Laura C’s review of Revenge at Bella Terra (Bella Terra, Book 2) by Christina Dodd
Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense published by Signet 06 Sep 11
Eli De Luca has been blackmailed into convincing Chloë Conte to marry him. He tells himself he’ll be good to her, that she’ll never want for anything and she’ll never know he doesn’t love her. And at first, it all seems to be going well. But then violence from the past visits the present and when Eli and Chloë are threatened, he begins to realize his feelings are far deeper than he’d ever imagined they could be. But can she ever forgive him for not telling her the truth?
Although the publisher markets these books as “romantic suspense,” so far the series has had much more of a contemporary romance feel to me. That’s not a negative—I like contemporary and I don’t think nearly enough people are writing it—but it is a warning to people who are looking for something with thrills and chills: this isn’t it. This is a great, emotional, contemporary romance, with a touch of suspense and a good, solid mystery.
The basic plot of this novel is probably more familiar to readers of historical romances than to those who read contemporaries: broke guy needs to convince wealthy woman he is in love with her and while he’s acting out his role he actually does fall in love. Yes, it’s an old story, but Dodd handles it beautifully, perking up the old story into something new and different. The mysterious death of the bootlegging wine-maker Massimo Bruno during Prohibition brings these two characters—mystery writer and vintner—together, and the quick pacing of the plot keeps them together.
The mystery aspect is well-developed, but the real focus is on the romance.
Eli watched Chloë climb the cellar stairs ahead of him.
He liked this sundress. It bared her back and arms, displaying long, sleek muscles and a lithe, catlike movement that made him want to pet her. Her legs were good, too, and in that skirt and from this angle, he could see a lot of them.
He really, really did like this sundress.
He probably should feel ashamed of himself for leering at an unsuspecting woman. In normal circumstances, he was sure he would.
But these were not normal circumstances. He was going to marry Chloë.
Besides, she wasn’t what he expected. When Conte had proposed the deal, Eli had thought he’d be stuck with a girl without personality or wisdom, someone whose primary ambition was to perch on the back of a Jaguar convertible while Eli drove her through center of town during the annual Wine Crush parade.
Instead, she drove a blue Ford Focus.
‘Nuff said.
I really enjoyed watching the interactions between Eli and Chloë, especially his growing frustration as she continually dismisses him as a suitor. She knows her father has been matchmaking (though she doesn’t know about his blackmail) and tells Eli at the beginning that he doesn’t have to worry, she won’t be persuaded to marry him. At first, this suits him perfectly, but as his situation becomes more dire and his emotions become more complicated, it begins to drive him a bit crazy. Chloë is more straightforward with less to hide, but the one thing she absolutely requires in a man is honesty—so Eli’s sort of up a creek.
I would recommend this to any contemporary romance reader. Yes, there’s some violence, but not too much, and it mostly takes place off the page, so you don’t have to be immersed in it.
Grade: A-
Summary:
Ruthless Eli Di Luca hides the torment of his past beneath a façade of iron control. No one suspects the anguish he suffers, or the reasons why he has sworn never to marry. Only blackmail could change his mind…
Beautiful young author Chloë Conte’s first book zoomed to the top of the bestseller lists. Now, struggling to write her second mystery, she retreats to an isolated cottage in a private vineyard. But with his magnetic appeal and his fascinating tales of Bella Terra’s violent past, Eli Di Luca proves an irresistible distraction, and Chloë finds herself falling in love with a man she hardly knows. Soon she discovers that Eli has been keeping secrets from her, and the truth will bring more than heartbreak…it will put them both in mortal danger.
When murder and peril threaten, the only way Chloe can survive is to trust the man who has betrayed her…and that’s a price her stubborn heart may not be willing to pay.
Other books in this series:
