Once Lorenzo Valente sets his sights on something—or someone—he will not be deterred! His estranged wife, Chloe, might profess to hate him now, yet only weeks earlier she was claiming adoration…proving Lorenzo's belief that love is fickle.
But now the stakes have gotten higher…. Chloe has become guardian to her friend's baby and wants a fresh start—plus a marriage annulment. Seeing Chloe as a mother, Lorenzo is more determined than ever to keep her… and claim the wedding night from which she fled!
Very odd book. I don't know where the blackmail was but there was a baby. It was the h's best friends baby who had died of cancer. It starts at a wedding between the h and the H where h proceeds to get mad at her for saying I love you. He is a total smuck so she runs away fo three months where she takes care of her friend who is dying of cancer. The friend leaves her baby to the h and the H shows up at the funeral so he can have sex with the h and get her out of his system so he can divorce her because she dared to love him. I just hated him. He was sending so many mixed signals and she was so confused by them. She does go back with him and he decides he's going to keep her and the baby and take care of them but NEVER love them. It was kind of a boring book but I finished it and I think he loved her all along but he didn't know what love was due to his bad childhood. He finally tells her he loves her in the last sentence of the story. Just an okay read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Once Lorenzo Valente sets his sights on something--or someone--he will not be deterred! His estranged wife, Chloe, might profess to hate him now, yet only weeks earlier she was claiming adoration...proving Lorenzo's belief that love is fickle.
But now the stakes have gotten higher.... Chloe has become guardian to her friend's baby and wants a fresh start--plus a marriage annulment. Seeing Chloe as a mother, Lorenzo is more determined than ever to keep her... and claim the wedding night from which she fled! (
Stilted dialogue and a heroine with low self-esteem made this not a good read for me. I admit to not finishing it. I couldn't force myself to continue on.
Lorenzo Valenti: Orang yang mencari cinta adalah orang bodoh. Cinta adalah gagasan keliru dan tidak benar.
Chloe: Tentu saja cinta ada. Kau tidak bisa menyangkal dan menyingkirkannya dari hatimu. Cinta bukan sesuatu yang bisa kau nyalakan dan matikan sesuka hati.
Ketika pernikahan sudah terjadi Chloe meninggalkan suaminya, Lorenzo, untuk memutuskan perkawinan tersebut dan kembali ke Inggris. Karena Lorenzo tidak percaya kepada cinta. Cinta Chloe yang begitu besarnya yang ditolak Lorenzo.
Di Inggris, Chloe secara tiba-tiba menjadi wali sekaligus ibu baptis untuk anak sahabatnya. Dimulailah perjuangan Chloe untuk menyanyangi dan merawat anak tersebut yang kini hidup sebatang kara.
Berbulan-bulan Chloe bergelut dengan kehidupannya. Ketika sudah terhimpit keuangan yang dahsyat. Chloe memakai kartu kredit tanpa batas yang diberikan oleh suaminya untuk proses biaya pemakaman sahabatnya. Dengan syarat, biaya tersebut akan digantinya di kemudian hari.
Emang sudah apes banget bagi Chloe. Lorenzo menuntut dan menjemput Chloe di Inggris untuk mengikatnya kembali dalam tali perkawinan yang sah.
Padahal ceritanya biasa aja. Udh ketebak ending nya. Yang menarik dari buku ini adalah pertengkaran suami istri. Adu mulut , debat kusir yang tiada habisnya dan tiba-tiba berdamai karena Chloe dan Lorenzo memiliki rasa lebih.
Ya udah.. buku buat senang-senang biar gak mumet sama pandemi.
Pada hari pernikahannya, Lorenzo mengaku tidak mencintai Chloe. Dia menikahi Chloe karena melihat ada potensi dan kualifikasi sebagai istri yang ideal pada diri Chloe. Chloe marah dan pergi meninggalkan Lorenzo.
Chloe mengunjungi sahabatnya yang ternyata sakit parah. Tiga bulan kemudian sahabatnya meninggal dan menyerahkan bayinya pada Chloe untuk diasuh. Pada hari pemakaman sahabatnya, Lorenzo datang menjemput Chloe untuk kembali bersamanya.
Lagi-lagi Chloe mempermasalahkan tidak adanya pernyataan cinta dari Lorenzo. Padahal semua perhatian pria itu ditujukan pada Chloe. Chloe juga ingin Lorenzo bisa akrab dengan Emma, bayi sahabatnya. Lorenzo bersedia bertanggung jawab atas bayi itu, tapi lagi-lagi dia tidak bisa mencintai Emma.
Capek rasanya membaca pergulatan batin Chloe yang sangat mengharapkan kata cinta keluar dari bibir Lorenzo. Padahal dia juga tahu Lorenzo memujanya. Di sisi lain, Lorenzo juga kesal ditodong terus oleh Chloe yang mengingatkan bahwa dirinya tidak bisa mengungkapkan cinta. Kenapa mereka tidak menikmati saja apa yang ada ya? Padahal baik Chloe dan Lorenzo sama-sama paham akan masa lalu mereka yang miskin cinta dari keluargan.
Once I read the book I was confused about the title cause there wasn't much blackmail going on, there was just the fact that the heroine loved the hero. The heroine stuck by the hero because she was in love with him. There was a baby involved but not their biological child. Never the less, it was a decent read.
I'm giving this a 4 because I thought it was a cute story and it was cute. I think that the writing could have been stronger and in some places it felt a bit redundant in some places but overall it was cute.
Frustrating! This guy is an obtuse idiot that almost succeeds in driving the heroine away with his idiotic philosophies. The only reason I gave it 3 stars is because he was smoking hot and the sex was ... damn!
Perhaps this is a petty complaint to make of a Harlequin Presents, but this book struck me as terribly shallow. The writing could not support the heavy themes.