A Tangled Affair (The Pearl House #2) by Fiona Brand

A Tangled Affair (The Pearl House #2) Reviews

• 
  Saly

  There were times I seriously wanted to harm the hero for the treatment of the heroine but the reason I am giving this book 4 stars is because it pulled me in, the way it was written, full of angst and drama.
  
  The h/H met two years ago when their siblings were engaged and one night the anal type-A heroine gave up her virginity to the hero and became embroiled in a two year secret affair. Secret because the broken engagement between their siblings had hurt the heroine's sister and she did not want their relationship to come out, what she didn't know was that, that suited the hero, who five years before had been involved in a relationship with a woman he thought was kind of like the heroine and when that woman had aborted their child and informed him, their fight had sent her storming out and to her death, that weighed on him and kept him wary of passionate relationships, much like the one he shares with the heroine.
  
  So, when their families are merging with their siblings engaged the hero does an unforgivable thing in my eyes to send her a message that it is over between them and that they won't be walking down the aisle, not that he at that point knows that the heroine has been in love with him for two years and has a stress ulcer condition. His move was also prompted by the fact that when they met two months ago she fell sick(ulcer) and the time he spent nursing her made him see how deep he was with her, so he backed off maintaining minimal contact with her.
  
  One thing is made very clear at the start that these two had an open relationship and had dated others but only platonically and for appearances sake. So, when the heroine comes to him, he is with another woman, a designer of her company who she knows is only looking for marriage. I felt the hero was cruel, seriously he was and what he deserved was her walking out on him and I kept waiting for it, but even when he messes up, one apology from him, makes the heroine melt.
  
  Instead of the date on his arms affecting her, he finds himself jealous of his own brother and they end up having unprotected sex, the next time he is so jealous of another man's interest in her and that he has her followed and then is photographed with her by the press, it is at this precise moment that is strikes him that she is his and that he will do anything to get her back whether she is pregnant or not is of not much relevance.
  
  Of course the date was prop who he couldn't bring himself to kiss or touch but it was hurtful to her and she tells him that clearly. I found his arrogance astounding publicly saying that the h and him have been engaged for two years. We did see that he was not sure that she would say yes but still there was this belief she would and the realization that she loved him.
  
  Another fact that bothered me so much was that he had ordered rings for his fake girlfriend, that he was so affected by the h that the thought of entering into marriage, it was the thought that was hurtful and when the h walked out on him, he so richly deserved it. I wanted so much of grovelling from him, I want a hero scared, scared of the fact that the h can survive without him but alas that didn't happen, but still the book was pretty compelling.
• 
  Aou

  H was awfully horrible and h was achingly doormat but angst was tearfully perfect!
• 
  Tia

  The hero and heroine were lovers and when the relationship was becoming much more intimate than the hero intended, he decided to break it off. So he involved another woman and hurt her immensely. Then he found out she might be pregnant, so he asked her to marry him. Only to find out he was going to ask the other woman to marry him. When the heroine finds out she's not pregnant, she leaves him. Only for out hero to discover he does in face love our heroine.
  
  The hero was such a dick! I'm serious, he was mean, manipulative and heartless! I wanted to kick him in the nuts, repeated blows! The heroine was so beautiful and strong, it was sad what the hero did to her. She deserved better. I guess you can't choose who you love... unfortunately. The hero didn't deserve her!
• 
  Lu Bielefeld

  Jerk, selfish, manipulative, SOB...
• 
  Zubee

  3.5 stars ... H needed skilleting ... very badly ...
• 
  Kace | The Booknerd

  A Tangled Affair is the second book in the Pearl House series and my first taste of Fiona Brand, and it won’t certainly be my last. I started this book to pace myself as I read, but I ended up flying through it in like 2 hours. I liked this so much, and though it was not perfect, I still enjoyed it!
  
  Lucas and Carla have been in a secret relationship for the past two years. She’s been in love with him from the start. And now that her sister and his brother are getting married, she’s hoping that Lucas will finally acknowledge their relationship in public. Unbeknownst to her, Lucas now wants to end their affair because she reminded him of a tragic love affair he had in the past. So when he felt that things were getting too serious, he coldly dumped her by involving another woman. And that hurts Carla immensely. But even when they are no longer together, they are still unable to deny the palpable chemistry that still hums in the air whenever they’re in the same room. Can they keep their relationship strictly physical?
  
  I liked Carla’s character. She’s actually very likable. Strong. Self-sufficient. And has a good heart (too bad Lucas wasn’t able to see that). She wasn’t afraid of doing or saying anything she desired. I loved that she had put the right amount of backbone to stand up to Lucas and gave as good as she got, but also just enough vulnerability that you can’t help but root for her even though she had her TSTL moments.
  
  Lucas was the kind of hero that I want to bitch-slap for the way he treated the heroine. I was really having a hard time liking him. He was an extremely broody and domineering alpha who was very bossy and overly possessive. But he could also be very charming, sexy, and seductive when he wanted to be.
  
  Can I also say the chemistry between these two was off the charts? When Lucas and Carla get together or even standing in the same room, the sparks definitely fly. They really had some serious undeniable attraction. Lucas really tried to stay away from Carla, but he couldn’t. The need he felt for her was too much. Their path to a real relationship was not easy and not without obstacles, and I just gobbled it! Luckily, all of the emotion and angst were well worth it.
  
  Overall, A Tangled Affair was such a good and emotional read, and I enjoyed it. I loved all the fights, the push and pull in their relationship, the romantic scenes when they can’t stay away from each other, and even all those heartbreaking moments. My only complaint was that the ending was rather abrupt, and I would have loved to have an epilogue.
• 
  Susan

  This was a good book, mostly. I liked Carla. She had been with Lucas, even though it was secretly, for two years. She knew she was in love with him, and even though he had been rather reserved lately, she thought he loved her too. Then he suddenly broke things off and was seen with another woman. Lucas felt things were getting too serious with Carla, who reminded him of a bad experience with a woman several years earlier. He felt fine with an affair, but when he started getting too emotionally involved he pulled back. I liked the way that Carla tried to keep herself together, to hold on to her pride after Lucas dumped her in a very cruel way. Unfortunately for her, she still loved him. Lucas found that even though he had broken things off, he was still obsessed with Carla. He couldn't keep his hands off her, and he hated the idea of another man getting close to her. I had a real problem with his obsessive, controlling behavior. He just couldn't let go, but couldn't give her what she needed either. I didn't like the way that he was constantly manipulating things to his advantage. The only reason I rated this a four instead of a three was because I liked seeing Carla drive him nuts. He came through in the end, but I think he needed to grovel a lot more than he did.
• 
  Patrice

  This is a Harlequin Desire book the second in The Pearl House series by Fiona Brand. I found this to be a quick read. You dive right in and it keeps you going. I love books that grab you and hold your attention throughout the story.
  This was the story of Carla Ambrosi and Lucas Atraeus. When they first meet it is during a time when their families are feuding and it wouldn’t benefit anyone to know that the two of them were carrying on an affair. So for personal reasons for both of them, they kept a two year affair going “on the sly”. When their feuding family problems have finally been resolved, Carla is hoping that Lucas will want to make their “relationship” known and they could then get engaged. Carla has been in love with Lucas from the start but, she has never had an easy time reading his feelings. Conversely, upon the reconciliation of the family issues, Lucas now wants to end the affair and crushes Carla’s hope for a future together. Lucas is carrying some old “baggage” from an earlier relationship that went bad, where his girlfriend at the time was killed in an automobile accident and he tends to feel that Carla is of the same “variety” as his old girlfriend and doesn’t feel Carla is good wife material. Yet, when the two of them are together the air fairly tingles with the sexual tension and Lucas has a hard time really letting go of Carla. Will the two of them ever be able to say goodbye to each other?
• 
  Booklover

  This was a good story,adored Carla,she stood up for what she believed but when it came to Lucas she was weak,Lucas a jerk almost till the end otherwise the book had me gripped from start till the end,Lucas's actions has made me doubt his love for Carla and also there was no grovelling which disappointed me.
  
  
• 
  Samantha

  1. The hero is a jackass. At one point, he even tells her what to wear. I realize now, as I type this, that I've encountered this in a few Desire books - heroes telling women to wear certain dresses, to not wear certain dresses, etc.
  
  2. Why is the media so interested in this family? There's even discussion about the press spotting a member of the family kissing someone. Imagine the most famous business family you know. Is there this level of media coverage about them? The media is treated as some sort of deus ex machina here.
  
  3. You can tell the author is a devout Christian because this book is obsessed with abortion.
  
  4. At one point in the book, the heroine (who we are told is an esteemed publicist) has an admin assistant who tells her about a meeting with the hero, who is essentially her boss.
  
  Elise, a chirpy blonde with a marketing degree and a formidable memory for names and statistics, was in the process of hanging up the phone. "Lucas wants you in his office. Now."
  
  "Did he say why?"
  
  Elise looked dreamily reflective. "He's male, hot and single. Does it matter?"
  
  I mean...yes, it does, because you're at work, and this is just a weird workplace comment.
  
  Anyway it's done now and I can take this book off my shelf and I have almost met my 2022 reading challenge and we can just never speak of this one again.
• 
  Megan

  I thought this was hot and heavy and I really was enjoying the passion between them
  
  I lost it mid way through, I was feeling a bit confused because all he seemed to do was be mean to her and she just seemed very vulnerable.
  
  I think her character was actually interesting for M&B. She started off coming across as very shallow and a man eater to being very vulnerable and essentially a virgin but not. I liked the difference of her character and she actually wasn't that bad at standing up for herself.
• 
  Angélica

  Parece más una Bianca que una Deseo, por su trama y por sus personajes principales (no me gustan las Bianca). Que inmadurez la de los dos personajes, en especial la de Lucas 😑
• 
  Linda

  Two years ago, Lucas Atraeus had a mad secret affair with Carla Ambrosi. Their families were riyals in the business world until Ambrosi Pearls hit financial troubles and his brother's engagement to her sister fell apart. Lucas had vowed after his marriage to a spoiled party girl when she died in a car accident that he wouldn't ever trust his heart and he knew Carla said she didn't want committeemen but her eye's betrayed her...........
  
  Carla Ambrosi missed Lucas since he had been in the states for two months and she knew he was the best man at his brother's wedding and that she would see him there. He hadn't returned her telephone call nor her text messages and she had dressed with his seduction in mind.........
  
  Fiona Brand spins a fiery story of Lucas and Carla's explosive passion as they tried to convinced themselves that their affair was over. Then they had unprotected sex.............
• 
  Julie Barrett

  A Tangled Affair by Fiona Brand
  Couldn't really get into this book as I felt bombarded with a ton of names that didn't seem to pair up with who they were to pair up with, their spouses. Although a bunch of places are mentioned there is no real detail to them, as to take me away from where I'm physically at right now. I didn't feel any part of this book. I did read she had to break up the couple because she just might be pregnant but he was going to marry the other woman anyways.
  That just doesn't sit right with me and that's probably the one thing that stuck in my mind. Book just didn't seem to have a lot of substance. By the time you get to the end you do find out there was a ton of misunderstandings-the whole book but they set things right at the end.
  
• 
  Gobbledybook

  Second book in the Pearl House miniseries. It was better than the first book, 'Breathless Bride', which I felt was a 3-star book. The characters were more fleshed out, and in a 150pg book, all the content matters. Although Lucas was infuriating at times, the writing was compelling enough that I never disliked him...surprisingly. I really liked Carla. She is hard working, loyal and doesn't take Lucas's shit--what's not to like?
  
  Hope the next book is about Zane, the third brother, even though the beautiful and virginal, Lilah will be his lady love.
• 
  Kristin Anders

  This book was reviewed by me for
  The Season for Romance. Once the review is posted I will post the text here.
  
  Unless it takes too long, then I will post the text and hope they get around to posting the review on their site.
  
  Disclaimer: No compensation was received for this review. eARC courtesy of The Season for Romance.
  
  
• 
  Kathy B. (NE)

  I was sent this book by Harlequin to read and review. I was a bit lost at the beginning because it was the middle book of a 3 book miniseries, but after all was read and done, I did enjoy the story. I'm a fairly new regular reader of the Desire line, but I can already tell these books are for me. I enjoy reading about people that are wwwaaayyy richer than I am, and all the family dramas that go with that wealth.
• 
  Adriana

  I disliked both of the main characters from the start and the over-the-top drama that permeates the entire storyline was worse than a sacharine overdose.
  I found this book had no redeeming qualities. Everything from how the heroine could never commit to one thought to how the so-called hero acted like a caveman towards his supposed love was enough to make this a book that I regret the 30 minutes I spent reading it.
  
• 
  Cami

  This Harlequin Desire book was an easy, fast, and uncomplicated read. Lucas Atraeus was a bit too pushy and overbearing for me and Carla Ambrosi seemed to forgive too easily. I prefer female characters to have a bit more backbone. It wasn't too terribly exciting, but it did have some poignant moments near the end. As expected, everyone lived happily-ever-after.
• 
  Harlequin Books

  Miniseries: The Pearl House
  Category: Passion
  "Brand fires up the burners with spitfire Carla and possessive Lucas, layers on miscommunication and pride and then lets the results build to a fiery conclusion guaranteed to make readers gasp." RT Book Review, rated 4 1/2 stars
• 
  Foggygirl

  A decent story, but a little too heavy on the macho alpha male lead character and I now remember why I stopped reading the Harlequin Desire books. Most of them are less than 200 pages so I found them to be too quick a read.
• 
  Ethar

  I really liked the book .
• 
  Donna Kaye

  Fiery and passionate hero and heroine. Well rounded and motivatede characters. Fast paced and deeply emotional at the same time. Great read.
• 
  Allison

  I didn't like how it started off with Lucas breaking up with Carla. I immediately didn't like the characters and it prevented from engaging with them and having any desire to finish the book.
• 
  Mysterious

  I wanted Carla to have more spine.