The Unwanted Wife

All Alessandro de Lucci wants from his wife is a son but after a year and a half of unhappiness and disillusionment, all Theresa de Lucci wants from her ice cold husband is a divorce. Unfortunate timing, since Theresa is about to discover that she’s finally pregnant and Alessandro is about to discover that he isn’t willing to lose Theresa.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Natasha Anders sets up a scheme-filled marriage in her novel, The Unwanted Wife. When Sandro married Theresa, he thought she was in cahoots with her father, holding the livelihood of Sandro's family as if it were the blade to a guillotine. In order to remove the threat, Sandro must give the De Lucci family a male heir.

The novel focuses around Theresa, who met Sandro and fell completely in love with him. She has a gentle nature but reaches her breaking point after nearly two years of unrequited feelings, standing up to Sandro and asking for a divorce. Readers will connect with Theresa, firstly, through empathy. Feeling unloved is an easily relatable emotion and Theresa can't remember a time when she felt love. (Certainly not from her calculated and focused father.) The strength that Theresa discovers within her heart will pull readers to her side of understanding, strengthening the initial bond Anders creates. 

The plot of the novel is solely based on the relationship between Sandro and Theresa. Becoming pregnant scares Theresa, she sees the child as an innocent victim to her father's schemes and a tie to Sandro that she doesn't want any longer. But, things become increasingly difficult when Sandro learns that Theresa never knew of her father's plan and actually loved him. The stakes raise again when Theresa learns that she hasn't been the only woman in Sandro's life.  The evolution of both characters throughout the story will bring readers to tears, evoking every emotion emitted in a relationship. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

The Unwanted Wife

WWW Wednesday (60)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…


• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

01. Currently Reading:
The Missings by Peg Brantley. Suspense/thriller focused around a murder spree in Aspen Falls, Colorado. Just started this one and it's already gruesome.

02. Recently Finished:
The Unwanted Wife by Natasha Anders. When a wife is ready to give up on her husband, he decides that it's time he took on the role he vowed to play.

03. Reading Next:
Hopefully The Rockin' Chair by Steven Manchester. =) All of his books are wonderful and I'm sure this one won't be any different.

Engulfed

Maggie Finn travels to South West Florida expecting to find heat, sand, and gangs of old people. What she finds are dead bodies, a kidnapping, the mob and a certain Jewish Cuban detective that she has developed a school girls crush on.


It's not long before she's engulfed in events that will either destroy her or prove to her that it's never too late to begin again and that life isn't over until it is.

This book is filled with fun and unforgettable characters and situations that never leave a dull moment from page one to epilogue.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Kathleen Cosgrove writes a Florida style, hurricane induced, mystery that will blow you away if you forget to board the windows. In her novel, Engulfed, Maggie doesn't expect a murder after she travels to re-located her parents into a retirement community while they're on vacation, but that's precisely what she gets. And so much more. Now this wanna-be investigative journalist has her chance to snoop her way to uncovering the culprit behind the chaos that threatens her life.

Maggie is a divorced mother who makes a living writing the society gossip column in her home town. While in Florida she gets the chance to change her fate when parts of a dead body surface in the lake of a retirement community. Maggie is a feisty lady who is horrible at being inconspicuous. But she is quick at making friends, giving her a chance to be part of the investigation. Readers will connect with her based on her personality. She's down right hilarious; Readers won't be able to not laugh out loud. (I know I couldn't help it!) However, I think that's the extent of the character/reader connection. The novel focuses more on the plot than on the characters, but with a sequel on the horizon this connection has the opportunity to grow.

The plot of the novel is a little slow paced but still manages to be intriguing, though at times the dialogue was a bit confusing. There are multiple threads holding this mystery together and it's difficult to decipher until the end, when all is revealed. I think mystery readers will enjoy this novel, even if they don't build a firm connection with Miss Maggie. Worth the read. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Engulfed

Teaser Tuesday (71)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Unwanted Wife (Kindle Loc. 525-28)
   - Natasha Anders


"My wife..." he placed a lot of sarcastic emphasis on the last word. "...sleeps with me. You will come back to our bedroom if I have to drag you there kicking and screaming."