Back Cover:
Twelve months ago their marriage was perfect...Then Billionaire Tyler Benedict returns home to find his bed empty and Lianne, his wife, gone! Now Tyler will do anything to get his bride back! Tyler hires Lianne to be his personal lawyer-it's a deal she can't refuse. But this time Lianne is wise to Tyler's ways, he's after more than just a business arrangement; he wants her back where he feels she belongs...at his bidding!
My Review:
This was refreshing! The hero loved his wife, and told her that clearly from the beginning. When lies were told about him being involved with another woman, the hero didn't get stuffed up on pride and refuse to explain himself, he simply told her the truth: it's a lie, and wanted her to trust him. When she didn't trust him, he didn't give up on her like other heroes have, instead he set a very determined plan into action, as soon as he physically could (three months went by before he could get away to chase after her), to get her back.
He wouldn't let her out of his sight and he wheedled his way into her home and office to try to resume their married life together. They got along very well, shared how their days went, despite the heroine feeling put-out at having her ex forced upon her. Slowly the heroine began to trust that the hero wasn't going to let her dump him, she couldn't shake him off! She began to realize that he was the same man she married and loved, that he wasn't capable of deception, and so she trusted that he never had cheated on her.
I really enjoyed this take on separation/reconciliation! I haven't seen a more loving approach in all the HPs I've read that featured separations: separations always seem bitter and the hero always is abrupt and rough with his heroine for leaving him, his pride gets in the way and often he reacts with agression, resentment, and goes off to sleep with other women. I really liked that the hero was so persistent in showing his heroine that she could trust him with her love, he didn't blame her for her lack of faith, he just proved the press about him was wrong and he was the most faithful and loving husband! The passion was intense, I enjoyed seeing a HP with a very strong career-woman heroine, and the heroine had a nice honest relationship with her mother (they talked about the state of her marriage openly, it was very healthy).
The only negative thing: it was hard to believe that the hero had all these disasters strike that prevented him from chasing after her for three months (his father died, a family friend was terminally ill, and I think he had a short bout of a virus too if I remember correctly). It seemed like a fantastical story, especially since the family friend was the same woman who claimed to have had an affair with the hero (why would he show her the courtesy of keeping her company while ill when she told the lies that destroyed his marriage?). But my doubt only lasted two or three pages, and then I fell in love with the hero because he was so committed to winning his woman back with such patience!
Rating: 4/5 stars, this is a feel good read which shows love triumphing over pride. It shows a hero who loves deeply, is faithful, and is patient in winning back his heroine's trust.
I remember reading this and liking it as well!
I think the reason that he kept "the other" woman company while she was ill was for his mother's sake. She was an old family friend and his mother was upset by her illness. I also think that he never told his mother that she was the one that caused the problems in his marriage -- he didin't want to disillusion her.
He was determined to get his wife back and he did!
*applause* Yes...
*applause*
Yes... that's a good husband who can calmly and determinedly re-build trust and set his marriage back on solid ground. We don't see this in HPs, like, ever, and if we do it's the woman who's the one making sacrifices and wanting to be trusted (because usually her husband thinks she cheated).