A merciless groom A not-so-convenient bride Scarred by his dark past, Damen Alexopoulos does not let emotion dictate anything–especially his choice of wife. So when his convenient society bride is switched at the altar for her innocent younger sister, Kassiani Dukas, Damen is adamant their marriage will remain strictly business. He’s too damaged for anything more. Yet Kassiani’s determination … Kassiani’s determination to know him–and the intense passion of their Greek Island honeymoon–could be this ruthless Greek’s undoing!
Meet the Greek billionaire and his replacement bride
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An arranged marriage between Greek tycoon and a virgin wallflower make for an unforgettable story.
Five years ago, Kassiani Dukas’s father made a deal with Damen Alexopoulos, a Greek shipping tycoon. He could marry his daughter, Elexis, in exchange for a merger between their companies. But when it came time for the wedding, Elexis had disappeared. There was no way her father’s business could survive without the marriage deal. So now, Kassiani was being forced to marry Damien in Elexis’s place.
Kassiani was the forgotten Dukas. Her father didn’t want anything to do with her because she wasn’t pretty like her sister. He didn’t appreciate her intelligence. He always said a Greek woman’s place was at home and not working. Kassiani desperately wanted to be part of the family business but wasn’t allowed. She was desperate for a way out, a way to leave home. So, when her father told her to take Elexis’s place and marry Damen, she agreed. Marrying Damen would be how Kassiani could get away from her controlling father. She could also claim the trust that her late aunt left for her giving her financial freedom. Kassiani fell in love with Damen right away, but Damen didn’t like affection and didn’t believe in love. Kassiani had a lot of work to do if their marriage was going to last.
I could relate to Kassiani’s self esteem issues and how she felt she didn’t measure up to her siblings, so my heart went out to her. But, she was very smart and she had more to offer than she thought. I enjoyed seeing her finally win over Damen, even if it did take to the near end of the book to do it. Damen was another story. He was a bit stubborn and secretive at first, a total alpha male, so seeing him finally soften up was a pleasant surprise. Most of the book took place on a yacht cruising around the Greek islands. It really had me longing for a vacation there. I would recommend this book to any armchair travelers, like myself, and those just seeking a good romantic story. You’ll be swept away.
Kassiani Dukas is in Greece to see her sister marry Damen Alexopoulos. However, on the day of the wedding, her sister is nowhere to be found. Kass’s father tells her she must stand in for her sister as this was an agreement between him and Damen and Kass reluctantly agrees.
Damen knows he has been deceived when Kass arrives at the altar. Damen decides to treat this marriage as a business deal; he never wanted emotion to play a part in it any way. The more Kassiani is with Damen, the more she wants to know him and break through his cold exterior. Will she be able to?
I truly enjoyed this story. I loved the characters and their interaction. It has all the feels; I grabbed a Kleenex more than once. This is a must read!
Broody Damen married the wrong bride; it was a business decision. He’s not cut out for emotional attachment. Curvy Kassiani sees the marriage as an escape from her family and a way to live life on her terms. Damen likes control, and Kassiani’s determined to be a traditional Greek wife, in her own way. Little by little, she’s breaking down his walls. As the nights become more passionate, the days together bring understanding, is it enough? When her heart is on the line, she walks out. They’ll forever be linked–can they find a way back into each others arms for a happily ever after?
An arranged marriage, or should I say a substitute bride. Kassiani steps up as a bride to Damen when her sister at the last minute changes her mind on her marriage. Damen states the marriage will only be a business marriage but the sexual chemistry can not be denied. Damen has a big secret from his past and has trust issues, plus he is pure alpha. Kassiani is very smart but has low self esteem but she might be the first person to break the shell of Damen.
Loved this book, packed full of emotion of two broken people that find love in the end. Loved the setting in Greece, so wants me to visit this gorgeous country. Great banter and sexual chemistry between Kassiani and Damen. I could not put this book down, highly recommend.
Damen Alexopoulos is a Greek shipping tycoon. Kristopher Dukas needs his financial assistance to stay afloat. The marriage needs to take place so he substitutes brides. Damen is married to Kassiani, the invisible daughter. He won’t be tricked. Someone must pay. Kass may be the unwanted bride but she’s won’t be ignored. She’s a fierce adversary who will fight to have a real relationship with Damen. I admired her spirit and her intelligence. When she challenges her groom, I was impressed with how she stood up for herself. Damen is a dark hero. He’s ruthless and unfeeling, but the way he is with Kass showed he cared. I wished he would let his walls down and accept love. These two have such powerful chemistry. It leaps off the page. Damen needs to face his past and get help. I hated to see him destroy their future. The setting was opulent and historic. It was interesting learning something about Greece. Jane Porter wrote a deeply emotional story. I connected with the characters. Their dialogue expressed their true feelings. Both were battling their past. I was pulled into the story. I wanted them to succeed in their marriage and find happiness.
Damen chose his bride and an arranged marriage for many reasons, not the least of which was to merge his bride’s family shipping company into his. When his intended bride disappears, her father convinces her younger sister, Kass, to take her place and fulfill the contract. Kass has always been on the outside in her beautiful family. She is smart, and is convinced she can’t hold a candle to her sister. She agrees to the marriage, hoping to please her father and knowing it will save the family’s business. Kass is determined to be the wife Damen needs, despite the circumstances. Can these two damaged people find happiness together?
Damen is definitely an alpha male, and Kass may be innocent, but she is no dummy; far from it. I love that she challenges him at every turn, making him think. She is a strong heroine to his alpha, and I enjoyed their interactions.
This was a quick, enjoyable read, with interesting characters and gorgeous locales to get lost in.
#harlequinpresents #janeporter #passioninparadise
Damen and Kassiani’s story was an emotional and wonderful story that began with deception and control issues. I really enjoyed His Shock Marriage in Greece by Jane Porter, book three in the Passion in Paradise series. Damen is a cold, ruthless businessman who is in need of a wife. Imagine his surprise, and anger, when his society bride is switched, at the last minute, for her innocent, socially inept, younger sister, Kassiani. Believing their marriage is to be strictly a business agreement, Damen struggles with Kassiani’s beauty, intelligence, curiosity and desire to better know her husband. Damen has secrets and baggage from his past, causing him to believe he is damaged and unfeeling. Kassiani was off the charts intelligent, knowing more than her father would ever give her credit for and he refused to allow her to work for the company. Good Greek Girls were not to discuss national matters or international policies, excel in math and economics, or read material beyond her years. Fortunately for Kassiani, Damen was willing to learn of and listen to her knowledge and her thoughts, unlike her father who rejected and ridiculed her. Kassiani needed to shower Damen with love, passion, and acceptance in order to break through his walls and to keep this marriage from being strictly a business arrangement as well as for Damen to reciprocate with the same.
Ms. Porter wrote a wonderful and emotional story that was moving and filled with sexual chemistry, wonderful dialogue, and endearing but flawed characters that should definitely not be missed. Her descriptions of the Greek Isles are worth the read alone. Kassiani and Will needed to find the perfect partner for life, one who would unconditionally love and accept them, I highly recommend His Shock Marriage in Greece to other readers.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
“A merciless groom
A not-so-convenient bride”
This is the story of Kassiani Dukas and Damen Alexopoulos.
Kassiani is the youngest daughter of a shipping tycoon.
Damen is a powerful Greek shipping tycoon.
Kassiani is supposed to be attending the wedding of her oldest sister, Elexis to Damen. Elexis runs off the day before her wedding to parts unknown. Kassiani’s father would do anything to make the merger between his and Damen’s businesses to happen, so he switches one daughter for another at the alter. Kassiani wants nothing more than for her father to not be disappointed in her, so she agrees to take her sister’s place. She also agrees because she wants out from under her father and the disappointment he has always had in her.
She apologizes at the alter to Damen because she knows he can tell she is not her sister. Damen silently agrees to the arrangement to avoid embarrassment and to allow the merger of the businesses and the families.
Damen is insistent that his marriage will remain solely for business. He is affected by events in his past, and he does not allow emotion to rule anything in his life. That goes for his choice in a wife also.
Even though Kassiani is a “convenient” bride, she is determined to be a good wife for Damen. She is not ready for is his valued sense of control. She is also not prepared for the intense passion she feels when they are intimate and how she actually wants to get to know him.
For them to have a future, they both must work through what they need to from each of their pasts. Will Damen reveal what happened to him that makes him how he is? Will Kass be able to overcome her low feelings of herself?
I love how this couple works through their differences in order to love and be loved. I love how Damen actually valued his relationship with Kass and sought out the help he needed in order to overcome his secret. Great chemistry between the two! The settings were described in such a way that i felt i could visualize it!