It’s a good adaptation to the original book. If you want to have a quick read, this is your book. The quality of the drawings is amazing.

This was a great adaptation of a Harlequin serial. I enjoyed it immensely and was happy to find another medium for romance novels.

I simply adore these Harlequin Manga comics. It doesn't even matter what the story is, I tend to love them all. The beautiful illustrations bring the stories to life for me and while they are short and an abbreviated version of the story, I find them satisfying nonetheless because I love seeing the illustrated depictions of the scenes and the characters. This one is another winner. And I apologise in advance that a few of my reviews are similar but really, I just love them all.

The Sabbides Secret Baby by by Keiko Yamada (Illustrator), Jacqueline Baird is a 2018 Harlequin, SB Creative publication.

Greek Tycoon, Jeb seduces young, naïve Phoebe. She becomes pregnant and he wigs out, but sadly, she loses the baby, and so that’s that- until they meet again five years later, and Jeb discovers Phoebe has a son who bears a striking resemblance to him.

The original Harlequin Presents novel by Jacqueline Baird was published in 2010. I just so happens that I found a copy of it at Scribd, so I checked it out, before reading this Manga version.

The basic story is intact, and once again, the artwork outshines the dialogue. But, all in all, this story isn’t half bad. If you understand what to expect when you read HP novel, then you should find this one to be on par with anything else published in this line.

Jeb is an arrogant jerk, but Phoebe grows a backbone. They run hot, then cold, then finally get all their secrets out in the open and live happily ever after. This one did have a nice twist in it though, which was pretty clever.

Overall, the story is average, but the art is amazing!!

3 stars

This book summed up in one sentence: Super overbearing millionaire takes control of others’ lives. Overall it was okay, I am not overly enthused with this story, but it wasn’t bad.

The male character was often too much, but the family aspect was pretty adorable.

Book Review
Title: The Sabbides Secret Baby
Author: Keiko Yamada
Genre: Manga
Rating: *****
Review: In the Sabbides Secret Baby we are introduced to a part-time hotel receptionist Phoebe and Greek multimillionaire Jed who were lovers until she becomes pregnant after falling in love with Jed, but he turns her away as a mistress and demands she gets an abortion. Phoebe tries to run away but ends up having a miscarriage and disappears from Jed’s life but five years later he has returned.
Phoebe tries to keep her distance from Jed, but he uses his connections to find out about her and discovers her son; Ben who is his son. Ben is a miracle baby as it turns out Ben was a twin and the miscarriage Phoebe had was only the loss of one baby not two. Jed slowly introduces himself into Ben’s life and Phoebe feels conflicted as she hates Jed for what he did to her but that was a misunderstanding, but she also feels Jed is pushing her out of Ben’s life, however, she also holds some romantic feelings towards Jed despite all that happened.
After Jed’s father has a heart attack he begs Phoebe to bring herself and Ben to Greece, so they can meet, and she agrees, however, she is still sceptical of Jed, but his father reveals what really happened after he left her after the miscarriage and Phoebe begins to change her attitude even agreeing to a civil marriage.
On their wedding night Phoebe can’t sleep and explored the room and when Jed awakes to find her missing he fears the worst but he eventually confesses his feelings towards her and she agrees to be his wife for real and so they can be parents to Ben. The epilogue a year later we see how far the family has come from when Jed re-entered her life even adding another set of twins to the equation.

Thank you, NetGalley for the preview of this graphic novel.

I know that Harlequin books are predictable, but that's what makes them so good. This was such a sweet read... The artwork was beautiful.

I thought this was an absolute adorable read. The artwork was stunning and I'm excited to read the actual book and find out more about Phoebe and Jed's romance.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

And the second Harlequin manga. Oh my. This time about a sweet girl and a rich guy. She gets pregnant (because she forgot her pills (how?)), and he doesn't want it. Years later they meet again. Yep, you can already imagine the dramarama, the romance, and of course tons of other things that will probably make your eyes rolls.

*snorts* "I'm an old friend of your mama's. Jed Sabbides. I'm Greek." I am sorry, did we even ask you about your nationality?

Also the pregnancy thing was just, I am so so sorry, I feel terrible for saying this. But it was hilarious and so typical of Harlequin stuff. I already had a suspicion something would have happened because come on, there is no way she would just lose her baby without something extra happening.

Dude, no, no, no. You can't just throw a girl on the sofa and try to woo her with sex. Eww, bro, no. *shakes her head in disgust*

Plus I hated how he just inserted himself in his kid's life. Without regard to Phoebe on her feelings. Boy, you said all that crap, you left her, and now you find out she has a kid you want to go back? You don't take no? Please. Urgh. I hated what he told Phoebe's kid. That is a decision she should make. That is something she should tell her kid. Not him. And then he is also making all sorts of remarks on how she cares for her kid, in the three days since he met them. Boy, please, just go jump of a cliff. Urghhhh. And he forces her to take Ben with her to Greece, or else he will fight her in court. You whut mate? That is not how you treat people. Also the whole marriage thing? Boy, eww, no, that is just way to creepy.

But of course we are supposed to feel sorry for Jed, because all that happened wasn't his fault and yadadada, really? Sorry, no.

In the end it was quite cute, but it just felt so forced, so unnatural. Plus I just couldn't get Jed's creepiness out of my head.

The art in this one was way better than the previous one, even if Jed always looked like some hungry predator to me.

All in all, not as a big as a success like the other Harlequin manga. But will I be checking out other Harlequin manga should they become available? Oh hell yes. Sorry, for some reason I want more. I guess I can see why people read these books. They are quite addicting.

This story was just about as you would expect with the added bonus of Manga. There's a rich tycoon and an unbelievably naive young woman, plus a secret baby. I love a secret baby trope but this one made it hard to suspend any reality because it was so unbelievable. Everyone felt like a caricature and it made me wonder if this book was written a decade or more ago.
It wasn't bad but it wasn't at all memorable.

Following the 'secret baby' trope closely, this feels a bit more unrealistic than others and unsurprisingly formulaic. A Greek tycoon improbably named Jed and a naive (is there any other?) heroine in Phoebe create a rather bland and somewhat unmemorable romance.

Phoebe meets Jed while working at a hotel as a receptionist. They hit it off, he gives her cars, jewelry, and a fancy apartment, and she finds herself falling for the billionaire. But when she tells him she is pregnant, he instantly assumes she is trying to trap him into marriage. When an accident causes a miscarriage, she leaves and starts a new life. But unbeknownst to Jed, one of the twins survived. When he chances upon her again several years later, he instantly recognizes the child as being his offspring - and he knows he has to have Phoebe back in his life with their child.

As noted, most of the secret baby trope is here: alpha male, billionaire, sweet woman thinking she is saving her child from a loveless father, and the family that reveals the billionaire is actually a sweet guy who got a bad impression on love from one of his relatives. Most of the book is our alpha male will force everything on our poor heroine all in the guise of taking back his lost heir.

The artwork was fine - about what I would expect from 2000 era inspired manga art. The characters were unique looking, easy to tell apart, and the panels told the story fine. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This had some meat to it!

Also I'm not sure anyone was necessarily more right then the other. Julian and Phoebe both seemed to thrive on making assumptions on how the other felt or what their words meant.

Though to be honest I'm not sure either of them understand what words mean. You say to a girl who's pregnant "I'll talk to a doctor I know" after coldly accusing her of being a grasping, gold digging harlot...yeah I can see how she'd think you meant ABORTION.

On the same token, if a guy legit says and acts like he means "I would never have suggested that!" maybe give him so benefit of doubt before deciding he's manipulating you to steal the kid you've hidden from him for four years.

Otherwise this was pretty standard fare - slightly jealous third party, some more miscommunication and tearful confessions. Oh and ailing near death parent who is the reason misunderstandings occurred.

Julian had a very...Mayu Shinjo look to him with the long pointed chin and dark eyes (not to mention rakishly tousled hair).

This is a standard romance novel with beautiful characters and heart-wrenching drama. Phoebe and Jed were lovers but after a misunderstanding they part ways under false circumstances. Phoebe raises their son in secret, but after a chance encounter, the couple fight against misconceptions and doubt to form a loving and happy family for their son. The backdrops are beautiful and there's no villain except for miscommunication. It's cute and a fast but fulfilling read. I enjoyed it and I think every sappy, drama loving person out there will love it too.

The secret Baby story turned into a graphic novel. I really liked the style (draw) of it - captivating by its beauty!
Pheobe is a freshly graduated receptionist. She started a relationship with Jed (hotel guest that happens to be a billionaire!). She got pregnant. She miscarried.
Is that the end of their story? What will happen when they meet after a few years? Are old flames start burning again?
I really enjoyed reading that graphic novel

I liked it, there was enough drama and love to make me feel good.

Mi è piaciuto, c'erano dramma e amore nella giusta quantitá, quindi me lo sono proprio goduto, anche se di solito non leggo manga tratti da Harlequin.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

a neat way to read a romance. Good story as well as drawings. I liked it and will recommend to others

I really enjoyed the art and the story for this manga. Now I might need to go and read the actual story and compare the two.

When Phoebe met Jed Sabbides she was a new graduate working at the front desk of a hotel. She was an ambitious hardworking young woman and he was a rat bastard but she didn't know it at the time. She initially rejected all his advances but eventually she fell for his charms and she fell in love. Some time later she fell pregnant and Jed saw this as a plan to get his wealth.

That was because Jed was an idiot!

Anyway Jed liked her. He had given her a car, jewels, holidays and was keeping her in his apartment. (nice life if you can get it). Unfortunately that isnt what she wanted because she wanted to be loved, not to be treated like a peice of meat!

I felt outraged on her behalf!

Because Jed was a rat bastard he arranged for her to have an abortion but before this could take place she had a miscarriage and then he took care of her thinking that they would continue where they left off.

I told you he was an idiot and selfish too!

Phoebe had realised that Jed was treating her like 'piece on the side'. He had never introduced her to his family or friends, and so she took off and ran away from London to her home town in Devon. I didn't know that people ran away to countryside places. I always thought that people ran to the anonymity of big cities.

I stand corrected!

Anyway when she left she took all the jewellry, the car and the gifts Jed had given her. I cheered for her.

You go gurl!

Five years later Phoebe is attending a party at the Greek embassy (as you do) and who should she bump into? Yes you guessed it. Jed the rat and he had no shame. After mistreating her he tried to throw shade but she just batted that away with style and poise.

Atta gurl!

Unfortunately Jed becomes intrigued and decides to nosy into Phoebe's past. She is now living in Devon, teaching and she has a child who looks just like him.

And then Jed is hit with the truth. The child is his!

And then the drama started and I wanted Phoebe to throw Jed's arrogant arse into the brig! But this is a romance story and so she didn't.

This was great and very entertaining. I am a sucker for romances with cute children especially when the child has big cute manga eyes. I liked the way Phoebe held her own and didn't let Jed push her around. Obviously this is a romance and so Jed becomes a good guy and you have a lovely happy ending, but the journey to get to that point makes a good story.

Ok some of the story was a bit exaggerated. No hospital in this country is going to give a perfect stranger another person's health records. Hello GDPR, data protection etc etc, but this doesn't detract from the drama of the story.

I really like manga romances. They are so well drawn and they bring the story to life. This was another good one to read, especially on a cold rainy August day. It might be an irritatingly cold August day instead of a hot one, but with a good story indoors the reader can ignore the elements and unseasonal weather outside. This story makes it easy to do that.

Copy provided by Harlequin / SB Creative via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Secret children are a typical trope for Harlequin comics and I must admit I was somewhat wary when I approached this comic. However, I unexpectedly found myself enjoying the story very much. The plot is developed in a plausible way, when hero and heroine are reunited they do not get exactly along with each other, and understandably so given their history. It was nice to see our heroine resist her simmering passion for her previous lover until sounder reasons and above all real feelings bring them together once and for all. If you like the secret children trope, you'll love this book, if you don't give it a chance all the same and you will be surprised.