The Secret One by Ruth Cardello

In this steamy third book in New York Times bestselling author Ruth Cardello’s Corisi Billionaires series, a trip to Italy could jump-start a lasting relationship—but only if all that’s hidden comes to light.

When Christof meets a beautiful mechanic on the side of the road, he knows they’re meant to be. His family, however, needs him and his mediation skills in Italy, where decades of secrets and betrayal could cost them everything. His mother is convinced a fiancée would help smooth things over. But he’d be nuts to ask a woman he just met to participate in such a farce.

Men always find something about McKenna they want to change—her independence, her success, the grease that clings to her after a satisfying day in the garage. So when she starts falling for a handsome billionaire, she doesn’t believe it will last. Their engagement is fake, but the sparks that fly when they’re together are too real to resist.

If Christof and McKenna trust themselves and each other, Italy will jump-start a love as intimate as it is intense. If not… their relationship isn’t the only one on the line.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Corisi Billionaires series!
For book one, The Broken One, click HERE.
For book two, The Wild One, click HERE.

 

 

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Romance

Christof and McKenna meet in a bar when they are both in need of a good ear to listen. What they couldn't know is that fate is funny, and she wasn't finished with them. I absolutely loved how they met and felt that it truly added a bit of whimsy to the story.

Christof is a Corisi. He is starting to take more responsibility from his brothers and really engage in the family business. When he finds himself on the side of the road, the last thing he expects is to meet a beautiful woman who knows more about his car than he does. There's something about her that he can't quite place, but he knows that he's meant to see her again.

McKenna is used to knowing more about cars than almost anyone. It's made her wary of men because they normally don't like that aspect of her. But when she sees a beautiful car, along with a beautiful man, she can't help but stop to make sure everything is okay. She loves her life and knows that she might not have taken the steps to finding her dream without the push of a handsome stranger.

When McKenna and Christof meet again, they find their connection hasn't really diminished. What begins as a fake engagement, blossoms into a family affair that neither can really control.

When you first begin this series, you don't know very much about the Corisi family. They are a hard family to know with so many secrets. But as the series progresses, their secrets become unraveled and you're left hoping that these two families can find a way to coexist.

I loved McKenna and Christof's story because it was full of secrets, romance, and fun. I'm not sure if I would categorize this as an insta-love story, but their connection was so strong when they first met, that maybe others will think of it like that. I can't wait to see if there will be more about this family.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This may be the third in this series, but it links to a number of other books in this wonderful collection of books by the talented Ruth Cardello. I would definitely recommend that you read back as far as you can to get the full story, but certainly the earlier books in the series.

The story brings together two family lines and finally gives up some secrets and rights some wrongs – but actually, the biggest secret, to an extent, remains exactly that even at the end… so I am intrigued as to how and when that will be part of the series.

Christof is such a totally good guy. We first get to see him as a young college kid drinking far too much and needing his dad to come and help him get home, and him admitting to the meeting he had with Mack, a beautiful young woman. He even names his car after her. But it is seven years before fate brings them together again and, as they say, the rest is history… although, the events which lead to them cementing the deal are anything if ordinary.

As the two of them pull off the reconciliation of the century, reuniting the Corisi and Romano houses in deepest Italy, we really see the connection between them. And as Christof helps his family heal, McKenna also lays to rest some of her demons too.

SO much more for you to enjoy reading, but I refuse to reveal more!


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was a good book, but as I had not read books one and two, I was a little lost.

The characters were very well written. I loved the backstory of McKenna and Christof, and the way they reconnected years later.

Christof knows that there is something special about Mack, even if can't clearly remember their first meeting. After a few dates, he knows that Mack is the one person he can see spending the rest of his life with. That's why this crazy plan of his mother's to ask Mack to go to Italy as his fiancée is a really bad idea. Christof doesn't want to drag Mack into his family's problems, especially with Dominic Corisi trying to ruin his family in Italy.

McKenna knows that agreeing to go with Christof to Italy is going to be risky for her heart, but she needs to expand her horizons to know for sure if she can be the person that Christof needs.

This book had a few up and down moments for me, but overall it's a good read.

 

 

RUTH CARDELLO was born the youngest of eleven children in a small city in northern Rhode Island. She lived in Boston, Paris, Orlando, and New York before coming full circle and moving back to Rhode Island, where she lives with her husband and three children. Before turning her attention to writing, Ruth was an educator for twenty years, eleven of which she spent as a kindergarten teacher. She is the author of seven previous novels including Bedding the Billionaire, which was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Secret One (Corisi Billionaires #3) by Ruth Cardello to read and review.