THE RELUCTANT WIFE by Bronwen Evans

The Reluctant Wife by Bronwen Evans
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

NetGalley free read...

It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good. I can say I didn't hate reading it. But it felt incomplete in a way, a bit jumbled. Example is when Abby first goes to the Villa in order to ask Dante for the money for her grandmother. She internally says she will guard her heart against him. Of course before she even sees him she starts to waver. She's immediately jealous when she finally does see him only to have him wrapped around a woman, who turns out to be his best friend and a lesbian. But I digress.

Soon after this initial meeting and Dantes negotiation attempts, she goes from, "I can do this for my grandmother," to "I can make him love me." Where's the hardship? How can she be so blind that a man who would pick her out of all the women he could have, because as she says, he commands attention just walking down the street, that he doesn't care for her.

I don't get the back and forth. First she says he has to giver her time, then less than a day later, she's sleeping with him. Then he's trying to give her space but this is when she's all in love again. I just couldn't keep up with their inner workings.

The author also seems to jump around without explanation. It's not terrible, there's just no break in the book like a line or something to show that we are on to a new topic. Example is where they talk about going on a honeymoon, the next line they are there. There are other times this happens.

I also wasn't happy with Dante's response to Abby's medical issues. I knew right away from reading the description of the book that she would have issue conceiving. I think it should be more of a surprise. But that being said, he conned her into staying married to him without knowing his medical history and that he could potentially get sick and die at an early age. The fact that Abby wanted to wait until after her procedure should have been taken into consideration. But I guess being an Alpha, macho, Italian man precluded him from having a conscience. It was okay for him to keep secrets and not her. And to be that young and hear that news has to be devastating. But he couldn't think about that until it was too late.

Not terrible, just not for me.

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