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أريد حياتك... فقط!
-لكل شخص ثمن يا كارولين، وأنا أريد أن أتأكد من ثمنك. هذا كل شيء...
-لن أصفح عنك قطّ لهذا...
منذ سبع سنوات وقعت كارولين في غرام لويس فازكيز، ولأن لويس غدر بها فقد هربت لا تريد أن تراه مرة أخرى...
والآن، عادت إلى إسبانيا لأن أباها موين للويس بالمال، حيث أُر
-لن أصفح عنك قطّ لهذا...
منذ سبع سنوات وقعت كارولين في غرام لويس فازكيز، ولأن لويس غدر بها فقد هربت لا تريد أن تراه مرة أخرى...
والآن، عادت إلى إسبانيا لأن أباها موين للويس بالمال، حيث أُر
160 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2000
37 people are currently reading
204 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Reid
389 books639 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 42 reviews
August 23, 2019
Re The Spanish Husband - Michelle Reid brings us a blackmail into marriage combined with sewer slurping relatives story in this HP outing to Marbella and Cordoba Spain.
When this one starts, our blonde and amethyst eyed, but non-unicorn grooming, h has just realized that her English Aristocrat father has lapsed into his rakehell gambling ways again. She is in a fancy casino hotel in Puerto Banús, Marbella on the Costa del Sol of Spain.
There is a weird guy in the elevator with her and he reminds the h of her former lover from seven years earlier. When he bruises her arm as she is trying to get away from him, the h feels a sudden chill of apprehension tingling down her spine and raising the hairs on the back of her neck.
The h is right to be afraid. We soon learn that her father has lost hundred of thousands of pounds because of his gambling and in true classic HPlandia tradition, the man holding the promissory notes is none other that the lover she walked out on seven years earlier.
The h believed her father when he told her that her former lover had been lurving her up during the day and fleecing her gambling addicted father at night.
Now, after a big casino confrontation and poker game challenge, the h learns that the H now owns a huge hotel empire and is determined to make the h his paramour again.
In return, the H will bail out her father financially and keep him on the straight and narrow henceforth.
The h is appalled at first, but then realizes that the lurve force mojo generated between them has never really gone away. We get a heated interlude by the hotel pool and then the H springs a surprise meeting with his large Spanish family on the h.
Since the h always believed the H was an orphan who came up the hard way on the tough streets of New York City, the aristocratic Spanish family is a shocker.
Especially when the H announces he is the new Condé to a Spanish Valley inheritance and that the h will have to become his wife.
It seems that the H's father was a Grandes de España and left his entire estate to the H upon his death. The H is very cynical that he only got it because his half-brother, his father's legitimate son by the H's aunt, is too poor to afford the upkeep on such large estate.
The h's father gets a nice comeuppance when the H announces the big engagement and the h's father finally realizes that his lies and deceit have forced his daughter to basically sell herself to the H. He collapses with a coronary incident, leaving the h in the clutches of the H.
(Tho the h doesn't exactly see it that way. She is mad that the H is trying to make this a business deal and she worries that the H, who uses a scorpion as his logo, may be planning to wed and then dump her as a form of revenge for their past breakup. But the H is really the only man for her and she loves him madly, so she is willing to work with what she can get.)
We get some purple passion on the way to the H's family estate, which is in a big , mountainous valley and a lovely Cordoba bit of travelogue.
When we all arrive at the estate, we learn that the elevator creepy guy is the H's half brother and his aunt doesn't look too happy to see the H's arrival either, but she isn't truly malicious, just a bit sad and forlorn.
As the h acclimates to her new situation and her father has been dispatched back to England, the true secrets of the H's family start to unfold.
Since the wedding is to be in a week, the h tries to puzzle out why the H's aunt looks so scared and what exactly is going on around the place.
While the h is cogitating on the contents of the H's father's diaries that were given to her by the local priest, we get a bit more purple passion and the standard HP shopping spree.
Tho the h is worried, we learn that the H loves the h so much, he forgo reconnecting with his father seven years earlier in order to pursue a relationship with her.
Even tho the H has never told her he loves her, the h is pretty enthused by his determination to capture and keep her.
Right before the wedding, we learn that the h's father really is a sewer slurping slime pustule. Seven years earlier the H let the h's father win thousands of pounds off of him every night, to keep the slime pustule from getting further into gambling trouble.
Then the h's father lied about the H trying to game him and because the h believed her father over the H, the whole big separation and the years of h's sadness and sorrow become big burdens for her conscience in her treatment of the H.
After the H and h marry, the h apologizes to the H for doubting him and the H brushes off her guilt. Then, in a hugely dramatic moment, the H's half brother kidnaps the h from the wedding reception. He claims he is going to claim the H's wedding night, as revenge for being disinherited.
In a wild car ride up the side of a treacherous mountain, the h reveals that the reason the half brother was disinherited is because his mother was a lying, cheating Tarty Mc Tartlet. The H's aunt had an affair with the married best friend of the H's father.
When she found out she was baking a bun in the oven, she set up the H's mother to make it look like the H's mum was having an affair with the married BFF and then got her banished by the H's father to NYC.
The aunt then moved in on the H's father and married him, thinking that her son would now get the whole pot of gold that the H's father represented. But the H's father knew as soon as he looked at the 'half brother' that the boy was not his child.
Thirty four years of resentment and bitterness and badly treated children later, the h forces the half brother to recognize that his not being the son of the H's father is not the H's fault.
The kidnapping wanna be heir manages to wreck the car after the h pulls the safety handbrake and the h manages to escape and wait for the H to rescue her.
Which he does, and the h has to explain to him about his past and his father's diaries. There is a big forgiveness scene with the H's aunt and the aunt announces that she and her son will be making their lives away from the H's estate. (The H's father did leave them some unconnected land and cash, so it won't be too hard for them.)
This allows the H and h to finally have their wedding night, the H admits that he had told the h's father that he loved her and wanted to marry her seven years earlier, but that her snobbish aristocratic father had said the h was too good for him.
Even tho the H agrees that the h is too good and kind and sweet to be married to him, the h tells him he is totally wrong, he is the only man for her and we leave the two of them lurving it up for the pink sparkly HEA.
This one is very well done. It has a lot of intensity, but very little direct interaction with the H. We only see the H through the filter of the h's perception, so we have to infer a lot of his actions.
However MR has the skill to show the H's feelings and motivations, even through the interpretation of the h's point of view, so it makes for a very satisfying HPlandia outing.
When this one starts, our blonde and amethyst eyed, but non-unicorn grooming, h has just realized that her English Aristocrat father has lapsed into his rakehell gambling ways again. She is in a fancy casino hotel in Puerto Banús, Marbella on the Costa del Sol of Spain.
There is a weird guy in the elevator with her and he reminds the h of her former lover from seven years earlier. When he bruises her arm as she is trying to get away from him, the h feels a sudden chill of apprehension tingling down her spine and raising the hairs on the back of her neck.
The h is right to be afraid. We soon learn that her father has lost hundred of thousands of pounds because of his gambling and in true classic HPlandia tradition, the man holding the promissory notes is none other that the lover she walked out on seven years earlier.
The h believed her father when he told her that her former lover had been lurving her up during the day and fleecing her gambling addicted father at night.
Now, after a big casino confrontation and poker game challenge, the h learns that the H now owns a huge hotel empire and is determined to make the h his paramour again.
In return, the H will bail out her father financially and keep him on the straight and narrow henceforth.
The h is appalled at first, but then realizes that the lurve force mojo generated between them has never really gone away. We get a heated interlude by the hotel pool and then the H springs a surprise meeting with his large Spanish family on the h.
Since the h always believed the H was an orphan who came up the hard way on the tough streets of New York City, the aristocratic Spanish family is a shocker.
Especially when the H announces he is the new Condé to a Spanish Valley inheritance and that the h will have to become his wife.
It seems that the H's father was a Grandes de España and left his entire estate to the H upon his death. The H is very cynical that he only got it because his half-brother, his father's legitimate son by the H's aunt, is too poor to afford the upkeep on such large estate.
The h's father gets a nice comeuppance when the H announces the big engagement and the h's father finally realizes that his lies and deceit have forced his daughter to basically sell herself to the H. He collapses with a coronary incident, leaving the h in the clutches of the H.
(Tho the h doesn't exactly see it that way. She is mad that the H is trying to make this a business deal and she worries that the H, who uses a scorpion as his logo, may be planning to wed and then dump her as a form of revenge for their past breakup. But the H is really the only man for her and she loves him madly, so she is willing to work with what she can get.)
We get some purple passion on the way to the H's family estate, which is in a big , mountainous valley and a lovely Cordoba bit of travelogue.
When we all arrive at the estate, we learn that the elevator creepy guy is the H's half brother and his aunt doesn't look too happy to see the H's arrival either, but she isn't truly malicious, just a bit sad and forlorn.
As the h acclimates to her new situation and her father has been dispatched back to England, the true secrets of the H's family start to unfold.
Since the wedding is to be in a week, the h tries to puzzle out why the H's aunt looks so scared and what exactly is going on around the place.
While the h is cogitating on the contents of the H's father's diaries that were given to her by the local priest, we get a bit more purple passion and the standard HP shopping spree.
Tho the h is worried, we learn that the H loves the h so much, he forgo reconnecting with his father seven years earlier in order to pursue a relationship with her.
Even tho the H has never told her he loves her, the h is pretty enthused by his determination to capture and keep her.
Right before the wedding, we learn that the h's father really is a sewer slurping slime pustule. Seven years earlier the H let the h's father win thousands of pounds off of him every night, to keep the slime pustule from getting further into gambling trouble.
Then the h's father lied about the H trying to game him and because the h believed her father over the H, the whole big separation and the years of h's sadness and sorrow become big burdens for her conscience in her treatment of the H.
After the H and h marry, the h apologizes to the H for doubting him and the H brushes off her guilt. Then, in a hugely dramatic moment, the H's half brother kidnaps the h from the wedding reception. He claims he is going to claim the H's wedding night, as revenge for being disinherited.
In a wild car ride up the side of a treacherous mountain, the h reveals that the reason the half brother was disinherited is because his mother was a lying, cheating Tarty Mc Tartlet. The H's aunt had an affair with the married best friend of the H's father.
When she found out she was baking a bun in the oven, she set up the H's mother to make it look like the H's mum was having an affair with the married BFF and then got her banished by the H's father to NYC.
The aunt then moved in on the H's father and married him, thinking that her son would now get the whole pot of gold that the H's father represented. But the H's father knew as soon as he looked at the 'half brother' that the boy was not his child.
Thirty four years of resentment and bitterness and badly treated children later, the h forces the half brother to recognize that his not being the son of the H's father is not the H's fault.
The kidnapping wanna be heir manages to wreck the car after the h pulls the safety handbrake and the h manages to escape and wait for the H to rescue her.
Which he does, and the h has to explain to him about his past and his father's diaries. There is a big forgiveness scene with the H's aunt and the aunt announces that she and her son will be making their lives away from the H's estate. (The H's father did leave them some unconnected land and cash, so it won't be too hard for them.)
This allows the H and h to finally have their wedding night, the H admits that he had told the h's father that he loved her and wanted to marry her seven years earlier, but that her snobbish aristocratic father had said the h was too good for him.
Even tho the H agrees that the h is too good and kind and sweet to be married to him, the h tells him he is totally wrong, he is the only man for her and we leave the two of them lurving it up for the pink sparkly HEA.
This one is very well done. It has a lot of intensity, but very little direct interaction with the H. We only see the H through the filter of the h's perception, so we have to infer a lot of his actions.
However MR has the skill to show the H's feelings and motivations, even through the interpretation of the h's point of view, so it makes for a very satisfying HPlandia outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2017
Why explain what happened to break you up seven years before when you can just blackmail your true love into marriage and then deal with it all later? This is the true HP alpha way and for the first five or so chapters the heroine is reeling from their first meeting at an exclusive casino in Spain, her father's gambling habit running amok again, and the very tight-lipped hero running roughshod over her. This is all very Harlequin Presents.
But then the plot thickens as the H/h travel to the interior of Spain to see the hero's rightful inheritance (a valley with a castle and a village and a priest). Lots of fun Gothic family vibes for the heroine to "enjoy" as she waits for her wedding. I really enjoyed the second half of the story, but it is not MR's usual OTT angsty style. The heroine is in the hero's corner and that was nice to see. Just a solid story all around with a few surprises thrown in.
But then the plot thickens as the H/h travel to the interior of Spain to see the hero's rightful inheritance (a valley with a castle and a village and a priest). Lots of fun Gothic family vibes for the heroine to "enjoy" as she waits for her wedding. I really enjoyed the second half of the story, but it is not MR's usual OTT angsty style. The heroine is in the hero's corner and that was nice to see. Just a solid story all around with a few surprises thrown in.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2016
Michelle Reid rarely disappoints and I thoroughly enjoy her stories as she writes about h/Hs who bond at every level and the passion is as hot as you would want it.
But there was something a little off about this one as the H was too aloof, and even the h falling (back) for him so soon and so thoroughly didn’t make up for his perpetual emotional withdrawal. The author lets through that his aloofness was all a façade by highlighting his unrelenting pursuit of her and also his ‘trembling hands’ now and then. But when he does ‘get’ her, what was the reason of his continuing coldness and ignoring her?
All this when we are told that he talked a lot about himself and his ‘illegitimate-fostered-orphan’ past with her when they were together seven years ago.
The story is in two parts in the present. The first when the former lovers– the professional card player, now casino owner and the daughter of a gambling addict - meet again in Puerto Banus after seven years. There is an obvious MU going on about the past and the H does not help, with him seemingly not discouraging the h’s father from losing everything at the table. He then blackmails her into agreeing to marry him in lieu of preventing her father from further self-destruction.
The story then shifts into a completely different orbit as it is revealed that not only is he a rich man now, but has also inherited an ancient title that comes with a castle and a valley of its own! That bit was a bit difficult to swallow but then we are swept away into a family history of past betrayals, heartaches, self serving wickedness, estrangements, revenge and a whole new set of characters troop in. So the feeling of being lost and confused seeps through the h to us, the reader.
Another questionable miss was why dint the H get back close to his father and his family as he supposedly intended to do 7 years ago? If his heartache and missed wedding to the h was the reason, then it was too flimsy to be believed.
But it still had that unmissable MR feel and pulls you in for those two hours as you yo yo about with the mc’s emotions and actions.
It had a lot of memorable moments too like when the H drags the h to that modest hotel when he couldn’t ‘control’ himself and then both of them returning to that room again for a cozy weekend.
But there was something a little off about this one as the H was too aloof, and even the h falling (back) for him so soon and so thoroughly didn’t make up for his perpetual emotional withdrawal. The author lets through that his aloofness was all a façade by highlighting his unrelenting pursuit of her and also his ‘trembling hands’ now and then. But when he does ‘get’ her, what was the reason of his continuing coldness and ignoring her?
All this when we are told that he talked a lot about himself and his ‘illegitimate-fostered-orphan’ past with her when they were together seven years ago.
The story is in two parts in the present. The first when the former lovers– the professional card player, now casino owner and the daughter of a gambling addict - meet again in Puerto Banus after seven years. There is an obvious MU going on about the past and the H does not help, with him seemingly not discouraging the h’s father from losing everything at the table. He then blackmails her into agreeing to marry him in lieu of preventing her father from further self-destruction.
The story then shifts into a completely different orbit as it is revealed that not only is he a rich man now, but has also inherited an ancient title that comes with a castle and a valley of its own! That bit was a bit difficult to swallow but then we are swept away into a family history of past betrayals, heartaches, self serving wickedness, estrangements, revenge and a whole new set of characters troop in. So the feeling of being lost and confused seeps through the h to us, the reader.
Another questionable miss was why dint the H get back close to his father and his family as he supposedly intended to do 7 years ago? If his heartache and missed wedding to the h was the reason, then it was too flimsy to be believed.
But it still had that unmissable MR feel and pulls you in for those two hours as you yo yo about with the mc’s emotions and actions.
It had a lot of memorable moments too like when the H drags the h to that modest hotel when he couldn’t ‘control’ himself and then both of them returning to that room again for a cozy weekend.
February 6, 2018
“The Spanish Husband” is the story of Caroline and Luiz.
Basically, the couple was passionately in love until h realizes H made her father destitute while sleeping with her and leaves him.
Seven years later, she finds herself in a similar predicament when her father decides to get bitten by the gambling bug again and she comes to face with the owner of the casino, Luiz- who asks her to sleep, later marry him to prevent her from further bankruptcy.
Then we have loads and loads and loads of drama involving illegitimate kids, evil stepbrothers, truth revelations and a passion that never died.
What I liked about this book was the usual- understanding, non asshole hero; heroine with a brain and backbone and loads of love.
However I still found excessive drama in this book, especially with the stepbrother- and thought it could have ended better and less abruptly.
SWE
2/5
Basically, the couple was passionately in love until h realizes H made her father destitute while sleeping with her and leaves him.
Seven years later, she finds herself in a similar predicament when her father decides to get bitten by the gambling bug again and she comes to face with the owner of the casino, Luiz- who asks her to sleep, later marry him to prevent her from further bankruptcy.
Then we have loads and loads and loads of drama involving illegitimate kids, evil stepbrothers, truth revelations and a passion that never died.
What I liked about this book was the usual- understanding, non asshole hero; heroine with a brain and backbone and loads of love.
However I still found excessive drama in this book, especially with the stepbrother- and thought it could have ended better and less abruptly.
SWE
2/5
January 16, 2016
Oh boy, did I LOVE this book!
February 1, 2021
Reread 1/31/2021
Not my favorite MR, but it’s still good.
He’s obviously smitten, but goes about things in a typical HP alpha way, communication skills are obviously lacking—because of this and her lying father they’ve wasted 7 years.
Not my favorite MR, but it’s still good.
He’s obviously smitten, but goes about things in a typical HP alpha way, communication skills are obviously lacking—because of this and her lying father they’ve wasted 7 years.
November 17, 2016
Encontré esta novelita en el canje y como es de Michelle Reid, que tiene sus aciertos, y para colmo es de las viejitas, me enganchó bastante.
Ese tire y afloje de odio y amor, y el hecho de que el protagonista estuviera tan consumido por la pasión como para llevarla a un telo, me llamó la atención. El final fue un poco medio dramático y exagetado, pero está bien para ser un oldie y cumplió con entretener.
Ese tire y afloje de odio y amor, y el hecho de que el protagonista estuviera tan consumido por la pasión como para llevarla a un telo, me llamó la atención. El final fue un poco medio dramático y exagetado, pero está bien para ser un oldie y cumplió con entretener.
July 28, 2020
Read this as part of a bundle book by this author. This was the second book I read but it was similar to the first in that the couple knew each other before (7 years ago) but the author barely details their past relationship. Then the story ends quite abruptly with no epilogue showing them living happily ever after.
May 30, 2014
Less angst and intensity than your typical Michelle Reid romance. Still enjoyable!
October 14, 2020
I will reread it soon...
June 4, 2021
Seven years ago Caroline had fallen in love and into bed with Luiz Vazquez. Thinking he'd betrayed her, she'd fled to England hoping never to see him again. Now, because her father owes money to Luiz, Caroline has had to return to Spain.
Receiving a proposal of marriage from the powerful Spaniard, she is forced to accept. But marrying Luiz so he can secure his inheritance is one thing. Falling passionately in love with him again is quite another....
Receiving a proposal of marriage from the powerful Spaniard, she is forced to accept. But marrying Luiz so he can secure his inheritance is one thing. Falling passionately in love with him again is quite another....
June 5, 2019
My twelfth read by Michelle Reid, the story opens on an agitated Caroline Newbury, anxiously waiting for her father to get back to their room from his evening stroll. Putting up at a hotel in Puerto Banús in Marbella, where she had faced humiliation and suffered a broken heart seven years ago at the hands of one Luiz Vazquez. The same one who now owned the hotel they were staying in, which means we are in for one hell of a revengeful, angtsy ride.
Luiz has a dirty proposition to let go of all her father's debts, that they continue from where they left off seven years ago. And that he marry her. Though Caroline agrees to everything, for her gambler of a father, she couldn't not forget Luiz's betrayal all those years ago.
There is one surprise after another in this second chance story. Where earlier it was mostly the two of them, with the exception of her father, there is now Luiz's big Spanish family, a family who loves to hate him. But there's another shocker in store, Luiz's father's diary, which the padre of the local church hands over to Caroline. And their little hidey-hole was so charming, their secret place. And quite thrilling at the end. Though the reality of Luiz's family was really sad, what happened all those years ago.
P.S. This seems to be becoming a popular place in Harlequin books. I remember reading The Playboy of Puerto Banús by Carol Marinelli, and that name instantly clicked.
Luiz has a dirty proposition to let go of all her father's debts, that they continue from where they left off seven years ago. And that he marry her. Though Caroline agrees to everything, for her gambler of a father, she couldn't not forget Luiz's betrayal all those years ago.
There is one surprise after another in this second chance story. Where earlier it was mostly the two of them, with the exception of her father, there is now Luiz's big Spanish family, a family who loves to hate him. But there's another shocker in store, Luiz's father's diary, which the padre of the local church hands over to Caroline. And their little hidey-hole was so charming, their secret place. And quite thrilling at the end. Though the reality of Luiz's family was really sad, what happened all those years ago.
P.S. This seems to be becoming a popular place in Harlequin books. I remember reading The Playboy of Puerto Banús by Carol Marinelli, and that name instantly clicked.
March 22, 2021
I've reread this one several times and enjoyed it.
June 8, 2016
Loved this book. Last chapter had me on the edge of my seat! Where is Michelle Reid these days? Haven't seen a new book for four years, I read somewhere that she was ill. Hope she is doing better. She seems to be an author that readers either love or hate, with me being in the former! The Hero did lack some depth, I can only run with the "strong, silent type" scenario. One of the other comments asked a lot of questions about him - for whatever reason, the author chose not to enlighten us. Overall, I think this book would be in my top five Michelle Reid books. Others being Gold Ring of Betrayal, Marchese's Forgotten Bride, The Unforgettable Husband and The Ultimate Betrayal.
December 16, 2025
Seven years ago Caroline had fallen in love with Luiz Vazquez but he betrayed her or did he? Now they are both in Spain and meet up again.
May 20, 2020
A little bit all over the place - the gambling issue goes by the wayside when the nobility issue comes up - but Reid deals with all her characters, including the villains, with compassion and a certain amount of sympathy. My problems were two - firstly, there was too much backstory and it was kind of shoehorned in at the end (the heroine finds some diaries and reads them but we don't learn what they contained until the big reveal), and secondly, gambling grosses me out. Reid addresses the fact that the heroine's father has a gambling addiction and some of the consequences of that, but she doesn't address the issue of dealing with it - the hero tells the heroine he'll take over dealing with her father so she doesn't have to worry about it any more, which was a cop-out - and she also doesn't address the fact that the hero is a casino owner, which is kind of disgusting. Like, no offense, but how many of the people keeping him in business are, like the heroine's father, gambling addicts? It's great that he's so hot for the heroine that he'll forgive her father's debts, but what about everyone else's parents?
November 18, 2023
The heroine has amethyst colored eyes, I will not forget that fact, the author often mentions her eyes and never without adding amethyst.
The MCs had an affair seven years ago and met via her father. He and her lover played cards, her father was a gaming addict and still is. In the meantime he has gambled away all their money, the estate and also is highly in debt. The plot is nothing new: the hero buys all loans and debts and so forces the heroines hand.
The heroine is a doormat enabling her father to pursue gambling and feeling sorry for herself. I couldnt bear it an longer and stopped reading.
The MCs had an affair seven years ago and met via her father. He and her lover played cards, her father was a gaming addict and still is. In the meantime he has gambled away all their money, the estate and also is highly in debt. The plot is nothing new: the hero buys all loans and debts and so forces the heroines hand.
The heroine is a doormat enabling her father to pursue gambling and feeling sorry for herself. I couldnt bear it an longer and stopped reading.
August 11, 2020
I’ve always liked this particular author, her stories are always emotional and often angsty. This particular tale was mostly about families both the heroine’s and the heroes, and how family members can affect your life.
7 years ago our two leads met and were lovers, then something happened and it caused a rift. Present day they meet again under very similar circumstances. Except this time they’re moving all the obstacles out of the way to their HEA. I liked how the story played out.
7 years ago our two leads met and were lovers, then something happened and it caused a rift. Present day they meet again under very similar circumstances. Except this time they’re moving all the obstacles out of the way to their HEA. I liked how the story played out.
April 24, 2019
The Spanish Husband
This was about two people who were torn apart by lies. And a second chance at love. He wanted her seven years ago. But her father's addiction torn them apart. Now there is a bit of suspense factor in this book. It added just the right amount of angst in the reveal in the end.
This was about two people who were torn apart by lies. And a second chance at love. He wanted her seven years ago. But her father's addiction torn them apart. Now there is a bit of suspense factor in this book. It added just the right amount of angst in the reveal in the end.
February 11, 2021
Big misunderstanding in this book where H is in love with heroine but she thinks he deceived her and her father years ago. The truth comes out eventually. Hero is not a bad one, in the beginning he seems to be seeking revenge for heroine's dumping him but we understand that he's only trying to win her back, even if this mean to have a father in law who is an addict (a gambler).
November 30, 2019
This is really 3.5, rounded up. I rather liked this one more than most. It wasn't filled with ridiculous empty protests or feminine vapors. It was rather believable with a couple of exceptions that I can't mention without giving things away. All in all, it was good.
December 31, 2021
الأبناء يضرسون.. جزء من مثل عن دفع الابناء ثمن خطايا الآباء.
الاب مدمن قمار حتى مع الديون لم يستطع التخلي عن تلك العادة السيئة وحان الآن وقت دفع الدين.. ابنته مضطرة للزواج من المدين لتنقذ والدها.. وللأسف هو لم يكن شخص تجهله، على العكس تماما هو رجل أحبته يوما ما لكن....
الاب مدمن قمار حتى مع الديون لم يستطع التخلي عن تلك العادة السيئة وحان الآن وقت دفع الدين.. ابنته مضطرة للزواج من المدين لتنقذ والدها.. وللأسف هو لم يكن شخص تجهله، على العكس تماما هو رجل أحبته يوما ما لكن....
May 8, 2017
Exciting car rides up and down the mountains, beautiful setting, rich back story between our couple Luiz and Caroline, convoluted family history with a satisfactory ending.
October 25, 2020
It’s weird to separate seven years and be together again so easily.
April 7, 2021
I really liked this book.
January 7, 2024
Ultimately, it was boring
November 1, 2025
Michelle Reid knows how to write a perfect Harlequin!!
March 18, 2013
2.5 stars
I really didn't get to know the male lead character. His character was not developed enough for the readers to get to know him. We have no background information about him from the age of 9 when he went to a foster home until 7 years ago when he was invited to one of the most exclusive resort casinos in Spain. What was he doing for the past 7 years? All we learned about him was that he bought a night club from a friend in NYC and sold it two years later and now he is a billionaire and the head of an international group owning banks, casinos, resorts.... How did a boy in a foster care and no education end up becoming so rich? How was his character shaped in those years?
There was a lot of pages spent on describing the landscape surrounding of the castle or the roads, hotels or the villages between destination A to B and I thought there was more sex scenes in this little book than usual. It would have been fine if the book was longer but it wasn't for such a short book.
The aunt's manipulations and the pain she caused over the years, a little boy growing up on the streets of NY, the daughter of a gambling addict... so much potential but instead I thought I was cheated because there was such a great premise for an emotional read but it was not taken advantage of.
I really didn't get to know the male lead character. His character was not developed enough for the readers to get to know him. We have no background information about him from the age of 9 when he went to a foster home until 7 years ago when he was invited to one of the most exclusive resort casinos in Spain. What was he doing for the past 7 years? All we learned about him was that he bought a night club from a friend in NYC and sold it two years later and now he is a billionaire and the head of an international group owning banks, casinos, resorts.... How did a boy in a foster care and no education end up becoming so rich? How was his character shaped in those years?
There was a lot of pages spent on describing the landscape surrounding of the castle or the roads, hotels or the villages between destination A to B and I thought there was more sex scenes in this little book than usual. It would have been fine if the book was longer but it wasn't for such a short book.
The aunt's manipulations and the pain she caused over the years, a little boy growing up on the streets of NY, the daughter of a gambling addict... so much potential but instead I thought I was cheated because there was such a great premise for an emotional read but it was not taken advantage of.
August 18, 2015
I'm glad this was the main couple, and not one from the previous generation (H's father
As for this couple, 7 years ago h's father lied to h that he lost money to H, when in fact H was only playing to keep him engaged, and did not demand that he pay the money lost in gambling (h's father is a compulsive gambler).
Present day, H owns tons of companies and a bunch of casinos, and mortgages and loans and debts on h and her father, and their business (or whatever). And he sort of blackmails her into marriage.
I wish Felipe (the half-bro/first cousin) got his own story. Although I found it really hard to imagine how they could forgive what he did just because he has a tough time (ooh mommy didn't love me, and my daddy wasn't my daddy), when compared to the H (ending up in orphanage), he wasn't that bad off. Even setting that aside, as an adult, what you do is your choice. And trying to kidnap and rape the supposed usurper's (the H) wife is not so very excusable.
As for this couple, 7 years ago h's father lied to h that he lost money to H, when in fact H was only playing to keep him engaged, and did not demand that he pay the money lost in gambling (h's father is a compulsive gambler).
Present day, H owns tons of companies and a bunch of casinos, and mortgages and loans and debts on h and her father, and their business (or whatever). And he sort of blackmails her into marriage.
I wish Felipe (the half-bro/first cousin) got his own story. Although I found it really hard to imagine how they could forgive what he did just because he has a tough time (ooh mommy didn't love me, and my daddy wasn't my daddy), when compared to the H (ending up in orphanage), he wasn't that bad off. Even setting that aside, as an adult, what you do is your choice. And trying to kidnap and rape the supposed usurper's (the H) wife is not so very excusable.
October 6, 2010
I give this a fairly good review. I did find a shockingly bad typo on one of the last pages where the heroine, Caroline, was labeled Catherine! Wow at the end of the book where the story is winding up, that is not supposed to happen. I did enjoy the story although I've been away from newer authors of category romances for a long time. I will likely try a few more by this author as I like to have a quick read once in a while.
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