Claiming My Hidden Son is written by well known M&B author Maya Blake and published by Mills & Boon Modern imprint. Neither the hero - Axios nor the heroine - Calypso want this arranged marriage decided years ago by their respective grandfathers and invoked by Calypso’s father as he needs a cash injection to save his business. If Calypso doesn’t agree to the marriage her father will make her wheelchair bound mother’s life miserable. The marriage goes ahead and sparks definitely fly on the couples’s Wedding night. Calypso flees the next day, using the money her mother had given her for such a situation. Fast forward a year and the reader finds Calypso in Bora Bora with her baby son. She is planning to go back to Athens to give the baby to Axios whilst she goes to Switzerland to seek treatment for an illness that killed her grandmother. Unfortunately for her Axios tracks her down and takes her and their baby back to Athens. Slowly over the next few weeks they create a small family unit and Axios begs her to stay when she says she is leaving without their son. He finds out about her possible illness/diagnosis and let’s her go to Switzerland. Will they be able to overcome these secrets and have their HEA?

Written in the first person and written mostly from Axio’s perspective, I found it confusing (and it spoiled the flow of the storyline) when suddenly the first person narrative switched to Calypso’s voice. If it hadn’t been such an enjoyable novel I would probably have given up on it but the premise of the book, for me, saved the book.

I received this book via Netgalley and Mills and Boon in exchange for a honest review. I am a #MillsAndBoonInsider #netgalley

The concept of this book caught me instantly, it looked at the story from the male point of view which I found refreshing and very well done. It was a bit of a surprise when Calypsos voice appeared but actually it set the story off properly and without it it wouldn't make sense due to the secret that she is hiding (for a very good reason I will add)

It was a bit of what I expected in the premise and the layout however the characters were real and seemed to come off the page. There were many hidden depths and twists in the story and baby Andreos was quite possibly one of my favourites, he wasn't used as a prop for the story but was an integral part which made him even more endearing!

I would have loved to hear more of Ax's voice nearer to the end, it would have explained more but I could also understand the reason why it wasn't.

This story captured my imagination and pulled me in, absorbing me from the world when I was having a terrible day and making me happy but also invested in the story and hoping that the ending would be what I dreamed of!

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a good story, in an amazing location (set in Greece) with a baby who caught my heart!

An interesting interpretation of the marriage of convenience trope.

Callie and Axios are not in love, their marriage is a business arrangement, Callie is a pawn in her father’s business empire, and appears to have little say in the matter. Axios is powerful and successful but is still prepared to sacrifice his happiness for the good of his family and their business success.

Everything is not as it seems in this story. Callie has a reason for her compliance and a secret. Both are attracted unwillingly to the other, and the passion is evident from the start, but just when you believe they may have a chance, Callie’s life is rocked by a devastating discovery.

This story took a while to get into and to empathise with the characters and their situation, but I got there. I found this to be a lovely romance, with many poignant moments that tugged at the heartstrings. The ending is a little contrived, but a happy-ever-after is an expectation of this type of romance.

I received a copy of this book from Mills and Boon via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

One knows if she picks up a book by, Maya Blake, that the storyline will be hard hitting and full of lust. This was absolutely the case. A good book to while away a few hours!

This was an emotional read, with a hard-hitting story line.

I'll be looking out for the next Maya Blake romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Mills & Boon Insiders for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Calypso marries Axios as part of a business deal made by her father, on their wedding night she discovers that there is chemistry between them which surprises her and gives her hope for their marriage but when Axios leaves her the next day to return to the mainland she decides to walk away herself. She is then presented with an awful dilemma when she finds out she is pregnant but also has symptoms of cervical cancer - the same disease which took her grandmother. After delaying treatment to have her baby she makes plans to return to Axios so he can meet his baby and allow her to seek treatment but when Axios tracks her down before she can return will he believe that she intended to come back? This story was emotional and alot of it is written in internal dialogue which I felt made the book not read as smoothly as other books by the same author.

An interesting take on why the story line goes up and down but for me, it was still a case of macho men and lust but not love.
Love takes time, trust and truth. All 3 of which were largely missing in the characters and storyline even though they admitted they were required.
Also, why would a 7 month pregnant woman travel to Kenya to volunteer when she had a potential life altering illness? That would have been better dealt with back in Switzerland? And which could have made her delivery problematic? Just didn’t add up.
So (just) a 3 star.

The story starts with the arranged marriage of Calypso and Axios, where both of their grandfather's agreement made many years ago, is used by Calypso's father. We get a brief look into Calypso and her parents relationship and the relationship between Axios, his younger brother and father.
The marriage is consummated, so the deal cannot be backed out of in future, yet there are many misconceptions by both Calypso and Axios, which do not get resolved. Instead both of them decide to leave the other with no communication or emotional attachment.
They meet again over a year later, where Calypso has had their baby in secret, and we get to see how they eventually overcome their lack of communication and sort through the various secrets that have kept them apart.
There was not much chemistry or heart pounding emotion, but it was an easy read.
This book was received free from NetGalley via Mills and Boon Insiders, but that does not influence my opinions.

As I began reading this it appeared to be very predictable. Yet another arranged marriage. At the beginning, the reader is aware there is something wrong with the heroine Calypso and it keeps been referred to. It turns out she fears she has cervical cancer like her grandmother had. However, she goes along with the marriage and she decides to have sex to this husband who she doesn't know giving him her virginity. However, the next day he decides to leave and return to his business and she is left alone but as the pain in her stomach continues, she also leaves.

Fast forward a year and it transpires she went to Switzerland, got told she had a lump in her cervix but that she was also pregnant so she decides to go ahead with the pregnancy. The hero then finds her when the baby is 3/4 months old. She knows she should have had the biopsy on her lump but decides to be a mother for a while and had already decided she would give the baby to the hero before he even turns up.

This couple had no chemistry whatsoever. They don't really talk a lot they just seem to have sex with awful dialogue! I didn't feel them fall in love at all.

Eventually she confesses about her possible cancer and he finds loads of experts and they confess their love. Then it's a year later in the epilogue and it turns out the lump was benign and all is well.

I actually think the author was irresponsible having the heroine delay the biopsy. Cervical Cancer can spread easily and so to have the heroine put her life at risk and be prepared to leave her son motherless didn't sit well with me. Also, I don't like to read of things like this in romance books. I read romance books for escapism from real life so I didn't enjoy this. Not just because of the cancer part but because it's a boring romance. There wasn't actually much romance at all.

I really enjoyed this, a marriage of (in)convenience results in a baby being born after Ax and Calypso chooseto part ways and this is just the beginning, a cute read, plenty of drama, romance and emotion. Enjoyable read but not the best Mills & Boon I’ve read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

An emotionally blackmailed business deal wedding, of both the unaquainted virgin bride and the playboy groom.

A baby born of this alliance. Newly discovered feelings of desire and love. This is just at the start of this emotional, romantic story.

True love wins through, leading to a happy ever after ending, of this tale.

Claiming my hidden son, Maya Blake

This was an odd one: frequently different to the usual M&B, and challenging in many ways; but it was also strangely annoying at times.

I liked the initial premise - a forced marriage of convenience which neither Calypso or Ax wanted, but were forced into. On their wedding night, they have sex to ensure the ‘agreement’ cannot be broken and both have a wonderful time and then decide to turn their backs on it. To be fair, Ax did first by deciding to head off to Athens but Calypso decided pretty speedily to abandon ship.

The story is told in alternate segments each in the first person providing the hero’s and then heroine’s point of view. This really did not work for me. It was frustrating trying to figure out who was talking and it really niggled. Sometimes FP works really well, but in this instance, it interfered with the smooth flow of the narrative.

So we quickly gather there’s something wrong with Calypso, but there is never a real explanation as to why she doesn’t seek a diagnosis much earlier - let alone why she doesn’t talk to anyone including her husband about it. When she decides to abandon the agreement and disappear - it just doesn’t make any real sense other than as a device for her to hap a gap year away from th husband, produce an heir and then that be the reason they get back together.

Then suddenly a year has gone by; she’s had the baby, not told Ax and is enjoying a long holiday and has not told anyone about anything! I could see where the author was going with this topic but I am not sure she succeeded. Hiding things, secrets and obfuscation are not the way Calypso should have gone in my opinion.

Suddenly Ax finds her. They get back together for the baby’s sake and to avoid further damage to Ax’s firm, but she knows she could be dying but isn’t going to tell Ax anything - though once she knows he loves his son she can leave him with him!! Sorry but what is she playing at? I just became increasingly fed up with her strange thought processes and felt she was acting without logic or sense. By the time she decides to tell him and he summons every expert on the planet to save her - I had almost lost interest.

Ax was an idiot at first but he emerged as a decent guy trying hard but battling the secrets that Calypso refused to expose.

I usually enjoy Maya Blake’s stories but this kept losing my interest. It wasn’t bad but it was not up to her usual standard. I would have liked more honesty from Calypso, much earlier in the book. Three stars.

I received my copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Claiming-Hidden-Modern-Notorious-Billionaires-ebook/dp/B07PVX23GG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Claiming+my+hidden+son&qid=1571149080&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Calypso's father married her off for money, she tried to resist but he said that he would make her mother who is in a wheelchair suffer so she did as he asked. Axios was not happy to be blackmailed by Calypso's father but he went with it and married her. They spent one hot night together then Axios walked away and left her on his island. The next day Calypso walked away but things were not as they seemed. This is a truly emotional story that had me in tears a few times while reading it. Maya is an amazing author and talented writer and I can't wait to read more of her books. I definitely recommend you read this book and others by Maya and you will definitely not be disappointed.