Brooke Stewart and her boss, Jett Mayfield, had a passionate affair (in a previous book)- but then she found out that she is expected to inherit a fortune, and that Jett was after her soon-to-be estate. They broke up in a fury, and she fled, along with her friend and roommate Sylvie, without telling him where.
Realizing that he can’t live without her, Jett tracks her down with the aid of an old friend, only to find that she’s gone to Bellagio, Italy, to visit Alessandro Lucazzone, the aging, sick old man whose heiress she is. But he knows something she doesn’t – his father and Lucazzone have some old secrets that might endanger Brooke’s life.
Can Jett win back Brooke’s trust in time to protect her from those who fear she knows too much? Is their relationship really over, or do they have a future together? And will Sylvie ever forgive Brooke for bringing her to a town with only one small nightclub?
This is the second book in a trilogy, the first being Surrender Your Love. I highly recommend reading the first book first, as starting a plot in the middle can be jarring, but the author is talented enough to justify acquiring both books at once (the third is not yet out).
The action is fast-paced and lively, with steamy love scenes and an intriguing mystery to boot. Brooke has a backbone and brains, and can match Jett quip for quip when she chooses to. Jett is sexy, mysterious, and masculine without being threatening or abusive, and it’s easy to see why Brooke finds him so attractive. Sylvie adds a witty and charming (if slightly shallow) touch to the book, bringing welcome humor to counterbalance the story’s intensity. The author’s writing style is smooth and vigorous, never getting in the way of her story and never slowing down her plot.
The love story goes a bit too smoothly, perhaps, in this section of the story, with only internal doubts interfering with its progress after the initial reconciliation. This is counterbalanced, however, by the introduction of the mystery, and no doubt there will be more developments in the third book. There are plenty of loose threads left hanging at the end of this book, too (for example, why Brooke herself is being pursued, given that she’s pretty obviously an innocent outsider), but presumably those will also be resolved in the third book.
This is a very well-written light romance novel, perfect for a good summer beach read (particularly if you have the good fortune to be on a sunny beach in Italy).
Reviewed by Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader