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Innocent Christmas Brides #1
A Baby on the Greek's Doorstep
He doesn’t remember their night together… Until he meets the nine-month consequence!
When a tiny baby is left on his doorstep, billionaire Tor Sarantos can’t believe his eyes. He’s even more stumped when a beautiful woman arrives in a panic, declaring it’s their son!
Pixie Miller’s horrified her brother has revealed her secret. How can she face the man she shared such intense understanding and reckless passion with, when he doesn’t seem to recognize her? But when a DNA test confirms the truth, there’s only one solution this powerful Greek will consider…
USA TODAY Bestselling Author
When a tiny baby is left on his doorstep, billionaire Tor Sarantos can’t believe his eyes. He’s even more stumped when a beautiful woman arrives in a panic, declaring it’s their son!
Pixie Miller’s horrified her brother has revealed her secret. How can she face the man she shared such intense understanding and reckless passion with, when he doesn’t seem to recognize her? But when a DNA test confirms the truth, there’s only one solution this powerful Greek will consider…
USA TODAY Bestselling Author
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
248 people are currently reading
173 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Graham
1,763 books1,448 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
September 3, 2020
3.25 stars.
‘Someone’s abandoned a baby on the doorstep, sir,’ Mrs James informed him uncomfortably.
‘A little boy about nine months old.’
‘A...baby?’ Tor stressed in astonishment.
A pretty good second chance, secret baby romance, mixed in with a tiny dollop of the convenient amnesiac H trope.
This story got off to a very dramatic start, when the heroine's ne'er do well brother, dropped off her son at the H's mansion. All that's enclosed, was a brief note:
This is your child.
Look after it.
This is baby Alfie:
18 months before, the MC's had had a one night stand. The H had been drunk, since it was the 5th anniversary of his wife's and daughter's deaths. To complicate things further, he forgot all about the heroine and that night, after stumbling, head first, into a wall.
This is the H, Tor:
I had one huge issue with this story: the MC's first sex scene just didn't feel right. It was too abrupt and the insta-lust didn't quite work in this instance. It made the heroine seem kinda desperate, as well, because they went from exchanging a few confidences to jumping each other's bones.
This is the heroine, Pixie:
This is the sort of thing I'd expect from self published/Kindle Unlimited contemporary romances. Lynne Graham is supposed to have more finesse and style. It just seemed like a sleazy *hole in the corner* hook up, especially when the heroine dressed the sleeping H and left before he awoke.
Months later, when she turned up to tell him that she's 6 months pregnant, the amnesiac H think she's a crazy woman and orders his guards to escort her out of the building. Their lives converge again, only after her opportunistic brother abandoned little Alfie at the H's doorstep.
The DNA testing is followed by a marriage proposal and a fancy wedding in Greece. Much of the drama is caused by misunderstandings linked to the H's dead wife. This part was a bit tedious, because the dead wife was omnipresent and I grew slightly bored with this minor storyline.
She'd lied to him, claiming that their daughter Sofia had been fathered by the H's older half brother, Sev. The H spent most of the story brooding about this betrayal and swearing that he'd never love another woman again. I must be reading too many HP's, because this specific plot device has been overused so much, by every current author, it's almost morphed into a shtick.
The storyline had all the trademarks of an OTT angsty trainwreck, but the novel itself ended up being far too tame and predictable. My emotions weren't always engaged and I know that Lynne G has the potential for superior storytelling. The problem wasn't the storyline; the concept itself is awesome. It's the execution of the chosen tropes, that could've been better.
I'm still looking forward to the H's brother's novel and I hope that turns out to be more impressive. Lynne G writes a beautiful epilogue, though, with the MC's and their relatives celebrating Christmas together while they await the birth of the MC's twins.
Safety: No OM, no OW and the heroine's celibate during their 18 month separation. The H's celibacy is unclear. In all fairness, he'd lost his memory and forgotten about the one night stand with the heroine, so technically I can't judge him for not being celibate in this specific instance.
‘Someone’s abandoned a baby on the doorstep, sir,’ Mrs James informed him uncomfortably.
‘A little boy about nine months old.’
‘A...baby?’ Tor stressed in astonishment.
A pretty good second chance, secret baby romance, mixed in with a tiny dollop of the convenient amnesiac H trope.
This story got off to a very dramatic start, when the heroine's ne'er do well brother, dropped off her son at the H's mansion. All that's enclosed, was a brief note:
This is your child.
Look after it.
This is baby Alfie:
18 months before, the MC's had had a one night stand. The H had been drunk, since it was the 5th anniversary of his wife's and daughter's deaths. To complicate things further, he forgot all about the heroine and that night, after stumbling, head first, into a wall.
This is the H, Tor:
I had one huge issue with this story: the MC's first sex scene just didn't feel right. It was too abrupt and the insta-lust didn't quite work in this instance. It made the heroine seem kinda desperate, as well, because they went from exchanging a few confidences to jumping each other's bones.
This is the heroine, Pixie:
This is the sort of thing I'd expect from self published/Kindle Unlimited contemporary romances. Lynne Graham is supposed to have more finesse and style. It just seemed like a sleazy *hole in the corner* hook up, especially when the heroine dressed the sleeping H and left before he awoke.
Months later, when she turned up to tell him that she's 6 months pregnant, the amnesiac H think she's a crazy woman and orders his guards to escort her out of the building. Their lives converge again, only after her opportunistic brother abandoned little Alfie at the H's doorstep.
The DNA testing is followed by a marriage proposal and a fancy wedding in Greece. Much of the drama is caused by misunderstandings linked to the H's dead wife. This part was a bit tedious, because the dead wife was omnipresent and I grew slightly bored with this minor storyline.
She'd lied to him, claiming that their daughter Sofia had been fathered by the H's older half brother, Sev. The H spent most of the story brooding about this betrayal and swearing that he'd never love another woman again. I must be reading too many HP's, because this specific plot device has been overused so much, by every current author, it's almost morphed into a shtick.
The storyline had all the trademarks of an OTT angsty trainwreck, but the novel itself ended up being far too tame and predictable. My emotions weren't always engaged and I know that Lynne G has the potential for superior storytelling. The problem wasn't the storyline; the concept itself is awesome. It's the execution of the chosen tropes, that could've been better.
I'm still looking forward to the H's brother's novel and I hope that turns out to be more impressive. Lynne G writes a beautiful epilogue, though, with the MC's and their relatives celebrating Christmas together while they await the birth of the MC's twins.
Safety: No OM, no OW and the heroine's celibate during their 18 month separation. The H's celibacy is unclear. In all fairness, he'd lost his memory and forgotten about the one night stand with the heroine, so technically I can't judge him for not being celibate in this specific instance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2020
My husband and I can be more illogical while arguing about who's going to vacuum the flat than the MCs arguing about his cheating ex-wife. 🤦🏻♀️
September 4, 2020
Cute love story and totally safe. I was glad hero realized he was not in love with his first wife but I was sad about his daughter. So nice that he found happiness again with Pixie! She was a warm and kind heroine. Epilogue with their boy and pregnant with twins heroine was adorable. I can’t wait for Sev’s story. Pixie said he is a womanizer so that will be interesting! ❤️
September 5, 2020
I had a foreboding that this book would just not live up to LG’s standards. What gave it away: the fact that when the h and H have reconciled and spoken of marriage, the book is still only half way done! And not anywhere close to the ending. Silly as it sounds but I was reminding myself of quite a few of LG’s books and their hot alpha H’s or feisty h’s while this book droned on in the background of my head.
Pixie (repugnant name, sorry) is staying somewhere briefly and looking after a friend’s cat. I couldn’t quite get her setting of using a fancy layover kind apartment that various people share coming and going. Maybe an air bnb of a kind.
One of the nights she meets the H, Tor, who was quite frankly a torment to the hedonistic standard of an alpha billionaire. Tor was barely in his late twenties but forced to be brooding and boring. He is yet another newer version of LG’s beta heroes: mild, predictable, compromising, approachable and the snooze list goes on.
And follows mediocre sex after which Pixie takes off to work and leaves Tor passed out on her bed. Soon after there’s a baby who is then left on Tor’s doorstep and he has a meeting with Pixie to discuss the incredulity of the situation since Tor has no recollection at all of their ONS.
Unfortunately the deathly monotony of the plot and characters couldn’t save the book. Pixie is a young woman and works as a nurse. She’s easy and talks too much. She takes herself as a nurturer and that’s how her relationship/ interactions were with Tor. She was forever advising him or patting his back for whatever tough situation he had faced in life. She’d have been more suited to play the role of his nonna.
There was no chemistry between the mcs. How could there be when the mc’s were forever having discussions and giving kindly suggestions to each other. The H is still stuck in his past and the h is needy and clingy.
I feel betrayed by LG. I came to invest some of my feelings in her book but got put off rudely. I also dislike that in her newer books, the h is extremely basic and can’t stop ogling the H every chance she gets and is nothing short of worshipping his perfect body and features and other things. These desperate measures in a woman will forever stay on my trigger list!
Pixie (repugnant name, sorry) is staying somewhere briefly and looking after a friend’s cat. I couldn’t quite get her setting of using a fancy layover kind apartment that various people share coming and going. Maybe an air bnb of a kind.
One of the nights she meets the H, Tor, who was quite frankly a torment to the hedonistic standard of an alpha billionaire. Tor was barely in his late twenties but forced to be brooding and boring. He is yet another newer version of LG’s beta heroes: mild, predictable, compromising, approachable and the snooze list goes on.
And follows mediocre sex after which Pixie takes off to work and leaves Tor passed out on her bed. Soon after there’s a baby who is then left on Tor’s doorstep and he has a meeting with Pixie to discuss the incredulity of the situation since Tor has no recollection at all of their ONS.
Unfortunately the deathly monotony of the plot and characters couldn’t save the book. Pixie is a young woman and works as a nurse. She’s easy and talks too much. She takes herself as a nurturer and that’s how her relationship/ interactions were with Tor. She was forever advising him or patting his back for whatever tough situation he had faced in life. She’d have been more suited to play the role of his nonna.
There was no chemistry between the mcs. How could there be when the mc’s were forever having discussions and giving kindly suggestions to each other. The H is still stuck in his past and the h is needy and clingy.
I feel betrayed by LG. I came to invest some of my feelings in her book but got put off rudely. I also dislike that in her newer books, the h is extremely basic and can’t stop ogling the H every chance she gets and is nothing short of worshipping his perfect body and features and other things. These desperate measures in a woman will forever stay on my trigger list!
September 21, 2020
4.5 stars ⭐️.
A cute love story that had all the usual LG ingredients.
Loved the hero-heroine.
Recommended.
A cute love story that had all the usual LG ingredients.
Loved the hero-heroine.
Recommended.
September 5, 2020
3.5 Stars
Altho, both MCs, Pixie & Tor, were nice, their son, Alfie, adorable, & the book had my fav tropes –secret baby, MOC, good/bad relatives--it was an average read for a LG book.
I won’t get into the details of the story since my GR friend, Carmen (Ivy-H) has already summarized it beautifully. Do read her review. It echoes my exact feelings about the book especially when she says, “The storyline had all the trademarks of an OTT angsty trainwreck, but the novel itself ended up being far too tame and predictable.”
It wasn’t a bad book. It had some lovely moments. Just that for a LG book expectations are high. It could have been much, much better.
Although, Sev, Tor's half-brother, appeared for a blink-and-gone moment, he left me highly intrigued about his story. Looking forward to reading his book.
Altho, both MCs, Pixie & Tor, were nice, their son, Alfie, adorable, & the book had my fav tropes –secret baby, MOC, good/bad relatives--it was an average read for a LG book.
I won’t get into the details of the story since my GR friend, Carmen (Ivy-H) has already summarized it beautifully. Do read her review. It echoes my exact feelings about the book especially when she says, “The storyline had all the trademarks of an OTT angsty trainwreck, but the novel itself ended up being far too tame and predictable.”
It wasn’t a bad book. It had some lovely moments. Just that for a LG book expectations are high. It could have been much, much better.
Although, Sev, Tor's half-brother, appeared for a blink-and-gone moment, he left me highly intrigued about his story. Looking forward to reading his book.
March 27, 2021
*graded on a curve for Lynne Graham*
The title explains the third meeting of the H/h. Their first meeting was a drunken (on the hero's part) ONS on the anniversary of the death of his wife and child. Their second meeting? Pregnant heroine confronts him in his office and he doesn't remember her.
The heroine's half brother was the one who left the baby on his doorstep. Heroine was not planning on telling him.
So tackiness all around.
It all works out, but this hero wasn't the bewildered alpha LG specializes in. Nor did this h have the sunny straight-forwardness of her other heroines. They both seemed more stressed out than in love.
Ivy has all the details in her excellent review.
The title explains the third meeting of the H/h. Their first meeting was a drunken (on the hero's part) ONS on the anniversary of the death of his wife and child. Their second meeting? Pregnant heroine confronts him in his office and he doesn't remember her.
The heroine's half brother was the one who left the baby on his doorstep. Heroine was not planning on telling him.
So tackiness all around.
It all works out, but this hero wasn't the bewildered alpha LG specializes in. Nor did this h have the sunny straight-forwardness of her other heroines. They both seemed more stressed out than in love.
Ivy has all the details in her excellent review.
September 6, 2020
I love classic Lynne Graham. She was my favorite HP author at one time. Now, I have to drag myself through her books. And this one is no different.
An unexpected ONS leads to an unexpected pregnancy. Fast forward a bit and a nine month old baby is left ON THE DOORSTEP of the H’s house with a note claiming the child is his.
The H is all “not my bebeh” until the h shows up and claims that the baby is his after a ONS. She was a virgin so no other potential baby daddies in the picture.
As I said earlier, I had to draaag myself through this book. It just went on and on. I had very little love for the characters in the book. And the h’s piece of shit brother needed to go to jail for leaving his nephew on some rando’s doorstep. WTF?! Plus he stole his sister’s inheritance and gambled it away, got his butt kicked by the mob types that he owed gambling money to. A real winner, this one. But his sister loves him and wanted to help him.
Ummmmm .... he left your beloved baby on someone doorstep. Nope. We are done.
Yeah, this one wasn’t a winner.
An unexpected ONS leads to an unexpected pregnancy. Fast forward a bit and a nine month old baby is left ON THE DOORSTEP of the H’s house with a note claiming the child is his.
The H is all “not my bebeh” until the h shows up and claims that the baby is his after a ONS. She was a virgin so no other potential baby daddies in the picture.
As I said earlier, I had to draaag myself through this book. It just went on and on. I had very little love for the characters in the book. And the h’s piece of shit brother needed to go to jail for leaving his nephew on some rando’s doorstep. WTF?! Plus he stole his sister’s inheritance and gambled it away, got his butt kicked by the mob types that he owed gambling money to. A real winner, this one. But his sister loves him and wanted to help him.
Ummmmm .... he left your beloved baby on someone doorstep. Nope. We are done.
Yeah, this one wasn’t a winner.
September 4, 2020
A safe and good read ! Nothing special!
Excited about the brother's book (Sev)
Excited about the brother's book (Sev)
December 13, 2020
It had all the makings of a serious angst-fest but LG toned down the crazy ... which made it kinda sweet ... so enjoyable but not what LG can deliver when she is in the mood ...
September 14, 2021
This was an okay read for me.
February 7, 2024
Accidental pregnancy, with a touch of black-out-drunk amnesia
Billionaire, 28-year-old Tor and impoverished, 21-year-old Pixie meet on the fifth anniversary of the death of his wife and baby daughter, who were killed in a car crash. He has been drinking heavily for hours, but he carries his liquor well and does not seem drunk to Pixie, who meets him in the apartment of a friend of hers, where she is staying temporarily to babysit the friend's cat. Tor was brought home by one of the friend's roommates, a beautiful model, who had planned to spend the night with him. However, Tor had assumed he was coming to a party, and he was not in the mood for a meaningless fling, at least not with that particular woman. When he turned her down, she flounced off and abandoned him. He startles Pixie, when she returns home from her shift as a night nurse at a local hospital, and is preparing herself a cheese sandwich. While she shares her dinner with him, he and Pixie have a deep and meaningful conversation about the reason he is still mourning his deceased family so many years after the fact. One thing leads to another, and the two of them end up in bed together. Tor is so gorgeous, and seems so gentle and sweet in his inebriated state, Pixie happily surrenders her virginity. Both of them are too carried away to remember a condom, and the inevitable, HP, unplanned pregnancy occurs.
Pixie attempts, when she is six months pregnant, to go to Tor's job as a high-flying banker, to inform him of his impending fatherhood. But he does not remember her, due to his inebriated state the night they had sex, and she is escorted out of the bank by security guards. She is so humiliated, she might never have approach him again, except that her older brother, whom she has been living with and has helped her with child care, without her knowledge or permission, drops her 9-month-old baby on Tor's doorstep.
This is a pleasant, relatively low-angst read. I liked Pixie and Tor. He is more Cinnamon Roll than Alpha, which is not surprising. For some years now, LG has rarely written the type of harsh, Alpha MMCs that she used to specialize in, early in her career.
I experienced this novel both in Kindle and audiobook versions. The narrator does a good job.
Billionaire, 28-year-old Tor and impoverished, 21-year-old Pixie meet on the fifth anniversary of the death of his wife and baby daughter, who were killed in a car crash. He has been drinking heavily for hours, but he carries his liquor well and does not seem drunk to Pixie, who meets him in the apartment of a friend of hers, where she is staying temporarily to babysit the friend's cat. Tor was brought home by one of the friend's roommates, a beautiful model, who had planned to spend the night with him. However, Tor had assumed he was coming to a party, and he was not in the mood for a meaningless fling, at least not with that particular woman. When he turned her down, she flounced off and abandoned him. He startles Pixie, when she returns home from her shift as a night nurse at a local hospital, and is preparing herself a cheese sandwich. While she shares her dinner with him, he and Pixie have a deep and meaningful conversation about the reason he is still mourning his deceased family so many years after the fact. One thing leads to another, and the two of them end up in bed together. Tor is so gorgeous, and seems so gentle and sweet in his inebriated state, Pixie happily surrenders her virginity. Both of them are too carried away to remember a condom, and the inevitable, HP, unplanned pregnancy occurs.
Pixie attempts, when she is six months pregnant, to go to Tor's job as a high-flying banker, to inform him of his impending fatherhood. But he does not remember her, due to his inebriated state the night they had sex, and she is escorted out of the bank by security guards. She is so humiliated, she might never have approach him again, except that her older brother, whom she has been living with and has helped her with child care, without her knowledge or permission, drops her 9-month-old baby on Tor's doorstep.
This is a pleasant, relatively low-angst read. I liked Pixie and Tor. He is more Cinnamon Roll than Alpha, which is not surprising. For some years now, LG has rarely written the type of harsh, Alpha MMCs that she used to specialize in, early in her career.
I experienced this novel both in Kindle and audiobook versions. The narrator does a good job.
January 18, 2025
Spoilers ahead
While pet sitting Pixie meets a very drunk Tor and they have sex. Ashamed she left the next day, months later, being in dire financial straits Pixie tracks him down but he doesn't remember her. Pixie leaves and manages to have her child and start her life as a single mother with her brother's help. But as their financial situation worsens her brother takes matters into his own hands, leaving baby Alfie at his father's doorstep. Now her child's father is back in her life and proposing marriage. Pixie wants love but Tor has been burned before and has no intention of falling in love with his wife.
*******
Tor was such a bullheaded idiot concerning his late wife, he annoyed me endlessly. It's not until almost the very end that he addresses her infidelity and acknowledged his love for the h
Lots of drama for no reason, scenes fraught with emotion for idk what purpose 😂 but it's to be expected in this type of book.
I love kids in my romances but this baby was barely around 🙄
No cheating
H/h have a ONS, he was drunk and didn't remember her. She was a virgin
H's wife had a years long affair with OM and their child wasn't his, they argued and she died in an accident. He's been carrying around that guilt since.
H was a manwhore, no word if he'd been with anyone after he first had the ONS with h
While pet sitting Pixie meets a very drunk Tor and they have sex. Ashamed she left the next day, months later, being in dire financial straits Pixie tracks him down but he doesn't remember her. Pixie leaves and manages to have her child and start her life as a single mother with her brother's help. But as their financial situation worsens her brother takes matters into his own hands, leaving baby Alfie at his father's doorstep. Now her child's father is back in her life and proposing marriage. Pixie wants love but Tor has been burned before and has no intention of falling in love with his wife.
*******
Tor was such a bullheaded idiot concerning his late wife, he annoyed me endlessly. It's not until almost the very end that he addresses her infidelity and acknowledged his love for the h
Lots of drama for no reason, scenes fraught with emotion for idk what purpose 😂 but it's to be expected in this type of book.
I love kids in my romances but this baby was barely around 🙄
No cheating
H/h have a ONS, he was drunk and didn't remember her. She was a virgin
H's wife had a years long affair with OM and their child wasn't his, they argued and she died in an accident. He's been carrying around that guilt since.
H was a manwhore, no word if he'd been with anyone after he first had the ONS with h
March 6, 2021
"A Baby on the Greek's Doorstep" is the story of Pixie and Tor.
Hero is mourning his wife and child's death on their anniversary, when he gets drunk and has sex with the virgin heroine, forgetting the whole incident. Months later, her greedy stepbrother dumps the baby on his doorstep in order to extract some money. When she goes to claim her child back, the hero is reluctant but to his disbelief realizes the heroine's absurd story might be true. Ofcourse, the typical blackmail- marriage- pushing away- confessions- revelations drama occurs, and the book ends in a HEA!
It was OK! Didnt enjoy it much!
SWE?
2/5
Hero is mourning his wife and child's death on their anniversary, when he gets drunk and has sex with the virgin heroine, forgetting the whole incident. Months later, her greedy stepbrother dumps the baby on his doorstep in order to extract some money. When she goes to claim her child back, the hero is reluctant but to his disbelief realizes the heroine's absurd story might be true. Ofcourse, the typical blackmail- marriage- pushing away- confessions- revelations drama occurs, and the book ends in a HEA!
It was OK! Didnt enjoy it much!
SWE?
2/5
May 25, 2023
Rating: 2.5 Stars
I would say this was mediocre at best. Compared to book 2 of the duo, the second book was so much better than this one. It held me captivated from start to finish. This one did not.
This book had a subject matter I always shy away from...the dead wife syndrome as I call it. It's been five years and he is still eaten up with guilt. We hear about the dead wife all the way throughout the book so much so the new wife feels second best. It became old and monotonous. I cannot recommend.
I would say this was mediocre at best. Compared to book 2 of the duo, the second book was so much better than this one. It held me captivated from start to finish. This one did not.
This book had a subject matter I always shy away from...the dead wife syndrome as I call it. It's been five years and he is still eaten up with guilt. We hear about the dead wife all the way throughout the book so much so the new wife feels second best. It became old and monotonous. I cannot recommend.
March 27, 2021
The book was nice, but I did find myself skimming parts of it as it got a bit boring. Plus, I was far more intrigued by the half brother, to the point that I wanted to just dive right into his story.
September 20, 2020
no jealous hero here😑
December 10, 2020
Major plot spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
This had that typical Lynne Graham flair that I have come accustomed reading over the years. It gave me those familiar vibes that I was looking for and expecting while reading this story, however there was a little spin on the story in the very beginning that I very much appreciated. How Tor and Pixie met was different and unique from any other Lynne Graham book that I have ever read. It was wonderful and funny. I sarcastic laugh sometimes at these stories, but I rarely humorously laugh. This one though I did laugh out loud during their first meeting.
There were two things that were absolutely bonkers about his first meeting that really tickled my fancy. The first one was how they came upon each other with Tor being left at the house that Pixie happened to be staying at due the fact she was cat sitting. It was just how it was done with her in kitchen cooking while unknowing he was in a chair seemingly drunk when he startled her by saying the food she was cooking spelled good. I didn’t know why that got me so much, but it did. That was just really refreshing meet cute especially for a Presents. The second thing that got me, which really wasn’t funny but how it was written and how it came across it was hilarious. Tor was kind of tipsy because of being drunk so he wasn’t in his prime. He freaking ran smack into a door and just fell splat on the floor. He was okay, though maybe a little out of it due the fact that he could have had a concussion. Then Pixie being the nurse that she was had to take care of him. So, it was an interesting meeting that lead to some sexy times. It was a nice change from the serious and intense first meetings that Lynne Graham is known for doing. So, I appreciated that change.
Like most Lynne Graham book’s their one passionate night together resulted in a pregnancy, but again like the first meeting the way it came about was new and different. For one, he didn’t remember her due to him being drunk as well as being concussed so he rejected her when she came to tell him about her pregnancy, which left a sour taste in Pixie’s mouth after that. Then time went by, how things came to ahead was that Pixie’s brother left their baby on his doorstep without Pixie’s knowledge. That was different because I don’t think I have ever read where a baby was abandoned on doorstep when it was her heroine’s child. With other woman, yes, but never one of the main characters. It had me hate the brother for doing that for so many reasons, but I appreciated that it wasn’t done in a typical way.
Tor had quite a bit of history, just like most alpha heroes do, of why he believed her never could fall in love. It was pretty sad. I hurt for him for what he went through as he warned Pixie that there would be no deep love between them due to those scars. He wasn’t a jerk about it, but he did hurt Pixie very much at times. What I really liked was the fact that whenever she withdrew or seemed hurt, he felt really bad about it and apologize for how he acted towards her. Even though he didn’t recognize that he feelings for her, I did like that he did acknowledge that he hated hurting her and wanting her happy and connected with him. It was sweet to see that side to him. He didn’t really have a harsh side to him. Stubborn, yet, but never mean like some of other Lynne Graham alpha-holes she usually writes about.
But it was still emotional and intense due to his denial of his feelings and not hearing what Pixie was saying of what she needed and wanted from him. It hurt me because I could see how badly it hurt Pixie. It brought up issues of insecurity in Pixie because she believed that she was second best to his first wife and also she felt like she wasn’t good enough for him due to him being out of league or so she believed. Those moments always choke me up and pierce my heart because of that emotional turmoil and pain that she had to go through until she got the happily ever after.
The chemistry was there between them, but I felt a little bit more subtle than in other Presents books. The first time scene was kind of weird due the fact that he was drunk and concussed at the time. I didn’t know how to feel about that. I don’t want say that Pixie was taking advantage, but I think she should have realized out how of out he was between him being drunk and concussed to not continue on with the bedroom activities. He did seem there and in the moment with her, but with her being a nurse would really engage in lovemaking knowing the possibility that he concussion. I wouldn’t think so. That was a little iffy to me. The second love scene was much better. Lynne Graham knows how to write a great wedding night scene with this one being no exception. I loved when he helped her out of her wedding dress that was sensual seduction on its own. Then he kissed the back of her neck, shoulder, and back with the more skin he revealed. It was so good. It gave me chill bumps up and down my spine. I think all books should have at least one love scene where the hero undresses, kisses and touches the heroine that would lead to some beautiful, passionate lovemaking. That scene was just spot on for me. That was probably my second memorable scene out of this story.
As for the romance/falling in love aspect of the story, that was on a tad on the unbelievable side, yet tends to be typical of Lynne Graham’s books. This one just seemed to be overly unbelievable. They did get to know each other. They learned about their scars. He did feel bad when he hurt or upset her, showing that he did care about her. However, it was a little bit of a leap from that to him falling in love with her. His focus for him was his son and their physical chemistry and nothing more. I just needed to see either and gesture or something more to show me that he was headed in that direction. I know this is a fantasy and this Presents. Presents tend to have that unbelievable quality to the love story, which makes them fun and easy to read with its escapism quality, but I still want to believe it and feel it. In this case, I didn’t quite feel it.
Even though this was touted as a Christmas read, it really wasn’t. The only Christmas part was in the epilogue. That was not enough for me to label this a Christmas romance. I needed more of that in the body of the book for me to buy that. I wanted some Christmas feels going on especially the month of December.
Overall, I did enjoy this story. It wasn’t the best Presents Christmas read that I have ever read, but it was no way the worst either. It was in the middle for me. I appreciated the twist of the first meeting between Pixie and Tor that made it feel fresh and different. That scene made me laugh on very different levels and really brought a smile to my face. I liked that it brought a balance to the emotional stuff that came later on. I did like Tor, even when he was stubborn. I liked that he wanted a connection with his son, and he cared about both of them as soon as they came back into his life. He did take care of her. He did apologize when he hurt her, and I really liked that. I loved the wedding night scene. it was so beautiful and sensual. I love those wedding night scenes that Lynne Graham has become known for. The falling in love part was okay. I wasn’t a hundred percent feeling it with its believability, but it was what it was. It wasn’t the worst romance that I have ever read either. It was still a nice read even if did lack Christmassy feels. It was a solid Presents.
This had that typical Lynne Graham flair that I have come accustomed reading over the years. It gave me those familiar vibes that I was looking for and expecting while reading this story, however there was a little spin on the story in the very beginning that I very much appreciated. How Tor and Pixie met was different and unique from any other Lynne Graham book that I have ever read. It was wonderful and funny. I sarcastic laugh sometimes at these stories, but I rarely humorously laugh. This one though I did laugh out loud during their first meeting.
There were two things that were absolutely bonkers about his first meeting that really tickled my fancy. The first one was how they came upon each other with Tor being left at the house that Pixie happened to be staying at due the fact she was cat sitting. It was just how it was done with her in kitchen cooking while unknowing he was in a chair seemingly drunk when he startled her by saying the food she was cooking spelled good. I didn’t know why that got me so much, but it did. That was just really refreshing meet cute especially for a Presents. The second thing that got me, which really wasn’t funny but how it was written and how it came across it was hilarious. Tor was kind of tipsy because of being drunk so he wasn’t in his prime. He freaking ran smack into a door and just fell splat on the floor. He was okay, though maybe a little out of it due the fact that he could have had a concussion. Then Pixie being the nurse that she was had to take care of him. So, it was an interesting meeting that lead to some sexy times. It was a nice change from the serious and intense first meetings that Lynne Graham is known for doing. So, I appreciated that change.
Like most Lynne Graham book’s their one passionate night together resulted in a pregnancy, but again like the first meeting the way it came about was new and different. For one, he didn’t remember her due to him being drunk as well as being concussed so he rejected her when she came to tell him about her pregnancy, which left a sour taste in Pixie’s mouth after that. Then time went by, how things came to ahead was that Pixie’s brother left their baby on his doorstep without Pixie’s knowledge. That was different because I don’t think I have ever read where a baby was abandoned on doorstep when it was her heroine’s child. With other woman, yes, but never one of the main characters. It had me hate the brother for doing that for so many reasons, but I appreciated that it wasn’t done in a typical way.
Tor had quite a bit of history, just like most alpha heroes do, of why he believed her never could fall in love. It was pretty sad. I hurt for him for what he went through as he warned Pixie that there would be no deep love between them due to those scars. He wasn’t a jerk about it, but he did hurt Pixie very much at times. What I really liked was the fact that whenever she withdrew or seemed hurt, he felt really bad about it and apologize for how he acted towards her. Even though he didn’t recognize that he feelings for her, I did like that he did acknowledge that he hated hurting her and wanting her happy and connected with him. It was sweet to see that side to him. He didn’t really have a harsh side to him. Stubborn, yet, but never mean like some of other Lynne Graham alpha-holes she usually writes about.
But it was still emotional and intense due to his denial of his feelings and not hearing what Pixie was saying of what she needed and wanted from him. It hurt me because I could see how badly it hurt Pixie. It brought up issues of insecurity in Pixie because she believed that she was second best to his first wife and also she felt like she wasn’t good enough for him due to him being out of league or so she believed. Those moments always choke me up and pierce my heart because of that emotional turmoil and pain that she had to go through until she got the happily ever after.
The chemistry was there between them, but I felt a little bit more subtle than in other Presents books. The first time scene was kind of weird due the fact that he was drunk and concussed at the time. I didn’t know how to feel about that. I don’t want say that Pixie was taking advantage, but I think she should have realized out how of out he was between him being drunk and concussed to not continue on with the bedroom activities. He did seem there and in the moment with her, but with her being a nurse would really engage in lovemaking knowing the possibility that he concussion. I wouldn’t think so. That was a little iffy to me. The second love scene was much better. Lynne Graham knows how to write a great wedding night scene with this one being no exception. I loved when he helped her out of her wedding dress that was sensual seduction on its own. Then he kissed the back of her neck, shoulder, and back with the more skin he revealed. It was so good. It gave me chill bumps up and down my spine. I think all books should have at least one love scene where the hero undresses, kisses and touches the heroine that would lead to some beautiful, passionate lovemaking. That scene was just spot on for me. That was probably my second memorable scene out of this story.
As for the romance/falling in love aspect of the story, that was on a tad on the unbelievable side, yet tends to be typical of Lynne Graham’s books. This one just seemed to be overly unbelievable. They did get to know each other. They learned about their scars. He did feel bad when he hurt or upset her, showing that he did care about her. However, it was a little bit of a leap from that to him falling in love with her. His focus for him was his son and their physical chemistry and nothing more. I just needed to see either and gesture or something more to show me that he was headed in that direction. I know this is a fantasy and this Presents. Presents tend to have that unbelievable quality to the love story, which makes them fun and easy to read with its escapism quality, but I still want to believe it and feel it. In this case, I didn’t quite feel it.
Even though this was touted as a Christmas read, it really wasn’t. The only Christmas part was in the epilogue. That was not enough for me to label this a Christmas romance. I needed more of that in the body of the book for me to buy that. I wanted some Christmas feels going on especially the month of December.
Overall, I did enjoy this story. It wasn’t the best Presents Christmas read that I have ever read, but it was no way the worst either. It was in the middle for me. I appreciated the twist of the first meeting between Pixie and Tor that made it feel fresh and different. That scene made me laugh on very different levels and really brought a smile to my face. I liked that it brought a balance to the emotional stuff that came later on. I did like Tor, even when he was stubborn. I liked that he wanted a connection with his son, and he cared about both of them as soon as they came back into his life. He did take care of her. He did apologize when he hurt her, and I really liked that. I loved the wedding night scene. it was so beautiful and sensual. I love those wedding night scenes that Lynne Graham has become known for. The falling in love part was okay. I wasn’t a hundred percent feeling it with its believability, but it was what it was. It wasn’t the worst romance that I have ever read either. It was still a nice read even if did lack Christmassy feels. It was a solid Presents.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2020
DNF
I couldn't even finish this story it was that boring. Not sure what's happened to LG, but her latest books are awful compared to her golden oldies?
I found it laughable the heroine is a student Nurse, almost finished her training and after sleeping with the hero and not using protection she considers the morning after pill but then thinks of how she was an unwanted surprise for her own parents (in their 40's) so decides against it!
As usual a cat features in the story!
There was no chemistry whatsoever between the H&H and he had recalled the night he slept with her as the best sex of his life even though she was a virgin. Hmm....!
It was so boring, I gave up on it.
I couldn't even finish this story it was that boring. Not sure what's happened to LG, but her latest books are awful compared to her golden oldies?
I found it laughable the heroine is a student Nurse, almost finished her training and after sleeping with the hero and not using protection she considers the morning after pill but then thinks of how she was an unwanted surprise for her own parents (in their 40's) so decides against it!
As usual a cat features in the story!
There was no chemistry whatsoever between the H&H and he had recalled the night he slept with her as the best sex of his life even though she was a virgin. Hmm....!
It was so boring, I gave up on it.
October 8, 2020
This was bonkers (the heroine’s brother literally drops her baby at the hero’s door while she’s sleeping) but I enjoyed it. They also both like talked about their feelings and stuff and apologized when they overreacted in the heat of the moment and I was not actually expecting a high quotient of emotional intelligence in an HP but I liked it.
May 14, 2021
Once again, I blame Ivy’s review, which sucked me in (or suckered me in):
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The premise was cute so I decided to give it a chance. Convenient amnesia - one night stand - babies and characters which are familiar. Unfortunately, the execution wasn’t so great. Usually Lynne Graham (LG) writes these OTT alpha-heroes who are rich, powerful and completely emotionally clueless and helpless in the face of our heroines. Here the template outline is there but the filling is slightly off-colour.
The hero is actually great - a little more beta on page than I was expecting from LG. Given that he suffered from amnesia and didn’t remember the one-night stand with the heroine - there isn’t much tension in the character / romance arc. He doesn't have to learn a lot or change through the book. I found him pretty lovely as a character from the get go - which kind of robbed the romance of the tension I would expect from LG.
The hero was so sweet and considerate that the heroine came across as a bit manic and inconsistent. She was quite closed off and she annoyed me quite a bit. Plus - there wasn’t enough of the baby 😒
Plus there were some writing tics which annoyed me and wasn’t LG’s best. Every time the hero looked at the heroine he noted how small she was - we get that he is entranced by the “tiny heroine” - WE GET IT! Move on already.
This felt like a copy of an LG book rather than something written by her. Wasn’t too impressed.
2 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The premise was cute so I decided to give it a chance. Convenient amnesia - one night stand - babies and characters which are familiar. Unfortunately, the execution wasn’t so great. Usually Lynne Graham (LG) writes these OTT alpha-heroes who are rich, powerful and completely emotionally clueless and helpless in the face of our heroines. Here the template outline is there but the filling is slightly off-colour.
The hero is actually great - a little more beta on page than I was expecting from LG. Given that he suffered from amnesia and didn’t remember the one-night stand with the heroine - there isn’t much tension in the character / romance arc. He doesn't have to learn a lot or change through the book. I found him pretty lovely as a character from the get go - which kind of robbed the romance of the tension I would expect from LG.
The hero was so sweet and considerate that the heroine came across as a bit manic and inconsistent. She was quite closed off and she annoyed me quite a bit. Plus - there wasn’t enough of the baby 😒
Plus there were some writing tics which annoyed me and wasn’t LG’s best. Every time the hero looked at the heroine he noted how small she was - we get that he is entranced by the “tiny heroine” - WE GET IT! Move on already.
This felt like a copy of an LG book rather than something written by her. Wasn’t too impressed.
2 stars
November 26, 2020
Decently sweet.
There's a confusing part though where apparently the author forgot that she already revealed a certain fact earlier in the book , and it's revealed with great amazement and thrashed over again later in the book.
There's a confusing part though where apparently the author forgot that she already revealed a certain fact earlier in the book , and it's revealed with great amazement and thrashed over again later in the book.
September 19, 2020
I keep reading this author even though I find myself lurching from absolutely loving her books to absolutely loathing them. It’s nearly always down to the heroine. Too good to be true!
And what is it with LG and tiny women? She seems to go overboard with tiny hands and tiny bodies! The heroine here is supposed to be 4’10” to the hero’s 6’2” plus. I just blink in surprise at the thought of them side by side or front to front. I know it’s absolutely possible but I really don’t want to waste time trying to imagine the contortions as they kiss. Anyway, Pixie (and sorry but what kind of name is that to choose?), is such a Pollyanna despite all the bad stuff that is done to her that I really wanted to throw up. The stepbrother betrays her for years and she’s all okay about it. There was so much about the step brother, and her girlfriend Eloise and Tor’s sister in law and the dead wife and the estranged brother And the former wife’s parents and never really enough about the h/H. LG can write and she still produces an entertaining read but this is not one of her best in my humble opinion.
And what is it with LG and tiny women? She seems to go overboard with tiny hands and tiny bodies! The heroine here is supposed to be 4’10” to the hero’s 6’2” plus. I just blink in surprise at the thought of them side by side or front to front. I know it’s absolutely possible but I really don’t want to waste time trying to imagine the contortions as they kiss. Anyway, Pixie (and sorry but what kind of name is that to choose?), is such a Pollyanna despite all the bad stuff that is done to her that I really wanted to throw up. The stepbrother betrays her for years and she’s all okay about it. There was so much about the step brother, and her girlfriend Eloise and Tor’s sister in law and the dead wife and the estranged brother And the former wife’s parents and never really enough about the h/H. LG can write and she still produces an entertaining read but this is not one of her best in my humble opinion.
September 18, 2020
I don't know, i think the more i am reading Graham's new stuff the more i miss her older heroines who some woke crowd might call weak but i would call somewhat mentally more sound and less petty than Pixie turned out to be.
Honestly the whole halfway through the book Pixie constantly judged the Hero Tor for being "emotionally unavailable" and not wanting to marry a man who is still hung up on his first love based on, i kid you not, nothing beside having One night of outlier passion with him where he said in no unequivocal terms that he feels immense guilt over how he fought his cheating ex wife and feels responsible for her mental state which killed her in an accident. Not that he is still in love with her( for christ's sake he hates his half brother still, you would think he doesn't like his dead wife either??) .
The more and more dumb excuses pile up as to why a destitute woman like her won't marry Tor but at the heart of it, you can tell her main problem since that fateful night their child was conceived was that "she isn't special enough" to be chosen sober or be remembered... yeah and i haven't even gotten to the petty part yet.
You see, Pixie is a Nurse . So she more than anyone should know that a person could have conversation while being high and drunk ( honestly her reasoning for why he cannot be drunk sounds like something a village schoolgirl in 1950s Serbia would come up with not a trained nurse. Tor told her he got drunk and she straight up refused to believe him until after sex) and on top of that he hit his head at her door hard enough for her to worry he might have had a concussion.
So instead of penny dropping for her emotionally that he didn't throw her out of his office months later because he is playing dumb, she has pretty much held it against him that he forgot her and their shared night for sympathetic reasons . All the excuses just sound weaker and weaker and her own emotional unawareness was getting more tiring to read through.
Also i forgot to add the reason Pixie even regretted having sex that night was because she got in her head that Tor won't choose her if he was sober and was not grieving and practically holds it against him for that too.
Also Graham tries to somewhat weakly pass of her Heroine who was , in her own words, a gentle maternal pleaser to a 'take no shit' who would not be self recriminating anymore because she went through her pregnancy all alone ( ish) being all self reliant and poor ( and didn't ask for Tor's help because of dented pride at least she was honest there) . She didn't build up to it and let readers draw conclusion , mind you. She literally TELLS you how it at the next chapter .All within span of 4 paragraphs between two chapters. That is it. That was even more weaker character work to explain why her heroine is cranky , angry and combative now than having a trained Nurse holding a medical amnesia against a man practically forever.
All and all if you like a bit of melodrama with barely any emotional sense and heroine who is just as dramatic as some old Harlequin Heroes, go for it.
I'd be taking a chance on you..and I don't do that," She whispered honestly. 'I always play safe."
Gurl, you had a one night stand with a man who told you he is drunk and wanted to go your old house without protection offered knowing your half brother's sketchy creditors were out with your baby. Stop playing dumb LMAO.
Pixie has been one of her weakest heroines written to date. I think if she was not a Nurse or at least had a consistent personality , it would have made a world of difference for the plot she was going for. As it is, i like to pretend that she is not a Nurse because then her medical expertise and emotional hang-ups look so petty i start to pray for her fictional patients who would say something rude in delirium and she might dose them in bad meds because she took it personally.
Honestly i want Lynne to go back to writing heroines in her mid-career phase . All the criticism that her heroines are "weak" because they are not needlessly rude or combative and are more emotionally immature overall was clearly not a good constructive criticism if this is the result we got.
She makes a big deal of living behind his ex wife's shadow when literally she made that issue up in her own head and never brought it up before the big chapter 10 row. She accuses baselessly that her husband was possibly a rotten and cheating husband based on his sex life is slut shamey and reeks of insecurity ( he literally told you he was cheated on wtf?!?) she goes ballistic over not knowing her child is his first and not his ex's as if it should be a big deal?? He is not here to mollycoddle all your insecurities with clarvoiyance power Pixie?
Also she screams at Tor for judging her half brother as if he hasn't done judgemental shit to begin with ( although i agree he accused him ONE thing wrong). But then she keeps on forgiving assholes after assholes so her temper tantrum with Tor looks tedious and inconsistent conflict building by Graham. I think she had enough material for them to fight over before reconciliation with making Pixie a hypocritical shrew.
Also I like the hero somewhat. He suffers a bit because he has to find whatever bullshit Pixie does to find her attractive otherwise the plot won't progress and that also results in some pushy sexual overtures because Pixie is written as someone whose No means a Yes . He has some typical Graham 'ass-to-pass" traits for dramatic character development stakes but at least he knows the value of communication in relationship of any kind unlike our oh so emotionally mature heroine!
Even in last chapter when she admits of being a nasty jealous cow finally and kicks herself for being an asshole, i feel like its not enough because the plot has Tor act like he should "get his act together" to make the brother he wrongly felt cheated with his ex wife when its not his fault he was made to believe this and the fact she is lowkey validated for her take that she should be mad against his amnesiac behavior and how he chooses to handle his problems in past. She acts like her confession of love not being reciprocated on the spot is what made her act like this but its clear to me its her being idiotic and petty since first chapter is what did this and we never get catharsis for that one. That is why 2/5. I could love a faulty heroine for a change with usual Graham faulty Heroes but not with a plot which refuses to acknowledge half their faults like it does with the Heroes( and Tor honestly got too much blamed by plot this time. I rarely ever say this)
P.S: She is more of a turd in the books than i explained so i am not even remotely scratching the surface. She is far more forgiving of her half brother who traumatized her son by putting him exposed on Tor's doorstep than she is of Tor being secretive and not clarifying that sure her child his first child and so and so forth ( Honestly she gets worse and worse in pettiness department as one goes in . I only finished it to spoiler review it so you could read Graham's older books. I think the July one was nicer
Honestly the whole halfway through the book Pixie constantly judged the Hero Tor for being "emotionally unavailable" and not wanting to marry a man who is still hung up on his first love based on, i kid you not, nothing beside having One night of outlier passion with him where he said in no unequivocal terms that he feels immense guilt over how he fought his cheating ex wife and feels responsible for her mental state which killed her in an accident. Not that he is still in love with her( for christ's sake he hates his half brother still, you would think he doesn't like his dead wife either??) .
The more and more dumb excuses pile up as to why a destitute woman like her won't marry Tor but at the heart of it, you can tell her main problem since that fateful night their child was conceived was that "she isn't special enough" to be chosen sober or be remembered... yeah and i haven't even gotten to the petty part yet.
You see, Pixie is a Nurse . So she more than anyone should know that a person could have conversation while being high and drunk ( honestly her reasoning for why he cannot be drunk sounds like something a village schoolgirl in 1950s Serbia would come up with not a trained nurse. Tor told her he got drunk and she straight up refused to believe him until after sex) and on top of that he hit his head at her door hard enough for her to worry he might have had a concussion.
So instead of penny dropping for her emotionally that he didn't throw her out of his office months later because he is playing dumb, she has pretty much held it against him that he forgot her and their shared night for sympathetic reasons . All the excuses just sound weaker and weaker and her own emotional unawareness was getting more tiring to read through.
Also i forgot to add the reason Pixie even regretted having sex that night was because she got in her head that Tor won't choose her if he was sober and was not grieving and practically holds it against him for that too.
Also Graham tries to somewhat weakly pass of her Heroine who was , in her own words, a gentle maternal pleaser to a 'take no shit' who would not be self recriminating anymore because she went through her pregnancy all alone ( ish) being all self reliant and poor ( and didn't ask for Tor's help because of dented pride at least she was honest there) . She didn't build up to it and let readers draw conclusion , mind you. She literally TELLS you how it at the next chapter .All within span of 4 paragraphs between two chapters. That is it. That was even more weaker character work to explain why her heroine is cranky , angry and combative now than having a trained Nurse holding a medical amnesia against a man practically forever.
All and all if you like a bit of melodrama with barely any emotional sense and heroine who is just as dramatic as some old Harlequin Heroes, go for it.
I'd be taking a chance on you..and I don't do that," She whispered honestly. 'I always play safe."
Gurl, you had a one night stand with a man who told you he is drunk and wanted to go your old house without protection offered knowing your half brother's sketchy creditors were out with your baby. Stop playing dumb LMAO.
Pixie has been one of her weakest heroines written to date. I think if she was not a Nurse or at least had a consistent personality , it would have made a world of difference for the plot she was going for. As it is, i like to pretend that she is not a Nurse because then her medical expertise and emotional hang-ups look so petty i start to pray for her fictional patients who would say something rude in delirium and she might dose them in bad meds because she took it personally.
Honestly i want Lynne to go back to writing heroines in her mid-career phase . All the criticism that her heroines are "weak" because they are not needlessly rude or combative and are more emotionally immature overall was clearly not a good constructive criticism if this is the result we got.
She makes a big deal of living behind his ex wife's shadow when literally she made that issue up in her own head and never brought it up before the big chapter 10 row. She accuses baselessly that her husband was possibly a rotten and cheating husband based on his sex life is slut shamey and reeks of insecurity ( he literally told you he was cheated on wtf?!?) she goes ballistic over not knowing her child is his first and not his ex's as if it should be a big deal?? He is not here to mollycoddle all your insecurities with clarvoiyance power Pixie?
Also she screams at Tor for judging her half brother as if he hasn't done judgemental shit to begin with ( although i agree he accused him ONE thing wrong). But then she keeps on forgiving assholes after assholes so her temper tantrum with Tor looks tedious and inconsistent conflict building by Graham. I think she had enough material for them to fight over before reconciliation with making Pixie a hypocritical shrew.
Also I like the hero somewhat. He suffers a bit because he has to find whatever bullshit Pixie does to find her attractive otherwise the plot won't progress and that also results in some pushy sexual overtures because Pixie is written as someone whose No means a Yes . He has some typical Graham 'ass-to-pass" traits for dramatic character development stakes but at least he knows the value of communication in relationship of any kind unlike our oh so emotionally mature heroine!
Even in last chapter when she admits of being a nasty jealous cow finally and kicks herself for being an asshole, i feel like its not enough because the plot has Tor act like he should "get his act together" to make the brother he wrongly felt cheated with his ex wife when its not his fault he was made to believe this and the fact she is lowkey validated for her take that she should be mad against his amnesiac behavior and how he chooses to handle his problems in past. She acts like her confession of love not being reciprocated on the spot is what made her act like this but its clear to me its her being idiotic and petty since first chapter is what did this and we never get catharsis for that one. That is why 2/5. I could love a faulty heroine for a change with usual Graham faulty Heroes but not with a plot which refuses to acknowledge half their faults like it does with the Heroes( and Tor honestly got too much blamed by plot this time. I rarely ever say this)
P.S: She is more of a turd in the books than i explained so i am not even remotely scratching the surface. She is far more forgiving of her half brother who traumatized her son by putting him exposed on Tor's doorstep than she is of Tor being secretive and not clarifying that sure her child his first child and so and so forth ( Honestly she gets worse and worse in pettiness department as one goes in . I only finished it to spoiler review it so you could read Graham's older books. I think the July one was nicer
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2022
3,5 stars
It all started with ONS. Not a planned one though, just something that happened (quite unrealistically) where the h met the H at the flat where the h was cat sitting at. She ran away after they did the deed (he passed out because he was still drunk). The H didn't remember anything when he woke up the next day. Months passed and the h was sure she needed to tell the H about the bun in her oven. The H didn't recognize her and she convinced herself that her job was done, she told him but he didn't believe her, so be it.
Then months after, her half bro dropped her son at the H's doorstep. The h ran to her kid and tried to take him back. The H intervened, told her to wait until he conducted DNA test (he recognized her from months before when she tried to tell him about the baby). DNA test done, he believed her and hinted the h to marry him, she refused. But seconds later agreed to the marriage (her attempt at not being steamrolled towards a convenient marriage was kinda pathetic imo)
The H was quite hands on with his son which was good. Considering his past where he was still blaming himself for the death of his ex wife and daughter (that was actually not his daughter by blood). Obviously he was a cynic after being duped by his ex wife and the h soon felt second best, like living in his ex's shadow and didn't want her son to be a replacement of his deceased daughter. There were things that happened in between but I was too lazy to talk about all that so yeah.. lol
The h said the 3 words first and the H didn't say it back. The h was disappointed but kinda realized she was being selfish when the H said up front that he didn't do love thingy. Drama here and there, some revelations about the past and the H realized he was in love with the h and he actually never loved the ex. The ending was set 2 years later where the h was 6 months pregnant with twins. HEA
An overall nice read.
It all started with ONS. Not a planned one though, just something that happened (quite unrealistically) where the h met the H at the flat where the h was cat sitting at. She ran away after they did the deed (he passed out because he was still drunk). The H didn't remember anything when he woke up the next day. Months passed and the h was sure she needed to tell the H about the bun in her oven. The H didn't recognize her and she convinced herself that her job was done, she told him but he didn't believe her, so be it.
Then months after, her half bro dropped her son at the H's doorstep. The h ran to her kid and tried to take him back. The H intervened, told her to wait until he conducted DNA test (he recognized her from months before when she tried to tell him about the baby). DNA test done, he believed her and hinted the h to marry him, she refused. But seconds later agreed to the marriage (her attempt at not being steamrolled towards a convenient marriage was kinda pathetic imo)
The H was quite hands on with his son which was good. Considering his past where he was still blaming himself for the death of his ex wife and daughter (that was actually not his daughter by blood). Obviously he was a cynic after being duped by his ex wife and the h soon felt second best, like living in his ex's shadow and didn't want her son to be a replacement of his deceased daughter. There were things that happened in between but I was too lazy to talk about all that so yeah.. lol
The h said the 3 words first and the H didn't say it back. The h was disappointed but kinda realized she was being selfish when the H said up front that he didn't do love thingy. Drama here and there, some revelations about the past and the H realized he was in love with the h and he actually never loved the ex. The ending was set 2 years later where the h was 6 months pregnant with twins. HEA
An overall nice read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2020
A Baby on the Greek’s Doorstep is an October 2020 Harlequin Presents release which I was excited to read because I’d just finished re-reading three of Lynn Graham’s older books. A surprise pregnancy is the significant basis of the plot but it is pleasantly accompanied by enjoyable sub plots, of which help form the bricks and mortar of a great foundation to base Tor and Pixie’s rocky journey to love.
Baby Alfie is left on Tor’s doorstep and it’s a cracking way to start the book. How the author fits all the puzzle pieces together is imaginative; the drama is creative and the introduction of a wide range of characters is enjoyable. Coupled with beautiful locations and some exciting secondary characters to create some light drama. Lynn Graham is the queen of dreaming up hostile characters you love to hate. I thought she did a great job with Pixie’s brother and Tor’s first wife; they were engaging enough to create interest and friction.
I recommend A Baby on the Greek’s Doorstep for all fans of Harlequin Romance, it was enjoyable, had wonderful locations and I enjoyed Tor and Pixie. The Christmas epilogue was lovely and I am looking forward to Book #2 about Tor’s brother.
Baby Alfie is left on Tor’s doorstep and it’s a cracking way to start the book. How the author fits all the puzzle pieces together is imaginative; the drama is creative and the introduction of a wide range of characters is enjoyable. Coupled with beautiful locations and some exciting secondary characters to create some light drama. Lynn Graham is the queen of dreaming up hostile characters you love to hate. I thought she did a great job with Pixie’s brother and Tor’s first wife; they were engaging enough to create interest and friction.
I recommend A Baby on the Greek’s Doorstep for all fans of Harlequin Romance, it was enjoyable, had wonderful locations and I enjoyed Tor and Pixie. The Christmas epilogue was lovely and I am looking forward to Book #2 about Tor’s brother.
September 3, 2020
This book is part of the harlequin series which is trying to revive virginal h's who are so blown away by passion that they have an one night stand and become pregnant. None of these h's are ever materialistic but truly would be martyrs who would choose never to be tempted by riches, fame, glory etc., The H's who are part of the series also have a stereotypical role to play that of a billionaire (as millionaires are obviously so 20th century) playboy who stop being a playboy and choose not to have any more sex no matter how many years it takes between the H and h to come back together. There is emotional resistance to commitment from H who haven't understood the importance of being with h despite unconsciously choosing a celibate life without realizing the significance after their one night stands with the virginal h's!
November 5, 2020
I loved the book. It is a sensitive story about the result of a one-night-stand. The main characters, Pixie and Tor are well written and both are likable, even Tor (surprising). I wouldn't bother with the narration, though. The narrator does a good female dialog voice, but, terrible male. Trying to imitate a male voice, she made Tor sound whiny. He made have been a tortured soul, but, he was certainty not whiny. I almost returned the audio, but, I have gotten through most of the book before I realized how fed up I was with the narration. I don't like returning books when I have consumed over half of it. I did check the next book in the series to see if it had the same narrator. It did, so I return that one. Since I enjoyed the story I will read it again, maybe next year, to better enjoy it.
July 31, 2022
Easy story. Very likable FMC. She was direct, hard working, had self worth, empathetic, and understood people but had her own fallacies. Having said all that, the book was too easy. The MMC had huge baggage and their first encounter while sweet and played out really well was not ideal. The MMC was like a completely different person to what we get the rest of the book. A closed off clinical rich guy who is still trying to give a good upbringing to his unexpected child. While I didn’t really like his personality I respected that he was trying to make good choices.
However, this couples whole relationship revolved around their sexual chemistry. I only got extreme desire and wanting but I never felt the love. I was disappointed. Still, it was an easy lite read. Not at all a bad story. Simply lacking emotional depth. Good luck.
However, this couples whole relationship revolved around their sexual chemistry. I only got extreme desire and wanting but I never felt the love. I was disappointed. Still, it was an easy lite read. Not at all a bad story. Simply lacking emotional depth. Good luck.
July 3, 2022
Firecracker
What can I really say about Pixie other than that she is a firecracker!! I love her. She's smart, humble, and caring. She's the friend everyone really needs and even Tor sensed that from the beginning. She's also stubborn and independent and I can appreciate that. What really is bad though.... and good.... is that she also trusts easily and forgives willingly. She's got such a big beautiful and forgiving nature. She's beautiful inside and out and doesn't realize if. How could Tor not eventually realize he needed her in his life. This story was as uplifting as it claims to be and I really enjoyed it.
What can I really say about Pixie other than that she is a firecracker!! I love her. She's smart, humble, and caring. She's the friend everyone really needs and even Tor sensed that from the beginning. She's also stubborn and independent and I can appreciate that. What really is bad though.... and good.... is that she also trusts easily and forgives willingly. She's got such a big beautiful and forgiving nature. She's beautiful inside and out and doesn't realize if. How could Tor not eventually realize he needed her in his life. This story was as uplifting as it claims to be and I really enjoyed it.
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