Acquired Book By: I’ve been hosting for Prism Book Tours since September of 2017 – having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. As I enquired about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors when I’m not showcasing book reviews on behalf of Harlequin Heartwarming which has become my second favourite imprint of Harlequin next to my beloved #LoveINSPIRED Suspense. I am also keenly happy PRISM hosts a variety of Indie Authors and INSPY Fiction novelists.
I received a complimentary copy of “Carrying the Greek Tycoon’s Baby” direct from the author Jennifer Faye in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I enjoy reading Romance selections by Ms Faye:
I honestly enjoy how Ms Faye sets up her characters to find each other – how they seemingly are not meant to be involved but then, there is a door which opens to allow it. She finds ways to let them present themselves in the muddling glow of their lives – here we have two persons who are dearly known in the public eye but their facing hurdles that no one would want for themselves. From the details of how the death of Noemi’s parents is affecting her centre of gravity to the fact Max isn’t ready to yield to his younger brother’s right to ascend ahead of him to the throne – these two are subjected to the harsher realities of their lives but without the blessing of being anonymous. Their world is painted in cameras and newsfeeds – where everything they do is photographed and archived. You have to wonder how anyone can survive that kind of finite attention after awhile and Faye does a good job of setting up how this hangs on the heart of her characters.
I felt the lead-up to the inevitable was done rather well – you have to get two people to find traction with each other and the best way to do that is to find a way to separate and isolate them from others. Faye took a stolen moment outside of the party to show us how desire and a curiosity about each other lead Max and Noemi to contemplate coupling even if neither of them went to the party to see out someone else. It was the foundation of the story but also a clever glimpse into who they were and how they strove to keep their own lives private from each other.
The kind of regret and remorse Faye knits into the heart of Noemi was touching – she hadn’t wanted to agree to the terms of her encounter with Max but they each went their own ways all the same. You immediately feel for her due to her personal losses within her own family but this was a complication of a different kind. Where you wanted to reach out to someone who needed to know something important but then, couldn’t sort out how to contact them due to mutually agreed upon anonymity. Talk about frustrating!
Max was dealt a hard hand in life to sort through – he had battled through a serious illness in his younger years and had survived but his survival was anchoured to a reality he wasn’t prepared to accept. One of the side effects of his illness was the prospect of not being able to enter fatherhood and this weighed on his mind more than most as due to his nature as a bloke groomed from childhood to succeed his own father in the responsibilities of their country, he news did not sit well with Max. Realising his limitations due to the rites of ascension, Max was what you would consider a floundering wanderer – a lost soul who couldn’t sort out his passions nor his life whilst he moved round the world seeking one thrill after another. He lacked vision and he hadn’t a whit of knowledge towards what interested him most but he was striving to change that – if only he could see how he could move forward without the kind of resentment which alights when your moving against what you feel is your own predestined future.
For Noemi, the hardest part of reading her story was realising she was shouldering everything alone. Even with Max, as he was one half the son of his parents and influenced by their counsel over the years – even he was not as sympathetic to Noemi as you would have preferred. Trust is a big hurdle they face in the story, as much as Noemi has trouble sorting things out whilst she has to work through a change in status which would affect her own future as much as Max. I am unsure why the details of her parents death was still withheld – as when she finally told Max about them, I thought for sure the revelation was going to come forward but it did not.
Both of these characters are reserved and private in their own ways – they like to hold important details close to their hearts and I suppose in that way, this is why we hadn’t known the fuller details of how her parents died. Their death did re-shape Noemi as much as the illness re-shaped Max – they were each altered through circumstances whether they realised it or not. What they had in common was their sincere attraction and respect for each other; at least when they were not testing each others will of tolerance. They had their issues to work out but for the most part they were simply two people who understand each other at first meeting. If only the rest of their days after that encounter could have gone a bit easier for them, I think they might have realised more truths about themselves a bit sooner!
-quoted from my review of Heiress’s Royal Baby Bombshell
This marks my fourth story by Harlequin Romance I’ve read by Ms Faye – the first two were part of a duology series where she re-spun classical fairy tales and inserted us into realistic Contemporary settings where the fairy tale aesthetic was uniquely used to tell a compelling romantic tale! I truly admired how she instinctively made each ‘origin story’ her own and kept enough of the ‘classic’ tale inclusive to where you could ‘see the past’ but felt comfortable embracing her ‘future’ of breathing in a new life to the older tales. The third story I read was actually a second in a series called the Cattaneos’ Christmas Miracles whilst this fourth one is happily launching a new series set around the Greek Islands!
The reason this particular story appealled to me is because I knew I was going to be reading a lot of heavier dramas in March and I wanted to switch things up a bit to lighten the load. Sometimes I prefer to read lighter romances within Harlequin imprints (ie. Love Inspired Suspense, Harlequin Heartwarming and their Romance line) as they are a cosy comfort when your consistently pick out Historical dramas and stories rooted out of the living legacies of person’s who once lived in the past. We all need a bit of ‘light’ in our readerly lives – where we can soak into a lovely romance as easily as we can turn on Hallmark Channel!
Meanwhile, I watched the first episode of Lindsay Lohan’s new series where she’s taking over a Greek island herself – launching her new endeavours as a boutique travel destination – whilst giving all of us a large dose of reality in the process. Concurrent to seeing that evolve a bit out of control due to her staff choices, I rather enjoyed an unexpected episode of Who Do You Think You Are? where I had the pleasure of tagging along with John Stamos to Greece! I learnt quite a bit about Greece and how sometimes you really do inherit when you aren’t expecting, too! Stamos learnt he had a house in Greece and a whole town full of his extended relatives! It was a soul lift of an episode and I loved seeing him travelling through Greece, where people knew him by sight and name and how he was discovering the roots of his family in a way he never felt possible.
Combine all of this with the fact I used to have a good friend who lived in Greece, the country has held a charm of interest in me for quite a number of years. Getting the chance to re-see the country and the setting through Ms Faye’s pen and eye for romance felt like a wicked good choice!
Carrying the Greek Tycoon's Baby
Subtitle: Greek Island Brides
by Jennifer Faye
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours
From one night… To nine months!
In this Greek Island Brides story, for jaded tycoon Xander Marinakos, renowned wedding destination Infinity Island is just another opportunity to expand his empire. Until he’s captivated by its beautiful owner, Lea Romes… When their one night together has unexpected consequences, Xander must negotiate the deal of a lifetime, and put his guarded heart on the table to convince independent Lea they can be a family…for infinity!
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 978-1335499264
Also by this author: Beauty and Her Boss, Miss White and the Seventh Heir, Heiress's Royal Baby Bombshell, Claiming the Drakos Heir, Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring (Spotlight), Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring , Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise, The Prince and the Wedding Planner, Christmas in Bayberry, Love Blooms
Also in this series: Claiming the Drakos Heir, Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring (Spotlight), Wearing the Greek Millionaire's Ring
Published by Harlequin Books
on 5th March, 2019
Format: Larger Print (Mass Market Paperback)
Pages: 256
Published by: Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks)
Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback
Greek Island Brides | Finding love that lasts to infinity!
All marriages that take place on renowned wedding destination Infinity Island are guaranteed to last forever!
And the picturesque Greek island is about to weave its magic for friends Lea, Popi and Stasia. They dream of finding their own happy-ever-afters… And they’re about to meet three billionaires who will sweep them off their feet—and down the aisle!
Follow Lea’s journey from surprise pregnancy to dream proposal in
Carrying the Greek Tycoon’s Baby
Carrying the Greek Tycoon’s Baby (book one) | Lea’s story
Claiming the Drakos Heir (book two) | Popi’s story → forthcoming June, 2019!
The rebel bachelor is back… To claim her baby!
In this Greek Island Brides story, pregnant surrogate Popi Costas is faced with raising her late sister’s child alone, until the baby’s wealthy uncle arrives to take charge! Apollo Drakos is distractingly handsome, but Popi won’t let that stop her from fighting to keep the baby. Yet as she gets to know the man behind the wild card reputation, Popi’s reconsidering welcoming Apollo into her new little family…
Wearing the Greek Millonaire’s Ring (book three) | Stasia’s story
→ forthcoming September, 2019
Converse via: #Contemporary #Romance & #Harlequin
my review of carrying the greek tycoon’s baby:
You will find yourself smirking when you first meet Lea and Xander – mostly because he’s a bit presumptive in his business dealings and she is happily a bit reserved. Lea doesn’t want to tip her hand knowing Xander was misunderstanding the reason why he was invited here – yet, there was a draw to wanting to get to know the bloke further. You couldn’t blame the girl, not really; for a bloke in his early thirties he was charmingly handsome, posh and well put together. He had a strong mind for business but he also had a softer side which I felt he might rarely reveal except for women like Lea who might disarm him before he realised he was smitten!
Quit fittingly, Xander is a bit clueless round the edges about what he ought to be doing with a phone call he hasn’t accepted nor returnt. I was as frustrated as Lea watching him become indecisive and then just plain stubborn about why he felt he was in the right for dismissing the call. For Lea’s sake, you’d think he’d step up to the plate and do the right thing. Except in a classic case of regretting what you ask for – you had to wonder, what makes some men a bit arrogant round the edges when their honestly not generally that way? When Xander came to accept the news he was being given he didn’t exactly warm your heart with his reaction(s). If anything, he might have been better off avoiding Lea altogether!
Your heart goes out to Lea; she has found a renewed sense of pride and self – this island isn’t just a case of her striking out on her own in business she can believe has a chance to thrive but it is a place where her ancestors have lived themselves. For her, the legacy factor of finding a place rooted in family history is what draws her towards wanting to make a go of the resort she’s establishing for weddings. You can gather the gist of why this is appealling to her and why it is important; not every family is as forward with sharing information of this nature and for Lea, I felt something was missing in her previous life to where this Greek Isle renewed her body and soul.
On the other hand, Xander has this way of not revealling his inner thoughts – he speaks his mind with fierce confidence, yes, but when it comes to his emotional state of being? You’d be better off finding a telepath to tell you his thoughts because he doesn’t like to let himself become vulnerable; something Faye was hinting towards had a history of hurt behind the reaction.
Faye keeps the tension between Xander and Lea going for awhile – they both have similar personalities and attributes; stubborn to the core and find letting someone else help either of them to be a bit too much to ask. Lea has a lot of pride in what she is trying to accomplish on the island – she wants to put her mark on it, giving people a place to have a destination wedding but not have it feel like they opted to go to a destination. Rather, she wanted to keep the aesthetics of the island firmly in place which seek to highlight the island’s long history.
Xander for the life of him can’t understand why Lea is different from the other women he has known previously. He can’t say two things right to save himself in front of her and whenever he tries to do something gallant, he comes across in the wrong. You have to feel for Xander – he lives in a world where if you can buy your way through something, it is the better course of action to take. Yet, I felt for him especially on a personal note the news Lea had given him was forcing himself to re-examine his life; root out what he really wanted to accomplish and to take stock of the sacrifices he’s made up to this junction.
There is a wicked sense of humour running in the background of the story – I loved Faye’s instincts for giving us a lot of laugh and smirk over. Especially as Xander and Lea tend to be over-thinkers! They spent so much time sorting out how everything between them wouldn’t work, it was nearly evident to me they weren’t given each other a proper chance. Love doesn’t always need to rush in but if you don’t allow it a bit of breathing space it can’t develop properly either!
There was a Hallmark movie featuring Faith Ford which I thought back on fondly whilst reading this novel – mostly as her film was about a dating website? This had a lot of overtures to this story even though the main circumstances were different – it was still an updated version of a dating story where technology was playing a key role in the results of who should be dating whom. In this regard, the film and Ms Faye found a cheeky sense of humour in exploring how technology is changing our perspectives on dating and how sometimes using technology isn’t the best way of teasing out matches as the process might overlook something important. I just had a good chuckle over how Xander and Lea are both unrelenting in being ‘right’ and how they are like firecrackers whenever their together.
As Lea carried their child it allowed them both a chance to get to know each other properly as their union was one of those random moments of passion where neither of them felt they’d see each other again. Through he time they had together, you could see how they were slowly starting to change – amend even how they connected to each other and how they interacted. Xander had a strong sense of being a better father to his child than his own father was to to him. In many ways, I think this is what fuelled him the most – he didn’t want to let down his child nor did he want Lea to believe he couldn’t extend his heart towards a child he never felt he would be blessed to have.
For Lea, life was just as tricky as she had a falling out with her parents; both of them lacked full confidence in their families for one reason or another but the reason I broach this is because I think these disconnections played a rather strong role in how they were viewing each other now as parents. They both had a long way to journey back towards each other because they each were bringing in emotional baggage into their relationship.
What I loved most about how Ms Faye writes her stories is that she gives her characters obstacles they must learn to face together and to find solutions too which allows both parties to find equal ground. Her romances are built out of trust and of gaining the trust from the person who has the hardest time trusting others. I love reading her romances because her style of telling them is uplifting and full of second chances – where new beginnings can thrive and where people can re-write their own future by the willingness to accept that sometimes life likes to bring in a bit of randomness into our lives in order to give us the best of lessons.
on the contemporary writing styling of ms faye:
I truly have come to love seeing how Ms Faye puts characters together who either a) haven’t a lot in common with one another or b) are quite polar opposites in regards to what they want out of life. Faye finds a way to entreat into their lives, tuck us close to their experiences and let’s time dictate what is going to happen between them. Sometimes all romance needs is a little time to percolate and find a rhythm of its own to unite a couple.
Quite early-on what I enjoyed about how Faye was setting up this series is how we became introduced to Popi and Stasia – Popi is Lea’s best friend whereas Stasia is Xander’s sister! This is keenly intriguing as I was trying to sort out the relationship and connections between the three women when I first saw their names next to their stories on the lovely bookmark I received with my copy of Carrying the Greek Tycoon’s Baby. Faye gives you back-story on her characters whilst your reading her stories in such a way as to entice your curiosity but not in such a way as to uproot where you are in the moment of her lead character’s lives.
I am dearly eager to see what becomes of this series – especially when we get to step inside the shoes of Popi and Stasia! I have a feeling there are many more surprises in store to be learnt and overall, I truly love where this series is set.
A note of gratitude to the author:
Ms Faye is a delight to receive #bookmail from as she includes a bit of swag with the books she sends out for review considerations! This is my fourth book parcel to receive from her & I was equally delighted finding what awaited me as I opened her trademark pink baggie! Inside I found a lovely book cover magnet (love these!) – the lovely bookmark you’ll see featured in the banner below for her personal giveaway (its lovingly double-sided!) and a pen! I love when authors find clever ways to SURPRISE us as book bloggers – not every writer includes swag, but this reader is joyfully delighted by what she finds whenever something is ‘tucked into’ a book or hidden inside the parcel it arrives in – little gestures of grace and bookish joy. Thank you, again Ms Faye for giving me loads of SMILES by your kindness!
Special Announcement:
As you know, this is a giveaway-free book blog – as I do not host giveaways here on Jorie Loves A Story (per my Review Policy) however, there is one exception to the rule – I love to talk about and happily promote authors who are hosting a giveaway on *their website or blog!* whilst my review is posting via a blog tour! For this reason, it is with a joy and pleasure to bring this to your attention:
All you have to do is go to Jennifer’s Contact Page
and let her know your physical mailing address*.
NOTE: Please state the quantity you desire and which bookmarks/titles you are interested in. And remember you can order extra to share with your favorite bookstore, library and family/friends. *for readers in the continental USA
You can have your very *own!* Carrying the Greek Tycoon’s Baby bookmark if you follow the steps outlined the author provided to receive one! I realise my blog is read internationally, but this is unfortunately only for those readers and visitors of mine stateside. I truly think you will be charmed by the eloquence of her bookmarks and the way in which they are lovingly sturdy and the perfect length for keeping your spot in whichever book your #currentlyreading!
This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours
By clicking this badge you can find out about the giveaway associated with the tour;
my particular tour stop doesn’t host the giveaway as I’m a review stop, however,
you’ll find many other bloggers who are hosting the information!
Reading this story counted towards my 2019 reading challenges, specifically:
{SOURCES: Cover art of “Carrying the Greek Tycoon’s Baby”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Jennifer Faye, the bookmark giveaway badge and the Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers & My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
Quite happily I have come to 💞 the #Romance style of @JenniferFaye34! She's returnt with a new trilogy set in the Greek Isles for @HarlequinBooks!🌷
Sometimes romance needs time to percolate & find a rhythm to unite a couple.
🌷📖https://t.co/emOOSrnXeb | @PrismBookTours pic.twitter.com/FJIUPXqI0B
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) March 4, 2019
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
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