Master of Bella Terra by Christina Hollis

First Published: 15 October 2010
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 192
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Finished Date: 22 November 2011

Blurb from Goodreads

Kira Banks far prefers plants to people—after a heartbreaking affair, she lives alone in the beautiful Italian Bella Terra Valley. But her peaceful existence is shattered forever when restless, self-made billionaire Stefano Albani arrives home by helicopter.

Notoriously charming but weary of worldly women, Stefano is fascinated by cautious, shy Kira—this seduction will be unforgettable! However, his polished routine goes awry. Could it be that the tycoon, who can have anything or anyone he wants, might need someone for the very first time… Kira?

My Rating

My Review

I couldn’t like this book, I just couldn’t. Don’t ask me why, because I really don’t know. I mean, the plot was pretty good, the characters pretty likable, and overall, the story was not too bad! But, somehow, I just didn’t like the book. I found myself reading for the sake of reading, instead of reading because I truly enjoyed it, which is what reading is supposed to be about, isn’t it?

But as to why I feel that way, I cannot think of any concrete reason. I mean, I could sense the love between them, especially after they separated and could not find themselves thinking of anything else. The plot was believable and even their attraction to each other was understandable. I think the main reason why I dislike the book was because the dialogue was rather flat and I had no emotional connection with the characters. Instead of being affected by what the characters did, it was more of a whatever kind of feeling.

Both the characters were likable, if a bit unrealistic. I’m sorry, their names just slipped my mind… Again. So, she’s a pretty strong woman, bad past, he’s a workaholic, bad past… Yeah, I couldn’t understand the characters and hence, I could not feel for them or with them. Its like, I know that they have a bad past, but I can’t see how their past really shaped them into who they are. For example, Kira (yes, I finally remembered her name!! I think…) had a very bad relationship in the past which caused her to be very reluctant to get into relationships involving feelings. As for him, (I only remember his name starts with S), he had a very difficult childhood? He was bad or something. You see, the problem is, I felt that their pasts aren’t really well elaborated and a person’s past really shapes their character. For Kira, it was more obvious, perhaps also because we got to see more of her feelings throughout the book. For him, I completely had no idea what his past was like. It was brushed across very lightly and I know it really shaped him. But because I don’t know what really went on in his past, I cannot truly understand him. For me, its very important that I understand the characters in order to have an emotional attachment to them during the book. This book failed to do that, in my opinion.

Overall, the plot was pretty simple. Guy and girl meet, wild attraction, sleep with each other, quarrel, one party leaves, fall in love, have a happily ever after ending. The only difference is that in this case, its him who leaves. (I keep getting the feeling that his name is related to Stephen somehow.) I liked the pace of the book, each scene was elaborated enough.

As I said, my main problem with this is the dialogue. It wasn’t exactly interesting, he wasn’t THAT seductive, it was pretty boring to be honest. Or at least, it was for me. All in all, I didn’t really enjoy the book. It was quite a dread while I was reading it. I guess, it’s a 2 stars! I was hoping that the book would improve along the way, but it didn’t. Oh well, can’t do anything I guess.