Reviewed by Desere
All most any woman who has a sister or sisters will tell you that even though you argue sometimes even to the point of hitting each other, yes it does happen, yet you always remain friends and you will always be there for each other. Sisterhood is a bond that simply cannot be broken.
In the new Maisey Yates read this is proven by the character Leah. It is her sister's wedding day, a day everyone should be happy and ready to drop in and help the bride with any crisis she may encounter, but standing in for her as the actual bride is pushing it.
Yet this is exactly what Leah does, telling herself it is simply for the sake of her family business and to ensure her own company does not go down, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the groom is all dark and sweet Ajax, that she has been in love with since forever!
But once she marries him, she finds there is so much more to the man behind the mask then she ever thought, and getting him to release that mask and show the real him that lurks inside is a backup plan she has to play by feeling and not by instinct, afterall look what instinct reactions got her, married to a man she never really knew!
The character of Leah was not your typical Harlequin Presents heroine, yes she is fun, feisty, always ready to fight, yes the kind I simply adore! But where other heroines from this line are the kind to be described as if they are supermodel thin, Leah is curved and totally owns it, when she can. I liked that the author lets Leah have a issue with the little bit of extra weight but also lets her hit a low here and there with it all, it made her more realistic to me as reader. The fact that she owns a candy shop was a little bit of a "And you feel self conscious over your weight at times" moment for me, but I also found it to again feel very realistic and brought the read closer to real life. Nicely incorporated Maisey!
The character of Ajax, was in the start one that I thought was going to be one of those yummy, delicious, sweeter than candy hero's and guess what, I was not disappointed , I got that and a whole more! The author has written some pretty dark hero's before and yes some of their actions have touched base with the dangerous Mr. Grey, but this time the author delved deeper into the dom/sub world and the hero was so much more than just dark, the man was so dark he was darn right scary at times, but oh so very hot!Yes, the kind where you forget you're a lady and simply say " Come here let me take off your pants".
But if you are thinking that it is sounds more like a erotica, then you need to remember is that Harlequin Presents reads are known to be very hot and spicy but also keep it very nicely compressed into a sweet and sensual little bubble, perfect reading material for those of us that prefer 'love is forever and not to un-vanilla me completely 'reading fans, and that this read will not quite go that way.
Instead this read hit all of the high's and low's with sweet and sensual romance touching base with erotica but not full on, just enough to maybe wet your appetite to go looking for a real erotic read if you have never read one, and enough to let you know this is going to be awesome, bring on the deep, dark hidden emotions!
The read was full of tension right till the very end, really left me feeling as is if I was not reading a Harlequin Presents, because it simply felt as if that sweet, kind (and what Harlequin Presents are know for) moment is not going to come and this is a ending I will surly not like, however the author did not disappoint, and I will advise when reading this book that you repeat the mantra " Keep going the best part is coming".
I am taking away a message of sometimes masked are indeed needed, but they can ultimately cost you dearly. When the right person comes along you need to find the courage to drop the mask and look deeper for your answer of happiness lies in the eyes of the person looking back at you with pure, un-judgemental love.
The secondary characters of Leah's runaway sister and the "love of her life" Alexios, was incorporated into the story just enough to make you know, that when the author sets that one loose on the world you will be first in line to grab a copy.
A hot page-turner of a read! I highly recommend this read for all romance fans that love a good old fashioned brideswap story but with the added bonus of a so not expected hero.
5/5 star review
" A ring is not the only thing that he will be binding her with"
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Reviewed by Nas
HIS RING IS NOT ENOUGH by Maisey Yates is a Harlequin Presents release for September 2013.
At long last Leah Holt had a chance to do something out of her famous sister's shadow. To be a stand in bride for her sister when the latter did a runner on the day of her wedding to business tycoon Ajax Kouros.
But would it be enough for Leah just being his wife? She wanted his heart too! Read this brilliant romance to find out how Leah manages to get Ajax's, the person with no heart, heart.
HIS RING IS NOT ENOUGH is a sensual and emotional tale shimmering with breath taking romance. There are many complexities to the hero and heroine's character which makes reading this story amazing.
Highly recommended for all lovers of romance.
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Review by TashNz
4.5 stars
WOW! What a story! So many great aspects of this story I'm not sure where to start.
The opening chapter is brilliant, Leah's sister has left her groom waiting at the alter. Leah suggests she step in and marry the groom, Ajax, because it was for business purposes anyway, it means that she gets to keep her business and Ajax gets to take over as CEO as agreed between him and Leah's father who's retiring. As the first daughter married it means if Leah marries Ajax then the enemy who Leah's sister has runaway with wont inherit the business empire if they marry. I did a little research and am so so so pleased to read Leah's sister will get her story next year (can.not.wait)
As soon as the ring's on the finger you learn that all is not as it seems with Ajax, he's not the perfect man Leah has spent her childhood running around after, his past has truly haunted him and he refuses to lose control ever ever ever again. Leah's not having it tho, she knows what she wants and goes after it full throttle, determined theirs will be a marriage in every possible way it can be. Ajax is as dark as night to Leah's light as day which makes for many interesting interactions for the two.
Maisey Yates is now an Auto Buy for me. The more of her stories I read the more I'm left with the WOW feeling when I reach the last page. I want to heap praise on Maisey for this story because she has changed up almost every mould there is for a Harlequin Presents story. In NZ the Presents line is called Sexy. If you want to heat things up even more you read a "Blaze". His Ring is Not Enough is a brilliant mix of the two. Maisey deserves praise because she has taken the marriage for business scenario and changed it up in so many brilliant unique ways it's original. I'm not really going to elaborate on what precisely is original because it'll spoil the plot. You'll know what I mean when you read it.
HRINE is for you if you love dark tortured heroes and enjoy the heroine kicking butt, knows what she wants and will try everything no matter how many times the answer is no. Heroine's that don't give up or play by the rules. It's pretty intense in the bedroom and would be right at home in a Blaze line. This story breaks almost every Presents mould and has a very original back story and original approaches by the lead characters. Even as I write this i'm still thinking WOW! And as I said before I can.not.wait for Leah's sister's story next year.
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Reviewed by Nancy Crocker
Maisey Yates hits it out of the ballpark
with this brilliant novel.
Leah Holt has no problem stepping in for her sister, after she does a runner on her wedding day, after all she has
secretly been in love with Ajax for years. So marrying him should not be an
issue. She also has other reasons for marrying
him, seems she might lose the business she has built on her own and that just
cannot happen. I loved the character of Leah, she was independent, strong even
though she was tormented for not being as good looking as her sister. But she
loved with her whole heart.
At first I really didn’t care for the character of
Ajax Kouros. He had a few too many hurtful things that he said to Leah. But I
cannot stress enough to readers to stay the course and finish this amazing
read. He agrees to marry Leah but to save everything he has worked hard to make
his. And he feels his heart belonged to Leah’s sister “Rachel” who jilted him.
Ajax came from a VERY dark background, and he has kept his pass to himself. And
Leah will help bring his darkness to light, and help him see what is right in
front of his eyes.
The passion in this book leans towards the erotic
side, with hands being tied. To me the reader, it was written in very good
taste and had me craving more. Another nice part had to do with some candy.
One
of my favorite passages :
“Love,”
she said, looking up at him. “You want it to look like love. You want me to
gaze at you in adoration so no one doubts my happiness or your penis size – I
got it.”
5/5 stars
I received a copy from the Author in exchange for
an honest review.
