GRR Reviews Alice's Arranged Marriage by Joyce Alec

It's about 1900... Alice doesn't fit in with the rich crowd on the US East Coast, despite her father's nouveau-riche status. She hated the parties and balls where people are just out to see her fail. And she was devastated when she found that she will be going overseas, as fiancee to a British Earl, who needs a large dowry to keep his own estate afloat. How can she ever hope to fit into the even MORE rigid British high echelons... or marry a total stranger, even if he's an Earl? // Charles, Earl of Allerton, had bailed his brother (with addiction to gambling) far too often that he's in danger of going under himself. To survive, he had to cut his brother off, and to marry a rich bride from the US. She is beautiful, but she has absolutely NO manners. But he has no choice but to marry her right after Christmas... only a few weeks away. Alice found a friend, even when Charles is indifferent, and his aunt downright cruel. But who is sending her merciless notes telling her to go back home? Will she stay?

It's okay, I guess. Alice was basically sobbing and sniveling at practically every other scene, which is sorta understandable (stranger in a strange land) for a period piece but it's also annoying after a while. Charles basically had to be lectured multiple times, and I still don't quite see where love comes in. 3/5

GRR Reviews Running with a Sweet Talker by Jami Albright

Luanne thought she grew up fine... Her father was absent most of the time, but he did pay for law school and gave her startup money to start her own lawfirm. And she even agreed to date his business associate, and even accepted an engagement. But on their wedding day, she overheard something that destroyed her world view. She had to get away, and that means accepting a ride from her arch-nemesis... Jack. // Jack had always enjoyed teasing Luanne and this has been going for... decades. He thought he'll just see her get married. So for her to do a run-away bride, then was nabbed by one of her father's goons was more than he can take. So he helped her escape... But he has his own problems to deal with... Turns out his father... wasn't his biological father. And he still wasn't sure he wanted to meet his other family. Add a set of elderly sisters who robbed them of their car and phone, a child in need, and a bunch of other coincidences, and this will be road trip of a lifetime... and start of something new for Luanne and Jack...

Nice and "zany", with a lot of heart. Jack's a bit too sweet, and often, a bit too sarcastic tease. Though some of the scenes are uproariously funny. let's just say that "Open Audition Night" revealed there's a side of Jack that no one had ever suspected. 4/5

GRR Reviews Love On Her Own Terms by Carol Colyer

Kathleen, upon turning 18, was shocked to find that her parents promised her to their business associate since she was 13... A much older man she had always called "Uncle Elias". She became angry when she overheard that she was "given away" as a part of a business arrangement. In a fit of anger, she chose to be a mail-order bride under an assumed name, and travel out West to marry Dan, a rancher out in Tombstone, Texas, a man she never met... But who is this mysterious stranger on the train? // Dan was lonely in Tombstone running the ranch, and deal with his delinquent brother who only knows how to spend money, not to make any.  Then he learned that his no-good brother had whisked away his bride to a neighboring town, intending to marry her before he showed up...

As an adventure, this is great, as there are excellent twists and turns in the story. However, the pacing seems a bit off, that I almost thought the story ended multiple times, only to see there's more to come. Yet the book doesn't seem to be a "combo volume" or have been serialized. Let's just say more than one guy (let's just say, more than TWO) will be fighting for Kathleen's affection, and some of them will resort to... un... ungentlemanly manners to get what they want. Add the Earps in town, and it'd be fireworks!  4/5

GRR Reviews Beware the Rich Man by Laura Landon

NOTE: Regency Romance (Victorian England)

Blake Edison, textile importer, and one of the richest men in London, has no title, but he swore an oath to destroy Duke of Somerset. The heartless bastard, eager to protect his own reputation, allowed Blake's mother to suffer and die by deliberately refusing to help, and Blake ended up an orphan on the streets. But circumstances have changed. Blake had been buying up Duke's debt slowly, and he will destroy Duke's latest plan... To have his son (Blake's half-brother) marry Lady Willow Gilchrist for her dowry left by her grandmother, in exchange for two estates... // Lady Willow understood duty to family. She loves to design clothing, but that is scandalous in itself, so it's only in secret. She met Blake, and they share a common passion: textiles. The attraction is immediate, but neither can act on it. Lady Willow knew she was promised to the son of Duke of Somerset, in order to secure two estates to help her family's future, as the two younger brothers have no estates to support themselves. And Duke of Somerset is eager to get her dowry to fulfill his debts. Yet her heart already belongs to Blake... 

Ah, taboo and forbidden love, good setting, nice intrigue, and good amount of angst. Yet the story just feels... full of logical holes. Being one of the richest men, Blake had no guards or attendants. And why the Duke ordered an attack on him also made no sense. Duke doesn't know Blake was his "bastard son", yet instead of attempting to negotiate for his debt, he simply went ahead and ordered the attack on Blake for POSSIBLY interfering with Lady Willow's plan to marry his son. There was also Blake doing a totally virtuous thing... when he could have seduced Lady Willow just as the Duke feared. And Lady Willow TOTALLY did NOT react when she finally learned WHY. The end also felt a bit deus ex machina, when it was finally revealed that Duke actually doesn't own the estates in question. He sold them off long ago to fund his ill-fated investments. How can Lady Willow's family not insist on some verification before committing their daughter's dowry and future? Feels TSTL. 

4/5

GRR Reviews Her Billionaire Army Doc by Dobi Daniels

Ob/Gyn resident Dr. Jasmine Banks is hiding two secrets. One, she didn't have to work because her family is rich with an established lingerie line. Two, she just found she has the lump in her breast and she has the high-risk cancer gene. She knew she made the right choice years ago to let Toni Landi, her then-boyfriend go due to betrayal. She just regrets now that she'll never have a family she wanted. She was shocked when her mother wanted her to consider an arranged marriage to Dr. David Landi as a part of a business deal. She's even more shocked that this is none other than Toni, the boy she left years ago.  // Dr. David Landi is a "plastic surgeon" that worked for the army for years, helping veterans with injuries. He's finally out and back stateside, and both he and his rich family are ready to get his career fast-tracked. He lost his wife to aggressive cancer and he's in no mood to consider an arranged marriage to Jasmine Banks... the woman who dumped him years ago. But his family wanted them to meet anyway. //

While I enjoy the secrets and shames, the book felt a bit bloated by secondary plots that sorta went nowhere, and thus, feels a bit unfocused. The evil stalker bit barely made a blip and was over in a few pages. And Jasmine seems to be both jealous and lacks self-worth that she's even jealous of Karen Lee, the surgeon David asked to perform a double procedure from another city as a favor, not to mention she refused to listen to David (even when all David did was to say goodbye to his late wife). It's good, but it could have been better.  3.5/5

GRR Reviews The Ex-Princess by Fiona West

Abelia abandoned her princess duties nine years ago and chose to live as a commoner with a menial job and tiny apartment. She was surprised to find royal emissaries arrived to enforce a marriage contract with prince Edward... someone she hadn't seen as a child. // Edward was the "spare heir" until his brother went off the rails and started a rebellion against his own father. Desperate to avoid a war that he's not sure he can win, he needs to marry his best friend, princess Abelia, to present a united front. Unfortunately, Abelia has her own ideas on whether she can be queen, no matter how convincing prince Edward can be. But for the sake of the people, will they do what they must? Or is there another way?

The book left me rather confused. Some parts of it are brilliant or shows signs of brilliance, some parts of it made me wonder what's it doing there. Abelia had her own adventure before she finally returned to her own realm (with lots of bad guys chasing her and her party) but that's merely first part of the story. Once Edward joined the party, it's a series of small revelations (which I will not spoil) on WHY she cannot be his queen, no matter what he says or does. Eventually, you'll get a HEA that ALMOST felt like an afterthought. I felt the plot could have been clearer and better defined. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Mastered: Opal by Emma Rose

NOTE: Emma Rose is an alternate penname of Chantel Rhondeau with a different writing style.

Olivia suffered major PTSD when an auto accident took away her family and her fiancee. Subsequent panic attacks left her unable to hold down a job, even after recovery from her physical injuries. About to be evicted and deep in debt, her last chance is to be a modern mail-order bride at Millionaire Match under codename Opal. She never imagined she'd end up in a marriage of convenience with Byron, who's rich and intense... and needs some heirs before he can inherit the business. Byron has no time for dating, and picking a bride from a list is perfectly suitable for him. Not that he'll fall in love with her... right?

(Rant mode: on) I have problems with these "weird will" situations, esp. when the requestor is still alive, as these are obviously unreasonable demands. Why would you give control of the company to someone else, like a cousin, "just because" your son doesn't want to get married?  Esp. if that cousin has no experience? And obviously, when he got married, the requestor flips 180, "If you keep her, you'll not get control of the company". This just proves that the weird will trope is STUPID overall. At least with it being a real 'will' (i.e. from a dead guy) there's no arguing with a box in the dirt. With the person being alive, it just highlights how ridiculous the trope is. (Rant mode: off)

Anyway, the complications are tolerable, but I just didn't feel much for these two characters, unlike OTHER Chantel Rhondeau novels I've read, and I've read PLENTY (all of the McAllister series, plus a few others) 

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Maybe Series Collection 1 by Ella Miles

NOTE: This collection is no longer available, in favor of the new collection, which includes 3 more books and a new title.  I'll give each of the books separate ratings.  The overall rating is 3/5 as an average of all three.


Maybe Yes (book 1) -- Kinsley Felton grew up rich and beautiful. She was a model for Seventeen magazine, and she graduated from Yale... but with a mostly useless degree. She can inherit an empire her family had built for a hundred years, if she accepts what her family asks of her... Such as marrying the chosen heir to the empire. But she wants to learn to love by herself... And she thought she had just found the man... Until her grandfather called her and changed EVERYTHING... Her father is dead, and she needs to be wed ASAP to make sure the line of succession will continue. And she needs to meet him ASAP.

I saw where the plot was going pretty early on but the journey there was enjoyable. 4/5






Maybe Never (book 2) -- Kinsley Felton had fallen for Killian... except he wasn't what she thought he was... but an FBI undercover agent who had been infiltrating her family for years. Convinced of her family's innocence, Kinsley refused to take a plea deal. And Killian found himself crossing the line to save Kinsley from herself. But the truth they discovered will shock them both, and sent them on the run around the globe...

This one, I have trouble to stomach. An FBI agent, OFF the case, went to investigate? Took a witness on the run and went rogue?  3/5









Maybe Always (book 3) -- Kinsley has finally learned the truth about her family, and it was devastating. And she is still in love with Killian. To save his career, she had to leave him. To save her soul, she had to bring down the cartel... From the INSIDE. That means going undercover as herself. // Killian knew why Kinsley ran... she is planning something dangerous. He needs to save her, but he has been arrested by the FBI and dumped in prison. Until fate reunited them once again...

I have trouble stomaching this one too. Turned sadism into sex in the guise of torture? That's pretty sick. The rest of the plot was okay.

3/5

GRR Reviews Secretly Matched by Marie Higgins

Rayne just found out that her father had just ruined her life despite being dead. Rayne was going to marry her BF when he graduates. Now she must marry Calvin, her father's rival's son, for at least a year to receive her inheritance, due to a bet her father made with hsi father 20 years ago. // Calvin, trying to dissuade unwanted attention from a female co-worker, kissed a woman in the elevator. It was a kiss unlike any other. It was then he learned that she is Rayne, and they are contractually bound to be married if they are to receive their respective inheritances. // They married and it was in name only. But they discover that perhaps, that initial kiss was not a fluke, and Calvin was not as "bad" as his reputation seem to be. But when Rayne's BF started to stalk them, can Calvin protect her?

Charming, but the threat from BF wasn't handled that well and over way too quickly.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews The Mail Order Billionaire by Eliza Ellis

Prince Maxim Malenkov is being called home to marry someone that had been arranged for him, but he doesn't want to do that. When he spotted a Dr. Pearson on TV, on-air ambushed into finding a husband by midnight, he thought "why the heck not..." // Dr. Deanna Pearson, aka DC Love Doctor, is divorced (which also inspired her research and her current business)  She had made 199 matches so far, and it all worked... but an on-air ambush made her add herself to the list... she had to get married by midnight on her reality matchmaking show. When Maxim applied, she's beyond ecstatic... He's the most gorgeous man she'd seen... and rich, and a genuine royalty. AND they have an excellent match score. However, Maxim has his own problems: they had to rush home (to Europe) immediately after the midnight wedding, and it's clear his brother the King did not like how it's going, yet cannot tell him outright why, for there's fierce Royal intrigue, conspiracy, and powerplay behind the scenes... and Maxim and Deanna had to rely on each other... Then Deanna found out her staff had tweaked the score to make Maxim match with her... Her science was flawed... and he may have to divorce her to save his dynasty...

Okay, the palace intrigue and such is quite good. My only problem is Deanna was later described as black. Perhaps I wasn't paying attention, but it seems race just NEVER CAME UP until I noticed that sentence at the end. Otherwise I like the book quite well.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews His Rock by Ashlee Price

Lena was a production assistant of a reality show, and when a contestant bowed out last second, she was forced to step up and temporarily be married to recently retired Olympic swimmer Riley Boyle so the show must go on. Yes, it was just for one week, but it's legal and all that. Riley was a "bad boy", and Lena fell for the bad boy but resisted, but eventually succumbed and handed over her V-card, but Riley was hiding a huge secret... He's actually a billionaire heir. Riley left Lena, knowing it's all he can give before going back to his billionaire heir life, but Lena got a surprise... she's pregnant...

The facts surely don't make sense. Reality show is not filmed in real-time. Filming for a week would barely make one hour's worth of footage after editing, even if they are the only couple being filmed. And the personality... and the marriage contract... Why they must be married for real to be on TV? Hmmm???  Sure, there's chemistry, but the setup itself is suspect. The book actually got better once the setup was out of the way, as it turned into a bit of a conspiracy triangle when Riley matured to perhaps want to STAY married to Lena, while, let's just say, someone close to him want to steer him in the other direction. The final setup was actualy quite good, a good climax to setup the hero rescue. However, I do have a question... WHY aren't they laying down flat if the wind's that strong?

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews The Wedding Chapel by Caroline Mickelson

Bella and grandpa had been running a Vegas wedding chapel for years, but business is down. She had enough experience to know marriage is bad news. So when she woke up in bed with a charming Brit, the last thing she'd expect was their respective grandparents insist they are now married, even though neither Colin nor Bella can recall ever saying "I do'. As they attempt to piece together the truth, what they found out about each other may be the most surprising discovery of all...

Gave me a bit of warm buzzy, but not much else. The reason for the grand deception seems to be either petty disregard of other people or misguided attempt at matchmaking.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews The Rancher's Convenient Bride by Rose Andrews

Emilia, the mercantile owner's daughter, ended up in a marriage of convenience when her father lost big on a poker bet, and the only other way out was to lose the entire store. But is the man just a gambler? // Benny is a rancher and an expert card player. Now Benny has a wife he could not have gotten otherwise... but can he convince her he's a good person?

Short story, there's a bit of reluctant lovers, mutual discovery, etc. But I just didn't get a feel for much.

Category: Historical Western

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews A Chance at L.O.V.E. by K L Myers

WARNING: Ends on cliffhanger

Lincoln Oliver Vincent Eastwick (AKA L.O.V.E.) is a rich man who hadn't feel love, and refused to settle. For a good cause, he allowed himself to be a part of bachelor date auction... masked. In the meanwhile, his nephew is to undergo heart surgery for a congenital defect. And the doctor's name is Lillian Vicci... a very lovely vision indeed. // Dr. Lillian Olivia Vicci (AKA L.O.V.) is a pediatric cardiac surgeon who barely escaped from her mafia family. She moved to Virginia to setup her practice, but she can't settle down, for she's barren. When her best friend used her paddle to win the date with Linc, she's horrified and elated... For Linc is handsome and rich, but also her patient's surrogate father. But their chemistry cannot be denied. That is... Until her father suffered a heart attack and will soon retire... and she will be married off to the *consigliere* soon to be promoted to godfather...

Auction and date was good, the rest was meh. Add to the -1 for cliffhanger.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 2.5/5 rounded up

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Love on the Prairie by Ciara Knight

Abigail McKinnie had already lost almost everything except her sisters when the Union Army sacked Atlanta. With no other choice to keep her family together, she accepted a marriage proposal from one of her cousins out in Kansas, hoping to convince him to take in all seven sisters. With barely the clothes on her back, she arrived at the homestead with blistered feet, only to find a stranger there... informing her that her betrothed is dead, died of infection and buried not long before her arrival. // Owen Baker already lost so many people, including a wife and son (even though there was no love). When Abigail stormed onto the land, claiming ownership of her cousin's land, his only thought was "no, not again", and his fierce determination to keep her safe (by sending her away) was met with fierce opposition from Abby (I'm not going anywhere), yet neither can actually say the reason they behave so. But when the only way to let her keep the land is to marry her, can he explain everything, when a crazed man in town who hated Indians may be about to force war and hang "traitors" who protected Indians and wanted peace?

The reluctant lovers theme was pushed really well, but the "Indian" threat was very very late. Yes, there was an attack, but very little damage. The other threat was introduced very late and IMHO, not executed that well.

Category: Historical Western

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 (rounded up)

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews ClickandWed.com Boxset, Books 1 - 3 (Cli by Bonnie R. Paulson

ClickandWed.com 1-3 tried to make the idea of a modern mail-order-bride work (marry someone sight unseen) and for the most part, it works, but the story seems to lack a certain spark

Book 1: With this click I thee wed -- She's a lonely divorcee whose own family doesn't want her and her ex treats her like a doormat, not only turning the entire town against her (even though he's the one cheated), her ex is suing her for emotional abuse. He's a rancher who stands to lose his parent's house and ranch, and had his heart broken when he realized his now ex-wife married his prestige, not him. Yet the pair somehow got married when she got drunk and clicked on "I do"... Now she's flying across the country to meet her husband for the first time... Can this work, even when it was so... crazy?

Somehow, the evil douchebag didn't get his karma. The tale didn't quite have the spark of "strangers got married" stories of other authors. It just feels too... detached somehow. 3/5

Book 2: I_do.com -- A young doormat woman, pushed by her family into EVERY decision (as if she has no will of her own), was emboldened by her best friend into taking the biggest chance of her life... She walked out of her wedding to a man she does not love (and earned a hard slap on her cheek from her mother, who then disowned her), and went off to meet someone she had not seen... and be wedded by proxy... basically a modern mail order bride! Can such a romance work?

The new husband is okay, and there doesn't seem to be any karma for the parents either. it's all about her getting a spine. And while it has the character arc, it didn't quite have the touch of other authors like Kirsten Osbourne or Merry Farmer who also wrote books based on similar premises. The husband was kinda boring. 3/5

Book 3: DIY Vows -- the BFF of the previous novel's heroine (the same woman who paid for the setup) is going to be matched with someone in SF/Oakland, with a top compatibility score... 99.5%. But he's actually just betting with his brother on a dare, even as he's fixing up his mother's historical building in Oakland... or trying to. He is being stretched too thin, as he can't do both at the same time. She's a handywoman who can't wait to get out of her stupid town, and she's setting up her own "The Home Doctor" renovation / fix-up contractor business when it's clear the guy she matched does NOT want a wife. So she tried to keep her "kinda-wife" and the "Home Doctor" identities separate, even as she fixed up his house. What she didn't know is he knew she's both... and he's falling for her... hard...

It's mental games: she's playing some, he's playing some, they pretend they don't know about each other's games but they do... Somehow, I failed to see how that translates to romance. But at least the plot was pretty good. 4/5

All in all, average series. It's certainly innovative, but seem to lack that certain spark, whether angst or comedy or other.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: N/A, collection, three books about modern equivalent of mail order bride finding their love with a mate they never met...

Tropes: marriage, mail order bride, collection, different worlds, disguise, jilted, weird will, arranged marriage, family pressure

Overall Rating: 3/5 (average of 3)

GRR Reviews The Kidnapped Christmas Bride by Jane Porter

The Kidnapped Christmas Bride has a somewhat inaccurate title, which is not really a spoiler.

Trey Sheenan wasted most of his early life cultivating his reputation as Marietta's bad boy... and got his fiancee McKenna Douglas pregnant. He had wanted to settle down with her until a bar fight resulted in him spending years in jail for manslaughter. He had thoroughly reformed, hoping for a second chance. One day, he was suddenly released a few days before Christmas and his brother came to pick him up... And he brought very bad news... McKenna is getting married... To someone else. Now, on the eve of McKenna's marriage and just a few days from Christmas, Trey embarked on a desperate plan to convince her that marrying someone else would be wrong... and to spend Christmas as a family... Even if he had to be.. persuasive.

Trey is sufficiently repentant, but McKenna was, well, a bit conflicted. To explain the rest, I'll have to spoil a bit of the story.

I WARNED YOU

SPOILER AHEAD

Any way, McKenna went willingly so it wasn't a really a kidnapping. Not that Trey is giving her much of a chance to say now, but she did go with him, carrying the baby. Not that anyone else would believe Trey didn't kidnap them of course, his "reputation" of ex-jailbird and all that. But basically, McKenna wasn't marrying for love, that much was obvious. But the lead up to the end was basically one act of sacrifice and heroics that convinced McKenna that Trey was the man she knew, not the bad boy, and she's willing to marry him instead of whoever she was supposed to marry. Uh... that's pretty easy to change her mind.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can just-released-from-jail man convince his ex-fiancee (and mother of his child) NOT to marry someone else?

Tropes: bad boy, reunion, holiday, return, single parent, arrange marriage, marriage of convenience

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews The Harper's Island Trilogy by Zane Morrow

The "Harper's Island trilogy" was a bit of a misnomer, as this is only 240 some pages in total. The individual novellas are also available separately. I find the characters barely relatable, and the plot made no sense, and it wasn't because they are among the rich and famous. The volumes don't flow into each other.

To recap, Grace dedicated her life to Camp Hope, where kids who had lost a parent can spend a little time to heal and share experiences with fellow campers (and counselors). She needed to attend her bestie's wedding as maid of honor, but she also just got the news that the sponsor for the camp, Morgan Industries, is shutting down the camp as a financial drain. Grace hadn't seen Blake Morgan, acting CEO, but years, but to save the camp, she'll do anything. After all, Blake is going to be the Best Man at the wedding as well. However, once Grace got there, things with Blake did not go as planned. Blake had a major falling out with his brother Trent, and when Queen of Harper's Island Miss Tilly ordered Blake to marry Grace, who will be groomed as the next queen (which made Grace a princess of sorts), Blake and Grace have to decide whether they should be together, even though they seem to be hurting each other... And the wedding is planned for only 2 weeks away...

The characters are just... contradictions. Grace was attracted to Blake but for possibly the wrong reasons. Blake had a childish infatuation on Grace having saved her a long time ago when she's a kid, but somehow hated the camp (but Grace loved the camp). After realizing how much Grace needed the camp he tried to give the deed of the camp to Grace, but his mom vetoed that. (?!) Then Mom ordered him to join the camp as a volunteer for 2 weeks (?!) Then Blake had a fight with his estranged brother Trent right at the wedding fighting for the garter toss. Then there's the other arranged wedding...

I just don't get these characters at all. Their decisions don't make any sense.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Grace was scheduled to marry Blake, but does he love her? What about the family issues and the camp he wanted to close?

Tropes: best man, arranged marraige, enemies to lovers

Overall Rating: 2/5

GRR Reviews An Unwilling Husband by Tera Shanley

An Unwilling Husband is a historical "western" romance that felt very angst-y at times, between two very damaged people who had forgotten how to love, against the world who are out to get them somehow.

Margaret "Maggie" Flemming used to live in a small town in Texas, until her mother, one day, dragged her off onto a train and headed back East. Now her mother's gone, she's grown, trained in the society ways that she felt she never belonged. Her aunt Margaret had nothing but cruel words to her for months. Maggie finally had enough and left for her hometown, to her father whom she hadn't seen for a decade, and to Garret Shaw, the boy she thought she'd spend eternity with. But Garret was a changed man. Years of abuse by his father had taken a toll, and the loan Garret had taken out from the Jennings family is coming due, and Jennings will not negotiate. The easygoing boy is now a hardened rough young man, who had no affection to give, esp. not a girl who was used to high society. Only one day after Maggie's arrival, Maggie's father passed away in a field accident. Her father forced Garret to make a deathbed promise: marry Maggie, even though Garret was supposed to be marrying Anna Jenning, and the dowry would cover the loan. Garret did as promised: married Maggie that same day, but refused to consummate the marriage. As Maggie learned ranch life from the foreman and the two Native Americans on the ranch, the Jennings started making overt threats... About how Anna's honor was besmirched, how Maggie should just go away or perhaps... "went away", and how eventually the farm will be theirs. Garret cannot allow himself to love Maggie, as he knew she'd head back East when she got tired of the rough life, but he will protect her with his life if need be...

Frankly, the push-pull between the two and the world were great. but the ending was too... "neat"? It's as if EVERYTHING was being resolved, at a finger-snap. It's not just HEA, but "Everything is <bleep>ing Fantastic Ever After". It's just too... long!

Category: historical western

Primary Plot: High Society Girl Went Back to Small Town in Texas; Got Married to an Unwilling Husband; Learned to Live and Love

Tropes: scars, orphan, evil parents, arranged marriage, triangle

Overall Rating: 4/5

GRR Reviews Love Muffin And Chai Latte (A Romantic Comedy) by Anya Wylde

Love Muffin and Chai Latte is a LOL-funny book about finding the wrong love in a strange place.

Tabitha Lee Timmons was having a very bad day when all the circumstance hit all at once, leaving her with no place to live, no job, and almost no money in the bank, her boyfriend "Chris" of Indian origin, proposed to her (again) and she reluctantly agreed, then realized this means she had to go with him back to India to meet his family and get the blessing of his grandfather's guru. Her only ally seems to be Maya, Chris' sister, who seems to be going back for an arranged marriage of her own. But Maya does not love the groom (nicknamed "Cuckoo Singh"), and Tabitha soon realized she does not love Chris either. But cousin Dev... now that's one hunky Indian she can get her hands on... but she's engaged... So now Tabby is mixed up with way too many crazy relatives like aunts and uncles, lots of exotic Indian customs, grumpy grandpa holding all the money, and younger folks locked in arranged marriages vs. following their heart...

I am not Indian, but all these stuff feels so authentic I really did wonder if the author is Indian or have relatives married Indian. If not, I very much admire her for her research.  If you want a light-hearted romp through India, and some romance, this is the book.


Category: Contemporary / Comedy

Primary Plot:  Woman who lost everything accepts Indian boyfriend's proposal, had to travel to India to get his grandpa's blessing, then realized she's in love with the wrong guy!

Tropes: triangle, arranged marriage, interracial, down and out

Overall Rating:  5/5