The Tuscan Tycoon's Pregnant Housekeeper (Harlequin Presents Extra) [Mass Market Paperback]

Christina Hollis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2009 | Series: Harlequin Presents Extra (Book 71)

Plain, timid housekeeper Michelle Spicer keeps her head down and gets on with the job. She knows her place.

Bored and restless in the south of France, Alessandro Castiglione has found himself a plaything. Stripped of her uniform and naked in his bed, mousy Michelle blossoms before him.

But she knows she's only the housekeeper-- not a rich man's wife. Discarded, disgraced and left with nothing but the child she now carries, Michelle is back in rainy England. Until the Tuscan tycoon decides to taste her charms again....

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (September 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373527357
• ISBN-13: 978-0373527359
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,830,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christina Hollis was born in Somerset, England and was the elder of two children. The Careers department at school gave her the stark choice between nursing and teaching, but both options called for more years of study. All she wanted to do was use her imagination and write, so she escaped from school to get a job in the financial sector.
She worked briefly in Marketing, but 'Numbers tend to dance in my head, but not exactly like sugar plums! My job was all about figures, and used more spreadsheets than I felt happy with,' she says now. Around this time, she met her husband on a blind date. They lived in the city for convenience, but both wanted to get away to the peace and quiet of the countryside. After they moved out to rural Gloucestershire, Christina began writing full time about their life in the country. Producing articles and photographs for national magazines about their exploits keeping chickens, geese, pigs and growing their own fruit and vegetables by day, by night she was working on full-length fiction.
Christina has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil, and reading for almost as long. Her grandfather and father were both avid readers, and so is her husband, so she has always been surrounded by books. Writing fiction was a natural progression from her magazine work. In 1990 her first full length novel, Knight's Pawn, was published by Harlequin Mills and Boon under the pen name Polly Forrester. After a career break to devote time to raising a family of her own, she joined respected poet Paul Groves' creative writing course to explore other avenues. Here she discovered the art of the short story, and was encouraged to try writing contemporary romance. After several drafts and some revisions, her first Mills and Boon Modern Romance, The Italian Billionaire's Virgin was published in 2007. Her books have appeared in lists of best sellers all over the world.
'As well as romantic conflict, I like my books to capture the countryside in all its moods,' she says. 'Reading can take you to a completely different place and time. That's my idea of luxury - the chance to escape from the pressures of everyday life.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Time I'll never get back, September 26, 2009

By 

Book Worm "Bookworm" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tuscan Tycoon's Pregnant Housekeeper (Harlequin Presents Extra) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was so horrible I can't believe that it was meant to be a romance novel. The book starts off with Alessandro coming to stay at the house where Michelle is a housekeeper and for a few days they flirt with each other until Alessandro finally takes Michelle's virginity and leaves the country while she's sleeping.

After Alessandro finds out Michelle's pregnant he totally railroads her and desides he's going to marry her because in his opinion she's immoral because she didn't tell him she was a virgin and all she was looking for was to trap him by having his baby. Alessandro goes on to call the paparzzi to surround Michelle's store so that she has no choice but to back to Italy with him if she ever plans to live without journalist in her face (journalist I should remind you that Alessandro called in the first place) and then threatens to make her lose her job, her home, and to sue for sole custody and deny her any access. At this point in the book I was so disgusted that I felt the need to throw something, and to my horror the story just got worse from there.

Alessandro had a horrible childhood and didn't feel loved by his parents and the author explains this at the end of the story to explain away everything he did to Michelle, but it just made me hate him even more. Michelle also had a bad childhood but she didn't treat people like crap. The author's portrayal of Alessandro was truly disgusting, Alessandro even went as far as to tell Michelle after he told her they were getting married (told not asked)as they are about to go to bed together that he "does not do fidelity." Alessandro was rude and domineering throughout the whole book and decides that he was wrong and he really does "love" Michelle in the last five pages.

I would NOT recommend this book to anyone (or this author if her other books are anything like this one) who likes romances because this defintely not the one for you. Michelle has no self esteem, or the ability to stand up for herself, even going so far as to apologize to Alessandro for getting pregnant (as though it were totally her fault) because of bad publicity it may generate for his company. And Alessandro is an egotistical domineering pig with no thought for anyone's feelings, much less Michelle's.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dont waste your time!, December 25, 2010

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tuscan Tycoon's Pregnant Housekeeper (Harlequin Presents Extra) (Kindle Edition)

I have to agree with the other two reviewers. This book is bad. Both characters are weak and the storyline drags on with no real plot. I've never read a book by this author before and I will definitely make sure to steer clear in the future.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed..., January 6, 2011

By 

Pamela Lee - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Tuscan Tycoon's Pregnant Housekeeper (Harlequin Presents Extra) (Kindle Edition)

It was a huge disappointment. The plot was hard to follow. The main charactors was terrible. The male charactor was mean and controling. and the female was a push over. wish i didnt waste my money on this dribble.