The Giannakis Bride by Catherine Spencer

The Giannakis Bride Reviews

• 
  willaful

  I wanted to read this because I have a little experience of bone marrow transplants, and I was glad to see that the author got that part of it right, to the best of my knowledge. Unfortunately, in my opinion, she got just about everything else wrong.
  
  The plot was all over the place -- one issue would get resolved, then another would conveniently pop up. Dimitrios's reactions were odd: he apparently can't help antagonizing his ex-lover Brianna, the one person he thinks might be able to save his daughter's life, but then when he learns she didn't betray him after all, he barely reacts and immediately dashes off to a business meeting. Farewell to any kind of angst, no matter how hard the author tried to bring it back with different plot twists.
  
  I also thought Dimitrios acted unconscionably in several respects, although I tried to accept that as just part of the Harlequin Present shorthand moral code. But it seemed like Spencer laid on those typical values with a trowel: Brianna becomes an instant mommy when she sees her niece, convinced that nothing in the world could be as fabulous as being a wife and mother, and of course even though she's a glamorous model, she's "a real homebody at heart, and never more content than when I can shut my front door on the rest of the world, put on a comfortable old pair of sweatpants, and curl up by the fire with a good book." All in vast contrast to her party-loving -- aka Evil -- twin. Unpleasant attitudes just pervade the book: Dimitrios even thinks at one point that he has no condoms in the house, because "if he was going to spend the night with a woman, she wasn't the kind he'd bring home to meet his daughter."
  
  By the end of the book I disliked both characters thoroughly, and hadn't gotten much in the way of excitement or interest to make the story have been worth my time.
• 
  Jena

  I used to complain bitterly that harlequin couples never sat down to discuss their past problems. Well, no more..because when they DO act like reasonable mature adults, the story goes stale because there is no more conflict. That's what happened with this story.
  
  The big "misunderstanding" was resolved too quickly and everything was roses and peaches after that. Oh hell, the heroine was strong, they talked things out, the hero did everything to please her.... I can't believe I'm actually COMPLAINING about it lol.
  
  Not a bad book by any means, but it lacked the drama & angst that I like to see Harlequin Present. :)
• 
  Leona

  I am quickly becoming a Catherine Spencer fan. She does such a great job of building a wonderful love story with all the requisite tension and passion without having to resort to the predictable, horrible heroes and spineless heroines. Instead she relies on the situation and story to create the tension and builds wonderful characters that you can't help loving. Her writing is also of great quality and reading her books becomes a wonderful way to spend a few hours.
  
  Brianna and Dimitrios were in love four years ago until they allowed her ruthless (evil twin) sister to spin lies and separate them. Dimitrios does marry the evil sister and lives to regret it. The story opens because Dimitrios must ask Brianna for help to test as a potential bone marrow donor for his gravely ill 4 year old daughter, Poppy.
  
  They reconnect, recognize that what they felt for each other still exists, and try to work towards building a life together. There are the usual tropes and misunderstandings..but they just seemed fresh and the story just worked for me. There are some very poignant moments between father and daughter that will require a hanky, so be forewarned. It's a love story on many different levels and one I think you will enjoy.
  
  I highly recommend.
• 
  Elaine

  Story felt flat. Not keen on the leading man or lady characters.
• 
  JillyB

  This was in the forums recently. I found it. Read it. If you want a very brief synopsis go to the peanut at the end of this review.
  
  
  I don’t want to like this book because it’s all kinds of ickyness sleeping with twins. I am 1/2 way done, and I kind of like it.
  
  Me talking to myself in the mirror:
  
  
  
  
  Misunderstanding #1 is cleared up: The h saw the evil twin leave the H’s stateroom just mere hours after she did. The sister(evil twin) told the h the H prefers her performance over the h’s.
  
  The hero says yes she did sneak into my stateroom to try and get in my bed.
  
  
  “Did you confront her?”(asks the h)
  
  “No,” he said sarcastically. “I jumped up and down like a crazed ape, beat my manly chest and bellowed to the whole of Crete how lucky I was to have the Connelly twins fighting over me.” He stopped and drew an irate breath. “What do you take me for? Of course I confronted her!”
  (I thought this was a good line from the H, it was very snarky!)
  
  The H said that the evil twin(ET) told him that it was her suggestion that the ET keep the H occupied while she went to leave and do a secret modeling gig. Thus making the h look like she chose a career over love. So no, the H didn’t sleep with the ET….yet. Although once he found out the h did leave(because she believed her sister about the hook-up), he decided to engage in rebound sex…with the twin….🤢
  
  
  
  
  So I guess our model ET didn’t believe in birth control nor did the H, and their hook-up resulted in a pregnant ET. (Or lucky/unlucky for the ET the birth control failed)
  
  Fast forward about 4 years. The ET died a couple of years ago. Her daughter, Poppy, has a serious medical condition and needs a bone marrow transplant. The book starts with the H calling the h and telling her what he needs(the h didn’t even know she had a niece, the H thought she knew and just didn’t want to be part of her life). The h who is the sweet twin has no problem with putting her modeling on hold, jumping a plane, and agreeing to a bone marrow transplant. They reunite and the hero is angry and the h is mistrustful, but she falls instant in love with her niece. The hero has never stopped loving the h or vice/versa. The twin as I said was supposed to be an angry hookup, but being honorable he married her because of the baby. Good thing for the baby because the ET was not a good mom.
  
  So here we are 1/2 way through book and the misunderstandings are all cleared up. I’m thinking wow, that’s really great. Usually, misunderstandings aren’t cleared up until the last chapter or 2.
  
  The hero to the h when he declares his love(without saying ILY).
  
  “Then we’ll keep looking for someone who is. And if I have my way, we’ll do it together. I can’t keep you here against your will, and if your career matters too much to give it up, I’ll let you go. But I’m warning you now, I won’t make it easy for you. I’ll do my damnedest to make you want to stay.”
  
  Aww, phew! It’s good to get the misunderstandings out of the way. Can’t wait to see what will happen in the rest of the book.
  
  Wait, What was that? Where will the all the angst come in to play? Oh, I see let’s introduce the Hero’s estranged parents to add some angst. This is a story within a story.
  
  
  
  I still don’t quite understand the son and dad’s falling out, but I am going to fault myself with that as I just didn’t care enough to reread and delve into it more.
  
  Let’s throw in some sex with the main characters, maybe that will liven the story up
  
  
  
  Yet these scenes left me a little flat. I just wasn’t drawn into them as I have been with other stories.
  
  So the story ambles on. With a few more hiccups that were unnecessary. Once again, we have h’s listening at doors and only hearing parts of a conversation, jumping to conclusions, running away…you know the drill.
  
  
  
  Another secret is revealed….we get an Epilogue and an HEA for everyone, except the evil twin who is dead, although she will live on in both her child and the h.
  
  In a nutshell: 🥜
  
  The H loves sweet model twin. Evil twin messes it up for both of them. Even though the h and H swear they love each other, neither one of them loves the other enough to clear up the mess or at least confront each other with hateful comments. Instead the h sulks away, the H believes she has abandoned him for a career, and Evil twin and H have rebound sex. However, his heart belongs to the sweet twin, and the evil twin likes drugs, money, and men…lots of them. Basically, the angst(which isn’t much or at least not very emotion invoking) is caused from lack of communication and trust issues.
• 
  shms

  This was refreshing and quite well done in that the whole 'misunderstanding' (of their first breakup) out of the way pretty early on, about a third into the book. I really appreciated that because these 'misunderstandings' are usually strung out till the end when one mature conversation could take care of them. The romance developed after that point seemed to fall flat with the odd bumps along the way the h's yo yo behavior got annoying by the end. The twist at the end was also uncalled for. Too much in my opinion.
  
  I have to confess I found it icky when they were constantly comparing to the ex/sis. Especially as the h was an identical twin to the ex. Its coverage of bone marrow transplant for a child, and the difficulty parents must have to watch their loved child go through something so difficult was touching.
• 
  Debra

  The Giannakis Bride
  
  Betrayal is bad. But when it is from a sibling is heartbreaking. Here the heroine had found her twin with the one man who she had been with just the night before. After she left the other two were married. Now years later she has been contacted by him. Her sister is dead and her niece needs her. What happens when she gets there is the story. When all the sister's secrets come out will those left behind be able too love?
• 
  Jo Ann Sloan

  Four stars
  
  I give The Giannakis Bride book Four stars....it was a good read....I like the story of falling for one twin and getting back together later
• 
  Linda Freeman

  I enjoyed the relationship between the characters once they settled down and started talking to each other. Their love for the child was touching. These main characters earned their HEA.
• 
  Rogetwhi

  I would have liked this better if he hadn’t married the evil twin! Drove me crazy!
• 
  Bee Mills

  So I've been seeing this on my feed and seem to rember liking it. Not sure whether it's my mood or the book but the best I can muster is a lukewarm 'ehhh it was okay'.
• 
  Beate

  Oh I'm such a sap for these books. I can't help it. This one differs slightly from your standard Greek tycoon books in that the Hero is a little more human than you'd expect from a book like this. Oh he's still filthy rich with a huge mansion by the sea, but his emotional specter is wider than with any "ordinary" tycoon. This one isn't afraid to show his tears.
  
  I wanted to whack Brianna over the head a few times. Talk about stubborn as a mule! But she got over herself in the end. In the very end...
  
  Of course there's a happy ending for everyone and everything. Wouldn't be a Harlequin book with any kind of tragedy. But. This is a quick read, cute story, lovable characters - so I really couldn't expect these characters to be any deeper.
• 
  Missy

  A wonderful read....full of intense passion and one of the most deceitful hurtful betrayals a sister can experience. It was wonderful how they worked out the past by talking openly about it and moving on with a love that never died.
• 
  Kace | The Booknerd

  Heartwarming story about second chance at love. Enjoyed it from beginning to end.