Susan M. (susyclemens) reviewed on 5/2/2008 + 158 more book reviews

Unusually, this Harlequin Presents opens from the hero's point of view. Alessio is an Italian count; in bed in his apartment in Rome with a married lady, and already regretting his entanglement. Then, his wicked witch of an aunt arrives on his doorstep, and makes him regret it even more. She blackmails him into helping her break up a most unsuitable romance between her son Paulo and an English girl.

What neither of them know is that the heroine, Laura, is in Italy under false pretences: she's agreed to play at being Paulo's fiancee in order to help him escape an arranged marriage, and to earn a bit of money.

After wading through some subpar Harlequins, I really appreciated this setup. It showed more imagination than the typical, "hero somehow manipulates heroine to sleep with him to save her father/brother/family from ruin", average Harlequin plot. Also, one of the story's strengths is that the viewpoint of the hero is given equal time with the POV of the heroine; he's as conflicted as she is about their mutual attraction, and it gives balance to the story to see the hero's inner conflict, too. Again, this makes for an untypical Harlequin.

The characters are well-rounded, although the heroine is just a wee bit tarred with martyrdom's brush (can't have a Harlequin without that!) but fortunately just a little. And the story is not without humor (the blackmailing aunt and her slimy son are a hoot). It really moves along, propelled by sex appeal and the above-average plot. It's a solid, well-constructed Harlequin, with an (ultimately) sincere, sexy hero, and a heroine I for once don't want to clock over the head.

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