5 shining stars *****

The Unwanted Wife is an adult contemporary romance written by Natasha Anders.

I am a sucker for the arrange marriage-kinda-stuff books. The development of slow and flaming emotions between the characters in such books keeps me on my toes. The book was well written. It was raw, intense, angsty, passionate, heart shattering with a consuming storyline.

“Chemistry was a terrible thing, sometimes it simply sparked between the wrong people”

Alessandro

He was a cold-hearted, callous, indifferent and downright brutal bastard. He was a despiteful husband. He detested his wife. The things he did to her were so cruel, it broke my heart.

“How the hell am I supposed to respect someone who sold herself to the highest bidder?" he growled with tight control, and she gasped, stung. "I have no respect for you, Theresa, not even as the potential mother of my child, because, quite frankly, you can't even do that right.”

That being said, he had a reason behind his maligned feelings. I understood the battle that he had to fight that was going on inside him. He had a misconception when it came to her and I liked how the author uncoiled the events that made him see the light. He had a tempestuous streak that made me love him more with each passing moment.

Theresa

She was the kind of heroine that I absolutely adore. She was a kind, strong, fiery, passionate and doting wife. She had a tough childhood and her married life had not been all too peachy. She had been married to Alessandro for over a year and a half and is still waiting to be recognized by him as his wife.
I can count on single hand the number of times I have cried while reading a book. This book grabbed my heart so hard and clutched it a little more at every painful moment.

“I 'm your husband..."
"No. You are not my husband," she interrupted in a voice thickened with hatred and tears. "You have never been my husband. A husband loves honors and cherishes! A husband is a lover and a champion....Look into the next room if you want to see what a real husband is, because you are no such thing!”

Their marriage had been nothing to Alessandro but a mere arrangement between him and Theresa’s father. Theresa loved Sandro from the moment she first laid her eyes on him. She was oblivious to this contract and gave her husband everything despite his cold and icy behavior towards her. He just wanted a son from her and he didn’t let her forget that.

“Give me a son, Theresa”

Those were the words that came out of his mouth each and every time he was intimate with her. Needless to say, it killed her.

But there comes a moment when we just can’t take it anymore. And when Theresa was just done being treated as a “doormat”, it shook Alessandro inside out. She had a strong backbone and she was ready to fight him for her freedom. He had always taken her for granted. But when he saw himself on the brink of losing her, reality struck him hard on the head.

“Suddenly it felt like there was a ticking time bomb in the house. I didn’t have all the time in the world to make you love me again; I had only a few short months.”

I have read countless books where heroine despises hero at one moment and jumps into bed with him in the next moment. Such chain of events is beyond the sphere of my bookish mind. This book was a breath of fresh air. I liked how Theresa weighed every aspect of their relationship. He had been colder than the arctic to her. Alessandro had hurt her in so many ways and now she was leery of his intents and feelings.

“You’ve hurt me so many times,” she confessed.
“I know.”
“In so many ways.”
“I know.”
“Why should I forgive you and love you again? Why should I open up my heart to a man who would probably crush it in the palms of his hands?”
“You probably shouldn’t,”

.
I loved how he realized his feelings for Theresa and how hard he tried to win her despite her resisting him every step of the way. Sexual tension was pounding throughout the story. They had sizzling chemistry that fueled the ever burning fire between them. I loved how every aspect of their relationship was untangled. Nothing tells the awesomeness of a book better than the reader’s love for the characters. I know how much I hated Alessandro in the beginning and I liked how I fell for him as the story unfolded. I liked their slow buildup of love and trust and the escalation of the story. Intense buildup and a fierce ride of emotions kept me tied up to the story. I enjoyed how Alessandro fell in love with his wife and he fell so hard.

"I started praying for a girl because I knew a girl would buy me more time. A girl would keep you with me longer; it would also prove to you, once and for all that your father’s ridiculous contract meant nothing to me anymore. That I wanted our marriage to last forever.”

I loved this book and highly recommend it!!! Grab it and you won’t regret it.