By Royal Demand

The Royal House of Illyria #1

by Robyn Donald

For Gabe Considine, Grand Duke of Illyria and a ruthless billionaire businessman, it's payback time! He believes his ex-fiancée, Sara Milton, stole a priceless family heirloom and betrayed him with another man. Now Gabe wants his pride — and his property — returned!

He'll lure Sara to his remote castle — and keep her there until she gives him everything he wants, even if he has to seduce her into submission.…

Genres: Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Robyn Elaine Donald was born on 14 August 1940 in Northland, New Zealand. She was the oldest child in her family, and as a child, she thrilled her four sisters and one brother with bloodcurdling adventure tales, usually very like the latest book she'd borrowed from the library.

Robyn owes her writing career to two illnesses. The first was a younger sister's flu. She was living with her husband and Robyn and spent most of that winter acquiring, suffering, and recovering from various infections. One day she croaked that she had read everything on Robyn's bookshelves, so would Robyn please buy her something cheerful and sustaining. Robyn found three paperbacks- one Mills and Boon Modern Romance novel and a couple of other romances. Robyn read them, too, of course, and so enjoyed them she spent the next couple of years hunting down more Mills and Boon books. This was much more difficult then than it is today, so she decided to write her own, and for the following busy 10 years she wrote and hoped that one day she would finish a manuscript good enough that was good enough to send to a publisher.

The second illness was her husband's, and it was bad a heart attack. He was so young it terrified them all. While he was recovering, he suggested that Robyn finish the manuscript she was writing and send it off. It wasn't a perfect manuscript, but the doctor had said to humour her husband, so she finished the manuscript, edited it as best she could, and sent it off. Three months later, she was astounded to read a letter from the editor saying that if She made a few revisions they would buy her novel Bride at Whangatapu.

Published since 1977, Robyn sees her readers as intelligent women who insist on accurate backgrounds, so she spends time researching as well as writing.Robyn Donald sometimes thinks that writing is much like gardening. It's a similar process creating landscapes for the mind and emotions from the seeds of ideas and dreams and images. Both activities can also lead to moments of extreme delight, moments of total despair, and backache.Now Robyn lives in the Bay Islands. She continues writing, and also finds time for a very supportive husband, two adult children and their partners, a granddaughter and her mother, not to mention the member of the family that keeps her fit - a loud, cheerful, and ruthlessly determined "almost" Labradordog.

Reviews

[Melluvsbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. This was boring.




I kept reading hoping we were gong to get a climax… but… nothing. 😐


BOTTOM LINE? ⭐️⭐️ because I finished 😬


⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️

- cheating? He thinks she stole from him (and cheated on him) and he sleeps around during their year separation after he breaks off their engagement… so, depends on your definition 🤷🏼‍♀️

- no sharing

- no OW drama - except the the h is aware that he hasn’t been celibate because it was in the gossip papers

- OM drama - the H thinks the h cheated

- no sexual history given for either the h or the H - ages are ambiguous as well

- no dubcon

[Shanelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not one of her better stories. Boring and hero not at all repentant about his behaviour.

[Destiny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this three stars because while I liked it, some aspects of the book kind of turned me off. I thought Gabe was a bit of an ass and not in a likable way. The mystery with the missing Queen's Blood was resolved a little too quickly, but I thought the reason why the person had taken it was kind of sweet if not a little misguided.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nah, the plot idea but terrible execution. Didn't like the hero, what happened in the story was silly and dumb and resolved. The grandmother should have been behind separating them, give us some drama! Just over and over 'I didn't steal it...those aren't real pictures.' On a loop. Skip, you want the couple to not end up together.

[Nina Sheridan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The idea was good. But the writing paired with the characters wrecked all hope of it being a decent read.
The hero is a self-centered, selfish a*hole. The heroine is a spineless doormat.
I was hoping she would come to her senses and cast him away for good, but alas it never happened.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guys should really trust they fiancée before asking them to marry

[Helen Moulden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read the other books about the people mentioned in this story. Gabe is not a nice person. I know she loves him but to put up with his type of attitude was too much.

[Elisa Vangelisti]

Già l'inizio mi piaceva poco, ma volevo dargli qualche possibilità, arrivare almeno a pag.70! Però, quando la protagonista si siede a tavola per cenare con il suo rapitore e si mette a parlare della bellezza dell’arredamento, non ci ho visto più… pazienza la storia della bella e la bestia, ma qui stiamo esagerando. E non è nemmeno raccontata così bene. Robyn, mi spiace, ma non mi prende e abbandono.

[Spazfungus · Rating 1 out of 5]

no climax, weak ending

[RomLibrary]

or Gabe Considine, Grand Duke of Illyria and a ruthless billionaire businessman, it's payback time! He believes his ex-fiancee, Sara Milton, stole a priceless family heirloom and betrayed him with another man. Now Gabe wants his pride -- and his property -- returned!

He'll lure Sara to his remote castle -- and keep her there until she gives him everything he wants, even if he has to seduce her into submission..