There is this thing about guilty pleasure reads. They are addictive! This happened to me around the time I first discovered mills and boon books. I read one and then the other and then another one. I read 18 books, one after the other. I don’t remember at what point I realised that I was addicted to them but I did.
It is after 4 years that almost feels like yesterday that I picked up a new book from the publication. This one is by my favourite harlequin writer Maisey Yates and now I remember what was so addictive about these books.
Cover Page
The cover page follows the same language as the ones that have come before. There is a man at the cover looked extremely polished, a woman who seems to be gawking at him and no chemistry between them whatsoever. The cover page is not the ideal. It does not relate to the story inside. It never does. But this one is just disappointing. The blue borders and font is retained to make the ‘Modern’ series evident.
Characters
The two main characters in the book are the usual too. A curt, emotionally vacuumed businessman and a young woman who falls for him. The only thing different here are the words. As Yates writes it:
It was rumoured that Alessandro Di Sione had once fired an employee for bringing his coffee back two minutes later than commanded and five degrees cooler than ordered. It was rumoured that he had once released a long-term mistress with a wave of his hand and an order to collect a parting gift from his assistant in the following weeks. There were also rumors that he breathed fire, slept in a dungeon and derived sustenance from the souls of the damned.
And the woman is a bespectacled shy young woman who is hiding away in her library from the world outside.
Even though they are two usual characters of any mills and boon book, the characters are divine. You will want to read more about them. Yates has a way of inventing new characters with just her descriptions of them.
Content
There are seven other books in the series, this being the last one. An old man has a dying wish. Even though he has pretty much recovered in this book he demands his grandson to abide. He wants his grandson to secure the last thing that was always close to his heart. A painting. This painting is out there somewhere and he wants it.
Alessandro being the perfect grandson goes out to claim it. On the way he meets an owl faced princess, a banished queen and a lot of tension in the air.
The first clue to the painting resides in the island of Isola D’Oro. Alessandro drives right up to witch to ask for the potion. But it turns out a great adventure when he meets Gabrielle, the princess who would help him in finding the painting.
As it happens, the rich man falls in love with a princess but is too scared to admit it. There is a lot of tension between them and finally they get together. Happy ending.
Mills and boon has never been too creative in their story. They all follow on straight line, change the characters and ta-da!
Language
This is probably the most beautiful part of the book. I loved each and every paragraph in the book here. The descriptions are beautiful and narration spellbinding. Yates makes you look over the evident necessity of a woman being an innocent virgin and a man rich playboy to have a perfect romance. She makes you appreciate it with glittering eyes. That’s the magic.
He was… striking. It reminded her of an experience she’d once had in a museum. Moving through wall after wall of spectacular art before entering a small room off to the side. In it, one painting, with all of the light focused on it. It was the centrepiece. The only piece that mattered. Everything that had come before it paled in comparison.
If you can convince a realist about a fairy-tale romance then you have won. Yates here definitely has.
Good points
I absolutely loved the characters. They are stunning to read about. The concept of there being eight items dear to one’s heart and setting his grandsons to claim it for him is great! The narration is spectacular.
Bad points
I disliked the cover. I always have. There is not much to the plot. There never is!
Overall
It is a feel good book. This book works without any logic.
Whom do I recommend this to
This one is for all those who like sweet romance.
Quotable Quotes
It is a privilege of the elderly to see things in hindsight no one can see in the present, and attempt to educate the young with that hindsight.
She supposed that was the hazard with very rich men. It was hard to show them anything they hadn’t seen before.
It does not do well for a woman to lose her mind over passion. It doesn’t end well. Not for us. Men can carry on as they see fit, but it isn’t like that for women.
Books can’t prepare you for the reality of something. It can only hint.
My heart is hard as a rock and my soul is ever so slightly charred from walking through life’s fires, but I suppose they’re still there.
Pride won’t smile at you every morning, day in day out, with ever deepening lines as the years pass. Pride is very cold comfort, Gabriella.
Go ahead, grab yourself a copy of The Last Di Sione Claims his Prize and tell us what you think about the book! If you are a Kindle person, ensure to select the Kindle edition of the book.
The Last Di Sione Claims his Prize
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