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Society Weddings! #5
A Convenient Bridegroom
With just two weeks until the wedding, it was too late for Aysha Benini to back out of marrying Carlo Santangelo.
Everyone expected her to be a radiant bride, blissfully entering a marriage of convenience that would unite two powerful families...
Aysha would gain wealth, status - and a fabulously good-looking husband!
Only, she couldn't ignore two painful facts: one, she desperately loved Carlo; two, he clearly had no intention of giving up his glamorous mistress.
Could she convince Carlo to be more than a convenient bridegroom?
Everyone expected her to be a radiant bride, blissfully entering a marriage of convenience that would unite two powerful families...
Aysha would gain wealth, status - and a fabulously good-looking husband!
Only, she couldn't ignore two painful facts: one, she desperately loved Carlo; two, he clearly had no intention of giving up his glamorous mistress.
Could she convince Carlo to be more than a convenient bridegroom?
184 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
80 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Helen Bianchin
381 books230 followersHelen 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.
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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 23, 2017
Is this the most Helen Bianchin book ever published? I mean it's alllll showers and clothes and fine dining and shopping interspersed with a bitchbecrazy OW.
The hero obviously loves the heroine. The heroine loves the hero. They have more money than they will ever spend. Their families get along and the H/h have no mommy/daddy issues. So no conflict unless HB comes up with a crazy OW who goes to elaborate lengths to ensnare the hero and raise doubts in the heroine.
The hero manages to slice through the heroine's suspicions by hiring a private detective and gathering some sworn affidavits from the people who hired to set up the hero by the OW.
The H/h then have their own wedding ceremony a few days before the actual show. That's nice, I guess? Read if you enjoy endless wedding descriptions and unbridled consumption of the world's resources.
The hero obviously loves the heroine. The heroine loves the hero. They have more money than they will ever spend. Their families get along and the H/h have no mommy/daddy issues. So no conflict unless HB comes up with a crazy OW who goes to elaborate lengths to ensnare the hero and raise doubts in the heroine.
The hero manages to slice through the heroine's suspicions by hiring a private detective and gathering some sworn affidavits from the people who hired to set up the hero by the OW.
The H/h then have their own wedding ceremony a few days before the actual show. That's nice, I guess? Read if you enjoy endless wedding descriptions and unbridled consumption of the world's resources.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2019
Re A Convenient Bridegroom - Helen Bianchin and Emma Darcy must have had lunch prior to HB's contribution to the Society Wedding Series.
I have the strongest feeling that HB saw ED's big pink sparkly book of HP wedding plans and thought to herself, "Fabulous Fairy Tale Wedding with discrete Pink Sparklies? That is soooo passé, these Non Italian, Non High Society Australian HP authors need to be shown the proper way a wedding should be done."
So HB grabbed up her oyster white satin overlayed with champagne colored Levers lace 2000 page gilt edged wedding planner and got to work.
The result is approximately 185 pages of HB HP High Society Italian Wedding Extravaganza. Complete with Mother of the Bride Godzilla, endless cups of coffee and so much orange juice I vicariously got heartburn, five showers, twenty maternal dictates for the h to go have a boudoir moment with her intended groom in the two week build up to the wedding, one footman per guest in attendance at each of the fifty person luncheon events - (to pull the covers off the egg white omelets and peel the grapes,) a Hellish Eternity of Endless Micro Management of the design of the Wedding Dress, Flowers, (and after a delivery mix up) of the Bridal Headpiece with the Appropriately Ostentatious But Tasteful Tiara, and a two hour debate over the angle of the lettering on the monogrammed guest toilet paper.
In short, HB got to get all her wedding fantasies out in one go and she had herself an orgy. The poor h in this was forcibly dunked in Lime Away multiple times to prevent her from making any attempt at autonomy, personality or to express any opinion that disagreed with the HB avatar in this - The Mother of the Bride Godzilla that I fear strongly resembled HB herself.
"But booge, what is the plot?" I hear you saying. Well, that was it. It was a lot of high fashion description and bunch of parties and the h thinking revolutionary thoughts and never doing or saying anything about them.
We get a small dribble of the usual Impervious to Barbarian Hordes and Black Holes Wanna Be OW, (for the required HB society party verbal cat fight mandatory minimum,) a fascinating photo of the H kissing the Wanna Be OW - tho he says she kissed him - and a great paragraph of the H activating his minions.
The h also got to have a teensy conniption that the H had better stay faithful or the h will just suffer in silence and finally, the big OW polite putdown in public by the H that banged like a damp squib.
But HB does give us a signed affidavit from the Wanna Be OW that she really was just a wannabe - the H got nasty off page- and the H and h have their own little private wedding ceremony, cause why have just one wedding when there is a plethora of styles on offer?
The H does a heartfelt statement that he loves the h as he hands over the Wanna Be OW's legal declaration and the final chapter is one long description of the Italian High Society Wedding Extravaganza.
If you are in the market for a ton of wedding issues HB style, this HP outing will be just the ticket. I can also recommend this one if you need a drinking game. One quarter shot for every time the dress, 'exquisite fabric or lace' is metioned and you will probably be buzzed by chapter three and comatose by chapter eight.
Even drinking with just the lace mentions will have most HP Voyagers keeling over by chapter ten - which might be a blessing, cause the eleventh chapter is nothing but wedding.
However since I an not a fan of endless wedding details, or planning, and stayed mostly away from the Captain Consults to spoilerize this one, I can't say that I really appreciated this HP outing..
I have the strongest feeling that HB saw ED's big pink sparkly book of HP wedding plans and thought to herself, "Fabulous Fairy Tale Wedding with discrete Pink Sparklies? That is soooo passé, these Non Italian, Non High Society Australian HP authors need to be shown the proper way a wedding should be done."
So HB grabbed up her oyster white satin overlayed with champagne colored Levers lace 2000 page gilt edged wedding planner and got to work.
The result is approximately 185 pages of HB HP High Society Italian Wedding Extravaganza. Complete with Mother of the Bride Godzilla, endless cups of coffee and so much orange juice I vicariously got heartburn, five showers, twenty maternal dictates for the h to go have a boudoir moment with her intended groom in the two week build up to the wedding, one footman per guest in attendance at each of the fifty person luncheon events - (to pull the covers off the egg white omelets and peel the grapes,) a Hellish Eternity of Endless Micro Management of the design of the Wedding Dress, Flowers, (and after a delivery mix up) of the Bridal Headpiece with the Appropriately Ostentatious But Tasteful Tiara, and a two hour debate over the angle of the lettering on the monogrammed guest toilet paper.
In short, HB got to get all her wedding fantasies out in one go and she had herself an orgy. The poor h in this was forcibly dunked in Lime Away multiple times to prevent her from making any attempt at autonomy, personality or to express any opinion that disagreed with the HB avatar in this - The Mother of the Bride Godzilla that I fear strongly resembled HB herself.
"But booge, what is the plot?" I hear you saying. Well, that was it. It was a lot of high fashion description and bunch of parties and the h thinking revolutionary thoughts and never doing or saying anything about them.
We get a small dribble of the usual Impervious to Barbarian Hordes and Black Holes Wanna Be OW, (for the required HB society party verbal cat fight mandatory minimum,) a fascinating photo of the H kissing the Wanna Be OW - tho he says she kissed him - and a great paragraph of the H activating his minions.
The h also got to have a teensy conniption that the H had better stay faithful or the h will just suffer in silence and finally, the big OW polite putdown in public by the H that banged like a damp squib.
But HB does give us a signed affidavit from the Wanna Be OW that she really was just a wannabe - the H got nasty off page- and the H and h have their own little private wedding ceremony, cause why have just one wedding when there is a plethora of styles on offer?
The H does a heartfelt statement that he loves the h as he hands over the Wanna Be OW's legal declaration and the final chapter is one long description of the Italian High Society Wedding Extravaganza.
If you are in the market for a ton of wedding issues HB style, this HP outing will be just the ticket. I can also recommend this one if you need a drinking game. One quarter shot for every time the dress, 'exquisite fabric or lace' is metioned and you will probably be buzzed by chapter three and comatose by chapter eight.
Even drinking with just the lace mentions will have most HP Voyagers keeling over by chapter ten - which might be a blessing, cause the eleventh chapter is nothing but wedding.
However since I an not a fan of endless wedding details, or planning, and stayed mostly away from the Captain Consults to spoilerize this one, I can't say that I really appreciated this HP outing..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2017
ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzz
June 24, 2017
Books about self absorbed, beautiful, wealthy women with nothing to do but go to lunches & parties, shop and plan their wedding in excruciating detail are not my thing. A Convenient Bridegroom was the most boring romance I have ever read, and there have been quite a few snoozers! This is this book's idea of drama: "Oh no I got the wrong veil!" or "Oh these flowers just won't do! Mama will be so upset!"
The blank slate of a heroine, Ayshe, is so stupid and insecure she believes some random skank's word when said skank says she's cheating with the heroine's man. And the hero just stands there and says nothing. The heroine is so conflicted, this haunts her every thought...but she never addresses this issue. Only at the very end is this "conflict" resolved over a few sentences.
The happy couple is engaged to be married, they have hot amazing sex, but have never said I love you. That's the big crisis. I can read a book where the hero is an evil misogynist; at least even if the book is bad, it's entertaining. This book was so BORING and that is the worst literary sin of all.
The blank slate of a heroine, Ayshe, is so stupid and insecure she believes some random skank's word when said skank says she's cheating with the heroine's man. And the hero just stands there and says nothing. The heroine is so conflicted, this haunts her every thought...but she never addresses this issue. Only at the very end is this "conflict" resolved over a few sentences.
The happy couple is engaged to be married, they have hot amazing sex, but have never said I love you. That's the big crisis. I can read a book where the hero is an evil misogynist; at least even if the book is bad, it's entertaining. This book was so BORING and that is the worst literary sin of all.
December 12, 2025
This book is under 200 pages amd is well written. I honestly dont usually gravitate to the second best, millionaire romance with a marriage of Convience tropes ( think Maya Alden or Catherine Maura) and this ine was written decades ago ( I think 90s) so I wasnt expecting much but It had a cheating theme ( I am a sucker for the drama) and wS on ku so why not?
The book surpassed my expectations and was engaging. I also liked the fmc and mmc. There was a woven theme of mistaking love for lust ( on the fmcs part). The fmc has known the mmc since he baby sat at 4 ( he was 14) so she grew up with him in her life. Shes now 29 and he's 39. His wife died a few years before and after a whirlwind romance and the union of their big , powerful Italian families they are getting married. Shes happy but doesn't think he lives her. Then she's thrown for a loop when another woman indicates she's his mistress and that she should expect fidelity. He denies these allegations but sees convincing information.
Will the ow ruin their chance for happiness? Does he actually love the fmc or is it just lust? I definitely recommend reading to find out.
The book surpassed my expectations and was engaging. I also liked the fmc and mmc. There was a woven theme of mistaking love for lust ( on the fmcs part). The fmc has known the mmc since he baby sat at 4 ( he was 14) so she grew up with him in her life. Shes now 29 and he's 39. His wife died a few years before and after a whirlwind romance and the union of their big , powerful Italian families they are getting married. Shes happy but doesn't think he lives her. Then she's thrown for a loop when another woman indicates she's his mistress and that she should expect fidelity. He denies these allegations but sees convincing information.
Will the ow ruin their chance for happiness? Does he actually love the fmc or is it just lust? I definitely recommend reading to find out.
April 14, 2019
livro pequeno e bem rasinho, mas gostoso de ler, haha
ok para a proposta.
ok para a proposta.
June 29, 2025
The story is pretty basic: the heroine, Aysha, has been in love with Carlo all her life (literally all her life) and she's about to marry him. To make things "interesting", an envious OW creates problems for our happy couple by playing on the heroine's insecurities.
Aysha and Carlo's parents have been family friends all their lives, so they've grown up together. I think there's about an 8/10 year difference between the MCs, and Carlo's even been married for a short while. He's a widower now, so everyone thinks his former wife was the love of his life. And this is why the OW manages to hurt our heroine. But Carlo puts a stop to it, being the alpha male that he is.
The emotions the two go through are very well written and I've enjoyed their path to revealing their emotions to each other.
Aysha and Carlo's parents have been family friends all their lives, so they've grown up together. I think there's about an 8/10 year difference between the MCs, and Carlo's even been married for a short while. He's a widower now, so everyone thinks his former wife was the love of his life. And this is why the OW manages to hurt our heroine. But Carlo puts a stop to it, being the alpha male that he is.
The emotions the two go through are very well written and I've enjoyed their path to revealing their emotions to each other.
December 8, 2016
A autora tem uma fórmula que ela segue sempre. Casamento de conveniência + heroína apaixonada + herói cobiçado por outra mulher + ex amante perseguidora + descreve festas e roupas dos ricos detalhadamente.
Mas eu acabo sempre fisgada pela história e gostando.
Veja bem, esta descrição serve para qualquer livro da autora que li até agora.
------------------
The author has a formula that she always follows. Marriage of convenience + heroine in love + hero coveted by another woman + ex lover stalker + describes parties and clothes of the rich in detail.
But I just always strike by history and enjoying it.
You see, this description serves for any book by author I've read so far.
Mas eu acabo sempre fisgada pela história e gostando.
Veja bem, esta descrição serve para qualquer livro da autora que li até agora.
------------------
The author has a formula that she always follows. Marriage of convenience + heroine in love + hero coveted by another woman + ex lover stalker + describes parties and clothes of the rich in detail.
But I just always strike by history and enjoying it.
You see, this description serves for any book by author I've read so far.
December 3, 2014
aweful! i was bored to tears!
August 19, 2023
The story is about a rich, spoilt h driving a Porsche. She is engaged to be married to the H. The H is handsome, rich, sexy and they have a great sex life.
It was confusing because you wonder what problem Miss Have-it-all has.
The conflict in the story arises when the h believes the wanna-be OW over the H and she thinks he doesn’t love her.
Too much talk about the wedding preparations. About a bridal head piece, wedding dress, wedding shoes… I don’t care for that.
It was confusing because you wonder what problem Miss Have-it-all has.
The conflict in the story arises when the h believes the wanna-be OW over the H and she thinks he doesn’t love her.
Too much talk about the wedding preparations. About a bridal head piece, wedding dress, wedding shoes… I don’t care for that.
January 2, 2023
Great read
I re-read this book and it wasn’t until I was updating Goodreads that I realized it was the fifth time I have read this novel. After five times it seems only fitting to write a review.
Obviously I really enjoy this story! I always like when you read a Harlequin and it differs than most. There was some angst in the story brought on by assumptions for the most part. But really it was a love story where one partner needed assurance that there was love on both sides during a very stressful time with lots of input from outside sources.
A really good book that leaves you reminded that romance and passion do exist.
I re-read this book and it wasn’t until I was updating Goodreads that I realized it was the fifth time I have read this novel. After five times it seems only fitting to write a review.
Obviously I really enjoy this story! I always like when you read a Harlequin and it differs than most. There was some angst in the story brought on by assumptions for the most part. But really it was a love story where one partner needed assurance that there was love on both sides during a very stressful time with lots of input from outside sources.
A really good book that leaves you reminded that romance and passion do exist.
May 12, 2014
All i can say is that Ms Bianchin have her unique way of making wealthier's life just ... BORING!!!!! They wake up, have an hasty breakfast, an even hastier lunch, go to party, come home, have sex and sleep! Between all of that they work while wondering "did he/she love me??"
I will not deny that i quite enjoyed the firsts books i read from Ms Bianchin, but the problem after a while is that each book seems to be a exact copy of the previous.
I will not deny that i quite enjoyed the firsts books i read from Ms Bianchin, but the problem after a while is that each book seems to be a exact copy of the previous.
November 5, 2017
Meh... all the usual tropes and low on story.
December 18, 2013
This was utterly boring. Repetitive. Not worth the time spent. The hero and the heroine fought for the sake of fighting and creating the much needed "misunderstanding". A very logical explanation was given by the hero to clear the air but the heroine had to act silly and refuse to believe reason. Another waste of time.
July 30, 2019
I didn't find it boring, it was sort of a glimpse into how the rich and fabulous live their daily lives. Maybe I couldn't read nothing but this, but it was good.
One of those stories where having a good down-to-earth conversation would solve all the problems.
One of those stories where having a good down-to-earth conversation would solve all the problems.
June 6, 2021
With just two weeks until the wedding, it was too late for Aysha to back out of marrying Carlo Santangelo when she believes he is cheating
October 9, 2025
Nice
This was a nice short story that lacked any of the angst the blurb promised. It kept me engaged but was a bit of a let down as I was looking for perceived betrayal and grovel. There's none of that. The H doesnt even do anything wrong. The h believes he's still in love with his first wife and the baseless accusations of the 'ow' whose character is well known. But the second half is sorted out pretty quickly and he admits he loves her first so it just kinda fizzled out for me.
This was a nice short story that lacked any of the angst the blurb promised. It kept me engaged but was a bit of a let down as I was looking for perceived betrayal and grovel. There's none of that. The H doesnt even do anything wrong. The h believes he's still in love with his first wife and the baseless accusations of the 'ow' whose character is well known. But the second half is sorted out pretty quickly and he admits he loves her first so it just kinda fizzled out for me.
March 5, 2019
Me ha gustado la historia, es rápida, es un matrimonio arreglado por dos familias de dinero que quieren que la empresa siga siendo de la familia pero que detrás tiene una chica enamorada y un muchacho que tuvo un viejo amor que superó gracias a nuestra protagonista, aunque siempre hay otra en discordia 😬
August 2, 2019
This book had so much potential with the right attitude of the H and h, but the explosion I expected was non existent. I wanted angst from the hero because it was justifiable. Good description of a wedding, it is as exhausting....not my cup of tea for sure.
January 18, 2024
No one writes an unhinged OW quite like Helen Bianchin, which wouldn't be a bad thing if the rest of her stories weren't so dull. This one is no exception. Sigh.
June 15, 2025
Horrible. Do not read.
June 29, 2025
great
Society wedding of the year join the forces of two companies. Is it a marriage of confidence and a mistress or is it true love. Read to find out
Society wedding of the year join the forces of two companies. Is it a marriage of confidence and a mistress or is it true love. Read to find out
October 25, 2025
Trust issue
Excellent, just enough division to keep turning pages, gnashing teeth and screaming under your breath about underhanded woman trying to break our hero and heroine up!
Excellent, just enough division to keep turning pages, gnashing teeth and screaming under your breath about underhanded woman trying to break our hero and heroine up!
February 21, 2026
Sweet book Aysha was absolutely a tragic figure but Carlo finally gives her what she needs by simply saying I love you!! The grand gesture is perfect and truly helped heal Aysha.
December 26, 2012
Aysha is only two weeks away from her wedding to Carlo Santangelo. It’s something of a marriage of convenience – her family and Carlo’s have been friends for many, many years and socialise often. Carlo has been married before but lost his wife only weeks after the wedding in a car accident. Aysha, some decade or so younger than Carlo, has watched him casually date a bevy of women before their engagement which will seek to cement the two families even further and provide the next generation.
Aysha is beginning to find it difficult to maintain the light, casual façade she wears around Carlo as the wedding draws nearer. Although Carlo is attentive and thoughtful, Aysha is painfully aware that he doesn’t love her, especially not in the way that she loves him. For him, she believes this to be merely a business arrangement that is mutually beneficial – he gets an attractive, well connected wife to keep his home and bear his children and she gets a handsome, wealthy man to take care of her and provide the home and children and the means to raise them in the best ways Sydney has to offer. Not only can she probably not live up to the ghost of his deceased wife, but someone from their social circle has made it quite clear that she enjoys Carlo’s company and that there are no plans for this arrangement to cease after the marriage.
It’s not often I read anything from the Mills & Boon line anymore – I read a lot of them in my younger days and after a while they do feel all the same. I’ve read Helen Bianchin before, some probably 14 or so years ago now and this one encompasses everything I remember about her books: society weddings based on mutually successful families merging, the female already desperately in love with the male and believing it to not be returned and a bitchy, society type who will stop at nothing in order to secure the hero. There’s a huge amount of detail paid to clothes, hair, make up, Sydney traffic and day-to-day routines such as driving from one suburb to another and dinner plans. I only read this because I realised I was on 97 titles by Australian Women Writers this year and I wanted to make it an even 100 for the year. I needed a few quick reads so I raided my Nan’s stash again to see what she had. I found enough books to definitely meet my requirements and knew I’d get through this one in less than two hours.
Part of the reason I stopped reading Mills & Boon was as I grew up, I began enjoying the heroes less and less. A lot of them, particularly those rooted in Meditteranean heritage are overtly Alpha to the point of bullying the heroine, which always made me inherently frustrated in reading them. Although Carlo was obviously a successful man used to getting what he wanted and he occasionally did order Aysha around, it was more like “Why yes I am taking you to the Gold Coast for a lovely weekend break, go and pack your bag” than “No you cannot do this because I say so and I am male and Italian and therefore women should cook me my pasta and pour me my wine and go to my bed and that’s about it”. He was relatively inoffensive although he was quite slow on the uptake putting Nina, the society woman attempting to make waves in the relationship, in her place. You’d think a smart man like he was supposed to be would’ve nipped that in the bud early, rather than allow her to taunt his fiancee at every social event they were attending (of which there were many).
Like many of these novels, a lot of the issues could’ve been solved with some simple communication. Aysha refused to tell Carlo what was bothering her and then seemed to think the solution was moving to their Clontarf mansion before the wedding, which seemed counter-productive given she believed her husband was keeping a mistress. He wasn’t, obviously, but if he was then she pretty much gave him many free nights to do what he pleased. All in all though, this book was pretty much what I wanted at the time – something quick and not too inflammatory, to pass the time and add to my tally.
Aysha is beginning to find it difficult to maintain the light, casual façade she wears around Carlo as the wedding draws nearer. Although Carlo is attentive and thoughtful, Aysha is painfully aware that he doesn’t love her, especially not in the way that she loves him. For him, she believes this to be merely a business arrangement that is mutually beneficial – he gets an attractive, well connected wife to keep his home and bear his children and she gets a handsome, wealthy man to take care of her and provide the home and children and the means to raise them in the best ways Sydney has to offer. Not only can she probably not live up to the ghost of his deceased wife, but someone from their social circle has made it quite clear that she enjoys Carlo’s company and that there are no plans for this arrangement to cease after the marriage.
It’s not often I read anything from the Mills & Boon line anymore – I read a lot of them in my younger days and after a while they do feel all the same. I’ve read Helen Bianchin before, some probably 14 or so years ago now and this one encompasses everything I remember about her books: society weddings based on mutually successful families merging, the female already desperately in love with the male and believing it to not be returned and a bitchy, society type who will stop at nothing in order to secure the hero. There’s a huge amount of detail paid to clothes, hair, make up, Sydney traffic and day-to-day routines such as driving from one suburb to another and dinner plans. I only read this because I realised I was on 97 titles by Australian Women Writers this year and I wanted to make it an even 100 for the year. I needed a few quick reads so I raided my Nan’s stash again to see what she had. I found enough books to definitely meet my requirements and knew I’d get through this one in less than two hours.
Part of the reason I stopped reading Mills & Boon was as I grew up, I began enjoying the heroes less and less. A lot of them, particularly those rooted in Meditteranean heritage are overtly Alpha to the point of bullying the heroine, which always made me inherently frustrated in reading them. Although Carlo was obviously a successful man used to getting what he wanted and he occasionally did order Aysha around, it was more like “Why yes I am taking you to the Gold Coast for a lovely weekend break, go and pack your bag” than “No you cannot do this because I say so and I am male and Italian and therefore women should cook me my pasta and pour me my wine and go to my bed and that’s about it”. He was relatively inoffensive although he was quite slow on the uptake putting Nina, the society woman attempting to make waves in the relationship, in her place. You’d think a smart man like he was supposed to be would’ve nipped that in the bud early, rather than allow her to taunt his fiancee at every social event they were attending (of which there were many).
Like many of these novels, a lot of the issues could’ve been solved with some simple communication. Aysha refused to tell Carlo what was bothering her and then seemed to think the solution was moving to their Clontarf mansion before the wedding, which seemed counter-productive given she believed her husband was keeping a mistress. He wasn’t, obviously, but if he was then she pretty much gave him many free nights to do what he pleased. All in all though, this book was pretty much what I wanted at the time – something quick and not too inflammatory, to pass the time and add to my tally.
April 19, 2025
Boring
Carlo and Aysha are marrying as part of their family’s joining businesses. Carlo had been married once before to the love of his life. She died. Aysha knows her marriage is one of convenience, that Carlo is in love with his dead wife, and that she’s loved him her entire life. Here’s the story: Carlo and Aysha have great sex and enjoy each other’s company, Aysha’s mother drives her nuts controlling every aspect of the wedding as it has to be perfect and they spend pages shopping. Carlo and Aysha spend
pages attending some evening event. Throw in woman who convinces Aysha she’s going to be Carlo’s mistress. Repeat over and over and over again. That’s all. Good sex scenes.
Carlo and Aysha are marrying as part of their family’s joining businesses. Carlo had been married once before to the love of his life. She died. Aysha knows her marriage is one of convenience, that Carlo is in love with his dead wife, and that she’s loved him her entire life. Here’s the story: Carlo and Aysha have great sex and enjoy each other’s company, Aysha’s mother drives her nuts controlling every aspect of the wedding as it has to be perfect and they spend pages shopping. Carlo and Aysha spend
pages attending some evening event. Throw in woman who convinces Aysha she’s going to be Carlo’s mistress. Repeat over and over and over again. That’s all. Good sex scenes.
August 12, 2016
4 Stars! ~ The company formed by two Italian immigrant families, Benini-Santangelo was a major name in the Sydney building industry. It was only fitting that a marriage between Giuseppe Benini’s daughter, Aysha to Luigi Santagelo’s son, Carlo should take place. Aysha wasn’t kidding herself, she knew her upcoming wedding to Carlo would mark a marriage of convenience. Though she’s loved Carlo all of her life, when he married Bianca, he’d broken her heart. Bianca had been the love of his life, and Aysha knew that with her death, died Carlo’s ability to love another. But their relationship was one formed on friendship, respect, affection and sexual chemistry. Surely things would be okay, or so Aysha thought until the witch Nina started to sow seeds that she was Carlo’s mistress and would always be.
This is not like any Presents I’ve read. I think many readers would find it too tame, in that the intense confrontations usually in the line are down played to show how hard Aysha is trying to hide her true feelings for Carlo. Only to Carlo, Aysha is transparent, and he easily sees how deeply she is hurt by the lies told by Nina. Carlo is a strong character who shows little emotion, but we get glimpses of his caring throughout the book, and of course his deep love at the HEA. Normally I would be disappointed that an intense confrontation had not taken place, but the writing is so fluid and emotively descriptive that I was enthralled in the love story. Well done!
This is not like any Presents I’ve read. I think many readers would find it too tame, in that the intense confrontations usually in the line are down played to show how hard Aysha is trying to hide her true feelings for Carlo. Only to Carlo, Aysha is transparent, and he easily sees how deeply she is hurt by the lies told by Nina. Carlo is a strong character who shows little emotion, but we get glimpses of his caring throughout the book, and of course his deep love at the HEA. Normally I would be disappointed that an intense confrontation had not taken place, but the writing is so fluid and emotively descriptive that I was enthralled in the love story. Well done!
January 2, 2023
I re-read this book and it wasn’t until I was updating Goodreads that I realized it was the fifth time I have read this novel. After five times it seems only fitting to write a review.
Obviously I really enjoy this story! I always like when you read a Harlequin and it differs than most. There was some angst in the story brought on by assumptions for the most part. But really it was a love story where one partner needed assurance that there was love on both sides during a very stressful time with lots of input from outside sources.
A really good book that leaves you reminded that romance and passion do exist.
Obviously I really enjoy this story! I always like when you read a Harlequin and it differs than most. There was some angst in the story brought on by assumptions for the most part. But really it was a love story where one partner needed assurance that there was love on both sides during a very stressful time with lots of input from outside sources.
A really good book that leaves you reminded that romance and passion do exist.
January 21, 2016
This book tears my eyes.. Oh no.. its bored to death. The whole book might be the full description of Aysha's clothings. What she wore etc. Then next description is about her mother want her daughter wedding to be PERFECT. Perfect until i don't think i managed to read those parts. I've skimmed through the pages. And next is about the other woman who tried to create havoc between Carlo and Aysha. And the stupid woman believe the so called evidence. Sigh. My eyes were like closing. And not much of a romance. Bored me to death.
October 10, 2023
This book is terrible. This heroine is the best example of TSTL that I've ever seen. Most of the book is the heroine going shopping for her wedding, and making sure her neurotic perfectionist mother is happy with the wedding arrangements. As a result, the romance between the hero and heroine was drowned in the vapid and tedious wedding details. I found myself skipping over whole passages, thinking "she's going shopping *again*?!" I would not recommend this book at all.
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