by Regina Kyle
Publication Date June 7, 2021
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Genres: Billionaires, Contemporary, Fiction, General, Romance
Pages: 251
Format: ARC
Interior decorator Zoe Ryan’s life resembles a bad country song. Her boyfriend dumped her, her car died, and she was recently handed a pink slip. What’s a girl to do? Leave everything behind for a bit....in Positano, Italy. And when she gets there, she finds a surprising extra—millionaire restaurateur Dante Sabbatini in the kitchen. In his underwear. Making coffee. It’s suddenly not only hot outside, but exactly what is he doing inside, in her temporary kitchen?
Dante’s plan was to escape to his family’s beach house for some quiet and privacy. What he didn’t know was that his meddling, matchmaking nonna rented the entire house to a sexy stranger at the exact same time as his stay. It took him months to clear his schedule—there’s no way he’s leaving now.
With both refusing to leave, Zoe and Dante agree to be temporary roomies, but secretly aim to try to drive the other out. He plays his music as loud as he wants and will wear as little clothing as possible, and she’ll just go ahead and adopt that pig she fell in love with in town. But suddenly their game of one-upmanship takes a very sexy detour, and they can’t believe what happens next.
My Review:
How Not to Mess with a Millionaire by Regina Kyle, is a sexy, steamy, and funny story set mostly in Italy. You get a sexy Italian Millionaire, and a spunky American interior designer, plus a pot-bellied pig, and you have fun, romance, and some laugh-out-loud moments.
Zoe Ryan recently dumped by her ex-boyfriend, and fired from her prestigious interior designer employer, is ready to disappear for a while and get her life back together. A month-long holiday in a rented villa in Italy is just what she needs to re-evaluate her life and figure out what to do next.
She doesn’t expect the villa owner’s grandson to be living in the six-bedroom villa she rented, especially after giving up men and relationships and all she wants to be is alone. Dante is also upset to learn his grandmother rented out their villa, when all he wants to be is alone, to mourn the one-year anniversary of the death of his fiance, Nicole. Can Zoe, and Dante ignore their obvious attraction and stay away from each other for a whole month?
This book was a bit difficult to get into, and I disliked the main characters in the beginning. Dante was very difficult to like and I did not see any redeeming qualities in him at all. And Zoe was easier to like, but was very one-dimensional and was a stereotypical woman scorned. But, once Houdini, the pot-bellied pig showed up, I started enjoying the book much more. Not only was Houdini adorable and provided much comic relief, but Zoe and Dante’s reaction to the pig, and their obvious love for the adorable pig, gave the main characters some depth of character and I saw their softer sides.
The book is set in several picturesque settings in Italy and I enjoyed the escapades of Zoe, Dante, and Houdini as they traveled around Italy and discover a deep love for each other.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I love books set in Italy (Positano, sigh!) and this book has me intrigued (especially the pot-bellied pig!). Thanks for sharing your thorough review!
Thanks Jodie, I love books set in Italy too!