Domenico -- The Italian Groom

Kate Walker's The Italian's Forced Bride is one of the books in our Here Come The Brides contest.

It's a book I managed to lose twice before I finally got my copy and practically nailed it to the night stand so I could read it three nights ago. Probably it's a good thing I lost it the first two times because I really didn't have the time to read it in one sitting before.

Three nights ago -- fortunately -- I did. And thank heavens, because it is not a book you want to put down. From the very beginning it's an emotional rollercoaster ride. You get on and you start the trip in Alice's head and she's worried. And it doesn't take long before you see why she is worried. There's a man on her doorstep -- a man she dreads to face even though she loves him.

And before you know it, you're hurtling along on that emotional rollercoaster with Alicee -- and then with Domenico. You share their pain, their desperation, their urgency. You can't put it down halfway through and get a good night's sleep!

How could you dare to leave them in such angst?

Well, I couldn't. So I stayed up far too late finishing the story. It was, I told Kate later, a book that was like a knock-out punch.

There are stories that build slowly, that gradually and intricately weave together strands of complexity, that draw a reader into a world and invite them to witness the development of a relationship, to watch the conflicts develop, to share the joys and sorrows and, ultimately, the happy ending. I know them -- I write them myself.

Then there are those that grab you by the neck and yank you into the emotional maelstrom already in progress. From the very first they suck you right into the eye of the emotional hurricane. The Italian's Forced Bride is one of those.

It is Kate Walker at her best.

If you haven't already done so, enter the contest on my website or Kate's or Liz's. You might get lucky and win a copy. If you don't, believe me, if you like powerful emotional love stories about relationships in which the hero and heroine become their best selves thanks to the love of each other, this is a book you want to read.