GRR Reviews The Substitute Bride by Kathleen O'Brien

The Substitute Bride has a decent setup, and plenty of angst about secrets and lies, but some parts of the plot and personality traits could have been handled better.

Marly Akers' mom did EVERYTHING to make sure that Marly don't end up like her: unwed, pregnant, and living with her mother. But Marly is back in town, unwed, pregnant, and now, living with mommy. Marly resigned after her editor forced her to put out a hatchet piece on his enemy... just as she found out that her one "safe" BF turned out to be a bastard... and she's pregnant. Now, she's back in her hometown of Marietta MT working a part-time gig in the local tiny paper, until she figures out what else to do. Meeting Drake Everett, who stood her up at prom, after inviting her out, was NOT a good reminder. But Drake has changed, and Marly realized this Drake... may be worth falling for. But when she needed to cover the Great Wedding Giveaway for the local paper, she found that Drake may have been one of the intended grooms. Does that mean Drake was a cheating bastard? Signs seem to be clear that Marly should stay clear of Drake, but her heart is demanding the opposite. And she's not going to stay in town... is she?

There are plenty of angst, and the mom's manipulative, but it's also a moral lesson: the most things change, the more it stays the same. Is her heart in the right place? Is it law of unintended consequences? WHY should she stay clear of Drake? Some parts of the complications don't make sense. And the suspicions are also hard to explain except with "insecure".  She's a reporter who staked her reputation and integrity on the truth. Yet she couldn't ask Drake what really happened? While I liked the drama, the personality doesn't fit, thus, 3/5.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Young pregnant woman had to go home in shame; met the man who broke her heart back in high school...

Tropes: pregnancy, return, reunion, betrayal, hate your job, insecure

Overall Rating: 3/5