Confessions of an Italian Marriage is published by M&B Modern and written by Dani Collins. I don’t normally comment on the book jacket picture but this time I will. I loved it. It is so rare to see a Hero in a wheelchair on the front of or in a storyline. As the picture can be the deciding factor in catching a potential reader’s eye as a disabled person I appreciated it as a move forward.
Giovanni is the hero who happens to be an amputee wheelchair user and Freja is his new wife travelled the world with her father and was brought up in North Korea. Giovanni has had to go take his death and go into hiding due to his second career that he hasn’t told Freja about. She decides to flush him out, which she successfully does. He sees how his fake death has affected her and tries to fix the damage he has caused, but is it too late to save their marriage.

I enjoyed how Giovanni’s disabilities were matter of factly dealt with rather than being either the elephant in the room or romantized. I also liked Freja’s childhood storyline, but put together they were almost too much. Both could have been standalone storylines. Nevertheless this is one of my favourite reads and I hope there are more along the same lines incorporating disabled hero/ines without virtue signalling that that is the focus.

I received this book via Netgalley and Mills and Boon in exchange for a honest review. I am a #MillsAndBoonInsider #netgalley #gifted

This book's storyline focuses on Giovanni and Freja.
Their attraction to one another is immediate and truly sensual, however as Giovanni is hiding something, which Freja has become very aware of, it threatens to destroy their marriage.
A heated story full of drama, romance and a uniqueness that has you well and truly engrossed until the very end. This was certainly an enjoyable read.

This was a somewhat strange book for me.
I had difficulty in deciding whether or not I liked it. I certainly didn’t find the ‘hero’ very appealing but I did think that the heroine made the right decision when she decided to flush him out with a large ostentatious engagement intending it to lead to a similar size wedding – if her husband was really dead that is.
Giovanni is the ‘hero’ who died – or did he? Freja was convinced that he didn’t but instead had go into hiding and had left her to manage his estate and businesses as though he was dead. She just didn’t know why and was fed up with being convinced she was still married to a husband who was awol. She elicits the help of Nels – who was gay – but hiding it for his dying grandmother’s sake, and also so Freja would pay off his large debts.
The story begins here and then goes back 6 months to the start of the story when Freja met Giovanni – who just happens to be in a wheelchair as he was an amputee.
He was magnetic and arrogant and so the story goes.
And we get a fairly typical romance.
The style was normal for the trope and the descriptions ditto. So the real difference between this and many other books is the fact that the hero is disabled and then vanishes leaving his wife to fend for herself as he fakes his own death.
Whilst this was a nice fillip to the storyline, there was little else to appeal to me.

This is a sizzling second-chance romance with notable originality. Giovanni is not what he appears to be, and this secret means that Freja and Giovanni's marriage seems doom to fail. Giovanni and Freja's attraction is immediate and sensual but has tragic results. Freja is intelligent, and senses not everything is at it seems, taking action to confirm her suspicions.

The storyline has exciting uniqueness. The conflicted romance keeps you turning the pages, and the ending is worth the angst.

I received a copy of this book from Mills and Boon via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The blurb and the prologue had me intrigued, and the characters were likeable enough, however, I did feel the story perhaps lost it's way a bit by flashing back to when Freya and Giovanni first met and spending half the book revisiting their past relationship before returning to the present to follow up on Giovanni's return. Whilst the premise was good and I enjoyed the story, it could have benefitted by slimming down the flashback chapters and adding some depth into the present day storyline. It's not your typical M&B with undertones of espionage, and this is a big selling point; the prologue alone should have you hooked and wanting to find out more, whilst the characters are entertaining enough to carry the story. Overall, it was enjoyable, but did not grip me which was unfortunate as I really did want to become more invested in Giovanni's return to Freya's life based on the start of the story.

This book has a fantastic opening line that had me totally hooked!
“Hell hath no fury like a woman whose husband faked his own death” started Giovanni and Freja’s story. Their initial meeting and time together was unusual and the details behind the story caught my attention as it’s not something you usually read in a romance novel. I’m not going to say more as I don’t want to spoil the secret
I liked Freja, she has travelled the world with her father and isn’t used to staying in one place for long, she is also independent and very smart but with a knack for doing things that threw Giovanni off balance that made me smile
Giovanni is a deeper and complicated character who has had a difficult past and is very wary of trusting but somehow Freja slips in. He was harder for me to understand because I saw him from Freja’s point of view most often but as the story progressed and I started to see why he did what he did and the explanations he gave made him feel like a real character and someone who I could imagine doing what he does in real life
I liked their relationship, it felt well matched and they were characters I was routing for. I’m not going to lie, some parts did annoy me a bit but they balanced out and I had more that I loved!
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a story with intrigue and drama with so much character depth and surprises

Confessions Of An Italian Marriage has an engrossing and original story line that keeps you hooked. Dani Collin's creates characters you invest in and root for.

I wasn’t sure when I first started to read this book whether I was enjoying it or not, however, I persevered because I usually enjoy Dani Collins and having read all the way through do feel as though this is a good book and would recommend. In my view it addresses difference in that the hero is disabled although fantastically good looking and rich, of course!! With undercover spies, assassination attempts and houses hidden away in mountains this is pure fantasy but very enjoyable.

Really enjoyed this book
I was engrossed from start to finish
Would recommend to others
It has great characters and a brilliant storyline
Would give this book a 5

Another great read by a talented author I really enjoyed reading it and will definitely read more and recommend reading it

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Really enjoyed this
Lots of threads, romance, intrigue, loss, happiness - a real mix with a great HEA

The blurb had me intrigued from the start, a husband who has gone missing and the wife is trying to flush him out by getting remarried sign me up.

Both characters had interesting backstories. Freja went travelling the world with her father from the age of 4 whenever her mother died. Her father wrote books about their travels, during one of their trips he dies and she is held captive with no way out. Eventually she gets rescued and returned to the states.

Our hero Giovanni was in an accident when he was younger that left him an orphan and having to make the decision to amputate his leg or die. He goes on to become a rich man who is also a spy. The reason the romance begins is because he is attempting to find out if she is also an undercover agent/if her father was.

Now I have to say I wanted more from this story, the romance was instant lust and Freja immediately gives up her life to follow Giovanni around after a few days of knowing one another. For me it was entertaining to read but it needed something more that I can't put my finger on.

I received a free copy from the author/publisher through netgalley for an honest review.

An emotional, romantic story of love, espionage, marriage, with great sadness and loss, and also great joy and happiness.

Finding, recognising and admitting to love, amongst trying and highly secretive and dangerous circumstances.

True love, commitment and happiness wins through in this romantic story, with a happy ever after ending.

The story didn't hook me straightaway but I perservered and it soon picked up pace.

This is not your typical M&B romance at all. In fact I felt like I was reading a contemporary romance rather than an all hearts and flowers M&B.

Giovanni had to have both legs amputated after an accident that killed his whole family. He then found out they were murdered and then fell into an undercover role. When he meets Freja, he is suspicious that she might not be what she says she is!

They meet and on their first date, she sleeps with him even though she's a virgin. They have a whirlwind week and Giovanni finds himself been intrigued by Freja but also not wanting to give her up so he invites her abroad with him for work.

The book starts in the present, then goes back 6 months to how they met then back to the present. Although we don't see them marry or see everything that happened between the end of the 'past' section we have to rely on telling rather than showing but that's possibly because M&B books are not very long. However, it didn't detract from the storyline.

In the second part when they are reunited, Giovanni is a softer version of himself but desperate for Freja to give them another chance. I liked this version of Giovanni and Freja didn't bend over backwards. She made Giovanni work for it!

I enjoyed this book, it was a refreshing change from the normal M&B type romance.

I was also intrigued by Everett who Giovanni works with. I hope the author writes his story?

I really enjoyed this story. Freja and Giovanni are not the usual Mills and Boon characters and the story is unusual and fascinating.

Giovanni is a paraplegic after a crash that killed his parents and brother but he is successful, rich, sexy, and fascinating. The author does not shy away from tackling his disability and its effects on his life. .

The description of their 4-day encounter in New York is seriously hot and I loved the way Giovanni looked after Freja. The backstory for both is interesting (albeit somewhat strange) and explains the obstacels they face to their happy ending.