In What Her Sicilian Husband Desires, author Caitlin Crews explores the long-simmering relationship between an innocent young woman and her much older stepbrother. Brought back together after years apart with differing ideas about their respective futures, Chloe and Lao eventually manage to banish the pasts which haunt them both.

I got this book from Netgalley. Based on the title and the cover, I never would have chosen this book, but when I saw it was written by Caitlyn Crews, I knew I had to give it a try. I’m glad because this book was great.

First of all, I have to say there were some wonderful metaphors, but I especially liked these two:
“He looked as if he’d been made from thunder and too much rain, as wild and untamed as the Sicilian mountains they stood upon.”
“She studied him as if the glass walls had shattered and a dragon or two had flown in. As if he was a dragon himself.”

Lao, short for Stanislao, is Chloe’s much older stepbrother, but she has had a crush on him since she was seven years old. Now, both of their parents are dead and she has leaned on him for support for the past five years to get through the heartache. When she showed up asking for his help all those years ago, he married her and promised to care for her, but they’ve never lived together. Now, he wants to make this into a real marriage, but he’s clear that it’s only because he wants heirs.

The problem is, Lao is emotionless, and although he shows he cares for Chloe, he will not allow himself to connect on a deeper level. Although she has fantasized about him, she is unhappy when he makes it clear that there will be no love in this transaction. She wants to tell him no, but she doesn’t have the strength to do it. “She made herself stand taller, as if a straight back would take the place of the spine she should have grown years ago.” And this is such a perfect description of Lao and the way he speaks to her, saying things she thinks are outrageous “with ferocious unconcern.”

As it turns out, Lao has been fantasizing about Chloe, but he will not admit it to her. He barely admits it to himself, but when they get together, the chemistry is explosive. From just a kiss, “Chloe wanted to dance in the flame of this forever. She wanted to crawl along the length of him, to swing herself into his arms, to strip them both of all the clothes they wore so she could get her skin all over his. And then see what happened.”

Lao sends her for some pampering which includes the usual billionaire-type treatment given to women. Or so I’ve heard. She’s waxed and tweezed, pedicured, manicured, massaged, and so forth. And she feels so special. ”Hours passed before it occurred to her to realize that this wasn’t a gift that Lao was giving her. He was preparing his own gift.” To me, this realization is profound, and it’s the crux of Lao’s problem. He knows how to go through the actions of making her feel special, but he doesn’t truly share any intimacy with her. And even the things that he does that seem to be for her are really meant to benefit him too.

Although Chloe has some growing to do—self-confidence, purpose, independence, and self-love, Lao is really the one transformed. It takes some heart-wrenching decisions on Chloe’s part and some rude awakenings from Lao, but eventually, he understands that the things his father taught him were never going to give him a happy life, while the things his mother tried to teach him were always leading him in the direction of love. And there’s a bit about roses and the thorns that grow on them thrown in. It’s a sweet and fulfilling ending, focused entirely upon just these two people and the journey they need to take, with no other characters who might be included in future sequels. If there had been, I’m sure I would have wanted to read the next book because I enjoy Caitlyn Crews that much.

What Her Sicilian Husband Desires by Caitlin Crews tells the story of an innocent women, a dominate, cold man, their marriage of convenience and then an unplanned pregnancy. Lao Monteleone married Chloe Stapelton to help her out of a situation after her father died when she was lost, needed to be comforted and to feel safe. Chloe had no direction and no real plan for her life. Yet, when summoned to her husband's side, she went and made a declaration of independence. While she had one objective in her head, her husband of five years had another; he wanted her to have his heir. Lao was aloof, emotionless, had a heart of ice, and detached from others, as his father had shaped him; caring only about their legacy. Interacting with Chloe changed him; especially his priorities in life. There was much growth between each character as well as with their relationship.

Ms. Crews has a reputation for writing wonderful stories, full of passion, intensity, strong emotions and smexy tension as she did for Lao and Chloe in this not be missed story. I recommend What Her Sicilian Husband Desires to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Empowering story, simmering romance

18-year-old Chloe turns to her ex-stepbrother after her father dies, and he offers to help her by marrying her to give her his name and support - but that's it. They're never together in any way, rarely see each other, but she's given the support she needs to pursue her education and career.

Five years later, she's summoned to his home, and she's thinks it's because he wants a divorce to end their arrangement. Lao, on the other hand, is thinking it's time to make their marriage productive, as he wants an heir and already has the wife. Chloe recognizes right away that she's so much more than a broodmare and turns him down.

Their relationship starts off with Lao thinking everything can be kept business like, with his heart safely protected behind his walls. He knows what he wants and is used to getting it. I really loved that Chloe stood up to him and refused to accept less than everything from him, subtly demanding that he confront his own deep-set emotions about family and marriage. Because she was very close to her step-mother (his mother), she knew him on a deeper level than he thought, and she knew exactly how to reach his heart.

The whole book is a warm tribute to mothers, who always put their children first, even ahead of their marriages when necessary. You can count on this author to bring the HEA every time, and this one was splendid. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

One of the best Harlequin books I have ever read, if not THE best. I will be re-reading this for several years!

Lao married Chloe in a marriage of convenience to protect her after her father died. They've met during the intervening time at different places and different times around the world but now it seems it's time for the debts to be called.
Instead of divorcing Chloe as she had expected, Lao wants to take their marriage to the next level and have her be the mother of his heirs. Chloe might be attracted to Lao but she's not quite ready for a loveless marriage. Will she be able to bring Lao to her way of thinking or will she succumb to his potent sexuality and be content to be his wife and at his beck and call but with no romance.
Interesting trope.

I struggled a little with this storyline since it seemed like there was a little lack of consent from Chloe in terms of her relationship with Lao. Further, the set-up of the story -- the flow and the perspectives -- seemed disjointed and distracting throughout the book. Some of the sentences weren't full and proper sentences and that seemed distracting in a professionally published book. Though I appreciated the direction of the story and the intent behind the relationship, I didn't think it was particularly well done. The story-telling and structure seemed a little sloppy, which is a little disappointing for a professionally published book.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this arc. This was a great read and was a very interesting story. I enjoyed the background of the characters and their love story.

I have enjoyed this author’s books, but not this one. The H had been married to the h for 5 years before they get together. The h loves the H, but H says love is not an option. They have lots of sex.

*Note: This ARC review will be posted on my blog hptriviachamp.tumblr.com on April 23rd, a month before the book is published

Releases on May 23rd

Summary:
Chloe Stapleton is summoned to her husband Lao's Sicilian castello and assumes the time has come for them to divorce. They've lived apart for the entirety of their marriage, and she expects it will be easy, despite her long-standing attraction to him. What she does not expect is for Lao to demand an heir.

My review:
First let me say I am a huuuge Caitlin Crews fan. I've been reading Harlequin Presents since I was like 12, but she's one of the authors whose backlist I've read most of, and I look forward to every book she publishes.

The hallmark of a Caitlin Crews book is a man who is grim and manages to outrage you in some way or another. In Lao's case, it's refusing to grant Chloe a divorce after five years of marriage (he married her at 18 to "save" her and they'd lived apart since) and basically demanding they procreate for the sake of an heir. Four of them, preferably, as he says 💀. Lao lives in the way of the olden-day aristocrats, holed up in his castello, neither seen nor heard unless he really want to be. Consequently, there are a lot of ghost metaphors in this book. His mindset is borderline feudal since he's obsessed with legacy, and really, the only sympathy you initially have for him is that his dad was an even grimmer, more legacy-obsessed man.

That being said, was Lao an entertaining hero? He kinda was. His internal freakout moments were particularly hilarious, like when Chloe confesses her love for him, and this man's first reaction is pure outrage. He is very much a "love is for the plebs" sorta man. Chloe is a heroine that grows on you. Caitlin often writes heroines that bother you a little, and Chloe absolutely did because of her deep lack of ambition, in the traditional sense. That being said, reading her backbone develop over the course of the book was great, especially in the face of this grim, stern man (to clarify grim and stern is..... not a bad thing, necessarily. I can go off about how much I love to hate on Caitlin's heroes for a long time). Ultimately, Lao's big Thing is learning to let go of his obsession with the past, and learning to live in the present.

The sex:
This is one of the books where they have sex pretty early on in the book, and it's only later that emotional intimacy develops (especially since Lao is prone to distracting them from real conversations with sex, as an emotionally-stunted hero is prone to). The sex is written well; nothing extremely explicit as is befitting a Harlequin Presents book. A good author will still write some pretty evocative stuff with what words they're "allowed", and Caitlin is always very good at that. Was this one stand-out among her others? I wouldn't say so, but it was fine.

Overall:
Again, I wouldn't say this was a stand-out among Caitlin's other works, but it does the trick, and I did enjoy it, particularly some of the more dialogue-heavy passages where Chloe slowly pokes holes in in Lao's notion of what the Right way to live is. Their chemistry was there (though I did want a little more on the initial "forbidden" aspect; they were, after all, former step-siblings) and I overall would recommend.

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Interesting, enjoyable and fun, the MMC is a bit controlling but oh well, and the FMC way to naive. Still it was a nice quick read .

Another great book from Caitlin Crews.

Sometimes I just want to float away and this story, mostly set in Sicily is just what I needed.

My only complaint is that I always kind of want a little more at the end, I would like to have a bit more ending to the 'rides off into the sunset . . ..'

Some expected criticism; that the story is a bit old fashioned and that the heroine was naive, but I like that she was a caring person and that grieving doesn't have an expiry date.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Presents for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I thought this was a cute book, but not realistic. Wonder what set him off? Why after 5 years? I still enjoyed the book, I find it amusing to read how rich people live. I thought Chloe could have stood up for herself more, and I really didn't get Lao. 3.5 stars

good book and my first from Caitlin Crews. this will not be my last book from her. i will read more and see how great they are. read it today.

Quick Summary: A Harlequin Presents with him in mind

My Review: What Her Sicilian Husband Desires by Caitlin Crews was an interesting romance. It was a character-driven read that had a peculiar emotional register. It was what I would categorize as a "melting heart" story.

About the Characters:
Lao Monteleone --> To say that Lao had a heart of ice would be just about accurate. This character had a distorted past that, of course, shaped him into who he was. He was all about legacy. He was aloof and disconnected. Initially, he existed in a state of suspended animation where his emotions were concerned. When he interacted with Chloe Stapleton, however, things started to change...although he would never admit it.

Chloe Stapelton --> Young, innocent, and clueless was how Chloe came across when her character was first introduced. She had no direction and no real plan for her life. Still, when summoned to her husband's side, she went and made a declaration of independence. While she had one objective in her head, her husband of five years had another.

My Final Say: This romance was written with a unique slant. It swayed heavily toward the male lead. It was about confronting him and his past more so than about the female lead...or even about them as a couple. Readers will note that growth happens with both characters and that a more mature sense of realization and acceptance eventually comes. The in-between in the maturation cycle of this couple will require patience and understanding.

Rating: 3.25/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: 💬
Chemistry: +/-

Appreciation is extended to the author, to HARLEQUIN, and to NetGalley, who provided access to a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and have been voluntarily shared.

Rating 3.25 - 3.50 Vacillating here on the rating.

~Step sibling romance.

~Chloe has been infatuated and attracted to Lao for a long time.

~Her father dies when she is eighteen and she runs to Lao to help her navigate her inheritance and the solution is marriage.

~Lao always admired Chloe's spunk but when she turns eighteen he finds himself physically drawn to her as she's definitely grown up into a beautiful woman.

~The two marry and we open five years later, Chloe has been summoned by Lao to his home. She pretty sure it's to finally ask for a divorce so he can go on with his life. They have met over the years for coffee or dinners but this is the first summons she's had to come to his home.

~Well Chloe has the surprise of her life as Lao isn't looking for a divorce but for a heir. He's waited a long time to get Chloe into his bed and feels now is the appropriate time as he wants a 4 or 5 kids. Chloe at first believes he has feelings for her and is thrilled it's reciprocated. Unfortunately Lao set's her straight that this is only convenient for each. He gets his heir and finally get's to explore their physical attraction. Chloe is infuriated and heartbroken Lao isn't interested in a true emotional relationship between them. She turns him down but he convinces her that she doesn't have anything else going on in life (this infuriated me) so why not start a family. And hey let me show you how good it will be between us in the bedroom. Well one kiss and Chloe agrees.

~What Lao doesn't know is Chloe is on birth control and decides to give this a trial run. Maybe feelings will develop and Lao will fall in love with her. If not after three months she will just walk away.

~So the two embark on a physical relationship and as things progress Lao does develop an emotional attachment. But of course something doesn't go as planned and a confrontation occurs.

~But the two work it through and get their HEA.

Okay I struggled with this and that's not the norm for Caitlin Crews books. She is my go to for HP so this was a disappointment and not the norm. And my issue with this is the heroine and the set up of the story. She's portrayed as this young woman totally enraptured and infatuated with this hero, sadly she comes across as weak. I like my innocent heroines who are in love with the hero from afar but majority of the time they come across and strong but soft. Chloe just all of a sudden had a flip switch when she learns that she's only wanted for sex and them becomes this somewhat strong/confrontive woman. Just didn't work for me. And really didn't like Lao either. Normally love the jerky hero CC has in her HP's but this one didn't mesh well for me.

~But Caitlin Crews epilogue, home run. Saved this for a 4 star rating,