"An independent woman finds her life must change"
Reviewed by Clare O'Beara
Posted March 9, 2021
Romance Contemporary | Romance Billionaire | Romance Series
Late in the ‘Dynasty: Seven Sins’ series of books, which I had not read, comes this romance between two people in the fashion industry. UNTAMED PASSION flares between Oliver Lowell, once model, now photographer, and Filipina model Sammi Guzman, when they meet between shoots.
Black Crescent Investment firm was at the centre of a scandal running through this series of linked books by different authors. Vernon Lowell stole millions of dollars from the hedge fund and disappeared. His family took the brunt of society’s disapproval although they had neither involvement nor money. Oliver Lowell has made his own way as a photographer in Manhattan, but still feels bitter resentment towards his heartless dad. Unexpectedly Vernon resurfaces during this story, but plays only a minor role compared to the much bigger shadow he has left over his son’s heart.
Sammi Guzman has supported her Filipina mother for years, as the woman pushed her little daughter into the modelling career that paid their bills. Now they just can’t relate to each other and when Sammi turns out to have an unexpected pregnancy she gets a less than happy response. All she can do, while cancelling her appointments, is to go and tell Oliver what’s happened. She fancies him tremendously but doesn’t trust that his demons would let them be a good couple.
A few factors I didn’t think were well realised. Photographer, model, Philippines, were all just namechecks. Sammi and Oliver exchange a couple of wry remarks about the industry and promptly stop doing what they did for a living. Oliver doesn’t mention a make of camera or type of lens, never mind tell us how he is lighting the one subject he photographs. We don’t even get to see the photo, which was a central theme at the start. Sammi doesn’t show us what work models like her get to do, if the industry stereotypes, or where her work has appeared. There isn’t any reference to her mom’s culture, beyond wanting to escape poverty, so she seems generic. These days I believe a book has to be well researched to feel authentic for the reader, but the author doesn’t even seem interested in the careers.
The romance revolves around the two who had not intended a relationship of any duration, feeling respect and affection strengthen as they come to terms with the fact that there is a baby on the way. And they keep jumping into bed, because, of course, they’re mad about each other. We hopeless romantics wouldn’t have it any other way. I like the multicultural and independent woman aspects in UNTAMED PASSION by Cat Schield and I hope we will get to see more of Oliver and Sammi in the final book of the series, which will resolve the issues and running storyline.
SUMMARY
Feel the drama and passion in the Dynasties: Seven Sins series!
One spectacular night… with an explosive aftermath!
Desire as volatile as theirs has consequences that could last a lifetime…
When a single rapturous night with Sammi Guzman leaves the intoxicating model pregnant, photographer Oliver Lowell is determined to embrace his responsibilities. But his wrath over his father’s numerous betrayals has haunted him for years and leaves Oliver feeling ill equipped for parenthood. Passion has never been his and Sammi’s problem, but will this black sheep tame his demons for good?
Harlequin Desire: Luxury, scandal, desire—welcome to the lives of the American elite.
One man’s betrayal can destroy generations. Fifteen years ago, a hedge-fund hotshot vanished with billions, leaving the high-powered families of Falling Brook changed forever. Now seven heirs, shaped by his betrayal, must reckon with the sins of the past. Passion may be their only path to redemption. Experience all Seven Sins!
Excerpt“When we first entered the building, I thought maybe you lived here.”
“I do. Upstairs.” He indicated an open staircase off to the left. “Do you want a tour?”
The offer astounded her. Given how little was known of his private life, she guessed he guarded his privacy zealously. Should she feel honored that he’d offered her a glimpse? But at what price?
“Maybe later.”
Turning her back to him, she set her portfolio and purse on a nearby table and stripped off her jacket while she sorted through her conflicting moods. What had seemed like a daring lark at the Soho Grand Hotel no longer felt inconsequential.
“Although I’m sure your mind is racing,” Oliver said, “I can’t for the life of me tell what you’re thinking.”
That I’m completely out of my depth with you.
Sammi trembled as he strolled toward the worktable that held the cameras. What would he see? What would she betray of herself? Her inner turmoil? Her failures? All her life she’d taken for granted that she was beautiful. When he cracked her psyche and exposed her soul, would she be ugly? What could possibly be more terrifying? She wondered how many of his photographs existed. How many people were strong enough to keep a visual representation of their greatest failures and most shameful secrets?
It was a struggle to keep from rubbing at the goose bumps on her arms. “Where do you want me?” she asked, needing to get this over before her courage failed.
“Where would you feel most comfortable?”
She didn’t hesitate before striding toward the white screen. After twenty-five years there was nowhere she felt more at home than on set. Here, she became a girl next door, a seductress, a woman in love, a rag doll, a warrior, a free spirit, a crusader. Or any one of a thousand other incarnations. Finding the center of the backdrop, she turned to face Oliver and found him watching her, his right hand resting on a camera, as if halted amid the act of picking it up.
“How do you get people to open them up so that you can photograph them stripped down to their essence?”
“It’s different for every person. The key is to find the trigger that allows their guard to fall.”
“How do you make that happen?” While Sammi never hesitated when asked to pose in the nude, contemplating the exposure of her inner landscape made her woozy with anxiety. “How do you break down their walls?”
“Before the subject comes in to be photographed, I do a significant amount of research on them.”
“What sort of research?”
“Background on their personal and professional lives.”
Sammi shivered as she considered what her complicated relationship with her mother revealed about her. “I imagine you know exactly what to say to bring up all sorts of negative feelings.”
The way his expression hardened to stone at her remark told her she’d made a misstep.
“I’m not trying to hurt anyone,” he said at last, his flat tone not quite hiding his strong emotions. “The photoshoot isn’t successful if the client is unhappy.”
“That makes sense,” Sammi murmured. “So how do you use the information you gather?”
“I ask questions, get them to talk about pivotal moments in their lives.”
“What would you ask me?”
To her surprise he came away empty-handed from the table of camera equipment. “Why do you want to do this?”
“I want to see what you see when you look at me.”
As good as he was at controlling his facial expressions, her answer had obviously surprised him.
“Why do you care how I see you?”
“Because you make me feel…”
She moved in his direction, keen desire driving away common sense. She’d dated Ty for six months and never once slept with him, yet tonight she’d gone home with a virtual stranger, proving she wasn’t the frigid bitch he’d accused her of being.
“How do I make you feel?” Oliver prompted, hunger intensifying the bold blue of his eyes.
Lust tightened deep in her belly as she tunneled her fingertips beneath his bomber. Riding the hard muscles of his chest and upper arms, she slid the jacket off his broad shoulders and let it fall to the floor.
His strong fingers fanned over her hips, drawing her firmly against his hard planes. A hot ache flared between her thighs as her lower half settled against his. The hard thrust of his growing erection bumped against her as Oliver’s lips grazed along her neck. With a moan she tipped her head to the side and pressed her breasts into his hard chest, communicating her sharp need. Where she half expected anxiousness or doubts to surface, Sammi knew only the enticing shimmer of anticipation rising inside her.
“That tour you offered me earlier,” she said, one hand gliding beneath the hem of his T-shirt and discovering the hot silk of his skin while the fingers of her other hand raked into his thick hair. “I’m ready to take it.”
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