GRR Review: The Bride Who Wouldn't by Carol Marinelli

The Bride Who Wouldn't managed to breath some fresh air upon "fake marriage turned real" trope, but I find the bonus novella, the Courage of Eli Jackson, to be an equally interesting read with an unusual pairing and background.

Kate, a genealogy teacher and Isaak, a Russian billionaire, were forced into a marriage of convenience due to Isaak's uncle, who had actually contracted with Kate to do the marriage of convenience first, only to die before the deal can be consummated. Isaak, who was in need of a show-wife, decided that Kate is perfect for the role and forced her to accept. On their honeymoon in Paris, they will discover their passion for each other is real, and make some discoveries that will rock their beliefs. 

Both characters are quite sympathetic, as they both managed to surprise each other time and time again, as each revealed their own hidden wounds, and the twists in the story are what made this novella special.

The Courage of Eli Jackson is a real gem though. It relied on the "blind date" trope, but with the background of a gaming / cosplay convention that paired Eli, a guy good with boats and online games, with Zoey, a cosplay queen and also online gamer, who get to bunk together (at the honeymoon suite!) in a gaming/cosplay convention. Both have hidden wounds, albeit these are on the plain side, and the twists in the story are relatively low-level.

All in all, it is a worthy collection, one for the twists and sympathetic characters, one for the novelty setting and character.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Combo volume, see summary above

Overall Rating:  4/5