Review: In the Brazilian’s Debt by Susan Stephens

May Contain Spoilers

Review:

So I couldn’t resist the polo. Where there is polo, there are polo ponies, or so my thought processes would like to think. And yes, there were horses in Susan Stephens’ In the Brazilian’s Debt, but alas, not enough to keep me happy. The biggest disappointment, however, was Chico, because he treated Lizzie so terribly after having sex with her. He went from being Mr Hottie Sex God to Biggest Jerk on the Planet in 0 to 60, and I was like, “What?”

To say that Lizzie comes from a messed up family is the understatement of the year. When she was 15, Chico and his mentor, Eduardo, visited her family’s stud farm in Scotland, and Lizzie and Chico formed a fast friendship. Or so she thought. She confided in him how awfully her parents treated her, and the terrible things that went on in her house, and she begged to go back to Brazil with him and Eduardo. Chico promised to help her, but he suddenly left without a word to her. Heartbroken, she watched as her parents brought ruin to the family legacy with their greed and depravity. Only Lizzie’s grandmother’s intervention saved them from losing the land and farm that had been in the family for generations.

Years later, Lizzie’s the last hope for saving the family farm. She’s won a scholarship to Chico’s polo training program. In the intervening years, Chico has become a polo legend, and he’s worked hard to establish a multi-million dollar empire. Chico came from the slums, and only Eduardo saved him from a life of poverty. Now he gives back, by mentoring poor youths, and by teaching his equine skills to a select few. He’s surprised to see Lizzie among the latest group of students; she left him high and dry after her mother accused him of raping her. He’s still angry that she didn’t take his side, or that she ignored the letters that he wrote to her afterwards.

There’s a lot of hurt feelings and misunderstandings for Chico and Lizzie to work through, but they both feel the same attraction for each other. Though Lizzie tries to avoid Chico, it’s nearly impossible. Still, she resists her feelings for him because finishing the training program means so much to her, and as the instructor, Chico is off-limits. Until a sultry night, when she throws her inhibitions away. And then he treats her like a Class A Jerk, and my affections for him withered and died like my neglected house planets.

He did manage to get back into my good graces, at least a little bit, after a family tragedy forces Lizzie back home to Scotland. He’s very supportive, and sends her parents packing when they appear on the scene like so many vultures. They are so awful they’re actually entertaining. They both deserved an extended vacation at the local penitentiary.

I didn’t like Chico when he was in Brazil. Chico in Scotland was more tolerable. Given their history, he knew how poorly Lizzie had been treated by her parents, and that her grandmother was the only family member she could trust. His casual treatment of her during the party was just…there are no words. He knew what her parents were like, and that at 15, she had no control over their actions (not like she had any control over them as an adult!). She deserved better, and I thought she forgave him far to easily.

Grade: C

Review copy borrowed from my local library

From Amazon:

Paying for the past…

Lady Elizabeth Fane has two choices: lose her family’s Scottish stud farm or swallow her pride and beg Chico Fernandez for help. She’s never forgiven the arrogant Brazilian polo star for abandoning her years before, so instead she will collect on the debt he owes her.

Yet in the sultry Brazilian heat passions flare, revealing feelings Lizzie thought she had long conquered. That is until Chico finally reveals the truth behind his desertion and Lizzie realizes that he not only has power over her body but it’s she who is in the Brazilian’s debt!