GRR Reviews Marriage Material: A Novel (Red Creek Br by Barbara Samuel

Marriage Material put a good spin on the secret baby trope by pinning a revenge angle on it, only twist it into enemies to lovers trope, which is a masterful plot.

Tamara Flynn knew how sexy Lance Forrest is. She has a daily reminder... a child named Cody... though she wasn't his birth mom. That would be her cousin Val, whom Lance left pregnant, then disappear for years. Val drove herself off a cliff one day, leaving Tam to raise Cody on her own... derailing Tam's life plans. Now Cody's five, and Lance is back in town. At first Tamara wants revenge on Lance for breaking her cousin, then she's worried about the future of Cody and how Lance can provide for him... then as she found out more about Lance, she wondered if Val was really a victim as she made out to be... And whether Tamara herself is in love with Lance... But Lance is quite sure about which woman he wants in his life...

The revenge idea died a quick death, leaving some conflicting feelings on which is the "truth"? It's about misconceptions and confessions, without too much angst. But it didn't really make me feel a lot emotionally, thus 4/5

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Single mom contemplates revenge on the billionaire who broke her cousin and derailed her life... while she fell for him

Tropes: revenge, different worlds, pregnancy, single parent, small town, family secrets

Overall Rating:  4/5