5 stars
The Valquez Seduction by Melanie Milburne
Harlequin Presents
Published November 2014
Book 2 of Melanie Milburne's Valquez brothers brothers...
Daisy Wyndham is a wealthy well to do young English girl who is so smothered by her father it's a miracle she can even breathe! Desperately trying to have a week away away from being under his thumb she escapes her bodyguard and goes clubbing with her friends on the Vegas strip.
Luiz Valquez, younger brother to Alejandro - besides being known for his first class Polo skills he was also know for his first class playboy status. Love em for a good time - not a long time! The Valquez Seduction - what a fun and flirty story, full of witty conversation which made me chuckle, yet somehow Melanie Milburne so cleverly entwined it with the traditional features of what I love about Modern Presents - gorgeous alpha males who act like a bear with a sore head, gorgeous and exotic settings that I'll only ever visit in my imagination, drama,passion, penthouses and unlimited riches beyond imagination.
Set mainly in Las Vegas, Daisy and Luiz are described perfectly by the book blurb - "Luiz is doing his best to be good and Daisy is trying her hardest to be bad..." Daisy an innocent school teacher who has had enough of being constantly smothered by her overprotective mob-connected father. She is the victim of a drink spiking while out clubbing with her girlfriends. She's rescued by the drop dead gorgeous Argentinian professional polo playing and world renowned playboy - Luiz. Waking up Luiz's gorgeous penthouse suite on the Strip, she just wants to die when he recalls her drug induced attempt at stripping and lap-dancing in an effort to seduce him.
An ambush by the press causes all kinds of havoc which force Luiz and Daisy to pretend to the world they're in love. With the chemistry sparks flying off the chart there's not much pretending going on with either party and Daisy throws all caution to the wind (thus becoming the hero of curvy girls worldwide) and goes about seducing Luiz in an innocently endearing way that can only be refreshing after all the garish girls Luiz usually looks twice at.
Luiz can't understand how Daisy is getting under his skin. He's been threatened by her mob-connected father to stay well away from Daisy and he tries but Daisy has this un-explainable ability to drive him insane in more ways than one and the second he throws caution to the wind - it's all on.
Daisy reminds me of the inner girl we'd all love to be should we ever have the chance to meet Luiz in real life - it was like she let every inhibition and insecurity go and thought bugger it! Daisy represented every girl out there who wants to step outside of their boxed life and just go.for.it! I loved that Daisy wasn't size 0, and could laugh at herself and boldy went where I would never be brave enough to go - should I ever meet a Luiz!
Luiz is her opposite in every way. The Danny to Sandy if you will. Daisy challenges him in both mind body and spirit and wonders more than once how they will have a clean cut end to their mutual arrangement of spending a month together when he can barely think straigh in her presence.
I really really loved Luiz, he was more than just a gorgeous character, he had soul. He was a bit of a bear but his good qualities shone through, no matter how much he tried to hide them.
I read the Valquez Seduction in one sitting, what was supposed to be a quick glance at the first page - before I knew it, I was closing in on the end pages. A fun and flirty story as mentioned earlier yet cleverly mixed with the drama and passion of a Harlequin Presents. A gorgeous hero and all curvy girls hero worldwide - Daisy, as sharp and bright and fun as her name suggests.
I was honored to receive an ARC for my honest opinion, I can honestly say The Valquez Seduction is why I love Melanie Milburne so much!
Reviewed by Desere
Have you ever read a book from start to finish, closed it off and just sat there as ever so slowly you try and reenter the world of the living? Taking deep breaths doesn't help, staring at the cover only let's you fall deeper back into the book, and staring at the space around you only makes you want to crawl back inside the world the author created , thus you are so completely trapped it will take you months to reenter the world of real people again.
This my dear reading friends is what happened to me when I completed the new read from Melanie Milburne. I felt a variety of emotions bouncing around, it ranged from heart aching sadness for the hurt the characters had to go through, to an all time high of joy as it was brought together in true spectacular Melanie Milburne fashion.
The read tells of innocent schoolteacher, Daisy Wyndham, standing outside a Las Vegas nightclub she has never felt more out of her depth, and that was before I do more than play the game on the field Argentinian polo player, Luiz Valquez comes to her rescue in front of the press. This rescue however leads to reports of their engagement and soon they strike a deal. It's a dangerous charade but it's one they're both prepared to play. And when it ends they will both have what they want, Luiz 's playboy image will be gone and Daisy will cast aside her cloistered upbringing. But with Luiz doing his very best to be good and Daisy trying her damnedest to be bad, and I do mean very bad it's only a matter of time before one of them gives in. But which one will walk away from the deal first, when it comes to saying I love you?
Now as mentioned this read had me completely just sitting there and staring into space as I tried to come back down to earth and process the various emotions, it has happened to me before but it has never been this intense! I felt like crying because the book had ended and I felt as if I had just lost apart of my soul, and quite frankly I doubt it will ever be found again.
The character of Luiz was intense, and I mean seriously intense. He goes from playboy to complete sweetheart in mere seconds at various times in the read, yes it does sound a little like those types of men that send mixed signals and you can never really figure them out, but it was not the case. It was more of a " this is me, sinfully sexy Luiz, playboy extraordinaire, but only to the outside world, when I am with Daisy I am the real me". It did drive me a little nuts, because I wanted the whole world to see the real him and not just Daisy, but him slotting into place the mask did get me thinking that it's what most likely all of us do at some stage in our lives. We want to be seen as something merely to protect ourselves but deep down there is always someone that is able to get us to bring out the real us. But it never really protects us against anything, it only shows us in a light of uncertainly and most of the time makes us unapproachable to the rest of the world, and let's face it that doesn't sound very much fun. So why? Letting the true you shine out to the world will in the long run ensure that no one is uncertain of you or your actions, step up and step out it's what the world wants.
The character of Daisy was all kinds of sweet, she's a teacher after all. What I enjoyed most about her was her shed the innocence mission. Naturally her innocence showed her as this crisp clean wholesome lady, but her eagerness to get out there and shed the innocence was what made her character fun to read. I am not saying all innocent woman need to go out there and find a hot guy to get down and dirty with, simply to say they'v e made the transition from good to bad, but just letting go a little of the reins will teach you that there is more to life then always obeying the rules, from parents to the press, no matter rules are meant to be our own. Keeping to the rules of others will only make you dull, and what will you end up with? Sadness and not feeling for-fulled at all.
I am taking away a beautiful message of life is meant to be lived as much as possible. Hiding behind rules and masks is not the way to get out there and find your happiness, romantically or otherwise. It's shedding the masks and telling the rules " See you on the other side!"
I highly recommend this read was all fans who love to escape into a world of romance and passion. Melanie Milburne is one of the top selling authors of our time and has always managed to climb inside the hearts of her readers, but with this read she has proven she can capture your soul! A beautiful, stunning, remarkable, captivating, unforgettable read.
5/5 star review
"From temporary down and dirty to permanent bliss"
