GRR Reviews Her Totally Hot Forbidden Fake Fiance by Lucy McConnell

Diana has had enough of her family nagging her to find a man, and she has to be home for Christmas. When a friend suggested she invite someone unsuitable, the perfect candidate is her neighbor Cliff, who has nowhere to be around Christmas. Cliff has tattoos and thick beard, wears flannel, and is an electrician. Diana just has to NOT tell him that her mother believes they are engaged... // Cliff had been the victim of a runaway bride before, and he's not ready to put his heart on the line. And he's definitely upset (when he found out) that Diane portrayed him as her (fake) fiancee. But he would do anything for her... And he'll play along... Unfortunately, when Christmas magic and pushy circumstances rushed them toward a Christmas wedding... both have to confess their REAL feelings...

Nice, good setup and circumstances conspire to push them into admitting their affections for each other. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Her Marriage Pact with the Billionaire by Lucy McConnell

Ten Years ago, Quinton and Virginia promised, on graduation night, to marry each other if both are still single after ten years. Quinton became a successful amusement park engineer, designing roller coasters, while Virginia wandered the world doing philanthropic work, avoiding the pharmaceutical company founded by her father, and now, ran by her stepmother. But the time's up. Quinton never forgot Virginia's kiss, and Virginia promised to return after 10 years to take control of the company. The reunion was nice, but it's clear both have been changed. They got married as promised, but is there actually love, despite each's complications?

This one is not quite up to the author's standards. The threats to each are slow, shallow, and doesn't really complicate their respective love life directly.  Quinton is trying to fend off Chinese industrial spies and copycats only to see a betrayal from an unexpected source, while Virginia found herself integrating back into her father's company rebuffed by her stepmom, forcing her to take drastic measures.  But the marriage itself just has a lack of emotion to it, even as they second-guessed each other. 3/5

GRR Reviews The Devout Groom by Lucy McConnell

Brad, a professional football player for the Texas Titans, has a secret he can't share... He has kept track on Petra, and her ex for a long time. He felt guilty because in his last college game, he broke her ex's arm in a hard tackle, ending his NFL dreams, and ruined her marriage. And if he'll admit to himself, he had fallen for her then. It's been years, and she's now a single mom dental hygienist, and back in his life. And he wanted to woo her, to love her (but he's afraid of dentist chair)... But can he ever tell her his secret? And will that destroy their relationship when she found out?

Hmmm... Pretty good, but seems to be a lot about guilt. Really angst-y. 4/5

GRR Reviews Her Beast of a Billionaire Boss by Lucy McConnell

Seattle has a beast, and his name is Adam Moreau. He's the most notorious lawyer in the city, and he crushes his opponents, like his nickname. He created a different legacy, what became known as the Billionaire Cove (by nickname only). When a loser in court threw acid on him, leaving him scarred, he became even morose and reclusive... and only a beauty like Bella can draw him out... // Bella is a law intern, and her father works for Adam Moreau as in-house counsel. When her father had a heart-attack, Bella had to take over the projects. Bella's boyfriend Christian had just abandoned her to woo his way into Wolf, Wolf and Wolf (the Wolf Brothers law firm). Bella thought herself unable to love, but soon, she fell for "the Beast", who she saw through to the core. When Christian found a chink in Beast's armor... a document that can utterly destroy the Beast and his entire legacy, will Bella be able to save him?

Obviously a takeoff from Beauty and the Beast, there are good moments, but there are also many TSTL moments (where Adam refuse to listen to his uncle and other people, which lead to him being blind-sided by the "chink in his armor". 4/5

GRR Reviews The Academic Bride: Billionaire Marriage by Lucy McConnell

The Academic Bride was basically a "marriage of convenience" story that doesn't make sense from the guy's POV.

Janel Fendrick is an archaeological Ph D candidate, and she was on her way to getting it when her expedition to excavate a Mayan temple in Guatemala was cut by the school due to funding issues. Then she ran into Pamela Jones, who was consoling a girl who had to turn down a particular job, and Janel was wondering what sort of job it was... Turns out, Pamela runs BMB... a matchmaking service, and Pamela has the candidate for Janel in mind... He wanted a "business marriage"... she wanted money to fund her expedition. It will be a mutually beneficial relationship. What they didn't count on is to fall in love for real...

My primary problem with this book is the setup. A marriage of convenience usually requires BOTH parties to have a reason to get into it. Could be for a reality TV show, could be to save a farm or fulfill a will, or whatever. Could be just a sense of loyalty. In this case, the guy wanted a "business marriage" which doesn't even includes sex, for what? He doesn't need it for a promotion, and it'd be cheaper to hire arm candy than to pay her big bucks for a year of "business marriage". We know about Janel's motivation... she needs money to go to Guatemala. But what does the guy get out of this? The setup doesn't make sense! It's too one-sided!

The rest of the novel was quite good, which is why this didn't get 2/5. But the overall premise... Sorry, it just doesn't make sense.

Category:

Primary Plot: Woman entered into marriage of convenience to fund her archaeology expedition; ended up falling in love for real with her rich spouse

Tropes: marriage of convenience, matchmaker

Overall Rating:  3/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews The Reclusive Billionaire (Destination Bill by Lucy McConnell

The Reclusive Billionaire is a cozy and clean romance between Lucas Scott, a pharma billionaire and a brilliant research scientist, and Becca Lee, a warm-hearted veterinarian who can never turn down a stray animal. They were introduced to each other by the Santa Barbara harbor, and a stray dog that united them. But Lucas Scott is staying out of the limelight after his sister died after contracting a new potential pandemic from India and after taking the experimental treatment from his company. Yet he's keeping a secret he would rather take to his grave, taking the blame instead. Running into Becca however, put a spark into his life, and one of her musings may give him the inspiration for the solution. But how about their hearts?

I am no expert in communicable diseases, but it seems the author had done her homework and the scenario proposed is quite plausible, at least to this reviewer, about the potential origin of the "Butterfly Flu" and its potential vaccine. All it really needed is one more area to look at and it's quite possible for the genius to make some quick calculations in his head about potential avenues to research. But other than the circumstances, and the secrets there is really nothing keeping them apart, and when the secrets were revealed, there was only love.

I'd also like to make one more observation: the meet-cute about fishing the dog out of the harbor was one of the more ingenious ones I've seen.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot:  Billionaire hiding as boat bum with secret falls for local veterinarian who can't turn away stray animals

Tropes: different worlds, disguise, animal

Overall Rating: 3/5