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A review by aefedele
Public Wife, Private Mistress by Sarah Morgan
3.0
This review was posted at Tsuki’s Book Blog on August 29, 2013.
On the edge of my Lucy Monroe binge I went looking at the library for other favorite HP authors. In this case I stumbled on the library's collection of Sarah Morgan (much smaller) and I snatched this one up. This was a pleasant book divergent from desert sheikhs and instead featured an Italian billionaire and a failing marriage (my fave).
When Rico's sister took a fall from a horse, she calls out his estranged wife's name in her unconscious state. Rico calls his almost ex-wife back to Italy nearly kicking and screaming. When Chiara awakens and doesn't remember the past 18 months, Rico blackmails Stasia into being his wife again to help Chiara remain healthy and happy. As they play their roles they begin to fall in love all over again. Naturally there was a reason behind their almost divorce and that night still stands between them.
I love nearly failed marriages turned back into love stories. In this case I was pleased to watch the repair of their marriage when they started TALKING. Imagine that! A billionaire tycoon actually took an hour and TALKED to his wife. He could not understand why she cheated on him with a nearly teenage boy or why she ran out on their marriage if she was innocent. She, on the other hand, couldn't believe he thought she cheated AND he didn't bother to come after her.
While I loved the romance and the falling in love part, the Chiara part drove me crazy. Chiara hit her head AND had a personality change. Stasia made it pretty clear Chiara was a mess with her from the beginning but when Chiara thought it was 18 months earlier she was suddenly accepting and nearly perfect with Stasia. That just struck me as strange. Also when she got her memory back she still didn't tell Rico about the night Stasia and his marriage fell apart and her role in the whole thing. I understand teenagers can be stupid but seriously?! That seemed ridiculous.
The other problem with this one was Rico's family's dependence on him. His entire family barely did anything unless Rico gave permission and approved. Stasia called him out on the fact she had never been like that but that was what he expected. At the same time she conceded she should have understood why he felt that way. I'm sorry but he became head of household when he was fifteen and while I get cultural differences, it was insane. His mother, sister, grandmother ceded all control to him at fifteen and still ceded all control years later. They had zero personality and zero spine. How...disturbing.
While I had my issues with this book, it was enjoyable. It isn't a book I would recommend for new HP readers. It's a book I would recommend to people who love nearly failed marriage romances OR Sarah Morgan fans. It was a fun read although some aspects were a bit disturbing. Hopefully the next Sarah Morgan book I read will be a bit more like "Once a Ferrara Wife" so I can finally put one higher than that one in comparison.
3 Stars
Published by Harlequin
April 2006
187 Pages
Provided by--the Library
On the edge of my Lucy Monroe binge I went looking at the library for other favorite HP authors. In this case I stumbled on the library's collection of Sarah Morgan (much smaller) and I snatched this one up. This was a pleasant book divergent from desert sheikhs and instead featured an Italian billionaire and a failing marriage (my fave).
When Rico's sister took a fall from a horse, she calls out his estranged wife's name in her unconscious state. Rico calls his almost ex-wife back to Italy nearly kicking and screaming. When Chiara awakens and doesn't remember the past 18 months, Rico blackmails Stasia into being his wife again to help Chiara remain healthy and happy. As they play their roles they begin to fall in love all over again. Naturally there was a reason behind their almost divorce and that night still stands between them.
I love nearly failed marriages turned back into love stories. In this case I was pleased to watch the repair of their marriage when they started TALKING. Imagine that! A billionaire tycoon actually took an hour and TALKED to his wife. He could not understand why she cheated on him with a nearly teenage boy or why she ran out on their marriage if she was innocent. She, on the other hand, couldn't believe he thought she cheated AND he didn't bother to come after her.
While I loved the romance and the falling in love part, the Chiara part drove me crazy. Chiara hit her head AND had a personality change. Stasia made it pretty clear Chiara was a mess with her from the beginning but when Chiara thought it was 18 months earlier she was suddenly accepting and nearly perfect with Stasia. That just struck me as strange. Also when she got her memory back she still didn't tell Rico about the night Stasia and his marriage fell apart and her role in the whole thing. I understand teenagers can be stupid but seriously?! That seemed ridiculous.
The other problem with this one was Rico's family's dependence on him. His entire family barely did anything unless Rico gave permission and approved. Stasia called him out on the fact she had never been like that but that was what he expected. At the same time she conceded she should have understood why he felt that way. I'm sorry but he became head of household when he was fifteen and while I get cultural differences, it was insane. His mother, sister, grandmother ceded all control to him at fifteen and still ceded all control years later. They had zero personality and zero spine. How...disturbing.
While I had my issues with this book, it was enjoyable. It isn't a book I would recommend for new HP readers. It's a book I would recommend to people who love nearly failed marriage romances OR Sarah Morgan fans. It was a fun read although some aspects were a bit disturbing. Hopefully the next Sarah Morgan book I read will be a bit more like "Once a Ferrara Wife" so I can finally put one higher than that one in comparison.
3 Stars
Published by Harlequin
April 2006
187 Pages
Provided by--the Library