Review of Bedded and Wedded for Revenge by Melanie Milburne

This is a story that dates from 2006.  Set in Sydney Australia with a brief sojourn on the Amalfi Coast in Italy.    ****

This is a lovely story of love and redemption between two people who thought it would never happen. Gemma had been a spoiled little rich girl, acting out against her father and stepmother after the loss of her own mother at ten years old.

In the cross fire of this behaviour, young Andreas, an Italian backpacker working in her fathers hotel who fell in love with her, took a hit when Gemma accused him of trying to assault her.


Ten years later and much has changed. Fate has ensured that Gemma pay for the false accusation in a way that has left emotional scars. As if that weren't enough, a car accident has left her physically scarred and with an abiding sense of guilt for the paralysis of the young man in the car.
Andreas turns up at the eleventh hour when Gemma needs a husband to ensure her inheriting her father's estate. He has justice on his side when seeking revenge but he is disconcerted by the changes he sees in the formerly arrogant party girl. 

The Amalfi Coast

This story tells the moving and emotional journey the two go on through their marriage of convenience. Lies and evasions and dark memories complicate things and it takes some pretty radical revelations to clear the air for the HEA.


Andreas is an adorable, gentle and loving hero right from the start. We see that he's not really the harsh avenger he would like to be.
Gemma almost immediately responds to him and sees the man she should have seen all those years ago in the young man she so abused.

Belleview in Sydney where Andreas has a mansion

Bonus Review of The Fiorenza Forced Marriage.    ****

Ah yes, the classic sleazy guy with the broken heart. Gets me every time. Isn't it amazing what we'll forgive in a guy when we know his poor little heart was broken and traumatised in the past? There is nothing new in this story but Melanie Milburne delivers it very well. Rafaele is so annoying and nasty to start with it's going to take something really special to break him down and turn him into someone worthwhile and lovable. Enter Emma, a feisty little nurse with a heart of gold and a background that should have ground her to the dust. Heaven help us but this gem of a girl manages to fall in love with Rafaele in spite of everything. One glimpse of his tragic childhood and soft hearted Emma is opening up her heart to him. Unfortunately the hero is one stubborn cuss of a man and it's going to take some doing for Emma to melt him. How her tender heart is going to cope is just one of the problems that this couple are going to face on the way to the HEA. Ms Milburne paints a wonderful picture of a developing relationship with two people who intend right from the start to fight their attraction to the bitter end. How she resolves it makes for a seriously enjoyable story and a satisfactory ending. The sex sizzles at a fairly high octane level which made me raise my brows a little now and then but then what can you expect when the heroes only claim to fame in relationships is how good he is in bed.