365 books in 365 days Challenge ... book #92

CEO's Expectant Secretary - Leanne Banks
Mills and Boon Desire 2-in-1
Harlequin Mills and Boon, 2011
ISBN: 9780263881974



My rating





From the back cover:

"Maddox Communications was his life--until he allowed a woman to come between him and his business. CEO Brock Maddox had been betrayed by his lover...his own secretary. And when he finally confronted Elle Linton, he discovered she'd been keeping an even bigger secret. Elle was carrying his baby.
Vowing to let nothing else out of his control, Brock declared Elle would marry him. Their union solidified his claim on their child...and allowed him to keep a close eye on his ex-assistant. Yet Brock knew he might succumb to the lure of his lovely wife...if he dared let his heart rule his head."


This is the second book in the Desire 2-in-1, and same as the previous book, it is also part of the 'Kings of the Boardroom' mini-series, but works as a stand alone book.

The hero Brock has just discovered that his secretary and long term lover Elle, the heroine, has been giving away business information to his biggest rival. He is confused about his feelings as Elle meant something to him and he has no idea why she would do this to him. Things go from bad to worse when he goes to confront Elle and discovers she is pregnant. He insists they marry, he wants both a part in his child's life and to keep an eye on Elle.
Elle is also confused, she hated betraying Brock but was forced into it by her grandfather, who had ignored her most of her life, in exchange for medical treatment for her mother. She agrees to marry Brock to give her baby the family she never had, and because she is in love with Brock. However she knows that after what she did, Brock is unlikely to ever love her back.

This is an OK book, a quick and enjoyable read. But I do feel it didn't live up to its potential. For me there were moments in the book that seemed to be building up to a conflict, which then just kind of fizzled out. I liked both Elle and Brock's characters, they were well written and I felt they worked well together.

The writing is really good, I just felt more could have been done to make this a really great read.

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