Lynne C‘s review of The Brunelli Baby Bargain by Kim Lawrence
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin 1 Jul 09 (US), Apr 09 (UK)
I picked up this book with warm anticipation. I love wounded heroes and Cesare was blind. He doesn’t regain his sight until much later in the book, but since the blurb mentions it, I guess I can.
Lawrence’s story is sweet and involving, but not without its problems. I loved the heroine, for once a heroine with a fair bit of character, but I did have problems with her height. She is five foot one and he is six foot five. For much of the story I was wondering how they got it together and the mental images weren’t exactly the sexy ones I wanted to envision. She must have got to know his chest really well, but not necessarily his face.
And for a newly blind man (twelve weeks after he’s blinded) he’s doing spectacularly well. I’m married to a teacher for the blind, and it’s not that easy. Neither is blindness one thing. Most have some kind of sight, even if it’s knowing the difference between light and dark. And the surgery to restore his sight is rather skimmed past. I wanted more of that. Not the gruesome details, just a little more. Maybe a bit more vulnerability on Cesare’s part, but hey, he went away, had the surgery and hey, presto.
Cesare still did something that lost my sympathy about half way through. Alpha is fair enough, but sometimes the manipulations the heroes do to get what they want don’t strike me as right, and I want the heroine to just turn her back and walk away. In fact, it was a book like that that drove me to write my own, two years ago. I didn’t see why the hero should have it all his own way!
The book didn’t reach me as deeply as I’d hoped, but it was a nice way to spend a morning. Because of the hero’s manipulative tendencies, I’d give this one a…
Grade: C-
Summary:
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When he sees her, will he still want her?
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Dark, imposing billionaire Cesare Brunelli lost his sight freeing a little girl from a burning car. The only person who treated him without pity was the soft-skinned virgin with whom he spent a passionate night. Now she’s pregnant with his baby!
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Samantha gets the one reaction she didn’t expect – a marriage demand! Whilst Cesare might not believe in love, Sam does. And when Cesare suddenly regains his sight, Sam’s sure he’s going to trade her, his diminutive red-headed wife, for one of the tall, slim blondes he used to date…”
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Read an excerpt.
