Customer Reviews

Virgin on Her Wedding Night (Harlequin Presents)

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

 

 

I am long time Lynne Graham fan. I buy everything she writes. Her last few novels have been just bad. I won't review the story (It was a stretch). The female character was such a door mat she was unlikeable. The male lead was so overbearing and it was hard to like him. I want the hour of my life back that it took to read this mess. I think I will take a break from my one time favorite author.

There's nothing in this book Harlequin fans haven't read before... The alpha male hero believes he was wronged by the heroine and blackmails her into marrying and sleeping with him. Eventually, the Big Misunderstanding is sorted out and they live happily ever after. (Is that a spoiler? Eh, the plot is so clichéd and predictable, I don't think so.) Some writers can take a familiar plot and make it fresh. Lynn Graham either doesn't have the skill or just didn't bother.

The heroine, Caroline, is boring and damaged in a way that's never satisfactorily explained, and her relationship with the first husband doesn't make sense. He's described as "the boy next door and her closest friend," but becomes abusive (on their wedding day!) and they never have sex (oh, come on). Later, Caroline tells the hero, Valente, that she and the ex were just casual friends. The Big Misunderstanding between Caroline and Valente is convoluted and unbelievable, and Valente's four-year obsession with this spineless woman seems unlikely--but not as unbelievable as his sudden shift from revenge to love at the end of the book. She's also inconsistent: one minute she's claiming his revenge plot is unforgivable, and the next she's declaring her love for him. Just as irritating, her awful mother never gets her comeuppance. And to top it all off, the writing itself is clunky and full of clichés.

I'm not sure what to make of the bad reviews of this book. It's Lynne Graham. You should know what you get when you read a Lynne Graham. Either you like her, or you don't. But if you've been reading her books and her formula doesn't drive you nuts, then I don't see why you wouldn't enjoy this one. I didn't find this book so horribly awful compared to other Graham novels. (I've been on a Lynne Graham kick lately and have read about 4 in a row.)

Like many Lynne Graham novels, this book had these elements: (SPOILERS, but if you know Lynne Graham none of these will be a surprise!)

* Hero and heroine knew each other some years before, had a relationship, things went bad and the hero doesn't know the real reason why.
* Heroine is out of her element with the "gorgeous stunning" alpha male from (Italy, Spain, Greece, Bolivia, whatever).
* Hero is always really powerful, oversexed, "male animal" who has lots of sexual experience and is filthy rich and often famous.
* Hero thinks badly of the heroine (believes that she did him wrong).
* Heroine is sexually inexperienced or a virgin.
* Hero is a complete and total aggressive jerk and wants revenge in the form of forcing heroine to either be his mistress and/or marry him.
* Both hero and heroine are obviously very attracted to each other and love each other, but drag this revelation out until the last pages.
* Incredible, perfect sex.
* Hero gets a clue about 1/2 or 3/4-way in the book and stops behaving like such a jerk when either he realizes he still loves heroine, or starts to realize that he jumped to some wrong conclusions about her.
* Everything is cleared up in the end, happily ever after, "I always loved you, I never stopped loving you" blah blah blah.

Yeah, well, this book had all of that. But it had a few differences too. I kind of liked the back story between the hero and heroine (the circumstances of how they first met). I thought the heroine's "issues" with sexual intimacy and how the hero dealt with that were not typical for Lynne Graham.

But basically it's typical Lynne Graham. I didn't find that it dragged, but the "incredible, perfect sex" happened quite late in the book. Perhaps that was a source of complaint for some fans, who want more sex scenes and nearer the beginning of the book. (Don't get me wrong, this had the standard Graham sex scenes, which I admit I sometimes skim because it's like lather, rinse, repeat--we've read it all before--"pouting" female body parts, etc. What. ever.) Anyway, I don't know what was so dire about this book in particular. It's Lynne Graham. She follows a very predictable formula. This is a Harlequin Presents. Keep your expectations realistic here and you'll probably enjoy it.

Its ok still readable but not her best work it dragged on i skip through bits and pieces but like it said its ok the parts i didn't skip through.

If Graham intended readers to sympathize with Caroline, she failed. Other reviewers mention her being a doormat, but what struck me was her appallingly low level of contrition. She married someone almost immediately after she left Valente waiting at the altar. I can't blame Valente for wanting revenge on her and her family, and I hate how she only viewed herself as the victim of circumstances. She committed the initial wrong and won't accept the terms for penance.

(Caveat to this review: I haven't finished reading the book yet, but it's so frustrating that I needed to write a review now).

VIRGIN ON HER WEDDING NIGHT - Lynne Graham

For those who love romances with vibrant characters and a plot full of surprises Lynne Graham's Virgin on Her Wedding Night is a story that's got to be read! For a sexy story that sizzles with sensuality and realistic characters, be sure you pick up this Harlequin Presents.

What's not to love when an Italian alpha is the main hero? Valente Lorenzatto was used to being in the spotlight over the last five years when he made his millions and was accepted by the famed Barbieri family as the Count Ettore and the Barbieri illegitimate grandson. And now at the top of his list is to enact revenge on the Hale family and their daughter Caroline who left him standing at the altar five years earlier. Hale Transport was in trouble and Velente purchased the business and the Hale estate as revenge. The only way he would be happy was to get the wedding night that was taken from him when his bride-to-be, Caroline Hale left him standing at the alter.

Caroline Hale grew up pleasing her parents and in the end gave up the love of her life Valente Lorenzatto because her parents and her childhood friend Matthew Bailey and his family insisted she marry Matthew. And then the very man she once loved had destroyed her family financially so she approached him to plead their case. However, being the man he was he informed her he wanted her to become his mistress. It was bad enough that her deceased husband humiliated her with his unkind words and his mistresses, ruined her father's business and now she's faced with Valente proposition? When would Caroline ever get to please herself?

Because of the way she was raised and due to her father's poor health, Caroline realized there was only one option for her and that was to marry Valente. In the end, Valente accepted but he also had a stipulation that they will have a child, giving him an heir to his fortune. However, for Caroline that was a problem because sex was the problem for her and she believed herself to be "frigid" because she never had consummated her previous marriage due to her insecurities. While reading about her past marriage, my heart ached for her because it seemed to me that her entire life, all she did was try to please those around her who only used her for their own good, never thinking about what she wanted. And that included Valente who also forced her back into his life for his own gratification and revenge.

Explosive was how I would describe Virgin On Her Wedding Night because that's what happened when Valente finally tried to make love to his new bride, Caroline. He couldn't believe it when she tried to hide from him, wouldn't let him make love to her and then everything changed because he found out about her virginity. However, patience and taking things slowly finally paid off for them both. But the happy ever after was definitely out of reach for this couple. Miscommunication, misunderstandings, her parents, her ex-husband and his families betrayal were all revealed. I began to wonder if there would be a second chance for this couple because Valente told Caroline he could never love her as he couldn't seem to forgive Caroline.

Personally. I love second chance romances and this one was amazing as only Lynne Graham can pen. Caroline had already told Valente she loved him but it took him a little longer to realize how important and how much he loved her. When he realized he spent years plotting to get her back, that he married her in spite of his feelings he never wanted to marry and plus the fact that Caroline was more important to him than his business; in the end everyone got their second chance!