A Debt Paid In Passion

By Dani Collins

A beautiful thief…?  

Raoul Zesiger has everything a man could want–including Sirena Abbott, the perfect PA who keeps his life in order. Or so it seems, until their professional relationship gives way to one hot, impassioned night…and then he has her arrested for embezzlement! 

She may have escaped a prison sentence, but Sirena knows she'll be shackled to Zesiger by more than just the past. With Raoul determined to recover the debt she owes him, Sirena is torn between guilt and an impossible attraction. But what will happen when Raoul uncovers the truth behind her theft?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Feb 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781488712265

Dani Collins

When Canadian Dani Collins found romance novels in high school she wondered how one trained for such an awesome job. She wrote for over two decades without publishing, but remained inspired by the romance message that if you hang in there you'll find a happy ending. In May of 2012, Harlequin Presents bought her manuscript in a two-book deal. She's since published more than forty books with Harlequin and is definitely living happily ever after.

Reviews for A Debt Paid In Passion

[ceg045 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received A Debt Paid in Passion as part of a Goodreads giveaway.

I knew what I was getting into with this book, knowing it was a Harlequin Presents--a domineering alpha male paired with an innocent, nuturer-done-wrong female. If this isn't the personality profile you like for your romance, you may want to skip it (and the entire Harlequin Presents label). If you do choose to read on, know that in the description for this book, there's a major element of the book that's not mentioned, the fact the the heroine is pregnant (and gives birth early in the book).

Sirena was the perfect assistant to Raoul, but he was soon attracted to more than his organizational skills. After an impassioned night together, however, he has her arrested on suspicions of theft. While Sirena manages to escape jail time, her pregnancy comes to light in the process, and Raoul and Sirena have to figure out how to reconcile their newfound responsibilities with the trust that's been broken between them.

Sirena's a stronger character than most Harlequin Presents heroines I've come across. She's not an innocent virgin, though she is a bit of a pushover to Raoul's domineering behavior. For it being a short book (less than 200 pages), I did think that their love story was fleshed out well given the limited amount of time. I would have liked to see more attention focused on Sirena and Raoul's relationship while she was pregnant. She went from barely showing to giving birth in the course of a couple pages during the book--considering how long pregnancies are, it seemed like a good opportunity to develop the storyline. Plus, once baby Lucy was there, she didn't add much to the plot, being a newborn and all.

Not a bad read for a lazy weekend.