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The Wedding Ultimatum

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Twenty-four hours to make up her mind!

Danielle knew Rafael Valdez was out of her league and had never dreamed he'd be interested in her as a woman. She'd turned to him as a last resort to help her family. The outrageous solution he proposed turned her world upside down!

Rafael would make all Danielle's troubles disappear -- if she married him and gave him an heir. The idea was shocking, intriguing, tempting! To marry this devastatingly sexy man, and share his bed? Danielle had 24 hours before Rafael would return to claim her....

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2002

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About the author

Helen Bianchin

387 books232 followers
Helen Shirley was born on February 20 1939 in New Zealand, where she grew up, an only child possessed by a vivid imagination and a love for reading. She wrote stories for amusement in her early teenage years, and when she left leaving school, she took a secretarial job at a father-and-son legal firm.

At age twenty-one Helen joined a girlfriend and embarked on a working holiday in Australia, travelling via cruise ship from Auckland to Melbourne. Alas, no shipboard romance, as she spent all four days in her cabin suffering from sea-sickness! After fifteen months working in Melbourne, Helen and her friend bought a vehicle and took three months to drive the length and breadth of Australia, choosing to work in Cairns in order to fund the final leg of our journey to Sydney.

It was in Cairns that Helen met her future husband, Danilo Bianchin, an Italian immigrant from Treviso. He was a tobacco sharefarmer from the tobacco farming community of Mareeba. His English was pitiful, and her command of Italian was nil. Six months later they married, and Helen was flung into cooking for up to nine tobacco pickers, stringing tobacco, feeding 200 chickens, a few turkeys, ducks... plus killing, cleaning and cooking the same! Her knowledge of Italian improved, and there were hilarious moments in retrospect. Some of what she endured was cooking on a wood-burning stove, having no running hot water, a primitive shower and toilet facilities, washing uniforms for two soccer teams during the soccer season... floods, horrendous hailstone damage to tobacco crops, hardship, and the stillbirth of their first child. Then, to their joy, Helen's daughter, Lucia, was born. Three years later the couple returned to New Zealand, where they settled for sixteen years. During those early years, they added two sons, Angelo and Peter, to the family.

With multiple anecdotes of farm life in an Italian community to friends, the idea of writing a book occurred. A romance, set on a tobacco farm in Australia's far north, Queensland, featuring an Italian hero. Helen says, "the background was authentic, believe me!" However the hero was rich and owned the farm artistic license! It took her a year to complete a passable manuscript, typed on a portable typewriter at the dining room table. That first effort was deemed too short with insufficient detail. Helen rewrote it. This time it was considered too long with too much extraneous detail. She revised, then sent it to London. Four months later she received a telegram from Alan Boon (Mills & Boon) to say they intended to publish and a contract would be sent in the mail. It was the most wonderful news!

Helen wrote ten more books while living in New Zealand, then in 1981, her family resettled in Australia, on Queensland's Gold Coast. She has since published twenty-five more books. Today, with computer technology, the mechanics of writing are much easier. However, the writing process doesn't change. Helen says that she's having a good day if she can achieve 5 good pages, which she is likely to change, edit and rewrite the following day.

She loves creating characters, giving them life and providing a situation where their emotions are tested and love wins out. For her, the greatest praise is for a reader to say they couldn't put the book down... then Helen knows that she has achieved what she set out to do -- "create a moving enjoyable story which holds the reader entertained from beginning to end."

Helen's hobbies are tennis, table-tennis, judo, reading. She loves movies, and leads an active social life.

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Community Reviews

5 stars
176 (32%)
4 stars
153 (28%)
3 stars
144 (26%)
2 stars
48 (8%)
1 star
25 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
Profile Image for Debbie DiFiore.
3,135 reviews329 followers
February 20, 2018
I think this has to be one of the most vile exes ever. She was true evil and even went as far as to trying to hurt the h physically. I was stunned the first time I read it. I loved the book though and I loved the hero. He never ever gave her reason to doubt him or think he thought about the ow at all. Maybe he wasn't in love with her at the beginning but he was close to it. The heroine annoyed me though. He steps in and saves their business and their lives and she treats him terrible. I got so sick of her attitude. She should have been kinder I think. I know he wanted her to give him a heir and that she was angry over it but she could have said no. He was saving her and her Mother and giving them back their lives. And as point of fact, he never said anything about leaving after the baby was born, she was the one who brought it up. But then maybe that is why I am not a Harlequin writer. He definitely was hot to me and I wish I had a man that was that powerful and loved me that much. This is one of my favorite books and I love reading it when I am feeling low. It't not the best one I have ever read but it's close. I usually love most of the Wedlocked titles. Only if they don't cheat of course.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jenny.
3,204 reviews565 followers
April 18, 2013
Great "marriage of convenience" story with some drama and suspense. The heroine couldn't stop telling the hero how much she hated him but at the same time lusting after him and the hero was so tender and loving I wanted him for myself! The OW was so crazy it was beyond entertaining!

Fantastic, sweet and detailed epilogue. Nice to see Rafael embracing fatherhood. Left me with a big smile on my face!
Profile Image for Jasmin.
373 reviews79 followers
November 7, 2010
The heroine is a doll.

The hero is Mr. Energizer.
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Or rather Mr. Energizer in the disguise of a hot millionaire named Rafael Valdez. He is super insatiable, that he could do it, about three times a night, and still go to the gym the next morning. He has some super energy drink, that I got to know the brand.

So, in a book where there's a doll and Mr. Energizer, where could it possibly go wrong?

Well, this book is like popcorn, loaded with so much cheese, that I felt like I gained a few pounds just reading it.

But still, despite the cheese, it still came out as an enjoyable read.
Profile Image for *CJ*.
5,341 reviews671 followers
January 1, 2021
"The Wedding Ultimatum" is the story of Danielle and Rake.

A sweet and sexy HQN romance, in which the destitute heroine marries the hero to support her family and business. He has a rags to riches to success story, hers is the opposite. She tries to remain cold and professional after the marriage, but the hero is SUPER into the heroine and spends the whole book sexing her 69 ways. She tries to resist but the eggplant is too tasty. The drama is caused by overly psychotic OW who keeps trying to entice the hero back in vain.

It was refreshing to see a hero not behave like a brute on discovering that the heroine had prior experience. Very hot!

Safe
4/5
Profile Image for Naksed.
2,386 reviews44 followers
October 2, 2020
Hero's psycho ex-mistress harasses his wife daily, culminating in almost killing her and her unborn baby. Hero politely tells the ex-mistress to leave town within twenty-four hours or else he will press charges.

W.

T.

F.

DUDE! PRESS CHARGES!!!!

At least we can be happy he asked her to leave town. I remember another Helen Bianchin where the similarly homicidal OW was threatened with... not being invited to the parties thrown by the higher echelons anymore. What, no more soirees??? EGADS!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Melody Cox.
1,502 reviews182 followers
January 26, 2021
***3.5 Star Review***

This was a good read with a very wicked and mean ex-mistress/girlfriend. She was simply pure evil to the point of attempting to physically harm/kill the heroine multiple times.

The hero needs and wants a child, an heir, to leave his fortune to and in return the hero will save the business of the heroine and her mother.

This was a decent story but I do have a problem when there is OW drama throughout. This OW beat all the OW I have been unfortunate enough to read about by far. She tried to kill the hero's wife/child multiple times and all she got was a slight slap on the hand. It was pathetic as the hero didn't press any charges against the Devil OW. Just told her to leave town.

It caused me to look at the hero as a beta who really was stupidly-ignorant not to see what was going on right in front of his face. What was he....a ball-less wonder?? No stones to take care of the hell his wife was going through.

I was disappointed to say the least.
Profile Image for Tia.
Author 10 books142 followers
December 17, 2016
Heroine is broke, hero offers her a deal, marriage and giving him and heir. The heroine will have a baby, then give him or her up at the age of seven. Although the heroine knows she would love her baby, she knows this is her only chance. What they both don't count on is falling in love with each other and having the villain trying to kill the heroine and baby she is pregnant with!
Profile Image for Roub.
1,112 reviews63 followers
March 26, 2014
this was awful! it was a pain how their daily chores/activities were described. simply too boring ! the evil OW plot was cliched, used so many times n here it was even 2 the point of ridiculousness.
Profile Image for Mudpie.
861 reviews8 followers
July 24, 2017
A short and pleasant read.

Rafe offered to marry Danielle in return for an heir. He'd clear her mother's debts and helped restore their lingerie shop.

Rafe went from enemy to lover very quickly because of his actions...it's frustrating when Danielle acted childish, be it hitting Rafe or hurling things at him.

The so called Other Woman was too easily dealt with. ..why bother to give her a chance to flee when there's enough evidence to put her away for her crimes?

The weird thing about Helen Bianchin books is they can read a bit stilted and strange, like the mundane details of their daily routine, what they gad for breakfast, what they did at work, where they shopped and exercise...somehow it was still interesting to read on hehe. ..
475 reviews6 followers
February 13, 2020
Another novel by HB where the hero falls in love with the heroine quite a while (a year) before they get involved, although he doesn't realize it until the end of the book. It's always fun to read the hero's thoughts about the heroine in the beginning, see him draw certain conclusions. That's what happens to Rafe Valdez: he sees Danielle, is smitten, then decides to use her family's situation to his own advantage so that he can have her.
Danielle is the typical slightly annoying HB heroine: she's out of touch with her emotions and doesn't understand that she's actually attracted to Rafe, not annoyed by him.
This novel also has the typical nasty OW wannabe, but this one seems nastier than the rest and really tries to get the heroine out of her way.
Profile Image for Alejandra Cotrina.
49 reviews
May 6, 2021
A ver, no sé cómo empezar esto. Nunca se me ha dado bien escribir reseñas xD

El libro tiene un buen inicio, nos presentan a Danielle una chica que era de sociedad, pero que de pronto se vio obligada a cambiar todo su estilo de vida teniendo que vender todo y aún así llena de deudas, las cuales son justamente con nuestro protagonista, él (para variar) es un tipo frío y sin emociones que se ganó un puesto en el mundo luego de una adolescencia muy difícil así que tiene varios demonios y ha aprendido a ocultar muy bien sus emociones.

Al ser un libro corto no se espera mucho desarrollo, pero entre ellos la única interacción real que tuvieron en los dos primeros meses de matrimonio fue tener sexo, no conversaban, ella no podía decidir nada y él no permitía que ella hiciera cosas sin que el estuviera presente.

En general la historia es buena, pero siempre ponen a los protagonistas como unos pinches neandertales que nunca pueden aceptar un no por respuesta, y hablo de situaciones pendejadas, por ejemplo en una ocasión ella quería salir a dar una vuelta en el coche y tomar aire sola porque se sentía sofocada y literal él dijo "o voy yo o no vas" y la man DE FAVOR le pidió que por esa vez «la dejara» estar sola

Ugh, por eso mi calificación 3.2/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Min Li Li.
422 reviews40 followers
February 23, 2019
Yine kız karakterine gıcık olduğum harlequinlerden biri...
Yahu adı üstünde bir ultimatomla evleniyorsun.
Zor durumdasın,elindeki her şey gidiyor ve sürdürdüğün mükemmel hayattan vazgeçmek istemiyorsun. Bu noktada adam sana evlenme teklifi yapıyor.Kabul ediyorsun ama sonrasında burnunun dikine gidiyorsun.Tamam anlıyorum sözde özgürsün ama adamın seninle ne için ve seninde adamla ne için evlendiğin belliyken bu kadar gıcık olmak niye?
Zorla mı evlendin? Yooo...
Evlenemeden önce adamın ne istediğini bilmiyor muydun? Yooo...
Peki adam sana kötü mü davrandı? Yooo...
Tamam çok baskıcı olduğunu ve her istediğini bir şekilde yaptırmayı başardığını kabul ediyorum. :D
Lakin yaptığı çoğu şey Danielle içinken onun bunlara karşı çıkması ... *-*
Ha bu arada her fırsatta adamın yüzüne senden nefret ediyorum diye haykırdıktan sonra kucağına atlamasına da benden 100 puan...

Yine de Danielle'nin bütün gıcıklığına rağmen severek okuduğum bir kitap oldu. :D
Profile Image for Melinda.
650 reviews11 followers
August 30, 2018
Another quick read with very minimal character and story development.

You know exactly how this story would go right? There was some scary moments here and there no thanks to a scary ex, but otherwise the same story formula and same old characters.

At first Danielle seems too cold and posh for the hot blooded Rafael, even though he is doing a lot to help Danielle and her mother retain their apartment and return to the grace of society. But of course Rafael is up for the challenge and knows exactly what he wants...which we all know he will get.
Profile Image for Romance Memo.
67 reviews1 follower
October 11, 2020
All stories by Helen Bianchin look the same: always a villain (always a woman) around the corner. Same setting in Australia (anyway I am learning a lot about Australia: for instance systematically drinking coffee after dinner!!! How can you fall asleep if you drink coffee after dinner? Or calling bathroom "en suite"? This is definitely not America :)
As far as the story itself is concerned, very predictable but good. Same type of stories by Helen Bianchin (if you like her style of course).
34 reviews
October 15, 2022
Steel verses Statin

He has a missions and a plan and nothing will stand in his way, she is in a rock and a hard place and needs a solution.
Therefore he yes bullies his way into getting what he wants to solve the problem, but then everything changes his feelings her feelings and if it wasn't for a jealous ex lover who knows what would have happened.
I found this book very entertaining a real sweet story and it left me wanting more.
Profile Image for Varsha.
180 reviews
May 31, 2021
Oʜʜ ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴘɪʟᴏɢᴜᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴍʏ ʙᴇsᴛ ᴘᴀʀᴛ..
➡️📚➡️👍➡️💯➡️❣
Aɴᴅ Rᴀғᴀᴇʟ ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇsᴛ ʜᴇʀᴏ..‼️
Aɴᴅ Dᴀɴɪᴇʟʟᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛ ғᴏʀ ʜɪᴍ❤

Mᴜsᴛ ᴛʀʏ 😋
Profile Image for More Books Than Time  .
2,638 reviews19 followers
February 7, 2023
If author left out most of the socialite stuff, food, driving and clothes this would be a stronger story.
13 reviews
November 5, 2023
One of the best yet! I do wish we had learned more of what our hero was thinking and feeling and not wait till the end to know he even cared. Always love the torrid bed scenes!
Profile Image for Simplyabby.
5 reviews
May 11, 2024
I don’t even understand what I am reading half of the time
And the HEA is not believable, the ex mistress being a beech sadly is the only lovely part of this boring fest
Shelved as DNF
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for RomLibrary.
5,788 reviews
doubtful-because-not-v
March 22, 2018
Danielle knew Rafael Valdez was out of her league and had never dreamed he'd be interested in her as a woman. She'd turned to him as a last resort to help her family. The outrageous solution he proposed turned her world upside down!

Rafael would make all Danielle's troubles disappear—if she married him and gave him an heir. The idea was shocking, intriguing, tempting! To marry this devastatingly sexy man, and share his bed? Danielle had twenty-four hours before Rafael would return to claim her...
Profile Image for Diamond.
817 reviews
March 11, 2018
3.5 ★
أنت الثمن-284
هيلين بيانشين
-لكل شيء ثمن، ألا توافقينني الرأي؟
-ما الذي تريده؟
-أريد طفلاً من صلبي يمكنني أن أورثه ثروتي. ومن أحسن لذلك من سليلة "آلبوا"؟
-هل أنت مجنون؟
إنها الاتفاقية التي عرضها ريف فالديز على دانييل التي وصلت أحوالها المادية إلى العدم وتكاد تطرد هي ووالدتها من شقتهما. فإما أن تقبل بهذا الزواج وإما أن تعاني مرارة الفقر والعوز.
أربع وعشرون ساعة من الجحيم هي المهلة التي حددها لها لتعطيه قرارها. فإما أن تربح كل شيء، أو تخسر كل شيء. فهل سترضى بهذه المذلة أم ستواجهه بطبعها الشرس المعتاد؟


اعطاها محل ازياء
كاميرات لحمايتا
Profile Image for Debby.
1,396 reviews26 followers
January 29, 2023
The h is verbally and physically abusive. She bites him, she beats him with her fists, she slaps him in his face. She calls him ugly names. She was OTT agressive.

She asks him for major financial help and he tells her the conditions for his money: he wants her in his bed and he wants a child from her. She agrees to it, but already in the first night she does the opposite. Then why did you agree to it, woman.

The H saves this book, so three stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews