| Title | : | After the Greek Affair |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 195 |
| Publication | : | First published August 1, 2011 |
After the Greek Affair Reviews
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One star is for the all-too-realistic hero – not because the story was terrible.
H/h meet and have a sexual affair, while pretending not to have feelings for each other. It’s five-week affair on a Greek island, the amount of time before the H’s sister wedding and the amount of time heroine has to design and make a wedding dress and bridesmaids’ dresses.
Heroine returns to England, realizes she’s pregnant and then the story takes a dark turn.
Hero’s experience of his previous girlfriend aborting their baby because of her career colors the rest of his actions. Heroine’s childhood spent with a controlling, abusive stepfather, colors her reactions.
In short, hero’s “protectiveness” triggers all sorts of victim emotions in the heroine and it’s not pretty to read. At one point she flinches, afraid hero is going to hit her. Hero is shocked, but it doesn’t stop his OTT declarations, edicts and scolding. He kidnaps her, sets guards watching her every move and sandbags her business so she will have time for the babies.
This sounds like typical alpha behavior, but it’s not. A typical alpha acts this way because he’s convinced he’s right about . . . whatever. It’s a positive action even if it’s the wrong action.
This hero acts this way because he is afraid. He is a man living in fear and fearful men are very dangerous, imo.
Too many lines are crossed and the heroine melting in a puddle at one “I love you” is not enough. This reader was not reassured that this hero won’t be a controlling husband from hell because his fears were never addressed.
This isn’t in the same league as a Margaret Pargeter/Lilian Peake story but it’s not a good look for a novel written in the 21st century. No woman should have to put up with a hero like this – especially with counselling available for someone with his baggage. -
The more that I think about this book, the more it hacks me off to the point that I threw it across the room when I was finished with it. I was actually really really enjoying it until about halfway through when the heroine, Belle, found out she was pregnant. Even that wasn't so bad though as instead of dissolving into paroxysms of joy, Shaw actually had Belle take a step back and think realistically about the impact that pregnancy can have on a young woman's life.
And then Loukas, the so-called hero of the piece, found out about the pregnancy and promptly kidnapped Belle from London and shipped her out to a remote Greek island. Yes, that's right, KIDNAPPED!!! What the f***?!
Who does that? Really? Like in the real world without then being promptly arrested afterwards?
And that's just the start of it. Of course, Shaw writes some total bulls*** about Loukas only being overprotective because his father died tragically and his ex-girlfriend had previously aborted another of his unborn babies, but this is no excuse for the campaign of abusive behaviour he then wages against Belle (who he claims to love). He threatens to take her babies (they're twins) away from her when they're born unless she accepts her kidnapping. Then he makes the same threat to get her to agree to marry him. He flips out when she tries to leave the island just to get away from it all for a bit. and then he tries to ruin her company that she's set up from scratch. And all this is done under the guise of 'protecting her'.
I don't really think words could describe my fury at this book at this point, especially as at the beginning before this point, I was really rooting for the characters 'cos I thought they were quite sweet.
The worst part of all this though, is that the strong independent character of Belle, suddenly becomes the world's most sexually-motivated wimp. At the beginning, while she is in the process of being kidnapped, Belle tells Loukas exactly how awful and insane he's being. However, within the space of two sentences, she's giving into him and justifying his unreasonable behaviour. As a character who has been in an emotionally abusive relationship before and keep talking about how she won't stand for it again, she gives in pretty easily. It's soooooooo frustrating! As a reader, you just want to scream at her to open her eyes and see what's going on.
By the end of this book I had no sympathy for either of the lead characters and no tolerance for the story that Shaw has created. It's awful, and the worse part is that it started so well and then descended into the story of an abusive relationship dressed up as a romantic story. It's not romantic or sexy or attractive. It's horrible to read and because of that I don't really think that I can recommend it at all.
1 star. One to not pick up. -
Billionaire tycoon Loukas Christakis distrusts all women except his soon-to-be-married little sister, Larissa He has reluctantly allowed Belle Andersen, a struggling designer from London to make the wedding dress on his private island.
There is a strong sensual tension between the two and Loukas finds himself drawn Belle.
Bella has a lot of emotional baggage. Her life had been controlled by her nasty and cruel father, who she discovers is not her real father. She is determined to make a success of her wedding dress designing business.
They have a short affair and they have to overcome the resulting consequences
I love stories about Greek billionaires and the Greek setting was fabulous. Gorgeous, dark, tanned, rich hero and the beautiful, untouched English rose. Wow…..they just have to fall in love and live happily ever after… -
I usually enjoy this author's books, but this one for me was a bit stale. Same old trope....that is so overdone.
Greek tycoon conveniently manipulates situation to put lovely sexually inexperienced woman in his clutches. They fall instantly in lust. They end up having unprotected sex the same day they meet and eight weeks later she is pregnant. He wants to marry her for the sake of the baby. In this case babies, because she is having twins. She has major reservations because he doesn't love her (of course he doesn't, he just met you.....) which builds the requisite tension you need to have in a category romance.. Something scary or traumatic happens to force their hand and declare their undying love for one another. We have our HEA...and a nice epilogue.
Really, just change the names, change the island.....and there you go...new story! -
No, I really do mean it. WTF IS GOING ON. How is kidnapping someone and then threatening to take their babies away ultimate declaration of love?
The hero was a whack job and was probably dropped too many times on his head when he was a kid.
And ummm...I'm pretty sure it's up to the woman to decide whether they want to keep their baby or not in England and in Greece. It kinda is not up to anyone else even if they're the baby's father to decide it for her that she has to carry a baby for 9 months even if she doesn't want to! -
This was such a fan reading. I had some issues with how stubborn the heroine was otherwise I would have given it 5 stars. But the hero was complex, compelling and the epilogue beyond adorable! I'm a sucker for unplanned pregnancies!
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I really enjoyed this book. Belle is a wedding dress designer. She met with Larissa and agreed to fly to Greece to design Larissa’s wedding dress. Larissa sent her handsome brother Loukas to pick her up and take her on a motor boat to the private island of Aura. Loukas tried to send Belle back to the states, with a check saying her services were no longer needed. He wanted some famous designer to design his sisters wedding dress. Belle held her ground, and didn’t back down. She ripped up the check. Even though they were having a disagreement, they could both feel the sizzle between them. Some reviewers said this book was predictable. I have to say some parts were, but the story line was very entertainer. This book was different than most I’ve read with this story line. The two main charactors actually talk their problems out. They don’t guess when they are mad, and run away from the problems. They face them head on. I love belle she is innocent, but don’t confuse that for weak. She is a very head strong lady, not afraid to say what is on her mind! As you can imagine Loukas being the rich man he is, is not use to anyone talking to him and not giving in to his will. I hope you enjoy this book, for I thought it was a sweet book!
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3.5 stars
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Bu hikayeyi çok beğendim.Romanı baştan sona kadar beğeni ile okudum..Loukas Christakis zengin karizmatik bir milyarder..Belle Andersen çok güzel yetenekli bir modacı.Var olma savaşı veriyor..Gelinlik tasarlamak üzere Loukas'ın kız kardeşi tarafından özel adalarına çağrılıyor.Ama onu karşılayan kibirli milyarderimiz Belle'yi bu iş için yeterli görmüyor.Daha ünlü bir modacıya bu işi yaptırmak istiyor..Aralarında kıran kıran bir mücadele oluyor.
Belle sonunda işi kazanıyor..Loukas kız kardeşi Larissa'nın kayın pederinin rahatsızlığı yüzünden ada ile hastane arasında zamanı geçmektedir..Bu yüzden sık sık ikilimizi geceleri yalnız bırakmak durumunda kalır..Aralarındaki çekim baştan beri kuvvetli olan Loukas ve Belle çok geçmeden kendilerini birbirlerinin kollarında bulurlar..
İkisinin de bağladığı kişi olmaması aralarındaki yakınlaşmayı Belle adadan ayrılıncaya kadar sürdürmeye karar verirler...
Larissa'nın düğününe kadar rüya gibi günler geçirirler..Ama ayrılık zamanı gelir çatar.. -
The setting and sense of atmosphere were amazing - the descriptions of the fictional Greek island are incredibly enticing! The sensuality and tension between the hero and heroine is hot, but I just could not warm to their characters. He seemed less 'alpha', more jerk. The heroine's 'innocence' came across as extreme passivity - she never played an active part in anything that happened to her. These character types are just not my thing, unfortunately.
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These HPs keep getting better and better...well, at least better than they were last year. I considered cancelling my subscription!!
Anyway, what a steamy, fun, HP with one minor exception...the hero was not a COMPLETE JERK. I wouldn't even call him a jerk-lite. Overprotective of those he loves to the point of obsession? Yes! Most definitely!! But it's so darn cute to read. -
It is purely through the skill of the writer that this book gets even two stars. I like an alpha make as much as the next romance reader, but this hero crosses the line into abusive territory. I would be scared for any friend dating a man like him. That said, the writer left me with very grudging sympathy for two characters who need an UNBELIEVABLE amount of therapy.
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Rated 3.5. I don't get how people could hate Belle, then i realized most of them are probably old folks. She's actually very lovable and independent. She likes working, she has her own determination. Although, she has her own trauma for her father is not her actual biological father, and he abused her, but she grew up well. The hero, on the other hand, is such a contril freak. I get that he has his own trauma, but he needed help fr. He needs a therapist, he needs to stop being a control and manipulative person. I tried to see where people could hate the heroine, i just can't.
They met when she was about to design his sister's wedding gown. He didn't want her too at first cause of the other designer who disappeared and disappointed his sister. But their chemistry is there, they couldn't avoid it.
Note: the heroine wasn't a virgin. -
Clearly least I liked out of all CS I’ve read. I always find something to hang on to but this time was a total let down. Loukas was a typical controlling alpha and a hot sexy lover. Belle was like a goldfish. Boring, unsexy, slightly needy and came across as an easy lay to me. I need more inhibition and more than a slight chase in my h to hold her at high standards.
Belle was also a self-proclaimed rebel since her own dad had been strict with her for wearing high heels and skimpy clothing and surprise surprise, turns out Belle by choice prefers to dress like that all the time. It ended even before it started. -
loved loukas more than belle.
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man stayed controlling and awful for too long and there was some real icky stuff about abortion and c section vs natural birth that smacked of some weird anti-choice-ism
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Nice story I like this kind of stories
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Ta medio tóxico, como mi corazón 🤡
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Bu hikayeyi çok beğendim.Romanı baştan sona kadar beğeni ile okudum..Loukas Christakis zengin karizmatik bir milyarder..Belle Andersen çok güzel yetenekli bir modacı.Var olma savaşı veriyor..Gelinlik tasarlamak üzere Loukas'ın kız kardeşi tarafından özel adalarına çağrılıyor.Ama onu karşılayan kibirli milyarderimiz Belle'yi bu iş için yeterli görmüyor.Daha ünlü bir modacıya bu işi yaptırmak istiyor..Aralarında kıran kıran bir mücadele oluyor.
Belle sonunda işi kazanıyor..Loukas kız kardeşi Larissa'nın kayın pederinin rahatsızlığı yüzünden ada ile hastane arasında zamanı geçmektedir..Bu yüzden sık sık ikilimizi geceleri yalnız bırakmak durumunda kalır..Aralarındaki çekim baştan beri kuvvetli olan Loukas ve Belle çok geçmeden kendilerini birbirlerinin kollarında bulurlar..
İkisinin de bağladığı kişi olmaması aralarındaki yakınlaşmayı Belle adadan ayrılıncaya kadar sürdürmeye karar verirler...
Larissa'nın düğününe kadar rüya gibi günler geçirirler..Ama ayrılık zamanı gelir çatar.. -
Although this book had a certain amount of character development, the dialogue felt unnatural at times ("white-hot"?), some lines of description repeated (sexy shoulders, brooding eyes), and the pacing slightly off. However, this seems more an editorial issue rather than error on the part of the author.
As a reader, I would have liked there to be a chapter worth of setup explaining the meeting of Belle and Larissa in London before Belle went to Aura, with a short scene where Belle learns a bit about Loukas on the internet as setup for when she meets him in Kea. This would have added something extra and still fit into the parameters of the Modern Romance line. -
A nice, romantic story.
Loukas Christakis will do anything to protect his sister. Knowing her wedding dress maker had runoff with her money, Loukas is determined to make sure that Belle Andersen knows the score. He is going to watch her ever move.
Belle has much to prove. Having been browbeaten by the man she learned late in life was not her true father, she is determined to make her fledling company a success. Having Loukas constantly watching her every move, she struggles to keep her business side separate from the personal side. -
Billionaire tycoon Loukas Christakis has learned the hard way never to trust a woman. The only female he cares about is his soon-to-be-married little sister. And that's why he's reluctantly allowed struggling designer Belle Andersen to make the wedding dress on his private island—where he can keep an eye on her!
Alone together as she works, innocent Belle becomes an unexpected temptation to the virile Loukas. But what should just have been a short paradise affair has consequences. And, as Belle is about to find out, Loukas will do whatever it takes to secure what he feels is rightfully his -
nispeten farklı bir konusu vardı kardeşinin ilk gelinlik yaptırma deneyimi kötü sonuçlanınca ikincisini kendi bildiği ünlü bir modacıya yaptırmak isteyen oğlumuz kardeşinin seçtiği ikinci kişiyi ekarte etmek üzere yola çıkarken kendi ekarte oluyor diyebiliriz:)
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I really like Chantelle Shaw's writing style.
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Miniseries: After Hours with the Greek
Category: Classic Romance
