REVIEW: Sicilian’s Bride for a Price by Tara Pammi

Sicilian’s Bride for a Price by Tara Pammi is a sexy, passionate marriage of convenience romance.

Dante Vittori has worked to build his reputation after his father was jailed for running a ponzi scheme. An executive now with the Matta Steel company, the loss of its founder Neel and son Vikram have left Dante in a precarious position. The only way to retain some ownership is for Dante to marry Vikram’s sister, Alisha and get her voting shares.

Alisha has no interest in Matta Steel or the family whom she was estranged from for the last several years. A childhood crush on Vikram’s friend Dante has all but disappeared – until Dante walks back into her life. She’s spent the last several years pursuing her photography career but is low on funds and having difficulty keeping up her deceased mother’s charity. Dante’s proposal of marriage in return for money is cold but efficient. They’ll both get what they want. But there’s something else between them, a passion that’s blazing to life. Can they get over the past and find a real future as husband and wife?

If there’s a competition for sexiest love scenes in a Harlequin Presents romance I’d nominate this latest one by Ms. Pammi! The steamy scenes between Alisha and Dante as they work through their complicated feelings for each other are heartfelt, emotional, and super sexy. Alisha’s estrangement from her family has to do with how her father was dismissive of her growing up, and also how Dante seemed to take her place as a favored sibling. Dante had never realized the extent to which Alisha’s distance from her family related to how hurt she was over being excluded and his part in that. Much of the story deals with reckoning with the past and how it’s affected them both.

Dante is confident and persuasive but not as arrogant or unfeeling as some of the HP heroes I’ve come across. While he tries to maintain his emotional distance from Alisha and keep his heart from becoming involved, he has a caring side and it manifests itself in how he tries to encourage Alisha’s photography and her career. Alisha is open with her feelings for him once they get past the initial awkward stages of their marriage but Dante is firm that he is closed to emotional commitments. Eventually forced to choose between business or love, he has to work through his own feelings before he’s ready to face the future he really wants. They get their happy ending and it’s well deserved. I enjoyed the drama and passion of this one, the reckoning of past and present and the genuinely likable characters. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable romance.

Book Info:

Publication: Oct 16, 2018 | Harlequin Presents | Conveniently Wed |

She’ll be his wife…

But at what cost?

Billionaire Dante Vittori spent years building his impeccable reputation—no easy feat following his father’s incarceration. To counter a business threat, ruthless Dante must do the unthinkable—get married! Free-spirited heiress Alisha will do anything to save her mother’s charity—even marry the man she hates. But neither expects the intense heat between them! Suddenly the price of their marriage is more than they bargained for…