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No Gentle Seduction
A conspiracy of desireLexi Harrison, one of Sydney's top international fashion models, was accustomed to being pursued by men who wanted to share her fame and fortune. It made it difficult for the beautiful woman to trust men, especially a man like Georg Nicolaos, whose arrogant countenance was simply infuriating.But when Lexi's ex-husband tried to blackmail her by threatening to destroy her family's name and her professional reputation, Lexi was forced to turn to Georg for advice. She agreed to fall in with his plans and go along with a pretend --their pretend--engagement. But was Georg sincere in his offer to help? Or were there ulterior motives behind the charade?
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1991
60 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
Helen Bianchin
380 books225 followersHelen Shirley was born on February 20 1939 in New Zealand, where she grew up, an only child possessed by a vivid imagination and a love for reading. She wrote stories for amusement in her early teenage years, and when she left leaving school, she took a secretarial job at a father-and-son legal firm.
At age twenty-one Helen joined a girlfriend and embarked on a working holiday in Australia, travelling via cruise ship from Auckland to Melbourne. Alas, no shipboard romance, as she spent all four days in her cabin suffering from sea-sickness! After fifteen months working in Melbourne, Helen and her friend bought a vehicle and took three months to drive the length and breadth of Australia, choosing to work in Cairns in order to fund the final leg of our journey to Sydney.
It was in Cairns that Helen met her future husband, Danilo Bianchin, an Italian immigrant from Treviso. He was a tobacco sharefarmer from the tobacco farming community of Mareeba. His English was pitiful, and her command of Italian was nil. Six months later they married, and Helen was flung into cooking for up to nine tobacco pickers, stringing tobacco, feeding 200 chickens, a few turkeys, ducks... plus killing, cleaning and cooking the same! Her knowledge of Italian improved, and there were hilarious moments in retrospect. Some of what she endured was cooking on a wood-burning stove, having no running hot water, a primitive shower and toilet facilities, washing uniforms for two soccer teams during the soccer season... floods, horrendous hailstone damage to tobacco crops, hardship, and the stillbirth of their first child. Then, to their joy, Helen's daughter, Lucia, was born. Three years later the couple returned to New Zealand, where they settled for sixteen years. During those early years, they added two sons, Angelo and Peter, to the family.
With multiple anecdotes of farm life in an Italian community to friends, the idea of writing a book occurred. A romance, set on a tobacco farm in Australia's far north, Queensland, featuring an Italian hero. Helen says, "the background was authentic, believe me!" However the hero was rich and owned the farm artistic license! It took her a year to complete a passable manuscript, typed on a portable typewriter at the dining room table. That first effort was deemed too short with insufficient detail. Helen rewrote it. This time it was considered too long with too much extraneous detail. She revised, then sent it to London. Four months later she received a telegram from Alan Boon (Mills & Boon) to say they intended to publish and a contract would be sent in the mail. It was the most wonderful news!
Helen wrote ten more books while living in New Zealand, then in 1981, her family resettled in Australia, on Queensland's Gold Coast. She has since published twenty-five more books. Today, with computer technology, the mechanics of writing are much easier. However, the writing process doesn't change. Helen says that she's having a good day if she can achieve 5 good pages, which she is likely to change, edit and rewrite the following day.
She loves creating characters, giving them life and providing a situation where their emotions are tested and love wins out. For her, the greatest praise is for a reader to say they couldn't put the book down... then Helen knows that she has achieved what she set out to do -- "create a moving enjoyable story which holds the reader entertained from beginning to end."
Helen's hobbies are tennis, table-tennis, judo, reading. She loves movies, and leads an active social life.
At age twenty-one Helen joined a girlfriend and embarked on a working holiday in Australia, travelling via cruise ship from Auckland to Melbourne. Alas, no shipboard romance, as she spent all four days in her cabin suffering from sea-sickness! After fifteen months working in Melbourne, Helen and her friend bought a vehicle and took three months to drive the length and breadth of Australia, choosing to work in Cairns in order to fund the final leg of our journey to Sydney.
It was in Cairns that Helen met her future husband, Danilo Bianchin, an Italian immigrant from Treviso. He was a tobacco sharefarmer from the tobacco farming community of Mareeba. His English was pitiful, and her command of Italian was nil. Six months later they married, and Helen was flung into cooking for up to nine tobacco pickers, stringing tobacco, feeding 200 chickens, a few turkeys, ducks... plus killing, cleaning and cooking the same! Her knowledge of Italian improved, and there were hilarious moments in retrospect. Some of what she endured was cooking on a wood-burning stove, having no running hot water, a primitive shower and toilet facilities, washing uniforms for two soccer teams during the soccer season... floods, horrendous hailstone damage to tobacco crops, hardship, and the stillbirth of their first child. Then, to their joy, Helen's daughter, Lucia, was born. Three years later the couple returned to New Zealand, where they settled for sixteen years. During those early years, they added two sons, Angelo and Peter, to the family.
With multiple anecdotes of farm life in an Italian community to friends, the idea of writing a book occurred. A romance, set on a tobacco farm in Australia's far north, Queensland, featuring an Italian hero. Helen says, "the background was authentic, believe me!" However the hero was rich and owned the farm artistic license! It took her a year to complete a passable manuscript, typed on a portable typewriter at the dining room table. That first effort was deemed too short with insufficient detail. Helen rewrote it. This time it was considered too long with too much extraneous detail. She revised, then sent it to London. Four months later she received a telegram from Alan Boon (Mills & Boon) to say they intended to publish and a contract would be sent in the mail. It was the most wonderful news!
Helen wrote ten more books while living in New Zealand, then in 1981, her family resettled in Australia, on Queensland's Gold Coast. She has since published twenty-five more books. Today, with computer technology, the mechanics of writing are much easier. However, the writing process doesn't change. Helen says that she's having a good day if she can achieve 5 good pages, which she is likely to change, edit and rewrite the following day.
She loves creating characters, giving them life and providing a situation where their emotions are tested and love wins out. For her, the greatest praise is for a reader to say they couldn't put the book down... then Helen knows that she has achieved what she set out to do -- "create a moving enjoyable story which holds the reader entertained from beginning to end."
Helen's hobbies are tennis, table-tennis, judo, reading. She loves movies, and leads an active social life.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 14, 2017
Re No Gentle Seduction -- Part of HPlandia's A Year Down Under series celebrating all things south of the equator in the Pacific part of the world, Helen Bianchin brings us book two of the series. (The first was Emma Darcy's Heart of the Outback.)
HB switches it up a bit this time. Instead of stalkery evil OW with a penchant for Ladies Room h attacks, we get a user OM.
The h is 25 and a model and a Sydney socialite. She made the mistake of marrying a charming fortune hunter and then having to divorce him when things went rapidly south. Her lawyer brother's colleagues are really good at their job and the nematode ex got almost nothing materially in the divorce process.
Now the h's dad and brother are worried, cause the nematode ex is threatening to take his story to the paparazi and make the h and family look bad on the verge of a big business deal. The brother guilts the h into dating a family friend - to throw suspicion on the ex's story by making it appear that the ex just got dumped for a better model.
I was kinda shocked at that, cause the brother tells her that he will let it be known that the h and family friend have been seeing each other for quite a while on the sly. Which means that while the h's family isn't willing to have it out there that that the h threw a gold digger user out of her life without financial recompense, they are more than fine with her being branded as an adulteress while married. I guess being a model in HPlandia, even if she is your sister, is still tantamount to being a skank in HB's view of HPness.
The h is reluctant, but her brother guilts her into it as her father needs bypass surgery. So cue up the H and the h's reaction is hostile. Mainly cause he had been eyeing her up like a side of prime beef a few minutes earlier as they saw each other across the car park.
Scenario set, we get the usual round of all things HB. Shopping, parties, lunches, showers, yogurt, society dates with roofie kisses, the h modeling a very nice lingerie teddy that the H snaps up for a $1000.00, showdowns with catty OW that the H is a magnet for and eventually the H manhandling the h into the bower of purple lurve mojo while the h takes every opportunity to slap him upside the head. (This h is extremely slap happy.)
We also get a special guest appearance of the h and H from HB's Dark Tyrant - that H is the brother of this H- and their concerted bid to pimp the h out to the H, as if her family's manipulations weren't enough.
This all leads to a big engagement of course and then the h finds out that pretty much the whole thing was a set up scam cause everyone else figured the h was unable to run her own life, --look at the mess she made on her first effort at it. Now she is stuck with a fairly bullying and unlikable bossy H and his catty wanna be OW running around and the meddling of her condescending and patronizing family. But at least the H uses his HP Manly Alpha Death Stare and runs the h's nematode ex off to the mists of HPlandia.
(At this point I was almost okay with all the slapping upside the head the h did, these people were hugely annoying. I was having major Captain Consults just to avoid smashing them all with skillet. HB just does that to me sometimes.)
So the H and h have a big fight over all the manipulation and the h goes off to her location model shoot to have a sulk. She decides the lurve club mojo and her own sudden love are enough to go back and grovel to the H after she told him off. She grovels, the H takes her back and claims he loves her and her social status too and it is another High Society HEA in the HB corner of HPlandia.
HB switches it up a bit this time. Instead of stalkery evil OW with a penchant for Ladies Room h attacks, we get a user OM.
The h is 25 and a model and a Sydney socialite. She made the mistake of marrying a charming fortune hunter and then having to divorce him when things went rapidly south. Her lawyer brother's colleagues are really good at their job and the nematode ex got almost nothing materially in the divorce process.
Now the h's dad and brother are worried, cause the nematode ex is threatening to take his story to the paparazi and make the h and family look bad on the verge of a big business deal. The brother guilts the h into dating a family friend - to throw suspicion on the ex's story by making it appear that the ex just got dumped for a better model.
I was kinda shocked at that, cause the brother tells her that he will let it be known that the h and family friend have been seeing each other for quite a while on the sly. Which means that while the h's family isn't willing to have it out there that that the h threw a gold digger user out of her life without financial recompense, they are more than fine with her being branded as an adulteress while married. I guess being a model in HPlandia, even if she is your sister, is still tantamount to being a skank in HB's view of HPness.
The h is reluctant, but her brother guilts her into it as her father needs bypass surgery. So cue up the H and the h's reaction is hostile. Mainly cause he had been eyeing her up like a side of prime beef a few minutes earlier as they saw each other across the car park.
Scenario set, we get the usual round of all things HB. Shopping, parties, lunches, showers, yogurt, society dates with roofie kisses, the h modeling a very nice lingerie teddy that the H snaps up for a $1000.00, showdowns with catty OW that the H is a magnet for and eventually the H manhandling the h into the bower of purple lurve mojo while the h takes every opportunity to slap him upside the head. (This h is extremely slap happy.)
We also get a special guest appearance of the h and H from HB's Dark Tyrant - that H is the brother of this H- and their concerted bid to pimp the h out to the H, as if her family's manipulations weren't enough.
This all leads to a big engagement of course and then the h finds out that pretty much the whole thing was a set up scam cause everyone else figured the h was unable to run her own life, --look at the mess she made on her first effort at it. Now she is stuck with a fairly bullying and unlikable bossy H and his catty wanna be OW running around and the meddling of her condescending and patronizing family. But at least the H uses his HP Manly Alpha Death Stare and runs the h's nematode ex off to the mists of HPlandia.
(At this point I was almost okay with all the slapping upside the head the h did, these people were hugely annoying. I was having major Captain Consults just to avoid smashing them all with skillet. HB just does that to me sometimes.)
So the H and h have a big fight over all the manipulation and the h goes off to her location model shoot to have a sulk. She decides the lurve club mojo and her own sudden love are enough to go back and grovel to the H after she told him off. She grovels, the H takes her back and claims he loves her and her social status too and it is another High Society HEA in the HB corner of HPlandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2019
OMG this h must take the cake for bitchiest heroine ever! The H steps in to help the family on a problem that arose from her ex-husband (admittedly that part is not her fault) and instead of being cooperative or even just gracious to him, she acts like a prize bitch! She even slaps him twice for no apparent reason.
At halfway point, they have sex and she starts acting like a normal person, so good for them. Then her ex calls and tells her that Daddy, big brother and H contrived to get her engaged and married to the Hero , which she knew from the start! That was the whole purpose of the exercise! But suddenly she gets all offended that they are running her life. What a contrary idiot.
Supposedly the heroine is beautiful inside and out, "so generous, warm and giving" in the Heroes own words. Well the author completely failed to show this side of her character.
At halfway point, they have sex and she starts acting like a normal person, so good for them. Then her ex calls and tells her that Daddy, big brother and H contrived to get her engaged and married to the Hero , which she knew from the start! That was the whole purpose of the exercise! But suddenly she gets all offended that they are running her life. What a contrary idiot.
Supposedly the heroine is beautiful inside and out, "so generous, warm and giving" in the Heroes own words. Well the author completely failed to show this side of her character.
May 2, 2017
This definitely comes across as a product of its time. It's mostly in the attitudes and thoughts of the characters, occasionally when the hero pops a cassette into his tape deck, but yeah... Lexi is coming out of a divorce from a guy who married her for her money and she got her heart broken. Now that she's finally divorced, her ex is attempting to finagle more money through some scheme or other. The only solution to this scheme is to pretend to be Georg Nicolaos's fiancee for the next 5 weeks. She's extremely wary - so much so that she's outright rude to him and pretty damn defiant of him. She makes no secret of her dislike for him. But he doesn't care. He's set to seduce her apparently and keeps burying them further into their lies...before she knows it the engagement is no longer fake and she's slotted to be married in 5 weeks time.
I'm not quite sure why Lexi took such an active dislike to Georg at first, because he hadn't really done anything but be charming up to then. I get that she'd be wary, but why so hostile? Shortly thereafter, yeah, I kinda got it. Georg is the type of man who doesn't actually listen to the woman he's with - he assumes what he thinks is best for her and does what he wants with her. Surprise kisses - sure. Scheduling in family gatherings and dinners without consulting her or her schedule? That too. Following her around and staying after she's asked, commanded and screamed for him to go? Yup. Refusing to let go of her hand? Uh-huh. By the mid-point of the book, Lexi's kind of so tired of fighting him on the little things, that he gets what he wants. So it's all a matter of him wearing her down. It's kind of nicely wrapped up in this quote here, "I'm not sure I want to dance," Lexi protested, yet somehow she was in his arms, and the music was slow..." Her protests become less adamant, she let's him have his way every time and it's pretty much always her fault. Even after she discovers he's manipulated her into all of this and feels justifiably angry, she's the one who has to apologize for her behavior and come crawling to him on his knees. Now this wasn't anywhere close to me throwing my kindle or anything...Georg still managed to be charming at times and there's a subtle undertone that suggests that Georg is completely smitten with a very difficult and contrary Lexi, which almost justifies his heavy-handed approach. Their constant bickering and whatnot up the angst factor for this story, so despite my not really liking either character, I still enjoyed the story.
I'm not quite sure why Lexi took such an active dislike to Georg at first, because he hadn't really done anything but be charming up to then. I get that she'd be wary, but why so hostile? Shortly thereafter, yeah, I kinda got it. Georg is the type of man who doesn't actually listen to the woman he's with - he assumes what he thinks is best for her and does what he wants with her. Surprise kisses - sure. Scheduling in family gatherings and dinners without consulting her or her schedule? That too. Following her around and staying after she's asked, commanded and screamed for him to go? Yup. Refusing to let go of her hand? Uh-huh. By the mid-point of the book, Lexi's kind of so tired of fighting him on the little things, that he gets what he wants. So it's all a matter of him wearing her down. It's kind of nicely wrapped up in this quote here, "I'm not sure I want to dance," Lexi protested, yet somehow she was in his arms, and the music was slow..." Her protests become less adamant, she let's him have his way every time and it's pretty much always her fault. Even after she discovers he's manipulated her into all of this and feels justifiably angry, she's the one who has to apologize for her behavior and come crawling to him on his knees. Now this wasn't anywhere close to me throwing my kindle or anything...Georg still managed to be charming at times and there's a subtle undertone that suggests that Georg is completely smitten with a very difficult and contrary Lexi, which almost justifies his heavy-handed approach. Their constant bickering and whatnot up the angst factor for this story, so despite my not really liking either character, I still enjoyed the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2021
Ψεύτικα Φιλιά - Helen Bianchin, Χρυσά, 644
Καθώς το έψαχνα χρόνια, ήταν μεγάλη η χαρά μου , που το βρήκα και ακόμη μεγαλύτερη που το διάβασα! Μια πολύ ωραία ιστορία αγάπης , έντονη και με πολύ καλή σκιαγράφηση των ηρώων... δύο ηρώων που αγάπησα πολύ!!!! 5 αστέρια με το χέρι στην καρδιά!!!!!
Καθώς το έψαχνα χρόνια, ήταν μεγάλη η χαρά μου , που το βρήκα και ακόμη μεγαλύτερη που το διάβασα! Μια πολύ ωραία ιστορία αγάπης , έντονη και με πολύ καλή σκιαγράφηση των ηρώων... δύο ηρώων που αγάπησα πολύ!!!! 5 αστέρια με το χέρι στην καρδιά!!!!!
May 17, 2020
Helen Bianchin follows the same recipe in all her novels. And I usually like them. But sometimes her heroines really annoy me with their penchant for behaving badly towards the hero (for things out of his control, just because she's frustrated) and their aggressiveness - they're always slapping the hero in every book. I hate this gratuitous display of aggressiveness. So, needless to say that Lexi annoyed me for most of the book.
Georg was pretty nice, though mostly closed off (like all HB's heroes, the heroine must guess what's going on in his mind). But he was supportive and understanding. I just wish Lexi's ex had gotten what he deserved.
Georg was pretty nice, though mostly closed off (like all HB's heroes, the heroine must guess what's going on in his mind). But he was supportive and understanding. I just wish Lexi's ex had gotten what he deserved.
October 2, 2020
A little too old-school rapey when the hero makes passes at the heroine to be forgivable. Also, .
August 17, 2025
AKA No Gentle Seduction AKA Greek's Bride of Convenience
Lexi Harrison, one of Sydney’s top international fashion models, is still recovering from her divorce when her family suggests she allow George Nicolaos court her to prevent her ex from creating nasty gossip.
Lexi Harrison, one of Sydney’s top international fashion models, is still recovering from her divorce when her family suggests she allow George Nicolaos court her to prevent her ex from creating nasty gossip.
December 8, 2022
Zero stars! THIS book is why I stopped reading romance novels.
Heroine has just come from an abusive marriage. So her brother and father (whom they all call by his first name!) conspire with some Greek dude to pretend to be dating to foil the nasty ex.
Greek dude refuses to listen when the heroine says no. Kisses her without asking permission. Forces her to do things she doesn't want to do and basically harrassess her, even she asks him to leave her alone.
Then he gives her a ring and announces that they're engaged and getting married in five weeks.
I need you, I want you, oh baby, oh baby. Ugh.
Heroine has just come from an abusive marriage. So her brother and father (whom they all call by his first name!) conspire with some Greek dude to pretend to be dating to foil the nasty ex.
Greek dude refuses to listen when the heroine says no. Kisses her without asking permission. Forces her to do things she doesn't want to do and basically harrassess her, even she asks him to leave her alone.
Then he gives her a ring and announces that they're engaged and getting married in five weeks.
I need you, I want you, oh baby, oh baby. Ugh.
April 2, 2021
Great book! Highly recommend!
August 20, 2012
Lexie comes across as a bit too combative. If definitely won't be in my read again pile
Synopsis from cover
Lexi Harrison, one of Sydney's top international fashion models, was accustomed to being pursued by men who wanted to share her fame and fortune. It made it difficult for the beautiful woman to trust men, especially a man like Georg Nicolaos, whose arrogant countenance was simply infuriating.
But when Lexi's ex-husband tried to blackmail her by threatening to destroy her family's name and her professional reputation, Lexi was forced to turn to Georg for advice. She agreed to fall in with his plans and go along with a pretend --their pretend--engagement. But was Georg sincere in his offer to help? Or were there ulterior motives behind the charade?
Synopsis from cover
Lexi Harrison, one of Sydney's top international fashion models, was accustomed to being pursued by men who wanted to share her fame and fortune. It made it difficult for the beautiful woman to trust men, especially a man like Georg Nicolaos, whose arrogant countenance was simply infuriating.
But when Lexi's ex-husband tried to blackmail her by threatening to destroy her family's name and her professional reputation, Lexi was forced to turn to Georg for advice. She agreed to fall in with his plans and go along with a pretend --their pretend--engagement. But was Georg sincere in his offer to help? Or were there ulterior motives behind the charade?
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews