Return to Monte Carlo

De: Cate C. Wells

Narrado por: Gideon Frost, Quinn Riley

A runaway wife, a surprise baby, and a dark secret.

Monte Carlo, 1982. The odds of a man like Marco de Noli falling for a girl like me were a million to one. He's old money, a classic European jet set, a master of the universe.

When we met, I was a shy girl from Oklahoma, pretty enough but nowhere near his league.

One year later, after he stands me up on our first anniversary, I have to face facts. Our marriage was a mistake. My in-laws think I'm a gold digger, Marco lives at the office, and nights of passion aren't enough. There's nothing keeping me in Monte Carlo.

But when I run, I don't realize that I'm taking the de Noli heir with me—or that our love wasn't what I thought it was at all.

Return to Monte Carlo is a retro romance with a spicy, modern twist. No cheating. HEA guaranteed. Intended for mature listeners.

©2023 Cate C. Wells (P)2024 Podium Audio

Loved it!

I was already a fan of this book and Cate C Wells. She’s one of my favorite writers. But I was not prepared for how good this audio was! This was a perfect translation of Return to Monte Carlo! The narrators elevated what I already thought was a perfect story. The narrator casting could not have been better!

Marriage in trouble, she’s pregnant and on the run!

Return to Monte Carlo recently came out on audio so I had to jump in! This one had been on my TBR since it dropped last year and after enjoying multiple books from this author in other romance sub-genres, I had to give this one a go as well!

This is an age gap, marriage in trouble, second chance-ish romance set in 1982! Diana was a shy girl from Oklahoma when she first met Marco de Noli. She was 19 and he was 31 at the time and soon she found herself swept away to Europe and married into the old money family. The story kicks off a year later on their wedding anniversary where he stands her up. The nights of passion aren’t enough anymore when he lives at the office, her in-laws think she’s a gold digger, and she has no one on her side. She ends up fleeing and doesn’t realize she’s taking the de Noli heir with her…and that her marriage wasn’t what she thought when her husband comes for her months later!

This was fast-paced and an easy to read to get pulled into! The drama, the passion, and the 80s setting really made it feel like an old school romance which was honestly such a vibe! Loads of steam with these two. If you enjoy a marriage in trouble romance, definitely recommend!

This was addictive🙌🏼 I couldn’t stop listening!

Diane had reached her breaking point, exhausted from enduring her husband's persistent neglect and the relentless torment from his own family. Fleeing Monte Carlo seemed to be the only viable option for her. Little did she anticipate the unexpected news of her pregnancy and the sudden appearance of Marco at her doorstep, forcing her to return.

✨Thoughts✨
The anguish that consumed Diane was palpable. The author possessed this remarkable gift for evoking genuine emotions through her writing. The intricate web of family drama and the main character's inability to communicate her true feelings was truly addictive. Despite the immense turmoil, I couldn't tear myself away from this audiobook!

I must commend the narrators for their outstanding dual performance. All in all, if you enjoy soap opera-style thrills, this book is an absolute treat to listen to. You’ll be hooked from start to finish and won't want to take a break for even a single moment!

The story and the characters were great

I am so impressed. This story just captivated me and what was supposed to be an hour of listening before bed became a pleasure trip to Monte Carlo that I did not want to end. The characters are relatable and intriguing. I love these characters. An American girl captured the heart of a very rich man drowning in obligations to his selfish family. She gives the unconditional love and acceptance his rich isolating life craves. It takes time, love and frank conversations to reach their HEA. These two won my heart and I am reluctant to let them go. I loved the male narrator while I tolerated the female narrator. She just did not ring true to the character for me. Still very much enjoyed this one. HEA, no cheating, no cliffhanger. Highly recommend you spend your listening hours on this one. My thanks to the author.

Beautiful prose, not so beautiful relationship

{SPOILERS}

Once again Cate C. Wells proves to be the most literary romance author on the market. She understands the human condition and has a way with metaphor. BUT, this book was just okay overall. 

Setup: Diane (h) and Marco (H) meet off page when he is a 31yo Italian, billionaire, business magnate, travelling abroad, and she is a 19yo shampoo girl at a spa in Dallas. They burn super hot together and have a violent sexual attraction he can't deny. So - against all expectations - he marries her. He brings her to his family seat in Monte Carlo, where the posh in-laws treat her like a gold-digging bimbo while he becomes super busy with work and ignores her suffering. The book starts on their 1st anniversary, the H is awol and we’re in the middle of a huge family blowout where the h loses her s**t, and then runs away.

The vaguely foreign setting, the endless push-pull, the soap opera dramatics, the tsunamis of emotion, and the 'simple' h (no real ambitions, education, or career aspirations), felt totally true to the 80s. But on the other hand, the characters' psychoanalytic internal monologues, and the sheer amount of information/context assaulting us, felt extremely modern to me. So overall the whole vintage thing was both a hit and a miss.
 
This couple went round and round and round the shame carousel on the topic of their ‘peculiar’ sex life, which wasn’t all that peculiar. Yes, it was unPC, unstructured dom/sub rape play. But IMO, it felt more like a manifestation of the anger they harboured toward each other than a kink. This relationship had zero mutual respect and zero equality. 

All of the h’s feelings: her weak, conflicted, apologetic nature, and her constant body betrayal ruined a lot of her victories for me. And the horribly unsatisfying ending, where the villain got a mic drop! lost this book a full star. I also hate la la land epilogues.

PS. This author is doing God‘s work with that short discussion about the realities of spontaneous anal sex. Yes! you will get s**t on your d**k. Can romance books stop pretending all heroines have sterile rectums

Came for the Sex, Left Feeling Like I Could Do Anything

I liked the retro references because it made it more fun to read. I also like the sexy scenes but it made me love Marco when he reminisced.

Unexpected

The story was pretty good, I enjoyed it. the Sex scenes were actually a total shock to me, though not in a bad way. But def not most peoples cup of tea I bet ;-)