I broke up with the Presents line awhile back. Reading this book reminded me why.

Savannah was married to Leiandros's cousin Dion. Dion was a selfish, jealous, callous, abusive person. He spent years verbally abusing Savannah and poisoning his family against her. She finally worked up the courage to leave him after he lost control one night and physically abused her. She took her girls and fled to America. When Dion was killed in a car accident along with Leiandros's wife, Petra, Savannah returns to Greece for the funeral.

a year after the funeral Leiandros issues an ultimatum to her: either she return to Greece with her children or he'd cut off her monthly allowance. Savannah has spent the last 4 years getting her degree and, while she now has it, doesn't have a job. She needs her monthly allowance to pay for the care of her very ill, elderly aunt. The monthly fee for her aunt's nursing home is coming due. If she doesn't get the money from Leiandros her aunt will be moved to a state nursing home, which would most likely kill her.

Leiandros has always wanted Savannah. He decides to wait a year after the funeral - a proper grieving period - then issues his ultimatum. Though she believes she's only coming for a short visit, he has other plans. He wants justice for the wrongs Savannah caused...and he intends to get it by marrying her and forcing her to have his children.

This book is chock full of fail. I'm not even sure where to start. First we have Savannah. The night she was introduced to Leiandros they shared a kiss before he realizes she was the wife of his cousin. Since then he's thought the worst of her based on his cousin's lies. Dion swore Savannah was cheating on him and her daughters weren't his. So Leiandros thinks her a whore, constantly making cutting remarks about her and putting her down. And yet...she loves him. She's always loved him. The man calls her a whore, accuses her of infidelity and being the cause of Dion and Perta's deaths and of keeping her girls from his family...and she loves him. So much that its hard for her to be around him without aching for him.

Then we have Leiandros. He claims to value family above all else - hence his hatred for Savannah, who stole his nieces from him and killed her husband by running away - yet when he finds out about her ailing aunt, says she doesn't realize Savannah is there anyway and won't be alive much longer. He also blackmails Savannah into first flying to Greece, then into marrying him. He emotionally manipulates her daughters so they push Savannah to marry him - something she does nothing about, by the way - and forces her to introduce them to the rest of the family, who openly scorn Savannah. Then accuse her of not playing nice when his family treats her badly.

I couldn't find one redeeming quality about either of them. Honestly, they deserved each other.

I'm giving this a 1.5 out of 5 because the story was well written. ( )