The Italian's Future Bride (Modern Romance) [Paperback]

This is a very intriguing story by Michelle Reid another of my favorite M&B authors. Our heroine - Rachel Carmichael's half sister Elise Castle is in trouble. She is an ex- model who is married to a very rich and powerful Greek, Leo Savakis. Feeling neglected by her globe trotting and high powered attorney husband, she began to mope around the house depressed and feeling neglected. Her concerned half sister Rachel who left her organic farm in Devon to come to London and cheer her up advised her to go out with a few of her modeling friends from the good old days to get her back to her old self. What Rachel did not know was that Elise met a gorgeous Italian tycoon by the name of Rafaelle Villani (our hero) and was going out on dates with him as `Rachel Carmichael'. Enter the paparazzi who have sent a picture to Leo Savakis of his wife cozying up with the rich Italian. Leo confronts his wife Elise and Elise denies it flat out, sighting that the woman in the picture could be anyone including her half sister Rachel. This was helped by the fact the long lensed pictures taken by the paparazzi were fuzzy, so Leo decides to drop the subject. So what is the problem, a new twist -Elise is pregnant and if Leo thinks for one second that the child was not his or that Elise was having an affair all hell will break loose. So what to do now, meet Mark Castle the twin brother of Elise Castle who is a photographer for one of the tabloids, between the three of them (Elise, Mark and Rachel), they cook up a plan to extricate any lingering doubts in Leo's mind about the woman in the picture. The plan is simple - Rachel (dressed as Elsie) will attend the charity gala with Mark and get snapped from behind kissing the dashing Italian Rafaelle Villani, while Elise and her little son are sent off to Chicago to join her husband. Simple - when the pictures hit the tabloid in a day or two, Leo will have no doubt that the woman in the picture is not Elise, how can it be, she could not have been in London and Chicago at the same time.
Spurned at the party by Rafaelle when she tried to seek his cooperation with the deception, an Angry Rachel had no quibble about carrying out the original plan. She got her kiss and picture but was not fast enough in the get away plan. Rafaelle smelt a rat the minute the flash bulbs hit him, and he grabbed Rachel and headed for his limo. But the ruse worked as many of the paparazzi mistook her for Elise from behind .Chased by the paparazzi; he drove her `kicking and screaming' to his penthouse apartment because he wanted answers. At the penthouse, he got to hear the whole sordid story of why he was being set up. Rachel blamed him for dating her half sister because he should have known from her name who she was and that she was married. But Rafaelle felt he had done no wrong because the woman he was dating gave her name as `Rachel Carmichael'. Rachel pleaded with him to go along with the deception for the greater good of saving her sister's marriage. Rafaelle had two options throw her to the wolves or go along with the pretense. Rafaelle bundled her back down to confront the paparazzi outside his penthouse. He turned the tables on her by explaining to the press that the woman in his arms is not Elise Castle as they had thought but her step-sister Rachel Carmichael, his fiancé. As far as Rafaelle was concerned, if he was going to lose his freedom so was Rachel. Rachel's plan to go back to Devon and resume her life was turned on its head. For the foreseeable future she has to stay with Rafaelle and live out their fake engagement.
This is a heroine with plenty of back bone and didn't just allow Rafaelle to walk all over her. After all the real Rachel is a `plain Jane' country farmer who does not wear designer gear and make up, how will Rafaelle deal with that once she's stripped of all the fake Elsie look alike façade?
More twists and turns, more intrigue. Rafaelle rises up to the challenge of getting to know the real Rachel and falling in love with her. His vulnerability at discovering that he could lose her to a younger Italian man (who broke her heart previously) makes for a great romantic tale. This is a good read. I recommend.

What can I say? Another great book from Michelle Reid.

She is one of my all time favourite M & B writers.

This is definitely a keeper, and will be picked up and re-read many times over the next few years!! (I have already read it three times since it came out.)

Just one last thing: A plea to Michelle?? PLEASE, PLEASE, can you write another SHEIKH book?

Best wishes, Karen

One of my all time favourites from Michelle Reid. Fab love scenes that really draw you in. The story's got powerful conversations between Rachel and Raffael that made me laugh out, feel all tight inside and really sink into the story. Would very much recommend it to anyone who likes to sigh over deep emotions and doesn't mind hot steamy love scenes! Anyone who likes this would probably enjoy The Ranieri Bride, Marriage in the rebound and The De Santis Marriage also.