There’s a huge spoiler in this review. I couldn’t really talk about how I felt about this book without discussing the ending.
I hardly ever read Harlequin Presents. The uber-rich, uber-dominant alpha heroes just don’t appeal to me. But I love the exotic settings, which are so rare in other contemporary romances, so I’ll pick one up if it’s recommended to me (and if I’m assured that the hero isn’t too much of an alpha jerk.) Oddly enough, that wasn’t the problem with this book.
The Santangeli Marriage by Sara Craven (HP Extra #61)
(2009, Contemporary Series) 7/31/09
Grade: 2.5
Italian billionaire and playboy Lorenzo Santangeli is willing to marry his late mother’s innocent goddaughter. They grew up together, and he’s ready to settle down and have a family. But Marisa isn’t so sure, and after a honeymoon full of misunderstandings, she flees to London. Can they rebuild a marriage that never really began?
I usually like marriage in trouble stories, but this one was just frustrating. HP is known for its alpha heroes, but at least they’re usually straightforward about what they want. The hero here can’t make up his mind – does he want Marisa or not? But the heroine is much worse. She spends most of the book dithering – she loves him, she hates him, she loves him, she hates him. And the endless whining! I just wanted her to make up her mind one way or the other. The misunderstandings were endless – she loves him but can’t tell him, he loves her but won’t admit it, on and on. So why did I keep reading? At first I was curious about what would happen – I kept thinking that at some point, we’d get the “falling in love” part. (Not really, they’re still dithering on page 150 of a 184 page book.) Then I skimmed forward to the end, and I was intrigued.
(This is the spoiler part.) The heroine finds out she can’t have children, which threatens to ruin their marriage since having an heir is a big deal for the hero. That’s an unusual plot twist for a romance, especially in a traditional series romance like a HP. But the way it was handled was strange. The hero tells the heroine he loves her, but he never says “we can be happy without children” or “we can adopt” or anything like that. The implication is there, sort of, but it seemed odd that he didn’t say it. He just skips over the whole issue. It made me wonder if HP was trying to leave the ending vague, so readers can imagine a “miracle pregnancy” in the future if they want. (Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but given the rarity of an infertile heroine in a Harlequin, I had to wonder why the ending seemed to leave out an element that seemed like a crucial part of the story.)
I’m afraid this book hasn’t convinced me to pick up more HP books. One of my favorite review sites seems to love them, and whenever I read their reviews, I think “oh, this one will be different”. I must learn to resist that temptation, because so far, I haven’t found a single HP that I enjoyed. Even as a guilty pleasure.
Karen Wheless
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