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The Royal House of Niroli #2
Surgeon Prince, Ordinary Wife
Alessandro Fierezza, snatched as a baby by Vialli bandits, is believed dead. But when brilliant surgeon Alex Hunter arrives to help the king, rumors abound he is the missing prince!
Nurse Amelia Vialli has lived with the stigma of being a Vialli bandit. She falls under Alex's spell. When Alex discovers the truth, he's torn between duty and a woman who can never be his queen…
Nurse Amelia Vialli has lived with the stigma of being a Vialli bandit. She falls under Alex's spell. When Alex discovers the truth, he's torn between duty and a woman who can never be his queen…
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2007
20 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Melanie Milburne
1,175 books396 followersI grew up on a small farm on the outskirts of Sydney and as a keen horse rider, often competed in local gymkhanas and even broke in a few horses from time to time. As I was surrounded by animals, I decided at an early age to become a nurse, however I couldn’t stand the sight of blood and so opted for a career in teaching. It’s a bit ironic that I married a surgeon.
I read my first Mills & Boon novel when I was 17 and that encouraged me to continue reading romance novels; the lure of the tall dark handsome hero, who in reality I fell in love with and knew I was going to marry on our second date! After marrying a year later, we moved to Scotland with our six week old baby so my husband could work and study for his MD in surgery. After the birth of our second son we came back to Australia to settle in Tasmania.
I went back to University and up-graded my teaching diploma to a degree and then went on to do a Masters but still I felt as if something was missing. I sat down one day and began writing and everything clicked into place - I had finally found ‘my brilliant career’! I used to write from instinct rather than a specific plan, but now, so many books later I find a loose plan doesn't go astray. An idea will pop into my head, sometimes it will be just a simple phrase or a what if question and I'm away.
Writing is a skill that can be learned and the best way to learn it is to read and to write. So many people feel they have a novel in them and very probably they are right-the only trick is to get it out. My advice to ‘would be’ writers is to write, write, and write even more. Carry a notebook at all times and jot down ideas. And like any other activity the more you do, the more it feels comfortable.
I hope you enjoy my stories and look forward to hearing from you.
I read my first Mills & Boon novel when I was 17 and that encouraged me to continue reading romance novels; the lure of the tall dark handsome hero, who in reality I fell in love with and knew I was going to marry on our second date! After marrying a year later, we moved to Scotland with our six week old baby so my husband could work and study for his MD in surgery. After the birth of our second son we came back to Australia to settle in Tasmania.
I went back to University and up-graded my teaching diploma to a degree and then went on to do a Masters but still I felt as if something was missing. I sat down one day and began writing and everything clicked into place - I had finally found ‘my brilliant career’! I used to write from instinct rather than a specific plan, but now, so many books later I find a loose plan doesn't go astray. An idea will pop into my head, sometimes it will be just a simple phrase or a what if question and I'm away.
Writing is a skill that can be learned and the best way to learn it is to read and to write. So many people feel they have a novel in them and very probably they are right-the only trick is to get it out. My advice to ‘would be’ writers is to write, write, and write even more. Carry a notebook at all times and jot down ideas. And like any other activity the more you do, the more it feels comfortable.
I hope you enjoy my stories and look forward to hearing from you.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 6, 2023
3.5 stars. Could have done with a epilogue
July 29, 2013
La historia de Alex es mas fresca y ligera, por tanto es mas entretenida que la de Marco, pero es poco profunda y por momentos tonta :/
September 1, 2012
This story disappointed me. I was expecting some angst romeo and juliet stuff going down when all it was, was boring and totally predictable. I could have written this and flipped it into pure chaos. It was a great idea, just not executed well.
June 13, 2015
Es menos dramática y mucho más dulce pero Alex es bello <3
September 7, 2019
Sigh. The HPlandia naming fairy misled with the book title again. Just so you know, there is no marriage in this story ...so no ordinary wives here. But there is a Surgeon Prince. Yay!
Amelia Vialli has a tainted reputation because her family was responsible for a long ago kidnapping and death of a prince, and Amelia has never really been able to escape the long memories of the Nirolian people. She's lived in poverty and shame her whole life. She works as a nurse at the free hospital and along comes Dr. Alex Hunter, Australian surgeon who is in Niroli for the month so he can perform heart surgery on the king. He sees Amelia and starts up his flirtatiousness to try to tempt her into a fling. But Amelia has had her heart broken by a fling in the past and doesn't want to risk her heart again. Alex though, doesn't seem to like taking no for an answer, so he's incredibly persistent. Rumors abound that Alex is actually the long-lost (not really dead after all) kidnapped prince, which just makes Amelia even more cautious. If he really is the prince, they have no future at all, even if Alex admitted to wanting one. When Amelia finally gives in, she finds evidence that Alex really is the prince and their relationship has a shelf life, not to mention the guilt she feels at being part of the family responsible for Alex's situation. As Amelia falls in love with Alex, she knows their relationship is doomed because he'd have to abdicate the throne to be with her.
So this was average for me. While I liked that these characters were down-to-earth and not doormats or douche-bags, I grow tired of the heroes who won't accept no as a reasonable answer. There weren't any issues of sexual consent here, but Amelia makes it pretty damn clear that she's afraid of getting her heart broken (and that she's emotionally vulnerable to it) if she enters into a no-strings sexual affair, so no thank you anyway. Alex doesn't really care - he wants to get laid, and with Amelia. He never stops to think that maybe he should listen to what she's saying and think that since he's not really willing to give her what she wants and she doesn't want to give him what he wants, maybe they're not really suited for each other. But they do enter into an affair and Amelia keeps bringing up her issues with its temporary status and he keeps telling her to shut that down cuz it's a drag on their sexy times. And all that relationship tension that is created when Amelia points out that Alex is probably also on a the rebound makes his actions all the more inconsiderate (and sadly, I don't think that ever got resolved either).
The discovery of Alex as the actual prince kinda drove this story forward. It's discovered and Alex is hurting for it (and for his adoptive parents). Amelia also hurts for Alex and feels for him, even through the death of her father (which never got solved either). But this is where the roadblock on their relationship occurs, because now that Alex is a prince he can't even have Amelia as a mistress. She lets him go. But her friend talks to the press about him, so he assumes it was Amelia that talked to the press and he comes at her with a boatload of accusations about her reasons for it. During this spiel, he says he "believed himself in love with her." My disbelief was profound. Up to this point, I had absolutely no inkling that he was having anything but lusty feelings for her and that was supposed to be the big feelings reveal for him. Well, she explains why she isn't at fault and walks out. She doesn't engage in an argument, which I think I respect her more for. The more I read this book, the more I actually liked her. She ends up seeing him later where he apologizes (unsatisfactorily) for his vitriol and explains his reasons for abdicating. As it turns out, he abdicates for his own reasons, and not because of his love for Amelia. Part of me likes that and part of me doesn't. In one respect, neither he nor the royal family can ever blame her for his not taking on the responsibility (or his later resenting not doing it). In another though, there's very little proof of his love for her and I feel like I needed it. He asks her to marry him and presumably an HEA occurs. There is no epilogue here, so we're not really sure. Good stuff + bad stuff = average read that I still enjoyed well enough.
Amelia Vialli has a tainted reputation because her family was responsible for a long ago kidnapping and death of a prince, and Amelia has never really been able to escape the long memories of the Nirolian people. She's lived in poverty and shame her whole life. She works as a nurse at the free hospital and along comes Dr. Alex Hunter, Australian surgeon who is in Niroli for the month so he can perform heart surgery on the king. He sees Amelia and starts up his flirtatiousness to try to tempt her into a fling. But Amelia has had her heart broken by a fling in the past and doesn't want to risk her heart again. Alex though, doesn't seem to like taking no for an answer, so he's incredibly persistent. Rumors abound that Alex is actually the long-lost (not really dead after all) kidnapped prince, which just makes Amelia even more cautious. If he really is the prince, they have no future at all, even if Alex admitted to wanting one. When Amelia finally gives in, she finds evidence that Alex really is the prince and their relationship has a shelf life, not to mention the guilt she feels at being part of the family responsible for Alex's situation. As Amelia falls in love with Alex, she knows their relationship is doomed because he'd have to abdicate the throne to be with her.
So this was average for me. While I liked that these characters were down-to-earth and not doormats or douche-bags, I grow tired of the heroes who won't accept no as a reasonable answer. There weren't any issues of sexual consent here, but Amelia makes it pretty damn clear that she's afraid of getting her heart broken (and that she's emotionally vulnerable to it) if she enters into a no-strings sexual affair, so no thank you anyway. Alex doesn't really care - he wants to get laid, and with Amelia. He never stops to think that maybe he should listen to what she's saying and think that since he's not really willing to give her what she wants and she doesn't want to give him what he wants, maybe they're not really suited for each other. But they do enter into an affair and Amelia keeps bringing up her issues with its temporary status and he keeps telling her to shut that down cuz it's a drag on their sexy times. And all that relationship tension that is created when Amelia points out that Alex is probably also on a the rebound makes his actions all the more inconsiderate (and sadly, I don't think that ever got resolved either).
The discovery of Alex as the actual prince kinda drove this story forward. It's discovered and Alex is hurting for it (and for his adoptive parents). Amelia also hurts for Alex and feels for him, even through the death of her father (which never got solved either). But this is where the roadblock on their relationship occurs, because now that Alex is a prince he can't even have Amelia as a mistress. She lets him go. But her friend talks to the press about him, so he assumes it was Amelia that talked to the press and he comes at her with a boatload of accusations about her reasons for it. During this spiel, he says he "believed himself in love with her." My disbelief was profound. Up to this point, I had absolutely no inkling that he was having anything but lusty feelings for her and that was supposed to be the big feelings reveal for him. Well, she explains why she isn't at fault and walks out. She doesn't engage in an argument, which I think I respect her more for. The more I read this book, the more I actually liked her. She ends up seeing him later where he apologizes (unsatisfactorily) for his vitriol and explains his reasons for abdicating. As it turns out, he abdicates for his own reasons, and not because of his love for Amelia. Part of me likes that and part of me doesn't. In one respect, neither he nor the royal family can ever blame her for his not taking on the responsibility (or his later resenting not doing it). In another though, there's very little proof of his love for her and I feel like I needed it. He asks her to marry him and presumably an HEA occurs. There is no epilogue here, so we're not really sure. Good stuff + bad stuff = average read that I still enjoyed well enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2021
Ordinary title, charming tale !!
This is a story on a fantasy premise but with real world lead characters. Very tough to achieve that balance between being relatable and make believe. The author has managed that in this one, Kudos!
Alex Hunter, a successful Aussie cardiologist is actually the long lost prince of an imaginary Italian province ! He has been summoned by the king, ostensibly to get his heart surgery done. But also to verify whether the fellow is really the heir apparent, supposedly kidnapped while he was an infant.
The kidnapping was done by Amelia's daddy. The poor old man is now dying of both cancer and remorse. But back then, he was mixed with some revolutionary rebel group. He masterminded the kidnapping, was asked to kill the kiddo, but did not have the heart. So he gave the kiddo away for adoption. So that's our hero Alex - a prince but also a cardiologist. Awesome !!!!
Amelia is a community nurse but is saddled with being the kid of the bad guy of the town. So she is reserved, a loner, a hard worker. She is late for one patient visit and decides to jump over a compound wall to get there faster. And that's when the hero catches her. With her skirt caught in the bushes !!!!!!! A naughty , funny opening scene for the leads.
He is cocky, amusing. She is diligent, subdued. How they strike sparks off each other is an engaging read. By the time they are kissing and contemplating getting to second base, several clues start falling to place about the mystery - "Alex could be the lost prince". And that throws Amelia completely off balance.
She was already too beneath his status. He , a rich cardiologist on a short visit to the island. She , a measly nurse, daughter of the local bad guy. As if that wasn't enough, he is now royalty !!
No secrets, no misunderstandings. They discuss these developments, fight it out, then kiss and make up. But whatever be the complications, they stay together and come out tops.
As a cherry on the cake, the sex scenes are just the right amount and right intensity.
Amelia is an honest relatable ordinary girl. Very likable. Alex is a cool, confident, awesome hero. Totally lovable.
Oh, I forgot to add, its a medical romance too. With good medical talk thrown in.
All in all, an excellently packaged story. Gave me the satisfaction of a perfectly cooked meal. 5 stars.
This is a story on a fantasy premise but with real world lead characters. Very tough to achieve that balance between being relatable and make believe. The author has managed that in this one, Kudos!
Alex Hunter, a successful Aussie cardiologist is actually the long lost prince of an imaginary Italian province ! He has been summoned by the king, ostensibly to get his heart surgery done. But also to verify whether the fellow is really the heir apparent, supposedly kidnapped while he was an infant.
The kidnapping was done by Amelia's daddy. The poor old man is now dying of both cancer and remorse. But back then, he was mixed with some revolutionary rebel group. He masterminded the kidnapping, was asked to kill the kiddo, but did not have the heart. So he gave the kiddo away for adoption. So that's our hero Alex - a prince but also a cardiologist. Awesome !!!!
Amelia is a community nurse but is saddled with being the kid of the bad guy of the town. So she is reserved, a loner, a hard worker. She is late for one patient visit and decides to jump over a compound wall to get there faster. And that's when the hero catches her. With her skirt caught in the bushes !!!!!!! A naughty , funny opening scene for the leads.
He is cocky, amusing. She is diligent, subdued. How they strike sparks off each other is an engaging read. By the time they are kissing and contemplating getting to second base, several clues start falling to place about the mystery - "Alex could be the lost prince". And that throws Amelia completely off balance.
She was already too beneath his status. He , a rich cardiologist on a short visit to the island. She , a measly nurse, daughter of the local bad guy. As if that wasn't enough, he is now royalty !!
No secrets, no misunderstandings. They discuss these developments, fight it out, then kiss and make up. But whatever be the complications, they stay together and come out tops.
As a cherry on the cake, the sex scenes are just the right amount and right intensity.
Amelia is an honest relatable ordinary girl. Very likable. Alex is a cool, confident, awesome hero. Totally lovable.
Oh, I forgot to add, its a medical romance too. With good medical talk thrown in.
All in all, an excellently packaged story. Gave me the satisfaction of a perfectly cooked meal. 5 stars.
July 29, 2024
This was a very nice read 😊👌
Short and sweet , perfect for this time of the year.
Loving this series , this is the 2nd book of the ' Royal House of Niroli ' .
Alessandro Fierezza, is snatched as a baby , by the Vialli family, and he believed to be dead .
But when brillant Dr Aex Hunter , arrives on Niroli to treat the king 🤴, rumours start that he is the missing 🤴 Prince .
Amaeli Vialli is a dedicated nurse, helping the poor of Niroli , but she has unfortunately lived with the stigma of being a Vialli all her life.
Amaeli falls instantly for Dr Hunter , unaware who he really is .
But when Alex discovers the truth about his past , he is torn between duty to the ruling family, or for the woman he has fallen for .
This was a great Rromance , heart-warming and a cosy storyline. 😀
Short and sweet , perfect for this time of the year.
Loving this series , this is the 2nd book of the ' Royal House of Niroli ' .
Alessandro Fierezza, is snatched as a baby , by the Vialli family, and he believed to be dead .
But when brillant Dr Aex Hunter , arrives on Niroli to treat the king 🤴, rumours start that he is the missing 🤴 Prince .
Amaeli Vialli is a dedicated nurse, helping the poor of Niroli , but she has unfortunately lived with the stigma of being a Vialli all her life.
Amaeli falls instantly for Dr Hunter , unaware who he really is .
But when Alex discovers the truth about his past , he is torn between duty to the ruling family, or for the woman he has fallen for .
This was a great Rromance , heart-warming and a cosy storyline. 😀
May 19, 2020
Much less angst than other reads from Melanie Milburne.
Alex was a likable hero, but nothing to swoon about. What I liked about him:
-Smart, heart surgeon
-Not a player; long-term relationship kind of guy
-Prefers grown women (heroine is 30)
-Friendly, jovial personality
The title is misleading though... there is no wife or marriage in the story.
Alex was a likable hero, but nothing to swoon about. What I liked about him:
-Smart, heart surgeon
-Not a player; long-term relationship kind of guy
-Prefers grown women (heroine is 30)
-Friendly, jovial personality
The title is misleading though... there is no wife or marriage in the story.
April 16, 2012
It was a good story between the hero and the heroine. However, the story arc connecting the books kinda blase......all in all though about average for an HP. Although, the nastiness from the hero towards the heroine - not warranted - and quick frankly I would have told him to go do himself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2014
BOO HISS BOOOOOO! Wtf was that ending?!
That was the most abrupt ending I had ever had the displeasure of reading.
It's like when you're about to have an orgasm, but the person you're hooking up with got off first and left you hanging...
That was the most abrupt ending I had ever had the displeasure of reading.
It's like when you're about to have an orgasm, but the person you're hooking up with got off first and left you hanging...
March 9, 2011
seri ini baguss....
July 16, 2012
Not my favorite of this series. Sort of boring and predictable. I did read this one out of order, so that may be part of the problem.
Did Not Finish
March 16, 2026Tra folletti che scalano siepi, playboy australiani e intrighi di corte, quasi mi addormento. Melanie non riesce a far breccia nel mio cuore e così volo verso altri viaggi. Abbandonato.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews