I like a good old marriage of convenience trope and this is a decent story.
Katy Elliott cannot refuse a marriage contract from her arrogant, demanding, and playboy boss, Richard VanRyan. She needs the money to care for her ailing relative.
Richard, on the other hand, wants to stick two fingers up at his boss for overlooking him for promotion. Joining his bosses biggest rival will certainly do that, but to get the job he needs to convince his prospective employer that he has left behind his dick-head, playboy reputation.
As usual, feelings get in the way, and there is more at stake than losing his new job.
Richard explains his dilemma to Katy:
‘“In order to even get my foot in the door, I had to convince them I wasn’t the person they think I am.”
“Which is?”
“Arrogant, selfish.” I sucked in a long breath. “A tyrant at work and a playboy after hours.”
She tilted her head; her voice was quiet and firm. “Pardon my bluntness, Mr. VanRyan—you are exactly that.”’
I love Katy. Richard thinks she is a mousy and docile weakling, but he soon realises that is not the case. She is not afraid of telling him she thinks of him. She has some great lines in response to his arrogant assumptions:
‘I grinned. “It wouldn’t be all that awful, you know. I’m a good-looking man, I know my way around the bedroom, and I can make sure you enjoy yourself.”
“Wow. Hard to believe I’m the only one you ever convinced to marry you. You make it sound so great, so romantic.”’
The humorous characters and their interactions make this a page turner because the plot doesn’t really offer much more than the usual marriage of convenience trope. I also found the ending went on too long. It could have wound up much earlier. The last few chapters were not really necessary for the reader to know that they get their HEA.
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feels: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat: ⭐️⭐️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
