Series:
Bravo Royales (Book 5)
A playboy prince is roped into giving love
lessons to a young, innocent woman -- only to find himself falling for
his eager pupil...
Up till now, Lucy Cordell has led a pretty sheltered life -- but she's
ready to burst out of her shell. Still, she has absolutely zero
experience with men -- so she needs help. Someone to help her shed the
cloak that seems to scream "Virgin!" every time she gets within five
miles of an eligible guy. Who better than the dashing Player Prince,
Damien of Montedoro? He's always come to her rescue before….
True -- but Dami only agrees to school Lucy in the fine art of seduction
because he's afraid of who she'll ask if he says no! Besides, she needs
protection from all the wolves out there. Still, when it comes to
Lucy's sweet lit-from-within beauty, Damien has to wonder…who is going
to protect him?
This was a really fun book. We met Lucy in the previous book How to Marry a Princess. She is Noah's little sister. Thanks to her own efforts and help from Alice and Damien, Lucy has finally broken free of her brother's overprotective shield and she wants to start to live her life. Unfortunately her sheltered life has put her at a disadvantage with men. She decides that she needs a teacher, so she goes to her friend Damien and asks him to instruct her. Dami is floored because he's never thought of her that way, but he can't stand the idea of her being hurt by someone else. And suddenly that sweet little girl he knew is looking all woman to him.
I loved both Lucy and Damien. Lucy has spent most of her life very sheltered because of health problems. Now that those problems have been fixed she really wants to start living her life. She has moved to New York City and is set to start fashion school. But she's having a hard time with the dating scene because her inexperience seems to be chasing away the more interesting men. She decides that her best option is to get some experience. I loved the way that she decided Dami was the perfect person. She knows he has the experience to do it right, plus he's a good friend so she would be comfortable with him. I loved the scene where she put her proposition to him. She was so nervous but so determined that she just kept talking right over him, not wanting him to say no. She knew that his request that they "date" first was his way of trying to get out of it but she was willing to take a chance. I loved her openness and honesty and her caring heart. She saw Dami in a way that he did not see himself and it only added to her feelings for him. I also loved her determined bid for her independence. She loved her brother but she had no trouble telling him to butt out. The scene where she woke him up to tell him off was hilarious. I really liked seeing the way that her crush on Dami turned into real love. She accepted and loved him just the way he was, not judging him on anything he had done in the past. She had enough confidence and pride in herself to be able to tell him how she felt then walk away with dignity when she knew she couldn't get what she needed from him.
Dami is known as the Player Prince. He never settles on one woman for long. He and Lucy's brother Noah have been friends for a long time and he has known Lucy for just as long. He's always considered her a friend and was there to help her when she wanted to move to New York. When she came to him with her proposition he was stunned. He had never looked at her that way. I loved the way he tried to put her off by saying that they would have to "date" first, figuring he could talk her out of it. He didn't expect that he would actually start seeing her as a woman and it freaked it him out a bit at the beginning. He tries to fight it but can't. The scene where they are together the first time was incredible. It was hard to let her go back to New York. I loved the way he wasn't able to stay away and showed up in New York to be with her again. There was something about her that made him feel things that he hadn't felt in a long time and he wanted it for as long as it would last. I loved seeing the way it wasn't just the physical side of things but also just being with her and talking and doing stuff with her. Dami sees himself as pretty shallow and keeps reminding her that he is the one member of his family who doesn't fit the mold of finding a woman to love and commit to. He doesn't agree with the way she sees him and tries to convince her that he's not the man she thinks he is. He freaks out when she confesses her feelings and really works to convince her that there is no way for them to have a future together. His misery afterwards and the way he misses her are a just reward for his idiocy. I loved his phone conversation with Noah and then his epiphany when he got cornered by his ex-girlfriend. It was great seeing him realize that he hadn't been able to commit to anyone else because he'd been in love with Lucy all along.
Series:
Bravo Royales (Book 5)
CALABRETTIS marry for DUTY -- but BRAVO-CALABRETTIS marry for LOVE
Alice Bravo-Calabretti was expected to conduct herself like a proper
princess. No more impulsive jaunts to neighboring countries. No more
tabloid escapades. But the hot new stable-hand was a scandal waiting to
happen. His bold blue eyes and come-hither smile could tempt a Bravo
Royale to misbehave. Until Alice discovered her "penniless groom" was an
American tycoon looking for a princess bride.
Alice was everything Noah Cordell wanted in a wife. But his royal
heartthrob refused to say "I do" until he gave up his most carefully
guarded secret. And she wouldn't settle for anything less than
everything he had to give. Only then could they share a true meeting of
minds and hearts -- Bravo-Cordell style.
Very good book. Both Alice and Noah have fears that they must overcome in order to have the love that they need. Alice has decided that it's time to stop being the wild child of the family, so she is trying to curb her impulsive behavior. Being attracted to a good looking stable hand is not the way to do it. And then she discovered that he's no stable hand but an American tycoon looking for a wife. Noah decided it was time to marry and that he wanted a princess. After deciding what he was looking for he settled on Alice and nothing was going to stop him from getting what he wanted, least of all her desire to have it all.
I really liked both Noah and Alice, though Noah was certainly frustrating. Alice had made the decision to change after her latest escapade earned her mother's disappointment. She is afraid of giving in to her impulsive side again. She is trying very hard to be good, to the point where even her family members are worried about her not being herself. When she first sees Noah she is so tempted to indulge herself but talks herself out of it. When she discovers that he was just playing a part she is furious with him for the deception. She accepts his apology but is not inclined to have anything else to do with him. When she finally gives in to seeing him again he makes it clear that he's interested in getting to know her better as he invites her to visit him in California. Once she's there she is stunned to find him proposing marriage, but without any mention of love. The more time she spends with him, the more she comes to care about him, but she is bothered by his excessive control. I really liked the way that, as much as she came to love him, she refused to settle for less than she felt she deserved. I loved the way that she tried so hard to get him to see what she needed while showing him how she felt. I also liked her friendship with Noah's sister Lucy and how she tried to get Noah to see how wrong he was in his overprotectiveness. It was this problem that was the straw that sent her home, wondering if Noah would ever be able to give her what she needed most from him.
Noah is very upfront with Alice about what he wants. He wants her to be his wife. They have a lot in common and their attraction to each other is hot. He admits to her that he made a mistake at the beginning by hiding who he was, but he had done it because his research had indicated that type of thing would appeal to her. He didn't know about her resolve to change her ways. Once he did, he set about trying to win her. When he invited her to California his intent was to propose right away and get married as soon as possible. He was stunned when she turned him down, claiming that until she had all of him there would be no engagement. Noah has never intended love to be part of the equation. When he was a boy he saw his mother give up after his father's death, no longer having the heart to go on without him. After his mother's death his sister had to go to foster care until he was able to care for her. Lucy had heart problems and Noah was the one who made sure that everything was done to get her healthy. Now he still fears losing her and can't let go of his control over her. Even Alice can't make him see that he is driving Lucy to do something desperate. Noah finds that things are changing with Alice and he doesn't know how to deal with those changes. It takes his housekeeper/friend reading him the riot act for him to finally admit his feelings, overcome his fears and go after Alice. I really loved what he did at the end.
Series:
Bravo Royales (Book 4)
CALABRETTIS MARRY FOR DUTY -- BUT BRAVO-CALABRETTIS MARRY FOR LOVE
Marcus is the best man Rhia's ever known, and she's never gotten over
their breakup. Now, he's practically strapped to her side. It's like a
dream come true...or a nightmare. Because Marcus is as stubborn as ever:
she's a Bravo-Calabretti, he's a lowly security guard, and they can
never be equals. Ever.
Then a breathless night that should have brought closure brings
something else: a baby. Marcus insists that no child of his will grow up
without its own mother and father. Well, Rhia has her own requirement:
her child will be raised on love, not the dry bread of obligation. And
Marcus has made it abundantly clear that his duty to Montedoro comes
before everything-especially his own desires.
Excellent book. Marcus and Rhia had gotten to know each other eight years before, while she was in college in California and he was taking a class on security. It was a brief relationship because she was a princess and he was a lowly army officer with no idea of who his family was. Now he is one of the family's bodyguards and still feels the gap. Then, mixing one snowstorm and some memories and there is a baby on the way. Marcus refuses to let a child go through what he did and insists on marriage, but Rhia refuses to marry for any reason other than love.
I really liked both Marcus and Rhia. As one of the royal family, Rhia had known nothing but the love and support of her family. Her parents tried very hard to give their children as much of a normal life as possible, and showed them what a loving marriage looked like. When Rhia and Marcus were together she didn't see their differences only the way she felt about him. When they parted ways she tried to move on, but no one was ever able to measure up to Marcus. At one point she went to him and begged him for a chance to try again, but he rejected her. This made things hard for her when he was assigned as her bodyguard. When she became pregnant she was happy about the baby, but not so much about feeling like they were an obligation to him. She refused his proposals because she felt only his sense of duty, not that he loved her for herself. I liked the way that she got him to move in with her so they could get to know each other again. She was also able to show him the importance of sharing their feelings. I also liked the way that as Marcus began to open up to her about his past she started to understand why his attitude was the way it was.
Marcus was a genuinely good guy who suffered from a little too much pride/insecurity. Because he felt inferior to Rhia, though not because of anything she did, he was too proud to pursue her. In the eight years since their initial romance he has come far in the ranks of their army, but he still feels the differences. He fought the attraction as long as he could, but lost the battle the night of the snowstorm. When he found out Rhia was pregnant his first reaction was marriage and was stunned when she refused him - repeatedly. I absolutely loved the scene when he went to Rhia's mother to confess. Watching him try to reconcile his wishes with Rhia's was fun, because I could see that he loved her, but he was fighting the admission all the way. He had also spent so long guarding his emotions to protect himself that trying to share those emotions with Rhia was incredibly hard for him. I loved seeing him relax a little and begin to trust her. The final scene with them was beautiful!
