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The Sicilian's Virgin Bride
Commanded back to her husband's bed...Women did not walk away from Sicilian billionaire Rocco Castellani. All he'd wanted was a lovely, biddable wife. Instead Francesca had taken off before the first dance at their wedding breakfast! But Rocco has tracked down his runaway young bride, and now she's back by his side--where a good Sicilian wife should be! Rocco was cheated out of his wedding night--and now nothing's going to stop him from taking his virgin bride....
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
Sarah Morgan
695 books7,356 followersAbout Sarah
USA Today and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes romance and contemporary women's fiction and her trademark humour and warmth have gained her fans across the globe. Sarah lives near London, England, and when she isn't reading or writing she loves being outdoors.
Look out for Sarah's next novel coming in May - Brave New Summer (UK title)/ Five Star Summer (US/Canadian title)
Join Sarah on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSarahM...
Follow Sarah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahMorgan_
Follow Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmorgan...
Website: www.sarahmorgan.com
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
USA Today and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes romance and contemporary women's fiction and her trademark humour and warmth have gained her fans across the globe. Sarah lives near London, England, and when she isn't reading or writing she loves being outdoors.
Look out for Sarah's next novel coming in May - Brave New Summer (UK title)/ Five Star Summer (US/Canadian title)
Join Sarah on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSarahM...
Follow Sarah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahMorgan_
Follow Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmorgan...
Website: www.sarahmorgan.com
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
July 12, 2013
If this book had a face, I would punch it.
May 15, 2021
Really needed an epilogue so I could find out if he died from an STD or if she murdered him in his sleep.
SPOILERS
Pity the heroine who's married to the arrogant SOB that kisses his "ex" at the reception and parties two nights in a row at an HP nightclub with another mini-skirt wearing ex while his wife sits home and HE'S NOT EVEN SORRY! When she weaponizes herself in a similar mini skirt to get him to pay attention to her he's offended. No frumpy wife of mine will tart up like the floozies I prefer.
And the cherry on the top of the bad hero walking is his comment that they don't need to have sex anymore now that she's pregnant, the specific implication being that was the only reason he was there. He straightens up eventually, but I don't hold much hope. He's as thick as a plank emotionally so I couldn't even get ragey about him.
Poor girl. She had a bad father (womanizer and abuser to the h), her mother wasn't much better and now she's stuck with this guy.
SPOILERS
Pity the heroine who's married to the arrogant SOB that kisses his "ex" at the reception and parties two nights in a row at an HP nightclub with another mini-skirt wearing ex while his wife sits home and HE'S NOT EVEN SORRY! When she weaponizes herself in a similar mini skirt to get him to pay attention to her he's offended. No frumpy wife of mine will tart up like the floozies I prefer.
And the cherry on the top of the bad hero walking is his comment that they don't need to have sex anymore now that she's pregnant, the specific implication being that was the only reason he was there. He straightens up eventually, but I don't hold much hope. He's as thick as a plank emotionally so I couldn't even get ragey about him.
Poor girl. She had a bad father (womanizer and abuser to the h), her mother wasn't much better and now she's stuck with this guy.
January 30, 2012
This book is sickly fascinating.
So the repressed heroine from an abusive home is asked by the hero to marry her. She sees all her dreams coming true, he's hot, he finds her sexy *or so she assumes* and he's wealthy and travels a lot so she can live her ambition of seeing the world..and most importantly experiencing the world.
So the obliviously happy heroine gets married and on her wedding day overhears some painful truth. Women laughing at her because no one in their right mind would marry the hero, since he's so gross. He actually invited his ex-girlfriend to the wedding.
The upset heroine goes to talk to him about what she heard and finds him passionately kissing said supposedly ex-girlfriend.
Realizing she walked herself right into a marriage that's just like her father, her abused mother gives her money at her own peril to help her escape.
The heroine disappears off the radar but shows up two weeks after her father's death to make sure her mother is okay.
The hero knows all about it and so basically kidnaps her when she arrives and decides that she'll now be the good little wife he expects.
The heroine falls into bed with him thinking he wants her and finds her sexy, and while trying to work on their relationship she finds out that he was only having sex with her and sticking around because he wanted babies and that was her sole role.
Once again the heroine is pissed. She realizes that ALL her dreams are dashed, married to a man that finds her sexy? Dashed. To a man that will be faithful? Dashed. To a man who will take her around the world so she can live life? DASHED! He wants her to stay at home in the big house while he goes out and does whatever and she raises the children. And they have sex to get said children and nothing else.
The hero leaves for a while and the heroine sees him on TV with a beautiful slutty woman wrapped around him leaving a club. Not long after he'd told her that he had to work late when he'd called. Yup, that was his working late.
The heroine takes matters into her own hands and dresses up just as slutty as his girlfriend and goes to the club he's at *next day* and finds him partying and hanging all over the same girl again.
Ahh..but the heroine is a terrible person for going to the club and what will their children think of her for being photographed at such a place.
This is the shining failure of this book. The love to hate it feeling that I get for it.
The heroine seems to be spineless but she goes after what she wants. She also gives the hero some great setdowns that I just love.
And the big win/fail is the lack of love between these two. If anything, the ending has the hero loving her but she really doesn't love him. She's just using him to have what she wants, fidelity, someone who finds her sexy, and travelling.
But then again, when your husband is so nasty that he has no problems making out with an ex only an hour after he married you. Never mind at a reception with people who know about the ex and were watching what was happening therefore gossiping. Who has the gall to think that everyone wants him and the heroine should be happy he chose her from the masses. Who has no problem going out clubbing with his slutty ex doing who knows what, if you can believe his I never had sex with anyone since I married you..I mean since you came back. Yeah, he got everything he deserved to be saddled with a wife who was never really going to love him. And maybe that's why every now and then I just have to dust this book off and peak into it again. I just can't believe how ambivalent everything is.
So the repressed heroine from an abusive home is asked by the hero to marry her. She sees all her dreams coming true, he's hot, he finds her sexy *or so she assumes* and he's wealthy and travels a lot so she can live her ambition of seeing the world..and most importantly experiencing the world.
So the obliviously happy heroine gets married and on her wedding day overhears some painful truth. Women laughing at her because no one in their right mind would marry the hero, since he's so gross. He actually invited his ex-girlfriend to the wedding.
The upset heroine goes to talk to him about what she heard and finds him passionately kissing said supposedly ex-girlfriend.
Realizing she walked herself right into a marriage that's just like her father, her abused mother gives her money at her own peril to help her escape.
The heroine disappears off the radar but shows up two weeks after her father's death to make sure her mother is okay.
The hero knows all about it and so basically kidnaps her when she arrives and decides that she'll now be the good little wife he expects.
The heroine falls into bed with him thinking he wants her and finds her sexy, and while trying to work on their relationship she finds out that he was only having sex with her and sticking around because he wanted babies and that was her sole role.
Once again the heroine is pissed. She realizes that ALL her dreams are dashed, married to a man that finds her sexy? Dashed. To a man that will be faithful? Dashed. To a man who will take her around the world so she can live life? DASHED! He wants her to stay at home in the big house while he goes out and does whatever and she raises the children. And they have sex to get said children and nothing else.
The hero leaves for a while and the heroine sees him on TV with a beautiful slutty woman wrapped around him leaving a club. Not long after he'd told her that he had to work late when he'd called. Yup, that was his working late.
The heroine takes matters into her own hands and dresses up just as slutty as his girlfriend and goes to the club he's at *next day* and finds him partying and hanging all over the same girl again.
Ahh..but the heroine is a terrible person for going to the club and what will their children think of her for being photographed at such a place.
This is the shining failure of this book. The love to hate it feeling that I get for it.
The heroine seems to be spineless but she goes after what she wants. She also gives the hero some great setdowns that I just love.
And the big win/fail is the lack of love between these two. If anything, the ending has the hero loving her but she really doesn't love him. She's just using him to have what she wants, fidelity, someone who finds her sexy, and travelling.
But then again, when your husband is so nasty that he has no problems making out with an ex only an hour after he married you. Never mind at a reception with people who know about the ex and were watching what was happening therefore gossiping. Who has the gall to think that everyone wants him and the heroine should be happy he chose her from the masses. Who has no problem going out clubbing with his slutty ex doing who knows what, if you can believe his I never had sex with anyone since I married you..I mean since you came back. Yeah, he got everything he deserved to be saddled with a wife who was never really going to love him. And maybe that's why every now and then I just have to dust this book off and peak into it again. I just can't believe how ambivalent everything is.
February 7, 2021
Jerkwad-hero Rocco treated Chessie like crap, but he steadily redeemed himself as the novel progressed. I believed he was faithful and, just as importantly, I believed in their happy ending.
I'm so glad Chessie's naïveté didn't last forever. Outside forces had to wake her up, yes, but once she did it was fun watching her knock Rocco down a peg or two!
P.S. This reminded me of Lynne Graham's writing (the characterization, tone and storyline), which is a compliment.
I'm so glad Chessie's naïveté didn't last forever. Outside forces had to wake her up, yes, but once she did it was fun watching her knock Rocco down a peg or two!
P.S. This reminded me of Lynne Graham's writing (the characterization, tone and storyline), which is a compliment.
December 26, 2018
4.5 stars.
I know from skimming through the reviews that lots of people really hated this book.
I quite liked it. The hero was the typical HP cave man who thought nothing of his double standards. But, what made this book for me was the growth of his awareness and love of the heroine. It was not a last chapter redemption. He evolved throughout the course of the story making his transformation very real and believable.
I totally felt the HEA was genuine.
I know from skimming through the reviews that lots of people really hated this book.
I quite liked it. The hero was the typical HP cave man who thought nothing of his double standards. But, what made this book for me was the growth of his awareness and love of the heroine. It was not a last chapter redemption. He evolved throughout the course of the story making his transformation very real and believable.
I totally felt the HEA was genuine.
March 4, 2017
I swear Sarah Morgan was writing about two aliens who had to learn to blend in with humans after they crash-landed on “planet relationship.”
The hero was an OTT Neanderthal – like missing link - clueless. He was convinced there were women out in the general population who were potential bed mates and then his wife whom he would keep close at home, in dowdy clothes and pregnant. He truly didn’t see anything wrong with inviting his former girlfriends to his wedding, or relaxing after work at disco with a beautiful blonde, if he wasn’t sleeping with her.
The heroine was an OTT shy virgin who thought that the hero was her knight in shining armour until she thought he was like her cheating abusive father. She had no other measure of what a man could be.
The story opens after a six-month separation when the heroine returns to Sicily to see if her mother is all right after her father’s funeral. The heroine had left her wedding reception after overhearing the gossip (all true) about the hero. She lived on a farm with a loving family for that six months and learned to speak her opinion for the first time in her life.
The hero thinks she ran off with a man and isn’t a virgin anymore. But he’s delighted when they finally do go to bed together and he’s her first. (Told you he was a Neanderthal) The heroine is happy he’s happy, but she wants to know if she’s sexy. He won’t say, but they do have sex everyday for weeks on end.
The heroine tries to get him to talk, and he is distressed that she is distressed because he’s very happy having sex and working and then having sex some more. So he struggles to understand her and like a good alien, he tries the obvious romantic gestures first – like lots of flowers, a shopping trip – when all the h wants is to tour Florence and go to the nightclubs and to get a job.
It’s a funny watching him try so hard with her, but still not realizing he’s falling for her. The heroine is so *specific * about what she wants that she can’t see the forest for the trees. They are truly amusing together because they are both so clueless. I thought the H’s reasoning for not wanting to fall in love with this wife was interesting. He just didn’t trust passion, which is why he wanted a stupid, superficial relationships with girlfriends and a quiet non-entity for a wife.
I enjoyed watching their evolution from OTT aliens to people who were trying to have a real relationship.
The hero was an OTT Neanderthal – like missing link - clueless. He was convinced there were women out in the general population who were potential bed mates and then his wife whom he would keep close at home, in dowdy clothes and pregnant. He truly didn’t see anything wrong with inviting his former girlfriends to his wedding, or relaxing after work at disco with a beautiful blonde, if he wasn’t sleeping with her.
The heroine was an OTT shy virgin who thought that the hero was her knight in shining armour until she thought he was like her cheating abusive father. She had no other measure of what a man could be.
The story opens after a six-month separation when the heroine returns to Sicily to see if her mother is all right after her father’s funeral. The heroine had left her wedding reception after overhearing the gossip (all true) about the hero. She lived on a farm with a loving family for that six months and learned to speak her opinion for the first time in her life.
The hero thinks she ran off with a man and isn’t a virgin anymore. But he’s delighted when they finally do go to bed together and he’s her first. (Told you he was a Neanderthal) The heroine is happy he’s happy, but she wants to know if she’s sexy. He won’t say, but they do have sex everyday for weeks on end.
The heroine tries to get him to talk, and he is distressed that she is distressed because he’s very happy having sex and working and then having sex some more. So he struggles to understand her and like a good alien, he tries the obvious romantic gestures first – like lots of flowers, a shopping trip – when all the h wants is to tour Florence and go to the nightclubs and to get a job.
It’s a funny watching him try so hard with her, but still not realizing he’s falling for her. The heroine is so *specific * about what she wants that she can’t see the forest for the trees. They are truly amusing together because they are both so clueless. I thought the H’s reasoning for not wanting to fall in love with this wife was interesting. He just didn’t trust passion, which is why he wanted a stupid, superficial relationships with girlfriends and a quiet non-entity for a wife.
I enjoyed watching their evolution from OTT aliens to people who were trying to have a real relationship.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2018
I think I'll clarify my rating in case you read in think I'm crazy for giving it 5 stars. (I am crazy BTW)
This gem was one of the first HPs I've read (as in one of the first 50) so I was more susceptible. I've read it about 5 times and every time I read it the reasons of enjoyment are different but still enjoy it.
We have the typical H that doesn't do feelings with the excuse of the tragic past wanting a meek wife to have a family while he goes about business as usual. When I say wife I mean a baby machine that goes back to the shadows when she's not in use so he can go to nightclubs with OW (he claims the OW was just a friend that would pick up a guy at the club).
On the other hand, we a have a little h that has been repressed her whole life by the father. She had the good sense of running away on her wedding but was dumb enough to go back to check on her not so worthy mother, thus she was caught by the H. Her new plan is to try to make the H see her as a sexy and desirable woman instead of wife.
So I cheered for her while I enjoyed the H's progressive doom. There is little romance and the h should run from the extremely caveman H but apparently, she's happy. So I'll be happy for her. But no, this H is not apt for everyone's stomachs.
This gem was one of the first HPs I've read (as in one of the first 50) so I was more susceptible. I've read it about 5 times and every time I read it the reasons of enjoyment are different but still enjoy it.
We have the typical H that doesn't do feelings with the excuse of the tragic past wanting a meek wife to have a family while he goes about business as usual. When I say wife I mean a baby machine that goes back to the shadows when she's not in use so he can go to nightclubs with OW (he claims the OW was just a friend that would pick up a guy at the club).
On the other hand, we a have a little h that has been repressed her whole life by the father. She had the good sense of running away on her wedding but was dumb enough to go back to check on her not so worthy mother, thus she was caught by the H. Her new plan is to try to make the H see her as a sexy and desirable woman instead of wife.
So I cheered for her while I enjoyed the H's progressive doom. There is little romance and the h should run from the extremely caveman H but apparently, she's happy. So I'll be happy for her. But no, this H is not apt for everyone's stomachs.
January 9, 2023
Reread January 9, 2023–this popped up in one of my FB groups and did a reread. Original review stands.
For 80% of the book he’s a complete Neanderthal and not in a good way, but he learns and grows,she on the other hand let’s her crappy childhood influence her behavior for 98% of the book.
For 80% of the book he’s a complete Neanderthal and not in a good way, but he learns and grows,she on the other hand let’s her crappy childhood influence her behavior for 98% of the book.
June 12, 2018
Sarah morgan is one of my fav HP authors. But After reading this book my thoughts are in turmoil. In the first half I struggled with hero’s behavior. He was very selfish and inconsiderate. It didn’t help that heroine had a tough-sheltered upbringing and very insecure personality. In the middle he did something worse. He partied with one of his close friend/ex. And lets not forget about his inviting another ex to his wedding and heroine witnessing them kissing. He wasn’t even sorry about it. He was so out of touch with his emotions, he didn’t find anything bad with that behavior because according to him his ring lies on heroine’s finger and it is she who was chosen to bear his heirs and all that. Ughh spoiling my mood even now just thinking about it. But I have to give heroine points for her tenacity. She fought hard and long for their marriage once she returned back to him. But second half and ending was good. And it was a compelling read. Hero’s possessiveness was also a highlight and at times hilarious. They were definitely a complex passionate couple but I wanted to see more of his love.And as always that happens in Sarah Morgan’s book no epilogue🙁.
Recommended on your risk.
Recommended on your risk.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2018
I like this book, the h runs away on the marriage nite of an arranged marriage cause the H is making out with his mistress.
6 months later she comes back and wants a divorce. The H refuses and then gets to be led around by the nose by the h for the HEA.
This story is hilarious and it is because of the h and her zest that it works as well as it does. The H has issues, his dad killed his mum and then himself, but watching him fall in love is great and the h is truly likable.
6 months later she comes back and wants a divorce. The H refuses and then gets to be led around by the nose by the h for the HEA.
This story is hilarious and it is because of the h and her zest that it works as well as it does. The H has issues, his dad killed his mum and then himself, but watching him fall in love is great and the h is truly likable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2021
Ok, second-chance romance....
The book opens with Chessie returning 6-months after running away on her arranged wedding night after seeing Rocco kissing a woman on the balcony. (this part is never really dissected-
Rocco has some emotional baggage from being abandoned by his mother, and has decided love isn’t for him. He almost approaches relationship hurdles as a puzzle, and is VERY clueless on what is appropriate or hurtful. There’re several reviews out there if you want spoilers, but it was an ok read that I found on scribd.
Safety-
Bottom Line- It was all just kinda blah…entertaining enough to keep going, but not great. Rocco is an insensitive ass for 2/3 of the book, but I couldn’t even hate him/rage read, because it’s written in a way that he comes off emotionally inept from his childhood rather than just being a prick. Chessie starts out VERY insecure, but finds herself, and gets some confidence around 70%.
The book opens with Chessie returning 6-months after running away on her arranged wedding night after seeing Rocco kissing a woman on the balcony. (this part is never really dissected-
Rocco has some emotional baggage from being abandoned by his mother, and has decided love isn’t for him. He almost approaches relationship hurdles as a puzzle, and is VERY clueless on what is appropriate or hurtful. There’re several reviews out there if you want spoilers, but it was an ok read that I found on scribd.
Safety-
Bottom Line- It was all just kinda blah…entertaining enough to keep going, but not great. Rocco is an insensitive ass for 2/3 of the book, but I couldn’t even hate him/rage read, because it’s written in a way that he comes off emotionally inept from his childhood rather than just being a prick. Chessie starts out VERY insecure, but finds herself, and gets some confidence around 70%.
July 29, 2011
It left me w/ unanswered questions.
Yeah he invited his ex to the wedding. Why? Never discovered that. Also why was he making out with said ex? As someone else commented: why would the author even involve the ex's in this story if the situations weren't going to be resolved. That was very annoying. He just wanted her to trust him on things and accept, but what he was asking was what she had lived with all her life and she didn't want a life like that.
He wants to continue to party but not take his wife along for the ride. He keeps saying it's in the past don't let it color the future. Everything that happened to them in the past affects their future as well as present. He claims that his family life isn't relevant to his life now, but his whole mindset was from the past and I find it hard to believe that as a two year old he would have had that type of mindset. Easier to believe it of Francesca. Given his explanation it didn't seem to wash because frankly had she taken the time, by investigating things, she could have discovered that her father had a similar story too. So because of his his past he had "short-term relationships with air-heads who couldn't possibly match (his) intellect, or interest (him) in any way other than physically. . . ". But for some reason he remained friends with these women and would even go out with them. That would imply that their relationships were more than just physical it would mean that he enjoyed their company. (ex at the wedding; other woman at the night club two nights in a row when he claimed to be working)
She wanted him to find her sexy and she wanted that passionate connection with him but because of the past (when he was two) he withheld that from her.
Repetitive phrases: stabbing his fingers through his hair and always saying he is Sicilian. That got a bit ridiculous! Who says that?
Hero was all wishy washy: he claims that no man in their right mind would claim to understand the workings of a woman's mind and yet you catch him thinking to himself that he was always arrogantly, confident in his ability to understand women. I liked that he NEVER really knew her at all let alone understood her. He tried to catergorize her with the other women from his past. I liked that she did stand up to him in some aspects. And it brought him up short near the end when he was convinced that she would tell him she loved him . . . only she didn't!
When they were having it out in one part he says that the only woman he has slept with since their wedding is you (Francesca). Um . . . but they didn't even sleep together then either. Their wedding was 6 months before and she had run away on that day because of him and his ex kissing "passionately". Then on the very next page he says that he hadn't slept with another woman since she returned to Sicily. Problem being that would imply that from their wedding until the day she returned he did sleep with other women.
Oh yeah he was clueless. He was worried about their pic showing up in the papers when he carried his wife out of the nightclub yet he didn't stop to think that his picture was carried on the tv's when he was out with other women. There was never really any good satisfactory explanation to that. Frankly one would believe a woman with self esteem issues wouldn't want to see her husband with another woman and yet she didn't throw much of a fit about it.
Why didn't she call him out more for the exes and his behavior? I can't get past that contradictory statement that he made nor the fact that he invited an ex to the wedding and he was seen kissing said ex. On their wedding day! He tries to tell Francesca that the other women were jealous because she married him but they didn't know she heard them. Instead she decides to find him and speak to him about it only she found him kissing his ex. He tells her that a "relationsip based on respect and understanding is far more successful than one based on physical lust." So I'm guessing getting caught kissing another person on your wedding day AFTER exchanging vows (not that it's a good idea to be doing it before) is a sign of respect to the person you just wed.
I truly believe she had it right all along when she accused him of not doing anything unless he gained something from it and right up to the ending he stood to gain. It wasn't a very satisfactory read because I was left with questions and didn't fully trust him because of them.
Yeah he invited his ex to the wedding. Why? Never discovered that. Also why was he making out with said ex? As someone else commented: why would the author even involve the ex's in this story if the situations weren't going to be resolved. That was very annoying. He just wanted her to trust him on things and accept, but what he was asking was what she had lived with all her life and she didn't want a life like that.
He wants to continue to party but not take his wife along for the ride. He keeps saying it's in the past don't let it color the future. Everything that happened to them in the past affects their future as well as present. He claims that his family life isn't relevant to his life now, but his whole mindset was from the past and I find it hard to believe that as a two year old he would have had that type of mindset. Easier to believe it of Francesca. Given his explanation it didn't seem to wash because frankly had she taken the time, by investigating things, she could have discovered that her father had a similar story too. So because of his his past he had "short-term relationships with air-heads who couldn't possibly match (his) intellect, or interest (him) in any way other than physically. . . ". But for some reason he remained friends with these women and would even go out with them. That would imply that their relationships were more than just physical it would mean that he enjoyed their company. (ex at the wedding; other woman at the night club two nights in a row when he claimed to be working)
She wanted him to find her sexy and she wanted that passionate connection with him but because of the past (when he was two) he withheld that from her.
Repetitive phrases: stabbing his fingers through his hair and always saying he is Sicilian. That got a bit ridiculous! Who says that?
Hero was all wishy washy: he claims that no man in their right mind would claim to understand the workings of a woman's mind and yet you catch him thinking to himself that he was always arrogantly, confident in his ability to understand women. I liked that he NEVER really knew her at all let alone understood her. He tried to catergorize her with the other women from his past. I liked that she did stand up to him in some aspects. And it brought him up short near the end when he was convinced that she would tell him she loved him . . . only she didn't!
When they were having it out in one part he says that the only woman he has slept with since their wedding is you (Francesca). Um . . . but they didn't even sleep together then either. Their wedding was 6 months before and she had run away on that day because of him and his ex kissing "passionately". Then on the very next page he says that he hadn't slept with another woman since she returned to Sicily. Problem being that would imply that from their wedding until the day she returned he did sleep with other women.
Oh yeah he was clueless. He was worried about their pic showing up in the papers when he carried his wife out of the nightclub yet he didn't stop to think that his picture was carried on the tv's when he was out with other women. There was never really any good satisfactory explanation to that. Frankly one would believe a woman with self esteem issues wouldn't want to see her husband with another woman and yet she didn't throw much of a fit about it.
Why didn't she call him out more for the exes and his behavior? I can't get past that contradictory statement that he made nor the fact that he invited an ex to the wedding and he was seen kissing said ex. On their wedding day! He tries to tell Francesca that the other women were jealous because she married him but they didn't know she heard them. Instead she decides to find him and speak to him about it only she found him kissing his ex. He tells her that a "relationsip based on respect and understanding is far more successful than one based on physical lust." So I'm guessing getting caught kissing another person on your wedding day AFTER exchanging vows (not that it's a good idea to be doing it before) is a sign of respect to the person you just wed.
I truly believe she had it right all along when she accused him of not doing anything unless he gained something from it and right up to the ending he stood to gain. It wasn't a very satisfactory read because I was left with questions and didn't fully trust him because of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2022
That’s why 4 stars!
November 24, 2014
Wow, so conflicted about this book. It was very well-written and Chessie's story was engrossing. It's a 2 star hero, with a 3 star storyline, much of which is inexplicable. So much makes no sense. So why 3 stars? Because I still loved reading it and couldn't put it down, train wreck and jerk hero and all.
After having been kept a virtual prisoner by her abusive, philandering father, it took extraordinary courage for Chessie to escape on her wedding day after hearing other women talk trash about her and seeing her new husband passionately kissing another woman. But it makes no sense that after 2 weeks of marathon togetherness with her new husband (5x a night), upon learning that he doesn't desire her at all but is looking at her solely as a broodmare, and then seeing him wrapped around a sexy woman at a nightclub, she decides to seduce her husband rather than leave him. His Madonna-whore complex was borderline sociopathic. She should have run screaming from him. He was clearly unfaithful, and saw nothing wrong with passionately kissing another woman at their wedding and continuing to canoodle with sexy former lovers on their first night apart. He's also a pathological liar, first telling her he wasn't unfaithful since they married and then clarifying on the next page that he wasn't with another woman since she returned to Sicily (6 months after their marriage!). He was out two nights in a row with the same other woman, that's a married man cheating. It just makes no sense that Chessie tried to keep Rocco rather than leave him. The starry eyed attempts to keep him in the face of his treatment, in light of her brutal upbringing, make no sense at all. He never explained the kissing of the other woman at their wedding, claiming he couldn't remember.
And his obsession with sexy clothing makes no sense. He's seen her body unclothed in daylight for weeks but only in a short skirt is she desirable to him? He needed serious therapy for severe sexual dysfunction. The saddest part of this book is when she learns he has been saying her body is perfect repeatedly because her hips are wide, perfect for child-bearing. Her wanting him after that was wholly inexplicable.
It also doesn't make sense that he's a billionaire. How can any man so obtuse be successful? After reading his repeated views, I wondered whether he might be an idiot savant, like Rain Man. Dumbest hero I've ever read. Even when Chessie told him she was upset because he was treating her like an unsexy broodmare, he still decided he upset her by the rough limo hookup. This notwithstanding that she expressly told him that she enjoyed it. His view of a wife as needing to be inherently unsexy and undesirable was insulting. Ok, so he didn't want to be so passionate he did something crazy like his father. But he had plenty of passionate affairs. Oh, they were skinny airheads so he couldn't have feelings for them? He's a moron.
After having been kept a virtual prisoner by her abusive, philandering father, it took extraordinary courage for Chessie to escape on her wedding day after hearing other women talk trash about her and seeing her new husband passionately kissing another woman. But it makes no sense that after 2 weeks of marathon togetherness with her new husband (5x a night), upon learning that he doesn't desire her at all but is looking at her solely as a broodmare, and then seeing him wrapped around a sexy woman at a nightclub, she decides to seduce her husband rather than leave him. His Madonna-whore complex was borderline sociopathic. She should have run screaming from him. He was clearly unfaithful, and saw nothing wrong with passionately kissing another woman at their wedding and continuing to canoodle with sexy former lovers on their first night apart. He's also a pathological liar, first telling her he wasn't unfaithful since they married and then clarifying on the next page that he wasn't with another woman since she returned to Sicily (6 months after their marriage!). He was out two nights in a row with the same other woman, that's a married man cheating. It just makes no sense that Chessie tried to keep Rocco rather than leave him. The starry eyed attempts to keep him in the face of his treatment, in light of her brutal upbringing, make no sense at all. He never explained the kissing of the other woman at their wedding, claiming he couldn't remember.
And his obsession with sexy clothing makes no sense. He's seen her body unclothed in daylight for weeks but only in a short skirt is she desirable to him? He needed serious therapy for severe sexual dysfunction. The saddest part of this book is when she learns he has been saying her body is perfect repeatedly because her hips are wide, perfect for child-bearing. Her wanting him after that was wholly inexplicable.
It also doesn't make sense that he's a billionaire. How can any man so obtuse be successful? After reading his repeated views, I wondered whether he might be an idiot savant, like Rain Man. Dumbest hero I've ever read. Even when Chessie told him she was upset because he was treating her like an unsexy broodmare, he still decided he upset her by the rough limo hookup. This notwithstanding that she expressly told him that she enjoyed it. His view of a wife as needing to be inherently unsexy and undesirable was insulting. Ok, so he didn't want to be so passionate he did something crazy like his father. But he had plenty of passionate affairs. Oh, they were skinny airheads so he couldn't have feelings for them? He's a moron.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2012
Disappointed and angry by the time i finished,Rocco who is a MCP,arrogant,hypocrite,mean jerk spoiled the whole book for me,so many questions never answered and Francesca took steps to fight but gave in between,the double standards just made my blood boil
May 7, 2021
The last half of the book was ok. I have given two stars solely because of that. The first half was the worst. I wanted to slap the hero so hard... I was about to DNF it on the first chapter but for some unknown reason kept going. I liked the heroine though.
Safety Issue: The heroine was a virgin and both of them were faithful to each other after their separation. I am not sure the hero was celibate during the first couple of months of their marriage. In one of the events, he said he was faithful and he hadn't slept with another one else. But in another event, he said that he was faithful when they meet after their separation. It was confusing. And most importantly he was kissing OW just after the wedding. So, It is definitely cheating for me.
Safety Issue: The heroine was a virgin and both of them were faithful to each other after their separation. I am not sure the hero was celibate during the first couple of months of their marriage. In one of the events, he said he was faithful and he hadn't slept with another one else. But in another event, he said that he was faithful when they meet after their separation. It was confusing. And most importantly he was kissing OW just after the wedding. So, It is definitely cheating for me.
August 1, 2011
Alternate title: Chauvinist hero and the stupid virgin who falls for him.
I was tempted so many times to chuck this book in the trashcan but I had to see how low the author will go. The hero is a medieval man with the madonna-whore complex: the pure wife/mother versus the sexy-but-trashy mistress/girlfriend. That's how he can rationalize being seen kissing his ex on his wedding day and bringing another gf to a nightclub while his goody-two-shoes wife is fuming at home. I swore: nothing short of lobotomy will fix this guy.
But the most mind-boggling remedy the author could think of was -- raunchy sex in his limo with his wife in black lingerie. Viola! He suddenly sees his plump wife as both desirable and respectable woman. Not only does he become a super shenshitive husband who encourages his wife's interest in drawing and compensates for his father-in-law's cruelty, he even conveniently gives her a job as director for his ad campaign.
Ugh! I never expected frogs to turn into princes with a kiss. But I guess torrid coupling is a totally different panacea.
Not a keeper.
I was tempted so many times to chuck this book in the trashcan but I had to see how low the author will go. The hero is a medieval man with the madonna-whore complex: the pure wife/mother versus the sexy-but-trashy mistress/girlfriend. That's how he can rationalize being seen kissing his ex on his wedding day and bringing another gf to a nightclub while his goody-two-shoes wife is fuming at home. I swore: nothing short of lobotomy will fix this guy.
But the most mind-boggling remedy the author could think of was -- raunchy sex in his limo with his wife in black lingerie. Viola! He suddenly sees his plump wife as both desirable and respectable woman. Not only does he become a super shenshitive husband who encourages his wife's interest in drawing and compensates for his father-in-law's cruelty, he even conveniently gives her a job as director for his ad campaign.
Ugh! I never expected frogs to turn into princes with a kiss. But I guess torrid coupling is a totally different panacea.
Not a keeper.
May 15, 2021
Sara Morgan you betrayed me!!! 😩
The last book I read was such a gem, while this one is pure CR@P!!
The male (he is not a Hero!) character is a douch to the max!! He marries the heroine as a business deal and because he thinks she was raised to be a demure wife with childbearing hips 😣
The heroine leaves right after their wedding reception when she catches him in a clinch w one of his mistress.
Unfortunately for her, he gets hold of her 6 months later, traps her on an island and proceeds to use her as a baby breeding machine. The stupid heroine shifts from offended to hopeful to heartbroken to resentful. Gaaah! Make up your mind!
So ok, at the start, he brushes off her accusation of catching him w his mistress on their wedding day as a goodby kiss, and that she shouldn’t concern herself w that since he has been faithful since their marriage BUT a few weeks later, when he is alone in Florence he is caught dancing at a nightclub, with one of his former girlfriends. He never explains, merely tells her that he always looks up old friends when he is in town. 😤 JERK JERK JERK!!
This book has no redemption.
The last book I read was such a gem, while this one is pure CR@P!!
The male (he is not a Hero!) character is a douch to the max!! He marries the heroine as a business deal and because he thinks she was raised to be a demure wife with childbearing hips 😣
The heroine leaves right after their wedding reception when she catches him in a clinch w one of his mistress.
Unfortunately for her, he gets hold of her 6 months later, traps her on an island and proceeds to use her as a baby breeding machine. The stupid heroine shifts from offended to hopeful to heartbroken to resentful. Gaaah! Make up your mind!
So ok, at the start, he brushes off her accusation of catching him w his mistress on their wedding day as a goodby kiss, and that she shouldn’t concern herself w that since he has been faithful since their marriage BUT a few weeks later, when he is alone in Florence he is caught dancing at a nightclub, with one of his former girlfriends. He never explains, merely tells her that he always looks up old friends when he is in town. 😤 JERK JERK JERK!!
This book has no redemption.
December 31, 2009
SPOILERS AHEAD
Ah, for a character who wants her independence and keeps saying "Let me go!" to Rocco
My sister's favorite say, "How stupid can you go, go, go?" floats in my head as I skimmed this book.
I hate, hate, hate how authors make plus-size, plumb, vulturous, fat, INSERT HERE ____ have no confidence and falls for the first man who look at them and make them say, "I'm a woman." No shit lady, no shit. Grow a backbone and stop being a doormat.
December 16, 2015
Like another review said I didn't like the heroine. She was full of insecurities, childish and whiny. the second half of the book was better though and so im giving this 3 stars.
June 26, 2022
This story grabbed me. It was never boring.
I like that she is a voluptuous woman with dark hair. She’s half Italian. What a breath of fresh air from the typical blonde, slender British/American h.
But she is quite needy and insecure. He had to tell her all the time that she wasn’t unattractive with her chubbiness. Rumour has it that he is still trying to convince her that she isn’t ugly.
He isn’t a smitten man. He was happy staying away from the h, even after having spent several nights with her. With his wife at home, he still went clubbing with another woman whom he had slept with in the past. And I don’t think she is smitten either.
The good sex they are having, bonds them together. It’s not a marriage of great love, but a marriage that fulfills their needs and wants. She gets to travel, he gets his babies.
I like that she is a voluptuous woman with dark hair. She’s half Italian. What a breath of fresh air from the typical blonde, slender British/American h.
But she is quite needy and insecure. He had to tell her all the time that she wasn’t unattractive with her chubbiness. Rumour has it that he is still trying to convince her that she isn’t ugly.
He isn’t a smitten man. He was happy staying away from the h, even after having spent several nights with her. With his wife at home, he still went clubbing with another woman whom he had slept with in the past. And I don’t think she is smitten either.
The good sex they are having, bonds them together. It’s not a marriage of great love, but a marriage that fulfills their needs and wants. She gets to travel, he gets his babies.
April 19, 2022
3.5 stars
March 24, 2021
Heroine leaves hero because she sees him kissing a woman at their marriage! She listens to some guests making fun of her because hero invited his mistress at his marriage. So she flies. When her father dies hero finds her and takes her back. He tells her he married her because she’s a shy and demure woman with big hips good for a mother (really???) then he has sex with her because he wants children. This book is silly and offensive. Because it seems that since he’s Sicilian he must behave like a dinosaur or a man from dark ages! He goes out partying with ow, tells h he doesn’t find her sexy because she’s his wife, and she must dress as a nun because she’s his wife. He also admit he was faithful only since she came back to Sicily ( not since they were married) so I suppose he cheated on her for the three months of separation! He is stupid and unbelievably dumb in his answers and heroine is stupid because she accepts everything. She should have divorced him immediately after the marriage! I don’t understand the way Italian/ Sicilian man are pictured in HP, womanizer, chauvinistic males that doesn’t respect their women. I think that if a Sicilian husband behaved as this silly hero his Sicilian wife would have cut his attributes at once, and her family would have disposed of him when he kissed ow at the marriage party. So, I didn’t enjoy this book at all.
February 6, 2011
Good Book. didn't like that he went to a club to party with another woman. but whatever LOVED IT.
February 17, 2017
I can't believe I wasted my time reading this book.the worst Sarah Morgan book ever.hero was such a cold unfeeling monster.I couldnt believe that he loved the heroine.this was definitely not romance!!
April 27, 2015
Malo. Malo. Malo. La protagonista es tremendamente frustrante. El protagonista es un patán. Los dos me cayeron bastante mal. La historia fue súper sosa. Y el final taaan patético!
January 13, 2021
رواية احلام حب يموت مرتين
روايه مليئة بالرومانسيه والتحديات ممتعه بين ريكو وجيسي
روايه مليئة بالرومانسيه والتحديات ممتعه بين ريكو وجيسي
January 16, 2023
I seem to be in the minority with this one but I really liked it. I loved the characters and their humor and quick wit, for such a short book we got an awful lot of character growth and development from the two of them. The J/P scenes were so good!! I love stories where the H is taken by surprise by his feelings.
I do wish we would have gotten more of a reasoning about why he was at the nightclub with an ex lover. The whole that’s what people do, go to nightclubs with friends when there wasn’t any mention of any other friends was just not very comforting. Granted, it wasn’t meant to be and he does change and he is very dismissive to that OW when the h shows up at the nightclub but still I needed much more from this scene. We get the acknowledgment that he hasn’t and wouldn’t be with anyone else but the why this was necessary was never established. I found it hard to justify why he would want to hang out with this person, what was the point except to cause angst in the book? I don’t like OWD just for drama sake, I need to still be purposeful for the overall story.
Overall: 3.5
I do wish we would have gotten more of a reasoning about why he was at the nightclub with an ex lover. The whole that’s what people do, go to nightclubs with friends when there wasn’t any mention of any other friends was just not very comforting. Granted, it wasn’t meant to be and he does change and he is very dismissive to that OW when the h shows up at the nightclub but still I needed much more from this scene. We get the acknowledgment that he hasn’t and wouldn’t be with anyone else but the why this was necessary was never established. I found it hard to justify why he would want to hang out with this person, what was the point except to cause angst in the book? I don’t like OWD just for drama sake, I need to still be purposeful for the overall story.
Overall: 3.5
May 28, 2024
"The Sicilian's Virgin Bride" is the story of Chessie and Rocco.
Hero marries rich heroine as a business merger. She hears about his true intentions on their wedding day, and catches him kissing OW. She then disappears..
When she returns 6 months later, he decides to claim her, surprised she has a hymen.
This is where it gets VERY WEIRD.
He is obsessed with her chastity and her behaving "like a lady". Throughout the book hes with multiple OW (though he says he didnt cheat), and kissing them, but the heroine wears one sexy dress and he has a fit because "how can the mother of his future MALE HEIRS wear this??".
Also the heroine is so desperate for him that she keeps trying to mould herself so he finds her desirable and hes like "Why isnt she dressed like a nun".
UGH
GROSS
He says safe/ I dont believe him so Unsafe
1/5
Hero marries rich heroine as a business merger. She hears about his true intentions on their wedding day, and catches him kissing OW. She then disappears..
When she returns 6 months later, he decides to claim her, surprised she has a hymen.
This is where it gets VERY WEIRD.
He is obsessed with her chastity and her behaving "like a lady". Throughout the book hes with multiple OW (though he says he didnt cheat), and kissing them, but the heroine wears one sexy dress and he has a fit because "how can the mother of his future MALE HEIRS wear this??".
Also the heroine is so desperate for him that she keeps trying to mould herself so he finds her desirable and hes like "Why isnt she dressed like a nun".
UGH
GROSS
He says safe/ I dont believe him so Unsafe
1/5
March 14, 2017
Missing a little extra touch...
I wasn't sure I was enjoying this book for awhile. The hero was a touch domineering until he began to understand his brides life.
Once that became a pat of their story it gained momentum.
My problem is the ending, I felt it lacked closure. An epilogue filled with the hero's behavior at delivery and the wonder at his child and his feelings at holding her. Would have put this story over the top.
Without that closure it doesnt make me see a happily ever after story, it leaves you wondering if they have a happily ever after. Since this is not my first read if thus author, its a point that keeps cropping up. So, she almost pulls it off, but left a doubt.
I wasn't sure I was enjoying this book for awhile. The hero was a touch domineering until he began to understand his brides life.
Once that became a pat of their story it gained momentum.
My problem is the ending, I felt it lacked closure. An epilogue filled with the hero's behavior at delivery and the wonder at his child and his feelings at holding her. Would have put this story over the top.
Without that closure it doesnt make me see a happily ever after story, it leaves you wondering if they have a happily ever after. Since this is not my first read if thus author, its a point that keeps cropping up. So, she almost pulls it off, but left a doubt.
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