💐🐶🏖️ "The CEO, The Puppy and Me" (The Bartolini Legacy #2) (2020) 🏖️🐶💐 - Book Review #CPMPrism
On Tour with Prism Book Tours
The CEO, the Puppy and Me(The Bartolini Legacy #2)
By Jennifer Faye
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 256 Pages
June 1st 2020 by Harlequin Romance
Has the search for her past…
…guided her toward her future?
Gia Bartolini’s determinedly searching for her real father. First stop on the enchanting Italian island of Lapri? A mysterious abandoned mansion…where, rescuing a trapped puppy, she falls straight into the arms of alluring Riccardo Moretti! Her passion for the all-business CEO burns bright, leaving Gia with a question: In uncovering her true roots, has fate led her to true love?
(Affiliate links included.)
Other Books in the Series
The Prince and the Wedding Planner
(The Bartolini Legacy #1)
The Italian's Unexpected Heir
Her baby surprise proves…
…that one night will never be enough!
Reeling from the secrets that have torn his heritage apart, Enzo Bartolini is set on selling his family’s Tuscan vineyard and trying to forget the impulsive, dazzling night he and best friend Sylvie shared in Paris. While the sale moves forward, the thrilling awareness between him and Sylvie is harder to move past…especially when she upends Enzo’s world by revealing she’s carrying his baby!
The Prince and the Wedding Planner(The Bartolini Legacy #1)
By Jennifer Faye
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 256 Pages
March 1st 2020 by Harlequin Romance
When different worlds collide…
…sparks fly!
With her family name on the line, wedding planner Bianca Bartolini needs this royal wedding to go perfectly—she can’t afford distractions. Too bad the bride’s dashing brother has other plans! Duty-bound Crown Prince Leo has mere weeks to announce his own engagement, but none of the candidates measure up to Bianca. They’re the most unlikely match, but might that just make them perfect for one another?
(Affiliate links included.)
And coming in September...
The Italian's Unexpected Heir
(The Bartolini Legacy #3)
By Jennifer Faye
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 256 Pages
September 1st 2020 by Harlequin Romance
…that one night will never be enough!
Reeling from the secrets that have torn his heritage apart, Enzo Bartolini is set on selling his family’s Tuscan vineyard and trying to forget the impulsive, dazzling night he and best friend Sylvie shared in Paris. While the sale moves forward, the thrilling awareness between him and Sylvie is harder to move past…especially when she upends Enzo’s world by revealing she’s carrying his baby!
(Affiliate links included.)
About the Author
Award-winning author, Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming contemporary romances with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and enchanting royalty. Internationally published with books translated into nine languages. She is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Award, named a TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous other awards.
Tour Schedule
Tour Giveaway
One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of THE PRINCE AND THE WEDDING PLANNER, winner's choice of print (US only) or ebook
Open internationally
Ends June 17, 2020
ENTER HERE
My Review
Thank you in advance to the author, Jennifer
Faye, as well as Prism Book Tours for providing an advanced review copy. A
positive review was not required and all words are my own.
I was introduced to Jennifer Faye’s in March
when I reviewed the first book in this series (“The Bartolini Legacy”) – “The
Prince and the Wedding Planner” to review. I thoroughly enjoyed that
and wanted to see what happened next. After all, I had to see where the story
was going with that cliff-hanger ending.
This is the second book in the “The Bartolini
Legacy” series. Some books in a series can work as a standalone read. This,
because of the connections and plot, doesn’t work as well. I highly recommend
reading “The Prince and the Wedding Planner” before reading this. That
sets up the plot for this book and gives this one a major boost.
If you haven’t read that one first – the blurb
for this book is going to spoil one of the MAJOR “mysteries” from where that
novel ended.
The “non” Bartolini ends up being …
GIA
Thus begins this super sweet, precious,
light-hearted romantic tale. After all, how could it be anything but precious
with a good looking guy and a puppy in a romantic, exotic location? The cover
is so cute and whimsical it’s hard not to want to settle on the couch (or
reading nook) and dive right in.
Gia is in the Island of Lapri after finding a
clue as to who her father might be. It is here she meets Ric, who thinks she might
be an intruder or after his uncle’s estate. But, she’s there to find the truth –
after being led there by her mother’s journal.
But, enter a puppy! The little sweetie ends up drawing Ric and Gia closer
together in this book. And, it won’t be the only surprise for the two who start
off on the wrong path.
Motivated by purely selfish reasons, Ric
instantly helps Gia’s search for her father. But, it soon turns into a genuine search
to help her. Some of it is guided by his own childhood, one that is similar yet
different from Gia’s.
I didn’t know what to make of Ric, but he was a
delightful and pleasant surprise. His development over the course of the story
seemed to change the longer he was with Gia – in addition to the time he would
spend with that adorable puppy. I was rooting for Gia to have a happy ending
with her biological father. Readers won’t find out his name until a bit over
halfway (½) into the story and there will be a resolution.
This is one part of the story where I wanted
more background. I wanted to know how Gia’s mom met/knew this man, along with
other questions regarding that matter.
Ric and Gia’s relationship does take a slower
road; then again neither one wants to get hurt. It is apparent in the scenes
where Ric’s “fame” is brought to light along with his childhood. But, watching
as the two fall in love together gives the reader hope for finding love in
unexpected places. Part of the hang-up is in trying not to hold each other
responsible for the actions of those from their past. Both of them had a lot to
learn with that aspect.
Another beautiful message is that biology doesn’t
change family, and some people choose to be a family by choice. Love is what
makes a family, and watching Ric and Gia learn this is such a heart-warming
treat. It doesn’t hurt that the puppy was there to “guide” them along.
This was such a fast-paced, quick little read
that it was over before I even knew it. Probably because it was hard to put
down. I would’ve also liked to have had a sub-plot with Bianca’s wedding plans
given how the first novel went.
This is a super sweet and fairly clean read.
There is no foul language, no descriptive sex talk, and a one-time “scene”
takes place off-page between chapters. The writer is very respectful and keeps
the details to a bare minimum.
Unlike the first one – this doesn’t end in a “cliff-hanger”,
but has the standard “HEA” (happily-ever-after) ending. However, I am eagerly
looking forward to the third book coming later this year. The blurb on the
author’s website (and review) is a bit of a spoiler. And, hopefully some
questions or plot issues will be answered and/or concluded in that novel.
Faye definitely wins summer reading with this
light, airy distraction where the reader can almost feel the weather, smell the
sea, and experience the beauty of this island.
Romance readers who enjoy a sweet exotic
romance with foreign locations (Italy, Greece, etc), as well as fans of the
author; will likely enjoy this story. Certainly those who’ve read the first
book will probably enjoy this perfect, beach-type summer read.
RATING:
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating
explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
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