In this well-paced amnesia romance, Riot and Krav have both had traumatic childhoods which have held them back from being honest with each other. Eventually they are able to let the past go and plan a future together as a new family.

The Secret that Shocked Cinderella by Maisey Yates is a game changer; an unexpected pregnancy/amnesia book so great it hurts.

Riot Phillips uses all her savings to go to a once in a lifetime trip to Cambodia with her roommate. She get lost in one of the touristic stops, without any way to connect with her friend. There, she meets Kravann Valenti and, just like that, she starts an affair with him. Then, she founds out she's pregnant with his child. He gets furious and tells her he doesn't want to have kids, so he left her. She decides not to go back to Georgia (she's American, he's Italian) and establishes in a village in the north of England, keeping her baby and making a new life for both. But when she's eight months pregnant, she has an accident that left her in coma for a whole month. When she finally wakes up, she has amnesia, only remembering her life before she went to Cambodia. And there she is, in Rome because she was moved there while she was unconscious, with a "fiancée" and a baby girl—she instinctively knows is hers—she didn't remember!

After their split, Krav always had felt guilty about how things turned out between him and Riot. She was the best thing that had happened to him, after all. When he knows about what happened to Riot, he goes to England to take Riot back to Rome and take care of her and the baby. As soon as he founds out she has amnesia, he sees that as a second chance to start over again with her, lying about their relationship in the process. What will happen when she recovers from her amnesia?

Riot and Krav are very alike. Both have been isolated people desperate to have someone who unconditionally loves them. What makes them different is how they deal with it: Riot, always a cautious woman, seeks love through pink lenses, while Krav doesn't bother to look for love by being detached of all emotions. It's their way to survive the pain, the loneliness, the abandonment and the lack of love they had in their childhoods. When their unexpected encounter in Cambodia happens, they were surprisingly in a vulnerable moment. Krav that day was burying his mother, which was taken from him when his father kidnapped him at the age of five. Riot, on her part, never met her father and has a complicated relationship with her mother, who always saw her as a burden. That encounter in Cambodia exploded in a chemistry and passionate romance we can see throughout all the story. They're intense, hot, sexy. Their fierce attraction and desire in its most basic form.

"Did a lamb return volley when the Tiger pounced?
No. And she knew it.
Only a tigress did that.
Only a tigress would ever stand against something quite so fearsome."

I use to call Ms. Yates "The Queen of Tortured Heroes" and Krav is the perfect example of that: a pure alpha male with a troubled past that nearly destroys him. And for someone as fierce as Krav, you need a heroine like Riot. She's a strong, also fierce, determined woman who defies and challenges her man. A bit shy and idealistic at the beginning, but her evolution throughout the story is evident and fantastic. The "Tiger and Tigress" analogy fits perfectly to them.

I've never been a fan of books who doesn't have physical secondary characters and having the main ones conducting every scene. That said, this is what makes this book spectacular. Especially when the two secondary characters are non-active ones; only you see them by the main characters' mentions. Krav's parents (his father, to be exact) and Riot's mother define their personalities to a point that negatively affects them. But, at the same time, Riot and Krav's parents are the path they have to avoid to heal their broken souls.

The author has a clever writing to create stories full of angst, drama and intensity. But I can't avoid mentioning the obvious thing in this book; the times are VERY inconsistent. As an example, in the story was established at some point that they spent only a month before they split. But a few chapters later, the hero says "Those months with her..." What happened here? I want to think it was an error while editing the book... Not to mention the pace of the plot isn't a balanced one. To be fair with this story, it grows in intensity with each page you read. And its ending—with a beautiful epilogue—is a masterpiece.

Maisey Yates is one of my so-called "fetish authors", and this book is one of the reasons. I LOVED reading Riot and Krav's road to happily ever after. A story that raises the bar to future amnesia books.

A lackluster hp that bordered a bit on boring. Riot and Kravann have a passionate affair. When she tells him she is pregnant, he is enraged. Riot runs away, falls and thinks that she has miscarried. Months later, Riot get into an accident, still pregnant and wakes up a month later, with a newborn, amnesia and Kravann. He wants Riot but his past abuse at the hands of his father make him believe that he cannot be a good husband or father. The problem that I had was that he was so unemotional and his feelings towards his baby and Riot were so distant. The interactions that they had were so cold that I was left feeling a bit bored.

Riot and Krav have a whirlwind romance. When he mistakenly believes she’s a gold digger, he breaks it off. Eight months later, he learns she’s been in an accident—and has given birth to his daughter! She has no memory of their time together. Is this his chance to make up for his hasty actions so they can become a family?

This is a steamy insta-love story about two damaged people coming together and leaning to heal.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Amnesia.

I was excited to see how amnesia would work in this book.
First off, Riiot is a complete innocent, which was fairly unbelievable. She didn't know Krav's last name (its Valenti) even though they were together traveling for a month. Passports, airports, and such. So in that month, he never told her his full name (she didn't ask) They just travelled and bonked (its fiction). Riot gets pregnant and Krav kicks her to the curb as she's bleeding, thinking she lost their baby. This happened when she told him she was pregnant. For someone who is supposed to be so experienced )Krav) he did zero to prevent a pregnancy. Then, he tricks her into thinking they are to marry when she has amnesia, has been unconcious for a month and had a baby, who Krav named. He's all over the place! I did not care for Krav. He was so damged from his father, but did not redeem himself or make amends to Riot.

*scroll to the bottom for content warnings*
Trope: sort-of-secret baby, amnesia
General review: I really enjoyed this one. It's been a while since I've read an amnesia story but I always appreciate them in a Harlequin- it's not long and dragged out and you get the HEA. The H's actions and trauma was plausible and I loved how strong the h was- she was not going to let H treat her poorly. Loved seeing her find her inner tigress!
Angst style: refusal to admit feelings
POV: 3rd, both H & h
Relationship stage reached: married
Epilogue? Yes, 11 years later
Content warnings: possible miscarriage, child abuse, child taken from mother
I received an ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Shocking, yes, but probably not the way the author intended.

Maisey Yates has long been one of my favorite authors, one whose books always have excellent writing, plenty of steam, and strong female characters. All that is here in this one, but what kept me from loving it is the fact that the MMC is horribly abusive to the FMC, and instead of a redemption arc we're given a sympathetic background where he encourages the FMC to excuse all of his abuse without him ever having to admit he was wrong or even come close to apologizing.

It's like as soon as she understands what his parents did to him, everything he did to her - actual felonies in addition to the emotional abuse - is all just one big misunderstanding and he never really meant any harm. I needed groveling, remorse, or recriminations of some sort. I was sorely disappointed. It's an HEA if you believe Stockholm Syndrome is a solid foundation for romance.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Wow! I certainly wasn't expecting this much angst (or sex) in a Harlequin Presents novel, but Maisey Yates, one of my favorite authors, never seems to go halfway, and she certainly didn't do so in this novel, which I read in one sitting until 5:00 a.m. Having stated that, I must admit that I didn't think the title fit this story of two damaged people from very different backgrounds at all-- Riot was no Cinderella, and Krav was certainly no Prince Charming--and how did she come up with those names? Additionally there were more than a few hiccups in the timeline, which is one of the main reasons for my 4-, rather than 5-star rating.

Riot Phillips was the unwanted child of a neglectful, self-absorbed mother, and never really knew her father. She's 22 years old, and when her roommate, Jaia, suggests joining some of her high school friends on a trip to Cambodia, and she agrees to use all her savings to join the group, who are wildly disorganized. While touring Angkor Wat, she's caught in a monsoon, drenched, her friends abandon her there, and although she believes she's there alone, suddenly a man appears--a gorgeous man, and she follows him to his magnificent house in the treetops, learns only his first name, and spends that night and every other night having wild, passionate sex with him (she was a virgin and had never been on a date or even kissed a man before meeting Krav).

It's here that the timeline gets confusing, because after a week or so, they start touring Europe together, spending time in England, France, Switzerland and on the Amalfi coast, spending much of that time in bed. The timeline suggests the affair has gone on for a month, but it seemed longer, until Riot realizes she's missed her period, buys a test kit and discovers she's pregnant. Krav's reaction to the news is pure rage, and he's as cold as an Arctic winter. Riot runs into the street in tears, falls, starts to bleed, and believes she's miscarried. She can't get away from Krav fast enough, but she eventually ends up in a small English village, finds a job, and prepares to have her baby alone, until she's hit by a car one morning.

When she wakes up from her coma, one month later, she has no idea where she is or what happened to her, and she has no memory of Krav at all, or the past 10 months of her life. But as soon as she hears a baby cry, she runs to find it and discovers her one-month old daughter, although she doesn't remember being pregnant either, she simply knows the baby girl is hers. It's Krav's chance to start over with her, and he chooses to lie to her about everything, telling her that they are engaged and had a whirlwind romance--and that he can't wait to marry her. She doesn't seem to notice that Krav never touches their baby, who, surprisingly can crawl at one month old. Riot falls in love with Krav all over again, but as romance readers, we know that lies soon get discovered, and lost memories don't stay lost forever.

Although the math/timeline in this novel didn't add up, the story of how these two emotionally damaged and neglected people did, and in Krav's case, here's your trigger warning for past child abuse and kidnapping. It was Riot, who always saw herself as unremarkable, who was the standout in this novel--her emotional growth and determination to try to understand and repair the damage Krav suffered at his father's hands, that made her character and this story work for this reader. Although it was somewhat confusing, and the plot as hard to believe as the Cinderella reference in the title, I still found this novel to be a gripping, angst-filled, and emotion-charged read, and I'm happy to recommend it.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.

A heroine with memory loss, a baby, a rich tycoon. Quick read that was entertaining. Don’t care for the title.

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect book to snuggle up with on any day.

I love Harlequinn romances because they are light reading and serve as the perfect antidote to a mundane, busy life. I've read a lot of improbably plot lines but this one is a little more farfetched than most.
Riot is sheltered and has never ventured far from home. When she plucks up the courage to break out of her mold and join her roommate and friends on a trip to South Asia, she finds herself abandoned and alone in a remote destination. Kraven a total stranger comes to her rescue and before you know it, she's off with Kraven and living in luxury in Europe, in love with the image of the man she's created in her mind.
When Kraven rejects her and her pregnancy, she leaves him and finds a place to raise her baby. However, she's in an accident which leaves her with amnesia and the Kraven who once didn't want her or the baby swoops into the rescue and she's living in bliss again with no memories of their relationship trauma. Clearly this is a Harlequinn romance, and all roads lead to a happy ending with the billionaire having found romance.
The course of true love is convoluted for sure but all's well that ends well.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/Harlequin Presents for the ARC, I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I am always so excited when I get to read an ARC from Harlequin. I also usually enjoy this author. I have to say that this was not one of my favorites. The characters were interesting although both of them were irresponsible. For a billionaire, Kraven seems very naive. For me, the entire premise was a bit out there. Still a quick read. 2.5 stars

Riot fell in love with billionaire, Kravan, the first time she met him, has a relationship with him and gets pregnant. He doesn’t believe that she loves him and is pregnant with his baby. She leaves him to start a new life, but gets in an accident and has amnesia. Kravan is notified that she has had a baby, and he comes to get Riot and the baby. He brings her home without telling her anything. When she regains her memory, she leaves him and takes her baby. Kravan is now forced face his fears and decide what he wants from his life.

Quick Summary: Deep and angst-ridden

My Review: The Secret That Shocked Cinderella by Maisey Yates was a story about two wounded souls - Krav (the tiger) and Riot (the tigress). They were two scarred people who fiercely fell toward their forever love. Their coming together and their ultimate love story was peculiar just as much as it was mystical (in a sense). How they met, how they parted, and how they came to realize the love that they had for one another could be categorized as both deep and angst-ridden.

Things That I Appreciated About This Story:

- I love HQ romances that have amnesia weaved into a character's storyline. This story broached the topic fairly well.

- I loved that character growth could be seen in Krav, particularly as it related to his daughter. That needed to happen.

- I liked the final glimpse into the future.

Things That I Questioned About This Story:

- I must confess that I do not see how the title relates to the story. Even as I imagine the Cinderella fairy tale, I simply cannot see how this story compares. I would love to know.

- I could not understand how Riot could be so irresponsible when it came to her safety. There is much that I could say about this. I will simply say that even in fiction, there should be an element of realism when it comes to safety and well being.

- I did not understand how one trip could change Krav's outlook so quickly.

My Final Say: I have read a number of Maisey Yates books. This romance was different. I would rate it as fairly good.

Rating: 2.5/5
Recommend: +/-
Audience: A

Appreciation is extended to the author and to the publisher of this title. Thank you for granting me access to the digital ARC, in exchange for an honest review. The words I have expressed are my own.

Quick read and a delightful story. Unplanned pregnancy, rich billionaire, and amnesia… the blurb just sets the stage for a fascinating story!

What did I like? Krav and Riot meet in a setting that feels like kismet. After a whirlwind trip, Riot has her eyes opened after an unplanned pregnancy. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in this fun HEA!

Would I recommend or buy? This story had a bit of angst to it but it was an easy book to devour. If your in for a fun but quick read then this is definitely for you. I’d buy a copy for my collection!

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left this opinion!