Reviews

Innocent Secretary...Accidentally Pregnant by Carol Marinelli

sjb86's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this book. Luca is arrogant and can not be trusted with Emma's heart. With family issues on both sides, they struggle with their feeling and worrys for future. It's not until Luca gets a huge shock that he realises he's put his life on hold for no reason. Really good romance and HEA.

nighteyes82's review against another edition

3.0

well this one was solid
the characters real
not over the top not drama queen wanabies uber alpha shit but still harlequin like Luca was super sexy and Emma was down to earth
i wish harlequin présents heroes were more like that

serlinarose's review against another edition

5.0

A good read. That's all I will say...a good read.

rebeccajost's review

2.5

Despite the terrible title it’s pretty cute

una_macchia's review against another edition

3.0

I really liked some of the non-romantic relationships in this story -- the heroine and her father, the hero and his dog (I'm not a dog person but I wish there were more scenes with Pepper), the hero and his family. The hero's father was physically abusive to his mother throughout his childhood; now he's sick and dying and can't hurt her physically anymore, but of course he can still abusive her verbally and the memories are still there. The hero takes the heroine home with him for his sister's wedding, and there are some great scenes with him struggling to hold it together around his father and act as he's expected to in public, while the heroine tries to figure out what's going on and he slowly opens up. The hero's fear of being like his father was very well done imo, and came across as realistic instead of overblown drama. He behaves badly toward the heroine to drive her away, but (for me) he doesn't cross the line to being too shitty to deserve a happy ending. I also appreciated that he actually went to see a counselor to deal with his issues when he realized that he really did want a relationship with the heroine and their unborn child, though I would have liked to see a scene between him and the counselor instead of just a summarizing paragraph.

The heroine felt a little flat/underdeveloped by comparison with the hero, though I did like her. She has a spine and she stands her ground when the hero is trying to be as unpleasant to her as he can to push her away. What bothered me a lot more is a twist toward the end regarding the hero's family background. It is briefly foreshadowed beforehand, but I thought it was totally unnecessary and I don't love the implications.

Spoiler

Turns out the hero's biological father is actually another man, the family doctor. He and the hero's mother had feelings for each other and acted on them before her marriage, though the affair didn't continue after that encounter. The hero's uncle and grandfather are/were also violent toward their wives, and the narrative seems to suggest that their behavior is mostly caused by genetics. I felt that this really cheapened the hero's storyline by handwaving his fears about becoming his father as a nonissue because he isn't really his father's son -- instead of because he's a person who made a deliberate decision to not behave that way. Idk. I was still happy with his HEA but that really weakened the ending for me.

mathematical_penguin's review

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

ali5hba's review against another edition

2.0

This was a typical romance story with all the ticks.
-Brooding, super hot, gamer hero ✔
-Funky middle class girl who doesn't care about money and is the most innocent soul ✔
-Sexual tension and inappropriate public and official behaviour ✔
-A stupid justified excuse to spend a night together ✔
-Hero has commitment issues ✔ (but no wait let's exaggerate on those issues. It's not enough to just not feeling like settling down. No no no. One must have a secret mysterious past. And guess what father beat mom so he doesn't wanna marry so he doesn't beats anyone *whaat*)
-amazing porn video type out of the world sex like really. What's with the "he kissed her with his skin"
Sigh
-pregnancy (by reading of the title I thought the author would emphasize on the pregs part but it's like unneccary and forced in the end. They could have gotten along fine without pregs too) ✔

Anyways he wasn't the beat-up-yo-wife's son. Mommy had an extramarital affair before marrying (what? I KNOWW)

anyways the whole millionaire description and the hero was described well thus the secondition star.

lenoreo's review

3.0

OK, I normally love Carol Marinelli...and there was something about Emma that was just fabulous. She has this not perfect and not glamourousness about her that I love (yeah, I'm ok with that personality, it fits with mine). But Luca kind of went too far to be redeemable. I know he had his reasons and fears, but I had a hard time forgiving him like Emma did. Hence the lower star wattage from me. Won't stop me from reading marinelli books though...

gamz's review

4.0

Didn't expect much from this book because of the title. However, I was pleasantly surprised because I loved the characters and the storyline was pretty damn good too.

Emma applied for a job as an assistant PA to the gorgeous, wealthy Luca and initially got turned down. But a kindness to Luca's PA and the fact that she could resist Luca's charm got her the job.

She was doing well until she saw Luca undressed as she helped him pack for a trip and then it all went to hell in a hand basket. Ok... that may be taking it too far but once he knew she wanted him, he made up his mind to have her and it was on!

Emma and Luca were both strong, interesting characters and very likable. Emma's sassiness and lessons learned from watching her father and brothers with women helped her put Luca in his place and keep him there.

Luca found her a challenge and a change from his usual simpering, clinging girlfriends. Even so, he was so damn verbally cruel when things were getting too close for comfort. He had the power to devastate her and he used it thinking he was protecting her.

An absolute enjoyable read. Highly recommend!

monie_11's review

emotional lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0