With an unpredictable, tension-filled storyline and multi-faceted characters, this held my interest with ease and had me bingeing it in one sitting. I loved that I could never anticipate what would happen next, and I loved how fresh and different it felt. It still plays up some common tropes – Vegas wedding, billionaire, forbidden – but does them in a way that I hadn’t seen before. I also liked the redemption of two characters who I thought I would struggle to connect with. If I didn’t linger too much on their actions in the first book, I had no trouble liking either character, particularly the nuanced Oliver. It’s got he falls first vibes, a little bit of bite, and plenty of chemistry to keep things interesting. The only real drawback for me was a slower start (not enough time on the page together), but it more than made up for that in the back half, so I’m choosing to round up my rating. After loving Fake Empire, this was a solid and satisfying followup, and I hope we get more from the series.
The story follows Oliver, a billionaire who appears to have it all, but feels like a failure. He’s always felt like second best with his father, and working himself to the bone hasn’t seemed to change that. And after a colossal mistake – sleeping with his father’s much younger trophy wife – their relationship is now worse than ever. So when Oliver goes on a trip to Vegas and meets a stranger in a bar, their instant connection is a welcome reprieve from the tension in his life. Unfortunately, waking up married and discovering that his new wife is his brother’s ex f-buddy does nothing to uncomplicate Oliver’s life. The two immediately agree to divorce, but that night continues to have repercussions when Oliver’s father demands he enter a marriage of convenience with someone else… and he can’t say yes. And spending time with his new wife only brings them closer, even as their divorce filings proceed.
I loved Fake Empire, so I was excited when I heard there was going to be another book set in that world. I was initially hesitant when I discovered Oliver is the hero (he didn’t exactly give a great first impression, lol), but as soon as I read the blurb, I was IN. And when I found out who the heroine is? Yeah, I was taken aback! I kinda love that it’s a redemption story for them both, but it was also easy to see the ways they’d connect on a level they wouldn’t with anyone else. They have the kind of instant connection and chemistry that’s foundational to a Vegas wedding romance, and I was hooked on the story after that. My only complaint is that it takes awhile for them to spend a significant amount of time together, but I also wasn’t uninterested in the things that were happening in their lives separately. They both needed to grow as characters, and the marriage had some serious ramifications on their individual lives. Once they reconnect and spend some real time with each other, it was tension-filled deliciousness. This is spicier than Fake Empire, and I loved how those intimate moments showed the growth in their relationship in ways their words did not. All in all, a soapy, bingeable read, and one that stands out from the pack.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pru0dI
Blurb:
One night. Two strangers. Lots of regrets…
A bachelor party in Las Vegas is the last place Oliver Kensington wants to spend a long weekend. He likes controlling outcomes, not the uncertainty of gambling. For the most part, his reputation as the reliable, responsible Kensington brother is well-deserved. But for one of the few people he considers a friend, he’ll show up in sin city.
Oliver’s focus is on work—and on getting back into his father’s good graces. But he’s not expecting absolution for past mistakes; Arthur Kensington doesn’t forgive.
So when an offer to forget is made as soon as Oliver returns to New York, it’s shocking. And it’s the same demand his father made years ago: to marry a woman as part of a business arrangement. This time, there’s no chance his brother Crew will be the one waiting at the end of the aisle, which is how Oliver’s last engagement ended.
The answer should be obvious. Most of Oliver’s life has centered around earning his father’s approval and becoming CEO, both of which he thought were lost opportunities. Learning they’re not should be the best news he’s received all year.
Problem is, there’s a piece of paper in his pocket that says he’s already married…to the blonde woman he met in the bar of a Vegas hotel.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pru0dI
Start the series today!
Real Regrets will stand on its own, but there are definitely some family dynamics at play, so it might not be a bad idea to start with Fake Empire!
A standalone, steamy, arranged marriage romance.
There’s rich.
Then there’s the Ellsworth family. The Kensingtons. American royalty.
Money buys power, and power always has a price. The fear of those who already possess both? Losing it. The best way to ensure keeping it? Alliances. And elites don’t marry down—they marry equal.
For Scarlett Ellsworth and Crew Kensington, that leaves one option: each other. Accepting that inevitability is very different from embracing it. That’s the only thing they agree upon.
It was meant to be a union for better and for business.
Instead, it challenges everything Scarlett and Crew thought they knew about themselves, their families, and most of all…each other.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pzwWok
About the Author:
C.W. Farnsworth is the author of numerous adult and young adult romance novels featuring sports, strong female leads, and happy endings.
Charlotte lives in Rhode Island and when she isn’t writing spends her free time reading, at the beach, or snuggling with her Australian Shepard.
Find her on Facebook (@cwfarnsworth), Twitter (@cw_farnsworth), Instagram (@authorcwfarnsworth) and check out her website www.authorcwfarnsworth.com for news about upcoming releases!
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