Netgalley books | The Opinionated Woman's Musings

The Marriage Bargain (Billionaire Games: Book 1) ♥♥♥♥

Julian is a French billionaire with a complex problem. He needs a wife in-name-only to convince his father why he cannot marry the woman who his father previously picked out for him. Camille is a not-so-successful actress who answers Julian’s ad for the role of her life. If she can convincingly play the part for 6 months, she may not win an Oscar, but she will be $5 million richer. Julian said she was perfect for the part, but Camille is not so sure she can pull it off.

She would have rejected the deal altogether, but circumstances beyond her control put her in a situation where she needs the money. Against her better judgment, she accepts the job because she knows that she does not have any options. Living it up in luxury for 6 months beats waiting tables to make ends meet. The hard part for Camille is reminding herself that none of the charade is real. I think most girls would swoon from a hot guy reading the phone book in French. So I know that Camille probably had stars in her eyes when Julian called her “cheri” and casually touched her affectionately as if it is second nature for him. I am sure the French accent was probably very sexy and charming too.

Meanwhile, Julian’s ex-girlfriend (the reason for the fake marriage in the first place) is in her ear shamelessly telling her that while Camille maybe the wife, SHE will be the mistress taking care of him. Seriously? Since when does mistress status upstage the legal rights of the wife? The ex-girlfriend did not know that Camille held all the cards.

There was a great cast of supporting characters that helped the story along. Besides the meddling father and jealous ex-girlfriend, it was great that Camille found an ally in her mother-in-law. And while I was not sure I would like her best friend, she ended up being a great friend as well.

Overall, I liked the book and the way it ended. Camille had her insecurities and that is what made her adorable. Julian might have got married for the wrong reasons, but he was lucky enough to marry the right woman. The way the book ended was too sweet. I was gushing and saying “Awwwwwwww”!

I have a soft spot for this typical fairy tale romance. It is in no way believable but the story is sweet without being corny. I think we all would like to believe there are uber-rich down-to-earth handsome men out there that fall for lower middle-class women who do not allow wealth to corrupt their outlook on life and how they treat people.

Everyone needs to buy The Marriage Bargain (Billionaire Games: Book 1) ! I like this author 🙂

Received a copy of The Marriage Bargain from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Brianna and Colin meet in Paris while both are there on business. The attraction is so strong; Brianna changes her plans to return home so she can have an extended weekend fling. Trying to ensure that her wild and crazy spontaneous behavior does not follow her home, Brianna’s only condition was that they would not reveal their last names. While the fling was supposed to be a fun diversion from reality, it becomes indelibly imprinted on both of them.

As serendipity would have it, they meet again when they get back home to New York. Colin is part owner to a major luxury hotel chain. And Brianna is daughter to a famous clothing designer. Why the two have never met before Paris or even knew what each other looked like is beyond me. It seems that they ran is the same circles. They were both strikingly good looking people and successful in their fields. The paparazzi seemed to have no trouble getting her picture, so why did she not have a familiar face to Colin? But I digress since I am over-thinking the plot line.

For me, this romance was about average. They went from being strangers to I-need-you-in-my-life in a few weeks. In my opinion, Brianna dropped the L-word too quickly. I guess all those private plane trips gave them ample time to talk and get to know one another.

In typical romance book fashion, there is a secret that almost threatens to tear the couple apart. When the truth comes out, I could not understand why Colin did not say something sooner. I do not think it would have been that big of a deal. Brianna had her secrets too, but at least she did open up to Colin.

My only real complaint was with the unsolved mystery. The couple’s issues are resolved but there are still lingering questions about the incident involving her sister. I guess that will be addressed in the following book? This is the first book I read from this author, so I did not know if that was supposed to be part of this particular story or part of the series’ story.

Overall, the story was entertaining. This is a nice light romance read for one afternoon or while on vacation. The love scenes are not too scandalous but still quite steamy. I would read another book by this author. I like Brianna’s family and would read their romance stories too.

I received a copy of Designed by Desire (The Hamiltons: Fashioned with Love) from Netgalley for an honest review.
You can click any of the links in this post to buy Designed by Desire (The Hamiltons: Fashioned with Love) on Amazon