Title: The Marriage Bargain
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jennifer Probst
Publisher: Entangled, 2012
Source: Purchase
Rating: 4
Sexy Rating: 5
Description from amazon.com:
A marriage in name only…
To save her family home, impulsive bookstore owner, Alexa Maria McKenzie, casts a love spell. But she never planned on conjuring up her best friend’s older brother—the powerful man who once shattered her heart.
Billionaire Nicholas Ryan doesn’t believe in marriage, but in order to inherit his father’s corporation, he needs a wife and needs one fast. When he discovers his sister’s childhood friend is in dire financial straits, he offers Alexa a bold proposition.
A marriage in name only with certain rules: Avoid entanglement. Keep things all business. Do not fall in love. The arrangement is only for a year so the rules shouldn’t be that hard to follow, right?
Except fate has a way of upsetting the best-laid plans…
**
This first book by Probst is well written, has some humorous moments and is a sexy read. The H/h each have an agenda for this marriage of convenience and each have “rules” on how it will be conducted. That is where all the trouble starts as they proceed to break the rules and become emotionally attached to each other.
La Deetda Reads 
This sounds just my cup of tea. I love marriage of convenience stories. I’ll check this out on Amazon UK.
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I liked this one. Enough that I’ve read all three books in the series so far. Is it amazing? Not really. But it was cute and sweet and I enjoyed the couple. 🙂
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Julie and Carol, yes it was sweet and I liked it but didn’t love it. I’m beginning to think contemporary romances are just never going to get a “5-star” out of me. so if either of you come up with a “5-star” please let me know. sigh….
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When I read a synopsis of a CR and see word billionaire I sigh. It seems that all CR are densely populated with them. I need to move to one of these hubs of uber rich, young and hot men ;).
Rachel Gibson’s Truly Madly Yours is a 5 star CR IMO. I really loved that one when I read it years ago. Her other books have all been 4 solid star read for me (I have not read the newest ones). I keep on meaning to give Julie James a try, but after a few disasters in my CR reading I’m not itching to try that genre.
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Edyta, I spoke out of turn, Jennifer Crusie’s BET ME was a 5 star read. I’ve liked some of Rachel Gibson’s, like RESCUE ME but was not wow’d by ANY MAN OF MINE. I’ll have to give TRULY MADLY YOURS A TRY. I have some CR’s on the Kindle and at some point I will probably read them and still be disappointed. Eee-Gads! I sound like a jaded Contemporary Romance reviewer. Not the case, I’m open minded.
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Yes, BET ME was a great book. Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation was really well done too. I wonder what it is that a great CR is so rare.
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I think the humor in BET ME is what did it for me. I also like that Gibson has a sense of humor. It isn’t silly, just witty and funny.
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