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Signed Over to Santino
Santino's six-week mistress
Reeling from a family tragedy, champion figure skater Carla Nardozzi loses her virginity in one uncharacteristic night of oblivion with Spanish aristocrat Javier Santino. She flees the next morning, not knowing her rejection has earned her a black mark…
Three years later, Carla needs Javier's help and he seizes his opportunity for retribution: Carla must become his lover to save her home. Javier should be satisfied; his ice princess is thawing once more. But as the passion heats up between them, Javier realizes he's found something even sweeter than revenge!
Reeling from a family tragedy, champion figure skater Carla Nardozzi loses her virginity in one uncharacteristic night of oblivion with Spanish aristocrat Javier Santino. She flees the next morning, not knowing her rejection has earned her a black mark…
Three years later, Carla needs Javier's help and he seizes his opportunity for retribution: Carla must become his lover to save her home. Javier should be satisfied; his ice princess is thawing once more. But as the passion heats up between them, Javier realizes he's found something even sweeter than revenge!
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published May 24, 2016
59 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 7, 2016
2.5 stars
SIGNED OVER TO SANTINO by Maya Blake was one of those books that I liked but not loved.
The story line of Carla Nardozzi , a figure skater, who is having financial problems and Javier Santino, a Spanish aristocrat who is the person who can solve her problems was interesting. The two have a back-story, which ended in not such good terms.
I liked Carla but at times I wanted to shake her and get her to get a grip when she was with Javier. He was such an intense, possessive and totally arrogant - especially when it came to Carla.
Their story started really well and the build-up was pretty good but the end.............what an anti-climax!!!!!! It just didn't do it for me. I was expecting so much more.
SIGNED OVER TO SANTINO by Maya Blake was one of those books that I liked but not loved.
The story line of Carla Nardozzi , a figure skater, who is having financial problems and Javier Santino, a Spanish aristocrat who is the person who can solve her problems was interesting. The two have a back-story, which ended in not such good terms.
I liked Carla but at times I wanted to shake her and get her to get a grip when she was with Javier. He was such an intense, possessive and totally arrogant - especially when it came to Carla.
Their story started really well and the build-up was pretty good but the end.............what an anti-climax!!!!!! It just didn't do it for me. I was expecting so much more.
October 24, 2017
This story falls between 2 and 3 stars, but I'm rounding up because I have a weakness for figure skating stories. (toe pick!)
Unfortunately we don't have any skating scenes on page. The heroine, a browbeaten-by-her-evil-father, top athlete is being forced into an endorsement deal because her gambling daddy needs the money to pay off his debts. The hero is offering the endorsement deal because he wants the h in his clutches as revenge for running out on him after a ONS where he took her virginity. He lets the heroine know he's going to get his revenge, but he never says what it is.
That's the strong opening. The heroine is being torn between two controlling men. The hero has the wrong idea about her (she's an ice princesses and was using him to have experience before she made the moves on her agent). The heroine is just miserable all around.
Then the author throws in a skating accident that is caused by an unscrupulous trainer who pushed the heroine too hard. The hero sits by her bed while she is in a medical coma and insists on caring for her himself for the next two weeks. This gets her out of her father's clutches and we have some H/h interaction.
Since the hero is obviously smitten with the heroine but won't acknowledge his feelings and the heroine has been psychologically abused for years, these two have a tough time of working out what exactly they want. The hero has some side drama with his family (involving where his mother is buried). The heroine has some side drama with her family (involving how her mother died). And then the author runs out of pages and the H/h finally declare themselves. There are loose plot threads all over the place:
what happened to daddy and his threats of going to the press?
what about the trainer that was up on charges?
is the heroine going to pursue figure skating or ?
what about the ad campaign?
It's all a bit muddled, but the H/h are happy and that's good. An epilogue would have been nice.
Unfortunately we don't have any skating scenes on page. The heroine, a browbeaten-by-her-evil-father, top athlete is being forced into an endorsement deal because her gambling daddy needs the money to pay off his debts. The hero is offering the endorsement deal because he wants the h in his clutches as revenge for running out on him after a ONS where he took her virginity. He lets the heroine know he's going to get his revenge, but he never says what it is.
That's the strong opening. The heroine is being torn between two controlling men. The hero has the wrong idea about her (she's an ice princesses and was using him to have experience before she made the moves on her agent). The heroine is just miserable all around.
Then the author throws in a skating accident that is caused by an unscrupulous trainer who pushed the heroine too hard. The hero sits by her bed while she is in a medical coma and insists on caring for her himself for the next two weeks. This gets her out of her father's clutches and we have some H/h interaction.
Since the hero is obviously smitten with the heroine but won't acknowledge his feelings and the heroine has been psychologically abused for years, these two have a tough time of working out what exactly they want. The hero has some side drama with his family (involving where his mother is buried). The heroine has some side drama with her family (involving how her mother died). And then the author runs out of pages and the H/h finally declare themselves. There are loose plot threads all over the place:
what happened to daddy and his threats of going to the press?
what about the trainer that was up on charges?
is the heroine going to pursue figure skating or ?
what about the ad campaign?
It's all a bit muddled, but the H/h are happy and that's good. An epilogue would have been nice.
June 7, 2016
3.75
September 11, 2016
Carla is an Ice-skating champion with a very controlling father, who also happens to manage her career. In trying to escape his stifling control, she meets Javier, the H, at some party in Miami. After one night with him, she realised her feelings for Javier would only lead to heartbreak and she proceeds to break it off with him in a not so nice way. However, that night had more far-reaching consequences for the H; for which he never forgave the h. 3 years later and with Carla on the brink of bankruptcy, the H's luxury goods company contracts her as their spokesperson, thereby setting the stage for "The Reunion".
This book was really intense and made all the more so because we readers know how much Javier loves Carla. The intimate moments were to-die-for and I loved loved how the h wasn't one of those hs that say no and then promptly melts at the first kiss. She wanted him and took him and loved every minute of it, even amid her feelings of insecurity.
Having said that, the end was such an anticlimax to the point I kept flicking my e-reader hoping for an epilogue. Alas, no dice. Why Maya, why?
This book was really intense and made all the more so because we readers know how much Javier loves Carla. The intimate moments were to-die-for and I loved loved how the h wasn't one of those hs that say no and then promptly melts at the first kiss. She wanted him and took him and loved every minute of it, even amid her feelings of insecurity.
Having said that, the end was such an anticlimax to the point I kept flicking my e-reader hoping for an epilogue. Alas, no dice. Why Maya, why?
May 6, 2016
incredibly boring book as usually from this author.
June 19, 2016
On page 72 I gave up. I wanted to like this book. Hero seemed devious and the heroine was a virgin and likeable but the hero turned out to be a pansy killing my interest completely.
Why was the hero a pansy, he got upset with the heroine's reaction to their hookup. I found his reaction lame for a guy. He wasn't in a relationship with the heroine. He didn't know the heroine. He plots revenge on the heroine cause she said their hookup was a mistake. Lamest reasoning for revenge evah!
Too bad. This book had potential. Chemistry was palpable and storytelling was interesting but the hero was such a pansy!
Why was the hero a pansy, he got upset with the heroine's reaction to their hookup. I found his reaction lame for a guy. He wasn't in a relationship with the heroine. He didn't know the heroine. He plots revenge on the heroine cause she said their hookup was a mistake. Lamest reasoning for revenge evah!
Too bad. This book had potential. Chemistry was palpable and storytelling was interesting but the hero was such a pansy!
November 16, 2021
I inhaled this, but it's super problematic and I can't say I'd recommend it. The heroine trades one domineering jackass in her life (her father) for another (the hero). The hero is a jealous, possessive jerkface who softens slightly in the final chapter but it doesn't even begin to smooth over the uncomfortable jealous/possessive moments that pepper the previous 180 pages. His attitude towards the heroine throughout the book, coupled with his jealousy, makes the "romance" rather worrisome. A hot mess, but an entertaining hot mess. I read it in less than a day.
December 20, 2016
Intenté seguir leyendo de esta autora, pero este libro no me convenció. No sentí la química entre los protagonistas, la comencé y la terminé por inercia.
June 26, 2016
Carla and Javier have a past. Will the terms of a lucrative contract forge them together? Will misunderstandings and half truths finally be put to rest? A great read.
August 29, 2017
Just plain stupid!!
May 5, 2020
Non mi è piaciuto per niente, l’unico aggettivo possibile per definirlo è assurdo.
In fondo è solo la non-storia di due personaggi paradossali, lei Carla, una campionessa di pattinaggio infantile, immatura, lagnosa, succube, totalmente incapace di una qualsiasi iniziativa e del tutto inutile anche a sé stessa. Lui, Javier, un ricchissimo spagnolo permaloso, egocentrico, pieno di sé, prepotente e geloso, entrambi talmente ottusi da non riuscire a capire neanche l’ovvio.
Una lettura insensata e oltremodo irritante.
In fondo è solo la non-storia di due personaggi paradossali, lei Carla, una campionessa di pattinaggio infantile, immatura, lagnosa, succube, totalmente incapace di una qualsiasi iniziativa e del tutto inutile anche a sé stessa. Lui, Javier, un ricchissimo spagnolo permaloso, egocentrico, pieno di sé, prepotente e geloso, entrambi talmente ottusi da non riuscire a capire neanche l’ovvio.
Una lettura insensata e oltremodo irritante.
January 14, 2020
Not bad for a quick read. The Hero was overbearing and the heroine a bit of a wimp and the ending, well just ended without any reader satisfaction.
dnf
May 13, 2021Due personaggi irritanti e storia scialba.
August 26, 2024
A little bit of a twist on the usual romance conflict. It kept me reading to see how things would pan out in the end. A little bit of steam in this one.
April 3, 2025
Ok ok . Forse sono stata cattiva , ma ci sono buchi come crateri .
Lui Santino lei Carla .... poi mancano pezzi , roba medievale in punti .
Lui Santino lei Carla .... poi mancano pezzi , roba medievale in punti .
February 16, 2018
The blurb for this novel had me feeling a cold lump of distaste and dread. A man has a passionate night with a woman and afterwards she says they can’t see each other again. Does he nod with understanding? Does he part with words of regret and tenderness? Oh, no. Those would be mature responses. Here’s what Carla Nardozzi recalls of Javier Santino.
“The man who’d taken her virginity. The man who’d granted her the most sensual, intensely unforgettable night of her life. The man who’d then absorbed her shocked, poorly delivered words the morning after with granite-faced hatred, then proceeded to banish her from his life with the cold incisiveness of a scalpel-wielding surgeon.”
Yikes. No wonder she wants nothing more to do with him. Imagine reversing the genders of the people involved. Would any man want to get further involved with a woman who treated him this way after a one-night stand? I think not. So why should a woman put up with it?
She’s facing poverty. He’s rich and in a position of power and privilege. That sets the tone for their meeting three years later. Yep, there’s that cold lump again. It turns out that Mr. Santino’s been biding his time, waiting to get Carla Nardozzi in his clutches again. Her father is in a bad financial bind and comes to Mr. Santino, hoping for his money. So Mr. Santino gleefully takes Carla to use as a product to promote his tequila; but his ultimate purpose is getting revenge on her.
But the author wants you on Mr. Santino’s side. So, time and again, we’re shown how Mr. Santino is in the legal right to have Carla do as he tells her, how he can’t trust her word when she’s apparently lied to him, how he has to (man)handle her affairs because her father has proven so inept at them. Well and good. But there’s no excuse or joy to be found at reading how Mr. Santino jabs at Carla’s apparent infidelities (when they’re not even together?), her escapades when he’s not around or how he’s always emotionally or physically manipulating her.
At times, Javier seems no better than Carla’s father. The similarities between these two men who mean to use Carla’s fame is so startling, I kept wishing that Carla would bring it up if only to sting Javier as meanly as he stabs at her.
But Carla herself concedes power to him at practically every turn, pleading, begging or apologizing for matters that aren’t even her own fault. She rarely tells him “no”, can’t resist his advances and basically turns into a passive, quivering lump of jelly whenever he advances on her. And he’s always advancing on her.
These are the typical stances of the alpha romantic male. He’s constantly pushing her against walls, imprisoning her with his arms planted on either side of her, encroaching into her personal space or warding off other men from even dancing with her or grabbing her up in his arms as if she were an infant. It looks like loving attention but, from a manipulative, over-possessive, conniving jerk like Javier, it’s more like a sick possession and borderline bullying.
Javier is also one of those domineering guys who constantly need reassurance the woman they want doesn’t need another man. His conversations with her often read like interrogations and every passing mood of hers demands an explanation. Combining dictatorial commands or demands (hardly ever a “please” from this guy) with neediness isn’t appealing in a real or fictional hero.
Of course, he’s fighting his own attraction to her. But he can’t resist her. She’s the only one who lights his fire; he’s never been obsessed with any other woman like he is with her, etc., etc., etc. It doesn’t work. This is one of the worst and lowest kind of romantic fantasies, the kind that finds their culmination in books like Fifty Shades of Grey.
I realize that love isn’t all sunshine, rainbows, hearts and flowers. But there’s a difference between love that has its sober side and the kind of twisted affection on display here, one that’s supposed to spring from viciousness, betrayal and vindictiveness. If love is meant to arise from such horrid origins, then we can expect to find oak trees springing up from the ocean floor.
“The man who’d taken her virginity. The man who’d granted her the most sensual, intensely unforgettable night of her life. The man who’d then absorbed her shocked, poorly delivered words the morning after with granite-faced hatred, then proceeded to banish her from his life with the cold incisiveness of a scalpel-wielding surgeon.”
Yikes. No wonder she wants nothing more to do with him. Imagine reversing the genders of the people involved. Would any man want to get further involved with a woman who treated him this way after a one-night stand? I think not. So why should a woman put up with it?
She’s facing poverty. He’s rich and in a position of power and privilege. That sets the tone for their meeting three years later. Yep, there’s that cold lump again. It turns out that Mr. Santino’s been biding his time, waiting to get Carla Nardozzi in his clutches again. Her father is in a bad financial bind and comes to Mr. Santino, hoping for his money. So Mr. Santino gleefully takes Carla to use as a product to promote his tequila; but his ultimate purpose is getting revenge on her.
But the author wants you on Mr. Santino’s side. So, time and again, we’re shown how Mr. Santino is in the legal right to have Carla do as he tells her, how he can’t trust her word when she’s apparently lied to him, how he has to (man)handle her affairs because her father has proven so inept at them. Well and good. But there’s no excuse or joy to be found at reading how Mr. Santino jabs at Carla’s apparent infidelities (when they’re not even together?), her escapades when he’s not around or how he’s always emotionally or physically manipulating her.
At times, Javier seems no better than Carla’s father. The similarities between these two men who mean to use Carla’s fame is so startling, I kept wishing that Carla would bring it up if only to sting Javier as meanly as he stabs at her.
But Carla herself concedes power to him at practically every turn, pleading, begging or apologizing for matters that aren’t even her own fault. She rarely tells him “no”, can’t resist his advances and basically turns into a passive, quivering lump of jelly whenever he advances on her. And he’s always advancing on her.
These are the typical stances of the alpha romantic male. He’s constantly pushing her against walls, imprisoning her with his arms planted on either side of her, encroaching into her personal space or warding off other men from even dancing with her or grabbing her up in his arms as if she were an infant. It looks like loving attention but, from a manipulative, over-possessive, conniving jerk like Javier, it’s more like a sick possession and borderline bullying.
Javier is also one of those domineering guys who constantly need reassurance the woman they want doesn’t need another man. His conversations with her often read like interrogations and every passing mood of hers demands an explanation. Combining dictatorial commands or demands (hardly ever a “please” from this guy) with neediness isn’t appealing in a real or fictional hero.
Of course, he’s fighting his own attraction to her. But he can’t resist her. She’s the only one who lights his fire; he’s never been obsessed with any other woman like he is with her, etc., etc., etc. It doesn’t work. This is one of the worst and lowest kind of romantic fantasies, the kind that finds their culmination in books like Fifty Shades of Grey.
I realize that love isn’t all sunshine, rainbows, hearts and flowers. But there’s a difference between love that has its sober side and the kind of twisted affection on display here, one that’s supposed to spring from viciousness, betrayal and vindictiveness. If love is meant to arise from such horrid origins, then we can expect to find oak trees springing up from the ocean floor.
June 1, 2016
A story of misunderstanding, hurt revenge and a lot of angst for both Carla Nardozzi and Javier Santino. Carla is a champion figure skater and three years earlier she spent one night, losing her virginity, in Javier Santino's bed. In the morning she leaves with hurtful words not realizing that the outcome from that will have long reaching effects. When Javier has a chance for revenge he takes it but it doesn't end that way as Ms. Blake brings these two people together again, both hurt by those closest to them . Javier finds out that even though they say revenge is best served cold, his feelings for Carla are anything but. A lovely story about them finding their way back and dealing with the hurts of the past, leading them to a beautiful HEA. A truly lovely story and you get to meet up with Draco and Rebel from a previous story "A diamond deal with the Greek". Don't miss any of her books. I never pass on one of her books.
April 16, 2021
Santino's six-week mistress
Reeling from a family tragedy, champion figure skater Carla Nardozzi loses her virginity in one uncharacteristic night of oblivion with Spanish aristocrat Javier Santino. She flees the next morning, not knowing her rejection has earned her a black mark…
Three years later, Carla needs Javier's help and he seizes his opportunity for retribution: Carla must become his lover to save her home. Javier should be satisfied; his ice princess is thawing once more. But as the passion heats up between them, Javier realizes he's found something even sweeter than revenge!
Reeling from a family tragedy, champion figure skater Carla Nardozzi loses her virginity in one uncharacteristic night of oblivion with Spanish aristocrat Javier Santino. She flees the next morning, not knowing her rejection has earned her a black mark…
Three years later, Carla needs Javier's help and he seizes his opportunity for retribution: Carla must become his lover to save her home. Javier should be satisfied; his ice princess is thawing once more. But as the passion heats up between them, Javier realizes he's found something even sweeter than revenge!
Read
June 26, 2016"Nice sexual tension between Javier and Carla makes for a great read, as does the secondary plotline involving Carla dealing with her father and finding out how her mother died" (4 stars @ RT Book Reviews).
May 1, 2016
*3.5 stars*
May 9, 2016
I want more of this! It is a great story!
Read
June 1, 2016received 4 stars @ RT Book Reviews
June 4, 2016
I enjoyed this book and unlike most Harlequin romances, there was depth of character. I will read this author again.
June 17, 2016
story felt rushed
June 20, 2016
Great job on this one Maya Blake. I really enjoyed every part of this book and it was really hard to put down. Read it in one day. !! Thanks for a awesome book.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews