Julietta’s been burned before—and trusting her brother-in-law’s friend, whose powerful gaze alone has her rethinking the best use of a conference room, is the riskiest proposition. But with a once-in-a-career chance to take the bakery global, will she mix stone-cold business with red-hot seduction?
Kindle Edition, 401 pages
Published July 30th 2013 by Gallery Books
eArc received from publisher via NetGalley for honest review
Where to find The Marriage Merger:
Me too! Though I really enjoyed the first one, and read half of the second one and just wasn't as connected as I would like. Having read this one now makes me want to go back and see what the rest of The Marriage Trap hold for me. I kinda heart these people again!
This book hits a lot of bullet points on my 'if I could be a book heroine' list: Julietta is a shrewd business woman who takes absolutely zero crap off of anyone, she is this tall goddess of a woman, she loves her family, she loves food, and she has a badass motorcycle that she rides with the finesse and style of a professional racer....oh and she's Italian with an amazing accent (at least in my head her accent is amazing). Her main problem? She has no companion, or really even a friend, to share her great life with. She feels no connection to anyone...and horror of horrors--she thinks she's frigid and so her sex life is null and void.
Yes! She is the one woman out of the heroines in this series that seems to hold her own in the business world with the big boys. And I like that. Not that I don't love those other women and what they bring to the table, but it was a refreshing change to have a woman that is career oriented find a man who wasn't threatened at all by how career oriented she is. She isn't going to give up anything for anyone, well except apparently her overbearing mother....but these Italians will do anything for their Mama Conte! Her tenacity to fight for what she wants always made me like her very much!
Enter Mr. Hot Thang...Sawyer Wells. GAH. His blonde good looks...only enhanced by a mysterious scar on his face, his knowing smirks, his commanding presence, powerful boardroom presence, and his filthy dirty mouth. I think I need to on the A/C just thinking about him. H-O-L-Y hotness. The things that come out of his mouth. Anywho...he takes one look at our uptight Julietta and makes it his mission to show her how NOT frigid she is. Mission accomplished. Their sex scenes could melt all of the ice in my freezer. Sheesh. Sawyer isn't just this bedroom sex god though, he's also kind and generous as evidenced by his 'apprentice' Wolfe. Sawyer has taken in this homeless, wounded soul of a boy and given him the chance of a lifetime. All of this makes Sawyer such a fun character to read.
The reason I loved Sawyer even in spite of his billionaire boardroom status, and obvious tumultuous past is that I like to think of him as much more bossy than controlling. He doesn't go over the top and has no desire to be that no feelings Dom type guy. He doesn't want to address his feelings, sure, but that is a whole other can of worms!
If only it were this easy...beautiful girl and boy meet, have mad chemistry, and live happy lives...life would be good and our reading would be short. But, as we know, life for our characters is really never easy. Sawyer has some pretty awful demons that he carries with him and Julietta has a hard time trusting men. These two must battle their pasts to get to their happily ever after. Both Wolfe and the Conte family have the uncanny ability to rip through the denial and lies Sawyer and Julietta tell themselves and force them to grapple with hard truths. I love them for that!
Sawyer's demons made me cry like the sap that I am, and really really got to me. Like a lot. Children who don't have people who love them unconditionally break my heart, and when foster parents who are given privileges and don't follow through on their end of the bargain while taking their power to extreme places pisses me off and makes my heart hurt! So that aspect of this book with Sawyer and Wolfe was very special. Their family unit was an unconventional one that was in a precarious balance until the very last page, but it was real and I had to know where things ended!
Fun, fast, and sexy read. I'm looking forward to reading the others in this series and the upcoming series Jennifer Probst has coming out next. I agree! This book was read through a lovely day fishing with my husband and I very much enjoyed it. Beautiful day, beautiful book, and quality time with my hubs made for a very enjoyable read!
Shelley: 4 Stars
Courtney: 4 Stars
About the Author:
She is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of The Marriage Bargain. She is published both erotic and sexy contemporary romance with Entangled, Decadent, Red Sage and TWRP. She has also written a children's book, Buffy and the Carrot, co-written with her twelve year old niece, along with a short story, "A Life Worth Living." Visit her website for more info!
Where to find Jennifer:
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