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 “Claiming the Drakos Heir” 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:

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.

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.

-quoted from my review of Carrying the Greek Tycoon’s Baby

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!

a bit of an update from Jorie,.. about migraines and blog tours,…

I did want to make a small announcement about why this review is being featured on FRIDAY rather than WEDNESDAY as it was originally scheduled to run on Jorie Loves A Story. Unfortunately, May concluded with a fifth migraine – which I truly buckled under as I had four migraines throughout May and had considered myself blessed during the final week of the month where I was resuming to read the stories I had earmarked to enjoy during #WyrdAndWonder whilst trying to rest quite a heap to overcome the fatigue I had succumbed to after those migraines. The batch of migraines I was experiencing were some of the worst I had in quite a long while and as such, my short term memories were a bit dodgy at best. I honestly forgot about when this blog tour was scheduled, however, more to the point, the books were slightly delayed reaching those of us who read print for blog tours.

If I had remembered, I would have offered a spotlight talking about why I love reading the romances Jennifer Faye is publishing as she’s become one of my favourite Harlequin authors over the past several years since I’ve been hosting with PRISM. Instead, I re-scheduled this review for Friday as I needed an extra day to get it ready inasmuch as I needed to read the book! I am sure my fellow book bloggers know how life can intervene on our blogging lives but I did feel a bit guilty this last migraine just disrupted what I was remembering as I honestly thought my first blog tour after this fifth migraine was going to be for The Medallion which is coming up this Sunday – kicking off a new focused feature I’m calling #INSPYSundays.

I have a true passion for INSPY Lit and I wanted to start showcasing the authors I am enjoying who are writing the kinds of inspiring and motivating INSPY stories across the genres you really see me reviewing on the mainstream side of the ledger.

I’m just thankful I could reschedule this review for Claiming the Drakos Heir to be featured whilst the tour was still on-going as I am truly thankful for being able to host Ms Faye and Harlequin’s stories on Jorie Loves A Story! Thank you to my readers and visitors alike who have been patient with me as I start to resume where I left off with things before that fifth migraine took hold of me! You’ll start to notice some showcases being promoted which are still attached to #WyrdAndWonder whilst I also start to begin my Summer Reads this June. May everyone have more bookishly delightful days than adverse ones where reading has to be placed on hold.

Claiming the Drakos Heir
Subtitle: Greek Island Brides
by Jennifer Faye
Source: Author via Prism Book Tours

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…

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781335499400

Also by this author: Beauty and Her Boss, Miss White and the Seventh Heir, Heiress's Royal Baby Bombshell, Carrying the Greek Tycoon's Baby

Also in this series: Carrying the Greek Tycoon's Baby

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance

Published by Harlequin Books

on 4th June, 2019

Format: Larger Print (Mass Market Paperback)

Pages: 250

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 (see also Review)

Claiming the Drakos Heir (book two) | Popi’s story

Wearing the Greek Millonaire’s Ring (book three) | Stasia’s story
→ forthcoming September, 2019

A convenient engagement…

An inconvenient attraction!

In this Greek Island Brides story, widow Stasia Marinakos is learning to enjoy life again aboard a Mediterranean cruise. Her chemistry with gorgeous Greek tycoon Roberto Carrass is a pleasant surprise—until she’s mistaken for his fiancée! Nevertheless, the guarded bachelor asks Stasia to continue the charade to stop his family from matchmaking. As their attraction grows, their fake romance feels ever more real…but what will happen when the vacation ends?

Converse via: #Contemporary #Romance & #Harlequin

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• #2019NewReleaseChallenge