Review

Revenge at Bella Terra, the second book in the Scarlet Deception series, is a fantastic romantic suspense full of murder, betrayal, love and passion.

Eli de Luca is a man who knows what he wants. The thing he wants most is for his family’s winery to prosper. When his accountant runs away with the winery’s money, Eli must do whatever is necessary to keep it out of the IRS’s hands…even if that means marrying a woman he doesn’t know. Eli has lived through a traumatic childhood and doesn’t allow emotions to cloud his thinking. He loves his family, but doesn’t believe himself capable of loving anyone else. He knows that his marriage will be one of convenience and not love. When Eli is introduced to the spunky, Chloe Robinson, he finds himself attracted more than he thought possible and finds himself wanting her love even if he can’t return it.

Chloe Robinson is a suspense writer who is feeling the pressure to complete her second book.  When her father tells her that a business associate of his has a cottage she can use in wine country she jumps at the chance, even though she also suspects that her father is trying to set her up with this “business associate”. Chloe finds herself charmed by Eli’s lack of charm and his wonderful family. One of my favorite things about Chloe is the skull she keeps on her desk – a cute little writer quirk that fits the character perfectly.

I loved these two characters together. They balance each other out perfectly. Chloe is inquisitive and Eli is serious minded. When they discover a body and evidence of lost diamonds, Chloe is drawn to the investigation and instead of leaving it to the authorities, Eli wants to help her solve the mystery.  Eli seems to know what would make Chloe the happiest even though they had just met. I loved this line that is used to describe Eli:

He was like Clark Kent, looking exactly like Superman, yet no suspected what powers he concealed…

Revenge at Bella Terra has just the right mix of romance and suspense. The romance is fully developed and leads to a very happy ending, and the suspense makes the characters work hard for that happy ending. I also loved how the ending is a lead-in to the next book in the series. I was only sad that I couldn’t start reading it right away!

Revenge at Bella Terra can be read as a stand-alone, but I think it is more enjoyable if you have read the first book – Secrets of Bella Terra. There are some events that take place in the first book that directly affect some of the events in Revenge. (Plus, Secrets is a fabulous book too!)

Reviewed by Carrie