The Wedding Ultimatum (Harlequin Presents, No. 2241)

Rating:
Summary: Bianchin is always good, but ...
Review: ... this was not her best effort. I still rated it 4 stars, because even an off-par Bianchin is better than most, but I was diappointed in this outing. "The Wedding Ultimatim" bore a distinct resemblance to "The Marriage Arrangement" (July 2001) in some key plot points, and therefore lacked the spontaneity and originality I usually count on this author to deliver.

Danielle d'Alboa, scion of an old and aristocratic Spanish dynasty that now finds itself nearly bankrupt, makes a last-chance plea to Rafael Valdez, holder of their major debt, for mercy. Rafael, new money from a rough background, offers to solve Danielle's financial problems in exchange for an heir; his child will be a blue-blood. Set against the backdrop of Australian society, the plot is well-paced and sophistocated.

I count on every Bianchin I buy to be a keeper, and often re-read her books over and over. This one did not make that cut, but was entertaining. I certainly recommend it as the best of the Harlequin offerings for April 2002.

Rating:
Summary: Bianchin is always good, but ...
Review: ... this was not her best effort. I still rated it 4 stars, because even an off-par Bianchin is better than most, but I was diappointed in this outing. "The Wedding Ultimatim" bore a distinct resemblance to "The Marriage Arrangement" (July 2001) in some key plot points, and therefore lacked the spontaneity and originality I usually count on this author to deliver.

Danielle d'Alboa, scion of an old and aristocratic Spanish dynasty that now finds itself nearly bankrupt, makes a last-chance plea to Rafael Valdez, holder of their major debt, for mercy. Rafael, new money from a rough background, offers to solve Danielle's financial problems in exchange for an heir; his child will be a blue-blood. Set against the backdrop of Australian society, the plot is well-paced and sophistocated.

I count on every Bianchin I buy to be a keeper, and often re-read her books over and over. This one did not make that cut, but was entertaining. I certainly recommend it as the best of the Harlequin offerings for April 2002.

Rating:
Summary: Bianchin is always good, but ...
Review: ... this was not her best effort. I still rated it 4 stars, because even an off-par Bianchin is better than most, but I was diappointed in this outing. "The Wedding Ultimatim" bore a distinct resemblance to "The Marriage Arrangement" (July 2001) in some key plot points, and therefore lacked the spontaneity and originality I usually count on this author to deliver.

Danielle d'Alboa, scion of an old and aristocratic Spanish dynasty that now finds itself nearly bankrupt, makes a last-chance plea to Rafael Valdez, holder of their major debt, for mercy. Rafael, new money from a rough background, offers to solve Danielle's financial problems in exchange for an heir; his child will be a blue-blood. Set against the backdrop of Australian society, the plot is well-paced and sophistocated.

I count on every Bianchin I buy to be a keeper, and often re-read her books over and over. This one did not make that cut, but was entertaining. I certainly recommend it as the best of the Harlequin offerings for April 2002.

Rating:
Summary: She Should Have Shot Him Instead of Marrying Him
Review: Twenty-seven-year-old Danielle and her mother are facing bankruptcy. They are going to lose their posh Melbourne apartment and their boutique business. Danielle goes to the owner of the mall that houses their shop and the apartment they lived in, Rafe Valdez, to plead for an extension.

Rafe, however, has other ideas. It seems that his grandfather and father before him worked in the wine fields of Danielle's aristocratic ancestors and Rafe thinks it ironic that she should come seeking assistance from him. Oh, I forgot to mention, that Rafe is responsible for maneuvering Danielle into the position she's in.

And he will get her out of it, put her right back in society, let her stay in her ritzy home, let her mother keep the boutique and give her a million dollars to boot. All she has to do is marry him, bear him a son and live in him and give herself to him every night for seven years.

Of course she sells herself Rafe, proving once again that women are all harlots at heart. Oh why oh why do romance writers go down this horrid path. A real woman, even an Australian woman, when confronted with Rafe's proposition, would have gone out and found a gun, come back and shot the dirt bag between the eyes and we'd have a mystery-thriller instead of a romance. This is the kind of romance that none of the Harlequin Dreamers find appealing, but obviously there are some misguided woman out there who believe the only real man is a bully. This is sad. Only two stars.

A Harlequin Dreamers Review by Sandra Sherman

Rating:
Summary: Romantic Times REview
Review: With her mother in financial trouble, Danielle d'Alboa asks Rafael Valdez for help whereupon he gives her THE WEDDING ULTIMATUM (4). Agreeing to his marriage of convenience, Danielle begins to get to know the man who's now her husband, but when a rival appears and starts causing mischief, Danielle realizes just how much she loves this man. Fans of Helen Bianchin will enjoy this fast-paced read with deeply emotional characters and sexy scenes.