REVIEW: His Enemy’s Italian Surrender by Sharon Kendrick

In His Enemy’s Italian Surrender by Sharon Kendrick, Romano Castelliari can’t believe his bad luck when Kelly Butler shows up on his doorstep half drowned by the storm raging around his castello. The storm has delayed the baptism of his niece and now the two of them are stuck alone for the night. But forced to make conversation, he starts to have an inkling that maybe Kelly isn’t the careless party girl that he had always believed her to be.

Kelly for her part isn’t thrilled either. She is almost completely out of money and just wants to meet her best friend’s daughter/her goddaughter and then get back to the UK to sort her situation out. If only she hadn’t admitted her financial concerns to her friend, who suggests to controlling Romano that Kelly work for him for 10 days to make enough money to tide her over.

This could have worked out okay… except that Kelly and Romano cannot seem to keep their hands off one another…

This Presents is written by a long time author of the line and had a wonderfully old school romance feel. The book was very atmospheric and pulled me right in. The time at the castello was my favorite and while I still would have liked some more description of the setting, the vibes came through much stronger than some of the other Presents I’ve read recently.

The internal conflict keeping the two apart was done well. Romano is mistrustful of women after an early life experience with his mother left damaging scars. (On that note, please check content warnings as this is a REALLY dark backstory.) Kelly’s dad left her mom when her mom found out she was pregnant, leaving her with an equally deep mistrust of men. Romano’s controlling nature only adds to this mistrust, however, and Kelly prepares herself to never be more than a passing plaything.

However, this is where things toe a line that I’m still not entirely sure I’m comfortable with. Being controlling is a good, strong flaw to have to overcome. But I never felt like I saw this go away. I would have liked to have seen a progression of self awareness or self reflection throughout the book rather than at a somewhat lackluster grand gesture moment. This is the kind of flaw that can only be rectified by the hero being completely broken and reborn for the heroine. Coming to the heroine’s sad apartment to simply say sorry just isn’t going to cut it.

The relationship between the two was really more based on lust than love as well. I have absolutely no objections to a spicy romance. But I would have liked more conversations and nice moments together. There just wasn’t quite enough there for me to believe in them. These books are written for escapism, yes. But they are also a reassurance that two people can become a partnership by becoming better for the other person. These relationships aren’t something that can be saved by billions of dollars (please, Harlequin – no more billionaires! They cause more problems than fix them these days!) and they’re not something that can be saved simply by an intense physical relationship (that’s more of a bonus). I want to see heroines who push all the way back. I want the men to have to work for it. I want them to have to become a team. We got a lovely framework for this in this book, but it just didn’t follow through on the delivery.

If you enjoy an enemies to lovers romance with a strong old school vibe, solid descriptive writing, and strong internal conflict then this is one to pick up and slip into.

Book Info:

Publication: February 25, 2025 | Harlequin Presents |

His Enemy’s Italian Surrender is an enemies to lovers, forced proximity, Italian billionaire romance by USA TODAY bestselling author Sharon Kendrick.

There’s a fine line…
between hate and hunger!

When a raging storm strands Kelly Butler in the remote Tuscan castello of arrogant billionaire Romano Castelliari, it’s a nightmare. Each and every glare from her best friend’s brother and the subject of her youthful infatuation makes taunting desire lick at her body and soul…

Romano’s childhood taught him to ruthlessly suppress any threat to his self-discipline. So, the way Kelly gets under his skin is unacceptable. But upon discovering her innocence, his burning dislike turns to scorching need. And the only way of regaining control is his enemy’s passionate surrender!