GRR Reviews A Hollywood Deal (Ryder & Paige #1) by Nadia Lee

A Hollywood Deal is a "marriage of convenience turned real" romance set in Hollywood. While the romance itself was quite good, the cliffhanger ending (to be concluded in volume 2: Hollywood Bride) made the book hard to recommend outright, not to mention suspect motivations and overall douchebag behaviors from many of the characters.

To recap, Paige was the personal assistant of Hollywood bad boy Ryder Pryce-Reed. She was not pretty, not thin, and not made of money. She cleaned up after her boss's mess, including shooing out all the women in the aftermath of his bacchanalian events, known as "humped and dumped". What she never expected was Ryder asking for her hand in marriage... even though it was a marriage of convenience... his father was threatening to destroy his grandfather's paintings unless his children yield to his demands... get married. (!?) Paige had just found out she was pregnant by her no-good boyfriend and just kicked him out. She was reluctant but agreed that she can be a pretend bride for a year to one of the most handsome men in Hollywood. Ryder knew that Paige was more loyal to him than any other woman... INCLUDING his own mother, and loving Paige was a pleasure, not a burden. When paparazzi were out hunting them for scoops, and Paige's ex threatening to ruin her if she doesn't help him become famous, their lives would get very complicated indeed.

A couple comments... Ryder wasn't that much of a bad boy, despite the reputation, and the father's blackmail by holding the old paintings ransom really made no sense. And Paige, despite her ability to face up to her boss, was unable to face her evil boyfriend. All in all, decent romance that managed to be mediocre due to cliffhanger ending and suspect character motivations.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Personal assistant agreed to marry her boss in a marriage of convenience... reluctantly

Tropes: hot for boss, different worlds, marriage of convenience, cliffhanger, evil parent

Overall Rating:  3/5