An Overnight Billionaire…
When Carson Frost inherits a confectionary that rakes in billions but is too cash-strapped to last another sixty days, he agrees to take a loan from his late father’s rival. There are two catches: Carson has to sign over a permanent stake in the company and marry the man’s daughter.
Concocts a Fake Bride…
Two weeks before the wedding, he gets cold feet and claims he’s in love with someone else. The investor says he’ll still hand over the cash if Carson takes a stroll down the aisle—with the woman who owns his heart. Since he isn’t even dating anyone, Carson panics. Where is he going to find a bride willing to jilt him at the altar on such short notice?
And Whips Up a Little Love.
Ella Hope is an actress happy for any paying gig, but jilting a hottie in public isn’t what she had in mind. Still, she needs rent, and he’s in a bind. How hard can it be? While playing at matrimony, suddenly their intimacy isn’t so fake. Ella can’t help but fantasize that Carson is her groom and they will live happily ever after. But once his company is safe, will he want her anymore?
| Title: | Misadventures of a Backup Bride |
| Author: | Shayla Black |
| Series: | Misadventures (Book 2) |
| Pages: | 280 |
| Category / Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Fake Relationship |
| Point of View: | |
| Location: | US |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 17th October, 2017 |
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I really wanted to love it
Oh, I really, really wanted to love this book. It sounds just my cup of tea – a cute premise forcing our couple together – who realise just at the right moment that this fake relationship has turned into the real thing. It’s a tried and tested story trope but one that I can happily read again and again.
The story started off well. I’m not familiar with Shayla Black’s previous work but in this book I found her writing to be refreshing, fun and its flow made for an easy and light read. Both Carson and Ella were interesting characters – I liked both of them, believed in their chemistry and enjoyed reading about their lives.
But…I just couldn’t believe in the pair’s love. I can suspend reality with the best of them – witches, superheroes and even some ridiculous coincidences – I’m game for it! In this case Ella met Carson once for 10 minutes, met him again, went for a quick dinner, fell into bed with him, spent a weekend in bed with him and she’s suddenly declaring her love for him and trying to figure out how to rearrange her whole life to be with him. And Carson is exactly the same. I mean pardon me what now? Calm down, folks!
…[Shayla Black’s writing is] refreshing, fun and its flow made for an easy and light read.”
Because of this ridiculously premature declaration, it really put the story on a different path for me. I felt it turned quite juvenile at that point and took the shine off the sex scenes. Yes, there was sex. Yes, it was sexy – but it lost the excitement of a new, somewhat forbidden relationship, as soon as they both said ‘I love you’. If Carson and Ella had just pretended to be engaged and then realised at the end that they had fallen in love with each other, it might have been more obvious, but it would have made for, in my opinion, a more believable and well-rounded story.
Everything came together in the end – quite conveniently in some cases – but I did feel that if the characters were already in love by page 10 (slight exaggeration), any happily ever after would be just a little bit dubious.
It’s such a shame because I had such high hopes for this story. Hopefully this was just a weird quirk of mine and others will love the story. If you’re reading through the Misadventures series, this is still worth a shot as the writing was good and the storyline was cute and fun. Only 3 stars from me but I still want folk to try it and hopefully love it as much as I wanted to.
Shayla Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly eighty novels. For twenty years, she’s written contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and historical romances via traditional, independent, foreign, and audio publishers. Her books have sold millions of copies and been published in a dozen languages.
Raised an only child, Shayla occupied herself with lots of daydreaming, much to the chagrin of her teachers. In college, she found her love for reading and realized that she could have a career publishing the stories spinning in her imagination. Though she graduated with a degree in Marketing/Advertising and embarked on a stint in corporate America to pay the bills, her heart has always been with her characters. She’s thrilled that she’s been living her dream as a full-time author for the past eight years.
Shayla currently lives in North Texas with her wonderfully supportive husband and two spoiled tabbies. In her “free” time, she enjoys reality TV, reading, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.
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Misadventures Series:
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