30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Suitable for marriage - but what about love?, October 11, 2004
This review is from: The Italian's Suitable Wife: Italian Husbands (Harlequin Presents) (Mass Market Paperback)
Enrico DiRinaldi was left paralyzed after he saved a woman from being mugged. Despite his paralysis, which may be either temporary or permanent, he wants to have a family of his own. So, after playing his friend Gianna Lakewood and his fiancee Chiara off of one another, he dumps the heartless Chiara and proposes marriage to Gianna. Despite his marriage proposal, there is no love involved in this match on his part. But is that good enough for Gianna?
Gianna Lakewood has loved Rico since she was a young girl, and she rushed to his beside when he was in the hospital, unlike his fiancee. She'd love to marry him and have his children, but he had never looked at her that way. To him, she was only the daughter of his mother's best friend, a sisterly sort of girl, not a desirable woman. So when Rico proposes marriage to her, she's shocked to say the least, but she says yes because it's like a dream come true - except Rico doesn't love her. Can she be satisfied with a loveless marriage, or can she change Rico's heart?
Well, I thought this book was going to be better than it actually was. I didn't like Rico or Gianna. Rico was a complete jerk and treated Gianna like she wasn't worth hardly anything to him. Not only did he order her around constantly, ask her embarrassing questions in front of other people, act like a Neanderthal when it came to her sharing a hotel suite with his brother because she couldn't afford a hotel room of her own, but he was just plain rude. He would say and do the most hurtful things to Gianna, and then just excuse it because he was in a temper. I'm sorry, that is NOT a good excuse. And when he flirted with the flight attendant on the flight back to Italy, mere hours after marrying Gianna, because he didn't think Gianna was paying enough attention to him - it just showed what an immature jerk he was, and sad to say, he didn't do much growing up in the book at all.
Gianna was a doormat. She let Rico walk all over her in the name of her love for him. She let him say hateful things to her. She let him use her to make his fiancee jealous. She didn't stand up to either Rico or Chiara when they were accusing her of trying to break them up while Rico was in the hospital. She NEVER stood up to Chiara and just let the other woman use her as a punching bag. Gianna spent much of the book whining because Rico didn't love her, but saying that she'd rather live with him in a loveless marriage than be out of his life for good. Please. She needed to grow a backbone. Unfortunately, she never did, either. So, basically, if you like a spineless heroine and a caveman hero, this is the book for you. If you like a heroine with just an ounce of courage, read something else.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as its premise sounded, June 27, 2005
This review is from: The Italian's Suitable Wife: Italian Husbands (Harlequin Presents) (Mass Market Paperback)
Based on the recap on the back, this book had a great setup: paralyzed hero, nasty ex-fiance, adoring heroine. But I found the story disappointing. Rico's sudden sexual interest in Gianna was much too abrubt of a change and never convincing and Gianna was a bit too much of a wimp. Also, the last confrontation with Chiara was off-page, so we couldn't even enjoy Chiara's comeuppance.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Winner!, December 26, 2004
This review is from: The Italian's Suitable Wife: Italian Husbands (Harlequin Presents) (Mass Market Paperback)
Lucy Monroe has written yet another keeper! THE ITALIAN'S SUITABLE WIFE combines the best of traditional-Presents Alpha Male with a modern sensibility that lifts it above and beyond the expected. Rico and Gianna are both strong, passionate people who find love in a thoroughly satisfying novel. And Ms. Monroe isn't shy about exploring sensitive issues such as paralysis and fertility treatments, bringing a traditional storyline into the 21st century. Give this book a try and you won't be disappointed!
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