Read this one and totally forgot it. Must not have been that good. ( )

The Secrets She Carried by Lynne Graham is a 2012 Harlequin Presents publication.

Hot, proud, sexy Italians can be fun heroes, especially when they turn to mush when they are in love. But, in this book, our Italian hero doesn't quite measure up to my standards.

Erin has an affair with her boss, Christophe, then is accused of cheating on him and stealing from his company. Three years pass and Christophe finds himself face to face with the woman who betrayed him and decides to blackmail her into having sex with him.
Naturally, Erin did not cheat on him, nor did she steal from him, but she will have to prove her innocence which is easier said than done, but not only that, Erin does have a couple of big secrets that could change the dynamic between the couple for all time.

I found this book while scrolling through my Library's Overdrive page, and didn't read any reviews of it before hand, and now I really wish I had, because I would not have wasted my time on it. I am sorry to say this one didn't work for me at all. Christophe easily presumed Erin was guilty, never confronted her or gave her a chance to explain, then he blackmails her, then when the truth does come out, he still blames her, and she accepts the blame. Ugh!

Christophe was just too over the top and Erin was just ridiculous by actually succumbing to his threats and taking the blame for everything that happened even though she was not guilty. If anyone needed to grovel it Christophe.

The couple really didn't have a lot of chemistry, the sex scenes took place while Erin was obligated, if you will, and so there wasn't much emotion involved. Eventually, we get to the HEA part, but it was really anti-climatic and Christophe's grand gestures fell flat at that point and it seemed his proclamations of love were given grudgingly.

Overall, not the best effort by this author by a long shot and I would not recommend it.

2 stars ( )