4.5 stars; Make that Stupid Title, Surprisingly Good Book. Isn’t it wonderful how Harlequin can make a fresh story sound like the same old crap? This “powerful Italian” is actually a film director rather than a tycoon -- OMG, he rents a private plane instead of owning one -- and how lovely to see a hero with creative interests. And the heroine, though an overly self-sacrificing single mom, is hardly penniless.

This is Harlequin Presents like I rarely see it these days: with surprises; with attention paid to the writing; with some actual substance to go with the drama, exotic locales and nookie. Lorenzo is suffering from burn-out in his career and private life; he finds inspiration in an obscure novel about the English countryside. While scouting out the location for filming, he meets and is attracted to Sarah, who unbeknownst to him is the daughter of the late author and the person refusing to release the film rights. But when Sarah turns up near his Tuscany home for a wedding (yes, the implausibilities/coincidences are a bit thick on the ground for the first part of the story) he discovers who she is and sets out to win her gratitude, in hopes she’ll relent about the film rights.

None of this is done in a mean-spirited way, mind you; Lorenzo is perhaps a bit more devious than he really should be or needs to be, but he’s also a sensitive, caring person. And as he and Sarah get to know each other, they find comfort for deep emotional wounds that they’ve both suffered. But Sarah has very low self-esteem, so you can guess what happens.

This is a light, quick romance that nonetheless gave the characters time to really fall in love, with drama that wasn’t based on stupid misunderstandings or people being jerks, and with backstory for the characters that felt real, not just plastered on to give excuses for bad behavior. Best of all, (view spoiler)[there is no magic baby epilogue. Lorenzo is infertile, Sarah didn’t want any more kids and that doesn’t change. (hide spoiler)] And bonus point for including Italian phrases that I didn't recognize from a million other romances.