I really, really wanted to like this book, the concept was interesting, I loved baby Dora, but the story was lost for me in a world of purple prose. If you want to be taken back in time to when you first discovered your love of reading with early category romances and purple prose, I think you will enjoy this book. ~ DiDi, Guilty Pleasures
Description:
He’d come for the baby
and his ex-wife.
Naomi Sinclair had once fallen hard for Andreas Sarantos. Marrying the irresistible Greek venture capitalist had seared her soul with pleasure and despair. For she soon discovered he was incapable of love. Now her ex-husband is back to claim her orphaned ten-month-old niece.
Andreas let Naomi get away once. But adopting his best friend’s baby girl gives him the leverage he needs to bring his unwilling ex-wife back to his bed. Will having the only woman he’s ever wanted erase the scars of his dark past? Or will he lose Naomi, this time forever?
Review copy provided for an honest review
I grew up reading Silhouette Desire and Harlequin romances. At a young age I was sneaking my Grandma’s Harlequin Presents books. My love for these books never went away, before Kindle I would be at Wal-Mart or K-Mart on release day waiting to buy all six Desires released that day. As I got older I discovered I needed books that were longer because I was reading all six Desire books in two days. Today I don’t have as much time to read but when I want a quick, satisfying read I find a Desire or Blaze romance. I have been reading a lot of darker themed, very intense books lately, when I read the description of The Sarantos Baby Bargain I thought, hmmm the best of both worlds for me a short read with a sexy tortured Greek hero.
I eagerly started TSBB, at first I kept confusing Naomi and Nadine, for some reason I had a hard time following the dialogue and Naomi’s thoughts as she was thinking back over everything that had occurred to get her to where she was in the beginning of the story. Once I was able to grasp who was who and what went on, I was captured by the story. A sister helping a sister in a way that is the most loving and caring there is. So I thought, WOW I’m going to really love Naomi. But that connection never happened, at times she came across as strong, then she came off as desperate. She was insanely in love with Andreas, pretty much gave up her own identity to be with him the first time, then she finally grew a back bone and left him because he was cold and uncaring.
I LOVE me some ALPHA-HOLE bad boys and Andreas is exactly what that description implies, sexy, tortured and take no prisoners. He is a known womanizer but developed an obsessive desire for Naomi and that is all he shows her is an insatiable lust, nothing more, he keeps her a secret and emotionally shuts her out. When she has enough and leaves her, he lets her go.
Four years later a tragedy brings Andreas back into Naomi’s life. He is still uncaring, cold and sexy. He gives Naomi an ultimatum be with him and she can still be in their mutual niece Dora’s life or not.
Friends, I usually don’t DNF a book but I almost did this time, I had a hard time finishing this book, a book of this length usually takes me two hours tops to read, it took me six hours to finish this book. The actual story line is interesting, watching Andreas finally open up and the way baby Dora played a huge part in it, was sweet, but I was so distracted by purple prose I couldn’t focus on the story. I also never really felt the connection between Naomi and Andreas until the end and even then I had to assume their feelings grew behind the scenes because there were not many moments of tenderness or communication between the two.
I really, really wanted to like this book, the concept was interesting, I loved baby Dora, but the story was lost for me in a world of purple prose.There were times it seemed like I was reading one of the 1972 romance book I secretly borrowed from my Grandma. Throughout the book I felt like I was going to have to rip the head off of a stuffed animal every time I read words like “daunting girth”, “jetting the burning fuel of his pleasure on hers”, “painting her savagely pleasured body with indolent caresses”, “engulfed the nipple that had been envying its twin” or “rammed himself into her recesses, roaring as he hurled himself after her into the abyss of abandon.”
I did it though, I finished and survived. It wasn’t a horrible story, honestly I think I would have enjoyed it had it not been like reading old school Harlequin books. I am giving the book two stars instead of a one because of the cover and how baby Dora melted the frozen Andreas.
If you want to be taken back in time to when you first discovered your love of reading with early category romances and purple prose, I think you will enjoy this book.
Thanks DiDi