Nicolo: The Powerful Sicilian (Mills & Boon Modern ) [Paperback]

After the high octane ride of Falco's story I waited with bated breath to see what Sandra Marton will come up with next. Alas the long awaited story on the last of the Orsini brothers, Nicolo was predictable to some extent, somewhat tame in places but an enjoyable read nonetheless. If you have followed the series you would know that each brother was sent for by their old man despite their protestation that they did not want to have anything o do with him, then he sent each on a mission in which they meet a woman (the mission was not always what it seemed) and they fall head over heels in love, and then there is the period of miscommunication and tension between the couple before they realize they are in love and can't live without each other and then we get the big Orsini wedding at the Church near their parent's home. This was formulaic in that it followed the same pattern with a little twist.

Nicolo is a finance and investment expert with the Orsini Bank, a successful investment bank owned by all four brothers. Cesare Orsini, his father requested that he go to Tuscany on his behalf to review an investment offer from a vineyard owned by Prince Antoninni. Nicolo was not so easily swayed to do Cesare a favour until the old man told him that he was doing this for their mother. All four brother s will do anything for their mama. So Nicolo accepted the papers and took off to Tuscany.

Prince Antoninni was a royal rat who had run his family's business to the ground. He blackmailed his daughter Alessia to host `Cesare Orsini' and show him round the vineyard as well as convince him to invest in the business, in exchange her mother; his wife will remain in a posh private Sanatorium. Alessia was expecting Cesare Orsini and knew what the Orsini name stood for; she judged and tarred Nicolo with the same brush as she did his old man. She was filled with disdain and felt that her royal reputation and class will be tainted by contact with the `Sicilian thug', a `barbarian' not worthy to breathe the same air as she did. She cringed at the thought of what she had agreed to do,- to `host an Orsini' and she comforted herself in knowing that the deal was only for 48hrs and she would be free to go back to her life and her job.

Sparks flew when they met even before they were introduced. Alessia did not mince words in letting Nicolo know what she thought of the Orsini's and their likes. Nicolo couldn't stand people who put others down or look down on them as if they were slime. He certainly could not stomach a spoilt aristocrat who had come begging 'cap in hand' to the Orisinis for their money insulting the Orsinis at the same time. He thought she was cold, spoilt and haughty. However his mantra and response `you insult one Orsini you insult us all' caused him to think deeply and a sense of pride, protection, and honor welled up within him in defense of his family. Nicolo knew he could be a powerful adversary if the need arose, so he decided to teach the princess a lesson. The first change of plan was that he would be the investor in the vineyard and if the Antoninni's could not provide him with the answers he sought there would be no investment. The second was that he would accept their hospitality as previously planned and the princess would be his hostess, show him around and be at his beck and call 24/7 for 2 weeks instead of the planned 2 days. Princess Alessia did not like this but what choice did she have, if she wanted the best for her mother. Her actions and plots to humiliate him not only backfired but had the executives of the vineyard eating out of Nicolo's hand as he was not only a master in his field but a connoisseur of art and culture, and could hold his own with the royals and bourgeoisie. Their dislike of each other was not helped by the incredible attraction between them. This was a big weapon for Nicolo, as he found himself kissing her at every turn, while the princess denied it and denigrated him, her body spoke a different language and it was only a matter of time before they fell into bed.

These are two well matched characters; - an adorable hero who was a kind, humane gentleman, but at the same time a powerful adversary when the need arose; and a heroine who underneath the veneer of her spoilt princess persona hid a heart of gold and was not spoilt at all, rather a hardworking woman. She came across as haughty in the beginning but as the story unfolded and with the help of cupid's arrow taming her, the adorable Principessa lurking behind all the royal condescension and arrogance disappeared and in its place was a warm, caring woman. Nicolo saw that and decided to explore what lay between them. What was to be a few days trip became several weeks of passionate affair until the unthinkable happened in the form of a nine month notice. Where do they go from here? Quite a dramatic ending to it, did I say it was tame? No the novel picks up tempo and will leave you turning the pages with avid interest to see what happens next. It is interesting to note that in the end rather than the Orsini brothers we saw more of their two sisters and this tells me that we have not heard the last of the Orisini's. Well done to SM for another well written family mini-series. I have enjoyed all four books and look forward to her next release.

The other three readers already provided an indepth review so i will let you know how i felt. I love this type of story line - strong alpha male defiant female with uncontrollable feelings of sexual attraction for one anotherwhich eventually leads to love. The dinner party was a fantastic build up to the ultimate joining of two people. Well done SM.

This is Sandra's final book in The Orsini Brothers series and the most disappointing. The first two were WOW FANTASTIC, the third was good, this one was blah. I really feel let down by Sandra. She dropped the ball with this one in several places.

Started out okay, but what really got me was Nicolo on his wedding night thinking he was going to have sex with his wife no matter what. Granted he didn't go through with it, but I didn't like that he even thought it.

The two Orsini Sisters were more present in this book and I didn't find them as they were previously from the first two books. Didn't make me want to read their stories, which Sandra is writing.

This was a roller coaster read and not in a good way. First it was good, then it was blah, then I was happy again, then I was disappointed. I still like Sandra, but this was not her finest effort. As I read, I wondered what her editor had thought. I guess s/he liked it because it got published, but really? *shaking head*