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Lion of Venice
"Then you must agree to be my bridegroom!" Jo Domini's impulsive behavior finally led her into trouble. It wasn't enough that she had insulted the Conte Leandro Tempera, aggravated her father and frustrated her sister who wished to marry. Now, she had lashed out in despair at the Italian custom requiring the older sister to be wed first. When Leandro accepted her challenge, Jo thought she could provoke him into rejecting her as a bride. But the seemingly calm, patient Leandro outwitted her!
187 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 4, 2017
This was a fun vintage gem. Heroine is the eldest daughter of an Italian businessman. She has been raised in England and has "feminist" notions - such as not marrying and getting an education in "science." The problem is that her younger sister is engaged and it's Italian tradition that she can't marry before her sister. So they are in Italy - Venice - to entertain the fiance's family and to look around for a husband for the h.
According to tradition they should be entertaining from their family home, but their grandmother is old and is worried about entertaining the fancy rich folk. So they are staying at the stately Palazzo of the hero, who happens to be head of the fiance's family. Heroine is not happy with this set up. She does not want a husband and she is determined to be obnoxious.
The first meeting of the H/h, the heroine has put her hair in pigtails and is wearing too much makeup and a t-shirt that says "I am a Bitch." Then she talks disparagingly of Venice. She leaves the house at night and has a coffee in a cafe and slaps a young man who is trying to flirt with her. Which lands her in jail.
She is glad to see the hero when he bails her out. Then she proposes to the hero as a dare - since he is the head of the family and this will solve the problem of his cousin not being able to marry her sister until she is wed. The hero agrees. The heroine is shocked that he accepted, but then concludes he must need her dowry to fiance his lifestyle.
The hero takes all of this on the chin. He has to be the nicest, most patient hero I've come across in vintage in a long, long time. He's courteous and indulgent and patient with this heroine who is coming to grips with her own sexuality. They do marry - there's no way out of it. But the hero does not press her for sex.
They have a lovely trip to the shore and the heroine finally starts to see him as a person. And is disabused of the notion that he married her for money. But she messes up again when he becomes too amorous and she hits him on the head with a rock and knocks him out.
Heroine thinks this will be her chance to escape back to England, but then she worries she's killed the hero. She runs back to the beach and finds him still lying there. She blurts out her feelings and hero opens his eyes. He was only dazed, but he decided to see if the h was really that indifferent to him as to leave him for dead. He was going to let her go if she was. HEA.
I'm leaving out a lot of the charm of the story. Heroine could have been a total horror show, but the author showed glimpses of her kinder nature. The hero was just great - from beginning to end. Yes, he has a weird view of female scientists (he thinks he's rescuing her from herself), but it's obvious he's smitten from the beginning and wouldn't change her.
I had a terrible copy from Open Library, so that diminished my enjoyment of this. I also missed a few transitions - such as when they married. I think some pages were missing.
According to tradition they should be entertaining from their family home, but their grandmother is old and is worried about entertaining the fancy rich folk. So they are staying at the stately Palazzo of the hero, who happens to be head of the fiance's family. Heroine is not happy with this set up. She does not want a husband and she is determined to be obnoxious.
The first meeting of the H/h, the heroine has put her hair in pigtails and is wearing too much makeup and a t-shirt that says "I am a Bitch." Then she talks disparagingly of Venice. She leaves the house at night and has a coffee in a cafe and slaps a young man who is trying to flirt with her. Which lands her in jail.
She is glad to see the hero when he bails her out. Then she proposes to the hero as a dare - since he is the head of the family and this will solve the problem of his cousin not being able to marry her sister until she is wed. The hero agrees. The heroine is shocked that he accepted, but then concludes he must need her dowry to fiance his lifestyle.
The hero takes all of this on the chin. He has to be the nicest, most patient hero I've come across in vintage in a long, long time. He's courteous and indulgent and patient with this heroine who is coming to grips with her own sexuality. They do marry - there's no way out of it. But the hero does not press her for sex.
They have a lovely trip to the shore and the heroine finally starts to see him as a person. And is disabused of the notion that he married her for money. But she messes up again when he becomes too amorous and she hits him on the head with a rock and knocks him out.
Heroine thinks this will be her chance to escape back to England, but then she worries she's killed the hero. She runs back to the beach and finds him still lying there. She blurts out her feelings and hero opens his eyes. He was only dazed, but he decided to see if the h was really that indifferent to him as to leave him for dead. He was going to let her go if she was. HEA.
I'm leaving out a lot of the charm of the story. Heroine could have been a total horror show, but the author showed glimpses of her kinder nature. The hero was just great - from beginning to end. Yes, he has a weird view of female scientists (he thinks he's rescuing her from herself), but it's obvious he's smitten from the beginning and wouldn't change her.
I had a terrible copy from Open Library, so that diminished my enjoyment of this. I also missed a few transitions - such as when they married. I think some pages were missing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2015
i absolutely loved it ! leo was besotted beyond imagination! it was so obvious he was madly in love wid joanna. she was such a spoilt brat and so childishly mean! she did not realise the obvious bcoz she was naive and had never been in a relationship before. this was fun and though they never had sex, it was passionate. i cud feel the chemistry between these two.
September 26, 2011
The heroine really is gutsy. The whole discussion about how British women are too advanced for their own good was entertaining (although not that convincing - Hey - I get to hear this argument from the men in my country ALL the time so there's something to be said for the entertainment factor in the story)
Lovely beta-ish hero.
You know it just struck me: The story of this book is like one Shakespeare's play and the title like another...Care to guess which? :P
Lovely beta-ish hero.
You know it just struck me: The story of this book is like one Shakespeare's play and the title like another...Care to guess which? :P
October 18, 2017
This was a blatant updating of The Taming of the Shrew. Jo is the eldest daughter of an Italian father and an English mother. Her younger sister is in love with a Venetian young man called Vincente and their father insists on the tradition that the older sister mush marry first.
English bred Jo is determined that she will become a scientist and may never marry, much to younger sister Sara's horror.
When they arrive to stay at Vincente's family home, his cousin, the Conte Leandro Tempera decides to take a hand. When Jo goads him by saying she would get married if he would be the groom, he promptly takes her up on the offer.
What follows is a reluctant and fiery Jo resisting the taming of Leo (the Lion of Venice) who is determined to woo the wench and tame her to his hand.
I enjoyed this, despite Jo's often childish rebellion. I've always loved The Taming of the Shrew and the various retellings. Kiss Me Kate was one of my favourite musicals of the era. Also Ten Things I Hate About You
English bred Jo is determined that she will become a scientist and may never marry, much to younger sister Sara's horror.
When they arrive to stay at Vincente's family home, his cousin, the Conte Leandro Tempera decides to take a hand. When Jo goads him by saying she would get married if he would be the groom, he promptly takes her up on the offer.
What follows is a reluctant and fiery Jo resisting the taming of Leo (the Lion of Venice) who is determined to woo the wench and tame her to his hand.
I enjoyed this, despite Jo's often childish rebellion. I've always loved The Taming of the Shrew and the various retellings. Kiss Me Kate was one of my favourite musicals of the era. Also Ten Things I Hate About You
April 18, 2015
When I was in high school, I didn't have much to do. We either didn't have internet, or had dial up which was pretty much the same as no internet. While other kids were IMing on AOL and playing Yahoo games, Minesweeper and I were tight. Couple that with having an unsavory home life (read low self esteem), and I was pretty much inflatable (all clothes from that time have long been donated). So, I ended up going to the library a lot. A LOT. At my first library sale, I noticed romance books, specifically 70s Harlequin romances. They were 5 for a dollar, 3 hours cover to cover, and the romance I so craved at the time, that I started to collect them (read boxes and boxes). Now, please understand, most of these books are quite horrendous. The plot is always the same: weak female meets overly masculine chauvinist pig, has to be close to him for a reason or another, she doesn't trust him, things get better, she freaks out over something, leaves in a hurry and doesn't tell anyone, he goes after her, everyone declares their love, the end. So most of these books are 1-2 stars at best by current society standards. Then why is this a 4 star?
Because this book is different. Jo, our female protagonist, has heart and courage. For once, the female lead doesn't just sit back, think woe is me and keep her (getting more outrageous by the minute) feelings and thoughts unvoiced. Jo is loud, and voices what she thinks. She may be scared or sad underneath her outspoken personality, but she never shied away from what she wants, regardless of what everyone else thinks. She goes up to her future husband and "proposes" to her f you're husband on a date, AND tells him multiple times after he accepts that he should release her from their agreement. Who does that? Most women would be so embarrassed they'd keep quiet and think themselves stupid, but Jo rises up. She rides up when she feels mistreated or misunderstood. Yes, sometimes she's too much as she tends to be overly dramatic with her outbursts, but that's Who she is and I love her for it. It's so realistic that I ended up loving her for her idiosyncrasies and faults rather than detest her.
Ah, and Leandro (I sincerely don't remember his name other than it had to do with a lion), he was a BREATH OF FRESH AIR. Out of hundreds of Harlequin romances from the 70s, do you know how many male leads are not chauvinist pigs or evil assholes in the beginning? Few (less than 2%). How many have his personality? A big fat ZERO. Oh my goodness, he has to be singlehandedly on of my top 5 Harlequin males ever. He was patient. He was kind. He didn't overrule Jo in a matter of wits or determination, but just quietly bid his time, realizing they're like yin and yang. He pacified her while she stirred him up, a perfect combination. He realized that the way to get to her is not to steamroll over who she is and her ideas, but rather listen, be kind and understanding, and humor her at times to get her trust. He saw underneath the outbursts and took care of that person while everyone saw only the surface.
Even the story was believable. Jo's sister wants to marry, but can't because Jo must marry first due to an old Italian custom their father won't let go.
Because this book is different. Jo, our female protagonist, has heart and courage. For once, the female lead doesn't just sit back, think woe is me and keep her (getting more outrageous by the minute) feelings and thoughts unvoiced. Jo is loud, and voices what she thinks. She may be scared or sad underneath her outspoken personality, but she never shied away from what she wants, regardless of what everyone else thinks. She goes up to her future husband and "proposes" to her f you're husband on a date, AND tells him multiple times after he accepts that he should release her from their agreement. Who does that? Most women would be so embarrassed they'd keep quiet and think themselves stupid, but Jo rises up. She rides up when she feels mistreated or misunderstood. Yes, sometimes she's too much as she tends to be overly dramatic with her outbursts, but that's Who she is and I love her for it. It's so realistic that I ended up loving her for her idiosyncrasies and faults rather than detest her.
Ah, and Leandro (I sincerely don't remember his name other than it had to do with a lion), he was a BREATH OF FRESH AIR. Out of hundreds of Harlequin romances from the 70s, do you know how many male leads are not chauvinist pigs or evil assholes in the beginning? Few (less than 2%). How many have his personality? A big fat ZERO. Oh my goodness, he has to be singlehandedly on of my top 5 Harlequin males ever. He was patient. He was kind. He didn't overrule Jo in a matter of wits or determination, but just quietly bid his time, realizing they're like yin and yang. He pacified her while she stirred him up, a perfect combination. He realized that the way to get to her is not to steamroll over who she is and her ideas, but rather listen, be kind and understanding, and humor her at times to get her trust. He saw underneath the outbursts and took care of that person while everyone saw only the surface.
Even the story was believable. Jo's sister wants to marry, but can't because Jo must marry first due to an old Italian custom their father won't let go.
January 4, 2018
37- عينان في الاسر
روايات احلام
بعض الناس، يا أنسة، يرون ما يرغبون في رؤيته فقط وأنت حاولت تقليد الرجال لكنك تحولت إلى فتاة أنانية سيئة الطباع، لن تجد من يتزوجها بسبب لسانها السليط أنت تتهمني بالأنانية، سيدي الكونت، وسأثبت أنك منافق كاذب أنا مستعدة للزواج ولكن شرط أن توافق على أن تكون أنت العريس"كان على أليكس أن تفكر كثيراً قبل أن ترمي تحديها في وجه النمر، لكن لسانها جنى عليها وما عاد ينفعها الندم....
روايات احلام
بعض الناس، يا أنسة، يرون ما يرغبون في رؤيته فقط وأنت حاولت تقليد الرجال لكنك تحولت إلى فتاة أنانية سيئة الطباع، لن تجد من يتزوجها بسبب لسانها السليط أنت تتهمني بالأنانية، سيدي الكونت، وسأثبت أنك منافق كاذب أنا مستعدة للزواج ولكن شرط أن توافق على أن تكون أنت العريس"كان على أليكس أن تفكر كثيراً قبل أن ترمي تحديها في وجه النمر، لكن لسانها جنى عليها وما عاد ينفعها الندم....
October 11, 2019
Then you must agree to be my bridegroom !"
Jo Domini's impulsive behavior finally led her into trouble.
It wasn't enough that she had insulted the Conte Leandro Tempera, aggravated her father and frustrated her sister who wished to marry. Now, she had lashed out in despair at the Italian custom requiring the older sister to be wed first.
When Leandro accepted her challenge, Jo thought she could provoke him into rejecting her as a bride. But the seemingly calm, patient Leandro outwitted her! (less)
Jo Domini's impulsive behavior finally led her into trouble.
It wasn't enough that she had insulted the Conte Leandro Tempera, aggravated her father and frustrated her sister who wished to marry. Now, she had lashed out in despair at the Italian custom requiring the older sister to be wed first.
When Leandro accepted her challenge, Jo thought she could provoke him into rejecting her as a bride. But the seemingly calm, patient Leandro outwitted her! (less)
July 10, 2017
"Personally, I would feel very reluctant to ask a scientist to share my bed; it would require a rare breed if man to make love to a brain machine." (Hmpf, as a scientist, you should be so lucky, Leo!)
Jesus, fuck, this hero is an outrageous asshole at the beginning. But then he turns into a calm force of nature with a gentle hand. I was getting excited there for a minute thinking about how much more shitty he could get. He tells her he loves her pretty early on, but she thinks he's just Casanova-ing her. Jo is a super feisty heroine. She almost kills him! She gets arrested!
"You are a child still, Jo, and with children one has to have patience-a bitter plant that yields sweet fruit."
"Don't be afraid of the lion, cara, he has more to offer than the playful puppy." If that isn't wisdom, I don't know what is.
These old books though, they make me scream the with the talk of losing "femininity" and other such nonsense. Also, can she not be a scientist AND a contessa?
Jesus, fuck, this hero is an outrageous asshole at the beginning. But then he turns into a calm force of nature with a gentle hand. I was getting excited there for a minute thinking about how much more shitty he could get. He tells her he loves her pretty early on, but she thinks he's just Casanova-ing her. Jo is a super feisty heroine. She almost kills him! She gets arrested!
"You are a child still, Jo, and with children one has to have patience-a bitter plant that yields sweet fruit."
"Don't be afraid of the lion, cara, he has more to offer than the playful puppy." If that isn't wisdom, I don't know what is.
These old books though, they make me scream the with the talk of losing "femininity" and other such nonsense. Also, can she not be a scientist AND a contessa?
September 25, 2021
She is crazy AF.
He is a besotted H and he has the patience of a Saint.
I think for Italians this book could be perceived as quite insulting. Lots of stereotypes about Italy, Venice, Italians.
It’s a vintage book, published in 1979.
He is a besotted H and he has the patience of a Saint.
I think for Italians this book could be perceived as quite insulting. Lots of stereotypes about Italy, Venice, Italians.
It’s a vintage book, published in 1979.
January 10, 2011
"Then you must agree to be my bridegroom !"
Jo Domini's impulsive behavior finally led her into trouble.
It wasn't enough that she had insulted the Conte Leandro Tempera, aggravated her father and frustrated her sister who wished to marry. Now, she had lashed out in despair at the Italian custom requiring the older sister to be wed first.
When Leandro accepted her challenge, Jo thought she could provoke him into rejecting her as a bride. But the seemingly calm, patient Leandro outwitted her!
Jo Domini's impulsive behavior finally led her into trouble.
It wasn't enough that she had insulted the Conte Leandro Tempera, aggravated her father and frustrated her sister who wished to marry. Now, she had lashed out in despair at the Italian custom requiring the older sister to be wed first.
When Leandro accepted her challenge, Jo thought she could provoke him into rejecting her as a bride. But the seemingly calm, patient Leandro outwitted her!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews