The Brabanti Baby

The main story line takes place in a romantic setting somewhere in Italy, gotta love the Italian culture! But it's a jumbled mess for this one headstrong nurse because her sister refuses to let her ex-husband see his baby, and sends her in her place when he threatens to flex his parental rights. Lots of drama happen, like them inevitably falling in love, but her sister messes up any happiness they had at one point.. and you'll have to read it to find out why! Had me laughing and crying!

Gabriel Brabanti figures his ex-wife, Marcia is up to something when she willing sends their daughter to Malta with her cousin, Eve Caldwell. Marcia soured Gabriel on the ideas of ever marrying again. Instead he will use any and all means to reste little Nicola away from an unloving mother. Eve is caught in the middle. Knowing what her cousin is like [and yet not really knowing] and leary with the warning that Marcia gave her about Gabriel. Something about little Nicola is not right. Which raises a bunch of questions. But, ah well, Eve and Gabriel develope a deep sexual attraction to each other, unwillingly at first, and then they seduce each other. After a bit of a rigomarole she gets pregnant and is able to offer a Brabanti heir. After the dibilitating shock of Marcia showing up to take Nicola home. [not necessarily in that order]. It is a well written story with enough interest in the baby to hold it together - strong characters - colorful scenes etc.

Really good with a neat twist on the secret baby theme. Catherine Spencer pulls the reader into this emotional story from the very first line, and doesn't let go. There's bad blood between Gabriel Brabanti and his ex-wife, Marcia, but he can't cut her out of his life completely because they have a baby daughter who was born after the couple split up. But he wants to meet his child, and rather than have him show up and cause trouble in New York where she now lives, Marcia agrees to have the baby visit him in Malta, where Gabriel lives. Instead of facing him herself though, she sends the baby with her cousin Eve. Having been warned that he's nasty piece of work, Eve doesn't expect a warm welcome from Gabriel, but she's willing to put up with him for the sake of the baby. But things don't turn out quite the way she expected. Gabriel is very charming and attentive to her, and very devoted to his baby, and before long Eve finds herself falling in love with him. When he asks her to marry him, she thinks she's the luckiest woman in the world, and figures that, as usual, her cousin had exaggerated when she'd claimed her ex was a control freak who'd go to any lengths to get his own way. But then, with a ring on her finger and her wedding coming up, Eve discovers her cousin wasn't so wrong, after all. Gabriel has a plan to permanently keep the baby away from his ex-wife and he's using Eve to do it. Determined not to let him get away with it, Eve contacts her cousin and tells her what's in the works. At that point, Marcia comes racing over to Malta to rescue her baby and play her trump card which not only sinks Gabriel's plans, but also destroys his relationship with Eve. When this happened, I really didn't think anything could save Gabriel and Eve. Finding out how they finally made their way back to each other kept me glued to this book until the very last page. Gabriel was a fabulous alpha hero, very sexy and powerful. But Eve's a real modern woman, not one of those old-fashioned heroines you find in some books, and she was perfect for him. Also, the scenes of Malta were great. It was like I was there and could see everything the author talked about. A first class read all round.

Catherine Spencer has produced another winner with The Brabant Baby. Vivid, likeable characters sustain reader empathy as they logically and maturely work their way through the conflicts threatening their relationship. Great writing, a keen sense of place, and wonderful story telling set this book apart from the crowd. The hero's tenderness with the baby makes both the heroine and the reader fall in love with him. This author is still able to bring a fresh voice to romance novels.