The Sicilian's Ruthless Marriage by Carole Mortimer (HP 2742)

Back Cover:

For Sicilian billionaire Cesare Gambrelli, the death of his sister was the fault of reckless Simon Ingram. The feud between the two families could only be settled by vengeance!

It was Ingram's sister Robin who would pay the price. Cesare's plan of revenge demanded marriage and motherhood. It was the last part Cesare savored—with passionate pleasure….  

Favourite Scene:

Cesare glared at her frustratedly for several long seconds before leaning forward across the table to easily hold her startled gaze with his. ‘Perhaps I should warn you that at this moment this tabletop is looking very tempting as a place to make love to you!’ he hissed between gritted teeth. 

Another Fav Scene:  (the heroine's dad keeps walking in on the H/h groping)

‘Robin, I—Perhaps the two of you should get married as soon as possible!’ her father observed as they sprang guiltily apart to turn and look at him where he stood in the connecting doorway to his own office, next to Robin’s. ‘Or, alternatively, get a lock put on the door,’ he amended, with wry acceptance of the inevitable. ‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the two of you part only a couple of hours ago?’

My Review:

I think Carole Mortimer is very talented.  Her books are never very angsty and there's never sordid sex or infidelity.  Pleasant and light reads, while still heavily sensual and passionate.  That makes CM an author on my "safe list" as a writer that always gives a satisfying happy read, if I'm in a slump she's a good author to go to.  This was a great premise that set up a passionate story from the beginning.  There were a few scenes where I thought "what's the motivation for this?" but quickly and skillfully CM provided that motivation and made the actions of the H/h understandable.  I loved the moments between the heroine and baby Marco, so adorable and tender.  The steam between the couple was great.  The only slight negative is that the reunion at the end was a bit too convenient. 

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars, a very warm and emotional story.  A unique story about using marriage as a revenge: I liked that this marriage was intended to be for life, even without love.