What do you think?
Rate this book
Secrets of His Forbidden Cinderella
Cinderella’s scandalous secret
Their forbidden passion had consequences!
Overwhelming. Irresistible. Off-limits . Teo de Luz was all those things to innocent Amelia. Until she attends his opulent masquerade ball, and they share a deliciously anonymous encounter! Now Amelia must tell this brooding Spaniard he’s the father of her unborn child.
Teo can’t forget his runaway Cinderella, but discovering her true identity stuns him. His loathing of Amelia’s family means he cannot dismiss her deception! He will marry her. He will claim his heir. And he’ll exact a sensual revenge on Amelia, one pleasurable night at a time…
Their forbidden passion had consequences!
Overwhelming. Irresistible. Off-limits . Teo de Luz was all those things to innocent Amelia. Until she attends his opulent masquerade ball, and they share a deliciously anonymous encounter! Now Amelia must tell this brooding Spaniard he’s the father of her unborn child.
Teo can’t forget his runaway Cinderella, but discovering her true identity stuns him. His loathing of Amelia’s family means he cannot dismiss her deception! He will marry her. He will claim his heir. And he’ll exact a sensual revenge on Amelia, one pleasurable night at a time…
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published December 17, 2019
About the author
Caitlin Crews
1,248 books607 followersCaitlin Crews discovered her first romance novel at the age of twelve, in a bargain bin at the local five and dime. It involved swashbuckling pirates, grand adventures, a heroine with rustling skirts and a mind of her own, and a seriously mouthwatering and masterful hero. The book (the title of which remains lost in the mists of time) made a serious impression. Caitlin was immediately smitten with romances and romance heroes, to the detriment of her middle school social life. And so began her life-long love affair with romance novels, many of which she insists on keeping near her at all times, thus creating a fire hazard of love wherever she lives.
Caitlin has made her home in places as far-flung as York, England and Atlanta, Georgia. She was raised near New York City, and fell in love with London on her first visit when she was a teenager. She has backpacked in Zimbabwe, been on safari in Botswana, and visited tiny villages in Namibia. She has, while visiting the place in question, declared her intention to live in Prague, Dublin, Paris, Athens, Nice, the Greek Islands, Rome, Venice, and/or any of the Hawaiian islands. Writing about exotic places seems like the next best thing to actually moving there.
She currently lives in Oregon with her animator/comic book artist husband and their menagerie of ridiculous animals.
Caitlin has made her home in places as far-flung as York, England and Atlanta, Georgia. She was raised near New York City, and fell in love with London on her first visit when she was a teenager. She has backpacked in Zimbabwe, been on safari in Botswana, and visited tiny villages in Namibia. She has, while visiting the place in question, declared her intention to live in Prague, Dublin, Paris, Athens, Nice, the Greek Islands, Rome, Venice, and/or any of the Hawaiian islands. Writing about exotic places seems like the next best thing to actually moving there.
She currently lives in Oregon with her animator/comic book artist husband and their menagerie of ridiculous animals.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
December 5, 2019
On the contrary, his look was frigid. Stern and disapproving.
It made her remember—too late, always too late—that he wasn’t simply a man. He was all the men who had come before him, too.
He was the Duke, and the weight of that made him…colossal. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
I love a H who's able to wield his arrogance impressively and with an inborn confidence that tells the onlooker that he's not putting on a faux display of egotistical grandeur; unlike the way lots of other men are conditioned to do.
Many ordinary men, especially those who are aesthetically challenged in the conventional sense, use their athletic prowess, business skills, self deprecating humour, original comic punch lines and slapstick antics etc, to distinguish themselves and compete within a crowded field.
But it's the tough lone wolf alpha male, who stands head and shoulders above the pack, speaking volumes with just the lift of an eyebrow, the mildest of smirks or a stone cold stare, that stands at centre stage. In real life, he might not be the handsomest man in the room, but he's the one with that special je ne sais quoi that draws all eyes. Fortunately, this is a romance novel so our alpha male H, Teo, must also be the handsomest.
This is the H, Teo:
Love her or hate her, Caitlin Crews is outstanding at creating this brand of alpha male H. Not all of her H's fit this mould, because she likes to experiment with different types sometimes, but I enjoy it when she goes all out and gives us an unflinchingly arrogant, unapologetic, bordering on unlikable but scrumptiously sexy, assholish alpha H who:
...prided himself on being the sort of lion who did not concern himself overmuch with the existence of sheep, much less their opinions. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
The last Caitlin Crews' hero I loved, was Javier, the H from My Bought Virgin Wife. Interestingly enough, he was Spanish just like Teo and that novel was released last December. But, unlike the self made Javier who was born in the slums of Madrid, Teo is the blue blooded 19th Duke of Marinceli. Javier had wanted a blue blooded wife as yet another status symbol, while Teo finds himself ensnared by his unwanted connection to a mocking, fierce little American commoner who's reluctant to bow and scrape before him:
“Most people consider it an honor to be in my presence,” he told her drily.
She sniffed. “They must not know you.” https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
Now some of my Goodreads friends are probably amused to see that I'm writing this favourable review, after the scathing one I'd written for The Italian's Twin Consequences. But I guess this proves my point that CC is perhaps the most unpredictable author in current HPlandia. She's clearly a lady who follows her own muse and while it might not always jive with my preferences, I still continue to read her releases because her skilful prose usually gives me extra food for thought.
Caitlin Crews is skilled at creating characters that come to life on the page. She makes it easy to visualize persons and settings while adeptly using dialogue as a key adjunct of character creation; it's a skill that many other HPlandia writers haven't fully explored.
Some just write bland dialogue for the sake of conversation or use it as the most simplistic form of authorial telling. But dialogue isn't thrown away carelessly in a CC novel. Her storylines are heavy on the internal monologues, so when we do get the dialogue, it adds greater layers to character development and is often full of witty discourse.
I know that sometimes readers complain about her prose style, but I actually enjoy it. Her descriptive skills, use of imagery, subtle literary references and infusion of wit make reading both entertaining and educational. Sometimes I spend days ( as I've done with this book ) taking my time and reflecting on the effect of her sentence construction skills and her use of figurative devices on the overall storyline.
One simple example is her use of the lock and key metaphor, in the story. Amelia, the heroine, had been enthralled by the H from the time she'd met him, as his new, unwanted 16 year old stepsister. He'd been drawn to her too, but his distaste for, and resentment of, her golddigging mother had worked as an antidote against any budding attraction.
This is the heroine, Amelia:
But he'd still managed to leave a lasting impression on the heroine, even after their parents had divorced and she'd moved to the USA to attend college. Amelia had developed such a fixation with the H, that other men seemed to be just average. Whenever she went on dates or tried to develop an interest in another man, images of Teo would pop into her head.
That's why she decided, 3 months before the story begins, to attend his annual masquerade ball in disguise and perform her own personal exorcism: to lose her virginity by seducing the H. He was, in her own words, the key she needed to unlock her sensuality, in order to move on with her life:
“I was a virgin,” she said, suddenly flooded with a sense of calm. A purpose, even.
Teo laughed. “Do you mean, you were once a virgin? So were we all, Amelia.”
“The night of the Masquerade,” she said, and watched as he reacted to that. Badly. “That was the trouble, you see. I could never get past a kiss with another man. You were always in my head. It was as if I locked myself away when I left here as a teenager. And you were the only key.”
“This is absurd.”
“I thought so, too,” she agreed. “That’s why I went to such lengths last fall. I didn’t want you to know who I was because I didn’t want to explain this to you. I just wanted to do it, if it could be done.”
“How could you have been a virgin?” he demanded, and he sounded almost…anguished.
https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
And in another, lovemaking, scene, the lock and key metaphor turns up again:
And it was just like September all over again. Their bodies came together like a key in a lock, and she was sure that she heard the dead bolt turn. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
The plot is built around the unplanned pregnancy trope and the H's unilateral decision to secure the ducal succession, by forcing Amelia into a marriage that neither of them want. It's hilarious that he even finds a way to make figurative lemonade in this bitter situation, when he rationalizes condescendingly:
Whatever else could be said about Americans, there was no denying that their brand of peasantry was…enterprising. The child would be hale and hardy and Teo would be on hand to guide him into his role as successor to the dukedom. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
He also flips the script on the heroine and asserts his dominance, by becoming the power broker in their new relationship. In his mind, Amelia's manipulation of events, at the masquerade ball, was a one time aberration that wouldn't be repeated. This is why he takes her to his isolated cabin in the Pyrenees, where there's food and clean water but no electricity and other modern conveniences.
His plan is to trap her into revealing that she's just like her mother: a scheming, social climbing golddigger. And it's here that the author references that old poem, about the spider and the fly, by Mary Howitt:
Unless she was mistaken, they were on top of a mountain with no electricity.
“Teo,” she said when he came out of the bedroom, that enigmatic look on his beautiful face. “What are we doing here? Time traveling?”
And her pulse picked up when the Nineteenth Duke of Marinceli…smiled.
Like the spider to the fly. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
In that cold remote cabin, with no means of escape, the heroine becomes aware that, much like the fly in Howitt's poem, she's in a very vulnerable situation:
H E IS A DUKE, not a spider, Amelia told herself crossly. And you are certainly not a fly.
But Teo’s smile still made the back of her neck prickle. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
And in that cabin, high up in the snowy mountains, the defiant heroine was twirled and spun within his web, until she eventually capitulated to his seductive powers. But their HEA didn't come that easily, because this spider was too proud to admit that he was emotionally ensnared by his captive.
It was the heroine herself who had to proffer her love, as a means of weakening the rigid bonds that the H had strapped across his heart. And, it was the intervention of the unlikeliest ally, that shattered the H's resolve to never declare his love for the heroine.
This review is already so long, that I'll refrain from examining the MC's conflict resolution issues that led to their eventual reconciliation and HEA. In a normal review, that's what I would've done. But I decided to focus instead on the elements that were more interesting to me in this book.
But I know that future readers will be interested in knowing that the H's grovelling and apology were very sweet and romantic, since his grand, passionate gesture of atonement was executed in a very special location. It's exactly the sort of thing that a smitten guy should do for the woman he loves:
She promised to be his forever.
He made the same promise.
And intended to keep it, if he had to dismantle every last stone of el monstruo to do it.
https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
The ending and the ( unmarked ) epilogue highlighted their son's birth and also provided a longer term summation of the MC's domestic life, with their 3 sons and 2 daughters.
Safety: No OW no OM and the heroine was celibate during their 3 month separation. The H's celibacy ( or lack thereof ) was not addressed/implied/hinted at. There's no mention of other women or what he'd done during those 3 months. It's written in such a way that it's entirely up to the reader to decide what she wants to believe.
It made her remember—too late, always too late—that he wasn’t simply a man. He was all the men who had come before him, too.
He was the Duke, and the weight of that made him…colossal. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
I love a H who's able to wield his arrogance impressively and with an inborn confidence that tells the onlooker that he's not putting on a faux display of egotistical grandeur; unlike the way lots of other men are conditioned to do.
Many ordinary men, especially those who are aesthetically challenged in the conventional sense, use their athletic prowess, business skills, self deprecating humour, original comic punch lines and slapstick antics etc, to distinguish themselves and compete within a crowded field.
But it's the tough lone wolf alpha male, who stands head and shoulders above the pack, speaking volumes with just the lift of an eyebrow, the mildest of smirks or a stone cold stare, that stands at centre stage. In real life, he might not be the handsomest man in the room, but he's the one with that special je ne sais quoi that draws all eyes. Fortunately, this is a romance novel so our alpha male H, Teo, must also be the handsomest.
This is the H, Teo:
Love her or hate her, Caitlin Crews is outstanding at creating this brand of alpha male H. Not all of her H's fit this mould, because she likes to experiment with different types sometimes, but I enjoy it when she goes all out and gives us an unflinchingly arrogant, unapologetic, bordering on unlikable but scrumptiously sexy, assholish alpha H who:
...prided himself on being the sort of lion who did not concern himself overmuch with the existence of sheep, much less their opinions. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
The last Caitlin Crews' hero I loved, was Javier, the H from My Bought Virgin Wife. Interestingly enough, he was Spanish just like Teo and that novel was released last December. But, unlike the self made Javier who was born in the slums of Madrid, Teo is the blue blooded 19th Duke of Marinceli. Javier had wanted a blue blooded wife as yet another status symbol, while Teo finds himself ensnared by his unwanted connection to a mocking, fierce little American commoner who's reluctant to bow and scrape before him:
“Most people consider it an honor to be in my presence,” he told her drily.
She sniffed. “They must not know you.” https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
Now some of my Goodreads friends are probably amused to see that I'm writing this favourable review, after the scathing one I'd written for The Italian's Twin Consequences. But I guess this proves my point that CC is perhaps the most unpredictable author in current HPlandia. She's clearly a lady who follows her own muse and while it might not always jive with my preferences, I still continue to read her releases because her skilful prose usually gives me extra food for thought.
Caitlin Crews is skilled at creating characters that come to life on the page. She makes it easy to visualize persons and settings while adeptly using dialogue as a key adjunct of character creation; it's a skill that many other HPlandia writers haven't fully explored.
Some just write bland dialogue for the sake of conversation or use it as the most simplistic form of authorial telling. But dialogue isn't thrown away carelessly in a CC novel. Her storylines are heavy on the internal monologues, so when we do get the dialogue, it adds greater layers to character development and is often full of witty discourse.
I know that sometimes readers complain about her prose style, but I actually enjoy it. Her descriptive skills, use of imagery, subtle literary references and infusion of wit make reading both entertaining and educational. Sometimes I spend days ( as I've done with this book ) taking my time and reflecting on the effect of her sentence construction skills and her use of figurative devices on the overall storyline.
One simple example is her use of the lock and key metaphor, in the story. Amelia, the heroine, had been enthralled by the H from the time she'd met him, as his new, unwanted 16 year old stepsister. He'd been drawn to her too, but his distaste for, and resentment of, her golddigging mother had worked as an antidote against any budding attraction.
This is the heroine, Amelia:
But he'd still managed to leave a lasting impression on the heroine, even after their parents had divorced and she'd moved to the USA to attend college. Amelia had developed such a fixation with the H, that other men seemed to be just average. Whenever she went on dates or tried to develop an interest in another man, images of Teo would pop into her head.
That's why she decided, 3 months before the story begins, to attend his annual masquerade ball in disguise and perform her own personal exorcism: to lose her virginity by seducing the H. He was, in her own words, the key she needed to unlock her sensuality, in order to move on with her life:
“I was a virgin,” she said, suddenly flooded with a sense of calm. A purpose, even.
Teo laughed. “Do you mean, you were once a virgin? So were we all, Amelia.”
“The night of the Masquerade,” she said, and watched as he reacted to that. Badly. “That was the trouble, you see. I could never get past a kiss with another man. You were always in my head. It was as if I locked myself away when I left here as a teenager. And you were the only key.”
“This is absurd.”
“I thought so, too,” she agreed. “That’s why I went to such lengths last fall. I didn’t want you to know who I was because I didn’t want to explain this to you. I just wanted to do it, if it could be done.”
“How could you have been a virgin?” he demanded, and he sounded almost…anguished.
https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
And in another, lovemaking, scene, the lock and key metaphor turns up again:
And it was just like September all over again. Their bodies came together like a key in a lock, and she was sure that she heard the dead bolt turn. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
The plot is built around the unplanned pregnancy trope and the H's unilateral decision to secure the ducal succession, by forcing Amelia into a marriage that neither of them want. It's hilarious that he even finds a way to make figurative lemonade in this bitter situation, when he rationalizes condescendingly:
Whatever else could be said about Americans, there was no denying that their brand of peasantry was…enterprising. The child would be hale and hardy and Teo would be on hand to guide him into his role as successor to the dukedom. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
He also flips the script on the heroine and asserts his dominance, by becoming the power broker in their new relationship. In his mind, Amelia's manipulation of events, at the masquerade ball, was a one time aberration that wouldn't be repeated. This is why he takes her to his isolated cabin in the Pyrenees, where there's food and clean water but no electricity and other modern conveniences.
His plan is to trap her into revealing that she's just like her mother: a scheming, social climbing golddigger. And it's here that the author references that old poem, about the spider and the fly, by Mary Howitt:
Unless she was mistaken, they were on top of a mountain with no electricity.
“Teo,” she said when he came out of the bedroom, that enigmatic look on his beautiful face. “What are we doing here? Time traveling?”
And her pulse picked up when the Nineteenth Duke of Marinceli…smiled.
Like the spider to the fly. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
In that cold remote cabin, with no means of escape, the heroine becomes aware that, much like the fly in Howitt's poem, she's in a very vulnerable situation:
H E IS A DUKE, not a spider, Amelia told herself crossly. And you are certainly not a fly.
But Teo’s smile still made the back of her neck prickle. https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
And in that cabin, high up in the snowy mountains, the defiant heroine was twirled and spun within his web, until she eventually capitulated to his seductive powers. But their HEA didn't come that easily, because this spider was too proud to admit that he was emotionally ensnared by his captive.
It was the heroine herself who had to proffer her love, as a means of weakening the rigid bonds that the H had strapped across his heart. And, it was the intervention of the unlikeliest ally, that shattered the H's resolve to never declare his love for the heroine.
This review is already so long, that I'll refrain from examining the MC's conflict resolution issues that led to their eventual reconciliation and HEA. In a normal review, that's what I would've done. But I decided to focus instead on the elements that were more interesting to me in this book.
But I know that future readers will be interested in knowing that the H's grovelling and apology were very sweet and romantic, since his grand, passionate gesture of atonement was executed in a very special location. It's exactly the sort of thing that a smitten guy should do for the woman he loves:
She promised to be his forever.
He made the same promise.
And intended to keep it, if he had to dismantle every last stone of el monstruo to do it.
https://bookshout.com/store/books/225...
The ending and the ( unmarked ) epilogue highlighted their son's birth and also provided a longer term summation of the MC's domestic life, with their 3 sons and 2 daughters.
Safety: No OW no OM and the heroine was celibate during their 3 month separation. The H's celibacy ( or lack thereof ) was not addressed/implied/hinted at. There's no mention of other women or what he'd done during those 3 months. It's written in such a way that it's entirely up to the reader to decide what she wants to believe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2019
ARC provided by NetGalley and Harlequin in exchange for an honest review.
I so enjoyed this love story.
The character development and the story line was perfect.
Amelia's mother married the Duke of Marinceli, and he was one of several husbands. Teo was Amelia's stepbrother and she's always been fascinated and a little in love with him. But Teo disliked Amelia's mother very much as she was considered a gold digger. And that dislike extended to Amelia. Well Amelia and Teo's parents divorced.
Year's later Amelia came up with a plan to exercise Teo from her mind and heart. She couldn't seem to get far with any of her dates so she decided on a plan to get him out of her system.
She attended a masquerade that Teo's family threw every year. She dyed her hair and wore contacts that changed her eye color disguised as someone else (she was fearful because she thought he would continue to show his dislike for her and didn't want to chance rejection). Well they instantly connected and of course their chemistry and attraction ended in them having sex. She slipped away with him supposedly not know who she was.
Amelia becomes pregnant and arrives at his home to let him know he is going to be a father. The two have a lot of history. Teo hasn't ever really resolved his issue with her mother and Amelia senses his animosity towards her. But after he bombshell he determines that they will marry, but Amilia isn't so convinced.
Teo takes her to a remote cabin to convince her and also to prove a point that she's kinda after the position and money. But Amelia knows the really Teo and she teaches him some home truths as well.
The story from that point is so sweet, as Amelia slowy proves to Teo that man he presents to the world is so much more then this Duke. Teo comes across during the beginning of the story as this stuck up snob and that Amelia is beneath him. But you sense that there's more to this persona and that Amelia knows it. And she sees the real person behind the Duke. And Teo realizes that Amelia's love will endure forever.
I do love the last quarter of the book. So sweet and romantic and emotionally heart felt. The character development for both characters is excellent and pacing of the story well done. And the epilogue is absolutely beautiful, a total ten in my book.
It was a fairly take of an HP.
I so enjoyed this love story.
The character development and the story line was perfect.
Amelia's mother married the Duke of Marinceli, and he was one of several husbands. Teo was Amelia's stepbrother and she's always been fascinated and a little in love with him. But Teo disliked Amelia's mother very much as she was considered a gold digger. And that dislike extended to Amelia. Well Amelia and Teo's parents divorced.
Year's later Amelia came up with a plan to exercise Teo from her mind and heart. She couldn't seem to get far with any of her dates so she decided on a plan to get him out of her system.
She attended a masquerade that Teo's family threw every year. She dyed her hair and wore contacts that changed her eye color disguised as someone else (she was fearful because she thought he would continue to show his dislike for her and didn't want to chance rejection). Well they instantly connected and of course their chemistry and attraction ended in them having sex. She slipped away with him supposedly not know who she was.
Amelia becomes pregnant and arrives at his home to let him know he is going to be a father. The two have a lot of history. Teo hasn't ever really resolved his issue with her mother and Amelia senses his animosity towards her. But after he bombshell he determines that they will marry, but Amilia isn't so convinced.
Teo takes her to a remote cabin to convince her and also to prove a point that she's kinda after the position and money. But Amelia knows the really Teo and she teaches him some home truths as well.
The story from that point is so sweet, as Amelia slowy proves to Teo that man he presents to the world is so much more then this Duke. Teo comes across during the beginning of the story as this stuck up snob and that Amelia is beneath him. But you sense that there's more to this persona and that Amelia knows it. And she sees the real person behind the Duke. And Teo realizes that Amelia's love will endure forever.
I do love the last quarter of the book. So sweet and romantic and emotionally heart felt. The character development for both characters is excellent and pacing of the story well done. And the epilogue is absolutely beautiful, a total ten in my book.
It was a fairly take of an HP.
December 18, 2019
"Secrets of His Forbidden Cinderella" is the story of Amelia and Teo.
Um. No.
Our H is a royal asshole *weep weep* poor baby, who has a ONS with a stranger a few months ago. His detestable ex-stepsister shows up randomly to his royal palace one day, and claims to have his royal baby. I mean, he has pure bloodlines..HOW DARE SHE CLAIM THAT HIS ROYAL SPERM FERTILIZED HER PEASANT EGGS?!
He forces her to have a royal paternity test, and the truth is revealed. This poor hillbilly with a scheming poor mother. Pfft.
He kidnaps her and takes her to his royal lodge, where he behaves like a royal asshole- making a pregnant lady choose between servitude or sex. Ofcourse, the poor, addled heroine enjoys cleaning..but then her eyes finally spot his royal soul, and they have royal sex. Some royal denial later, they have a royal HEA.
Asshole piece of shit hero, strong heroine who soon gives in to his super pompous royal charm and royal penis. I mean, she was pregnant with his effing baby- not only did he verbally abuse and shame her, he forced her to frekkin work like a servant?! F U C K O F F T U R D.
Dear hero, I hope you get royally probed in your jeweled rectum.
Unsafe
1/5
Um. No.
Our H is a royal asshole *weep weep* poor baby, who has a ONS with a stranger a few months ago. His detestable ex-stepsister shows up randomly to his royal palace one day, and claims to have his royal baby. I mean, he has pure bloodlines..HOW DARE SHE CLAIM THAT HIS ROYAL SPERM FERTILIZED HER PEASANT EGGS?!
He forces her to have a royal paternity test, and the truth is revealed. This poor hillbilly with a scheming poor mother. Pfft.
He kidnaps her and takes her to his royal lodge, where he behaves like a royal asshole- making a pregnant lady choose between servitude or sex. Ofcourse, the poor, addled heroine enjoys cleaning..but then her eyes finally spot his royal soul, and they have royal sex. Some royal denial later, they have a royal HEA.
Asshole piece of shit hero, strong heroine who soon gives in to his super pompous royal charm and royal penis. I mean, she was pregnant with his effing baby- not only did he verbally abuse and shame her, he forced her to frekkin work like a servant?! F U C K O F F T U R D.
Dear hero, I hope you get royally probed in your jeweled rectum.
Unsafe
1/5
April 18, 2021
I didn't love the plot:
Heroine was bit too manipulative - she disguised herself at a masquerade ball so she could have a one-night stand with her ex-stepbrother.
And that trip to the mountain cabin for punishment-by-cleaning made no sense.
But I loved the very aristocratic hero. He was delicious in his entitled, self-contained alphaness.
Ivy has all the details in her excellent review. Thanks, Ivy! I'm running out of time today.
Heroine was bit too manipulative - she disguised herself at a masquerade ball so she could have a one-night stand with her ex-stepbrother.
And that trip to the mountain cabin for punishment-by-cleaning made no sense.
But I loved the very aristocratic hero. He was delicious in his entitled, self-contained alphaness.
Ivy has all the details in her excellent review. Thanks, Ivy! I'm running out of time today.
March 4, 2020
Stuffy rigid Spanish duke had ons with his disguised virgin ex step sister and she winds up pregnant .
I enjoyed this one and it had a great epilogue.
I enjoyed this one and it had a great epilogue.
December 28, 2019
He should have taken some lessons about cruelty from vintage heroes of HPlandia.
February 27, 2020
Deliciously cruel hero, but I was disappointed in the plot, particularly the heroine's capitulating and acting like a maid at the remote cabin. He just didn't seem to have the right leverage to make that choice plausible, a fact which Crews lampshades by having the heroine point out that instead of sex or servitude, she could go for door #3: doing nothing until the hero grows tired of the game and takes them back to civilization.
However, historical romance authors could take a much-needed lesson from Crews on how to depict aristocratic arrogance. Stop writing like your dukes are accountants and bartenders, authors.
However, historical romance authors could take a much-needed lesson from Crews on how to depict aristocratic arrogance. Stop writing like your dukes are accountants and bartenders, authors.
January 18, 2020
Former step siblings had a one night stand at a masquerade ball. She crashed the ball to seduce him so she could get over her fascination with him. He’s a Duke. A snobby Duke. With a giant chip on his shoulder.
When she sneaks onto his property in Spain to tell him she’s preggers and it’s his, he doesn’t dispute it. He has a DNA test done to disprove/prove paternity. Then he kidnaps her to a remote mountain cabin and forces her to act like his maid. Cause he wanted to prove that she’s a gold digger. Ummmmm... ok
Even through the ridonculous bits, I still enjoyed this book. The h made the book for me. That girl had the patience of a saint. Sadly, I do not have her characteristics and would have thrown his ass off that mountain top, but she became a happy Duchess and I would’ve been in jail. 😂
When she sneaks onto his property in Spain to tell him she’s preggers and it’s his, he doesn’t dispute it. He has a DNA test done to disprove/prove paternity. Then he kidnaps her to a remote mountain cabin and forces her to act like his maid. Cause he wanted to prove that she’s a gold digger. Ummmmm... ok
Even through the ridonculous bits, I still enjoyed this book. The h made the book for me. That girl had the patience of a saint. Sadly, I do not have her characteristics and would have thrown his ass off that mountain top, but she became a happy Duchess and I would’ve been in jail. 😂
December 1, 2019
Cinderella's scandalous secret
Their forbidden passion had consequences!
Overwhelming. Irresistible. Off-limits. Teo de Luz was all those things to innocent Amelia. Until she attends his opulent masquerade ball, and they share a deliciously anonymous encounter! Now Amelia must tell this brooding Spaniard he's the father of her unborn child.
Teo can't forget his runaway Cinderella, but discovering her true identity stuns him. His loathing of Amelia's family means he cannot dismiss her deception! He will marry her. He will claim his heir. And he'll exact a sensual revenge on Amelia, one pleasurable night at a time... (less)
Their forbidden passion had consequences!
Overwhelming. Irresistible. Off-limits. Teo de Luz was all those things to innocent Amelia. Until she attends his opulent masquerade ball, and they share a deliciously anonymous encounter! Now Amelia must tell this brooding Spaniard he's the father of her unborn child.
Teo can't forget his runaway Cinderella, but discovering her true identity stuns him. His loathing of Amelia's family means he cannot dismiss her deception! He will marry her. He will claim his heir. And he'll exact a sensual revenge on Amelia, one pleasurable night at a time... (less)
January 1, 2020
Such a lovely read and lovely couple , I enjoyed it alot and the ending was perfect for me ❤
November 1, 2021
Interesting retelling of Cinderella, he’s far from charming. Half way through the arrogant ass needed a good throat punch.
December 26, 2019
Doormat h ... who keeps on smiling like an idiot ... and a H who is really a kid in disguise ...
Why was she so fixated on him as a teenager and then an adult woman ... unless it was just a case of good old-fashioned lust ...
She is pregnant and he takes her to this remote place .. she realises he also has feelings (what did she assume he would have ... he is human after all) and decides to accept his proposal of marriage and jumps in bed with him ...
Both H and h irritated me ... they scheme, they plot and generally behave like idiots ...
Why was she so fixated on him as a teenager and then an adult woman ... unless it was just a case of good old-fashioned lust ...
She is pregnant and he takes her to this remote place .. she realises he also has feelings (what did she assume he would have ... he is human after all) and decides to accept his proposal of marriage and jumps in bed with him ...
Both H and h irritated me ... they scheme, they plot and generally behave like idiots ...
May 12, 2020
Honestly, after the wring-my-heart-and-hang-it-out-to-dry of Grey’s The Glittering Hour, I needed a good quick HEA-fix and where better to find it than between the HP’s covers. A Crews too, who better than her ability to write intense drama plus banter and characters who capture you with their humanity. Alas, it was not to be. Secrets Of His Forbidden Cinderella was better in concept than execution.
I’m not terribly proud that I’m a sucker for the accidental pregnancy romance narrative, but I am. It’s not so much the pregnancy part I like, but the protagonists working things out for something more important, more precious, and way more vulnerable than their sorry selves. Inevitably, in the HP’s tropish-constraints, the heroine is seemingly the weaker of the two. Often of humble means, she tiptoes through the tulips of her new-found state with the altruistic idea to do what’s best and what’s fair. The hero, on the other hand, treats the pregnancy revelation with mistrust in regards to the heroine’s motivations, but with a medieval possessiveness for his “heir”.
Crews’s Forbidden Cinderella ran true to form. Four months before the start of the romance proper, American Amelia Ransom dyed her hair, donned coloured contact lenses, and crashed her former stepbrother’s, the 19th Duke of Marinceli’s, Teo de Luz’s, annual masquerade. One thing led to another, yada yada, and voilà, she stands before the suspicious, coldly supercilious, mistrustful Teo, knocked up, but armed with the moral righteousness to do the right thing, tell him about his future son/daughter and return to San Francisco to “enjoy the rest of [her] pregnancy and prepare for life as a single mother.”
Teo has contempt for Amelia because REASONS. Amelia’s gold-digging mother had been married to Teo’s father and ruined him after she divorced him. A larger-than-life beauty with a penchant for collecting rich husbands: how far, after all, can the apple fall from the mother-tree? Entrapment, greed, the besmirching of the ducal bloodline with American peasantry: Teo throws everything at Amelia, but insists, after the paternity test, they marry so he can bring up his son as the next duke. To follow, with at-best muddy logic, Teo brings Amelia to a mountain cabin and compels her, at four and a half months pregnant, to act as his maid unless she agrees to share his bed. So, blackmail, indentured servitude, and an indifference to a woman’s well-being when she’s at her most vulnerable: way to go HP-hero. Now, ole Amelia doesn’t help matters: she enjoys the domesticity, which includes sleeping on an uncomfortable couch, starting the morning fires, and making his Duke-Ship his morning java.
Inevitably, Amelia sees through the arrogance and lack of manners to the vulnerable man beneath the ducal assholery. But lest we give up on Amelia as an abject doormat and move on to the next volume on the Kindle, she shows some spine, nay, in true HP-romance-fashion, she shows CHIN! Instead of slamming the ducal door to the ducal dick, Amelia WILL marry him, WILL love him, and WILL hope he will some day love her back. Is that a crack in the ducal armor? Why, yes, why it is: Teo begins to show signs of humanity instead of smoldering anger and cool contempt.
Normally, I’m all for the HP-WTF-ery, I can take the most outlandish tropish delivery IF the author conveys it with a certain authenticity, nay, delight in its zaniness. Crews can do this, usually with a combination of great banter and emotionally engaging characters. Her strength is in the dialogue’s sharpness and wit. In Cinderella‘s case, however, she traded dialogue for exposition and it didn’t do her any favours: her characters fall flat, banter is infrequent and fleeting. I didn’t care about, or for Amelia and Teo and I was never immersed in the pure romance fantasy the HP offers to the hungry reader-heart. Sadly, Crews’s Forbidden Cinderella “had a high claim to forbearance,” Emma, and I made my way to its baby-filled epilogue if only to see it through.
Caitlin Crews’s Secrets of His Forbidden Cinderella is published by Harlequin Books. It was released in December 2019 and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-galley from Harlequin Books, via Netgalley.
I’m not terribly proud that I’m a sucker for the accidental pregnancy romance narrative, but I am. It’s not so much the pregnancy part I like, but the protagonists working things out for something more important, more precious, and way more vulnerable than their sorry selves. Inevitably, in the HP’s tropish-constraints, the heroine is seemingly the weaker of the two. Often of humble means, she tiptoes through the tulips of her new-found state with the altruistic idea to do what’s best and what’s fair. The hero, on the other hand, treats the pregnancy revelation with mistrust in regards to the heroine’s motivations, but with a medieval possessiveness for his “heir”.
Crews’s Forbidden Cinderella ran true to form. Four months before the start of the romance proper, American Amelia Ransom dyed her hair, donned coloured contact lenses, and crashed her former stepbrother’s, the 19th Duke of Marinceli’s, Teo de Luz’s, annual masquerade. One thing led to another, yada yada, and voilà, she stands before the suspicious, coldly supercilious, mistrustful Teo, knocked up, but armed with the moral righteousness to do the right thing, tell him about his future son/daughter and return to San Francisco to “enjoy the rest of [her] pregnancy and prepare for life as a single mother.”
Teo has contempt for Amelia because REASONS. Amelia’s gold-digging mother had been married to Teo’s father and ruined him after she divorced him. A larger-than-life beauty with a penchant for collecting rich husbands: how far, after all, can the apple fall from the mother-tree? Entrapment, greed, the besmirching of the ducal bloodline with American peasantry: Teo throws everything at Amelia, but insists, after the paternity test, they marry so he can bring up his son as the next duke. To follow, with at-best muddy logic, Teo brings Amelia to a mountain cabin and compels her, at four and a half months pregnant, to act as his maid unless she agrees to share his bed. So, blackmail, indentured servitude, and an indifference to a woman’s well-being when she’s at her most vulnerable: way to go HP-hero. Now, ole Amelia doesn’t help matters: she enjoys the domesticity, which includes sleeping on an uncomfortable couch, starting the morning fires, and making his Duke-Ship his morning java.
Inevitably, Amelia sees through the arrogance and lack of manners to the vulnerable man beneath the ducal assholery. But lest we give up on Amelia as an abject doormat and move on to the next volume on the Kindle, she shows some spine, nay, in true HP-romance-fashion, she shows CHIN! Instead of slamming the ducal door to the ducal dick, Amelia WILL marry him, WILL love him, and WILL hope he will some day love her back. Is that a crack in the ducal armor? Why, yes, why it is: Teo begins to show signs of humanity instead of smoldering anger and cool contempt.
Normally, I’m all for the HP-WTF-ery, I can take the most outlandish tropish delivery IF the author conveys it with a certain authenticity, nay, delight in its zaniness. Crews can do this, usually with a combination of great banter and emotionally engaging characters. Her strength is in the dialogue’s sharpness and wit. In Cinderella‘s case, however, she traded dialogue for exposition and it didn’t do her any favours: her characters fall flat, banter is infrequent and fleeting. I didn’t care about, or for Amelia and Teo and I was never immersed in the pure romance fantasy the HP offers to the hungry reader-heart. Sadly, Crews’s Forbidden Cinderella “had a high claim to forbearance,” Emma, and I made my way to its baby-filled epilogue if only to see it through.
Caitlin Crews’s Secrets of His Forbidden Cinderella is published by Harlequin Books. It was released in December 2019 and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-galley from Harlequin Books, via Netgalley.
April 4, 2021
This one could have easily been a 4 star except for one eternal pet peeve.
"Cariña"
Look, I love it when authors add words and phrases from other languages. It adds depth to the both the story and character with a few well chosen words or phrases.
However.
The word is "cariño" in Spanish and never cariña *no matter the gender of the person it is being applied to*. I know this may be confusing but that's the rule so it's better to just go with it. Or double check usage with either a native speaker so as not to irritate Spanish speaking readers
"Cariña"
Look, I love it when authors add words and phrases from other languages. It adds depth to the both the story and character with a few well chosen words or phrases.
However.
The word is "cariño" in Spanish and never cariña *no matter the gender of the person it is being applied to*. I know this may be confusing but that's the rule so it's better to just go with it. Or double check usage with either a native speaker so as not to irritate Spanish speaking readers
December 18, 2019
I really love Caitlin Crews’ writing style. She creates worlds which embody fairy tale tropes filtered by a truly original slant. Her prose is descriptive, poetic and literary; her characters are engaging and deep and her stories satisfy. I love the fact that she takes risks and tries new ideas.
I am always amused with the deep fascination with aristocracy in Mills and Boon land, but the fact that our hero is a Spanish Duke seems almost irrelevant; it simply allows Teo to be one of the most alpha heroes ever. It makes his final redemption even more pleasurable!
I adored Teo - despite the fact that if I actually met someone as snobbish as him, I would cheerfully drown him. Amelia is a fabulous heroine and the two of them together just sparked off each other. A wonderful exploration of love and identity - and I loved the epilogue!
Another satisfying read from Ms Crews!
I am always amused with the deep fascination with aristocracy in Mills and Boon land, but the fact that our hero is a Spanish Duke seems almost irrelevant; it simply allows Teo to be one of the most alpha heroes ever. It makes his final redemption even more pleasurable!
I adored Teo - despite the fact that if I actually met someone as snobbish as him, I would cheerfully drown him. Amelia is a fabulous heroine and the two of them together just sparked off each other. A wonderful exploration of love and identity - and I loved the epilogue!
Another satisfying read from Ms Crews!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2020
Where do I even begin with this book, eh?!! The first 20ish% was alright, could look past the incessant internal monologue that explained to the reader everything without showing nothing. I could've even overlooked the lack of substance from the characters and the bad writing. Could've even looked past the borrrrrrrring plot. I really could've done all of that...
This woman is pregnant and goes to tell her previous step-brother that she seduced him under cover and she is now pregnant, however AT NO POINT SHE ACTS LIKE A PREGNANT WOMAN!!! Besides to one scene when she falls asleep tired, that's it. No morning sickness, no cravings, no other experiences that she might be pregnant - and although I can appreciate that some women may not experience them, this is a novel and I did struggle massively to believe she was pregnant.
Teo is also an unmitigated ass! He treats her like utter rubbish because she is not royal and he hated her mother, his previous step-mother. The fact that he says he is soooooo protective of his baby, however drags Amelia into this stupid island with no electricity, appropriate food (because HE HUNTS), only source of heating from a fire (that she is supposed to maintain even at night) and become his servant, does not scream to me "I care about this baby". If you care about the baby, you care about the mum, you don't make her go through shit like that to prove a point... shouldn't do that to anybody because that makes you an arsehole and an offender too!
However, the moment when about 35-40% in the story (AND SPOILERS) the man who she is supposed to fall in love with, tells her that she is either going to be his servant on this remove island with no electricity or she'd have to have sex with him. So when she initially refused to be his servant, because what woman in her right mind would want to do that?!, her ONLY option would've been to have sex with him... so that translates into be my slave or I rape you?
The fact that they end up together in the end, is a total mystery to me. I would've called the cops and press charges for kidnapping and deprivation of liberty. The fact that in these books the men with money can get away with anything, infuriates me to no end! He even threatened her to fly doctors to deliver the baby until she would make the decision to marry him. Can we stop with this damaging idea !? This is controlling coercive behaviour and it's no joke! Nobody is above the law! Thank you.
Why did I finish reading it? Because I skim read until the end to see if the Amelia could be that stupid and continue with this relationship - spoiler, she was!
Can you tell I am reallllly mad at this book?
This woman is pregnant and goes to tell her previous step-brother that she seduced him under cover and she is now pregnant, however AT NO POINT SHE ACTS LIKE A PREGNANT WOMAN!!! Besides to one scene when she falls asleep tired, that's it. No morning sickness, no cravings, no other experiences that she might be pregnant - and although I can appreciate that some women may not experience them, this is a novel and I did struggle massively to believe she was pregnant.
Teo is also an unmitigated ass! He treats her like utter rubbish because she is not royal and he hated her mother, his previous step-mother. The fact that he says he is soooooo protective of his baby, however drags Amelia into this stupid island with no electricity, appropriate food (because HE HUNTS), only source of heating from a fire (that she is supposed to maintain even at night) and become his servant, does not scream to me "I care about this baby". If you care about the baby, you care about the mum, you don't make her go through shit like that to prove a point... shouldn't do that to anybody because that makes you an arsehole and an offender too!
However, the moment when about 35-40% in the story (AND SPOILERS) the man who she is supposed to fall in love with, tells her that she is either going to be his servant on this remove island with no electricity or she'd have to have sex with him. So when she initially refused to be his servant, because what woman in her right mind would want to do that?!, her ONLY option would've been to have sex with him... so that translates into be my slave or I rape you?
The fact that they end up together in the end, is a total mystery to me. I would've called the cops and press charges for kidnapping and deprivation of liberty. The fact that in these books the men with money can get away with anything, infuriates me to no end! He even threatened her to fly doctors to deliver the baby until she would make the decision to marry him. Can we stop with this damaging idea !? This is controlling coercive behaviour and it's no joke! Nobody is above the law! Thank you.
Why did I finish reading it? Because I skim read until the end to see if the Amelia could be that stupid and continue with this relationship - spoiler, she was!
Can you tell I am reallllly mad at this book?
July 29, 2020
I actually was ready to DNF this after the first few pages because I thought it was going to be a "typical" HQ with forced marriage, angry H & doormat h, but this was so much more! The prose may be a little too "flowery" for many who prefer straight action, but I loved it! Others have written spoilers and more detailed reviews, so check them out if you want to know more about the plot.
July 13, 2020
This book was Harlequin Presents #3778 (Jan. 2020), published in December 2019. The story begins like it's the sequel to an earlier novel, where our heroine Amelia goes to the mansion of her wealthy stepbrother Teo to inform him that she is pregnant with his child. You see, several months earlier Amelia attended a masquerade party with dyed hair, contact lenses and a "steam punk" mask that she didn't remove even when having sex with Teo in a private room at the party. Her mother, the frequently-divorced Marie French (mistakenly referred to as "Marie Force" in an amusing typo on page 33) had briefly married Teo's father which causes Teo to assume that Amelia is just another money-hungry or status-seeking parasite out to get her clutches on him.
I'm rating this book 2.5 stars, although occasionally it got to 3 star territory for me. The character of Teo is a classic brooding aristocrat like one might find in a historical romance, and Amelia is a modern young woman determined not to get pushed around by him. Unfortunately, the middle of the book has Teo behaving in an unforgivable manner by kidnapping Amelia and forcing her to choose between marrying him or to be his servant cleaning the dirty floors. This ties into the "Cinderella" description of the title, making the story a genuine "fairy tale for adults" (as the Harlequin Presents line has been called). Ultimately Teo sees the light and is redeemed, but the fact that Amelia fell in love with him before his grovel at the end runs the risk of sending a disturbing message to readers that his dictatorial behavior was somehow okay or "hot." In the real world, as soon as Teo allowed her to finally leave the cabin with him, she ought to have called the police!
The writing style has its good and bad points. It's written in a rapid-fire clip where sentences are often incomplete and continued from the previous one. A few times it feels like the momentum of the words is moving so fast that mistakes were made, such as on page 153 where we read "He been certain they'd be back home..." ("he" should be "he had") or page 161, where "His big hands of his wrapped around her waist..." ("of his" is not needed). The writing occasionally veers towards the silly. Here's another sample, also from page 161: "The look in his dark gaze slammed through her, thick like greed. Teo lifted her toward him, then took one hard, proud nipple in his mouth. And sucked. And it was as if her head... flatlined." (Those three sentences are actually broken into three paragraphs in the text.) While the writing often has clever ways of putting things, sometimes the attempted poetry of the wording fails to deliver, as with the aforementioned "proud nipple."
Another problem with the writing is that too much time is spent inside the heads of the characters, particularly Amelia, so that no one can cross the room without it taking two pages of internal monologue to complete the action. The reader has to continually be told about how either Amelia or Teo (more often Amelia) feels about everything happening and how it relates to their past, present and future. After awhile it felt like filler to pad out a thin plot and became a little tiresome by the end. An example of this is page 198 where the butler clears his throat to speak to Amelia, but it's not until 9 sentence later (on page 199) that he actually speaks. I would have preferred to have been spared about 50% of the character's thoughts in favor of more action, and trust the reader to figure out what Teo and Amelia are thinking based on what they are doing. In other words, less telling and more showing.
Of course Crews is a successful and prolific author, and obviously knows how to write very well, but the above was my honest reaction to what I read. Unlike some other books that I've given only two stars to, I have to admit that I wouldn't mind reading this novel again at some point, or another book by Crews. I enjoyed parts of the book more than others, and it's not a bad book by any means, but not a perfect one either.
I'm rating this book 2.5 stars, although occasionally it got to 3 star territory for me. The character of Teo is a classic brooding aristocrat like one might find in a historical romance, and Amelia is a modern young woman determined not to get pushed around by him. Unfortunately, the middle of the book has Teo behaving in an unforgivable manner by kidnapping Amelia and forcing her to choose between marrying him or to be his servant cleaning the dirty floors. This ties into the "Cinderella" description of the title, making the story a genuine "fairy tale for adults" (as the Harlequin Presents line has been called). Ultimately Teo sees the light and is redeemed, but the fact that Amelia fell in love with him before his grovel at the end runs the risk of sending a disturbing message to readers that his dictatorial behavior was somehow okay or "hot." In the real world, as soon as Teo allowed her to finally leave the cabin with him, she ought to have called the police!
The writing style has its good and bad points. It's written in a rapid-fire clip where sentences are often incomplete and continued from the previous one. A few times it feels like the momentum of the words is moving so fast that mistakes were made, such as on page 153 where we read "He been certain they'd be back home..." ("he" should be "he had") or page 161, where "His big hands of his wrapped around her waist..." ("of his" is not needed). The writing occasionally veers towards the silly. Here's another sample, also from page 161: "The look in his dark gaze slammed through her, thick like greed. Teo lifted her toward him, then took one hard, proud nipple in his mouth. And sucked. And it was as if her head... flatlined." (Those three sentences are actually broken into three paragraphs in the text.) While the writing often has clever ways of putting things, sometimes the attempted poetry of the wording fails to deliver, as with the aforementioned "proud nipple."
Another problem with the writing is that too much time is spent inside the heads of the characters, particularly Amelia, so that no one can cross the room without it taking two pages of internal monologue to complete the action. The reader has to continually be told about how either Amelia or Teo (more often Amelia) feels about everything happening and how it relates to their past, present and future. After awhile it felt like filler to pad out a thin plot and became a little tiresome by the end. An example of this is page 198 where the butler clears his throat to speak to Amelia, but it's not until 9 sentence later (on page 199) that he actually speaks. I would have preferred to have been spared about 50% of the character's thoughts in favor of more action, and trust the reader to figure out what Teo and Amelia are thinking based on what they are doing. In other words, less telling and more showing.
Of course Crews is a successful and prolific author, and obviously knows how to write very well, but the above was my honest reaction to what I read. Unlike some other books that I've given only two stars to, I have to admit that I wouldn't mind reading this novel again at some point, or another book by Crews. I enjoyed parts of the book more than others, and it's not a bad book by any means, but not a perfect one either.
April 7, 2025
I felt like this had potential but sadly didn’t live up to it.
Amelia’s mother was married to Teo’s father, a Duke, when Amelia was a teenager. Teo hated her mom and her by extension but somehow Amelia loved him? In current day, years later (their parents are divorced and now Teo’s dad is dead) Amelia is a virgin and can’t seem to want sex with anyone so she disguises herself and seduces Teo to get him out of her system.
Blah blah, she finds out she’s pregnant and goes to tell him, he’s super cold and arrogant but says they will marry.
The story was too short for me to feel the change in their relationship. Amelia was so strong and not a doormat in the beginning but he whisks her to a cabin in the middle of nowhere and forces her to do chores and maid duties?? And then suddenly she loves him and agrees to sex and marriage? I felt like they were trying to force a Cinderella angle that didn’t really fit.
The rest of the pacing was off to me and I really didn’t understand why they were in love. 🤷🏻♀️ I usually don’t love heroes of a harlequin romance but thought because Amelia was a strong heroine at first that this one had more promise but sadly I was let down.
The ending was cute, though, and I did like the glimpse into their future!
Amelia’s mother was married to Teo’s father, a Duke, when Amelia was a teenager. Teo hated her mom and her by extension but somehow Amelia loved him? In current day, years later (their parents are divorced and now Teo’s dad is dead) Amelia is a virgin and can’t seem to want sex with anyone so she disguises herself and seduces Teo to get him out of her system.
Blah blah, she finds out she’s pregnant and goes to tell him, he’s super cold and arrogant but says they will marry.
The story was too short for me to feel the change in their relationship. Amelia was so strong and not a doormat in the beginning but he whisks her to a cabin in the middle of nowhere and forces her to do chores and maid duties?? And then suddenly she loves him and agrees to sex and marriage? I felt like they were trying to force a Cinderella angle that didn’t really fit.
The rest of the pacing was off to me and I really didn’t understand why they were in love. 🤷🏻♀️ I usually don’t love heroes of a harlequin romance but thought because Amelia was a strong heroine at first that this one had more promise but sadly I was let down.
The ending was cute, though, and I did like the glimpse into their future!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2019
Overall, I enjoyed this Harlequin Presents novel featuring Spanish Duke, Teo, and intrepid heroine, Amelia, who travels to Spain to inform him that she’s pregnant for him after a one night stand. However with Teo hating her family, he’s not taking the news well, not that Amelia cares that much because she’s strong and has tried to make her own way in the world despite her upbringing.
I liked that this novel had a strong heroine with some agency. Yes, it’s not the most feminist of premises or executions with the way Teo and Amelia got together, but Amelia does put up some resistance and isn’t crushed by his initial resistance. I also really enjoyed this novel’s examination of love and what it takes to sustain it in a realistic way. I like how rather than a surface happily ever after or just a lust-based relationship, Teo and Amelia grew to really see each other and understand each other and acknowledge their faults in dealing with each other in this book. My only downside with this was that sometimes it felt a little unevenly written. I felt sometimes like the transitions were a little abrupt, which might be related to the editing for length.
However, this is one of the most gorgeously honest examinations of love and what it takes to sustain in I’ve read in a Harlequin Presents novel and I did enjoy it and I’d rate it 2.5-3 stars!
I liked that this novel had a strong heroine with some agency. Yes, it’s not the most feminist of premises or executions with the way Teo and Amelia got together, but Amelia does put up some resistance and isn’t crushed by his initial resistance. I also really enjoyed this novel’s examination of love and what it takes to sustain it in a realistic way. I like how rather than a surface happily ever after or just a lust-based relationship, Teo and Amelia grew to really see each other and understand each other and acknowledge their faults in dealing with each other in this book. My only downside with this was that sometimes it felt a little unevenly written. I felt sometimes like the transitions were a little abrupt, which might be related to the editing for length.
However, this is one of the most gorgeously honest examinations of love and what it takes to sustain in I’ve read in a Harlequin Presents novel and I did enjoy it and I’d rate it 2.5-3 stars!
December 18, 2019
This book was awful, Teo the nineteenth Duke of marinelli had the charm of a gnat. Amelia was a little better in the fact she had more emotions and a sense of humor. She wasn’t exactly a doormat but not far from it. Together these two people were boring and had zero chemistry. There were chapters upon chapters of internal dialogue that did nothing to move the story in any direction. The way this story is written you feel nothing for these two because the story is told in internal thoughts from Amelia. I was speed reading through Kindle at the speed of light. I couldn’t wait to be done with this book. Can’t and won’t recommend this book.
January 1, 2020
Secrets of His Forbidden Cinderella Caitlin Crews is the story of Teo and Amelia.
Teo dislikes Amelia's family because her mother married his father which he considers her mother a gold digger which extended to her. But their parents later divorced but Amelia always crushed on Teo. Now a few years later Amelia thinks to hide who she is to get close to Teo to work through her feelings for him but it backfires.
Enjoyed their story.
Teo dislikes Amelia's family because her mother married his father which he considers her mother a gold digger which extended to her. But their parents later divorced but Amelia always crushed on Teo. Now a few years later Amelia thinks to hide who she is to get close to Teo to work through her feelings for him but it backfires.
Enjoyed their story.
December 14, 2019
I have been longtime Caitlin Crewes fan. For that reason I was so onboard for Secrets of His Forbidden Cinderella. It was sexy and addicting and I was here for Teo and Amelia's chemistry.
I loved how unapproachable and stoic Teo was. There is nothing I love more than opposites attract stories. Amelia was sassy, strong and determined and met Teo barb for barb. I loved it so much! I would have loved to see more of a grovel from Teo and more of Amelia's life in San Francisco but for a short story this was a quick and delicious read.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. 4 stars! ~Ratula
I loved how unapproachable and stoic Teo was. There is nothing I love more than opposites attract stories. Amelia was sassy, strong and determined and met Teo barb for barb. I loved it so much! I would have loved to see more of a grovel from Teo and more of Amelia's life in San Francisco but for a short story this was a quick and delicious read.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. 4 stars! ~Ratula
April 10, 2020
This book just wasnt it.
H was an ass
h was a doormat who came across as obsessive
And the whole love you just wasnt believable
H was an ass
h was a doormat who came across as obsessive
And the whole love you just wasnt believable
January 31, 2023
2.5 stars
Lacklustre. Couldn’t feel the romance since the H was a major pompous ass and it overwhelm the story.
Lacklustre. Couldn’t feel the romance since the H was a major pompous ass and it overwhelm the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2019
As a child, Cinderella was my favorite fairy tale; as an adult, I'm a fan of Caitlin Crews' novels, so when offered a chance to read and review an advanced reader copy of this book, I accepted with a big smile on my face. However, after reading it in one sitting, until 6:00 a.m., the bottom line is that I'm now in a love/hate relationship with this book and its hero (hated him) and its heroine (loved her), which is why I'm settling for a rating of 3 stars--stuck in the middle.
Ten years earlier, Amelia's mother, Marie French, notorious for her many marriages and divorces to wealthy men, met and married the widowed Duke of Marinceli, the 18th such Duke, lording it over his unbroken bloodlines' massive estate in the Spanish countryside, to the consternation of his only son, Teo, the one who will inherit his father's title when his father dies. He's been groomed to do so, and is proud of his lineage, making it obvious that he fiercely loathed his father's choice of bride, and his new stepsister, 16-year-old Amelia. During the few years the marriage lasted, Teo basically ignored his stepsister, and when the marriage ended in divorce, Teo, of course, blamed it on the notorious gold-digging, commoner/whore his father married. When they left the estate, he never gave them another thought, aside from blaming his father's downward spiral, subsequent ill-fated marriages, and eventual death on Marie Force.
Ten years later, Amelia is now 26, still a virgin, and still has feelings for Teo. Each fall, the Marinceli estate hosts an exclusive masked masquerade ball, and Amelia dyes her hair red, wears colored contact lenses to disguise her violet eyes, buys the most revealing gown she can find, and sneaks onto to the estate. Her plan is to exorcise Teo from her heart, attract his attention by flirting with him, and end up having two sexual encounters with Teo, losing her virginity, and then fleeing into the night. Although he used protection, when Amelia finds herself pregnant 18 weeks later, she feels obligated to let Teo know, in person, that she's carrying his child, and that she wants nothing more from him than his signature on a legal document forfeiting his parental rights to their child. What's wrong with this picture? Teo.
When Amelia arrives at the mansion to deliver her news, she nearly has to fight her way past an obnoxious butler, but eventually Teo agrees to see her. To say that his attitude toward her is frosty is putting it mildly. He's utterly cold, obnoxious, self-absorbed, and incredibly rude to Amelia, and when she tells him the purpose of her visit, he assumes she's a gold-digging commoner who wants his money, her mother's child to the core. Of course, he insists on a paternity test, and when the results are in, finally has to believe that Amelia was the mystery women he had a passionate encounter with months ago.
Now, knowing that Amelia is carrying his firstborn heir, he insists they marry, so his child can bear his name, be raised to be the 20th Duke of Marinceli, and he doesn't quite care that Amelia wants nothing more to do with him, his feelings of superiority, or his scorn and cold demeanor. Amelia wants to return to her home in San Francisco, and what does Teo do? He whisks her off to a rustic cabin on a mountaintop in the Pyrenees, where he treats her like a scullery maid and worse, planning to keep her there until she agrees to marry him, and his obnoxious, rude, entitled behavior made him quite possibly the most hateful hero I've ever encountered in a romance novel. He couldn't be less like the Prince Charming in Cinderella if he tried, and in fact, Amelia soon tells him that he's no Duke Charming. He also tells her that he will stop treating her as his servant when she agrees to marry him, at which point she can stop sleeping on the couch and share his bed. What an honor (where's my sarcasm font?) He simply cannot comprehend the fact that Amelia, despite his dim view of her and her mother, would rather act as his maid than become his wife. So, what happens to this ill-matched couple? Sorry, I don't do spoilers.
While Ms. Crews is an excellent and talented author, and her descriptions of the estate and mansion were stellar, I believe she erred in making Teo too unlikable, too stuffy, too rude, too unfeeling, too hateful, too privileged, and too full of himself for him to ever fully redeem himself to this reader. I sincerely wish that Ms. Crews had made him a little less pompous than she did. I did like the fact that she gave her heroine a backbone and some smarts, but the expected HEA ending was simply too little, too late to truly be believable. If you're a fan of fairy tale romances, I predict that you'll either react as I did, or fall in love with this well-written novel, but sadly, loving this novel while hating the hero was impossible for this reader.
As previously stated, I read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.
Ten years earlier, Amelia's mother, Marie French, notorious for her many marriages and divorces to wealthy men, met and married the widowed Duke of Marinceli, the 18th such Duke, lording it over his unbroken bloodlines' massive estate in the Spanish countryside, to the consternation of his only son, Teo, the one who will inherit his father's title when his father dies. He's been groomed to do so, and is proud of his lineage, making it obvious that he fiercely loathed his father's choice of bride, and his new stepsister, 16-year-old Amelia. During the few years the marriage lasted, Teo basically ignored his stepsister, and when the marriage ended in divorce, Teo, of course, blamed it on the notorious gold-digging, commoner/whore his father married. When they left the estate, he never gave them another thought, aside from blaming his father's downward spiral, subsequent ill-fated marriages, and eventual death on Marie Force.
Ten years later, Amelia is now 26, still a virgin, and still has feelings for Teo. Each fall, the Marinceli estate hosts an exclusive masked masquerade ball, and Amelia dyes her hair red, wears colored contact lenses to disguise her violet eyes, buys the most revealing gown she can find, and sneaks onto to the estate. Her plan is to exorcise Teo from her heart, attract his attention by flirting with him, and end up having two sexual encounters with Teo, losing her virginity, and then fleeing into the night. Although he used protection, when Amelia finds herself pregnant 18 weeks later, she feels obligated to let Teo know, in person, that she's carrying his child, and that she wants nothing more from him than his signature on a legal document forfeiting his parental rights to their child. What's wrong with this picture? Teo.
When Amelia arrives at the mansion to deliver her news, she nearly has to fight her way past an obnoxious butler, but eventually Teo agrees to see her. To say that his attitude toward her is frosty is putting it mildly. He's utterly cold, obnoxious, self-absorbed, and incredibly rude to Amelia, and when she tells him the purpose of her visit, he assumes she's a gold-digging commoner who wants his money, her mother's child to the core. Of course, he insists on a paternity test, and when the results are in, finally has to believe that Amelia was the mystery women he had a passionate encounter with months ago.
Now, knowing that Amelia is carrying his firstborn heir, he insists they marry, so his child can bear his name, be raised to be the 20th Duke of Marinceli, and he doesn't quite care that Amelia wants nothing more to do with him, his feelings of superiority, or his scorn and cold demeanor. Amelia wants to return to her home in San Francisco, and what does Teo do? He whisks her off to a rustic cabin on a mountaintop in the Pyrenees, where he treats her like a scullery maid and worse, planning to keep her there until she agrees to marry him, and his obnoxious, rude, entitled behavior made him quite possibly the most hateful hero I've ever encountered in a romance novel. He couldn't be less like the Prince Charming in Cinderella if he tried, and in fact, Amelia soon tells him that he's no Duke Charming. He also tells her that he will stop treating her as his servant when she agrees to marry him, at which point she can stop sleeping on the couch and share his bed. What an honor (where's my sarcasm font?) He simply cannot comprehend the fact that Amelia, despite his dim view of her and her mother, would rather act as his maid than become his wife. So, what happens to this ill-matched couple? Sorry, I don't do spoilers.
While Ms. Crews is an excellent and talented author, and her descriptions of the estate and mansion were stellar, I believe she erred in making Teo too unlikable, too stuffy, too rude, too unfeeling, too hateful, too privileged, and too full of himself for him to ever fully redeem himself to this reader. I sincerely wish that Ms. Crews had made him a little less pompous than she did. I did like the fact that she gave her heroine a backbone and some smarts, but the expected HEA ending was simply too little, too late to truly be believable. If you're a fan of fairy tale romances, I predict that you'll either react as I did, or fall in love with this well-written novel, but sadly, loving this novel while hating the hero was impossible for this reader.
As previously stated, I read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.
January 5, 2020
Amelia was at the Duke of Mareneli’s home in Spain. She was Tao-the Duke- stepsister at one time. She had to see him, she had come all the way from San francisco but the butler wouldn’t let her past the door. Of all her mother's husbands noone had impressed themselves on Amelia as had Luis Calvo-Teo’s father. If Amelia could turn back the clock and make this all go away, she would. But wishing didn’t change the facts. Amelia thought the butler would slam the door in her face. A part of her hoped he would. Because surely if she’d gone to the trouble to fly herself to Spain, turn up on his doorstep and try to tell him that was enough. Above and beyond the call of duty. Really she could only do so much. It wasn’t her fault the man the man chose to barricade himself away like this. The butler finally let Amelia in and teo asked her to leave than she told him she was pregnant with his child. Amelia said she wanted him to sign away his parental rights. Teo said he wanted a paternity test. If somehow the child was his he would relinquish nothing. He demanded she reenacted that night at the Masquerade ball. She had forgotten his effect on her. It was insulting he considered himself so far above her that he could openly disparage her. Amelia thought she really might break into pieces, right here on his fancy ducal rug, if she backed down from this challenge. Teo told Amelia he would send his business manager with two members of his legal team come to her. Than Teo was told the test was positive Amelia’s child was his.
I loved this book. I loved that Amelia stood on her own two feet and felt it was her duty to tell Tao he was to become a father. I absolutely loved the last part of the book where Tao’s feelings come through and he is totally opposite the way he feels and treats Amelia. His love comes through. I love how strong Amelia was how she acted his servant in the cabin until she finally gave in to her desire to be in Taos bed. I love that we see Amelia’s and Tao’s relationship grow and change it wasn’t just all of a sudden. I really enjoyed the pace and plot. I loved when Tao realized how wrong he had been about Amelia. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend this book.
I loved this book. I loved that Amelia stood on her own two feet and felt it was her duty to tell Tao he was to become a father. I absolutely loved the last part of the book where Tao’s feelings come through and he is totally opposite the way he feels and treats Amelia. His love comes through. I love how strong Amelia was how she acted his servant in the cabin until she finally gave in to her desire to be in Taos bed. I love that we see Amelia’s and Tao’s relationship grow and change it wasn’t just all of a sudden. I really enjoyed the pace and plot. I loved when Tao realized how wrong he had been about Amelia. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend this book.
February 9, 2026
I didn't like it, both heroine and hero were unlikable and made very questionable decisions.
Heroine was conniving and it almost feels like heroine raped the hero, she knew he would never voluntarily sleep with her because he hated her mother and her by association, yet she set out to sleep with him anyway. She disguised herself and sneaked into his party with the sole intent to have sex with him, luckily she didn't set out to get pregnant or what she did would have been unforgivable in my opinion.
The hero was a massively arrogant jerk, thinking he's so much better than everyone and everything because he's a Duke, his inner monologue was nauseating. How he treated the heroine in the cabin was awful, he made her sleep on the couch then gave her the choice of cleaning / serving him or sleeping with him, all while she's close to 4 months pregnant.
I can understand from the hero's point of view how terrible the whole situation was and looked like. This woman he hated is now pregnant with his baby, she disguised herself so he would sleep with her and now she's pregnant with his baby. It's logical to assume she set out to baby trap him. In his mind he has to marry her and he has no other options, yet she's refusing to marry him. He didn't need to treat her so terrible though, he could have made life uncomfortable for her without treating her like a servant and basically threatening to rape her.
Even from heroine's perspective, that she loved him for 10 years and wanted to excise him from her brain by sleeping with him, was still extremely selfish. She knew he didn't want to sleep with her, if the roles were reversed and a guy did that to a woman, it would be criminal.
They NEVER would have ended up together if she hadn't been pregnant, his thoughts clearly showed that he did not want her at all when she reappeared in his life. He barely remembered her, as she talked to him memories came back but he was not pining for her or felt anything close to what she felt for him. The ending with him telling her that he knew it was her, was something that made them feel good but clearly when he found out she was pregnant he did NOT know it was her. P.
Heroine was conniving and it almost feels like heroine raped the hero, she knew he would never voluntarily sleep with her because he hated her mother and her by association, yet she set out to sleep with him anyway. She disguised herself and sneaked into his party with the sole intent to have sex with him, luckily she didn't set out to get pregnant or what she did would have been unforgivable in my opinion.
The hero was a massively arrogant jerk, thinking he's so much better than everyone and everything because he's a Duke, his inner monologue was nauseating. How he treated the heroine in the cabin was awful, he made her sleep on the couch then gave her the choice of cleaning / serving him or sleeping with him, all while she's close to 4 months pregnant.
I can understand from the hero's point of view how terrible the whole situation was and looked like. This woman he hated is now pregnant with his baby, she disguised herself so he would sleep with her and now she's pregnant with his baby. It's logical to assume she set out to baby trap him. In his mind he has to marry her and he has no other options, yet she's refusing to marry him. He didn't need to treat her so terrible though, he could have made life uncomfortable for her without treating her like a servant and basically threatening to rape her.
Even from heroine's perspective, that she loved him for 10 years and wanted to excise him from her brain by sleeping with him, was still extremely selfish. She knew he didn't want to sleep with her, if the roles were reversed and a guy did that to a woman, it would be criminal.
They NEVER would have ended up together if she hadn't been pregnant, his thoughts clearly showed that he did not want her at all when she reappeared in his life. He barely remembered her, as she talked to him memories came back but he was not pining for her or felt anything close to what she felt for him. The ending with him telling her that he knew it was her, was something that made them feel good but clearly when he found out she was pregnant he did NOT know it was her. P.
February 6, 2020
Overwhelming. Irresistible. Off-limits. Teo de Luz was all those things to innocent Amelia that is until she attends his opulent masquerade ball in disguise, and they share a deliciously anonymous encounter! Now Amelia must tell this brooding Spaniard he's the father of her unborn child.
I am a big fan of opposites attract love stories which this definitely is!
We see Amelia’s and Tao’s relationship grow and change it isn't just all of a sudden. I really enjoyed the pace and plot.
I like how rather than a surface happily ever after or just a lust-based relationship, Teo and Amelia grew to really see each other and understand each other and acknowledge their faults in dealing with each other as the story unfolds.
This is a great escapism romantic read.
I am a big fan of opposites attract love stories which this definitely is!
We see Amelia’s and Tao’s relationship grow and change it isn't just all of a sudden. I really enjoyed the pace and plot.
I like how rather than a surface happily ever after or just a lust-based relationship, Teo and Amelia grew to really see each other and understand each other and acknowledge their faults in dealing with each other as the story unfolds.
This is a great escapism romantic read.
August 1, 2020
A fast read but just an average story.
Amelia Ransom never got past her teenage crush on her now ex-stepbrother Teo de Luz. Or more accurately, the Nineteenth Duke of Marinceli, Most Excellent Grande of Spain. Teo had played a part in her dreams, but finding herself having to tell him she tricked him while in disguise at his masquerade ball. And now pregnant with their child.
Teo has never forgotten his ex-stepsister, but he has had a lifetime of duty as the Duke of Marinceli. A lifetime of instruction and expectations. None of which actually involved him following his heart or dreams. Finding Amelia is expecting the next Duke, he knows they will marry. Kidnapping the reluctant bride worked in the history of the Dukedom. Maybe it would work for them.
Amelia Ransom never got past her teenage crush on her now ex-stepbrother Teo de Luz. Or more accurately, the Nineteenth Duke of Marinceli, Most Excellent Grande of Spain. Teo had played a part in her dreams, but finding herself having to tell him she tricked him while in disguise at his masquerade ball. And now pregnant with their child.
Teo has never forgotten his ex-stepsister, but he has had a lifetime of duty as the Duke of Marinceli. A lifetime of instruction and expectations. None of which actually involved him following his heart or dreams. Finding Amelia is expecting the next Duke, he knows they will marry. Kidnapping the reluctant bride worked in the history of the Dukedom. Maybe it would work for them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews