Customer Reviews

Rossellini's Revenge Affair (Silhouette Desire)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Raffaelle the hero in this story is a schmuck. No questions, doubts or arguments. While Lana the heroine, is a little too naive for her own good, I could empathize with her problems and felt badly for her.

As other's have mentioned the plot, I won't rehash it. I will say that Raff's decision for vengeance is completely stupid. If he was so concerned with his sister's adulterous affair and was convinced that Lana was holding up the divorce, why in THREE years did he never confront Lana? And what kind of stereotypical Italian male, as he appears to be in every other way, would let his spoilt baby sister be in an adulterous affair to begin with?

The reasoning in the plot was idiotic and Raff's actions were just plain spitefull and cowardly. I understand grief does crazy things to people, but how much of a brilliant businessman could he be if he couldn't even investigate what was really going on with his sister and her lover in three years. Obviously, he must have had really good people working for him, otherwise he would be totally broke.

I admit, I love my share of bad boys in romance novels, but Raff isn't bad he is just stupid, spitefull and petty. Keelhauling is probably too good for him. My only hope for the unbelievable HEA was that Lana would eventually see a therapist to get over her distressing taste in men and kick him to the gutter, where he belonged.

[grin] I own it but not for long.
Why did Raffaelle Rossellini allow his bull headed little sister have an affair with a married man? Do the Italians think this is normal?

He wants revenge because Lana Whittaker would [suppossedly]not give her husband a divorce. Was she just a trophy wife? I don't think that her husband thought her rich father would cut her off.
Now he has betrayed Lana [maybe because she couldn't have any children] and he didn't want to adopt. Kyle was full of lies.

Marie Rossellini was only portrayed as a victim by her brother. But where was her responsibility? She appears to be one spoiled young lady.

Well Rossellini and Lana were very skillfully brought to bed despite their antagonism - but you know, I would have recognized all of the working body parts and their functions without such graphic details. Again the hormones rule.

Passionate and Provocative - oh well, if you say so. Tsk! Tsk!

Not exactly a miss but not a hit either. I could have given another star for the cover but that wouldn't prove anything.

I read this book mainly based on the premise and trying to understand how it would work. I mean, a husband is having an affair, there's an accident in which he dies and the mistress is in a coma. And her brother is all set to destroy the wife? Why? Isn't she an innocent party in all this? Shouldn't you be angry with the guy who's cheating? And yet, the hero(?) not only intensely dislikes the wife, but blames her for the accident AND sets out to destroy her financially. All a bit over the top to avenge his sister and her love of a married man.

Suffice to say the author answers these issues, but I still didn't like it. The hero took what the husband said at face value and never tried to verify it, although early on you find out the affair had been going on for three years! And yet, this brilliant, successful, rich guy did nothing to check to make sure that the story the husband was saying was true. He knew the guy was married and yet he did nothing. His guilt over not protecting his sister was understandable. But I could not get past the fact that he, again brilliant, successful, rich, did not do anything to check out the story. (Maybe talk to the wife and try to buy her off?). Nope, he did absolutely nothing during the course of the long affair. I had a hard time overcoming that entire issue. Yea, finally near the end the hero realizes he took things at face value and never questioned but I found it a bit late for that not to mention hard to swallow given his overwhelming success in business and the fact he loved his sister so much (but, again, did not do a single thing to investigate the MARRIED man she was having an affair with).

The only plus is I did like the chemistry between the two characters.

As the other reviewers have stated the plot I will just do the basic highlights: H, Raffaele Rossellinini, blames the h, Lana Whittaker, for his sister's unhappiness and death. If Lana had just let her husband, Kyle, go so that he could marry Rafe's sister all would have been well. Rafe wouldn't have set out to get revenge on an innocent, grieving widow then either. (and of course we wouldn't have had a story)

We know that Lana is innocent and perhaps a bit blind. After all her husband, Kyle, had been carrying on with the OW for 3 years and she didn't catch on once. Kyle seemed to want the perfect wife and hostess at home and he wanted to have children too. Lana was unable to give him children. Lana was left at Rafe's mercy because when Kyle died he had left her without any money and her father, who had money, had cut her off when she took up with Kyle.

There are several sweet scenes, especially at the end when Rafe is trying to locate Lana and has a confrontation with her lawyer, when he finally realizes what a tool he has been, and when he finally finds her at the end and opens himself up to her! He is actually crying and I believe that he was truly sorry for not seeing the truth. Perhaps he was blinded by his anger and hurt of his sister dying. Rafe was doing what others do; acting without thinking, lashing out and wanting to hurt someone else as he was hurting too. That doesn't excuse it but it does explain some of it. Rafe only really had Lana to blame and perhaps when he thought about it later he realized that he should have never believed a cheater as a cheater by definition is a liar. Rafe believed that Kyle loved his sister and he never seemed to question why that tool didn't just walk away from his wife if he wanted to take up with his sister like he claimed he wanted. Not to smart on his side, but for some reason he thought he could trust Kyle and why not apparently Lana did too! She never even realized that Kyle was having an affair. I think the only one who seemed to really suspect Kyle was Lana's father, but then we don't get a whole lot from him on the subject either.

Rossillini's Revenge Affair by Yvonne Lindsay
Silhouette Desire # 1811 - July 2007

In the span of 48 hours, Lana Whittaker's life had been ripped apart, and as each hour passed, more was taken from her. First, her husband's sudden death in a tragic accident leaving his mistress of the past three years lying brain-dead in hospital kept alive only to continue nurturing her unborn child. Second, was the knowledge that her marriage had been a sham, that while she had loved Kyle, he had lead a double life. To support that double life Kyle had been diverting funds from his clients and borrowing heavily, he was a master juggler. And that brought the third shock, everything is gone, her home, her possessions, her bank accounts are frozen, all to cover Kyle's debts. And the biggest shock was that Kyle had left guardianship of his children (should he have any) to Lana, his wife; this meant that the mistress' unborn child was hers to raise. Raffaele Rossillini knows he has a lot to atone for. He was the one to introduce his sister Maria to Kyle Whittaker. He believed Kyle that his beautiful trophy wife had refused continuously over the past three years to give Kyle the divorce he sought. Raffaele had not kept the promise he had made to his mother that he would always look after Maria, but he would avenge her death. Lana Whittaker would be made to pay for destroying Maria's life and that of the man Maria had loved, the husband Lana had refused to set free. First he will seduce her, gain custody of his sister's baby, and then he will discard her.

This is my first book by Yvonne Lindsay, and it will not be my last. She has a very pleasing voice and has written a very compelling story. Even though I do have some problems with part of the premise (the fact that Raffaele condoned his sister's affair with a married man), I was able to become engrossed in the lives of Lana and Raffaele. What makes this book work, is the skill with which Ms. Lindsay gives us insight into Raffaele and manages to give him great depth. He's a hero that is ruthless yet vulnerable, angry yet compassionate. Lana's quiet courage and silent suffering is palpable. I class this one as one for the keeper shelf :D

If you like run on sentences that are four lines long, then you'll like this book. By the time you finally finish the sentence, you have no idea what the author was trying to say. There are entire sentences that don't make sense because words are missing. It's either sloppy writing or sloppy editing. If you want to give yourself a headache, then buy this book.