I bought this book almost two years ago & it has stayed active on my kindle pretty much ever since. It's odd, then, reading reviews, particularly negative reviews, about characters that feel like friends.

Georgie & Angolos are flawed, from the very beginning of their relationship. She was young & idealistic and basically a desperate-to-please doormat. He was traumatized & uncompromising & untrusting. There is a Big Misunderstanding, which I *despise*, yet it's swallowable for me in the con...

I bought this book almost two years ago & it has stayed active on my kindle pretty much ever since. It's odd, then, reading reviews, particularly negative reviews, about characters that feel like friends.

Georgie & Angolos are flawed, from the very beginning of their relationship. She was young & idealistic and basically a desperate-to-please doormat. He was traumatized & uncompromising & untrusting. There is a Big Misunderstanding, which I *despise*, yet it's swallowable for me in the context of the characters. She doesn't know his whole story, because he's withheld it from her. He was, actually, desperate to keep her & chose to withhold hugely important information in order to make that happen. That decision, of course, caused him to lose her - his decision twice: to withhold information from her, then to throw her out because she didn't understand the Big Misunderstanding.

But Angolos' integral character, and his deep commitment & love for Georgie, fuel all of his actions throughout their story. From the starry-eyed beginning, through the bitter middle, to the groping toward a solution & HEA end, this guy loved her. He'd been stupid & foolish, but it made sense in the midst of what was going on in his life. Short spoilers: he did *not* cheat on her in the years they were separated, unlike so many Harlequin "heroes". His vows actually meant something to him, even when he thought (another spoiler) that she had betrayed him. I love that in a guy - a Real Man, who has character & depth, included with his flaws. He's not one dimensional! Another ginormous improvement over most romances/mysteries/historical fiction, from any publisher.

For her part, Georgie was never stupid, but she was young & foolish in the beginning. Much too young to make wise choices in the overwhelming situation in which she found herself (living in another country/culture, not speaking the language, mostly absent husband, hostile in-laws, very different socio-economic class/expectations). Then too proud, immature - and busy - in the middle, to do logical stuff, like forcing DNA tests on your intransigent husband. But she coped, despite her pride & choices & situation, quite alone, as a single mother: finished her degree, worked hard, raised her beautiful son & was a great mom. All before she was 25. Normally, I don't like big age disparities either, but this one (with his charmed life then trauma, and her essential aloneness her whole life - relying on herself, while still being a very young woman) worked. Their maturity levels were not as far apart as their chronological ages would indicate.

It is not a perfect book, or even, strictly speaking, a 5 star. For me, that designation means very high achievements on all levels: plot, characters, writing, etc. This one has it's uneven & over-wrought moments, plot points that go nowhere (the big party? what was that about? the ex-wife?), rushed beginning of their story, and too-neat ending. So, really, a 4.5.

But seeing the later reviews ragging on this book, for reasons that don't make sense to me, motivated my review. Rekindled love is a 1 star review, because it's rekindled. Hello? If you don't like books with that theme, don't read them. Then, with all Georgie & Angolos history, another reviewer dislikes it cause they're catty. Well, yeah. They've been separated for three years, in really poor circumstances. That's how real people act. Defensive & hostile & difficult. Grew up there. "Catty" would be a good day. These two had some real love and desire to make their marriage (and family, with their little boy) work. And the author showed their growth as people, their progression in their relationship, and their essential "selves" throughout. It seems only fair to tip towards the 4.5/5 rating. Definitely worth reading.

Okay so the main saving grace for the hero was the fact that he remained faithful to their vows even though he thought she cheated. The separation was COMPLETELY his fault. He was jealous and his pride would not allow her to explain the note, which was not even really a love note if you think about it. Her friend just said he was not ready yet and that he always would love her. That is it. It was like 2 lines. How the hero assumed she was cheating after that was just crazy!!!! I would have we...

Okay so the main saving grace for the hero was the fact that he remained faithful to their vows even though he thought she cheated. The separation was COMPLETELY his fault. He was jealous and his pride would not allow her to explain the note, which was not even really a love note if you think about it. Her friend just said he was not ready yet and that he always would love her. That is it. It was like 2 lines. How the hero assumed she was cheating after that was just crazy!!!! I would have went up to my husband and said "he is not ready for what?". Another thing about this story is that the issues with his mother and sister were brought up but not addressed. She told him that she was not treated well but never told him what they said or how she felt with how he reacted towards his ex-wife. It was not brought up again other than the mother was nice now that she knew she had a grandson. The over friendly relationship with his ex-wife being touchy feely and him smiling at his ex from their first go at marriage was not taken care of or talked about. Why bring something up in the heroine's mind if it is not going to be addressed in the end??? I do see the love between the characters, but I see mostly lust. I would have taken him back after all those years too with the right amount of groveling and if he had changed from being so domineering. He did grovel and take blame for their relationship ending after he found out about the friend's sexual preference, but he did not change if the first thing he thought about when she was out with a guy was that she cheated on him. How can he jump to that conclusion? It would be different if she had cheated before, then he could be scared she was doing it again, but she has never been with another man ever. He has some major insecurities that will be with them the whole of their lives together. The only reason I see him as worthy for reconciliation is that he did not go off to be a man whore after they separated. That is why he deserves a second chance. He also is man enough to state it from the start that he respected their marriage vows. I also do not see this book as a sex, sex, sex novel. They did not get together sexually until like 70% through the book and by then, they still had issues to get through but it is also at the end and had to pop up somewhere. I do feel like this story needed a few more chapters to address everything and clear the air completely. The thing with their son at the end was unnecessary considering they had other problems they needed to take care of and that was just not needed. It was a great story and I am glad I read it.

This book was AWESOME!! It had all the usual rich alpha Greek male and young English rose beauty nicknamed Georgie. Angelos met Georgie when she was about 18 years old, and he was in his late twenties, he had just beaten prostate cancer and was feeling on top of the world. Like I said it's the usual boy meets girl, boy dumps girl, and they find their way back. What I love about this book is the conflict, it moves the story fast, and they are so great together. Georgie was young and stupid whe...

This book was AWESOME!! It had all the usual rich alpha Greek male and young English rose beauty nicknamed Georgie. Angelos met Georgie when she was about 18 years old, and he was in his late twenties, he had just beaten prostate cancer and was feeling on top of the world. Like I said it's the usual boy meets girl, boy dumps girl, and they find their way back. What I love about this book is the conflict, it moves the story fast, and they are so great together. Georgie was young and stupid when they met, but not anymore. She's honest with him and admits she was going to sleep with him because the guy was just to perfect to resist, but he had a lot to make up to Georgie, and he did not fail. I love the was every single lose end was tied up. I gave this book six stars and I recommend this book highly.