365 books in 365 days Challenge ... Book #326

Return of the Moralis Wife - Jacqueline Baird
Mills & Boon Modern
Harlequin UK, 2012
ISBN: 9780263890570











My rating

From the back cover:

"A virgin to sweeten the deal 
Infamous playboy Orion Moralis believes in lust, not marriage - until with one innocent sigh the daughter of a business rival turns his world on its head. Selina Taylor is achingly pure, and as he captures her lips Orion knows he must possess her! But their marriage is short-lived... 
Six years since Selina was discarded like a used plaything she's older - and definitely wiser when it comes to sexy, powerful men. But trapped on Orion's luxury yacht she finds memories of the past return to haunt her... With the bad comes the oh-so-good - and soon she can't resist the sensual pull between them..."


This is the latest offering from Jacqueline Baird - out in April here in the UK.

The hero Rion sees the heroine Selina, his ex-wife, for the first time in sex years when he arrives to attend her grandfather's funeral. He immediately realise that he still fiercely desires her, and with his knowledge of what is in her grandfather's will Rion decides to finally get his revenge on her betrayal. Selina is surprised and a little perturbed by Rion's arrival, she hasn't seen him since he threw her out of his life and still remembers her heartbreak at both the end of their marriage and the discover of the true reason he married her. Rion blackmails Selina into spending a two week holiday with him on his yacht, for his pleasure. At first Selina tries to fight against the desire that is still between them, but eventually gives into her last chance to be with Rion. Rion is surprised by the changes in Selina and his ruthless revenge scheme quickly turns into much more, but Selina has her own life now and refused to give Rion her heart again.

When I started reading this book I wasn't enjoying it - it seemed to have a few too many unappealing elements - but I ended up quite liking it. The heroine makes this book worthwhile. She starts off being a bit of the wounded party, but really grows into a strong and intelligent woman. She was also very honest and forward thinking, I particularly liked her attitude when faced with the possibility of the short-term affair with the hero, thinking why shouldn't she enjoy it! The hero learned his lesson in the end and there was a nice bit of grovelling.

Overall, this is a well written book. I enjoyed it.

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