened to their fullest extent in shock. ‘I have a husband?’

For some reason, the nurses smiled. ‘Oh, yes, you have a husband.’

‘A very handsome husband,’ one of the women added.

Brooke stared down at her bare wedding finger. She was married. Oh, my goodness, she was married. Did she have children? she asked. No…no children as far as they knew, they said, and a tinge of relief threaded through the panic she was only just holding at bay. Then she felt guilty about that sense of relief. She liked children, didn’t she? But it was scary enough to have a husband she didn’t remember—it would be simply appalling if she had contrived to forget her children as well.

The Italian husband she can’t remember…or resist! 
After a terrible car crash, Brooke can’t remember her own name—much less her wedding day! Finding irresistible Lorenzo Tassini at her bedside—and a gold band on her finger—is shocking. 
Honor-bound to care for his estranged wife, Lorenzo whisks her to his luxury Tuscan villa. But Brooke’s nothing like Lorenzo remembers! Her sweetness surprises him, as does the chemistry between them, blazing like never before. Stunned to discover her virginity, Lorenzo must uncover the secrets of the woman wearing his ring… 

It was a fast, easy romantic read. I loved Lorenzo and Milly together. I loved the ending and how everything turned out. I felt this was a feel-good romance. I didn’t like Brooke’s character at all, but I don’t believe we were supposed to. She was selfish and only cared about herself, didn’t even care about her half-sister, who so desperately wanted her to love her. I loved this book and its characters. I highly recommend it. Great summer read.  

**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book 

The Trophy Husband (Harlequin Presents) ...

Hard to really appreciate a book when the characters irritate you, the plot is contrived and frankly, you don't give a damn.

Heroine... family doormat and borderline TSTL. She watched this guy pursue her beautiful model cousin, then when he gave up and went after *her*, instead of maybe being a lot hesitant at being the consolation prize, she...got engaged. A message at work said for her to check on her cousin, whereupon she finds the two of them going at it. She staggers back to work, gets plastered on coffee and brandy (coffee? In the UK?), and eventually passes out in the H's limo. She wakes in a night gown, and instead of wigging out, she presses him to pop her cherry (doesn't tell him that part - he finds it out) Over the next couple of months... she's pressed into marrying him (didn't resist v. hard), has to deal with his bipolar attitude toward her, has a meltdown and pretends to leave, meets the ex for a counseling session, deals with more of his douche-y behavior, meets yet another ex of his (yeah, she was practically tripping over them). And HEA supposedly...or until he has another temper tantrum.

Hero - stalker creepazoid who sicced a PI on her then-fiance in hopes of finding dirt on him - spent 2 months acting like a spoiled brat because the h actually objected to his manipulating her to get her in his clutches.

Cousin - spoiled heifer whose parents indulged her to make up for her being jealous of the h's friends (h was a nice doormat sort, of course she had friends)

Aunt/uncle - resented the cross they had to bear and also resented that said cross landed the douche...while their precious brat had to settle for the dumbass who'd wasted time pursuing her earlier.

The Wild Winter Nights Sampler contains works from several of today’s best authors, giving readers snippets of some of their work.

I am very familiar with some of these authors and this Sampler made me want more! It also introduced me to several authors I hadn’t read before. I recommend for those that want an introduction to some great authors.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

This is one of the older Lynne Grahams that I read many moons ago, but I didn't remember most of it. It was a good reread. The hero in this was a jerk. I think Rosalie was nicer to him than he deserved, but she wasn't a pushover. He always managed to see her in the worst light, if not an avaricious femme fatale, than a spineless tart. I felt that he really did need to earn Rosalie's love. I like that he was so jealous of her roommate and friend, who was by all accounts, a beefcake. By the end, he was remorseful, but still a bit too high on the horse for my tastes. I like that his adopted mom guessed right away what was going on. That was pretty funny, considering all the changes they went through to hide the truth from her. Constantine would never be a favorite LG hero for me, but I really did enjoy Rosalie and I like that she held her own with him, or somewhat.