And what I find extra fun is what she told me about the inspiration for this one:
“…It’s called How the Italian Claimed Her and is set in the fashion world with a billionaire Italian CEO and the world’s top supermodel. Think the Kardashians meets Harlequin Presents…”
And I have just, over the last few weeks (couple of months?), played every season of the Kardashians from the very start (I had never seen either show) for the fun of it, while I worked on my blog posts. So this book falls perfectly within my current mood!!! I’m obviously seeing “Kendall” as the heroine. 😉
The author says:
Jensen is the most famous face in America, from her days on her family’s reality show, The Davis Divas, and the world’s top supermodel. Cristiano is the CEO of Italian fashion conglomerate, Francesco Vitale, Jensen the out-of-control face of his fashion brand, who is the key to his future. They might be my favourite couple ever
but I have a few favourites.
About the Book (in the author’s own words):
Enter the world of the glamorous Davis sisters. The offspring of Hollywood royalty, Ava, Jensen and Scarlett have grown up in front of America, the reality show that chronicled the drama of their famous family as the girls transformed from fashion-obsessed California teenagers to grown women with ultra-successful careers, a smash hit, watched by millions each week. The sisters’ exploits, high jinks and supreme fashion sense have made them style icons young women aspire to be. But beneath the glitz and the glamour of their privileged, celebrity-filled world lies a far different picture.
Growing up in front of America isn’t a normal life for Ava, Jensen and Scarlett, whose lives revolve around the show’s scripted plotlines and their mother’s insatiable thirst for drama. Other girls might want to be just like them, but the sisters are also castigated in the media for their superficial lives and the roles they play on the show.
After a decade of living their lives in the public spotlight, the sisters have had enough. In their mid-twenties now, they move to Manhattan to forge lives of their own. Ava and Scarlett, with their design school backgrounds, are designers with their own Davis brand, and stylists for the New York elite with a chic Manhattan boutique to their name. Jensen has transformed herself into the world’s highest paid supermodel—a new breed of pop culture model who is half celebrity influencer, half model.
But the past always seems to haunt them. Ava is the damaged oldest sister, who had the most expensive reality show wedding in history, only to have that betrayal ruin her life. Jensen can’t seem to escape her wild-child reputation and Scarlett is so tired of being the ‘least compelling Davis’, a wound which plagues her.
The first book of the series, How the Italian Claimed Her, is Jensen’s story. I love the back cover blurb, so I’m including it here:
The Italian wants her…between his billion-dollar sheets in this passionate opposites-attract romance from Jennifer Hayward.
He always puts business first…
then it’s mixed with pleasure!
After taking the reins of his family’s legendary but failing fashion house, CEO Cristiano Vitale vows to restore its legacy. To do that he needs the face of the brand, supermodel Jensen Davis, to do her job. Only she’s committed to living up to her headline-hitting reputation.
Jensen doesn’t want to jeopardize Cristiano’s company, but courting scandal distracts from her mother’s self-destructive spiral. So, lying low at his Lake Como estate, she’s caught between her familial duty…and how much she wants the dangerously sexy Italian to claim her!
Five Fun Facts About the Book:
- It’s set in glorious Lake Como, near where George Clooney lives. What a gorgeous place!
- I love the hero babysitting the heroine trope, and I wanted to make it as deliciously sexy as possible. My Italian fashion house CEO is babysitting my supermodel heroine at his gorgeous estate, where he installs her in his pool house to keep an eye on her scandalous behaviour…and you can imagine what happens to his iron control. J
- The house of Gucci was my inspiration for Francesco Vitale, Cristiano’s Italian fashion brand. House of Gucci, the movie, is super fun, if you haven’t seen it!
- I write glamorous, sexy stories, always with a touch of humor. This one dives deeply into the fashion world, is full of scandal and secrets, has fun secondary characters and a really arrogant, piece of work ex-girlfriend for Cristiano to spice things up.
- My first book, The Divorce Party, won Harlequin’s global writing contest, So You Think You Can Write, in 2012. My books are sold in over 30 countries and published in 25 languages.
1.) I was able to get ALL of my coffee and tea supplies (including mugs & cups), various sugars/sweeteners, coffee bags, my Keurig & my drip coffee maker, even my tea kettle, all situated on top of (or inside of)