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Tycoon's Forbidden Cinderella
An illicit temptation…
A desire too strong to resist!
Love is a weakness that billionaire Lucien Fox refuses to indulge. But delectable Audrey Merrington tests his formidable control! With their families united by marriage, Audrey has always been utterly off-limits—yet her shy innocence holds an enticing appeal for cynical Lucien. When a scandal forces them together, he proposes a temporary solution to their inconvenient craving: total, delicious surrender!
193 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 28, 2018
73 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Melanie Milburne
1,167 books393 followersI grew up on a small farm on the outskirts of Sydney and as a keen horse rider, often competed in local gymkhanas and even broke in a few horses from time to time. As I was surrounded by animals, I decided at an early age to become a nurse, however I couldn’t stand the sight of blood and so opted for a career in teaching. It’s a bit ironic that I married a surgeon.
I read my first Mills & Boon novel when I was 17 and that encouraged me to continue reading romance novels; the lure of the tall dark handsome hero, who in reality I fell in love with and knew I was going to marry on our second date! After marrying a year later, we moved to Scotland with our six week old baby so my husband could work and study for his MD in surgery. After the birth of our second son we came back to Australia to settle in Tasmania.
I went back to University and up-graded my teaching diploma to a degree and then went on to do a Masters but still I felt as if something was missing. I sat down one day and began writing and everything clicked into place - I had finally found ‘my brilliant career’! I used to write from instinct rather than a specific plan, but now, so many books later I find a loose plan doesn't go astray. An idea will pop into my head, sometimes it will be just a simple phrase or a what if question and I'm away.
Writing is a skill that can be learned and the best way to learn it is to read and to write. So many people feel they have a novel in them and very probably they are right-the only trick is to get it out. My advice to ‘would be’ writers is to write, write, and write even more. Carry a notebook at all times and jot down ideas. And like any other activity the more you do, the more it feels comfortable.
I hope you enjoy my stories and look forward to hearing from you.
I read my first Mills & Boon novel when I was 17 and that encouraged me to continue reading romance novels; the lure of the tall dark handsome hero, who in reality I fell in love with and knew I was going to marry on our second date! After marrying a year later, we moved to Scotland with our six week old baby so my husband could work and study for his MD in surgery. After the birth of our second son we came back to Australia to settle in Tasmania.
I went back to University and up-graded my teaching diploma to a degree and then went on to do a Masters but still I felt as if something was missing. I sat down one day and began writing and everything clicked into place - I had finally found ‘my brilliant career’! I used to write from instinct rather than a specific plan, but now, so many books later I find a loose plan doesn't go astray. An idea will pop into my head, sometimes it will be just a simple phrase or a what if question and I'm away.
Writing is a skill that can be learned and the best way to learn it is to read and to write. So many people feel they have a novel in them and very probably they are right-the only trick is to get it out. My advice to ‘would be’ writers is to write, write, and write even more. Carry a notebook at all times and jot down ideas. And like any other activity the more you do, the more it feels comfortable.
I hope you enjoy my stories and look forward to hearing from you.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 6, 2018
Sweet and sexy love story about two step-siblings who are afraid of falling in love. Loved this couple together they were so adorable! Safe: virgin heroine and celibate hero.
July 4, 2018
This was a sweet, cute and fun read.
The heroine was a nice change with her quirky self and sweet but strong demeanor.
Liked the hero, but thought the way he handle the conflict in the end could have been written better.
The parents issue was to way out there in how the did a one eighty in my opinion.
Enjoyable read.
The heroine was a nice change with her quirky self and sweet but strong demeanor.
Liked the hero, but thought the way he handle the conflict in the end could have been written better.
The parents issue was to way out there in how the did a one eighty in my opinion.
Enjoyable read.
November 24, 2018
Fluffy step-siblings romance that reminded me of Penny Jordan's stories.
Heroine is a sweet, neurotic (afraid of spiders) virgin who has had a crush on the hero since she was 18. She met him at their parent's first wedding. Then she met him again at their parents's second wedding where they almost kissed. It's now wedding number three for the soap opera mother and aging rock star father and both the H/h want to stop it.
Seems their parents have a drinking problem when they're together . . . and when they're apart.
H/h go on a wild goose chase to the Cotswolds in hopes of finding their parents. The cottage is empty, but the H/h have to spend the night there because a lightning storm has felled a tree across the only road out. From there they move on to the South of France.
The H/h are fighting their attraction, but succumb once they are in France. The heroine runs into her mother at the market, but her mother makes her promise not to tell the hero where they are for three days. Seems hero's dad The hero is taken aback that the h is a virgin at 25, but then proceeds to gently make her first time a wonderful experience.
The black moment for the hero comes when
I was enjoying this H/h and their sweet romance until the heroine lied to the hero for her mother's sake. I hate lying. Her mother was wrong to ask that of the heroine and the heroine was wrong to enable her.
Both the H/h enabled their worthless parents who gave them nothing but heartache. I guess the hero's father's illness was supposed to be a comeuppance, but I would have liked to have seen some sincere apologies for all the drama they caused. (Married three times and divorced twice - and both bad at money - and both let their kids deal with the media when they didn't feel like it.)
I guess you're supposed to be all happy families at the end of HPs now, but I liked it when Charlotte Lamb had her H/h move to another continent at the end of Twist of Fate. (Now there is a story you won't soon forget)
Heroine is a sweet, neurotic (afraid of spiders) virgin who has had a crush on the hero since she was 18. She met him at their parent's first wedding. Then she met him again at their parents's second wedding where they almost kissed. It's now wedding number three for the soap opera mother and aging rock star father and both the H/h want to stop it.
Seems their parents have a drinking problem when they're together . . . and when they're apart.
H/h go on a wild goose chase to the Cotswolds in hopes of finding their parents. The cottage is empty, but the H/h have to spend the night there because a lightning storm has felled a tree across the only road out. From there they move on to the South of France.
The H/h are fighting their attraction, but succumb once they are in France. The heroine runs into her mother at the market, but her mother makes her promise not to tell the hero where they are for three days. Seems hero's dad The hero is taken aback that the h is a virgin at 25, but then proceeds to gently make her first time a wonderful experience.
The black moment for the hero comes when
I was enjoying this H/h and their sweet romance until the heroine lied to the hero for her mother's sake. I hate lying. Her mother was wrong to ask that of the heroine and the heroine was wrong to enable her.
Both the H/h enabled their worthless parents who gave them nothing but heartache. I guess the hero's father's illness was supposed to be a comeuppance, but I would have liked to have seen some sincere apologies for all the drama they caused. (Married three times and divorced twice - and both bad at money - and both let their kids deal with the media when they didn't feel like it.)
I guess you're supposed to be all happy families at the end of HPs now, but I liked it when Charlotte Lamb had her H/h move to another continent at the end of Twist of Fate. (Now there is a story you won't soon forget)
did-not-finish
February 20, 2019DNF @ 22%. No Rating.
Didn't work for me. Everything about this was incredibly cliche and just not fun. The couple had zero chemistry, the writing was trying too hard, the heroine was an incredibly melodramatic, spiteful, insufferable petty twat who held grudges over the dumbest things (a failed kiss? Really?? just imagine if roles were reversed)and I'm PMSing so everything irritates me. So yeah. I just wasn't feeling it.
And I'm sorry but someone who keeps constantly making snide judgemental remarks towards a guy just because he turned her down before is not cute or sympathetic to me. Cry me a river, boo boo.
This was my first try with this author and I have to say her writing style oddly leaned on the heavy side. Way too wordy. I'm all for a clever turn with descriptive words, I usually love it but you don't need to bang it over my head with a sledgehammer in every other line as if it's some weird contest like "clever eh? eh? Well what about thissss!'. I felt like similies/metaphors/fancy word vomit was being flung at me in every direction.
Yeah I threw the last two in for fun....cause really? 😂
Rapacious indeed.
And to think I only stopped at the 20% mark. 😓
Didn't work for me. Everything about this was incredibly cliche and just not fun. The couple had zero chemistry, the writing was trying too hard, the heroine was an incredibly melodramatic, spiteful, insufferable petty twat who held grudges over the dumbest things (a failed kiss? Really?? just imagine if roles were reversed)
And I'm sorry but someone who keeps constantly making snide judgemental remarks towards a guy just because he turned her down before is not cute or sympathetic to me. Cry me a river, boo boo.
This was my first try with this author and I have to say her writing style oddly leaned on the heavy side. Way too wordy. I'm all for a clever turn with descriptive words, I usually love it but you don't need to bang it over my head with a sledgehammer in every other line as if it's some weird contest like "clever eh? eh? Well what about thissss!'. I felt like similies/metaphors/fancy word vomit was being flung at me in every direction.
'Were you listening?’ She planted her feet as if she were conducting a body language workshop for mules.
He continued to look at her as if he thought a white van and a straitjacket might be useful right about now. ‘What about your thing with spiders?’
His expression looked as though he belonged as keynote speaker at a sceptics’ conference. ‘Really?’
Beads of sweat dripped between her shoulder blades as if she were leaking oil.
It flirted with her senses, drugging them into a stupor like a bee exposed to exotic pollen.
Audrey’s stomach lurched like a limousine on loose gravel.
His gravelly delivered dare made the blood rush through her veins and set her heart to pounding as if she had run up a flight of stairs carrying a set of dumb-bells. Two sets. And a weight bench.
She stood up from the arm of the sofa so quickly her feet thudded against the floor like punctuation marks.
Pulses of lust contracted deep in her female flesh, making her aware of her body in a way she had never felt before.
He could still feel the rapacious need marching through his body. Damn it.
Yeah I threw the last two in for fun....cause really? 😂
Rapacious indeed.
And to think I only stopped at the 20% mark. 😓
June 7, 2018
funny h and sexy serious H , enjoyable read ❤
July 9, 2018
3.75 stars
It was a cute, funny read, which started off with a bang --I was at my hairdresser's and embarrassed at my inability to control my laughter at Audrey's quirky antics-- but somewhere in the middle I felt it fall flat then picked up toward the end.
The MCs, Audrey Merrington and Lucien Fox, have been on and off step-siblings for the past six years when her mother, Sibella, a famous soap opera star, had married his even more famous, aging heavy-metal rock star father, Harlan Fox. Sibella and Harlan have married and divorced each other twice and are all set to marry for the third time. The two encouraged each other's bad habits especially binge drinking and their frequent reckless and scandalous behavior would be played out by the press for weeks. They both had taken their last divorced very badly. Sibella overdosed on pills and Harlan drank and drank until doctor warned of irreparable damage to his already struggling liver, which is why Audrey and Lucien, who believe the other's parent is the bad influence on their respective parent, are determined to stop the marriage at any cost. But, with Sibella and Harlan having switched off their phones and unreachable, Audrey and Lucien find themselves on a treasure-hunt sort of a search with them finding clues when they land up at the place they think their parent will be, hinting at them being at another of their homes.
Audrey and Lucien land up at one of the cottages at the same time and there are some very funny scenes as Audrey first tries to hide from Lucien then ends up in his arms because of her fear for spiders. They further find themselves stuck overnight due to a thunderstorm leaving them both uncomfortable as they fight their six-year old attraction for one another.
Audrey cringes every time she remembers the two embarrassing moments she had with Lucien. She had been eighteen when the two first met at their parent's marriage and instantly developed a huge crush at him. She even attempted to kiss him at the wedding --actually attempted a peck on the cheek that accidentally landed on his lips-- but he jerked away. Three years later, at their parents' second wedding, consumed by lust and tipsy from a few glasses of champagne, she fell on him and misinterpreting his look as him wanting to kiss her, she closed her eyes and lifted her face to him only to find the kiss never came. Embarrassed from the two rejections she decided never to speak to the arrogant, jerk, never to lust after him, but three years later now that they've met, she finds that she's attracted to him and wanted him more than before.
Lucien too, is as attracted to Audrey, but the reason he's ruthlessly clamped down on the attraction is because he knew she was the total opposite of him. She was the kind who wanted love and romance, home and hearth whereas if he married it would never be for passion, rather for convenience and companionship. However, overpowered by his attraction for her he ends up kissing her. Yet, despite that scorching kiss, I felt a lull in the romance as they concentrated on tracing their parents and worrying and confiding about their respective parent's issues.
Then everything happens fast. All in one day
I really didn't care much about Sibella and Harlan. Thought the two were too selfish and only bothered about themselves, which is why I was annoyed that they were given more importance than the romance between Lucien and Audrey, who had an awesome chemistry. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the book. Liked the epilogue.
It was a cute, funny read, which started off with a bang --I was at my hairdresser's and embarrassed at my inability to control my laughter at Audrey's quirky antics-- but somewhere in the middle I felt it fall flat then picked up toward the end.
The MCs, Audrey Merrington and Lucien Fox, have been on and off step-siblings for the past six years when her mother, Sibella, a famous soap opera star, had married his even more famous, aging heavy-metal rock star father, Harlan Fox. Sibella and Harlan have married and divorced each other twice and are all set to marry for the third time. The two encouraged each other's bad habits especially binge drinking and their frequent reckless and scandalous behavior would be played out by the press for weeks. They both had taken their last divorced very badly. Sibella overdosed on pills and Harlan drank and drank until doctor warned of irreparable damage to his already struggling liver, which is why Audrey and Lucien, who believe the other's parent is the bad influence on their respective parent, are determined to stop the marriage at any cost. But, with Sibella and Harlan having switched off their phones and unreachable, Audrey and Lucien find themselves on a treasure-hunt sort of a search with them finding clues when they land up at the place they think their parent will be, hinting at them being at another of their homes.
Audrey and Lucien land up at one of the cottages at the same time and there are some very funny scenes as Audrey first tries to hide from Lucien then ends up in his arms because of her fear for spiders. They further find themselves stuck overnight due to a thunderstorm leaving them both uncomfortable as they fight their six-year old attraction for one another.
Audrey cringes every time she remembers the two embarrassing moments she had with Lucien. She had been eighteen when the two first met at their parent's marriage and instantly developed a huge crush at him. She even attempted to kiss him at the wedding --actually attempted a peck on the cheek that accidentally landed on his lips-- but he jerked away. Three years later, at their parents' second wedding, consumed by lust and tipsy from a few glasses of champagne, she fell on him and misinterpreting his look as him wanting to kiss her, she closed her eyes and lifted her face to him only to find the kiss never came. Embarrassed from the two rejections she decided never to speak to the arrogant, jerk, never to lust after him, but three years later now that they've met, she finds that she's attracted to him and wanted him more than before.
Lucien too, is as attracted to Audrey, but the reason he's ruthlessly clamped down on the attraction is because he knew she was the total opposite of him. She was the kind who wanted love and romance, home and hearth whereas if he married it would never be for passion, rather for convenience and companionship. However, overpowered by his attraction for her he ends up kissing her. Yet, despite that scorching kiss, I felt a lull in the romance as they concentrated on tracing their parents and worrying and confiding about their respective parent's issues.
Then everything happens fast. All in one day
I really didn't care much about Sibella and Harlan. Thought the two were too selfish and only bothered about themselves, which is why I was annoyed that they were given more importance than the romance between Lucien and Audrey, who had an awesome chemistry. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the book. Liked the epilogue.
June 22, 2018
Tycoon’s Forbidden Cinderella by Melanie Milburne is a sensual and passionate romance for a couple determined to thwart their respective parents’ attempt at a third marriage only to find themselves caught up in their own love affair.
Audrey Merrington has grown up on the periphery with her soap opera actress mother Sibella constantly in the limelight. Her mother’s marriages to the same man, rock star Harlan Fox, have ended in divorce twice, both ugly affairs. Now she wants to marry him again, and Audrey won’t have it. She knows her best hope is to convince her on again off again step-sibling Lucien Fox to join forces with her to prevent it. She just hopes she can keep her attraction to him, now that she’s in her mid-twenties and not an impressionable teenager, under wraps.
Lucien already pulled his father out of a serious alcoholic and depressive episode that last time he divorced Sibella. Now that Sibella and his father have disappeared together he is equally determined to prevent marriage number three. Hoping to track them down, he finds Audrey on the same mission. Together they travel to where they suspect the couple has gone. But at the same time, they find that there is a strong attraction between them that’s hard to deny. Amid the complicated situation of their parents’ relationship and their own trust issues, will they be able to find a happy ending for themselves?
For more of this review please visit Harlequin Junkie: http://harlequinjunkie.com/review-tyc...
A copy of this story was provided by the publisher for review.
Audrey Merrington has grown up on the periphery with her soap opera actress mother Sibella constantly in the limelight. Her mother’s marriages to the same man, rock star Harlan Fox, have ended in divorce twice, both ugly affairs. Now she wants to marry him again, and Audrey won’t have it. She knows her best hope is to convince her on again off again step-sibling Lucien Fox to join forces with her to prevent it. She just hopes she can keep her attraction to him, now that she’s in her mid-twenties and not an impressionable teenager, under wraps.
Lucien already pulled his father out of a serious alcoholic and depressive episode that last time he divorced Sibella. Now that Sibella and his father have disappeared together he is equally determined to prevent marriage number three. Hoping to track them down, he finds Audrey on the same mission. Together they travel to where they suspect the couple has gone. But at the same time, they find that there is a strong attraction between them that’s hard to deny. Amid the complicated situation of their parents’ relationship and their own trust issues, will they be able to find a happy ending for themselves?
For more of this review please visit Harlequin Junkie: http://harlequinjunkie.com/review-tyc...
A copy of this story was provided by the publisher for review.
July 20, 2018
MS Milburne never disappoints me with one of her stories, she knows how to bring the emotions out in her characters and bring them to life, make them friends that I am happy to cheer on as they journey to an unforgettable HEA in settings that take me around the world and this time we spend time in France as Audrey Merrington and Lucien Fox join together to ensure that their parents stay clear of each other yet this brings them very close together.
Audrey has led her life in the background of her beautiful actress mother Sibella never knowing her father and with the life her mother leads with one marriage after another alcohol and parties but when another wedding invitation arrives inviting Audrey to the marriage for the third time to rock star Harlan Fox, this just makes her see red and sends her off to do what she can to stop this marriage, but when Harlan’s son Lucien arrives to do the same thing at the small country cottage well the sparks fly and the sensual pull gets harder to ignore.
Lucien has never been close to his rock star father but he is the only father he has and he will do everything he can to stop this third marriage to Sibella Merrington, she is so bad for his father enough is enough, when he meets up with Sibella’s daughter Audrey in a country cottage during a storm this starts his body reacting (as it always has) to Audrey and a trip to Paris leaves the non- believer in love suggesting a fling while they look for their parents never realizing what this fling will do to his heart.
This is a fast paced story, one that will keep you turning the pages as Lucien and Audrey have had a pull towards each other since the first wedding between their parents and now decide to have a fling because what they feel for each other is lust not love and there is no way they will fall in love. Oh but I love to see people that are meant to be together finally realize that love is for the best for them, oh I did love this story, moving, beautiful and so very sensual, don’t miss out on this one is a fabulous story, thank you MS Milburne for leaving this reader very happy.
Audrey has led her life in the background of her beautiful actress mother Sibella never knowing her father and with the life her mother leads with one marriage after another alcohol and parties but when another wedding invitation arrives inviting Audrey to the marriage for the third time to rock star Harlan Fox, this just makes her see red and sends her off to do what she can to stop this marriage, but when Harlan’s son Lucien arrives to do the same thing at the small country cottage well the sparks fly and the sensual pull gets harder to ignore.
Lucien has never been close to his rock star father but he is the only father he has and he will do everything he can to stop this third marriage to Sibella Merrington, she is so bad for his father enough is enough, when he meets up with Sibella’s daughter Audrey in a country cottage during a storm this starts his body reacting (as it always has) to Audrey and a trip to Paris leaves the non- believer in love suggesting a fling while they look for their parents never realizing what this fling will do to his heart.
This is a fast paced story, one that will keep you turning the pages as Lucien and Audrey have had a pull towards each other since the first wedding between their parents and now decide to have a fling because what they feel for each other is lust not love and there is no way they will fall in love. Oh but I love to see people that are meant to be together finally realize that love is for the best for them, oh I did love this story, moving, beautiful and so very sensual, don’t miss out on this one is a fabulous story, thank you MS Milburne for leaving this reader very happy.
June 19, 2018
Lucien Fox and Audrey Merrington have issues together #1 he doesn't like her #2 she has a secret crush on him for years #3 both are children of a couple getting married after being divorced 3 times. Ms. Milburne has the greatest ability to write a story that grabs you from the first page and keeps you wondering how they will find their HEA. She puts road cones in the way but always comes out with a smooth amazing story. Imagine having to find your parents to stop them remarrying each other for the 3rd time. Then put Lucien in where he has to deal with Audrey who has a fear of spiders and helicopters. Put them in a cabin with spiders and not being able to leave without a helicopter when the road is blocked from a storm. a really great story.
June 20, 2018
Enjoyable romance .
February 4, 2022
First, the title...the heroine is no Cinderella. The more I read the more I was waiting for why the heroine was described as Cinderella. I grew frustrated, annoyed and distracted.
Onto the review...this was an underwhelming romance. So much time was spent on the hero and heroine's parents not enough time spent on building the romance between the heroine and hero. Then the hero pushes the heroine away after they have bland buildup to having sex.
When I read a romance, I expect the building of the heroine and hero's romance to be the main focus of the story. In this book, the hero and heroine's romance felt like a side story.
Onto the review...this was an underwhelming romance. So much time was spent on the hero and heroine's parents not enough time spent on building the romance between the heroine and hero. Then the hero pushes the heroine away after they have bland buildup to having sex.
When I read a romance, I expect the building of the heroine and hero's romance to be the main focus of the story. In this book, the hero and heroine's romance felt like a side story.
September 24, 2018
This was a very interesting book for me. Even though it had a typical Harlequin Presents vibe to it, it also had something else to it too mainly surrounding the character of Audrey. I just felt she was a little bit quirky from the usual Presents heroine, which wasn’t a bad thing and gave off this really unique vibe to the story because of it. The quirkiness made it a very interesting read. At fist I wasn’t quite sure what to make of her Audrey and her quickness but she definitely grew on me as the book progressed and got into more of her psyche and her emotional baggage along the way. I did like her.
I really liked the fact that these two had a history to them that complicated matters between the two of them. They were step siblings previously and only encountered each other sparingly, but they made quite an impression on each other in fact Lucien rejected Audrey two times previously, which just created a lot of hard feelings and angst in the present time. Also it caused Audrey to be more closed off to him and keep him at distance after he hurt her the first time and she really didn’t want to be near him at all. So, it made it even more tension filled as they worked together for the common goal of not seeing their parents remarry once again. But forced proximity ensued and the story took off with lots of hurt feelings and angst in the background, but also something more.
Audrey and Lucien had a lot chemistry going on, and I mean a lot of chemistry, as soon as they came onto the page together I was immediately swamped with all the sexual tension surrounding them, which had been building for years upon years. They fought this insane chemistry for years and years for one they were step siblings and two because they knew they had a chemistry that went beyond just physical and both of them fear it a little bit. It was fun to see them fight this attraction and keep these walls up around them. They really didn’t succeed to well, but they did fight it for a majority of the book. In fact, the whole first half of the book was Audrey and Lucien fighting this attraction to one another but being bathed in all this sexual tension surrounding them. It took over the first half really. It was a lot and really seemed to be the crux of the story for them. Was it too much? No, but it was a lot and a majority of the storyline.
When they finally gave into their attraction, it was almost a relief because it just had been building and building over the course of the pages for so long that the anticipation was beyond fierce. It was the worth the wait. From that first kiss to their first time it was beyond steamy, but very sensual, tender and emotional too. The fact that this had been building between them for quite sometime just made it beyond intense and very poignant of a moment between them. I loved the first time scene because there so much meaning and intimacy between the two of them. It wasn’t just two bodies smashing together but something more. Something real. I loved all the tenderness that Lucien showed Audrey during that moment and just all the love and care that he put into that special moment between the two of them. It showed how much love was between them in that moment. In fact all those intimate moments between them were really good, and showed off their connection and love for one another. And it was really romantic too, so that didn’t hurt either.
They both had emotional issues going on especially surrounding their parents, which effected how they saw relationships both romantic and otherwise. They were not the greatest role models for Audrey and Lucien and left them with lots of emotional boo boos alone the way. Mainly neither of them believing in love and only seeing how destructive it could be especially when their parents were together in a not very healthy relationship. So, they both fought the concept of love and not recognize the fact that they were falling in love or had been in love for quite sometime. They had both been afraid to love each other and kept them apart from each other for so long.
Near the end of the book, a complication arose in the last half of the book that lead to bit of angst as well as caused problems in Audrey and Lucien’s relationship as things came to light and misunderstandings were to be had, and I liked that because it created layers to the story to make it really interesting, however I wish that this complication came in a bit sooner than it did and there was a little bit more angst because of it. I just felt like everything happened at warp speed and almost as an afterthought because so much of the story was consumed by their denial of attraction and then acting on it that there wasn’t much time to focus on that complication. And because of that I felt like the ending was a bit abrupt and not as fully explored as I would have liked it to be. I was just looking for something more. Something was missing there.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and the romance between Lucien and Aubrey. They had more romance than I was expecting, but that was due to the fact they they had been building to this moment for years. There was angst, which I loved. There was tension, which I really enjoyed seeing played out and all the friction that had surrounded them as they fought off their attraction to one another. They had quite a bit chemistry that was apparent every time they were on the page together and it wafted off the pages. It was intense. It was sensual. It was deep. And really, really intimate when they finally got together with heated kisses and deep, sensual love scenes along the way, but more than that they could really bare their souls to each other. I loved that. I loved seeing them get closer and closer as they book progressed as they talked about their past hurts mainly caused by their parents. Their connection was solid and very real to me, and I enjoyed seeing them fall deeper and deeper in love with each other as they story continued. Even though I did enjoy seeing the chemistry between these two, it did take over the first half of story and was really all the focus of the story, which was necessarily a bad thing, it was just a lot. I wish the secret came into play a little bit sooner so it added yet another complicated layer to the story and caused another kind of friction between them in the story. Also once everything was revealed, it really rushed to the finish line after that and the ending felt a little abrupt for me liking. Something was missing or something needed to happen in between the realization and the end. Something. Otherwise the story was pretty good and I liked it.
I really liked the fact that these two had a history to them that complicated matters between the two of them. They were step siblings previously and only encountered each other sparingly, but they made quite an impression on each other in fact Lucien rejected Audrey two times previously, which just created a lot of hard feelings and angst in the present time. Also it caused Audrey to be more closed off to him and keep him at distance after he hurt her the first time and she really didn’t want to be near him at all. So, it made it even more tension filled as they worked together for the common goal of not seeing their parents remarry once again. But forced proximity ensued and the story took off with lots of hurt feelings and angst in the background, but also something more.
Audrey and Lucien had a lot chemistry going on, and I mean a lot of chemistry, as soon as they came onto the page together I was immediately swamped with all the sexual tension surrounding them, which had been building for years upon years. They fought this insane chemistry for years and years for one they were step siblings and two because they knew they had a chemistry that went beyond just physical and both of them fear it a little bit. It was fun to see them fight this attraction and keep these walls up around them. They really didn’t succeed to well, but they did fight it for a majority of the book. In fact, the whole first half of the book was Audrey and Lucien fighting this attraction to one another but being bathed in all this sexual tension surrounding them. It took over the first half really. It was a lot and really seemed to be the crux of the story for them. Was it too much? No, but it was a lot and a majority of the storyline.
When they finally gave into their attraction, it was almost a relief because it just had been building and building over the course of the pages for so long that the anticipation was beyond fierce. It was the worth the wait. From that first kiss to their first time it was beyond steamy, but very sensual, tender and emotional too. The fact that this had been building between them for quite sometime just made it beyond intense and very poignant of a moment between them. I loved the first time scene because there so much meaning and intimacy between the two of them. It wasn’t just two bodies smashing together but something more. Something real. I loved all the tenderness that Lucien showed Audrey during that moment and just all the love and care that he put into that special moment between the two of them. It showed how much love was between them in that moment. In fact all those intimate moments between them were really good, and showed off their connection and love for one another. And it was really romantic too, so that didn’t hurt either.
They both had emotional issues going on especially surrounding their parents, which effected how they saw relationships both romantic and otherwise. They were not the greatest role models for Audrey and Lucien and left them with lots of emotional boo boos alone the way. Mainly neither of them believing in love and only seeing how destructive it could be especially when their parents were together in a not very healthy relationship. So, they both fought the concept of love and not recognize the fact that they were falling in love or had been in love for quite sometime. They had both been afraid to love each other and kept them apart from each other for so long.
Near the end of the book, a complication arose in the last half of the book that lead to bit of angst as well as caused problems in Audrey and Lucien’s relationship as things came to light and misunderstandings were to be had, and I liked that because it created layers to the story to make it really interesting, however I wish that this complication came in a bit sooner than it did and there was a little bit more angst because of it. I just felt like everything happened at warp speed and almost as an afterthought because so much of the story was consumed by their denial of attraction and then acting on it that there wasn’t much time to focus on that complication. And because of that I felt like the ending was a bit abrupt and not as fully explored as I would have liked it to be. I was just looking for something more. Something was missing there.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and the romance between Lucien and Aubrey. They had more romance than I was expecting, but that was due to the fact they they had been building to this moment for years. There was angst, which I loved. There was tension, which I really enjoyed seeing played out and all the friction that had surrounded them as they fought off their attraction to one another. They had quite a bit chemistry that was apparent every time they were on the page together and it wafted off the pages. It was intense. It was sensual. It was deep. And really, really intimate when they finally got together with heated kisses and deep, sensual love scenes along the way, but more than that they could really bare their souls to each other. I loved that. I loved seeing them get closer and closer as they book progressed as they talked about their past hurts mainly caused by their parents. Their connection was solid and very real to me, and I enjoyed seeing them fall deeper and deeper in love with each other as they story continued. Even though I did enjoy seeing the chemistry between these two, it did take over the first half of story and was really all the focus of the story, which was necessarily a bad thing, it was just a lot. I wish the secret came into play a little bit sooner so it added yet another complicated layer to the story and caused another kind of friction between them in the story. Also once everything was revealed, it really rushed to the finish line after that and the ending felt a little abrupt for me liking. Something was missing or something needed to happen in between the realization and the end. Something. Otherwise the story was pretty good and I liked it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2022
This started out SO well. Classic forbidden trope with step siblings. The H and h's biological dad and mom, respectively, are super famous media personalities and keep getting married and divorced again. They first met when h was 18 at the 1st marriage of their step parents. The h flirts awkwardly and the H rebuffs her. Turns out, it's cause he was super attracted to her but thought it taboo.
The book was fine, with some dark undertones: The h's mom had overdosed thrice at h's house, both parents do excessive drinking and drugs, both parents have been absent figures in their kids lives and left major issues in the now adult kids. Midway, there is a very sudden twist: . In the meantime the h and H have slept together and feeling all the feelies. Lots of other fluffy details which I won't bore you with but the H and h have a nuclear-war level fallout and then it's suddenly resolved in the last 2 pages and there is a HEA with a baby on the way and parent-child bonding achieved on both sides.
I feel like the author went on and on rambling about their chemistry push-pull for ages, and then the quaint French villa they travel to, and in the end realized she was out of word count so magically tied all loose ends for the happy ending. Dropped a star for the sudden ending.
The book was fine, with some dark undertones: The h's mom had overdosed thrice at h's house, both parents do excessive drinking and drugs, both parents have been absent figures in their kids lives and left major issues in the now adult kids. Midway, there is a very sudden twist: . In the meantime the h and H have slept together and feeling all the feelies. Lots of other fluffy details which I won't bore you with but the H and h have a nuclear-war level fallout and then it's suddenly resolved in the last 2 pages and there is a HEA with a baby on the way and parent-child bonding achieved on both sides.
I feel like the author went on and on rambling about their chemistry push-pull for ages, and then the quaint French villa they travel to, and in the end realized she was out of word count so magically tied all loose ends for the happy ending. Dropped a star for the sudden ending.
June 24, 2018
Fast paced, intriguing and delightful! I was quickly drawn into this story and read it straight through to see what was going to happen. I loved the two of them together and was really happy when they finally stopped dodging each other and gave in to their attraction. The back story of their past and their parents story was a nice aspect of the story. Really enjoyed!
Audrey Merrington has been crushing on Lucien Fox ever since she met him when she was a teenager. She's made the drunken mistake of trying to show him how she felt two times during the duration of their relationship and she's bound and determined that she won't make that mistake again ... ever!
Lucien Fox has been drawn to Audrey for years as well, but a family connection by marriage, in addition to her youth led him to keep her at arms length. Now they are thrown together by circumstances and decide to once and for all throw caution to the wind and see where this attraction will take them!
Audrey Merrington has been crushing on Lucien Fox ever since she met him when she was a teenager. She's made the drunken mistake of trying to show him how she felt two times during the duration of their relationship and she's bound and determined that she won't make that mistake again ... ever!
Lucien Fox has been drawn to Audrey for years as well, but a family connection by marriage, in addition to her youth led him to keep her at arms length. Now they are thrown together by circumstances and decide to once and for all throw caution to the wind and see where this attraction will take them!
August 3, 2018
TYCOON'S FORBIDDEN CINDERELLA by Melanie Milburne
This woman has a daughter who is 25 yrs. old and yet she can pull in guys like a barman pulls beers.
Love is something that Audrey Merrington does not indulge in, she has seen her mom marry and divorce and marry again. She is marrying Harlan Fox who is famous by himself but so is Audrey's mom and so they can not seem to stay out of the limelight and yet with the 3rd marriage to him ahead Audrey is shaking her head.
Then there is Lucien Fox who is Harlan's hot looking son. Plus she no doubt realizes that for this wedding too she will be standing up for the wedding together.
Actually they try so hard split the 2 apart. How will Audrey and Lucien team up together to stop their marriage.
Melanie Milburne really does a wonderful job telling this story!
This woman has a daughter who is 25 yrs. old and yet she can pull in guys like a barman pulls beers.
Love is something that Audrey Merrington does not indulge in, she has seen her mom marry and divorce and marry again. She is marrying Harlan Fox who is famous by himself but so is Audrey's mom and so they can not seem to stay out of the limelight and yet with the 3rd marriage to him ahead Audrey is shaking her head.
Then there is Lucien Fox who is Harlan's hot looking son. Plus she no doubt realizes that for this wedding too she will be standing up for the wedding together.
Actually they try so hard split the 2 apart. How will Audrey and Lucien team up together to stop their marriage.
Melanie Milburne really does a wonderful job telling this story!
August 26, 2018
What happens between a billionaire who is reluctant to fall in love and a woman determined to make him go mad? Sparks fly and explosive chemistry is what happens! Lucien has always forbidden himself from showing his true feelings for Audrey. But when they're forced together they both realize they can't live without each other. But the price for their passion will test how strong they both are! Tycoon's Forbidden Cinderella by Melanie Milburne is yet another thrilling, exciting read from her. The story is passionate and the romance is strong and captivating. I lost myself getting to know the main protagonists and sighed at that beautiful ending. A perfect read with two beautifully imperfect characters!
Highly Recommended
4.5 Stars
March 11, 2023
Disappointed
Maybe I should have read all the book but I couldn't. It started out well. I loved that the heroine was portrayed as not being beautiful and the interaction between the two main characters was funny and interesting. Great start and I was looking forward to seeing how the author brought the hero around to seeing the heroine differently. However, it was like boom he wants her and she's the sexiest thing. It's hard to find an author who can write a book that shows the progress of someone falling in love. Especially if it's a plain woman and a hot guy. This would have been better if he hadn't been tempted at all in the past. That she wasn't his supermodel type but in their adventure to find the parents attraction and love began.
Maybe I should have read all the book but I couldn't. It started out well. I loved that the heroine was portrayed as not being beautiful and the interaction between the two main characters was funny and interesting. Great start and I was looking forward to seeing how the author brought the hero around to seeing the heroine differently. However, it was like boom he wants her and she's the sexiest thing. It's hard to find an author who can write a book that shows the progress of someone falling in love. Especially if it's a plain woman and a hot guy. This would have been better if he hadn't been tempted at all in the past. That she wasn't his supermodel type but in their adventure to find the parents attraction and love began.
June 22, 2018
"Tycoon's Forbidden Cinderella" by Melanie Milburne was a wonderful, contemporary romance and a very HOT read. Lucien Fox and Audrey Merrington have been around each other for years because each of their respective, famous parents have been married to each other a couple of times before and going for marriage #3 will bring them back together. Both a little older, but both now finding it harder to fight the attraction that has been between them. There is much to this story and things that are shared between Lucien and Audrey that made it hard to put this book down.
April 13, 2019
This was an entertaining, quick read.
Audrey and Lucien are the adult children of two famous people who keep getting back together even though history shows its a bad idea.
Watching the chemistry these two have worked to keep at bay for the 6 years they have known each other come out was entertaining. I would have liked to have seen a bit more character development and I would have appreciated Audrey making Lucien work for things a bot more than he did at the end.
Audrey and Lucien are the adult children of two famous people who keep getting back together even though history shows its a bad idea.
Watching the chemistry these two have worked to keep at bay for the 6 years they have known each other come out was entertaining. I would have liked to have seen a bit more character development and I would have appreciated Audrey making Lucien work for things a bot more than he did at the end.
hq-to-read
June 9, 2021An illicit temptation…
A desire too strong to resist!
Love is a weakness that billionaire Lucien Fox refuses to indulge in. But delectable Audrey Merrington tests his formidable control! With their families united by marriage, Audrey has always been utterly off-limits, yet her shy innocence holds an enticing appeal for cynical Lucien. When a scandal forces them together, Lucien proposes a temporary solution to their inconvenient craving—total, delicious surrender!
A desire too strong to resist!
Love is a weakness that billionaire Lucien Fox refuses to indulge in. But delectable Audrey Merrington tests his formidable control! With their families united by marriage, Audrey has always been utterly off-limits, yet her shy innocence holds an enticing appeal for cynical Lucien. When a scandal forces them together, Lucien proposes a temporary solution to their inconvenient craving—total, delicious surrender!
June 6, 2019
The ditzy virginal h spent more than a car on therapy to cure arachnophobia and throws herself at the H after seeing the spider. Again, the ditzy has thrown herself at H at both the weddings of her mom and his dad and was rejected but she continues to nurse a massive crush. I expected better from this author but she has regressed to virginal ditzy h :(
June 28, 2018
Another good romance from this author - well written. 7/10
July 2, 2018
Enjoyable read. Good story of two step siblings finding romance.
July 2, 2018
Just dumb. I'm not sure I'll finish it. My reading experience is clearly different than other reviewers', but this just a dumb, boring story.
November 13, 2018
An okay read. Disliked the OTT parents!
January 27, 2019
Adult step-siblings try to keep their destructive parents from remarrying again. And also try to keep their hands out of each other’s pants. Succeed on neither front.
April 16, 2019
A pleasant enough read, very amusing in places. Worth reading on a lazy afternoon when you don’t want to think too hard.
Read
June 4, 2019La Fortaleza Del Amor (Versión)
May 28, 2021
Loved it
I love the story and plot. True love does exist, but it's not like the fairy tales in the movies.
I love the story and plot. True love does exist, but it's not like the fairy tales in the movies.
January 25, 2023
Boring characters and story.nothing major happens here so bored.
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