Wife and Mother Forever

The Rinucci Brothers #1

by Lucy Gordon

Evie Wharton is a free spirit -- the complete opposite of millionaire and single dad Justin Dane -- but she wants to help his troubled son. Evie soon discovers, however, that behind Justin's dark and brooding demeanor hides a painful past. And, against her better judgment, she begins to fall for him....

Can Evie be the one woman to help Justin face his demons? Can she help him find the family he never knew and, most importantly, show him how to love and trust again?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Harlequin

187 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Christine Sparks was born in England, UK. She wanted to be a writer all her life, and began by working on a British women's magazine. As a features writer, she gained a wide variety of experience. She interviewed some of the world's most attractive and interesting men, including Warren Beatty, Richard Chamberlain, Charlton Heston, Sir Roger Moore, Sir Alec Guiness.

Single life was so enjoyable that she put marriage, and even romance, on the back burner, while she went about the world having a great time. Then, while on vacation in Venice, she met a tall, dark handsome Venetian artist, who changed all her ideas in a moment, and proposed on the second day. Three months later they were married. Her friends said a whirlwind romance would never last, but they celebrated their 25 anniversary, they are still married, still happy and in love.

After 13 years on the magazine Christine decided that it was now or never if she was ever going to write that novel. So she wrote Legacy of Fire which became a Silhouette Special Edition, followed by another, Enchantment in Venice. Then she did something crazy gave up her job. Since then she has concentrated entirely on writing romances for Mills & Boon, Harlequin and Silhouette and has written over 75 books. Her settings have been European and her heroes mainly English or Italian. Christine now claims to be an expert on one particular subject. Italian men are the most romantic in the world. They are also the best cooks.

A few years ago she and her husband returned to Venice and lived there for a couple of years. This proved the perfect base for exploring the rest of Italy, and she has given many of her books Italian settings: Venice (of course), Rome, Florence, Milan, Sicily, Tuscany. She has also used the Rhine in Germany for Song of the Lorelei, for which she won her first RITA Award, in 1991. Her second RITA came in 1998, with His Brother's Child, set in Rome.

Eventually Christine Fiorotto and her husband returned to England, where they now live. She write and he paints, they have no children, but have a cat and a dog.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story of hope and love, hero Justin has serious abandonment issues, and heroine Evie has commitment issues. This story is much about the love between a parent and child, biological or not, as a romance....so much depth, written in a way that surprisingly allows one to connect to hero's pain even without much of his POV. Sometimes the most worthwhile HEA requires strength of character and determined commitment.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars! ~ Evie's a translator and loves a life of freedom. She takes only short term jobs and gets most of her income from translating books. Mark is a 12 year old in a Italian class Evie's teaching on a temp basis. She strikes up a friendship with the lonely sad boy, and discovers his father, Justin, to be cold and seemly detached. Justin is a self-made man and has dark demons haunting him. He was abandoned twice; first by his birth mother and then by his adopted mother when a she gave birth to a child of her own, sending Justin back to the orphanage. The betrayal of Justin's deceased wife also tears at both the boy and the father. Because of her attachment to Mark, Evie finds herself becoming involved with Justin. She knows that Justin will never be able to set aside the pain of his past unless he tries to find his birth mother and have answered why he had been abandoned.

Evie's on the cusp of letting go of her wild child years and wanting to settle down with a family of her own. Justin is a hard character to get to know, which I think may be intentional as Ms. Gordon wrote this one mostly from the heroine's point of view. So we only learn of Justin's character through Evie's observations and the dialogue. Justin has a tortured spirit and with Evie's love and determination, he finds peace. An emotionally intense story. I enjoyed this very much.

[F. · Rating 2 out of 5]

At least these are main points which REALLY ruined the story for me:

1) The way Justin managed his marriage end in relation with the poor Mark,
2) Evie and Andrew 's HORRIBLE "love" relation,
3) Justin really bought the house for Evie???
4) The way Evie and Justin story began,
5) Hope Rinucci's mature sexual relation with males.

Is it almost the whole book? Ooops, sorry Mrs. Gordon!! Get to know I really tried it... !!

[LadyAileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Partito bene, finale Meh

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really lked this book. i enjoyed the story line and the complexities. this book really got to me and touched my emotions. i would definitely read this book again and would recommend it. great job.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

great quick read

[Alice Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read, love a good romance story.