LynneC’s review of Proof of Their Sin by Dani Collins
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Presents 1 Jul 13
The title of the book put me off a bit. It sounded so old fashioned. But having read it, I do see the point. Great writing style, a scrappy plot, and two characters who deserve each other led to an unbalanced read.
Lauren has lived for other people; first her husband, a war hero who died in action, then her grandmother. She loved her grandmother, who was once a fashion model. And staying with her was no hardship, but now she wants to live for herself. However, she has a problem. She’s pregnant, and the man involved isn’t her late husband. On the night he was reported missing, she went to his best friend, Paolo, and they ended up sleeping together. Her husband was dead, so it wasn’t technically adultery, though she didn’t know it for sure at the time.
Paolo and Lauren have a long and tortuous history together. He saw her first, but her late husband, Ryan, butted in and she ended up married to him. Even though Ryan was a player. Of course, she didn’t know that when she married him, but having to be proud of him in public when he was a bastard in his private life nearly kills her. She gatecrashes a party to get to Paolo, who has been blocking her calls, and tells him she’s pregnant with his child. At first Paolo refuses to believe it, but he can’t stay away. When she goes to Italy, he virtually abducts her and tries to hide her away in a lake house so his family and work colleagues don’t find out. Yes, a real prince, well into alpha jerk territory. He was brutal to her, and Lauren, who is naturally introverted, is overwhelmed again. She’s the definition of a doormat, and the few times she tries to fight back lead to nothing.
The story traces their tortuous relationship and journey to each other. Paulo had a previous marriage that ended when his wife told him the baby she was expecting wasn’t his. All the internal motivations are explained with external ones and, consequently, the story probably has a bit too much baggage. As a result, a few opportunities are lost. For instance, Lauren’s grandmother, who is referenced in the story but is dead before it starts. She sounds like a fascinating character, but she’s used as a plot device. Paolo’s mother is used in a similar way. For a category, there are too many characters who are just ships passing in the night. Fewer characters in more depth and a tighter plot might have improved it, but Paolo and Lauren aren’t the most sympathetic of characters. Definitely old school Presents.
The pregnancy is the driving force in the book, with Lauren waning to bear her child, feeling she only has to inform Paolo from courtesy. She is wealthy enough and reasonably well connected, so that she can afford to do so. I like that and I like that she thought of telling Paolo, but if she’d walked away from him at the beginning there wouldn’t have been much of a category romance here. However, I do feel sorry for Lauren. Ryan was a war hero and a powerful alpha jerk, so she was a decorative wife. Then she was a carer for her grandmother. She very much wanted to find a life for herself.
Paolo is a force of nature, a man who wants to be an astronaut (?) but is forced to take over the banking empire on the early death of his father. He’s as rich as Croesus, naturally, this being a Presents, and his speech at the end is one of the best I’ve read for a while, but his redemption comes too late for me. He’s a dominating alpha jerk and he doesn’t even try to help Lauren to make her own life, as she says she wants at the start of the book.
However, Dani Collins sure can write. She has a flow and a power that she doesn’t hesitate to employ. When she reaches the purple prose, she doesn’t hesitate at the brink but hurls herself over the edge with an abandon rarely seen these days. Doubtless it’s enjoyable, apart from the repetition of two of my unfavorite descriptions – orbs for breasts and globes for bottom. Both orbs and globes are usually pretty hard objects, plus, globes has the connotation of globules, which aren’t much fun.
I will be looking forward to her next book, which will probably feature Vittorio. Dani Collins is a debut author with promise.
Grade: C
Summary:
A beautiful mistake Pregnant. Lauren Bradley’s heart stops. There’s only one man who can be the father and it’s not her late husband – the man everyone thinks is a celebrated war hero… Ravaged with guilt at sleeping with his best friend’s wife, Paolo Donatelli has closed his heart to Lauren for ever. But in nine months’ time the proof of their incredible night together will be there for the world to see. Marriage is Paolo’s answer to avoid more scandal, but it’s Lauren’s worst fear. She still bears the scars from the first time she said ‘I do’. Can she trust Paolo enough to reveal the truth?
Read an excerpt.
