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Bravo Royales Series #4
Her Highness and the Bodyguard
CALABRETTIS MARRY FOR DUTY-BUT BRAVO-CALABRETTIS MARRY FOR LOVE
Marcus is the best man Rhia's ever known, and she's never gotten over their breakup. Now, he's practically strapped to her side. It's like a dream come true...or a nightmare. Because Marcus is as stubborn as ever: she's a Bravo-Calabretti, he's a lowly security guard, and they can never be equals. Ever.
Then a breathless night that should have brought closure brings something else: a baby. Marcus insists that no child of his will grow up without its own mother and father. Well, Rhia has her own requirement: her child will be raised on love, not the dry bread of obligation. And Marcus has made it abundantly clear that his duty to Montedoro comes before everything-especially his own desires.
Marcus is the best man Rhia's ever known, and she's never gotten over their breakup. Now, he's practically strapped to her side. It's like a dream come true...or a nightmare. Because Marcus is as stubborn as ever: she's a Bravo-Calabretti, he's a lowly security guard, and they can never be equals. Ever.
Then a breathless night that should have brought closure brings something else: a baby. Marcus insists that no child of his will grow up without its own mother and father. Well, Rhia has her own requirement: her child will be raised on love, not the dry bread of obligation. And Marcus has made it abundantly clear that his duty to Montedoro comes before everything-especially his own desires.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Christine Rimmer
730 books429 followersNew York Times bestselling author Christine Rimmer has written more than one hundred contemporary romances for Harlequin Books. She has won Romantic Times BOOKreview’s Reviewer’s Choice Award for best Silhouette Special Edition. She has been nominated seven times for the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award and five times for Romantic Times Series Storyteller of the Year.
A California native who first longed to be an actress, Christine earned her theater degree from California State, Sacramento and then went to New York to study acting. Later, she moved to Southern California, where she began her writing career with short stories, plays, and poems. Her poems and short stories were published in a number of small literary journals. Her plays were produced at The Back Alley and Group Theaters in Southern California and have been published by Dramatists Play Service and West Coast Plays.
She now lives in Oregon with her family and two very contented cats named Tom and Ed.
A California native who first longed to be an actress, Christine earned her theater degree from California State, Sacramento and then went to New York to study acting. Later, she moved to Southern California, where she began her writing career with short stories, plays, and poems. Her poems and short stories were published in a number of small literary journals. Her plays were produced at The Back Alley and Group Theaters in Southern California and have been published by Dramatists Play Service and West Coast Plays.
She now lives in Oregon with her family and two very contented cats named Tom and Ed.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 14, 2021
SERIE LA CASATA DEI BRAVO (BRAVO ROYALES) vol. 4
La storia poteva anche essere carina, ma i personaggi sono davvero monodimensionali.
Lei, Rhia principessa di Montedoro, lui, Marcus orfano e diventato guardia reale, si sono conosciuti all'università in America, e si sono innamorati.
Ma per il forte senso del dovere di Marcus una volta lauerati si sono lasciati, e nessuno avrebbe dovuto sapere della loro relazione.
Peccato che dieci anni dopo sono ancora innamorati l'uno dell'altro, e complice una bufera di neve riscocca la scintilla.
La storia è molto carina, perchè poi si scoprono alcune cose del passato di Marcus. Però, come già detto i personaggi e le situazioni, sono privi di spessore. Non pretendo chissà che cosa, ma così davvero no, è inesistente.
Dato che gli scorsi volumi erano stati più carini, mi ero illusa che la serie stesse migliorando. Invece no. Fortuna che li ho presi in super sconto e che si leggono alla velocità della luce.
Spero nel prossimo. Dall'epilogo sembra possa essere migliore di questo.
Staremo a vedere.
La storia poteva anche essere carina, ma i personaggi sono davvero monodimensionali.
Lei, Rhia principessa di Montedoro, lui, Marcus orfano e diventato guardia reale, si sono conosciuti all'università in America, e si sono innamorati.
Ma per il forte senso del dovere di Marcus una volta lauerati si sono lasciati, e nessuno avrebbe dovuto sapere della loro relazione.
Peccato che dieci anni dopo sono ancora innamorati l'uno dell'altro, e complice una bufera di neve riscocca la scintilla.
La storia è molto carina, perchè poi si scoprono alcune cose del passato di Marcus. Però, come già detto i personaggi e le situazioni, sono privi di spessore. Non pretendo chissà che cosa, ma così davvero no, è inesistente.
Dato che gli scorsi volumi erano stati più carini, mi ero illusa che la serie stesse migliorando. Invece no. Fortuna che li ho presi in super sconto e che si leggono alla velocità della luce.
Spero nel prossimo. Dall'epilogo sembra possa essere migliore di questo.
Staremo a vedere.
March 21, 2013
Excellent book. Marcus and Rhia had gotten to know each other eight years before, while she was in college in California and he was taking a class on security. It was a brief relationship because she was a princess and he was a lowly army officer with no idea of who his family was. Now he is one of the family's bodyguards and still feels the gap. Then, mixing one snowstorm and some memories and there is a baby on the way. Marcus refuses to let a child go through what he did and insists on marriage, but Rhia refuses to marry for any reason other than love.
I really liked both Marcus and Rhia. As one of the royal family, Rhia had known nothing but the love and support of her family. Her parents tried very hard to give their children as much of a normal life as possible, and showed them what a loving marriage looked like. When Rhia and Marcus were together she didn't see their differences only the way she felt about him. When they parted ways she tried to move on, but no one was ever able to measure up to Marcus. At one point she went to him and begged him for a chance to try again, but he rejected her. This made things hard for her when he was assigned as her bodyguard. When she became pregnant she was happy about the baby, but not so much about feeling like they were an obligation to him. She refused his proposals because she felt only his sense of duty, not that he loved her for herself. I liked the way that she got him to move in with her so they could get to know each other again. She was also able to show him the importance of sharing their feelings. I also liked the way that as Marcus began to open up to her about his past she started to understand why is attitude was the way it was.
Marcus was a genuinely good guy who suffered from a little too much pride/insecurity. Because he felt inferior to Rhia, though not because of anything she did, he was too proud to pursue her. In the eight years since their initial romance he has come far in the ranks of their army, but he still feels the differences. He fought the attraction as long as he could, but lost the battle the night of the snowstorm. When he found out Rhia was pregnant his first reaction was marriage and was stunned when she refused him - repeatedly. I absolutely loved the scene when he went to Rhia's mother to confess. Watching him try to reconcile his wishes with Rhia's was fun, because I could see that he loved her, but he was fighting the admission all the way. He had also spent so long guarding his emotions to protect himself that trying to share those emotions with Rhia was incredibly hard for him. I loved seeing him relax a little and begin to trust her. The final scene with them was beautiful!
I really liked both Marcus and Rhia. As one of the royal family, Rhia had known nothing but the love and support of her family. Her parents tried very hard to give their children as much of a normal life as possible, and showed them what a loving marriage looked like. When Rhia and Marcus were together she didn't see their differences only the way she felt about him. When they parted ways she tried to move on, but no one was ever able to measure up to Marcus. At one point she went to him and begged him for a chance to try again, but he rejected her. This made things hard for her when he was assigned as her bodyguard. When she became pregnant she was happy about the baby, but not so much about feeling like they were an obligation to him. She refused his proposals because she felt only his sense of duty, not that he loved her for herself. I liked the way that she got him to move in with her so they could get to know each other again. She was also able to show him the importance of sharing their feelings. I also liked the way that as Marcus began to open up to her about his past she started to understand why is attitude was the way it was.
Marcus was a genuinely good guy who suffered from a little too much pride/insecurity. Because he felt inferior to Rhia, though not because of anything she did, he was too proud to pursue her. In the eight years since their initial romance he has come far in the ranks of their army, but he still feels the differences. He fought the attraction as long as he could, but lost the battle the night of the snowstorm. When he found out Rhia was pregnant his first reaction was marriage and was stunned when she refused him - repeatedly. I absolutely loved the scene when he went to Rhia's mother to confess. Watching him try to reconcile his wishes with Rhia's was fun, because I could see that he loved her, but he was fighting the admission all the way. He had also spent so long guarding his emotions to protect himself that trying to share those emotions with Rhia was incredibly hard for him. I loved seeing him relax a little and begin to trust her. The final scene with them was beautiful!
April 30, 2013
The heroine is a princess and she has been engaged twice but both the times her relationships never worked out because she never got over her first love, Marcus, the guy she was involved with eight years ago. Marcus broke it off with her, because he was an orphan, a nobody and even though she begged him, he broke her heart and now when is attending her sister's wedding Marcus is there as her bodyguard and she can't stand to be around him and leaves. He of course follows her and they get stranded and sleep together, of course admitting it's a mistake and part ways. The pregnancy changes all of that, the hero wants to get married but the heroine is having none of it, she has the resources and the family to raise her baby on her own and when she wanted a chance the hero broke her heart. The hero wants his baby wants to have a father unlike him, he does have class and esteem issues. I did like the book, the heroine especially, the hero was okay.
March 19, 2013
A book you will not be able to lay down. I read it straight through.
Rhia is a princess of Montedoro. Marcus gets assigned to her as a bodyguard. They have had history in the past so there is some tension on Princess Rhia.
While attending her sister's wedding, Rhia decides to escape Marcus watchful eye with the help of another sister. Marcus finds her at a place dancing with cowboys and it makes him very jealous but he stays close to keep an eye on her. There is a snowstorm approaching but Rhia refuses to leave.
So when they do leave, they end up in a snow storm and many things happen.
One thing I like about Christine's books is the unexpected. Real life happens. Her books are as if you are right there in the event yourself. Events that bring couples together all vary and I like that about her boys no matter which one you read.
There are many surprises in this story. But Rhia stands firm that she will only marry for love. But she cannot see when love is right there before her. Both Rhia and Marcus have a hard time coming to grips with love.
Rhia is a princess of Montedoro. Marcus gets assigned to her as a bodyguard. They have had history in the past so there is some tension on Princess Rhia.
While attending her sister's wedding, Rhia decides to escape Marcus watchful eye with the help of another sister. Marcus finds her at a place dancing with cowboys and it makes him very jealous but he stays close to keep an eye on her. There is a snowstorm approaching but Rhia refuses to leave.
So when they do leave, they end up in a snow storm and many things happen.
One thing I like about Christine's books is the unexpected. Real life happens. Her books are as if you are right there in the event yourself. Events that bring couples together all vary and I like that about her boys no matter which one you read.
There are many surprises in this story. But Rhia stands firm that she will only marry for love. But she cannot see when love is right there before her. Both Rhia and Marcus have a hard time coming to grips with love.
May 15, 2019
This was a surprisingly enjoyable book. I enjoyed the characters, and that the heroine had her head on straight enough to realize that having a baby is not a good enough reason to marry someone. I liked watching as she and the hero instead decided to live together and spend time together and make an effort to see if a relationship would last between the two of them. The hang ups that the hero had were realistic given his background, and the heroine was smart and independent and I really enjoyed them both. Overall, a good read.
September 9, 2025
I found this book easier to read than the previous one in the series, it was faster paced and had a wider range of emotions than book 3. I also felt more attached to this couple (maybe because I had been introduced to Marcus in the previous novel)
I read it as a Library eBook.
I read it as a Library eBook.
November 7, 2017
Reread- Nov 5 & 6
August 6, 2017
È un romanzetto carino, si legge bene. All’inizio è molto bello ed emozionante, poi si perde un po’, però è piacevole. L’epilogo è praticamente l’inizio di un nuovo romanzo, mossa commerciale poco edificante.
March 4, 2014
Her Highness, Rhiannon Bravo-Calabretti, is Princess of Montedoro and one of nine siblings. She is traveling to America for her sister's wedding and Captain Marcus Desmarais is assigned as her personal bodyguard. He is the man she fell in love with eight years ago while they were at college in California. He ending up leaving her, breaking her heart and bowing out of her life because of his lowly standing as a commoner. Her heart was shattered and she has yet to get over him although she has tried. She's been engaged twice but hasn't been able to go through with the weddings. Her heart lies elsewhere.
Captain Marcus Desmarais is one of the elite Montedoran soliders, from tragic and humble beginnings, and his duties include one on one protection for the Bravo-Calabretti family members when they travel outside of their principality. He is not happy to learn that his next assignment is Rhia, the woman he had a secret affair with back when they were at university in America. She is the woman he loved and let go because he was a commoner, abandoned at birth and raised by nuns. Marcus has always viewed Rhia as his superior, unwilling to bend so that they could be together. But one fated night while in Montana at her sister's wedding, Rhia and Marcus are in an auto accident, left stranded in the vehicle overnight--a night neither one will likely forget.
I enjoyed this Bravo Royales book. So far I have greatly enjoyed this series. To be honest, even though I enjoyed this book, it was not my favorite. I became annoyed with Marcus and how strongly he wanted to deny himself and Rhia the love that had been and still was between them. I also thought there was an issue or two that went unresolved. To explain further would include spoilers so I will refrain.
I do recommend this book, especially is you are a fan of The Bravo Royales Series.
Captain Marcus Desmarais is one of the elite Montedoran soliders, from tragic and humble beginnings, and his duties include one on one protection for the Bravo-Calabretti family members when they travel outside of their principality. He is not happy to learn that his next assignment is Rhia, the woman he had a secret affair with back when they were at university in America. She is the woman he loved and let go because he was a commoner, abandoned at birth and raised by nuns. Marcus has always viewed Rhia as his superior, unwilling to bend so that they could be together. But one fated night while in Montana at her sister's wedding, Rhia and Marcus are in an auto accident, left stranded in the vehicle overnight--a night neither one will likely forget.
I enjoyed this Bravo Royales book. So far I have greatly enjoyed this series. To be honest, even though I enjoyed this book, it was not my favorite. I became annoyed with Marcus and how strongly he wanted to deny himself and Rhia the love that had been and still was between them. I also thought there was an issue or two that went unresolved. To explain further would include spoilers so I will refrain.
I do recommend this book, especially is you are a fan of The Bravo Royales Series.
April 4, 2013
A book series can be difficult because it's not always easy to remember what came before. I spent the first part of this trying to remember the previous books. I didn't think this was the most realistic premise (I know), but Rhia and Marcus were a hot couple
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December 29, 2014Miniseries: The Bravo Royales
Category: Home and Family
Category: Home and Family
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews