Description
Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.
Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.
Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.
Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.
But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.
(Source: Goodreads)
Review
I started off really enjoying the book! I loved Anna’s sense of humour and enjoyed reading Liam’s back story. Anna was presented as being very quirky, creative, and fun. Liam’s character is pretty constant throughout the book, and much of his story is centred around his family dynamics and, of course, his predicament regarding his inheritance money.
While the book was a lot of fun, it started losing some of its charm somewhere in the middle, and I didn’t find myself wanting to pick it up as much. I’m unsure why that is, but I suspect I might have an idea. Anna had to act as Liam’s wife, and her personality changed to fit that role. But, with that change, I missed seeing her quirky side emerge as it became more dilute. The last 1/3 of the book was much better for me, though not quite as engaging as the first third, and I thought it wrapped up very well.
Who do I recommend this novel to? There is also quite a bit of spice! I typically enjoy less spice in my romance novels, so readers who enjoy medium+ spice levels would likely enjoy this. Tropes that may entice you are fake dating, paradise escape, one bed, and a wedding set on a private island. Fans of Christina Lauren will adore this book. You most likely will enjoy this if you’ve enjoyed The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren.
This Book in Three Words
Summer Holiday Book!
Values/Themes
- Family
- Vacation Wedding
- Fake dating (fake marriage)
Favourite Part
Some of Anna’s lines were just hilarious!
Feelings
- Humorous
- Fun
- Tense
Overall Rating
Numerical Rating: 3.75 stars
Acknowledgements
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC! All opinions are my own.
QOTD: What’s your favourite summer read?
