LynneC’s review of Prince Voronov’s Virgin by Lynn Raye Harris
Contemporary Romance published by Mills and Boon Modern 1 Dec 10
A Russian hero – goody! I love me an angsty, dark Russian, and this hero didn’t disappoint.
This book starts with a delicious bang – almost literally.
Paige is looking for her sister in the streets of Moscow when Alexei finds her. He knows she’s in trouble, and despite waiting for an important contact, he gives up his own mission to save her from a gang. He does this by pinning her against the lighted windows of GUMM, Moscow’s department store in Red Square, and kissing her, while simulating sex. Yummy. Despite them being clothed, he nearly gets her off, but before that happens, the gang goes away. Alexei takes her home, and recognizes one of the names she uses. Because he’s about to get his revenge by meeting with her boss in the morning.
This uses a lot of the HMB tropes, some well, some not so well and it’s at its best when it’s telling its own story, not when it tries to fit in to the line.
So, he seduces her and then spurns her. Well, you would, wouldn’t you?
Despite having a title, Alexei is a self-made man. His backstory is a bit convoluted, but it serves for the story. He’s beautifully sexy, and takes what he wants when he wants it.
Paige, however, was a little more annoying. Sometimes HMB heroines are just too nice for their own good, and Paige is one of those. Worried about her sister, who she’s brought up since the death of their mother, unable to let go, when Paige falls for someone, instead of feeling hurt and betrayed, Paige tries to be nice. I didn’t much like the Eternal Virgin trope, either. She was just too good to be true. When she discovers she’s pregnant (I wouldn’t have mentioned that bit, but it’s in the blurb) she decides to keep the baby secret, and I really dislike that. When you are having the baby of a very rich man, you should tell the man for the baby’s sake. That exasperates me. Spurious reasons don’t count when there’s a small life at stake.
But I swallowed it because I was enjoying the rest of the story, and I let Alexei do his magic.
I’d have loved to see this story without the revenge motivation and without the secret baby. It could have been done, and might have made for an even better book. But I enjoyed the read.
Grade: C+
Summary:
‘Kiss me,’ he growled… ‘And make it believable.’ Alone and scared on the dark streets of Moscow, staid, bespectacled Paige Barnes has no choice but to comply with the handsome stranger’s command… Little does Paige know she’s been rescued by Alexei Voronov – a Russian prince and her boss’s deadliest rival.
Now he has Paige unexpectedly in his sights, Alexei is prepared to play emotional Russian roulette to keep her close and discover her true motives. But in his splendid gilded palace his game of chance spins out of control and passion takes over… It’s only when she’s back home that Paige realises she’s pregnant with the Prince’s baby…
Read an excerpt.
