How awesome is this cover? The inside’s pretty stellar too 😉
Fiancee for Hire
by Tawna Fenske
Book Synopsis:
A satisfying category romance from Entangled’s brand new Lovestruck imprint…
Falling in love was never part of the plan…
Former Marine MacArthur Patton has made a small fortune on top-secret government contracts and black-ops missions, but his new assignment involves something more dangerous—marriage.
Well, fake marriage anyway.
To keep weapons out of the hands of terrorists, Mac has to secure a fiancée. A sweet, demure, compliant fiancée to serve as his arm candy for a few weeks while he completes the covert arms deal in Mexico. His sister claims to know just the woman, and sends her best friend to play the role.
“Sweet” and “demure” aren’t in Kelli Landers’s repertoire. A badass veterinarian who neuters big dogs and bigger men on a regular basis, she can’t wait to bring Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Detached to his knees. Her longtime crush on the commitment-phobe makes her plan to seduce him even sweeter.
Love wasn’t part of the plan, but the deeper Mac and Kelli fall into their ruse, the more danger they attract, until more than just their hearts are on the line…
Review:
I’ve been looking forward to this book since I finished Marine for Hire, and it did not disappoint. Tawna Fenske has a wry and slightly twisted sense of humor, and it shines through in her writing. Make me laugh enough, and minor plot issues won’t bother me as much 😉
Three words: wedding registry scene. It’s a must read.
Mac (MacArthur Patton–his siblings are Grant and Sheridan. Just in case you harbored any ill will toward your parents for the name they chose for you, this family is here to assure you it could be worse) is definitely my kind of hero. He only wears black, has his sunglasses specially made so he practically never has to take them off, and is as protective and alpha as they come. He’s so busy inside his head figuring out how to protect the universe from harm that he has no idea how to interact with his fellow humans on a normal, everyday level. Plus, he talks in covert-ops-speak all the time. Example:
“Ms. Landers? It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Meet?” She raised an eyebrow at him as she tucked her small hand in his and gave a ladylike shake. “We’ve met at least a hundred times, Mac. You put a Band-Aid on my knee when I was ten and you were this big, cool high schooler whose kid sister’s friend tripped while chasing boys on the playground.”
“Of course,” he said, his brain offering up no recollection of the Band-Aid but doing an impressive job resisting the urge to let his eyes stray to her cleavage. “But we’ve never interacted under professional circumstances related to the negotiation of a covert business deal pertaining to international security.”
Seriously, I don’t know how any woman could resist this guy.
Kelli is a whole lot of fun. She’s a vet, and spends half of the book relieving feral cats of their “fuzz nuggets and lady biscuits” (it’s actually really amusing, believe it or not. And educational. I had no idea there were so many euphemisms for those particular body parts) when she’s not lusting after her fake fiance. She’s the type of heroine you just know would be a riot to hang out with. She’s had a crush on Mac for years (again, who wouldn’t?) and even though you know that pretending to be engaged to him will be a huge mistake on her part, you can’t blame her for a second.
Put those two together, and you’ve got one heck of a fake-engagement-for-the-good-of-international-security story. There’s no huge surprises plot or storywise, but that’s okay.
If you’re looking for a fun, flirty, and frothy read, give Fiancee for Hire a try. It’s a perfect summer read. The quirky characters and quick humor are the real standout here–parts of the suspense plot end up being just shy of silly and the end is unbelievably quick (how could two commitment-phobes possibly change their minds in such a short amount of pages?) but overall it’s really an engaging read.
Looking forward to the next in the series!
Rating: 4 stars/ B+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
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Author Bio:
Tawna Fenske traveled a career path that took her from newspaper reporter to English teacher in Venezuela to marketing geek to PR manager for her city’s tourism bureau. An avid globetrotter and social media fiend, Tawna is the author of the popular blog, Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing, and a member of Romance Writers of America. She lives with her fiance in Bend, Oregon, where she’ll invent any excuse to hike, bike, snowshoe, float the river, or sip wine on her back deck. She’s published several romantic comedies with Sourcebooks, including Making Waves, which was nominated for contemporary romance of the year by RT Book Reviews. She also writes interactive fiction capers for Coliloquy and the steamy, heartwarming Front and Center series for Entangled Publishing. Tawna’s quirky brand of comedy and romance has won praises from Kirkus Reviews, which noted, “Up-and-coming romance author Fenske sets up impeccable internal and external conflict and sizzling sexual tension for a poignant love story between two engaging characters, then infuses it with witty dialogue and lively humor. An appealing blend of lighthearted fun and emotional tenderness.”
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