Miranda Lee (1945–2021)

Rich and handsome TV chef, Rico Mandretti, plays poker every Friday night in a posh hotel with a few friends. One of them, Renee Selensky, has been driving him crazy for years. Her cool demeanor, her sarcastic barbs, and her apparent non-interest in him---he's never met a woman quite like her. And he's finding himself very attracted to her. It's sort of a love/hate relationship. So one poker night, knowing he's holding a winning hand at cards, after everyone else drops out of the game except show more Renee, Rico suggests they bet for their "hearts desire"---something they really want. They both write what they want on a sheet of paper, put it in an envelope, and the loser has to do what the winner has written. After the card game ends, Rico is the winner, and he hands Renee his sheet of paper/envelope which states that he wants her to be his mistress for a month. But after she does become his mistress, Rico (to his surprise) is finding he wants more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Rico and Renee were in Miranda Lee's book, "A Rich Man's Revenge", in her "Three Rich Men" series, and I was eager to read their story. There were so many things I enjoyed in this book. I really liked Renee. She sure took Rico down a peg or two! He was always used to women fawning over him and he seriously thought he repulsed her at times! (But he was wrong!)

Renee, 35, was previously married to a much older man. There were rumors that she married him for his money. Rico mockingly calls her The Merry Widow. We didn't get any of her POV (point of view) in the story because it was told from Rico's POV. She was smart but caustic at times. She was also sophisticated, worldly, and classy.

I also liked Rico, 34. He was sort of a jerk in the first book, since he tried to break up the main couple. But I really liked him in this book. He never really knew where he stood with Renee. And I love a besotted hero. Rico and Renee had terrific chemistry and I loved their banter.

This was a fun, sexy, and enjoyable read! show less

One of the most interesting friends to lovers stories I've read. They had been best friends since kindergarten where she was the protector rather than him being the protector. He had loved her for all that time but when she asks him to pretend to be married to her to fool her sick mother, he has finally reached his breaking point. He flat out tells her no he won't help her and is pretty mean to her to protect himself. She sees this stronger more forceful side of him who refuses to let show more himself be walked on and used and suddenly she is looking at him in a new light. I really liked it and couldn't stop reading.

Fast moving with good characterizations, particularly of the hero. He was quite different from other HP heros. He had an average job as a math professor but he made scads of money gambling on everything. She was also not a normal HP heroine, she was sexually experienced but not a 'ho. She spent her time working only long enough to finance another trip to somewhere exotic and breezed in and out of the hero's life.

The ending was just a bit abrupt and could have used a bit more "talking it out" that is why I dropped it a star. show less

So another newer author. This one did fall into the trap of the book taking place over just a few days with really long scenes. I don't mind a non virgin HP heroine but if you do then this one is really going to push some buttons. There was a lot of sex here. I felt like maybe this would have fit better into the Blaze line? I would rather have had more story and less explicit sex. I'm not a prude but I can read about sex in other books. That's not why I read Harlequin Presents. I want some show more angst, some hero asshatery, some makeovers and Bugattis , an evil Other Woman or interfering Mother-in-law and what not. Too much sex doesn't leave enough room for all that other more important stuff;)

These 2 had known each other about 15 years in the past but that still makes them virtually strangers. So the fast pace of the book was a little forces. The hero at least had always kind of wanted her but not enough to go after her when she got old enough. Still pretty readable for all that. show less

Parts of this book were better than others. The premise was very interesting. I liked that they had grown up together as friends and entered into an almost platonic marriage with separate rooms and scheduled sex. When she discovers that she has been hiding from herself that she's always loved him she starts to want more. When she starts showing more passion in bed, he decides that she has been cheating on him and has learned this with another man. He has always wanted her physically even show more when they were teenagers but he didn't fall in love with her until after they were married and he didn't realize it until about 10 pages from the end of the book. Even with his crazy ass jealousy it took him a long time to realize why. Then the book ended very abruptly. I might have given it another star if the end had been longer. Still I would be willing to try this author again. show less