Over the weekend I read Escorted by Claire Kent. I absolutely loved it. When I went to look for more books by the same author I found that she writes under the name of Noelle Adams. A Negotiated Marriage sounded pretty interesting to me so I grabbed it up.
After unwisely declaring love to her boyfriend and realizing it was not returned Molly jumps at the offer of a marriage of convenience with Luke. Luke is a CEO with women falling at his feet and he is tired of it all. He offers Molly the marriage thinking it will benefit them both. She can avoid being hurt again and he will have someone fend off the other offers and someone to take to parties and events with him. Everything is kept nice and neat in a contractual form that they renegotiate once a year.
But now Luke has asked for an extra provision. He wants to have sex with his wife. They had previously agreed to use the services of very discreet escorts but that has not worked out for either of them. Molly is a little surprised by the offer but once they give it a try she realizes they have explosive chemistry. They renegotiate adding in sex, once a week. But soon once a week isn’t enough. And soon Molly realizes that more than just sexual feelings are going on with the couple.
A Negotiated Marriage was a good read. I didn’t like it as much as Escorted but that is not surprising since I adored Ander in Escorted. Ms Adams writes only the point of view of the heroine. It isn’t in first person but we don’t ever get to see what the heroes are thinking or feeling. If I had one complaint it would be that Luke was very confusing and hard to read because I never got to hear from him. I wasn’t sure where he was coming from so to find out that he had been in love with his wife for a long time was a bit of a surprise.
There is a blip with Molly’s ex that is brought into play. It served as the push that everyone needed to move the relationship forward. I found the ex to be quite interesting and wonder if he might get a book of his own. Overall, this was a likable book. I really like this authors voice and tone. I hope we get to hear a lot from her soon! Final grade- B
Favorite Quote:
”Real or not, he was her husband. He was her lover. He was her best friend.”
Rating: B
A Negotiated Marriage by Noelle Adams
January 11th 2013
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Sounds interesting. I haven’t been reading a lot of contemporary romances, but I might pick this one up.
I hope you enjoy it!
One of the things I liked about Escorted was wondering what Ander was thinking and trying to read his queues. I thought it really enhanced the story. Too bad that didn’t’ come through as well in this book for the hero. I have this one on my Kindle, to be read soon!
It wasn’t as good as Escorted but she has a way of writing her male characters that makes you really want to see into their heads even if you can’t. Did that make sense? It keeps me turning the pages.
Thanks for your review, I haven’t heard of this author before, but I am a big fan of the arranged marriage trope and this sounds interesting
Will have to check out Escorted… Thanks for the rec!
Do check out Escorted by Claire Kent. It was really good.