Limecello’s review of Powerful Italian, Penniless Housekeeper by India Grey
Contemporary romance released by Harlequin Presents 1 Jan 10
This is my first book by India Grey, and it definitely won’t be the last. I used to like Harlequin Presents the most as a Harlequin line, but it got to be a bit too much for me. Aside from a few of my go-to authors, I had been avoiding it. However, I decided to venture back, and had to admit that I loved the premise of this book. So I gave it a try – and am so very glad I did. Books like Powerful Italian, Penniless Housekeeper are what made me devoted to the line in the first place. (Although yes, I do so wish the titles were different.)
Sarah Halliday is a heroine who is difficult to describe. In a way, she’s hard to get to know, as pieces of her character and personality are slowly revealed throughout the course of the book. I actually liked that she was essentially two different people when dealing with her family, and then in general. Sarah’s life is a bit of a mess at the beginning, and she’s desperate. On the other hand, Sarah is very strong. She has an adorable daughter, and while being the rational, steadfast one in her family, has led a somewhat non-traditional life. I liked that there were little quirks about Sarah that kept her from being too predictable or cookie cutter. Sarah isn’t assertive or protective of herself all the time, but when her back is against the wall, she does make decisions best for her. I really liked that. Sarah is an incredibly strong heroine – not physically, but emotionally and mentally when it’s important.
I found Lorenzo Cavalleri to be a delightfully confusing character. First he was a very nice guy, and then a jerk, then considering, but also manipulative. This was fitting, because Lorenzo himself is confused. He has a plan, and a goal. Unfortunately, people are involved, and emotions always make things uncertain, confusing, and messy. Poor Lorenzo has all his ducks in line… except for Sarah, and she’s the most important one, for various reasons. While I understood Lorenzo’s motives and reasons, on some level, I didn’t… and I actually like that. It kept him, and the story from being too pat. Lorenzo can be a jerk and abrupt, but he has a conscience, and feels deeply. His guilt and confusion make him brusque with Sarah at times, and that adds a special something to their developing relationship. Oh- and he’s also an incredibly gifted and talented movie director. That helps.
Ms. Grey writes a terrific story here – everything falls into place just as it should. Nothing is too perfect, or too wrong, or too much. It’s a thin line that requires delicate balance, and Ms. Grey walks it with aplomb. At one point it did seem to me that Sarah was too put upon, but it makes sense, because she’s lived her life feeling as if she was not enough- and that she is to blame for her father’s death. (It sounds ridiculous, or maudlin, but truly isn’t. I believed Ms. Grey’s story, and am completely behind it.)
The honest misunderstanding between Sarah and Lorenzo, the hurt they experience and how close everything comes to falling apart- all of that was done realistically, and naturally. None of the scenes or scenarios between them felt contrived to me, and perfectly fit both the situation, and the personality of the hero and heroine. Lorenzo and Sarah acted as themselves, which gave both their persons, and the story an appreciable depth. In fact, this book made me cry. There were some scenes where I knew exactly what would happen, and it did as I predicted… but the language and words that Ms. Grey used were just so evocative.
What I didn’t enjoy as much, was the secondary characters, particularly Sarah’s family. They were so one dimensional, and vapid. Not only that, but it seemed they changed a bit too much and inexplicably at the end. Nevertheless they were minor characters, so it wasn’t something that really detracted from the book. It was nicely balanced that both Sarah and Lorenzo had their own baggage to deal with.
I loved that the Lorenzo and Sarah were connected in a way, even before they met. It takes a lot for me to get over the hurdle of the hero being married to someone else at the beginning of the book… but Ms. Grey definitely convinced me here. And as I haven’t mentioned it… Lorenzo does some terrific groveling. There’s a big misunderstanding, but it makes sense. Kudos. Reading this Presents book has prompted me to read others, and I can only hope they’re all as good as this one.
Grade: B+
Summary:
Though Sarah Halliday is very ordinary, her dangerously attractive new boss is not content with her scrubbing the marble floors of his Tuscan palazzo….
Instead she finds herself catapulted into Lorenzo Cavalleri’s star-studded life—with a wardrobe to match! Makeup masks her blushes, silk evening gowns flatter her fuller figure, but underneath Sarah’s still the shy, frumpy housekeeper Lorenzo hired…and not the sophisticated bedroom siren he seems to be expecting….
Read an excerpt.
