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The Tycoon's Bride
He wanted the baby...
Claire Stenson was trying to look after her baby sister alone. She was on the verge of taking drastic action when she met Andreas Markopoulou, a sexy Greek tycoon -- and the answer to her prayers.
Andreas offered to marry Claire and adopt Melanie. His adored grandmother longed to hold her great-grandchild before she died. It seemed Andreas would go to any lengths to grant his grandmother's wish, even if that meant deceiving everybody -- including his new bride.
Claire Stenson was trying to look after her baby sister alone. She was on the verge of taking drastic action when she met Andreas Markopoulou, a sexy Greek tycoon -- and the answer to her prayers.
Andreas offered to marry Claire and adopt Melanie. His adored grandmother longed to hold her great-grandchild before she died. It seemed Andreas would go to any lengths to grant his grandmother's wish, even if that meant deceiving everybody -- including his new bride.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
36 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Reid
387 books637 followersHi, my name is Michelle Reid and I’ve been writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon for the last twenty years, and the crazy part about it is that I only realised it had been twenty years while updating this page!
So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....
Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn’t a great average when compared with some authors but it sounds pretty good to me!
So what was I doing twenty years ago before I wrote books? Well, I did the all of the usual things, like growing up and attending school, finishing at secretarial college, which I hated, then spent the next several years wandering aimlessly from job to job. Eventually I met my husband, we married and produced two daughters who then grew up and between them presented us with two gorgeous grandsons and one beautiful granddaughter. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Somewhere in between my girls growing up and the grandchildren arriving on the scene, I started writing. To this day I don’t know why, unless it was a natural progression from my never being without a book close by—often several—because books have always been an important part of my life for as far back as I can recall.
So, I started to write, by hand at first, scribbling short stories in notebooks which never saw the light of day. At some point I discovered Mills & Boon Romance books and that was pretty much it for me. I’d found my new love, as in reading romantic fiction and inevitably writing it too.
So twenty years on and almost forty books on, here I am still writing and still loving it!
So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....
Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn’t a great average when compared with some authors but it sounds pretty good to me!
So what was I doing twenty years ago before I wrote books? Well, I did the all of the usual things, like growing up and attending school, finishing at secretarial college, which I hated, then spent the next several years wandering aimlessly from job to job. Eventually I met my husband, we married and produced two daughters who then grew up and between them presented us with two gorgeous grandsons and one beautiful granddaughter. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Somewhere in between my girls growing up and the grandchildren arriving on the scene, I started writing. To this day I don’t know why, unless it was a natural progression from my never being without a book close by—often several—because books have always been an important part of my life for as far back as I can recall.
So, I started to write, by hand at first, scribbling short stories in notebooks which never saw the light of day. At some point I discovered Mills & Boon Romance books and that was pretty much it for me. I’d found my new love, as in reading romantic fiction and inevitably writing it too.
So twenty years on and almost forty books on, here I am still writing and still loving it!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
August 29, 2016
This was just...odd.
I have a feeling the author wanted to change things up, but it didn't quite work for me.
The h is trying to raise her MUCH younger sister, baby sister actually, after their mother died unexpectedly. Turns out mummy went on vacation and came home with a little present thanks to a Spanish waiter.
As the story opens, the much less than sympathetic aunt of the h is trying to tell the h to give the baby up for adoption. Too late. Bonded already. In her haste to give her aunt the paltry pounds she tried to leave her, the h is run down. Auntie's boss takes her to the hospital, takes care of the baby then proposes a MOC so his grandmother can die happy.
IT WILL BE A MOC O-N-L-Y!!!!! Sure it will.
The h not only has a spine but ethics and says no, but is finally convinced when the H points out that they can not last another day in her hell-hole apartment plus auntie has scarpered off.
Back at ye old Greek mansion by the sea, the h is introduced to the dying grandmother who gives her a little bit of a hard time. Hussy having a baby out of wedlock is not done, but really nothing that bad comes the h's way considering the era the grandmother came from. Believe me, I heard the phrase, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk free," often enough from my own mother, so believe me this was nothing. The h can also see that the H and his GM are quite close so there are no fraud issues going on.
Eventually the greek GM strong arms the h into wearing her gorgeous vintage wedding dress, veil, engagement ring and partridge in a pear tree. The tiny h feels very guilty over all this
Where's the H? Playing hot and cold with the h. They finally have sex (she's a virgin of course), angry sex after an argument at their engagement party whereupon he gets up immediately, takes a shower and heads back downstairs. Bad form if you ask me, and the h calls him on it. It's too late, baby now, it's too late, / Though we really did try to make it. / Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide....OKAY, she already loves him. Why, I don't know as he is one surly bastard. Not to mention in addition to his dying grandmother, he comes with a beautiful but evil OW (his SIL - widow of his dead brother) as well as a dead wife he won't talk about.
It's not until they marry that all hell really breaks loose. I'm not going to do spoilers here as they are pretty important. They finally have sex again and become closer as a couple although she makes most of the effort, of course. Secrets fly that explain what happened to the Spanish waiter, her aunt, as well his dead ex.
Oh what the heck, spoilers.
I have a feeling the author wanted to change things up, but it didn't quite work for me.
The h is trying to raise her MUCH younger sister, baby sister actually, after their mother died unexpectedly. Turns out mummy went on vacation and came home with a little present thanks to a Spanish waiter.
As the story opens, the much less than sympathetic aunt of the h is trying to tell the h to give the baby up for adoption. Too late. Bonded already. In her haste to give her aunt the paltry pounds she tried to leave her, the h is run down. Auntie's boss takes her to the hospital, takes care of the baby then proposes a MOC so his grandmother can die happy.
IT WILL BE A MOC O-N-L-Y!!!!! Sure it will.
The h not only has a spine but ethics and says no, but is finally convinced when the H points out that they can not last another day in her hell-hole apartment plus auntie has scarpered off.
Back at ye old Greek mansion by the sea, the h is introduced to the dying grandmother who gives her a little bit of a hard time. Hussy having a baby out of wedlock is not done, but really nothing that bad comes the h's way considering the era the grandmother came from. Believe me, I heard the phrase, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk free," often enough from my own mother, so believe me this was nothing. The h can also see that the H and his GM are quite close so there are no fraud issues going on.
Eventually the greek GM strong arms the h into wearing her gorgeous vintage wedding dress, veil, engagement ring and partridge in a pear tree. The tiny h feels very guilty over all this
Where's the H? Playing hot and cold with the h. They finally have sex (she's a virgin of course), angry sex after an argument at their engagement party whereupon he gets up immediately, takes a shower and heads back downstairs. Bad form if you ask me, and the h calls him on it. It's too late, baby now, it's too late, / Though we really did try to make it. / Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide....OKAY, she already loves him. Why, I don't know as he is one surly bastard. Not to mention in addition to his dying grandmother, he comes with a beautiful but evil OW (his SIL - widow of his dead brother) as well as a dead wife he won't talk about.
It's not until they marry that all hell really breaks loose. I'm not going to do spoilers here as they are pretty important. They finally have sex again and become closer as a couple although she makes most of the effort, of course. Secrets fly that explain what happened to the Spanish waiter, her aunt, as well his dead ex.
Oh what the heck, spoilers.
February 24, 2018
Not Michelle Reid's best and such a huge plot hole
But no, hero doesn't tell her that at the beginning. He just strong arms her into a forced marriage because he needs to pass off a baby as his own so his grandmother can die happy.
Also in the mix:
Hero has a dead wife
Heroine has a broken wrist in a cast.
Heroine is in debt and has no way to support herself or her sister.
Heroine has a witchy aunt who is
There is a kinda OW who is the hero's sister-in-law
Infertility
Heroine's father committed suicide after losing his house and business
Heroine is marrying into a snobby circle of society - but nothing comes of it
None of these elements are done well - none of them. On top of that the heroine is kind of bitchy about everything the hero is doing for them and the hero blows hot and cold. I wasn't feeling the romance or the family drama or the secrets and lies. It was just a strange story.
But no, hero doesn't tell her that at the beginning. He just strong arms her into a forced marriage because he needs to pass off a baby as his own so his grandmother can die happy.
Also in the mix:
Hero has a dead wife
Heroine has a broken wrist in a cast.
Heroine is in debt and has no way to support herself or her sister.
Heroine has a witchy aunt who is
There is a kinda OW who is the hero's sister-in-law
Infertility
Heroine's father committed suicide after losing his house and business
Heroine is marrying into a snobby circle of society - but nothing comes of it
None of these elements are done well - none of them. On top of that the heroine is kind of bitchy about everything the hero is doing for them and the hero blows hot and cold. I wasn't feeling the romance or the family drama or the secrets and lies. It was just a strange story.
October 21, 2014
Confess I liked this one but found some aspects confusing...
1) was the age gap ever stated? I saw heroine is 21 but didn't have any idea whether Andreas is in his 30s or 40s. I must have missed it...Presumably not 20s or age difference wouldn't have been such a big deal. Hopefully not 50s! grandma at 92 leaves it pretty open...
2) Also couldn't understand why the grandmother
3) didn't really make sense why he'd be so enraged at heroine for the pregnancy test...how was she supposed to know about his issues? When women are late, they quite normally take pregnancy tests. Convenient that there was the same doctor ready to breach patient confidentiality....which did not make sense
4). Hero was surprisingly kind-hearted, or at least wanted to be, although he was deceptive. However, he got away with some brutal treatment that was really unforgivable . and just barreled through getting his way with no consequences (for example just leaving her to go to Paris because she wanted to see her aunt with no explanation for his harsh response to a perfectly reasonable request. her pathetic running to him when he returned was too doormat like. She even compares herself to a dog. Something creepy in that scene...age difference added to implication he just ignored her like a the stern father ignoring a tantrum and meting out discipline to the little girl. Seriously creepy and lost a star for that).
I really liked heroine when she tried to have some backbone. Claire has been criticized in other reviews for being ungrateful...I'm not sure she was ungrateful so much as trying not to become dependent on a stranger's largesse. She also had a niggling feeling that caused some wariness (and turned out to be entirely well-founded). She'd had a rough few years and was valiant so I was willing to cut her some slack, she was a beautiful person inside with strong values but also a normal girl (the scene with the clothes was quite touching). She was actually quite grounded and in a role reversal approached Andreas after his irrational explosion towards the end in an incredibly level-headed, mature and steadfast way. She had some superb lines in her persuasive needling to get Andreas to see the flaws in his thinking (hooking up with high sperm count men...very funny).
While flawed, some touching moments hitting at the core of the characters, and beautifully written. The hero's POV was the only thing missing, but some sense of his perspective is provided by the overall writing.
1) was the age gap ever stated? I saw heroine is 21 but didn't have any idea whether Andreas is in his 30s or 40s. I must have missed it...Presumably not 20s or age difference wouldn't have been such a big deal. Hopefully not 50s! grandma at 92 leaves it pretty open...
2) Also couldn't understand why the grandmother
3) didn't really make sense why he'd be so enraged at heroine for the pregnancy test...how was she supposed to know about his issues? When women are late, they quite normally take pregnancy tests. Convenient that there was the same doctor ready to breach patient confidentiality....which did not make sense
4). Hero was surprisingly kind-hearted, or at least wanted to be, although he was deceptive. However, he got away with some brutal treatment that was really unforgivable . and just barreled through getting his way with no consequences (for example just leaving her to go to Paris because she wanted to see her aunt with no explanation for his harsh response to a perfectly reasonable request. her pathetic running to him when he returned was too doormat like. She even compares herself to a dog. Something creepy in that scene...age difference added to implication he just ignored her like a the stern father ignoring a tantrum and meting out discipline to the little girl. Seriously creepy and lost a star for that).
I really liked heroine when she tried to have some backbone. Claire has been criticized in other reviews for being ungrateful...I'm not sure she was ungrateful so much as trying not to become dependent on a stranger's largesse. She also had a niggling feeling that caused some wariness (and turned out to be entirely well-founded). She'd had a rough few years and was valiant so I was willing to cut her some slack, she was a beautiful person inside with strong values but also a normal girl (the scene with the clothes was quite touching). She was actually quite grounded and in a role reversal approached Andreas after his irrational explosion towards the end in an incredibly level-headed, mature and steadfast way. She had some superb lines in her persuasive needling to get Andreas to see the flaws in his thinking (hooking up with high sperm count men...very funny).
While flawed, some touching moments hitting at the core of the characters, and beautifully written. The hero's POV was the only thing missing, but some sense of his perspective is provided by the overall writing.
July 19, 2020
Couldn't finish this. I found heroine extremely ungrateful and a spoiled brat.
October 3, 2018
'So I am going to go to my lonely bed to dream of wildly exciting men with very high sperm counts'
LOL.
The Tycoon's Bride is the story of Claire and Andreas.
We have
-A very young heroine struggling to take care of her beloved baby sister Melanie after her mother's death
-Her bitchy aunt trying to convince her to give Melanie up for adoption
-An accident which brings her face to face with our Greek hero, who coincidentally needs a wife and a child to appease his dying grandma, and sweeps them off their feet
-A marriage of convenience
-Family drama
-Post hymenectomy coital blues
-Shocking truth revelations
-A heroine who stands up for herself and her marriage
-HEA and epilogue
I couldn't warm up to the overall story, but I did like it in parts.
Safe
2/5
LOL.
The Tycoon's Bride is the story of Claire and Andreas.
We have
-A very young heroine struggling to take care of her beloved baby sister Melanie after her mother's death
-Her bitchy aunt trying to convince her to give Melanie up for adoption
-An accident which brings her face to face with our Greek hero, who coincidentally needs a wife and a child to appease his dying grandma, and sweeps them off their feet
-A marriage of convenience
-Family drama
-Post hymenectomy coital blues
-Shocking truth revelations
-A heroine who stands up for herself and her marriage
-HEA and epilogue
I couldn't warm up to the overall story, but I did like it in parts.
Safe
2/5
December 19, 2020
Oh the tangled webs we weave… Michelle Reid delivers a somewhat angsty May/December (15-year difference) MoC story that reminded me a little of Violet Winspear’s “Sin of Cynara” (side-note: how I miss those old evocative, poetic titles, by the way). As in that story, our virginal young h, Claire, is rearing a baby not her own (in this story, it’s her baby sister, after their mother’s death) and is saved from poverty and despair by an older H (Andreas), scion of a wealthy, noble family who wants to adopt the baby to pretend it is his own child and ease the final days of his grandmother by giving her a long-desired great-grandson. As in Winspear’s story, the H has an air of old-world mystery and grandeur about him and blows pretty hot and cold. Unlike Winspear’s story, there’s no deception about who the baby’s mother is… but there is nonetheless a secret or two that come out in the Big Reveal (why it’s kept a secret from the h is really unclear).
There’s an evil aunt, a potential OW cousin whom the family wanted him to marry, and a secret past that torments our very tortured hero. He’s very dark and brooding, unable to resist our virginal h but with some serious post-coital commitment issues. The h is a standard model MR heroine—vulnerable but pretty tough and able to stand up to our icy-at-times hero. What we know at the start:
- The h had the standard-issue shitty Harley parents (her father lost their fortune and killed himself; her mother went off to Greece, came back pregnant, and died, leaving her daughters penniless and with no support.
- The aunt is a cold “businesswoman” who is trying to get the h to give up the baby. She offers to make all the arrangements.
- The H was previously married; the grandmother advises the h to never mention the first wife.
- The H wants a platonic MoC but that doesn’t happen.
The path of love never does run smooth, and these two go through some serious angst, caused mainly by the H’s inability to open up, before finding their HEA. But find it they do, with babies and rainbows and HEA. Not a bad read, but middling at best.
There’s an evil aunt, a potential OW cousin whom the family wanted him to marry, and a secret past that torments our very tortured hero. He’s very dark and brooding, unable to resist our virginal h but with some serious post-coital commitment issues. The h is a standard model MR heroine—vulnerable but pretty tough and able to stand up to our icy-at-times hero. What we know at the start:
- The h had the standard-issue shitty Harley parents (her father lost their fortune and killed himself; her mother went off to Greece, came back pregnant, and died, leaving her daughters penniless and with no support.
- The aunt is a cold “businesswoman” who is trying to get the h to give up the baby. She offers to make all the arrangements.
- The H was previously married; the grandmother advises the h to never mention the first wife.
- The H wants a platonic MoC but that doesn’t happen.
The path of love never does run smooth, and these two go through some serious angst, caused mainly by the H’s inability to open up, before finding their HEA. But find it they do, with babies and rainbows and HEA. Not a bad read, but middling at best.
December 13, 2021
Reread 12/12/2021… still not my favorite Michelle Reid, a hot mess of angst and drama.
I usually like Michelle Reid, but this was rather meh.
I usually like Michelle Reid, but this was rather meh.
January 2, 2019
I have joined Manali Dey, a friend on Bookstagram, for the #MillsandBoonReadathon for which we are reading 18 books, coz it's '18! This is Book 16.
Twenty-one year old Claire Stenson's aunt, Laura Cavell, wants her to give up her baby sister Melanie, so that Laura can help her come out of the near poverty she finds herself in. She is alone, left University to care for her sister after her mother died due to haemorrhaging at birth; is without a job, and Melanie is only her half-sister! But, Claire is adamant, especially after what their family had to go through the past few years. She doesn't want to lose her only family now, though two months of grief has wearied her down.
And then in the most dramatic way, she is in a minor accident, which is witnessed by both Laura and her hot-shot tycoon boss, owner of a merchant bank, Andreas Markopoulou (who is as old as the hills, in his own words; rightly so, he's thirty-six). He helps her, takes her and her sister to his home for recovery, while her aunt is out of the country on business.
It appears that Andreas knows more about her aunt than he's letting on, because she works for him, or is there something else? And then he offers her a marriage of convenience, in order to secure himself from a 'personal problem' likely to cause him 'embarassment'. He also offers to straighten Melanie's whole life, by adopting her and giving her his name, by which she will become his sole heir. He then flies them both to his grandmother's home in Greece for their impending nuptials.
Books with babies always ensnare me, and this wasn't any different. I fell in love with it from the first page itself. Claire and Andreas go for the other's jugular whenever they can, for the smallest of things. While her pride cringes from taking his help, he is equally apologetic for his angry demeanour. His devotion to and need for Melanie is so sweet. No less arrogant, or seductive; but, the Greek hero in this book is a lot calmer and wiser (coz he's old, with the age-gap mentioned quite a few times). He is an ass, though he admits to it himself after behaving stupidly. Surprise, surprise! It was amusing to read about how Andreas easily read everything that went on in Claire's head. After two bombshells towards the end, which I didn't expect them to pan out the way they did, came the perfect end.
I love Michelle Reid's writing. It has an enchanting quality about it. It is as powerful as it is humorous and immerses the reader into the story. I've read her eight of her books before this one, and almost all of them are my favourites!
P.S. I read this book as a part of the author's paperback collection titled 'Bridal Bargains'.
Twenty-one year old Claire Stenson's aunt, Laura Cavell, wants her to give up her baby sister Melanie, so that Laura can help her come out of the near poverty she finds herself in. She is alone, left University to care for her sister after her mother died due to haemorrhaging at birth; is without a job, and Melanie is only her half-sister! But, Claire is adamant, especially after what their family had to go through the past few years. She doesn't want to lose her only family now, though two months of grief has wearied her down.
And then in the most dramatic way, she is in a minor accident, which is witnessed by both Laura and her hot-shot tycoon boss, owner of a merchant bank, Andreas Markopoulou (who is as old as the hills, in his own words; rightly so, he's thirty-six). He helps her, takes her and her sister to his home for recovery, while her aunt is out of the country on business.
It appears that Andreas knows more about her aunt than he's letting on, because she works for him, or is there something else? And then he offers her a marriage of convenience, in order to secure himself from a 'personal problem' likely to cause him 'embarassment'. He also offers to straighten Melanie's whole life, by adopting her and giving her his name, by which she will become his sole heir. He then flies them both to his grandmother's home in Greece for their impending nuptials.
Books with babies always ensnare me, and this wasn't any different. I fell in love with it from the first page itself. Claire and Andreas go for the other's jugular whenever they can, for the smallest of things. While her pride cringes from taking his help, he is equally apologetic for his angry demeanour. His devotion to and need for Melanie is so sweet. No less arrogant, or seductive; but, the Greek hero in this book is a lot calmer and wiser (coz he's old, with the age-gap mentioned quite a few times). He is an ass, though he admits to it himself after behaving stupidly. Surprise, surprise! It was amusing to read about how Andreas easily read everything that went on in Claire's head. After two bombshells towards the end, which I didn't expect them to pan out the way they did, came the perfect end.
I love Michelle Reid's writing. It has an enchanting quality about it. It is as powerful as it is humorous and immerses the reader into the story. I've read her eight of her books before this one, and almost all of them are my favourites!
P.S. I read this book as a part of the author's paperback collection titled 'Bridal Bargains'.
May 4, 2012
I wouldn't say it was amazing...but the story was gripping with traditional Michelle Reid angst and a very unique twist at the end that I never saw coming.
What bothered me most was the heroine. At times, I thought she was a bit immature and naive. Other times I found her ungrateful. Most of the times, she just allowed herself to be easily manipulated by the hero. I guess this was partly due to her youth and the age gap with the hero.
I found that I really liked the Hero in the beginning. I admired his tenacity and his caring attitude towards the heroine and the baby. However, as the book went on he started to lose points with me. Especially at the end with the big reveal and his part in the big reveal.
What bothered me most was the heroine. At times, I thought she was a bit immature and naive. Other times I found her ungrateful. Most of the times, she just allowed herself to be easily manipulated by the hero. I guess this was partly due to her youth and the age gap with the hero.
I found that I really liked the Hero in the beginning. I admired his tenacity and his caring attitude towards the heroine and the baby. However, as the book went on he started to lose points with me. Especially at the end with the big reveal and his part in the big reveal.
March 11, 2017
I liked and disliked this book in equal measure as it had some sweet, tender moments but there also scenes that pretty annoyed me. And even though the plot is very predictable and I have conflicting feelings about it, I still enjoyed the book.
December 17, 2018
Arrogant male; downtrodden young inexperienced female; nasty aunt; fiesty grandmother; conniving other woman - put it all together and stir and voila! one surprisingly enjoyable read in HP land.
January 29, 2014
I enjoyed this one. I generally like the poor destitute heroine trope. I never really felt that he was all that crazy about her though. The conflict at the end seemed to come out of nowhere. Still kept my interest.
August 18, 2012
A 3.5 rating. It gets better towards the end.
December 1, 2012
The heroine comes across as ungrateful even though the hero does have a hidden ulterior motive for helping her.
January 18, 2013
Emotion-filled, excellent example of Harlequin Presents
This is a review of a Kindle re-release of the May, 2000, Number 2106 Harlequin Presents (HP) by Michelle Reid, The Tycoon's Bride. The book is well-formatted and well designed, making it easy to read. I downloaded a copy from my public library, and unlike some of the other big publishers, Harlequin allows instant download to a Kindle device or Kindle app, rather than the farce of downloading to one's computer through a USB port and then laboriously uploading it from there to the Kindle device.
Twenty-year-old Claire comes from a previously wealthy family that has fallen on hard times. After his business failed, her father committed suicide, and her mother, who was only 44, recently died shortly after Claire's illegitimate, three-month-old, baby sister was born. Claire abandoned her university studies and has been struggling in poverty to raise baby Melanie on her own. Her only living relative is her mother's older sister, a cold-hearted executive assistant who arrives at the start of the story to push Claire to give up her sister for adoption, so she says, only for the baby's own good. Claire is hit by a van while running into the street to catch her aunt before she drives away with her rich boss after the aunt accidentally leaves behind a credit card entangled in a small amount of cash she gave Claire for the baby's care. Her aunt's boss Andreas Markopoulou, a gorgeous, Greek tycoon, steps in and takes Claire to the hospital and brings Melanie, too. Fortunately, Claire only has bruised ribs and a fractured wrist, but because her wrist is in a cast and she is in a great deal of pain, Andreas brings her and the baby to his home to be cared for by his housekeeper.
Claire is suspicious of his motives and confronts Andreas. He explains that he is a 36-year-old widower with no desire to remarry, but his adored, 92-year-old grandmother longs for him to marry and give her the chance to have a great-grandchild before she dies. Since she could die at any time, Andreas offers Claire a marriage of convenience in which he will tell his grandmother that Claire and he had a brief affair a year ago, and he recently discovered she had a child and wants to marry her. In return, he promises to adopt Melanie and help Claire adopt her as well. He states that Melanie will be his only heir and be cared for the rest of her life. In addition, the marriage will be a platonic one, and once his grandmother passes away, if Claire wants to leave, she can, only allowing Andreas, who from the first seems very bonded with the baby, to have regular visitation rights.
The amazing offer seems unbelievably generous, but Claire ultimately decides to accept it both because she wants the best for Melanie, and because the alternatives are completely unacceptable--either to raise Melanie in abject poverty or give her up for adoption and never see her again.
Unfortunately, two main aspects of her deal with Andreas seem impossible to pull off. First, she is a woman of integrity who has never lied in her life, and she hates lying to Andreas's grandmother, a crusty old lady whom Claire is immediately fond of. Second, the sparks between her and Andreas are incredibly hard to resist, but if Claire gives into her attraction to Andreas, it will drastically complicate their agreement and very likely break her heart.
This novel excels in multiple ways within the goals it sets out to achieve as an HP romance:
--Though it uses familiar themes that are evergreen in romance (marriage of convenience, Alpha male, Cinderella fairy tale), it adds an amazing twist to them. The hero is strong but emotionally vulnerable. The heroine is financially and emotionally vulnerable, but emotionally very strong. Though the latter is rather common in HP, the former in juxtaposition with it in such a clear way certainly is not, and it adds a real "wow" factor of intensity.
--The author's descriptions of love/sex scenes are beautifully done. Every step of the way the focus is off boring listings of body parts and on emotional response.
--It is inevitable that after sex is consummated, sexual tension is dissipated. Since HP is a "sensuous romance line," there are at least 3-6 sex scenes in every book, and the authors don't always achieve a viable, new source of intense conflict to antagonize the lovers from each other so that sexual tension can be re-established rising up to the next sex scene. This book does a great job of accomplishing that.
--Though there are no real subplots in the HP books because they are so short, when one of them can introduce moving relationships other than between the hero and heroine, it is always a huge plus, and this book does an amazing job of the relationship of the hero and heroine with baby Melanie--one of the best uses of a baby in a short-contemporary romance I've seen, and that's saying a lot because Harlequin romances abound with babies. The relationship with Claire and Andreas's grandmother is also very moving and contributes wonderfully to the romance plot.
--This book is entirely in Claire's point of view, which aids in making a lot about Andreas a mystery. There were two main mysteries in the book and though I generally guess the solution to virtually every mystery of this type in an HP romance or any other short contemporary romance, I didn't guess the solution to either one in this book, which is a terrific achievement for the author for this type of story.
--Even the requisite epilogue is well done and extremely moving. Far too often it is simply boringly proforma in HP, but not here. Andreas is a wonderful, sensitive hero, and his evolution and emotional healing across the course of the book is extremely well done.
For any author of YA paranormal romance, reading and studying HP romances is a great opportunity to understand the key elements of an exciting romance plot with a sexy, Alpha love interest who acts as the heroine's antagonist--a convention that is a major element of most current YA paranormal romance, and which is all too often inadequately done.
This is a review of a Kindle re-release of the May, 2000, Number 2106 Harlequin Presents (HP) by Michelle Reid, The Tycoon's Bride. The book is well-formatted and well designed, making it easy to read. I downloaded a copy from my public library, and unlike some of the other big publishers, Harlequin allows instant download to a Kindle device or Kindle app, rather than the farce of downloading to one's computer through a USB port and then laboriously uploading it from there to the Kindle device.
Twenty-year-old Claire comes from a previously wealthy family that has fallen on hard times. After his business failed, her father committed suicide, and her mother, who was only 44, recently died shortly after Claire's illegitimate, three-month-old, baby sister was born. Claire abandoned her university studies and has been struggling in poverty to raise baby Melanie on her own. Her only living relative is her mother's older sister, a cold-hearted executive assistant who arrives at the start of the story to push Claire to give up her sister for adoption, so she says, only for the baby's own good. Claire is hit by a van while running into the street to catch her aunt before she drives away with her rich boss after the aunt accidentally leaves behind a credit card entangled in a small amount of cash she gave Claire for the baby's care. Her aunt's boss Andreas Markopoulou, a gorgeous, Greek tycoon, steps in and takes Claire to the hospital and brings Melanie, too. Fortunately, Claire only has bruised ribs and a fractured wrist, but because her wrist is in a cast and she is in a great deal of pain, Andreas brings her and the baby to his home to be cared for by his housekeeper.
Claire is suspicious of his motives and confronts Andreas. He explains that he is a 36-year-old widower with no desire to remarry, but his adored, 92-year-old grandmother longs for him to marry and give her the chance to have a great-grandchild before she dies. Since she could die at any time, Andreas offers Claire a marriage of convenience in which he will tell his grandmother that Claire and he had a brief affair a year ago, and he recently discovered she had a child and wants to marry her. In return, he promises to adopt Melanie and help Claire adopt her as well. He states that Melanie will be his only heir and be cared for the rest of her life. In addition, the marriage will be a platonic one, and once his grandmother passes away, if Claire wants to leave, she can, only allowing Andreas, who from the first seems very bonded with the baby, to have regular visitation rights.
The amazing offer seems unbelievably generous, but Claire ultimately decides to accept it both because she wants the best for Melanie, and because the alternatives are completely unacceptable--either to raise Melanie in abject poverty or give her up for adoption and never see her again.
Unfortunately, two main aspects of her deal with Andreas seem impossible to pull off. First, she is a woman of integrity who has never lied in her life, and she hates lying to Andreas's grandmother, a crusty old lady whom Claire is immediately fond of. Second, the sparks between her and Andreas are incredibly hard to resist, but if Claire gives into her attraction to Andreas, it will drastically complicate their agreement and very likely break her heart.
This novel excels in multiple ways within the goals it sets out to achieve as an HP romance:
--Though it uses familiar themes that are evergreen in romance (marriage of convenience, Alpha male, Cinderella fairy tale), it adds an amazing twist to them. The hero is strong but emotionally vulnerable. The heroine is financially and emotionally vulnerable, but emotionally very strong. Though the latter is rather common in HP, the former in juxtaposition with it in such a clear way certainly is not, and it adds a real "wow" factor of intensity.
--The author's descriptions of love/sex scenes are beautifully done. Every step of the way the focus is off boring listings of body parts and on emotional response.
--It is inevitable that after sex is consummated, sexual tension is dissipated. Since HP is a "sensuous romance line," there are at least 3-6 sex scenes in every book, and the authors don't always achieve a viable, new source of intense conflict to antagonize the lovers from each other so that sexual tension can be re-established rising up to the next sex scene. This book does a great job of accomplishing that.
--Though there are no real subplots in the HP books because they are so short, when one of them can introduce moving relationships other than between the hero and heroine, it is always a huge plus, and this book does an amazing job of the relationship of the hero and heroine with baby Melanie--one of the best uses of a baby in a short-contemporary romance I've seen, and that's saying a lot because Harlequin romances abound with babies. The relationship with Claire and Andreas's grandmother is also very moving and contributes wonderfully to the romance plot.
--This book is entirely in Claire's point of view, which aids in making a lot about Andreas a mystery. There were two main mysteries in the book and though I generally guess the solution to virtually every mystery of this type in an HP romance or any other short contemporary romance, I didn't guess the solution to either one in this book, which is a terrific achievement for the author for this type of story.
--Even the requisite epilogue is well done and extremely moving. Far too often it is simply boringly proforma in HP, but not here. Andreas is a wonderful, sensitive hero, and his evolution and emotional healing across the course of the book is extremely well done.
For any author of YA paranormal romance, reading and studying HP romances is a great opportunity to understand the key elements of an exciting romance plot with a sexy, Alpha love interest who acts as the heroine's antagonist--a convention that is a major element of most current YA paranormal romance, and which is all too often inadequately done.
November 14, 2021
Stmargarets https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and Grrrrace https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... have all the details.
Ok, lets focus on the heroine, because she has a lot going on in her life. (The hero is your standard rich greek dude who is emotionally bankrupt)\
Once upon the time the heroine had it all. Two loving parents, in an affluent neighborhood. Daddy commits suicide after his financial missteps. Mommy and daughter eke out a living on the ‘other’ side of town. 40 some year old mom gets to travel for business and has an affair with a waiter. She gets pregnant. Heroine is in school at the time. She drops out of university to help her mom out after baby sister is born. Mom dies a couple of months later. So, our 21 year old h is trying to do the mommy thing without a job. There is a rich aunt who refuses to help the h, and instead tries to undermine her. It is through the aunts associations with the hero that the h and H meet. The h got hit by a car, breaks her wrist and is bruised all over. The H becomes responsible for the h and it all feels very suspicious. The aunt has disappeared as well. The H needs an insta family for his dying grandmother, and proposes marriage. They move to Greece to get married and basically the plot moppet sis gets a wing on the other side of the villa and we have very little to do with her except when needed. The H introduces the h to his grandma, who will not receive the child she thinks is the h’s until the two are officially married. The h meets a bitchy woman who was supposed to be the next Mrs. H, and on top of that she finds out that there was a previous Mrs. H. (Just dandy, now the h has to measure up to the beautiful, experienced Greek ow and the previous Mrs. H who was most likely the love of his life.)
Now its a week before the wedding, and there is an engagement party. The h is wearing a daring dress. The ow takes the time to point out the many women at the party who either are past, current, or future mistresses. The H goes off with one of them, and the h ends up with the younger set partying on the patio. The H comes across her drunken ass, and drags her upstairs to the nearest bedroom. They consummate their relationship. She wants to say she loves him, but instead tells her she is in heaven. The H, jumps out of bed, tells her this was a mistake. He promptly goes to shower off his mistake. The h is left distraught in the bed. He comes out fully dressed ready to rejoin the party downstairs. Then he realizes maybe he should say a little more. She tells him the marriage is off, he tells her it is still on. The h and H continue to battle at the bedroom door. He eventually asks if she is ok. A week later they marry, the grandma meets the baby, and then dies. So, no need to continue this ruse of a marriage. More drama ensues, along with some more sex where he walks away again, but then they settle into being lovers. Things seem to be going well, then vicious aunt enters the picture to reveal more trouble. The h confronts the H, and more is revealed. Then there is another little problem and this time the H is telling the h she needs to leave. He storms out of their marriage in a tizzy. Our h, ends up being the wiser, bigger person and confronts the last hurdle for the H. She is able to show him that real love doesn’t cause the issues he had with his first wife. Finally, these two make their avowals of love and there is a happy epilogue in the future.
This story has some good angst. Unfortunately, there was a lot of different things thrown in and some of them just didn’t need to be in the story at all. They didn’t add to the story. However, at times MR did misdirect my thoughts, and I thought this was going to get a little squicky, but thank goodness she didn’t take it there.
Ok, lets focus on the heroine, because she has a lot going on in her life. (The hero is your standard rich greek dude who is emotionally bankrupt)\
Once upon the time the heroine had it all. Two loving parents, in an affluent neighborhood. Daddy commits suicide after his financial missteps. Mommy and daughter eke out a living on the ‘other’ side of town. 40 some year old mom gets to travel for business and has an affair with a waiter. She gets pregnant. Heroine is in school at the time. She drops out of university to help her mom out after baby sister is born. Mom dies a couple of months later. So, our 21 year old h is trying to do the mommy thing without a job. There is a rich aunt who refuses to help the h, and instead tries to undermine her. It is through the aunts associations with the hero that the h and H meet. The h got hit by a car, breaks her wrist and is bruised all over. The H becomes responsible for the h and it all feels very suspicious. The aunt has disappeared as well. The H needs an insta family for his dying grandmother, and proposes marriage. They move to Greece to get married and basically the plot moppet sis gets a wing on the other side of the villa and we have very little to do with her except when needed. The H introduces the h to his grandma, who will not receive the child she thinks is the h’s until the two are officially married. The h meets a bitchy woman who was supposed to be the next Mrs. H, and on top of that she finds out that there was a previous Mrs. H. (Just dandy, now the h has to measure up to the beautiful, experienced Greek ow and the previous Mrs. H who was most likely the love of his life.)
Now its a week before the wedding, and there is an engagement party. The h is wearing a daring dress. The ow takes the time to point out the many women at the party who either are past, current, or future mistresses. The H goes off with one of them, and the h ends up with the younger set partying on the patio. The H comes across her drunken ass, and drags her upstairs to the nearest bedroom. They consummate their relationship. She wants to say she loves him, but instead tells her she is in heaven. The H, jumps out of bed, tells her this was a mistake. He promptly goes to shower off his mistake. The h is left distraught in the bed. He comes out fully dressed ready to rejoin the party downstairs. Then he realizes maybe he should say a little more. She tells him the marriage is off, he tells her it is still on. The h and H continue to battle at the bedroom door. He eventually asks if she is ok. A week later they marry, the grandma meets the baby, and then dies. So, no need to continue this ruse of a marriage. More drama ensues, along with some more sex where he walks away again, but then they settle into being lovers. Things seem to be going well, then vicious aunt enters the picture to reveal more trouble. The h confronts the H, and more is revealed. Then there is another little problem and this time the H is telling the h she needs to leave. He storms out of their marriage in a tizzy. Our h, ends up being the wiser, bigger person and confronts the last hurdle for the H. She is able to show him that real love doesn’t cause the issues he had with his first wife. Finally, these two make their avowals of love and there is a happy epilogue in the future.
This story has some good angst. Unfortunately, there was a lot of different things thrown in and some of them just didn’t need to be in the story at all. They didn’t add to the story. However, at times MR did misdirect my thoughts, and I thought this was going to get a little squicky, but thank goodness she didn’t take it there.
August 10, 2016
A nice romance and an interesting plot, but lagged in some areas.
Sweet, young Claire has given up much to take care of her baby sister......and then she ends up with no money and sick. With nowhere to turn but her aunt, who wants her to give up the child.
In steps the hero: sexy Andreas (that the aunt is trying to seduce) he plucks her off the street and whisks her and the baby away. He convenices her to marry her and she says yes.
Under his thrall she falls in love with this worldly handsome man without knowing much about him or his secrets. He takes them back to his homeland and his family, where more secrets are waiting.
She is a little bit of a wimp in that she doesn't keep demanding the truth. She fears what she might find will somehow taint her love.
But the truth will have to come out and it is a nice twist.
This was a good read about a knight rescuing a fair maiden in distress but the knight has a secret agenda of his own. Not one of the author's best book but still an entertaining read.
Sweet, young Claire has given up much to take care of her baby sister......and then she ends up with no money and sick. With nowhere to turn but her aunt, who wants her to give up the child.
In steps the hero: sexy Andreas (that the aunt is trying to seduce) he plucks her off the street and whisks her and the baby away. He convenices her to marry her and she says yes.
Under his thrall she falls in love with this worldly handsome man without knowing much about him or his secrets. He takes them back to his homeland and his family, where more secrets are waiting.
She is a little bit of a wimp in that she doesn't keep demanding the truth. She fears what she might find will somehow taint her love.
But the truth will have to come out and it is a nice twist.
This was a good read about a knight rescuing a fair maiden in distress but the knight has a secret agenda of his own. Not one of the author's best book but still an entertaining read.
February 18, 2018
This could have been so much better.
There were many time lapses, huge jumps, from one sentence to the next. The reader misses so much of their relationship.
It was very superficial. Everything just scratched the surface. The problems were pointed out and hastily discussed, but they lacked depth.
I hated how the hero used her. I hated how he left her after he took her virginity. And I hated how she just went back to his bed after that.
The hero didn't have any redeeming qualities. He didn't really apologies for his treatment. And if the heroine wasn't so stubborn and insisted on staying and finding out the root of the problem, he would have lost her and the child. But this didn't seem to faze him. He just said "I love you too" and everything was all right.
This story could have been a lot better.
There were many time lapses, huge jumps, from one sentence to the next. The reader misses so much of their relationship.
It was very superficial. Everything just scratched the surface. The problems were pointed out and hastily discussed, but they lacked depth.
I hated how the hero used her. I hated how he left her after he took her virginity. And I hated how she just went back to his bed after that.
The hero didn't have any redeeming qualities. He didn't really apologies for his treatment. And if the heroine wasn't so stubborn and insisted on staying and finding out the root of the problem, he would have lost her and the child. But this didn't seem to faze him. He just said "I love you too" and everything was all right.
This story could have been a lot better.
July 21, 2015
This is not one of my favorite Michelle Reid books. It is still good because she is such a wonderful writer, but it lacks the intensity of her other books that makes me an avid reader. I didn’t like the fact that we never got the Hero’s POV which makes Michelle Reid’s books special. I did not like that the ending was sort of rushed and there were no great love declarations from the hero. Most HP stories are very similar in so many ways but what makes Ms. Reid books special is the intensity and angst and knowing how the hero feels. I did not feel him, I did not understand him and the heroine was too flat sometimes. I still give it a 3 stars because it was better than many of the non-Michelle Reid romance out there.
June 4, 2021
He wanted the baby...
Claire Stenson was trying to look after her baby sister alone. She was on the verge of taking drastic action when she met Andreas Markopoulou, a sexy Greek tycoon -- and the answer to her prayers.
Andreas offered to marry Claire and adopt Melanie. His adored grandmother longed to hold her great-grandchild before she died. It seemed Andreas would go to any lengths to grant his grandmother's wish, even if that meant deceiving everybody -- including his new bride.
Claire Stenson was trying to look after her baby sister alone. She was on the verge of taking drastic action when she met Andreas Markopoulou, a sexy Greek tycoon -- and the answer to her prayers.
Andreas offered to marry Claire and adopt Melanie. His adored grandmother longed to hold her great-grandchild before she died. It seemed Andreas would go to any lengths to grant his grandmother's wish, even if that meant deceiving everybody -- including his new bride.
September 7, 2011
This book was just kind of boring. Not bad though. The heroine just seemed to be put upon and willing to take the road presented to her.
November 22, 2013
I was in the mood for OTT emotions and exclamation marks galore - this didn’t disappoint in that regard. But not a memorable read for me.
July 4, 2018
Not the best read but it was fine.
They were a bit of an odd couple he was written to sound older than he should have been. Made their coupling really weird and almost wrong.
They were a bit of an odd couple he was written to sound older than he should have been. Made their coupling really weird and almost wrong.
March 9, 2025
Saccharine, soapy, melodramatic, and (unintentionally?) comical story of an English Mary Sue entering a marriage of convenience with a Greek tycoon to save her orphaned baby sister from a life of abject poverty. The tycoon's bargain is that they will pretend to his dying grandmother that this baby is his love child so that grandma may finally fulfill her wish of holding a great-grandchild in her arms before dying. LoL! Only in Harlequinlandia :)
It isn't long before our virginal waif jumps her husband's bones for a blissful consummation. The two of them decide they might as well make a go at a real marriage since they get along so well both in and out of the sheets. Baby is taken well care of by the hero's army of nannies and governesses so the hero and the heroine are enjoying a long honeymoon.
The dark moment comes when the heroine learns that the tycoon did not pick her randomly off the street for his marriage scheme. He had targeted her because her baby sister IS in fact related to him by blood. Heroine's mother was hero's married brother's mistress. Heroine's mother died after giving birth to the baby. Hero's brother died before knowing he had a love child. Heroine's aunt was the only one to know the truth. She blackmailed hero for money or she would spill the beans to the tabloids and create a huge Escandalo that would hurt hero's frail grandmother. Hero paid off the aunt and lied and manipulated the heroine into marriage just so he could adopt the baby and bring her back to Greece as his rightful heir.
You think that was enough of a soap opera? Nope, not even close. Hero was desperate to claim his brother's love child because he believes that he himself is infertile. His dearly departed first wife told him so and tortured him with teary scenes for 6 years, where she would brandish negative pregnancy tests in his face on a monthly basis. She eventually became so depressed that she committed suicide. Hero has been grieving and become emotionally closed off since then. He thinks he is not worthy of the heroine and she will leave him due to his Great, Big, Traumatik Seekret.
Heroine is horrified to hear this as well as perplexed because she believes she is pregnant by the hero. But before she can reveal the news, she goes sleuthing to... none other than the first wife's OBGYN. LMAO. Not only does the OBGYN confirm the heroine's pregnancy but he reveals that it was hero's first wife who was infertile, not the other way around. First wife was so afraid her husband would discover the truth that she tormented him to the point that when he went to get a fertility test, he was so stressed that his results showed a low sperm count!!! omg I can't even...
I swear, whatever the author was smoking at the time she wrote this, I need some!
It isn't long before our virginal waif jumps her husband's bones for a blissful consummation. The two of them decide they might as well make a go at a real marriage since they get along so well both in and out of the sheets. Baby is taken well care of by the hero's army of nannies and governesses so the hero and the heroine are enjoying a long honeymoon.
The dark moment comes when the heroine learns that the tycoon did not pick her randomly off the street for his marriage scheme. He had targeted her because her baby sister IS in fact related to him by blood. Heroine's mother was hero's married brother's mistress. Heroine's mother died after giving birth to the baby. Hero's brother died before knowing he had a love child. Heroine's aunt was the only one to know the truth. She blackmailed hero for money or she would spill the beans to the tabloids and create a huge Escandalo that would hurt hero's frail grandmother. Hero paid off the aunt and lied and manipulated the heroine into marriage just so he could adopt the baby and bring her back to Greece as his rightful heir.
You think that was enough of a soap opera? Nope, not even close. Hero was desperate to claim his brother's love child because he believes that he himself is infertile. His dearly departed first wife told him so and tortured him with teary scenes for 6 years, where she would brandish negative pregnancy tests in his face on a monthly basis. She eventually became so depressed that she committed suicide. Hero has been grieving and become emotionally closed off since then. He thinks he is not worthy of the heroine and she will leave him due to his Great, Big, Traumatik Seekret.
Heroine is horrified to hear this as well as perplexed because she believes she is pregnant by the hero. But before she can reveal the news, she goes sleuthing to... none other than the first wife's OBGYN. LMAO. Not only does the OBGYN confirm the heroine's pregnancy but he reveals that it was hero's first wife who was infertile, not the other way around. First wife was so afraid her husband would discover the truth that she tormented him to the point that when he went to get a fertility test, he was so stressed that his results showed a low sperm count!!! omg I can't even...
I swear, whatever the author was smoking at the time she wrote this, I need some!
May 8, 2024
Huh...
I think I'm too old for this novel. Which is odd because I was way too young when i started M&B books (12y). The whole thing was a ridiculous sham brought on by a misunderstanding that could have been sorted out by a single conversation. I don't want to climb on a soap box here but men who gaslight women then apolo-lie are not for me but hey, to each their own
I think I'm too old for this novel. Which is odd because I was way too young when i started M&B books (12y). The whole thing was a ridiculous sham brought on by a misunderstanding that could have been sorted out by a single conversation. I don't want to climb on a soap box here but men who gaslight women then apolo-lie are not for me but hey, to each their own
March 17, 2019
This is a good one, but nothing particularly sticks out about the heroine.
July 1, 2019
No diría que fue increíble ... pero la historia estaba llena de angustia tradicional de Michelle Reid y un giro único al final que nunca vi venir.
December 31, 2021
Good Old Fashioned Fun!
Oh, the Cinderella story, scheming relatives, jealous women, babies, unexpected pregnancies, and alpha Greek males. The only thing missing was a yacht.
Oh, the Cinderella story, scheming relatives, jealous women, babies, unexpected pregnancies, and alpha Greek males. The only thing missing was a yacht.
August 4, 2023
Eh ok I guess
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