Book Review: Secrets of the Playboy's Bride by Leanne Banks

Secrets of the Playboy's Bride by Leanne Banks

Publisher Imprint: Silhouette Desire (Harlequin)

Publish Date: March 2010

Mass market paperback, 182 pages

My Review:
I haven't read a Silhouette Desire in several years and I realize now that I miss reading these.  Simple yet enjoyable romance stories that whet your appetite for romance.  Secrets of the Playboy's Bride does just that.  It was a great read for an afternoon and a great way to get caught up in the world of the rich.

Secrets of a Playboy's Bride takes place in society of Philadelphia.  Calista French is a society woman. Even though she doesn't have the money any more, she has the pedigree.  But deep down inside Calista is a simple girl, she just wants to take care of her sisters, her needs are secondary.  She works, she volunteers and she visits with her sisters when she can.  The problem is she needs money and Leonardo Grant has that money.  He can provide her with a safe life and college education for her sisters.  She doesn't need a relationship or love, she just needs him to help her out and she figures he owes her because of the con he pulled with his father on Calista's father.

Leo has the fortune and the drive to be even more successful in business.  A self-made man who rose up from his adoptive father's con games.  He can't remember the time before the accident that claimed his parents' life, he only knows the hard childhood that he escaped.  Now the one thing he needs is a society wife to get him into Philadelphia society and when Calista French falls into his arms, he knows she is the perfect wife.  He, like her, doesn't really want attachments, just the wife on his arm to get him an in into society.

Neither Calista or Leo figure on falling in love, but they do just that, but both have secrets and will those secrets stand in the way of their love?

The plot was predictable in Secrets of a Playboy's Bride but that didn't make it any less enjoyable.  I also enjoyed the characters.  Calista is an admirable person and Leo makes himself out to be a bad boy, but really he's just scarred from his childhood.  When Calista and Leo come together the sparks fly and I enjoyed watching their love unfold.  They are both stubborn which is fun, but eventually they learn things about each other that help the love continue.

If you want an easy afternoon love story then this is the book for you. It's actually part of a mini-series by Leanne Banks, but this is the first one I read.  The only time the mini-series really comes into play is at the end, so I didn't feel like I missed out on anything by not reading the previous books.  Though I admit I am intrigued by the storyline of the mini-series and will seek out the other books.

My Rating: 7/10
You can also find this review at The Season Blog which is an amazing romance website and blog.  Go and check it out if  you haven't.

About the Book:
Success was one thing…acceptance, another. All his life, Leonardo Grant had yearned to be more than his rough beginnings had allowed. Now, after making millions, he believed marriage to the right woman could secure him the respect no amount of money could.

When Leo spotted Calista French, he knew he'd found his foil. But their chance meeting had actually been carefully orchestrated…and not by him. Just what was his "perfect" society wife planning?

About the Author:
Leanne Banks is a national #1 best-selling author of romance novels. She is the winner of the Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards in Series Sensuality and Love and Laughter. She is also the winner of the Florida Writers Beacon Award, the Golden Quill Award, the Georgia Romance Writers' MAGGIE Award and Booksellers' Best Award. Her books have been recognized by the Award of Excellence Contest, the Romance Writers of America Rita Contest, and the National Readers' Choice Awards.
Leanne is a popular speaker to many kinds of groups. One of her workshops was featured on the CBS Morning Show. Drop Leanne an email if you would like to find out more about having Leanne speak to your group.

Leanne believes her readers work hard on the job and for their families, so she tries to lighten the load with stories featuring a strong sense of fun, emotion and sensuality. Reader response is heartwarming. One of her favorite letters was from a woman who had been suffering severe health problems: "[Your books] did more for my health that all the medicine in the world -- as corny as this sounds, [your heroes] made me feel like life is `worth it'."

Leanne lives in Virginia with her husband and two children. She loves music, chocolate, quotes, and new adventures. (From Goodreads.com)

FTC Information: I received this book from The Season for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.