Despite all that she'd gone through, she was courageous and wasn't whiny or prickly. Andreas also was overall gorgeous. And, I loved, loved the ending. Proposal at the Sacre Coeur!!! One of my favorite places in Paris. The view of Paris from there always takes my breath away. Moreover, Andreas' proposal was enough to bump up the star rating for this book - not that I had any intention of rating it low. Then, it had a sweet epilogue too. Looks like AG tweaked one of her own stories to come up with this highly intense, emotional and engaging book.
View all 4 comments. Nov 10, Vintage rated it liked it Shelves: I am really surprised this did not score higher as it has so many tropes worthy of a Harlequin: The two tropes that are missing that I can think of are a secret baby and a mortal illness. Ah, can't have it all apparently. The H was thrown out of Europe essentially because of a lie the h told.
Five years later, yep just five measly I am really surprised this did not score higher as it has so many tropes worthy of a Harlequin: Five years later, yep just five measly years, in which he goes from busboy to billionaire, he comes back and sees the poor little rich girl now a poor little poor girl. He manipulates her into an affair. No, not an affair, she'll be his mistress for a week in exchange for some jewels.
She is quite an anal little martyred virgin. Once again, the two main characters are so buttoned up, it's hard to see why they would fall for each other as neither exhibits any personality. Once upon a time, Rocco de Marco encountered his father on the street, and was spat on and beaten up. Then at seve Title semantics: Then at seventeen, she seduced hotel manager Andreas in the hotel boutique shop, and then claimed Andreas had come onto her when her father found them. How come every posh hotel has a boutique shop where beautiful dresses and fancy schmancy jewellery can be purchased at any time, day or night?
It all seems a bit like a shopping mall. Following that incident, Andreas was beaten, lost his job, and could never work again in another hotel in Europe. His young life was permanently destroyed and he went off the rails and everyone he loved died for some reason, and he ended up an embittered homeless bum … no wait a minute.
My personal age tolerance bar of guys who get it on with barely legal girls and expect them to act as adults is set twenty-two. Any guy closer to his mid twenties is really pushing it, and once they hit twenty-seven, wrong, wrong, get out of my reading sight.
Forgiven But Not Forgotten?
Siena is in London working as a cater waiter when she again encounters Andreas. In fact, he would definitely like her sister to suffer because he is so mean. The deal is for a week. May 03, Desere rated it it was amazing. Blood is thicker than water, and revenge is sweet. Bring the two together and what do you get, two people both willing to give what ever it takes to reach their ultimate goal. In the latest read from Abby Green I was introduced to a world of past mistakes and hidden secrets overshadowing the future. The read is about Siena she has want for nothing, her father's wealth ensures she has it all, or so it seems to the outside world.
One night for one heart-stopping passionate moment she lets down her Blood is thicker than water, and revenge is sweet. One night for one heart-stopping passionate moment she lets down her icy rich lifestyle guard and looses control with I-want-you-in-my-bed-simply-because-I-know-I-can-have-you-under-me-in-seconds Andreas. Her actions however sets of a series of events that years later come back to haunt her. Yes ladies you guessed it, Andreas makes his return and he is out for revenge, he wants her just as badly as he wanted her years before and this time he will have her, and when he is done he will discard her with just as much icy cool as she had him, the shoe is after all on the other foot this time around.
The character of Siena was one I fell in love with from the very start of this read. She is compassionate, strong and a fighter. But most of all I loved the true sisterly love she shows for her sister, right throughout the entire read the author showed just want sisterly love can and will endure. The fact that she cannot forget what she has done also showed that she has true heart, and courage when she reaches the point of no where to turn, as reader I completely adored her.
The character of Andreas was one that in the start I felt sympathy for but not so much as what I felt for Siena, he made a mistake but one that he gets back up from, but instead of moving on he clings to revenge and bargains that it will set his restless soul free. As we all know revenge is never good and in his case it did give him the boost to the top he needed but, it also made him a cold hearted hero, that I honestly was not liking too much, but once the author peeled back the layers to this man I very quickly fell for him and I fell hard! The backdrop settings were exquisitely described by the author each setting matched the emotions of the character with perfect precision from hot and steamy passionate encounters to dark,gloomy life changing confessions, and in the end it was all brought together in one of the most romantic settings in the world, that left me with that perfect feeling of pure romance I have come to always expect from this author.
As reader I was given terrific moments of conflict, secrets of the unspeakable kind being revealed and moments of pure frustration but also of pure joy as the author truly let the power of love and family ties shatter the emotional hell of revenge. The author also incorporated lines and scenes from two very popular romance movies, and no I am not telling you will have to read the book to find out which two, all I am saying is very nicely done Abby you had me at opera! From this read I am not only taking away the message of you need to let go of the past and focus on the future for somewhere amongst all the heartache lies a love so pure and so strong it can never be broken, but also a message of never judge someone purely from what you can see on the outside, the image given is sometimes the only way for that person to survive their surroundings.
I highly recommend this read for all romance fans of romance reads with a emotionally thrilling sexiness that will leave you breathless! Jun 19, Carol Storm rated it really liked it. This was a better than average Harlequin Presents.
Siena and Andreas make a good couple, even though she's so wimpy and polite for most of the book it's hard to believe he can imagine she's a shallow, gold-digging slut. There was a very old-fashioned vibe to the set-up: So Andreas vowed revenge! Funny how in Presents novels any jilted male can become a millionaire just by getting really, really mad and bitte This was a better than average Harlequin Presents. Funny how in Presents novels any jilted male can become a millionaire just by getting really, really mad and bitter about how life has treated him. Half the men I know are like that and none of them are millionaires!
And of course she says yes. But he soon finds she's not the cold, shallow society girl he remembers. And the sex is so good that at one point Andreas says she's "blowing his mind. Since when to Presents heroes talk like Jimi Hendrix? After that I kept waiting for him to start chanting "are you Experienced. So then, after blowing his mind, timid, fragile Siena goes on a wild spending spree, and buys a bunch of jewelry with Andreas' money, but the touching thing is that she only keeps one piece, which has the design of a gold bird cage.
As in, "only a bird in a gilded cage," but Siena insists that to her it represents "freedom. So wearing the cheap bird cage shows Andreas that she's for real, and he takes her to meet his big Greek family, and of course his mother adores Siena, so everything works out okay, and oh, Siena did take an office job and hold it for about, five minutes, just to show she's not totally helpless without Andreas to pay her bills and buy touchingly offbeat jewelry.
Really I enjoyed this book a lot, just when you try to describe a Harlequin Presents it always seems a lot dumber than it really is. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Greek heroes, sex, money, and jewelry that looks like a birdcage. View all 9 comments. Oct 20, Fiona Marsden rated it it was amazing. It's been a while since I read an Abby Green and I have several waiting on my overflowing TBR but I picked this one up when it was mentioned as having a virgin in a newspaper interview and was drawn in immediately.
I love the world she creates and I love that we catch glimpses of people from her other books and in this case an upcoming book. I loved the heroine Siena who is down but not out, rebuilding her life and that of her sister after an immensely privileged but abusive childhood. Five years It's been a while since I read an Abby Green and I have several waiting on my overflowing TBR but I picked this one up when it was mentioned as having a virgin in a newspaper interview and was drawn in immediately.
Five years ago Andreas was collateral damage, a young man Siena was so drawn to, she forget everything for those few moments until her father arrived. Now Andreas is back for revenge for the way his life was ruined by her father in retaliation for touching his daughter, supposedly against her will. He has never forgotten her. Siena too has never forgotten Andreas, the burden of guilt she feels for lying about what happened never resolved.
I loved how these two interacted. The sizzling chemistry between them is off the charts but there is more to it than just the smexy. This was a very emotional read and managed to get me all choked up so I gave it the five stars. May 27, Heidi Rice rated it it was amazing. Another lush, glamourous and darkly sensual story of love and revenge from the wonderful Abby Green.
FORGIVEN BUT NOT FORGOTTEN?: Harlequin Comics - Abby Green, Sae Nanahoshi - Google Книги
Greek hotel tycoon Andreas Xenakis has been hunting down the spoilt debutante who humiliated him as an impoverished young hotel manager five years before and made him lose his job. Since then he has risen to dizzying heights while the fortunes of young Italian heiress Siena DePiero have plummeted - her father exposed as an embezzler and her and her sister Serena cast out of polite society. Now tr Another lush, glamourous and darkly sensual story of love and revenge from the wonderful Abby Green. Now trying to make ends meet living in a dingy flat and working two jobs, the last thing Siena needs in her life is a drop-dead gorgeous tycoon determined to make her pay for what happened between them what feels like a lifetime ago.
Siena of course, is not what she seems to Andreas. She's not spoilt or shallow or indeed as sexually experienced as that one encounter led him to believe. But what really grabbed my attention about this story is that Andreas is not what he at first appears either.
While he has hunted Siena down, and eventually offers her a small fortune to be his mistress for a week - he really hasn't done it to exact revenge. He's been successful, that night and the result set him on a path to career success and he knows it and acknowledges it. No what has really compelled him to search out Siena and 'take her' at last, is the torch he has been carrying all this time for a woman who he believes to be a figment of his imagination. Siena is a weakness he wants to overcome, but of course once he begins to discover the truth about her character and her path, it forces him to look at his own path and the life he has chosen for himself, which while full of glamour and power, riches and success is also devoid of love and companionship.
Watching Andreas struggle with his emotions, and Siena learn to overcome her guilt and her vulnerability towards this man and the way he makes her feel is a journey packed to the gunnels with raw, runaway emotions, darkly compelling sexual attraction and gloriously high-stakes drama. Basically what the Presents brand is all about. I devoured it in two days! And you will too. But be warned, do not read it on the bus to work, or you are liable to miss your stop!! This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here. I didn't care for the hero.
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His attitude was what stopped me from giving this book a higher score. He was an ass and really should have done more to redeem himself to Siena. He treated her like a prostitute for most of the book he even basically called her one when deriding her for "prostituting" herself to him for a week when she tells him why she wanted the money- it was to help her sister who has severe bi-polar disorder. Which brings me to my next point, his reaction when she tells him why I didn't care for the hero.
Which brings me to my next point, his reaction when she tells him why she did what she did was what really made me hate him something to the affect of you ruined my life for your sister? The woman has severe bi-polar disorder, had no way of getting help with an abusive father who loved tormenting and punishing her, especially when Siena was bad or stepped out of line. Being caught in the act of having sex with a hotel employee wouldn't have gone over well and when the sister is suicidal and everything is going to hell, what was she supposed to do?!
For a guy who claims he understood how severe mental health issues are, his reaction was grossly underwhelming. And even in the end, his crack about how his family and how she doesn't fit in- yeah another tick in the ass box until he finally thinks it's ok to tell her he loves him. This was all about the daughter paying for the sin's of the father when everyone could kind of see, he was evil. I struggled to finish the book. I ended up glossing over a lot of it, got kind of hard to read.
Apr 09, Dalia rated it really liked it. She has the ability to take some well- used tropes and create something fresh and new.
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- For the Term of His Natural Life (Nonsuch Classics).
Thanks to a powerful and elegant writing style, to all the tension, the angst and the intense emotions and to well- developed and very likable characters with well- thought of backstories. Siena is a wonderful heroine, strong and vulnerable at the same time. Andreas is the super alpha, sometimes even ruthless, but he has a soft spot for 5 y for Siena bordering on obsession so I t 4. Andreas is the super alpha, sometimes even ruthless, but he has a soft spot for 5 y for Siena bordering on obsession so I think I can forgive him anything.
And the proposal scene was just perfect. He redeemed himself completely. Mar 21, Cady Lorenzana rated it it was amazing. First you were a fascination, then you became an obsession, and now May 04, Tia rated it really liked it. I adored this one. I found the hero at times to be intentionally cruel, too cruel but he eventually makes up for it. I love harlequins like this for their own special HEA.
Jun 23, Danielle rated it really liked it Shelves: I don't know what to say or how to review this because I don't really have a lot to say or thoughts aside from that it was another enjoyable and solid read by Abby Green. There was plenty of passion and heat between Siena and Andreas. Plus there lots of lovely angst that I always enjoyed in a romance.
I wished that Siena's abuse at the hands of her father and the effect they had on her was explored more instead of glossed over or barely touched. More focus was put on I don't know what to say or how to review this because I don't really have a lot to say or thoughts aside from that it was another enjoyable and solid read by Abby Green. More focus was put on her sister and the effect it had on her. Now her sister did get the brunt of it and combined it with her issue I can see why it was highlighted and why Siena wanted to protect her sister.
And came to understand why she did what she did. But I just wanted to see how effected her personally and emotionally. And then I wanted to see more of a tender scene between Andreas and Siena once he found out the truth. In fact I would have appreciated a couple of more tender scenes between them instead of them to revert to sexy times. Don't get me wrong I liked the love scenes but it would have been nice to see some sweet and tender scenes to balance it out. Show more of their romance come to life.
Their chemistry was off the charts. It was the highlight. I could feel the heat and the passion ooze off the pages. There love scenes were scorching hot. There was such an intensity whenever they came together. It felt real and never felt forced or contrived. It was just natural, and a natural progression, which was good.
That first time scene. Had to fan myself to cool myself off. It was that hot. Wish there was a sweeter and slower love scene. Just a tender scene but overall I liked the love scene. I really enjoyed the angst in this story. And there was a lot from the moment they reunited and just kept up until they gave into their passion with that first time scene.
All the angst had to deal with their complicated past. Their passionate back story full with intense emotion surrounding their past. It created that obstacle between them causing the struggling in their romance. It caused the back and forth. Plus because of the back story just added all that lovely tension.
That was really good and made the story interesting. So it was good on back story. And good on angst.
I enjoyed that very much. There's not much more to comment. It was good and I enjoyed it. Wished there were more tender moments between them. Just wanted to see a bit more on an emotional level. I think it could have been dug a bit deeper. But again it was not a bad story and there were no major complaints I had. It just was a nice easy read that I got through in one sitting.
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H not as jerky as some in HP Land. Father is wealthy and disappears to avoid prosecution leaving them without resources, funds, and subject to society ridicule. Even with the heavy themes this is a Very light and easy read. Jun 01, Harlequin Books added it Shelves: Her heroine is the perfect mix of sultry and sweet, and her hero is all arrogance and ego - yet both exhibit astonishing honesty, especially in their fiery love scenes.
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Dec 31, Penny Watson rated it it was amazing Shelves: A new favorite HP. I was hooked on this book from the moment I started it and I could not put it down until the end. An angsty, unconventional love story and such a roller coaster! How it's possible not to love everything Abby Green writes. I love her writing, and this book does an incredible job showing how talented of an author she is.
Andreas was such a very compelling hero. The read is about Siena she has want for nothing, her father's wealth ensures she has it all, or so it seems to the outside world. One night for one heart-stopping passionate moment she lets down her icy rich lifestyle guard and looses control with I-want-you-in-my-bed-simply-because-I-know-I-can-have-you-under-me-in-seconds Andreas.
Her actions however sets of a series of events that years later come back to haunt her. Yes ladies you guessed it, Andreas makes his return and he is out for revenge, he wants her just as badly as he wanted her years before and this time he will have her, and when he is done he will discard her with just as much icy cool as she had him, the shoe is after all on the other foot this time around. The character of Siena was one I fell in love with from the very start of this read.
She is compassionate, strong and a fighter. But most of all I loved the true sisterly love she shows for her sister, right throughout the entire read the author showed just want sisterly love can and will endure. The fact that she cannot forget what she has done also showed that she has true heart, and courage when she reaches the point of no where to turn, as reader I completely adored her. The character of Andreas was one that in the start I felt sympathy for but not so much as what I felt for Siena, he made a mistake but one that he gets back up from, but instead of moving on he clings to revenge and bargains that it will set his restless soul free.
As we all know revenge is never good and in his case it did give him the boost to the top he needed but, it also made him a cold hearted hero, that I honestly was not liking too much, but once the author peeled back the layers to this man I very quickly fell for him and I fell hard! The backdrop settings were exquisitely described by the author each setting matched the emotions of the character with perfect precision from hot and steamy passionate encounters to dark,gloomy life changing confessions, and in the end it was all brought together in one of the most romantic settings in the world, that left me with that perfect feeling of pure romance I have come to always expect from this author.
As reader I was given terrific moments of conflict, secrets of the unspeakable kind being revealed and moments of pure frustration and but also of pure joy as the author truly let the power of love and family ties shatter the emotional hell of revenge. The author also incorporated lines and scenes from two very popular romance movies, and no I am not telling you will have to read the book to find out which two, all I am saying is very nicely done Abby you had me at opera!
- Forgiven but not Forgotten?.
- Forgiven but not Forgotten?.
- Add to bag.
From this read I am not only taking away the message of you need to let go of the past and focus on the future for somewhere amongst all the heartache lies a love so pure and so strong it can never be broken, but also a message of never judge someone purely from what you can see on the outside, the image given is sometimes the only way for that person to survive their surroundings. I highly recommend this read for all romance fans of romance reads with a emotionally thrilling sexiness that will leave you breathless!
Like an elite athlete she hits her stride from the start and the pace never falters, and making the heroine who appears spoilt start to leap off the page as vulnerable and deserving of the reader's sympathy is quite a feat. All orders are shipped the next working day, depending on the time of day the order was placed and stock availability. Orders placed on Fridays will be shipped the following Monday. We are not able to ship orders to more than one address at the same time. However, if you would like to have specific items shipped to different addresses, please place each order separately.
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