Great Harlequin author and talented writer. She always manages to make the romances she writes come to life and capture her audience.

This reminded me so much of the older style Harlequin books. It is book 1 in The Outrageous Accardi Brothers series. Annie is working as a secretary to pay off her sister's debts. When she runs into the CO's brother Tiziano in the stairway it changes her life forever. He needs to hire someone to be his pretend mistress to get his brother from arranging a marriage for him. (slightly old fashioned in today's world.) but Annie needs the money so she agrees. You can guess what happens. I enjoyed this throwback story.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Caitlin Crews’ The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary is a sensuous, scintillating and sensational contemporary romance that sizzles with heat, humor and intensity.

After her sister’s spending had spiraled out of control and left her up to her eyeballs drowning in debt, Annie Meeks had been left with no other choice but to give up on her own dreams and abandon all of her hopes for the future. Having always wanted to go to university to major in Art, Annie instead found herself working as a secretary for the billionaire Accardi brothers. With her life having panned out in a completely different direction to the one she had envisaged for herself, Annie doesn’t know how she is ever going to get out of the mess her sister has landed her in – until a chance encounter with Tiziano Accardi has her swapping deadlines for diamonds!

A tabloid regular whose exploits are frequently splashed all over the papers, Tiziano is well aware of the fact that his brother is pressuring him into making a marriage of convenience with one of their associates. Tiziano wants to show the world that there is far more to him than the laidback playboy everyone has dismissed him as and finding a bride not of his sibling’s choosing is just the thing to get his brother off his case. When he meets Annie Meeks, he is immediately drawn to her spirit, her intelligence and her feistiness and knowing of her dire financial situation he proposes a relationship of convenience in exchange for her becoming his mistress.

Annie accepts even though she is worlds apart from the kind of women Tiziano usually dates. Theirs is a purely practical arrangement where feelings and emotions are not part of the deal, however, that quickly becomes easily said than done as they discover when they find themselves falling head over heels in love with one another.

Will Annie become Tiziano’s bride for real? Or will their differences, doubts and insecurities end up tearing them apart forever?

Caitlin Crews has got a treat in store for Harlequin Presents fans with The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary. Full of passion, drama and emotion, The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary is a fabulous marriage of convenience romance with a gorgeous billionaire hero and a spirited and sardonic heroine readers cannot help but root for.

Escapist, enjoyable and so delicious readers will devour this book in one sitting, The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary is another winner for Caitlin Crews.

The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary by Caitlin Crews, book one in The Outrageous Accardi Brothers series. Annie has had to drop out of her History of Art degree and work as a secretary to pay off credit card debt racked up by her sister stealing and using her credit card before fleeing to Australia. Tizanio has helped build a family empire but his reputation as a womanizer has his older brother wanting to save his reputation by forcing Tizanio m into a marriage he doesn’t want, But Tiziano believes he's found the solution to his dilemma when climbing the stairs to his brother's office, as a secretary stumbles, drops her files and lands at his feet. She's Annie Meeks, who had to give up her dreams of college and an art degree when her younger sister stole her credit card and amassed a huge debt, and then hit the road for Australia.A simple business arrangement turns into so much more, but our couple isn’t familiar with their feelings, so they miss it.

To avoid an arranged marriage, billionaire Tiziano fakes a relationship with employee Annie.

I loved Annie's tough, no-nonsense attitude. Tiziano starts out as a bit of an alphahole, but she soon puts him in his place. The emotion and sensual tension are strong, and the ending satisfying.

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

The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary by Caitlin Crews, book one in The Outrageous Accardi Brothers series, is a classic rags to riches story with a familiar theme of a billionaire and fake mistress but it becomes so much more. Annie has had to drop out of her History of Art degree and work as a secretary to pay off credit card debt racked up by her sister stealing and using her credit card before fleeing to Australia. Tizanio has helped build a family empire but his reputation as a womanizer has his older brother wanting to save his reputation by forcing Tizanio m into a marriage he doesn’t want. Accidentally running into Annie, Tizanio plots a way to get out of the marriage arrangement; have a faux fling with Annie and pretend to be in love. In return Annie will have her debts paid off and be able to start again debt free. A simple business arrangement turns into so much more, but our couple isn’t familiar with their feelings, so they miss it. That doesn’t matter though, because they continue to play their parts while falling deeper and deeper for each other. Spark do fly, as does Annie, but look for a Christmas reunion.

Ms. Crews has a reputation for writing wonderful stories, full of passion, intensity, strong emotions and smexy tension as she did for Annie and Tizanio in these rags to riches story that should not be missed. I recommend The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Annie Meeks falls at the feet of the billionaire owner of the company where she's a lowly cog in the secretarial pool. Nothing should have really come of it except said billionaire's just coming from an ultimatum from his big brother and finds that Annie might be the perfect solution to get him out of jail.
Harlequinn romances are all about improbable romances and what could be more improbable than a business arrangement turning into the biggest romance of the century. Tall dark and handsome with poor girl is a frequent theme though and this one lives up to that. It does come together really well, and Annie Meeks is definitely not meek when it comes down to it.

A sweet Cinderella story

Tiziano comes from ancient family money, the second son without all the responsibilities of the heir, a playboy who has become accustomed to his very privileged life. But when his older brother wants to arrange his marriage, and he runs into a feisty secretary in the stairwell who is the first woman not to fall at his feet, he figures that he can use her to convince his brother he's not marriage material.

Annie, for her part, quickly agrees to accept the huge financial incentive to play along, and soon is swept into a world of exclusive restaurants, charity galas, paparazzi, and designer fashion. What could possibly go wrong?

What Tiziano never saw coming is how Annie, unencumbered by the public adoration of billionaires, immediately sees through his public persona and treats him as the ordinary human that he is. Refreshing as that may be, it's also quite jarring and he at first doesn't know what to do with her. I enjoyed the push-pull as he fights his attraction to her honesty and simple values, while she strives to make sure this experience doesn't change who she is at her core.

It wouldn't be a Harlequin if it didn't have a splendid HEA, but I didn't really feel Tiziano falling in love as much as I'd wished. I did love the way Annie took charge at the end, forcing him to meet her on her terms, breaking down any remaining walls between them. Caitlin Crews is always an author worth reading, and this book is no exception. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Wow! Just when I'd stopped reading Harlequin Presents novels, even by authors whose work I love, because they tended to be too short, lacked character development and some steaminess, Caitlin Crews just turned my opinion on its ear with The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary. If I'd not read her bio notes and learned that she had her PhD in English Literature, the fact that this London-based romance reads like a Victorian novel, albeit with more heat, this English Literature major would have known that fact by page 2. I loved every minute of it, and it gets 5 stars from this enchanted reader.

Tiziano Accardi is the current wastrel billionaire son of the Accardi dynasty. His older brother, Ago, plans to marry him off to the prized, virginal daughter of another billionaire business dynasty, by Christmas, which is rapidly approaching. But Tiziano believes he's found the solution to his dilemma when climbing the stairs to his brother's office, as a secretary stumbles, drops her files and lands at his feet. She's Annie Meeks, who had to give up her dreams of college and an art degree when her younger sister stole her credit card and amassed a huge debt, and then hit the road for Australia. Annie is obligated to pay off that debt, even if it takes decades.

When Annie fails to give handsome Tiziano the same worshipful response he gets from most women, he's intrigued by her, and hatches a plan to make her his mistress, in name only, to foil his brother's arranged marriage deal. In return, he will pay off Annie's debts, pay for a new residence, her college education, and leave Annie well funded for the rest of her life--all she has to do is sign a bunch of documents, including a non-disclosure agreement, and play her role as his Cinderella of a mistress. How could anyone in her position not agree to such a plan?

Will it work? Will this fake relationship fool Tiziano's brother? Will this agreement work as well as Tiziano thinks it will? Will this become more than a mere business arrangement? You'll just have to read this emotional, little gem of a novel to find out, and I think you'll end up loving it as much as I did.

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

This story is a familiar theme with a billionaire and fake mistress but with Crews as the author, it becomes so much more for me. She layers in a bit of snarky sarcasm to keep an even keel, dry humor, and plenty of steam. I found myself reading between the lines to get the full impact of this story due to the subtle underlying feelings between the characters.

One thing that did get to me is the title. I really feel it is not the best choice for all that this book offers. In fact, I would not have chosen it had it not been written by Crews…

Overall, I loved The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary! I enjoyed the wicked sense of humor and the level of steam. Then Crews finishes this off with a fabulous ending that levels this one up!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Presents for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This was an odd one. I liked the characters but not together. Tiziano hides who he is, and Annie is stuck trying to make ends meet because of a big spending sister. After about 5 seconds of Annie not preening on Tiz he asks her to be his fake mistress? Wow just wow. I found this to be super unrealistic and just plain funny. Quick read as always. 3 stars Not my favorite by this author.

The H doesn’t want to marry the woman his brother has chosen for him. The brother feels the H needs to take an interest in their business and earn the respect of the board. He bumps into the h makes a bargain with her. He’ll give her the money she needs to pay off the debts her sister ran up when she stole the h’s credit card, if she will pretend to be his mistress until the engagement is called off.

I had a hard time rating this book. The writing and emotional undercurrents kept me engaged. But I never connected with with Tiziano or Annie. They had great chemistry, but we never saw more than surface of their blossoming romance. I don’t know that I will read any more of Ms. Crews category romance since I love her cowboy romance series so much more!

Quick Summary: A short and sweet romance

My Review: The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary by Caitlin Crews was a simple love story. It was a short and sweet romance with little to no drama.

Although this book started a little slow, it eventually picked up its pace. Unfortunately, it maintained an up and down pattern with its storyline, before it coasted toward a very predictable end.

All in all, this story was about a young woman who suffered setbacks in life (not of her own making) and about a man who hid his real truth behind a womanizing, celebrity status. Both characters were good at heart, but neither knew how to break away from the empty existence they had. That is until they found each other.

My Final Say: This was a lukewarm read, overall. I thought it was okay, but I didn't love it. I really wanted to be drawn in by the couple, but it just didn't happen. Other readers may have a different take.

Rating: 2.75/5
Recommend: +/-
Audience: A
Status: Tame


I voluntarily read this title. Thank you to the author, to the publisher, and to NetGalley, who provided access to a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary is a superbly crafted Harlequin Presents which combines the classic Cinderella/Fake Romance tropes with believable and layered characters. Can't wait for Book 2 in the series!

The Christmas He Claimed the Secretary.

Was just okay not one of her best..I almost DNF I wanted to see where this story was going.. it's a 2 stars. I will be looking out for more books by Caitlin Crews i have enjoyed her other books
I was provided an arc e-copy by the publisher Harlequin for honest review. thank you so much for sending me a copy.

Happy Reading Lisa 📚

This was a wonderfully emotional read. A simple business arrangement turns into so much more, but our couple isn’t familiar with their feelings, so they miss it. That doesn’t matter though, because they continue to play their parts while falling deeper and deeper for each other. Loved this fish-out-of-water story, her for the lifestyle, him for the emotions. The characters were evenly matched in temperament and wit, making their interactions very interesting! A great read that hit all the right feels <3

I am normally not a fan of novella like these books anymore, and yet I have been drawn to them again of late.
Though, I normally stop reading them about half way through NOT this one.

This story between Annie and Tiziano, I could not put down. There was no loll that made me think I could stop here and be good with where the story is at. The banter between the two of them when they were together and how Annie would call Tiziano on his B.S. was great. I liked how she would figure him out more and more of what kind of person he was behind the mask he showed the world.

The hero Tiziano, was another one of hero's in the HP line I did not warm up to this month. He was a typical playboy who everybody loved and who jetted around the world for a good time and beautiful woman.

Our heroine, Annie is a more serious and hardworking character. She is trying to help her sister with monetary issues she had unfortunately incurred. She is working as a secretary in Tizano's & his brothers company.

They literally meet by bumping into each other in a stairwell, each going to their perspective destination. Tiziano was somewhat taken aback that his woman was not drooling all over him but in fact seemed unfazed by him or his looks. Her actually not fawning over him and her demeanor being more irritated by him caught his attention. Oh and her physical appearance didn't go unnoticed either. As he began conversing with her a plan was formulating in Tiziano's head. And that plan was an offer that was presented to Annie.

Our hero was on his way to his brothers office, he was in-fact being summons by his brother to discuss his future marriage to the bride of his brothers choosing. And the bride that was chosen for him was absolutely not appealing to our hero at all. Welllll actually marriage in general was totally unappealing to him, but the bride that his brother picked was everything he didn't want for a wife if he had to have one that is. Too proper, too well put together and full of etiquette and social standing. So a idea was born as he was talking to Annie, what if she played a role as his girlfriend , one who he's fallen madly in love with. That should throw everyone off and infuriate all parties involved to call off this "wedding/marriage". And he would generously compensate Annie for her help in this scheme of his.

Well the two agree and so begins their "love affair". And in the process the two of course fall in love. There is of course a lot of bumps along the way but true love prevails.

Back to the hero, my main issue for not loving this romance. His character never endeared himself to me. He seemed a little too shallow for my taste and never really developed much depth. The heroine was more complex and likable with some good growth in her character development. Their romance was okay and all but never got real excited about their HEA.

On a side note the brother of this hero definitely caught my attention as well as the woman he picked to marry his brother. Those two seemed to be much more interesting and complex characters. Plus I can see sparks flying with those two. I am really looking forward to reading their romance. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...