When college rivals reconnect years later and find themselves accidentally married… well, it certainly keeps things interesting. I loved the premise of this sweet, slow burn romance, which played up a lot of my favorite tropes. Playful enemies to lovers, Vegas wedding turned marriage of convenience, fake relationship – all great things. I also really enjoyed trying to figure out the dynamic, and it seemed to be that these two genuinely disliked each other in college, which was honestly kinda refreshing. It’s still got some “he falls first” vibes, but it’s not like anyone has been harboring secret feelings for years. And the playfulness was a lot of fun, paired with the fact that our hero is a big, sexy nerd who designs video games for a living. I did think there were a few conflicting details and the writing style was a little wordy for me, but this remained a solid 4-star read the whole way through.
The story follows Olivia, a woman who is hoping to get a promotion. She’s been going the extra mile for her boss for the last several years, and she’s excited to finally take the next step in her life plan. Unfortunately, Olivia’s plans are derailed when her old nemesis comes back into her life. Both Olivia and Lachlan believe that they ruined each other’s lives back in college, but things have turned out pretty well for Lachlan. After he was forced to drop out of college, he designed a super successful video game that has since become a franchise, and he’s in the need of a new PR firm. The last thing either of them needs is to stir up trouble, which is why they are both dismayed when they wake up married. Believing they were roofied, Lachlan and Olivia try to make the best of a bad situation by faking it for the cameras while Lachlan’s company is in the spotlight. But faking it soon feels all too real, and these two old rivals quickly realize that they never really knew each other at all.
The premise is pretty much tailor-made for my reading preferences, and I loved that part the most. It was also an interesting twist that Lachlan and Olivia were roofied, because they genuinely didn’t harbor any secret feelings that would’ve lead to them getting married. Maybe that’s why it took awhile for me to find my bearings with the story; I thought that there must be some feelings there, and the twist made it all come together for me. That could be why this started off as a 4-star read for me and remained that way, but I think the writing itself was a little long-winded. It’s not just the page count that was a bit high, it was also that some of the descriptions were overly long. I found myself zoning out over the details sometimes, because it wasn’t as character-driven as I’d like. I loved the moments when Lachlan and Olivia were together, and that’s what I wanted the focus to be on. They had great chemistry, and this simply felt like a super slow burn romance, rather than a closed door one. There’s no spice, but definite attraction and a spark of tension. Lachlan was such a sweetheart, and it’s rare to find such an appealing, nerdy hero. The opposites attract vibes worked – uptight, career-focused woman paired with a former party boy and nerd (not 100% sure how he was both, based on the descriptions, but whatever). There was a lot to love about this overall, and it was an enjoyable (though not amazing) read.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IoWhY4
Blurb:
When I woke up this morning, I became aware of two things:
One, I felt hungover, and I knew I hadn’t had a drop of liquor.
And two, I was pretty sure I had accidentally married someone.
I, Olivia Sutton, have a Ten Year Plan. It’s air-tight and written in permanent ink. You know what’s not on the plan? Getting married to the man I used to love to hate. But when my sister’s pre-wedding trip goes horribly wrong, I find myself legally bound to my old nemesis, tech sensation Lachlan Hayes. Lachlan pitches a plan to temporarily stay married. Is it absolutely insane? Yes. But it has the potential to fix so many problems for both of us—and create even bigger ones.
As secrets unravel between us, I discover there’s more to my nerd husband than arrogance and a party-boy reputation. Falling for this guy is definitely not on the Ten Year Plan, but living in the same house? Acting like I’ve given my heart to my husband? Public kisses that make me forget my name? When our fake marriage becomes all too real, Lachlan and I find ourselves crossing lines we swore we wouldn’t. It has me wondering if I can walk away from Lachlan when our time is up.
Or if I’ll be the first the fall.
Grab the second book in the hilariously swoony A Lost Story Bookshop series. Perfect for fans of closed-door romantic comedy.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IoWhY4
About the Author:
Award-winning author Jenny B. Jones writes romance with sass and Southern charm. Woefully indecisive, she writes YA, New Adult, and women’s romance. Since she has very little free time, Jenny believes in spending her spare hours in meaningful, intellectual pursuits, such as watching bad TV, Tweeting deep thoughts to the world, and writing her name in the dust on her furniture. You can find her at www.jennybjones.com.
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