This was a fun book. It is the second in a series but can be read as a stand-alone. Characters from the previous book do make an appearance and are easily explained. That said, the first chapter and another near the end are told from the point-of-view of Dominic Corisi. For someone unfamiliar with the Legacy series (I haven't read it) these chapters are puzzling, as is the name of the series. The brothers in this series so far are Romanos, not Corisis. By the end of the book, I did have an inkling of the connection so it will be interesting to see where it goes.

This book is the story of Wren and Mauricio. Mauricio is a billionaire with a playboy reputation. He was known to be quite wild when he was younger, though he's been more settled the past few years as he helped with the family business. Now that his brother is ready to retake the reins, Mauricio is at a crossroads, looking for what he wants to do next. In the meantime, he heads to Paris to visit friend and fellow bad-boy Felix.

I enjoyed my first meeting with Mauricio and Felix. Felix is late to a business meeting with Mauricio, who is losing patience. That changes when Felix calls to let Mauricio know that he's in the hospital and won't be released until the next day. The injury seems to be a case of karma, which I found to be satisfying as I learned more. Felix's misfortune leaves Mauricio stuck with helping Felix by finding a way to politely boot Felix's mistress from his apartment before Felix is released.

Wren is in Paris on her first trip to Europe and visiting her friend Cecile. After a lifetime of being the good girl, she's ready to cut loose just a little bit. After a slightly embarrassing first encounter, who better to play with than Felix's friend Mauricio? He's fun and sexy, and what happens in Paris stays in Paris, right?

I wasn't sure I was going to like the book at first. There seemed a lot more action in the bedroom than in developing an actual relationship between Mauricio and Wren. Thankfully it didn't take long for the "no-strings fling" to morph into something much deeper. Both fought it hard, but unsuccessfully. Wren won my heart first with her determination to step outside her comfort zone. She is smart, sassy, and has a terrific sense of humor. Her mixture of innocence and sexiness was fun to watch as it had an unexpected effect on Mauricio. Mauricio wasn't far behind as he quickly began to envision something permanent with Wren.

I loved the development of the relationship between Wren and Mauricio. The chemistry is off the charts, but they connect on a deeper level also. The interactions between them were fun. Wren doesn't have much of a filter, and some of the things she says amuse the heck out of Mauricio. I also enjoyed seeing Wren's reactions to some of his more outrageous claims and how she keeps him from being too full of himself. Each falls hard for the other but says nothing because of their earlier demands of no strings. Just as Mauricio is ready to take the plunge, Wren gets bad news from home and leaves with no explanation. Mauricio is devastated and angry, believing that she did not share his feelings, and goes home to lick his wounds.

Mauricio's family has never met a situation that can't be helped by pulling together. Earlier advice from his father had helped Mauricio identify his feelings for Wren, and now his father is invested in seeing Mauricio happy. Unfortunately, his attempt to bring the two together backfires, with both Mauricio and Wren blindsided by an unexpected reunion. Mauricio has an especially boneheaded reaction before realizing how wrong he was. I loved the help he got to pull off his "cow" moment and the faith he showed in Wren and her abilities.

The importance of family is a key theme in this book. There are the bits with Dominic Corisi that have to do with long-standing issues involving his parents. As an only child, Wren feels responsible for her parents' happiness and well-being, which in turn has affected the way she leads her life. It's that love for her family that causes the misunderstanding between her and Mauricio. I loved his family and the boisterous love they have for each other. I loved their support of Mauricio and determination to help him win back Wren. ( )

I like Ruth Cardello's book and from the ones that I have read she tends to have a whole family and coming from a big family that is involved in everything I like that. I liked Wrenand this she wasn't the norm of what Mauricio tended to go for, however he still wants her and the no string situation. But you and I know that the no-string tends to turn into a whole ball of yarn. He gets stupid and realizing that he erred has to correct it before he loses what he never knew he wanted nor needed. But my regret I again-lord what is happening to me started with this one, how could I have not known or more likely forgotten that this is the second book in series, and you know I need to know everything I am nosy like that-again coming from a big family it a given..Anyhoo can't wait til the next one and when am I every going to find more hours in the day to read, read, read!

Rcvd an ARC at no cost to author...(netgalley) voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions ( )

4.4 stars

I will be the first to admit that I struggled with the first book of this series because I hadn't read this author before. So, when I read it I had no idea that there had been a lot of books that had been devoted to the character Dominic Corsi. The storyline that is introduced in this series with him in it is a background that will later tie into the characters that are introduced in this series. Once I realized that I was able to fully invest in this series considering the stories are separate.

I enjoyed the characters much more in this book as well as the fact that the Corsi backstory was only in the opening and closing of the book and not split into chapters in the middle of this love story. I think that is why I struggled so much in the first book. I fell in love with Paris all over, I didn't even know that was possible since Paris is my favorite city in the world, and loved that the author put so much love into the history of this story. Especially, as it wasn't boring or out of place.

I am very much looking forward to the rest of the story and seeing how this will eventually lead to one big happy family. The ending was abrupt, I am assuming it is because of the backstory, and hopefully, it will continue right on into the next brother's book. ( )