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The Virgin's Secret

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Forbidden or for bedding…? Leo Parnassus has returned to Greece to head the family empire. A New Yorker since childhood, he finds life is certainly different here: there are family feuds, and expectations for him to marry and produce many heirs! Amidst all this tradition, the beautiful waitress who catches Leo’s eye is a welcome distraction. Lowly waitress Angel might be, but that doesn’t mean she has no secrets! Leo will be pleased to discover she’s a virgin, but not that she’s the daughter of his adversary! Or that, in nine months, there will be one more secret to be revealed…

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

106 people are currently reading
1175 people want to read

About the author

Abby Green

976 books600 followers
Abby Green spent her teens reading Mills & Boon romances. She then spent many years working in the Film and TV industry as an Assistant Director. One day while standing outside an actor's trailer in the rain, she thought: "there has to be more than this". So she sent off a partial to Mills & Boon. After numerous rewrites, they accepted her first book and an author was born.
She lives in Dublin, Ireland and you can find out more here www.abby-green.com

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
Profile Image for Alex is The Romance Fox.
1,461 reviews1,242 followers
February 18, 2017
Another great book from my favorite author, Abby Green.

I was hooked from the first page until the last. An emotional story that had me turning page after page, wanting to know if the hero and heroine would ever get together and be happy.

An amazing, and powerful and brilliantly written love story that has depth, family feuds, secrets, betrayal, anger, mistrust, murder, drama and the consequences of family sins have on their children.


Leo and Angel, two complexed characters that you can’t stop falling in love with. You see and feel the emotional and physical connection between them. . You just know that these two were meant to be together. They need to be together.
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Although Angel is a strong and caring person, who will do anything for her sister that she loves and protects but it’s her vulnerable and soft side that brings out the gentleness and protectiveness inside him. He struggles with his feelings for her and it is lovely to see him letting go of the past and accepting the love he feels for Angel. Learning to trust again and letting go of all the anger and bitterness.

Intense and fast moving story that keeps you interested from beginning to end.

Sensual, heartbreaking, sad, explosive, passionate – it’s really incredible how Leo and Angel’s emotions are so well written – you are taken on a journey with the two, breathlessly waiting for them to be together and happy ever after.
“Are you thinking about what it would feel like if my mouth was to touch yours right now?”
Angel’s gaze flew up and clashed with pure molten gold heat. An answering heat invaded her lower body, and she felt the urge to clamp her legs together, as if that might dampen the strange ache building up there


I loved the appearance of Ari & Lucy Levakis from Ruthless Greek Boss, Secretary Mistress http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71...
It’s one of the things I enjoy about Abby Green – we get snippets of interlinking stories and characters from her previous books. I love getting a “peep” into where the characters have gone since they had their HEA.

I loved the scene where Angel showed him when the lights come on to illuminate the Acropolis photo 4ed09a944ee006a1ddda0d61222d786c_zpsd1542382.jpg and at the end

“When I was at school here I used to imagine that a handsome prince would come and rescue me and take me home.”
Leo turned Angel to face him and wrapped his coat around her, pulling her in close. Her head was tipped back and he could feel the burgeoning swell of her belly digging into him. Their baby. They were a family now.
Leo’s voice was husky. “Well, if you don’t mind your prince coming a little late, and still kicking the clay off his feet, I’d like to rescue you and take you home.”
Angel smiled tremulously. “I wouldn’t settle for anyone else.”


THE END……….


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Profile Image for StMargarets.
3,213 reviews631 followers
December 9, 2021
Lots of great reviews! This is the one where the heroine is working for a catering company and ends up at her enemy's family villa serving drinks. Her sister is pregnant. Her father is abusive. She has had to put her dreams of being a jewelry designer to rest because the hero's family is bankrupting hers. She and the hero have Romeo and Juliet insta-lust before they realize the other's identity.

The hero has vowed revenge and when the heroine is caught sneaking his father's will back into the villa, he blackmails her into being his mistress. When he dumps her that will be more humiliation for the heroine's family. Heroine has one condition: arrange the marriage between her sister and the baby daddy.

So it's revenge by orgasm and it follows the usual pattern from there. The hero finally comes to his senses when the heroine sports a bruise from her father. He gives the heroine the option to stay or go. Heroine goes because she's in love and pregnant and she doesn't want the hero to feel a sense of duty toward her.

Hero tracks her down in Ireland a few months later - HEA.

The hero tried to be a vengeful, but he was too smitten. Heroine even admits to herself that she's enjoying her blackmail sex - things just got angsty for her when she realized she loved the H. Nothing ground breaking here, just a solid story in the HP line.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for seton.
713 reviews323 followers
June 13, 2010
The H/h come from warring families with a back-history of rape, murder, and suicide. However, they cant keep their eyes - and other body parts - off each other as soon as they meet. Since her family has done his family the most wrong, he blackmails/bribes her into becoming his mistress.

This turned out to be a sexy Presents with a healthy dose of distrust on the hero's side. I was surprised by how much I ended up liking it since I was thinking of DNFing after the first 50 pages. The author initially went overboard into making the heroine this innocent, paralyzed, stuttering, quivering (I SHOULD count how many times "quiver" was used), inarticulate mess who was about to fall down from any sudden movements. The hero had to constantly save her from mowing down chairs and falling down the stairs. Once she started stringing whole sentences together, I felt much better that the hero wasn't taking advantage of the Village Idiot.

Grade: B-
Profile Image for Debbie DiFiore.
2,716 reviews312 followers
June 24, 2019
Re-read 6/24/2019

I didn't remember this at all. I loved it too. The hero Leo was a total scuzz bucket until he wasn't! He totally won me over because even though he was fighting his feelings for Angel, you knew he cared. Then he'd try to be a jerk again, and he succeeded, he would then do something so sweet of kind. Plus the sex scenes were hot! Very passionate and romantic and not crude. Thank heavens. I loved the whole Romeo and Juliet jive with two warring families and star crossed lovers. I loved Angel fighting for her sisters happiness while doing something she was morally opposed to. She was so strong and wonderful. I liked how she had the courage to walk away too. I think this one is going on my Favorites list. My favorite scene is when she found him eating peanut butter and jelly in the middle of the night. It was just too funny to me. This sophisticated billionaire sitting at the counter eating a PBJ. I think that's when I knew I was going to love this book. Safe no cheating. Read on Scribd.
Profile Image for Leona.
1,771 reviews18 followers
May 25, 2012
I was a little nervous purchasing this one because it seemed like the reviews were very conflicting. I was also a little leery given that I really don't like the super macho, arrogant, alpha, cruel, abusive Heros and heroines that have absolutely no backbone. I was afraid that these two characters might fall into that category. But they didn't.

I really enjoyed Leo and Angel and was cheering them onto their happy ending almost from the first page. Both characters were strong...and even though Angel succumbed often to her physical cravings so did Leo. He was right there with her!

It's a wonderful book about betrayal, revenge, and ultimately love.
Profile Image for *CJ*.
5,099 reviews626 followers
November 26, 2020
"The Virgin's Secret" is the story of Angel and Leo.

Hero and heroine come from long feuding families. When heroine is caught red handed doing a lowly waitressing job, and later returning a will her father had stolen, she is blackmailed into being the hero's mistress. He thinks the worst of her, she plays along to secure a future for her pregnant sister. They have wild sex mixed with loads of pushing away, misunderstandings, heartbreak, running away, confessions and HEA.

Average book with very well written coitus!

Safe
3/5
Profile Image for Vintage.
2,714 reviews722 followers
June 13, 2016
I read this before I started reviewing so I'm going to toss out a quick review.

Angsty Greek Romeo/Juliet story of revenge. Luc, the H, and Angel, the h, come from warring families. Back in the day, Angel's family set up someone from Luc's so the whole family was exiled from beloved Greece.

Luc is, shockarama, a billionaire whose dad still wants him to do...I don't remember.. do stuff, but handsome Luc is back in Greece as their family name has been exonerated. He meets Angel at a party where she is waitressing and insta-lust, not knowing she is from the dark side.

He meets up with her again later when he thinks she is stealing some documents from him. In actuality, she is trying to replace something that her fail of a father had stolen. Luc doesn't believe her especially when he finds out who she is. Does he call the police? No, he does what any Greek tycoon would do, he forces her to be his mistress so he can publicly dump her and humiliate her family's name. Ouch. He does just that. Luc dresses her up, takes her to a party and ignores her. She asks why not put her on a pedestal so all can gawk at her. He gets the point and lightens up a tad, but overall treats her like garbage.

Why does Angel agree to this other than the magical appeal of Luc and you know? Her little sister is pregnant and she needs to protect her until she and her fiancee can get approval to marry. Luc has agreed to facilitate it.

Angel's father is absolutely horrible. Eventually the truth comes out about Angel and her innocence and you know the rest.

For some with the angst and the passion between the two MC's makes this a four star. I'm keeping this as a solid 3 star.
Profile Image for KatieV.
710 reviews497 followers
February 9, 2015
This was a fairly typical mistress-o-blackmail novel. It's one of my favorite tropes and I thought this one was well done.

Some readers may appreciate that this time the evidence against the heroine was pretty damning. She even admitted that she wouldn't have believed the truth. Of course, blackmailing someone into bed for revenge is skeezy.... unless the blackmailer is a gorgeous HP tycoon with mad skills in bed ;)

Also, hero doesn't immediately exonerate her of all blame the minute he realizes she's a virgin. I'll have to admit that line of reasoning is often only logical if you're a HP Greek Tycoon. He saw her "stealing" his father's will and their families were long-time enemies, the fact that she was a virgin didn't make that scene less damning.

However, all along he has doubts about her guilt, because she doesn't add up to what he expected of her, yet he doesn't want to make a fool of himself by getting sucked into a scheme she may have going with her father. Her father really was a POS and capable of all sorts of eeeviiillll shenanigans.

The heroine isn't a poor little martyr either. She did agree to the blackmail for her sister (H has power to ensure sister and her sweetheart can marry), but she admits that she also wants the H and maybe a part of her is just using her sister's happiness as a convenient excuse to cash in her V-card to the Greek God.

I liked the end. It's always best when the H comes after the heroine. I get mega frustrated when the truth is revealed, the hero says he's sorry and the heroine cuts him off and throws herself at him before he can even grovel properly. I'm far too bloodthirsty for that easy out.
Profile Image for Dianna.
609 reviews117 followers
March 19, 2015
Once upon a time, Leo’s great uncle was accused of raping and murdering Angel’s great aunt, and his entire family was forced to flee Greece and emigrate to America to escape the shame. I think that it is important to note that I recognise Green’s allusions to classical Greek drama, because I want to now randomly mention that I have read Aeschylus, and feel that his works have given me a better contextual understanding of ‘The Virgin’s Secret.’ Through this lens, it is a perfectly reasonable that attempting to pervert the course of justice is not a crime, and an extradition treaty between Greece and the US has not been in effect since the 1930s (thanks Wikipedia!). Further, it is also reasonable that being related to a criminal makes you a criminal, because of bad blood.

A few years before the story begins, One of Angel’s great uncles whispered out a deathbed confession to the crime, and Leo’s father returned to Athens in triumph. There was almost certainly a procession. Leo stayed in New York where he was rich, but executed a business deal with his buddy Aristotle that basically marched an army through Angel’s family’s lands, burning and pillaging and sowing salt in the fields and now Angel’s father is the ruined embittered king of a weed infested parking lot and a sluggish creek that smells of effluent. Angel’s father is awful, so no sympathy. His business plan is to charge school children five dollars to swim in his effluent creek, and unsurprisingly, this is proving to be unsuccessful.

Swings and roundabouts: Leo’s on top and he’s moving from New York to Athens. Angel is a jewellery designer but she takes jobs as a cater waiter because she has to earn money to put her half sister through law school, and now her sister is pregnant but she can’t marry the guy because he would be disowned by his rich family, and she doesn’t want that because he wants to be a politician and politicians need money. Angel will have to somehow solve this problem, because it is completely her responsibility. Her catering job has taken her to Leo’s house, which she only found out about when they were halfway there, because of security. At Leo’s house she encounters a mostly naked man as he emerges from the swimming pool where she is hanging out lighting candles. She ends up clasped against his naked chest.

Who was that swimming man who made my blouse wet and my insides mushy, and my nipples pointy? Angel wonders, as she goes to hide out in the kitchen. Surprise! It was Leo! And Angel is not permitted to hide in the kitchen forever, she has to go upstairs and get jostled so that she can spill a drink on a lady who will screech and cause a scene that will attract Leo’s attention.

Leo takes Angel into his study so they can snog, and Angel is all, ‘no, no, let me ineffectually try to tell you something, because I have now discovered who you are!’ and Leo is all ‘woman, your mouth says no but your body says yes, which makes me cross, so I’m going to have this conversation with your body.’ They are interrupted, and Angel flees. Everyone at the party trips over themselves to be the one to tell Leo that the waitress is Angel, of the family of his family’s greatest enemy. Leo is cross. He returns to New York.

Angel, now jobless, has plenty of time to discover that her evil father has temporarily relinquished his failing business plans, and has instead decided to wage a tragically unwinnable battle with Leo. He has stolen Leo’s father’s will. Amongst the bequests to loyal retainers and medical research to cure cancer, it discloses the story of the terrible winter when Leo’s family were starving and they ate a homeless redheaded orphan they found, frozen, on the snowy streets of New York. And of Leo’s mother’s suicide. Evil father needs only one of these secrets to destroy Leo’s family forever, somehow!

Angel cannot permit such a thing to occur. She goes to Leo’s house, intending to return the will. She makes it through security. She makes it into the study. She is placing the will in a drawer, when Leo emerges from the shadows. He had sensed her presence, and through some unnatural magic is returned to Athens. ‘Vile thief! Beguiling temptress! What pitiful attempt at perfidy has brought you once again into my lair?’

Once again, Angel cannot unconvincingly untie her tongue, and Leo, who is really quite cross, unleashes a torrent of accusations. She deliberately came to his house to sabotage his party and seduce him! She is in league with her father, stealing the will to be used against them, somehow! Leo refuses to believe any of her explanations, especially the ones that he could easily check, like how the cater waiters aren’t told whose house they’re going to until the very last minute. He’s decided on his revenge plan: Angel will become his mistress. They will go to bed, probably quite a lot, and his conversation with her body has ok’d that in advance. He will also buy her expensive clothes and jewels and take her to functions where he will ignore her and then one day he will cast her aside, thereby unleashing an inexorable chain of events that will destroy Angel’s family forever!

Unsurprisingly Angel rejects this plan on her own and her body’s behalf. Then Leo throws in a sweetener: if Angel agrees, he will make sure that Angel’s sister marries that guy, because Leo has bought that guy’s dad’s soul, and that guy’s dad will do anything Leo says. Angel naturally has no choice but to surrender. But Leo had better arrange that marriage soon, or else!

It should come as no shock that Angel is a virgin and Leo is rather more taken with her hymen and his role in its removal than he should be. He also likes her because she’s really pretty, and that making jewellery thing is also attractive, because heroes quite like the arty type. Angel likes Leo because he’s really pretty, and he suffered as a child, and he was sweet to his grandmother. They have lots of sex and very warily fall in love. Leo holds as precious his concept of Angel as a vile member of an evil family. Angel holds as precious her status as the wronged woman who wants to someday be completely vindicated and have the man she loves beat his breast and fall to her feet and worship her revealed purity.

I’m pretty sure that Angel the jewellery designer has rated a mention in a number of books, and that some of the supporting cast belong to Sarah Morgan. But this book is pure Green, with its unreasonable hero and crazy revenge scheme to get the couple into bed. Love it.
Profile Image for Melluvsbooks.
1,570 reviews
August 28, 2024
3.5 stars - overall entertaining - it was maybe a little too sanitized for me - the author spent a lot of time assuring us that the H was vulnerable too and the h wasn’t REALLY being blackmailed, what with her wet panties and all 🙄…. Plus I was kinda annoyed and skeptical about the complete lack of OW drama.
Profile Image for Debby.
1,386 reviews25 followers
November 24, 2022
I’m an old-fashioned reader who likes the old HP’s the best.

So there was in my opinion too much sex in this book, too little romance and the sex scenes were way too explicit. They were both h*rny AF.

The title says she’s a virgin. I like a virgin HP h to be less assertive sexually, especially their first time. She was trying so hard to please him in several ways that it made me cringe and I just wanted to unread it.

Not even 24 hours after they’ve first met, in their first time sex after his blackmail, this blackmailed virgin was so quick to take the initiative sexually and so eager to have sex with him that it made the whole blackmail trope just ridiculous.

And was she really a virgin. Her old boyfriend had penetrated her but not fully because her hymen got in the way (??). Virginity is in my opinion not just about having a hymen. She was sexually experienced and she had been penetrated - out of her own free will in a sex session - by her former boyfriend. Not a virgin, so cut the cr*p.
Profile Image for Fiona Marsden.
Author 37 books148 followers
July 14, 2014
I had to laugh when one of the other reviewers complained about the icky title. I used to complain about the generic titles HM&B were using at this time and rejoiced when they moved away from that habit. Now I'm starting to feel a fondness for them because at least you know exactly what you are getting. YOu want a virgin, and I admit to being one of the longtime romance readers who really loves a story where the heroine actually gets it right first time, then if there is the word virgin in the title you are assured of the merchandise. Now down to business. This book starts off with a bit of a Romeo and Juliet thing happening with the heroine's family at odds with that of the hero. Worst possible case scenario you think? Not nearly. The heroine manages to do everything to put herself in a bad light in front of the hero and even when he thinks he knows all she's still keeping secrets. The relationship between the two protagonists, Leo and Angel is hot and heavy right from the start. You almost feel sorry for Leo for fancying a girl he can only despise. It is interesting in this book how the hero is influencial in helping the heroine establish her talent in a new environment and this is echoed in another of Abby's books, Bride in a Gilded Cage. One of the things I enjoy in Abby's books are the links to other books. We get to meet couples we've grown fond of from previous books now and then which always leaves you with a warm feeling. Oh yes, getting back to Angel and Leo. Like all Abby's heroes his is alpha but adorable with back story to explain how he comes to be the way he is. Angel seems a bit ratty to start with but when you find out all the trash she's dealing with it's hardly surprising. This is a girl with a lot on her plate. I loved seeing the relationship develop (and yes there are a few cliche's but nicely handled), the lovers are both well developed by the end of the story and the obligatory HEA.
Profile Image for Megzy.
1,193 reviews70 followers
March 2, 2015
A blackmail/warring family/revenge plot.

It is hard not to easily become involved emotionally with Angel and Leo. They are total opposites, one would do just about anything to protect her younger sister, the other a hard shell, jaded man quick to judge. While this story is emotionally intense, the pacing seemed to lag in places and the reason I gave this book 3 stars instead of a 5. I also wish there was more internal dialogue from Angel so we could really see how she felt and be able to relate to her. I was proud of the way Angel stood up for herself and made Leo take a good hard look at his own behavior. She was feisty & courageous and because of the way she carried herself, she was respected by those who mattered instead of looking like a cheap mistress which was Leo's intention. She had class and lots of compassion, something Leo lacked. I did enjoyed their journey to HEA.
Profile Image for SandraIsAMoodyCowWhenSheCan'tRead.
93 reviews54 followers
June 20, 2017
Plus point:
One of the best first-time sex scene written. After reading an unsavoury forced sex scene in another book, I needed the balm of a tender Greek hero all wrapped up in dark skin, hard muscles and smouldering eyes.

Minor irritant:
Nice, steamy love scenes but really, some authors have to stop with the very willing heroine, ready for round two, soon after the hymen is broken. At the very least, qualify it with a walks-like-a duck for the next few days.

It's a sweet love story. Abby Green is one of those authors that keeps one foot on the ground while helping you escape to the stars. Though I never quite reached the moon with this one. Maybe my expectations were too high.

Remember Estelle, Joey's agent from the Friends TV series, the sweet old hag with the wig and a cigarette almost falling off her lips? I imagine the editor of this novel was like her, calling out, "Hey, Green, we need another one. Greek guy, sweet virgin girl, love-at-first-sight, not too far-fetched reason for becoming mistress. Pronto, ok?"

Though I am a sucker for this type of formulaic novel and Green is a good author, (she may end up filling the void left by dear Penny J), it was a bit of an anti-climax after The Spaniard's Marriage Bargain so it only gets 3 stars. And someone should update the synopsis, it's almost as dumb as the title and doesn't do justice to an otherwise nice read.
Profile Image for Aayesha.
337 reviews119 followers
July 26, 2015
So I can't remember why I hated this one. It was probably because of the heroine. Everyone loved it, including my heroine-hater friends. So why didn't I?

I'm so glad that I write reviews now, so I can remember what I thought of the books I read. I have such a horrid memory xD
Profile Image for Jenny.
3,160 reviews558 followers
January 22, 2013
Not the best Abby Green book but it was short and sweet! I especially liked the ending!
Profile Image for ivana18.
26 reviews20 followers
October 3, 2014
Surprisingly good for a Harlequin, real rating is 3.5 stars.

OK, I'll admit it. I'm not always in the mood for a 6 course meal at a fancy restaurant, sometimes I just want a bag of chips, and Harlequin romance books are my chips.

Soooo, yes, 3-4 times a year I pick up a Harlequin, but the thing is, I never put it on my bookshelves or review it.
One of the reasons for that is that they're all variations on the same theme: rich tycoon (usually Greek/Portuguese/Brazilian/Russian/Italian) sees a girl and feels a stirring in his pants, so rich tycoon has to have the girl.... he buys her/blackmails her/arranges for her to become his mistress and of course falls in love with her, but he's too chicken shit to deal with his feelings so he sends her away....throw in a pregnancy or a baby in to the mix, stamp a cheesy title on the cover.... and voilà, you have a harlequin romance.
Basically they are so very similar that after I read them I usually don't even remember the title of the book, let alone the characters or the plot (like I said, variations on a theme....in the end they all feel like the same story).
The other reason is that usually I get so frustrated with the characters, the love-hate relationship they have and their stupid pride and inability to communicate that 3 out of 4 times I do not finish a Harlequin romance.
But The Virgin's Secret stands out, not because of it's originality (there's no originality at all), but because IMHO Abby Greeen's writing is a lot better from the other Harlequin authors.

Angel and Leo were likable characters (I didn't want to smack them on their heads like the other characters in Harlequins, so I guess that's enough to put them in a likable category).
The story is a combination of a standard Harlequin and a modern version of Tycoon Romeo and blackmailed Juliet with a happy ending.
The sex scenes are hot but not very descriptive....and there are many holes that needed to be filled (get your mind out of the gutter, I'm talking about the holes in the plot), like the story about Leo's family and his relationship with his father, Angel's relationship with her mother and her dad, the vendetta between the families....but despite the holes The Virgin's Secret is still a entertainingly light read.
Profile Image for Anne E ♡ emo + OTT Hs.
224 reviews205 followers
October 10, 2021
24yo struggling waitress agrees to 30+yo American Greek businessman's blackmail to be his mistress after catching her in the act of opening his home's office drawer & assuming she just stole his ailing father's will so she & her vengeful & bankrupted father would spill his family's secret to the press. She only agreed if H would get the dad of her sister's BF to agree to have her pregnant sister & his son get married soon since the dad didn't want their families together due to h & her sister's family's infamous reputation in Athens. H tries to keep h at bay like all his past lovers & due to his mistrust of her conniving with her father. But her character esp her virginity & her actions speak something different than his judgments of her.

GOOD:
good emotionality with some angst & some tearful moments towards end. Good pacing/S chem/sex scenes. Likable characters & good character development with h becoming more assertive & protecting herself more & H becoming more emo vulnerable.

MEH or BAD:
Didn't like h's 1 sexual history with old BF who rejected her when he tried to penetrate her but couldn't get past her hymen so stopped & insulted her but liked how that 1 experience turned her off from dating.
Profile Image for bookjunkie.
168 reviews56 followers
March 6, 2017
Blackmail-revenge-mistress story; well-written and quite an enjoyable little nugget but overall forgettable.
Profile Image for Tia.
Author 10 books142 followers
October 30, 2013
Abby's novels are always so emotional (at least her 'older' ones) and this one was no exception. Worth the read.
Profile Image for Emily.
5,867 reviews546 followers
August 11, 2013
The first time Leo Parnassus meets the beautiful waitress named Angel, he doesn't know who she is. The second time Leo sees her, he knows he won't make the same mistake again. Angel is the daughter of his families longtime enemy and part of a family feud that has been going on for years. Leo believes she is just another in a long line of treacherous Kassianides looking to betray his family.

Angel has been estranged from her father since the beginning of time, when she finds him rejoicing over the will of the eldest Parnassus, she knows he is up to no good and steals it to return to the rightful owner. Believing she is doing the right thing she finds herself caught by none other than Leo and he gives her a choice, either she becomes his mistress or she can go to the authorities. Despite her pleas of innocence, Leo is not to be deterred and treats her like the mistress he believes she is. Even when he finds out she is a virgin, he doesn't relent and when the bargain is fulfilled both have to decide if they want to continue the affair any further.

Leo is an ass, he is not soft really and you don't really get past his hardened exterior. I thought this was more a story of revenge than anything else. Angel comes off as feisty is a contradiction and found myself wanting her to blow up and throw a fit rather than succumb to the humiliation of the situation.
Profile Image for Paula Legate.
Author 17 books25 followers
March 5, 2016
Wow! I felt an emotional connection to angel, and Leo, and everything they had gone though. At first I wanted to dislike Leo, But the more I read the more I liked him. He was a rich, powerful, alpha male, which showed his gentle side. Angel’s story just touched my heart. No one should have to go through what she did, or what she was doing now, to save her family. This story was an emotional read, with some good hot, sex scene’s thrown in. If you’re looking for a good quick book to read, don’t pass this one by. I’m sure you will enjoy it!
Profile Image for Roub.
1,112 reviews63 followers
July 26, 2015
i usually dislike this kinda trope as the hero is usually cruel and i'm disgusted when a hero can treat a heroine no better than like a prostitute! however, leo was never cruel. he was mean at his worst but the reader cud still feel dat he cared deeply for angel. he did lots of things which depicted his growing attachment to her, though he thought the worst of her!
Profile Image for Vanessa.
258 reviews2 followers
August 17, 2012
Leo Parnassus has returned to Athens to take over the family business. His father has finally regained control after a lot of sacrifices. Leo wasn’t happy w/ the sacrifices and he is even less happy to discover the daughter of his family’s turmoil is at his home. Angel Kassianides truly didn’t go to the Parnassus house voluntarily and she isn’t feeling great about the difficulties that the Parnassus family endured because of her diabolical father! But she has some good reasons for doing what she is doing. It just doesn’t look great for her and she admits as much to Leo as she puts up w/ his conditions for her to achieve what she wants now.

Yes, you got it there is some blackmail between the covers of this book! Isn’t there always? Perhaps it is better for Leo since it would be too much to admit that he truly wants the enemy’s daughter? Nope, because he does admit that he wants her. Oh well. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, because even though Leo couched it all in revenge he still showed a lot of compassion for Angel over the course of this story. There were a couple of nit-picky things though – well okay maybe just one really – how could Leo not know about the twin sister? If he had Angel investigated wouldn’t that have shown up? Considering the animosity in the two families and how all seemed to know both, wouldn’t someone else have mentioned it to him? I also liked that her father was consistent throughout the book and that Leo showed a lot more love and compassion towards her when all comes to a head after her one encounter w/ her father. OH now I recall the other nit-picky thing: why would Leo’s security allow him to enter his home? Surely he would be completely off limits in obtaining entrance to his house even w/ Angel there. Leo doesn’t care for this man he surely wouldn’t want him there, right? Leo, of course, thought he knew it all, but he didn’t and he discovers some of Angel’s secrets over the course of the story. Both parties have baggage but again the H gets to hang on to his longer and let it influence his other r/s more. Is that the standard? More hurt for the H they need to never forgive then? Or perhaps it’s just the books that I pick up? LOL! When she can she shows her strength and Leo is forced to give in – which sometimes he should. Perhaps from the beginning he was afraid that she would tell him no and so he forced her into situations. Of course, it didn’t hurt that some of those things were helped along w/ what made her look like she was up to something else. I so believe in their HEA :)
Profile Image for Kace | The Booknerd .
1,437 reviews70 followers
September 13, 2021
The Virgin's Secret was your typical blackmailed/mistress trope mixed with an arrogant, domineering alpha Greek hero and sweet, feisty, virginal heroine. I wasn't surprised by how much I ended up liking it. I was hooked from page one up to the last.

I loved the relationship between Leo and Angel. The connection between them was palpable. It was hot and heavy right from the moment they met. I found myself totally invested in their relationship.

I adored Angel. She's a real trooper and a genuinely kind person. I loved her willingness to do anything to protect her younger sister. Yes, she agreed to his terms, but that doesn't mean she will allow him to walk all over her. I was proud of the way she stood up for herself. At first, I was prepared to dislike Leo, especially the way he treated her. But the more I read, the more I liked him. I loved how she brought the soft side of him. It was fascinating to read how Leo struggled to hold his defenses against the woman who has, despite his best efforts, found her way into his heart.

Plus, the chemistry between them was off the charts! I say Ms. Green really knows how to write passion! The love scenes were steamy and scorchingly hot!

Overall, The Virgin's Secret is a quick, hot, heartwarming and delightful read. It was full of angst, love, passion, heartache, and eventually happiness ever after. And I couldn't ask for a better ending. I totally loved it!
“When I was at school here, I used to imagine that a handsome prince would come and rescue me and take me home.”
“Well, if you don’t mind your prince coming a little late and still kicking the clay off his feet, I’d like to rescue you and take you home.”
Profile Image for Mtve41.
660 reviews23 followers
February 29, 2020
A re-read. Mild, easy reading from Abby Green. Angel and Leo are from opposing Greek families. This enmity has run for generations and finally the H, Leo, wishes to return to Athens and right some of the wrong done to his family by Angel’s family.

They meet and Angel being at a disadvantage has no way out other than to agree to be Leo’s mistress.

For once I found Angel to be very sweet and Leo to be dense. What I disliked the most was that Leo never used any endearments on Angel. Understandably he grew up totally in the US and perhaps he wasn’t used to talking Greek as much but even then he’d never address Angel as anything but Angel. No baby or babe or love or mi amore or sagapo or anything at all. Just always Angel.

Even at the end of the book when he goes back to Angel, he is still unfeeling and cold. I wish Angel had some sense and didn’t confess her love for him first. She deserved better.
Profile Image for Angel.
841 reviews20 followers
April 30, 2011
Everybody's got a secret ...BUT the beautiful girl who catches Leo's eye has BIG BIG ones ...
Let's list them shall we :


So what would a girl do with all these secrets ???
Wanna know what Angel did ? then you definitely have to read this book :)
Profile Image for kilty.
34 reviews15 followers
February 6, 2011
Another HP with an icky title, another virgin..not that there is anything wrong with that! I am more than ok with fantasies where the heroine's first time mirrors that of the model in K-Y Intense commercial..Lucky b**** What is funny/sad are the creative ways the h's virgin status has to be explained away by the author..this one was certainly different from all other HPs!
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