The Unwanted Wife - Book Review

By Natasha Anders

Synopsis

No one had ever looked at her and seen perfection—until now.

Delicate, titian-haired Theresa Noble has met her father’s associates in the past, but the gorgeous, Italian-born Sandro De Lucci leaves her speechless. Eighteen months into their marriage, however, Sandro has turned to ice. Desperate to escape a relationship that has proven to be as stubbornly passionate as it is cold and hateful, Theresa summons up the courage to ask for a divorce. But before he’ll grant her request, Sandro demands something from Theresa: a son.

The stalemate sickens her. Never mind that Sandro has yet to introduce Theresa to the large family that means so much to him. Or that Theresa overhears her husband on the phone with a mystery woman. Most damning is that Theresa senses, in Sandro’s treatment of her, the behind-the-scenes machinations of Jackson Noble, her cruel father. From the depths of her anxiety, Theresa must seek an empowering truth about the husband who calls her, with such cold affection, his cara, his beloved.

Review

“I want a divorce, Alessandro.”

After eighteen months of being married to a man who treats her with contempt, Theresa is calling it quits. The man she fell in love with doesn’t love her in return⎯in fact, her resents her⎯and she sees no point in continuing on. She wants a divorce but Alessandro won’t give her one, at least not until she bears him a son. But when she keeps insisting on a divorce, he starts to question everything and discovers that she’s not to blame for the situation he’s been put in. With the blinders off, he tries to salvage their marriage, but it’s too late; Theresa is too heartbroken to forgive and determined to divorce him as soon as possible.

I really liked Theresa and thought she was a very strong woman. This is a woman who has been put through the emotional wringer, courtesy of her husband and her father. She admits that she’s been a doormat in the past, but she stands up for herself and refuses to be treated that way anymore, and she does a damn fine job of it too. She puts her husband in his place several times, not afraid to point out his poor treatment of her or that what he did was unforgivable.

“I’m your husband…”
“No. You are not my husband. You have never been my husband. A husband loves, honors and cherishes. A husband is a lover and a champion. Look into the next room if you want to see what a real husband is, because you are no such thing!”

I’m just going to put this out there…you will not like Alessandro at the beginning of this book. Even when he learns the truth, he still doesn’t treat Theresa very well thanks to his stupid male pride. But when he puts aside his resentment and realises how badly he’s hurt her, he changes his whole attitude and becomes a man you’re truly hoping will win back his wife. But eighteen months of poor treatment is a very hard thing to overcome, if at all. Theresa is bitter and untrusting of his motives, and I don’t blame her.

“I’m trying to fix this, cara.”
“You can’t. This…whatever it is…it’s irreparable.”

THE UNWANTED WIFE grabbed me from the first page and did not let me go. Any opportunity I had to read it during the day, I took it. I went through so many tissues throughout this book, especially in the beginning, which took me forever to get through because I was constantly stopping to wipe my eyes. I was so sad and angry for what Theresa had been going through. You will definitely experience several emotions while reading this story. From memory, this is told only in Theresa’s POV and while it’s part of a series, it can be read as a standalone.

“Why should I forgive you and love you again? Why should I open up my heart to a man who could easily crush it in the palms of his hands?”
“You probably shouldn’t. But I wish you would.”