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A new daddy to his orphaned nephew, Massimo needs help. Bringing the baby's beautiful aunt Julie Marchant to Italy as a nanny seems the perfect solution. Plucked from her quiet, suburban existence, Julie is a fish out of water in Massimo's glamorous, wealthy world. But she's thrilled to be part of her nephew's life, even if it means being the hired help! More of a challenge is spending every day with Massimo, trying desperately to ignore her attraction to this brooding tycoon....

User Reviews about The Italian Tycoon and the Nanny (Thorndike Large Print Gentle Romance Series)

The first part of her MEDITERRANEAN DAD duet, Rebecca Winter's short romance THE ITALIAN TYCOON AND THE NANNY tells the story of an orphaned boy and the lengths to which one woman will go to make sure her nephew's life is full of family love. Although Rebecca Winters does an excellent job setting up the scenes, more attention to characterization, especially of the heroine, would have made this romance richer in emotion and internal fictional logic.

Nicky suddenly loses his family in a tragic car accident. The whole extended family is abuzz, trying to cope with a funeral and a newly orphaned child to say nothing of the crazy family dynamics when family members come together in close quarters. Nicky's aunt Julie Marchant stands up to her family, quits her job and devotes her life to being Nicky's nanny, even if it means entering the glamorous world of Nicky's uncle billionaire Massimo Rinaldi di Rocche. In a battle over Nicky, can these two work out custody arrangements so as not to hurt Nicky again? Will their love for Nicky bring these two together in a deeper love? Will this nanny's love lead to motherhood and marriage?

Rebecca Winters does a great job at making the reader feel the frantic pace and family dynamics when suddenly a tragedy puts family members together with all their concerns and issues, personality rubbing up against other personalities. Julie makes a bold move from her heart to cling to her own values. Likewise, the author's descriptions of the Italy and the characters' reactions to the landscapes in which they find themselves are precise and written with emotional impact. As the romance progresses, the characterization of Julie, once bold enough to stand up to her family for her beliefs and love of her nephew, weakens. Every move becomes centered upon Massimo and her nephew. While this may demonstrate her growing affection for them both, Julie's identity becomes subsumed. Love seems to turn her into an empty vessel rather than allowing her to blossom into the fullness of herself. The move from nanny to motherhood seems to reduce her as a woman. The character of Massimo likewise feels stereotyped. He is strong, demanding and wealthy. Love does not change him all that much either as he lies and does not seem to respect her all that much. He does try to protect her reputation but even at the end, their relationship seems stereotyped by traditional gender roles more than a union of two individual unique characters whose love touches them deeply.

THE ITALIAN TYCOON AND THE NANNY was a difficult read for me, raising more questions than answers. Julie just ups and quits her job to take care of Nicky but I did not feel her motivation. No previous scene between her and Nicky moved me enough to understand her actions. Julie made a bold move only to be cast in even more of a submissive role. The lack of characterization of Nicky did not help. Perhaps some of the problematic issues here result from the necessity of establishing a wider view of the family in the first part of a duet romance. Indeed, this was one of the highlights and most powerful emotional moments of THE ITALIAN TYCOON AND THE NANNY. Readers who prefer heroines in traditional roles are more likely to enjoy this romance as compared to readers who prefer more insight into the female characters. Although the lack of sexual detail would make this book a candidate for younger readers, some parents might not want their daughters reading a romance that presents the heroine in such a submissive role. Julie's initial steadfastness and boldness makes for both fun and emotionally satisfying reading but she loses that quality more and more as the romance progresses. The idea of disparate corners of a family coming together to the well-being of an orphaned child and relative is moving, especially in today's hectic nuclear family-focused world. More depth of characterization, especially of the female characters would have made this book a great read. -- Superb scene setting but needs more depth of characterization