The Infamous Italian's Secret Baby (2024)

Heroine was a mean bitch! Rude and all she did was insulting the hero who was a saint for putting up with her! On the plus side both H and h were celibate during separation!

I picked up this novel knowing I would likely hate it, but one star is all I can handle giving The Infamous Italian’s Secret Baby (and yeah, I totally grabbed it because of the title, sue me).

Sometimes a girl just wants to read the book equivalent of a Lifetime Movie, okay?

I had to check multiple times that this book was not labeled “urban fantasy”, because the way Bella was rooted to the spot whenever Gabriel approached her spoke of some creepy vampire hypnosis or fae enchantments.

Bella could feel the heat radiating from his body, could smell his tangy aftershave, the male scent of him that invaded and claimed the senses, filling her with a warm lethargy, a need to move closer to all that heady maleness.

A need Bella was unable to resist as she felt herself swaying towards himk. She made an effort at the last moment not to do so … What was happening to her?

She never reacted to men like this. At least, she never had before …

Or maybe just to accidentally impregnate you and never call ever again. How pedestrian.

Bella’s reasoning for not informing Gabriel about their son is shaky at best, incredibly self-centered at worst. He promised to call, with what seemed to be relative sincerity, when he left her in his bed to work. It was that day that he was involved in a horrific racing accident that killed two other drivers and left him in a short-term coma, where he then had to deal with the possibility of life-long paralysis and recovery from severe burns. Contacting a one night stand, especially when you’re unable to actually pony up the booty for a booty call, seems like an incredibly low priority under those circ*mstances. I usually despise the male counterpart in this genre, but dude, give him a break.

Bella may as well just be a stubborn pair of surprisingly full, yet sensitive breasts, for all the character she was ascribed. Outside of my brief sense of sympathy for his situation, I didn't like Gabriel much more. A bundle of alpha male stereotypes, his clear disregard for a woman’s personal boundaries and his tendency to fall into Broodmeister 9000 mode made him far more unattractive than any of his scars could have. Truly, a match made in heaven.

Spoiler alert: In the end, they have three more kids, but these ones aren’t a secret.

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5 years celibacy and a bitch of a heroine who didn't tell the hero about her pregnancy because of pettiness?
You have got to be kidding me!
Pass!

Whoa that was all smoke and mirrors and made up wacko conflict. Neither one of them had a leg to stand on as pertains to the secret baby. She doesn't tell him because he never called her after their night together. I'd think the whole horrific car crash the next day and 3 months in the hospital might have explained that. He's pissed because his one night stand didn't show up to hold his hand in the hospital. Meh.

You know, I don't like secret baby books, but this one was particularly silly: the guy was in an accident THE DAY AFTER THEY HAD SEX and she holds it against him that he doesn't call?

It goes downhill from there for me.

The heroine Bella meets the hero Gabriel, a word famous racing car driver, at a party held at his home. Neither of them are in a party mood and they spend time together alone, ending with them spending an unforgettable night together. Five years later and Bella is shocked to meet Gabriel again, but more worried about the fact that she never told him that their one night resulted in her son. Bella had waited and waited for Gabriel to be in contact but it never happened leaving her hurt, whereas Gabriel was physically hurt and spent a long time recovering after a serious crash. Gabriel is furious when he discovers the truth and confronts Bella. Bella knows that she had no good reason for keeping father and son apart, and agrees to marry Gabriel, whom makes it clear that he expects their marriage to be real in every respect. There is no doubt that something started between them all those years back and the desire is still there, but with all that has happened Bella is afraid to open her heart.

I really enjoyed this book. It is well written with a solid plot. I think, perhaps, the book started in the wrong place - instead of the rather length prologue, I feel it would have been better if the past events were revealed gradually throughout the story. But I liked reading how the relationship between the hero and heroine slowly developed. I do think that the reason for the secret baby being a, er, secret is a little flimsy - this needed a bit more thought in my opinion.

The writing is smooth and the story is enjoyable.

Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....

I don't automatically hate Secret Baby stories, but this must be the lousiest excuse for one ever: the heroine doesn't tell the hero she's pregnant, because she's pissed that he never called her after their night together. Considering the fact that he was in an utterly horrifying accident the very next day, I think she might have cut him a little slack. He, meanwhile, never contacts her because he think she's heartless for not having come to visit him in the hospital, a somewhat less offensive excuse. Other than that, this is pretty much like every other Secret Baby story published by Harlequin Presents these days.

The hero and heroine met five years ago, hours before the hero was in an accident that changed his life forever, days before the heroine found out she was pregnant with his baby. After a huge misunderstanding and meeting again resulted in the hero knowing he has a son with the hero. Now he won't take no for an answer, he will marry the heroine and be a father to his son. Because, he loves her.

She is always willing to participate or cooperate in the steamy stuff with him. Afterwards she gets mad. Just say no then.

2.5 stars

Bella, a woman just finishing college, meets Gabriel, a Formula 1 race car driver at a party in his home. After one night together Gabriel leaves her for a race, and the next day is in an accident that leaves him severely injured. Flash forward 5 years where they meet up again by chance at a wedding, and Gabriel learns that Bella has been keeping a secret, that she had his child!

This story annoyed me. I enjoy books with a secret child as long as there is a good reason why it was kept a secret, but for this book there was none. Bella, who is obviously a well edjucated woman and has a supportive family, bizarrely finds the reasons not to tell Gabriel that he first only slept with her as revenge over his ex girlfriend, and then he obviously didn't care about her because he never called her EVEN THOUGH HE HAD BEEN IN A BAD CAR WRECK! I'm sorry, obviously the Harlequin Presents novels are supposed to be dramatic but that is just stupid. The only reason I finished it was because I hoped the author would give Bella reason to act that way but she didn't.

10 pages into the story: Having a hot night of one-night-stand with a sexy rich guy is alright, I mean life is short so why don't you enjoy yourself while you can? But why would the girl think anything meaningful can come up out of it!? Stupid girl!Upadated@16/11/2023: I can't do this to myself anymore!!! The heroine is unlikable, the male lead is just one of these cardboard cutout romance novel heroes, and I have problems understanding the motive beyond the heroine's every decision making! I have to abandon this stuff!

PS: thanks goodness this story only came to me in a 3 stories in 1 packaged deal!

Tal como dice la sinopsis,el argumento esta bastante trillado en cuanto a novelas románticas se refiere,pero escrita por Carole Mortimer tiene sus diferencias.En primer lugar es una relación bastante moderna.Bella recién graduada de la universidad va a una fiesta y allí conoce a Gabriel,del que se siente atraída de manera instantánea.pasan su noche juntos y de ahí pasan 5 aÑos en la historia en la que Gabriel y Bella se encuentran en la fiesta de la boda de sus primos y en medio de la fiesta el papa de Gabriel se desmaya al darse cuenta del parecido físico del hijo de Bella con su hijo del cual el y Gabriel desconocían su existencia.

Hasta ahí completamente normal y nada nuevo,pero si tiene sus diferencias.Advierto puede contener algunos spoilers.

Gabriel era un corredor de autos,pero tiene un accidente del que casi le cuesta la vida y lo ha dejado con varias heridas por lo cual siente que ya su antiguo atractivo físico ya resulta repulsivo por sus múltiples cicatrices.Además también el personajes de Bella es muy distinto,ella siente una atracción por Gabriel que no puede controlar.Además no es la típica mujer que se entera que va a tener un hijo y no tiene donde caerse muerta,no ella ha tenido una gran carrera como escritora.Pero claro que como siempre ocurre en estas novelas al Gabriel enterarse de la existencia de Toby chantajea a Bella para que se case con el por el bien del su hijo o si no lo pelearía en los tribunales.Eso lo he leído yo miles de veces.Bella acepta pero le exige que su matrimonio sea solo de apariencias sin ningún contacto sexual.Podrá Bella resistirse a los encantos de Gabriel.

La novela es corta,pero es bien entretenida.Además como siempre Carol Mortimer le agrega su toque particular.Además su prologo es sumamente hot.La escena con la champaña es memorable.Sin dudas una de las Harlequin que mas caliente he leído.

After reading the first page of this book i went over to read peoples reviews cos i was like is anyone as angry as i am.
But going further into this book i realised that bella's anger was not mainly because he didnt call her again, he also felt like a rebound and also her teenage fantasy of him was crushed even if she was 21 and really you cant just walk up to your one night stand In the hospital and say "hey remember me. I'm pregnant".
She had a sharp tongue and im ok with the fact that Gabriel doesnt condone it.

Gabriel wasnt that innocent either. He had five years to make contact because he was the one that proposed calling, got her number and she didnt get his and he also promised. He wasnt in the hospital for the whole five years.

Both characters had their faults but my problem with bella is that She cant accept hers and Gabriel is also a stubborn man so they are well suited.

Im glad i didnt lose hope in the beginning, it was a nice book.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

What a sweet story. Bella meets infamous F1 driver Gabriel Danti at a party at his house. Spends an amazing night with him and then loses him after his had an awful accident. 5 years letter, she meets him again at her cousin's wedding. Their meeting is not a happy one and he is shocked to learn that Bella has a son, his son! Their relationship is so bittersweet because you can see them fighting their love for each other. Although you really don't understand why, you root for them to get it together and have some awesome sex!

I have seen a number of bad reviews and I decided to read this in spite of it.

I can now say that it was one of the best secret child book I have ever read. The secret child becomes known quite early in the book and this gives space to the relationship of the parents which is not confined to the last 20 pages after the discovery as in a number of similar stories (especially the oldest ones).

I like that the heroine was spunky and not a fragile flower, she has a supporting family, a career and the guts to bite back to the hero when needed (and even more than needed!).

The hero is a nice man and really tries his best not to complicate further their misunderstandings.

I would have liked a longer epilogue.

The other reviews are right, both characters are flawed and not very likeable...

To him she's like a walking pair of breasts, to her, her breasts do all her sensing and thinking LOL.

When one is ready to talk, the other refuses to talk or listen, it goes on from San Fran to England to the Carribeans and back in an English cottage before they finally cleared their misunderstanding over their behaviour post the one night stand.

Good thing is both had remained celibate in the almost five years they'd been apart for plausible reasons.

Not one of the good secret baby books.

رواية (السر المشين)
دانتي فعل كل ما بوسعه ليتطلق من بيلا، ورغم كل ما فعله سعت لآخر لحظة من أجل عدم تنفيذ ذلك الحكم بالانفصال النهائي، لكن ومع رفضه رؤيتها أو الحديث معها.. ثم نفيه لأي علاقة بحملها وعدم اعترافه بالطفل كان القشة الأخيرة..

بعد ٥ سنوات قد أسست لنفسها حياة ومنزل وأصدقاء وكذلك طفلها بدأ في ارتياد الحضانة استعدادا للمدرسة.. ظهر دانتي من جديد ليتفاجئ بوجود ابن الشبه هو الوحيد الذي أقنعه بكونه طفله؛ ليقرر استعادة بيلا كزوجة ومحاولة انشاء عائلة مع طفلهما.

حتى تتضح الكثير من الأسرار.. ودوافع ما حدث قبل ٥ سنوات.

A pesar de ser bastante predecible es una historia que permite evidenciar la mentalidad del ser humano a suponer en lugar de preguntar. Tras una noche de pasión entre Bella y Gabriel, ella queda embarazada y él sufre un accidente. Cada quien esperó que uno fuese en busca del otro y así fueron albergando sentimientos contradictorios que al final se aclararon.

A one night stand with a famous racing driver leads to Bella bringing up their son as a single mother. Gabriel Danti had sworn after their passionate night that he would ring her but never did so. Both are shocked to meet each other at a wedding and when Gabriel finds out about his son, he is determined to claim Bella for his own. A hot second chance romance.

The most stupidest, infact non existence reason to hide the existence of the baby... Really!!!!!! Dumb

They knew each other one night, the level of melodrama was just too much for such a little foundation.

The Infamous Italian's Secret Baby

By Carole Mortimer

Reviewed By E.R.

The story focused on how Gabriel Danti and Isabella “Bella” Scott meet up again the eve before their cousins’ wedding. Five years ago, the two spent a night of passion with Gabriel promising to call Bella at a later date. However, no call was ever made due to Gabriel having an accident and Bella feeling that he wasn’t interested in her.

At the wedding reception, Gabriel wanted Bella to meet his father. During the introduction, Toby appeared. It seems that Bella ended up getting pregnant after that single night with Gabriel and never told him. Furious, Gabriel demanded marriage. Bella was reluctant but decided to agree with certain conditions. Gabriel retaliated by having his own conditions.

The story is also focused on the misunderstanding between Gabriel and Bella five years ago as well as a bit later in their relationship. It focused not on Toby but the relationship between the couple, though the child does play a role in reuniting his parents as well as healing the rip between Gabriel and Bella.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book.

I never could understand why threats work with women in Harlequin novels.... like the guy saying, dance with me or ill get introduced to your parents. Or why the woman can't have a spine for once and not let the guy coerce or blackmail or browbeat her... especially when she's not at a disadvantage, here she's not poor or homeless or any such nonsense, but she let's him make her dance with him by force and dictate whether or not they will be having another conversation.

THE FLIMSY REASON SHE USED FOR NOT TELLING HIM ABOUT HIS CHILD, made the author seem to lazy to plot a better story. She was upset he didn't call after he was in a well publicized accident immediately after their night together... GIRL PLEASE.. GET YOUR LIFE!! THAT'S TAKING PETTY & VINDICTIVE TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL. Made it hard to root for her because she came across as childish. OMG so he didn't call GET OVER IT!

Okay so my rant is over but sometimes one has to vent about the implausibility of M&B while still having a stack or so piled up to read... I would have like more of the child in the book and the parents too.

Italian millionaire Gabriel Danti was renowned for his prowess in the bedroom--and Bella Scott was unable to resist the temptation of the night he was offering....Five years on, Bella is living alone, carving out a life for herself and her little boy. She never thought she'd see Gabriel again!

Gabriel has changed. His dark, dangerous looks are marred by scars. But his desire for Bella hasn't waned--he wants her more than ever now that he knows he has a son.... (less)

The Infamous Italian's Secret Son

This story started when she met him at a party at his house. It wasn't supposed to be one night. But he crashed his race car the next day. Heading the drama she doesn't contact him again. Now years later they meet up at a wedding of mutual family members. When he finds out she had his child he blackmailed her into marriage. But will it be enough for a lasting relationship?

race car driver, secret baby

Muito fraco, com uma personagem extremamente boba... E situações mais bobas ainda.

Not sure the reasons behind not telling Gabriel are good enough but otherwise ok story.