‘Are you insane?’ he questioned rawly. ‘You must be out of your mind to come to me like this! How could you think for one moment that I would marry an avaricious, brazen little tramp like you?’

The Cozakis Bride by Lynne Graham is one of those novels that swept me off my feet on a journey of angst, heat, and love of the kind that reaffirms my faith in my commitment to remain a romance reader for life. First published in 2000, Ms. Graham brings to readers the story of 29 year old Nikos Cozakis (Nik) and 27 year old Olympia Manoulis, whose entwined past ten years ago makes them the bitterest enemies.

If anyone had asked Olympia just an year ago if she would ever consider going back to Nik, the man who had left her heart and pride in tatters when she was just seventeen years old, quite naive and wholeheartedly in love with her fiance Nik, she would have probably told them to shoot themselves in the head. But circumstances force Olympia to do just that, where she is forced to “barter” herself in marriage in exchange for much needed medical treatment and security for her mother.

If Olympia resents Nik for what had happened a decade ago, Nik himself loathes the very existence of the woman who made a fool of himself and his family’s unsoiled reputation. The way Nik sees things, Olympia, his doe-eyed supposedly virginal bride-to-be had betrayed him in the worst way possible, and there is no way he was going to forgive or forget what happened, no matter how much he may lust after the woman he is going to be legally bound to as a husband.

Thus begins the battle of wills between Nik and Olympia being tied together in holy matrimony, each unwilling to look beyond the wounds that had scabbed over and never truly healed from that fateful night when everything had gone so horribly wrong. For Olympia, she had been judged and found guilty of a sin she had not committed, and for Nik it had been all too easy to believe what he was led to through machinations of those who had their own agenda.

What neither can deny is the flame that sizzles, burns, and roars to life whenever they are together, something that they are both helpless to turn away from. Nik may pretend that for him it is about getting what he wants out of Olympia, both in the short and long term. Olympia may likewise act as if the passion between them is inconsequential at best, but the truth is far from it.

I loved how The Cozakis Bride commandeered all my senses and did not let up from the minute I plunged into this heady tale. I adored the story for how it was chock-full of excitement from the get go, even when you are hyperventilating through scenes and wanting to slap some sense into Nik, and being gleeful about how all the feels knotted up my insides. There is nothing better that a romance reader can ask for than to be emotionally invested in a story, to feel as if you are going through train wreck, and yet still root for the main protagonists and their happily ever after.

There were times when Nik was unbelievably cruel in the story, times when I thought, boy, I hope this man has to grovel a lot to get the girl in the end. I must confess that I actually loved how cruel that Nik was at times because it showed the depth of his unresolved feelings towards the heroine. If Nik had not cared as much and if it was just his ego that had been bruised back then, the reactions from him would have been altogether very different. Nik made me fall in love with all that he is; from the sex-in-a-suit male specimen personified he is, to the ruthless side of him, and to the very vulnerable man that lies underneath all of that.

I loved Olympia for being feisty where needed, for being able to see how her naivety all those years back had played its role when those she had trusted had taken advantage of her, and for being self-aware and honest enough to face the ultimate truth when it came calling; that she loved Nik with everything she was and if she wanted a future that was worth living, it would have to be with Nik, and that fight she would for his love.

The fact that the story was told purely from the heroine’s perspective made it all that much better in my opinion. While Nik was quite the forceful character, seeing the shades of vulnerability on his part towards the end was enlightening and went a long way towards making this a well rounded romance.

Definitely recommend this gem to fans of Ms. Graham and fans of ruthless heroes with that core of vulnerability that we all love!

Final Verdict: The Queen of Harlequin romance seldom disappoints. Being older and better able to understand the complexities & nuances of human emotions makes this read all that more wonderful to the senses in every way that matters.

Favorite Quotes

‘You owe debts, and through me you will settle those debts.’
‘What are you t-talking about?’
‘What you did ten years ago cost your poor mother any hope of reconciliation with her father. What you did ten years ago savaged your grandfather. And what you did to me, you can find out the hard way,’ Nik concluded darkly.
Stabbed to the heart by that reminder about her mother, Olympia dropped her head, tears springing to her eyes. ‘It wasn’t my fault…what happened…I was set up—’
‘You’re embarrassing me,’ Nik slotted in with contempt. ‘Lies and fake shame are not going to protect you.’
‘You’re scaring me…’ Olympia condemned tearfully. ‘You are really scaring me!’

‘Let the light of reality in here. Ten years back, while you played Miss Prim and Proper Prude and brandished your innocence at every opportunity, I was in absolute agony…in the grip of overpowering lust and unable to do anything about it!’ Nik’s lean, powerful face hardened. ‘Did that give you a kick, Olympia?’
‘A…a kick?’ Eyes huge pools of enquiry, she stared back at him, struggling to absorb his assurance that he had found her sexually attractive in those days. That claim ran against everything she had ever believed, and she was paralysed by a sense of sheer disbelief.
‘You kept me in a constant state of arousal. I never slept after I was with you. My fantasies about what we were going to do when we got married even embarrassed me!’ Nik admitted grimly. ‘I wasn’t used to going without sex…it was torment; it was seriously painful.’

He came back to her with a driving kiss that consumed her. He was rough, and she had never known him rough before, and he excited her beyond belief. She was out of control, but so was he and she loved that. It answered the wildness leaping through her. He was hard and hot and full, and he sank into her tender welcoming flesh with a forceful maleness that made her sob out his name in ecstasy. Her back arched as the blinding excitement peaked on a shivering storming tide of mindless pleasure.
In the aftermath, she opened her eyes and blinked.
For a split-second, as Nik stared down at her, she saw a shell-shocked look in his stunning dark deepset eyes that could only have mirrored her own. Rolling off her without a word, he headed for the bathroom. She lay there immobile, struggling to breathe again, feeling ravished, feeling the sweet, heavy satiation of her own body with shattered recognition.

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