Sunday 2 September 2012

Mia's Scandal by Michelle Reid


Mia has spent the first twenty one years of her life living quietly in deep rural Tuscany believing her father was dead. When she discovers that he is in fact very much alive and living in England she is determined to meet him. Arriving at Balfour Manor she finds herself thrown headlong into a rich glamorous world filled with shocks and scandals. That Mia is one of those shocking scandals only makes her transition from naive country girl to sophisticated daughter of Oscar Balfour more complicated.

Then she meets Nikos Theakis, a power driven Greek tycoon with the kind of dangerous attraction that fires Mia’s Italian blood. They strike the kind of sparks off each other that can only take them to one place. Bed, sharing the kind of passion that complete overwhelms them both.

But Nikos never looks for more than a brief affair with his women. And he has no intention of falling beneath Mia’s fascinating spell...

Mia’s Scandal was a fun holiday read.  The end was clear from the beginning, but it was entertaining to see in what manner things would pan out.
 Nikos Theakis is a man who has faced a lot of turmoil in his past and the arrival of the beautiful Mia in his life, only makes  his present more challenging. Not only does he have a business to run, but he must follow the wishes of Mia's father and instruct her in the ways of the business world. Nikos's turmoil comes from the fact that it's more than business he wants to show Mia.
Mia's life in Italy has been a simple one; suddenly thrust into the spotlight belonging to her wealthy English father , she has a lot to contend with.Enemies old and new come into her life and force her to make some tough decisions about her future. 
 Mia's Scandal  was well written and very descriptive, which is what can be expected from a Mills and Boon book. Ms Reid used clear detail to describe the characters, their emotions and the various settings. I felt that the book was very smooth to read and quite luxurious in it's detail.  I enjoyed the tensions and obvious attractions between Mia and Nikos; both who have their own vulnerabilities. If you’re already a fan of this genre, then Mia’s Scandal is certainly worth picking up. It doesn’t disappoint.

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Taster of Mia's Scandal

Mia stood frozen as the low silver monster hurtled towards, filling the air with a tire burning ear-piercing screech until finally it slithered to a grit spitting halt two tiny centimetres from her shins.
The engine hissed, the silver bonnet shuddered, silence returned like a numbing blow to the head.

Pushing back into his seat, Nikos stared out at her with his heart pounding like a hammer and his fingers still clamped to the wheel. He had not believed he was going to stop in time. He wasn’t even sure that he had. He continued to sit in a state of near total shutdown waiting for her to give him a clue by making some kind of movement – by stepping back to show he hadn’t hit her or to drop down to the ground in a smashed heap!

Theos, she’s stunning, his stupefied brain fed to him, then compounded the observation by feeding a rush of hot blood down his front. It gathered in his loins like a neat shot of testosterone. Reacting to it with an explosive force of anger he thrust open the car door and threw himself out.
‘What the hell do you think you are playing at!’ he raked out in full blistering fury. ‘Do you have a death wish or something? Why didn’t you move out of my way--?’

It took every bit of Mia’s numbed strength just to breathe in and out. Her eyelashes finally gave a flutter of life and she managed to raise her eyes up from the car to focus on him instead. It came as a second shock to find she was staring at the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life.
And he was striding towards her like a gladiator going to war. Only this gladiator had a black overcoat hanging from his impressive wide shoulders and wore a frighteningly elegant steel grey three piece suit beneath. His shirt was white, his tie a silky slither of smoke down his front.

Reaching the corner of the car he stopped to rake a downward glance at how close he had come to her fragile legs. Fire lit his eyes just before he reached out, clamped his hands around her waist and bodily plucked her off the ground. The next thing Mia knew she was up close and staring directly into a pair of deep dark polished mahogany eyes set beneath startlingly straight thick eyebrows as black as the hair on his head....

Saturday 1 September 2012

Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson




 

Bella Rossi may be nearing thirty, but her life is just starting to get interesting. When her Italian-turned-Texan parents hand over the family wedding planning business, Bella is determined not to let them down. She quickly books a "Boot Scoot'n" wedding that would make any Texan proud. There's only one catch--she's a country music numbskull because her family only listens to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Where will she find a DJ on such short notice who knows his Alan Jackson from his Keith Urban?When a misunderstanding leads her to the DJ (and man) of her dreams, things start falling into place. But with a family like hers, nothing is guaranteed. Can the perfect Texan wedding survive a pizza-making uncle with mob ties, an aunt who is a lawsuit waiting to happen, and a massive delivery of 80 cowboy boots? And will Bella ever get to plan her own wedding?
 

Fools Rush In happens to be one of those books that I wish I could have lived in. The characters were fun, entertaining and brought many a smile to my face as I read. I wish I could have been adopted by the Rossi family. Not only is their every meal time amazing, but their outlook on life, love, happiness and food had me hooked from the very beginning. I appreciated the picture that Ms Thompson painted with the characters and their lives and have to say that there were some amazing little quirks that made this book very special.

Bella is a sweet heroine who has some lovely mannerisms. She really does come across as a friend we would all like to have. DJ our hero is a gorgeous cowboy with a heart of gold which shines through his every action. Our couple have some great characters in their families and their circle of friends, who pull the storyline along in a very engaging way. Even the animals in this story stand out as humorous.

  Fools Rush In is a sweet and funny romance with strong elements of Christianity in it. Church is very important to the people within the book and this really pulls the story together. Without this element I think the book would have missed some amazing scenes. I enjoyed this story because it pulled me into a whole new world of food, God and comedy; they made amazing companions in a book that had me entertained from beginning to end.