Don't Pretend I'm Yours

by Natasha Anders

When Ben Templeton asks Lilah Beckett to marry him, she’s over the moon. She’s been in love with him for years and now, finally, it looks like those feelings are reciprocated. She eagerly accepts his proposal, but on her wedding day, all expectations of a happily ever after with the love of her life come crashing to her feet. Lilah discovers that her new husband does not love her; he barely even likes her. He married her for all the wrong reasons and now expects her to be satisfied with the scraps of affection and attention he throws her way.

To preserve her heart and her sanity, Lilah knows that she cannot allow this sham of a marriage to continue. But her much-loved grandfather is ecstatic about the union and to avoid disappointing him, Lilah informs Ben that she’ll play at being his wife for one year only. Ben, however, seems perfectly content to remain tethered to her in a loveless union for all eternity. He has his own reasons for marrying Lilah. Reasons he’s hiding behind a wall of secrets, half-truths, and blatant lies.

And when that wall comes tumbling down, Lilah is emotionally unprepared to deal with the further devastation and heartbreak that follow.

Genres: Marriage Of Convenience, Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Second Chance, Enemies To Lovers, Marriage

422 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2023

About the author

Since making her publishing debut in 2012, Natasha Anders has drawn praise and attention as a unique voice in romance. Montlake author and 2018 RITA® Finalist, Anders was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She spent nine years as an associate English teacher in Niigata, Japan, where she became a legendary karaoke diva. Anders currently lives in Cape Town.

Reviews

[Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

I've loved Natasha Anders ever since first reading The Unwanted Wife (one of my all-time favorite books) back in 2014 or so. Since then, I've read pretty much all her books (outside of one short story and one anomaly DNF).

Her style is contemporary, but she has a classic romance novel feel to her writing that I just really click with. There is almost a nostalgic quality to it for me that I love.

When I saw the blurb for this, I was pretty excited.



I LOVE the arranged marriage trope. It's rife with so much potential and usually comes with so many other added elements I love, e.g., forced proximity, angst, asshole leading male, etc.

And this book definitely delivered on so many fronts. I really enjoyed Ben and Lilah's history together and the glimpses we got into their shared past (and that's coming from someone who usually hates flashbacks). I really felt their connection.

I will say that the book flagged a little for me at about 77% (it lost a little bit of its angst/tension), but I really enjoyed it overall.

Another great read from Ms. Anders.

***ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review***

[GimmeAllTheWerdssss · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, it’s really hard to redeem a MMC who repeatedly demeans the FMC for over 70% of the book. It’s also really hard to like a FMC who talks a really big game about leaving but even at 70% it’s clear she isn’t going anywhere and that she’ll constantly allow him to treat her like shit.

Y’all, he flat out told her he didn’t even like her so there was no way he was ever going to love her…on their wedding day! Like, WTH and I suppose to get over that??!! This isn’t the Unwanted Wife where the apologies and groveling started in the first few chapters. No, it takes the death and a letter from the grave to wake up this FMC and actually get her to get her ass out the door. Even then though he still treats her like crap for some additional time before he gets it together.

I can’t even call the MMC and FMC a Hero, heroine, or even by their names. They don’t deserve it.

Yeah, I’m gonna be in the minority here and that’s ok. Anders is know for her asshole Heros and semi strong heroines but there’s a limit. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Two stars because she did eventually leave and kept strong and he did grow, but just not enough redemption for me.

[Vintage · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even when I rage read a Natasha Anders, I am at least entertained, but this dragged so much I was skimming a lot at the end.

In the beginning, it's the hero who is perfectly awful..belittling to the heroine, tells her he's glad she's in love with him as it will be easier for him that way, and, well, more belittling the heroine.

Ben was honest enough with himself to admit that—while he eschewed the very notion of romantic love—he’d started to enjoy the idea of Lilah possibly feeling something like that for him. Had told himself he’d be kind about it, and graciously accepting of it. And that he’d make her happy.

This one gives Alessandro the uber-ass from The Unwanted Wife a run for his money in asshole ways. About 2/3 in the heroine takes up the charge for annoying. Just a big fat no as I just didn't care about either one.

[Pinky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings:Cheating ex, asthma attacks, dub-con/non-con (MMC taking FMC to bed while nude and cuddling her without consent, she has BBS but she isn’t consenting), panic attacks, parental deaths from bus accident, death of loved ones, death to pancreatic cancer, girls taken hostage

The Unwanted Wife was one of my favourite grovel books of all time. I’ve reread it so many times, I practically have it memorized. After I saw the summary for this book, I was anticipating it. But when it came out, I saw the ratings and avoided it. And honestly, the ratings weren’t wrong, this was a rage read. The MMC Ben was such an asshole, and the FMC Lilah was so boring. There were a lot of moments that gave me deja vu to The Unwanted Wife. Moments that felt like it was tryna be recreated for the angst, but it just didn’t work. If you’re gonna have an MMC shit and piss on the FMC for majority of the book, and then suddenly have them acting like a lovesick puppy, I can’t fall for that shit. He got mad at the smallest things. Right in the first chapter, he had pure hatred for the FMC. And you know what I don’t understand? What the fuck did the FMC love about the MMC before they got married? He fucking sucked from the beginning. And yes he grovels a little near the end and acts smitten for the FMC, but it did not add up with his character. There was no character development, it just happened outta nowhere. He was hot and cold and expected the FMC to act the way he wanted. And god forbid you make one wrong move, and BOOM, he’s pissed. Don’t believe me? Lemme give you an example:

“I’d like the bill.”
“Please,” Lilah tacked on weakly, with a conciliatory smile at the woman to make up for his rudeness.
“I don’t fucking need you to speak for me,” Ben growled at her after the woman had left.

LIKE WHAT THE FUCK, why’s he mad? Anyway, I’ll get into it more in the spoilers.

Lilah believes she is marrying the love of her life, Ben. But when she finds out that Ben will never be hers, even when married, she realizes she signed her life away to misery.

Now for spoilers


It’s Lilah’s wedding day to Ben, someone she has had a crush on for so long. She was 12 when she met him at 17, there wasn’t grooming don’t worry. She had a crush, but he never felt the same way, they were both dating other people until they got engaged. Ben was adopted by Lilah’s grandfather named Cyrus after his parents died in a bus accident. Lilah’s parents were also dead so she was raised by Cyrus. Ben is so damn lucky Cyrus adopted him since he is now helping run Cyrus’s company. Lilah thinks that Ben is marrying her because he loves her like she loves him. But in Ben’s POV, he is seething at the very thought of Lilah being happy. He is angry that she is looking at him with loving eyes. He had so much hate for Lilah in his POV, it was actually concerning. When Lilah says her wedding vows, she makes it personal and talks about her love for Ben, which pisses him off more. And the way he was insulting her wedding dress, thinking it was ugly, was crazy. He was so bitter and disgusting, it was like he expected Lilah to feel the same way. He does the bare minimum with his wedding vows, which hurts Lilah. When he gets Lilah alone, he asks why she decided to marry him, if they married each other for the same reason. Lilah sensed that Ben didn’t love her and lies, saying she knows it’s cuz he wants to impress the board at Cyrus’s company since Ben will be taking over. Ben gets even more pissed that Lilah doesn’t know the reason and goes off at her.

“Lilah, let’s be crystal clear about this… I don’t love you, okay? Hell, I barely even like you. I will never love you. Since I had to marry at some point, I thought why not marry you if it’ll make Cyrus happy?” He paused before continuing between gritted teeth. “And it makes good business sense. We can play happy families. Maybe have a kid or two. It can be a good life. But I don’t want you going into this thing believing a lie. If we both understand each other, I don’t see why we can’t make this work.”


Lilah has struggled with asthma attacks her whole life and after hearing this, she can’t fake being happy at the wedding. When she has to slow dance with Ben, she is miserable. And then Ben gets pissed cuz she can’t act happy. LIKE WHOSE FAULT IS THAT BRO. THE FUCK?


When Lilah is standing with Ben, she has an asthma attack since she realized her marriage wasn’t real. Ben picks her up, and helps her breathe. She wasn’t carrying an inhaler since she didn’t believe she would be stressed on her wedding day. So Ben gives her the one he is carrying in his suit. Lilah is surprised he carries one, he does it in case she has an attack. Cyrus is happy so Lilah doesn’t wanna ruin the wedding. Lilah doesn’t want to go to their honeymoon, but Ben says they should go so that Cyrus doesn’t suspect anything.

“I don’t want Cyrus to know this is fake. And I know you wouldn’t want that either. It would upset him. So far, I think we’ve done a pretty decent job of convincing him that this is a legitimate union. He thinks we want this. That we love—” Did he have to sneer the word? “— each other. We’re in this for the long haul. Clear?”
What a great way to speak to your wife. Sneering and shit like a fucking animal.

When they get to the suite, Lilah says that she will stay married to Ben for a year. Once the year is up, she says that they should get divorced. She thinks that will give him enough time to win the board over and Cyrus won’t suspect anything. Surprisingly, Ben doesn’t want a divorce. He says that they can live a married life without love, have kids, and keep everyone satisfied. But Lilah says she doesn’t want that. Ben thought Lilah knew what she signed herself up for in this marriage, but that was stupid. Even though Lilah liked Ben, she dated other men over the years. When she broke up with someone who cheated on her, and moved back home from Paris, Ben asks her to date. He says that it is inevitable that they will get together eventually. Instead of questioning what he meant by that, Lilah said sure to the dates. But on the dates, Ben did not seem remotely interested in her. He just seemed irritated, angry, and annoyed. When he asked Lilah to marry, Lilah said that she wanted to marry someone she loved. So Ben was aware that Lilah didn’t wanna marry for nothing else. So what does he do? He kisses her, he’s never kissed her before. Then he asks if that’s enough for her to accept marrying him. I’m sorry the fuck? How does that convince anyone to marry a person? But Lilah? She’s like okay but you gotta ask me or some shit. So guess what Ben does? He proposes to Lilah IN FRONT of Cyrus. Like bruh why would you do that. It puts pressure on Lilah to say yes, but he also made it seem like he loved Lilah. So Lilah assumed Ben loved her while Ben assumed Lilah knew the real reason of why he married her. Makes no sense but okay. So Lilah tells Ben that she doesn’t think that he can keep her happy, that she deserves better. What does Ben do? Insults her.

“You can’t make me happy, Ben. You won’t make me happy. Any man who thinks that what you’re offering me is enough, is incapable of comprehending what constitutes a happy, healthy relationship. I’d spend every single day of our married life miserable with you. I don’t want that. I can’t stomach the thought of a passionless, unhappy marriage with you. With anyone. I deserve better than that. Hell, even you deserve better than that.”
“You’re such a fucking child, Lilah. This is real life… it’s our life. It’s best for you to come to terms with that fact really soon. You can decide to be miserable, but it would be so much easier on both of us if you’d just grow the hell up and start taking responsibility for your actions”

Every time Lilah makes a reasonable point, Ben will insult her in the most condescending way.
“Of course you don’t,” he sneered. “Because you’re a selfish, pampered little brat. You always have been.”
“So why go to the extreme lengths of marrying me? Why saddle yourself with such a selfish, pampered brat?”
Also, Lilah asking why he married her without getting an explanation also gave me deja vu to The Unwanted Wife.

Anyway, Lilah feels stupid about the dress, she wanted to feel like a Disney princess but realized Ben probably thought it was stupid (and he did). She goes to the washroom to change, but she needs help. Ben offers to help Lilah so she lets him in. Once he undoes her buttons, he gets horny and touches her breast. Lilah has BBS, but she stops him before he can do anything. She realized she packed sexy lingerie and nighties but didn’t want him to see it, so she grabs his shirt. Lilah goes to sleep on the couch. When Ben returns from his shower, he takes Lilah to bed and sleeps naked. This was gross to me, at least put some boxers on. When Lilah has a nightmare, he cuddles her and she wakes up shocked. Ben is pissed that Lilah won’t fuck him since he was honest about not loving her. He was so gross, like did he forget how much hatred he had for her in his POV in the first chapter? Lilah wants to spend the vacation on her own. Ben says they can spend it together but she refuses. So she would go out and take pictures. When she returned, Ben says that he saw Lilah sitting for 40 minutes, focused on taking pictures of a lizard or some shit. Lilah asked him how he knew, and he said he was watching her for that amount of time. This didn’t add up with his resentful behaviour towards her. He goes from lovey-dovey to asshole, it made no sense.


Lilah woke up to Ben arguing with Cyrus about hiding something from Lilah. This gave me deja vu to The Unwanted Wife, the overheard conversation with the FMC not knowing what she got herself into. Cyrus promised Ben to tell Lilah everything once she is back. Lilah has a groupchat with her friends and they ask for pictures. She’s too scared to tell her friends about Ben since they would say they were right about him. Blake, her bestie, wasn’t a fan of Ben. During the wedding, Blake made out with Ben’s friend Rhys, but Rhys is messy, has a dead ex or some shit, so they didn’t take it further than that. Anyway, Lilah tells Ben they should spend a day together since they need pictures of the honeymoon. Ben says he’s been asking to spend time with her since the beginning, but it’s his fault for fucking things up. The way he said if he was quiet about everything, they would’ve been fucking, was so gross. So they go to dinner and Ben doesn’t understand why they can’t have a good marriage even if he won’t love her. When he notices Lilah is arguing, he gets pissy with her. In the suite, Ben gets a call that Cyrus is in the hospital. Lilah calls Blake crying, she can’t go to Ben for comfort. Ben starts dealing with company shit which upsets Lilah, but he says Cyrus would’ve wanted this from him. When he hears Lilah on the phone with their housekeeper, who told her Cyrus collapsed, he takes the phone. He says he will comfort Lilah the only way he can, and they have sex. It was so stupid, he didn’t use a condom. When Lilah told him they can’t do this again and said he needs to use condoms if they do, Ben says he doesn’t care since he doesn’t mind if they have kids. This pisses Lilah off and they finally head home. They find out Cyrus has pancreatic cancer and will die very soon. Cyrus had Ben has his guardian, and Lilah insists there must be a way to save him. The doctor says there isn’t and even if there is, Cyrus is tired of chemo and wants to leave it. Ben yells at her for being selfish. He says Cyrus chose him as the guardian since Lilah would’ve forced Cyrus to take treatment through pain.


Lilah cries and Ben comforts her but damn he can be harsh. Eventually, Cyrus passes away and Lilah asked Ben if he knew Cyrus had cancer. Ben says no but it was clear he knew. Cyrus left Lilah a letter, but she didn’t read it. Then Lilah and Ben live together at Ben’s place. They would sleep in the same bed, and he would cuddle Lilah while she cried. He started to show that he cared for Lilah, but Lilah knew they should separate soon. She tells him she wants to leave, so Ben says he will give her his office. And Lilah wants two beds, so he gets two beds. If he sees her crying, he joins her in her bed to comfort her. Sometimes they work together in his office and everything goes well. Ben would call Lilah foreign words, and we find out he’s been calling her his heart, love, and more endearments. He didn’t realize he was calling her these things until she asked, and Lilah was touched once she found out in the end. Lilah is a photographer for animals and Ben never took her job seriously. But now he knows how talented she is and respects her. Her friends come over, and they plant stuff together, Lilah plans to plant things in honour of Cyrus at a park. Ben brings drinks over and kisses Lilah in front of everyone. When everyone leaves, they dance together and make out. You can tell Ben is falling for Lilah but it happened outta nowhere IMO. Her friends talk about Ben being a hero, apparently back in college, a group of guys invited Lilah and her friends to a party. But turns out, it wasn’t a party, and they kept the girls hostage. Lilah snuck in to use the washroom and asked for Ben’s help. Ben asked about Lilah’s undercover bodyguard and Lilah said that she snuck out without her. Ben is pissed but he does what he can to find Lilah. Once he finds her, he saw that she had a bad asthma attack and took her to the hospital. He always thought Lilah was spoiled and used her asthma to get Cyrus’s attention. But that day made him realize how serious her condition was, and he carried an inhaler with him everywhere. Lilah reads the letter Cyrus left behind. Cyrus says that he wanted Ben to have Lilah in his life since she is sunshine. And he wanted Lilah to have Ben in her life since he was a safe place. He says that he is thankful to Ben for helping him through cancer. Lilah feels betrayed that Ben knew about the cancer and never told her. When she confronts Ben, he admits he knew when she came back from Paris. That’s why he decided to marry her, since it would make Cyrus happy. He thought Lilah married him for the same reason, which was why he kept telling Lilah she knew that their relationship was inevitable. He didn’t talk to Lilah about Cyrus’s cancer since Cyrus said he would tell Lilah soon. And Ben assumed she knew, since Cyrus said Lilah acts like things are normal when she’s going through things. She did this whenever she broke up with someone. Ben never planned to tell her after Cyrus passed, since it would cause her pain and give her an attack.

Ben’s excuse for being an ass to Lilah at the wedding was cuz he was upset she didn’t know about Cyrus’s cancer. He used his anger on her, since he didn’t know how to handle his emotions. But he likes Lilah now and wants to spend their life together. Lilah is upset and packs her bags, but she has an asthma attack again and Ben gives her an inhaler. He makes her go to sleep and falls asleep in the chair watching her. When Lilah wakes up, she leaves the place and leaves her rings behind. Ben is devastated and realized that he actually wanted Lilah in his life. He tries contacting Lilah, but she doesn’t respond. And when she does, he asks her to come back and she says no. She sends divorce papers, but Ben refuses to sign them. He gets a puppy named Fifi, and dresses her up. He goes for a photoshoot to Lilah as a surprise, but she refuses to accept him as a client. And while I liked her having a backbone, I just couldn’t get into the story. I couldn’t buy Ben’s turnaround of being smitten for Lilah after being rude to her for so long. I did like how he sent her letters to her workplace, saying he did things wrong and missed her. Then Lilah goes back to Cyrus’s home and Ben shows up since he knew Lilah would be there. Lilah says they both can’t be there but Ben says the place belongs to both of them. He makes Lilah food and tries to explain his situation. He grew up in a household with no love, Cyrus was everything to him. He wanted Cyrus to be happy so he thought this sacrifice of marrying Lilah would make a difference. He realized how good Lilah was once he married her and sees a life with her. He regrets how he treated Lilah, especially cuz he caused her two asthma attacks. Ben has always carried an inhaler for her but hates that he hurt her and stressed her out. When he got Fifi, it was to win Lilah over, he admits he is selfish and doesn’t think before he does something. He only cares about achieving his goals and Lilah kisses him, saying she forgives him. Seeing him constantly admit that Lilah was beautiful and he only wanted her was nice. But him saying he liked her wedding dress was stupid since he was dissing it in the first chapter. He calls her cupcake cuz of her wedding dress. Lilah realized she hasn’t gotten her period and panics. Another deja vu moment was seeing her not eat much and getting dizzy like in The Unwanted Wife. When she spends time with Ben, she tells him after awhile that her test said it was positive. Ben is excited since he wants a life with Lilah but she doesn’t see them being together. She wants someone who loves her and Ben says he does love her. But Lilah doesn’t buy it, saying that he is lying like he did before. She goes to her appointment and Ben wanted to come but she didn’t let him. So he waits with a teddy bear and once she is done, he takes her away. We find out that she isn’t pregnant and they both cry. Ben admits he loves Lilah and wants to be with her. Lilah eventually forgives him and Ben has Lilah’s rings around his neck, he puts it on her again. They have a kid a year and months later. Lilah built a park in dedication to Cyrus and that’s about it. While it does seem like Ben did his fair share of grovelling, it didn’t match the person he was from the beginning, it was like two different people. Plus this book was really boring, so yea, not my thing.

Stay safe folks!

[Samantha (bookgramsaga reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

''Mr. and Mrs. Fake As Fuck''

Safety warnings:
- No cheating
- No OW/OM drama
- Loss of loved ones
- HEA

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

I finally realized that the 3rd POV does bother me a little bit, I want 1st POV to really know what goes on in someone’s head and this book needed that, especially and most of all for Ben.

Ben went from feeling so many hating things towards his soon-to-be wife to falling in love with her and I wanted to see that actual progression happen. We were told about it, and he confessed to them, but I wanted to experience the actual moments he started moving away from his thought process towards her to something more meaningful. He spends years judging her and never giving her a chance and basically HATING her on their wedding day when she gives her vows.

And yes, thankfully he spends almost 50% of the book groveling and trying to make up for his past mistakes, his hateful words and literally does everything to win her back.

Lilah was coddled for the longest time by her grandfather, and it sadly let to her being blindsided by his terminal illness and eventual death. I honestly will say I figured it out really early on, this was not a revenge story as Ben and her grandfather were really close (Ben moved into their home over a decade ago and was raised by him). He wanted to make an old man happy and moved to marry Lilah to do that.

I enjoyed the fact she kept surprising him, first with how strong she was about truly leaving him. Keeping herself away and making him WORK HARD for any ounce of attention or a word. She proved him wrong every time he assumed something.

We only get two love scenes in this book, and I think it fits in with the story. One moment of weakness and another was a moment of reconciliation. I'm truly glad Lilah was strong about this; she didn't give in despite how much she wanted him. The angst was real.

I also thought that she was pregnant, and it would go in a different direction, but it was a false alarm which was a good thing because they did not need this certain aspect yet.

I will say that I was shocked that there literally was no OW drama considering he was known for hooking up with women and having ONS. He never thought about having an open marriage or wanting someone else during their whole relationship (even the 6 months when they were ''dating''). I found that refreshing considering I was expecting something to occur, even just having him spew it out to her in anger when she refused to ever consummate their marriage, but he never did! Despite his initial feelings towards her, he always wanted their marriage to be real from the beginning.

We get to see them in the epilogue a year and a half later and she is honoring her grandfather with the foundation she created on his behalf, and she lets ben know that she is expecting which makes him extremely happy.

Fifi was an addition to this story I did not know I needed tbh. Loved the little drawing we got depicting her royal highness.

[Lidia's Romance]

DNFed at chapter 4
After reading a few reviews, I’ve decided to pause. I might come back some other time.

Maybe I’m not in the right mood for this right now. I’m not feeling it.

The H is…well, he’s not Sandro from The Unwanted Wife. Sandro had me at hello. I was captivated by him despite his cruelty at the beginning of the book.

The h is…clueless. And she’s not Theresa from TUW. I empathized with Theresa from page one. My heart ached for her. This h is just so oblivious it’s unbelievable.

I immediately saw the similarities here, but there will never be another TUW 😭

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐⭐ - Meh!
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Zero despises our Zeroine and says unforgivable things to her. He treats her condescendingly and as if she is mentally incompetent. His "mental conversations" demonstrate his utter disregard for her and her life. He was never interested in getting to know her deeply and was always jealous of her relationship with her grandfather. He considered her an intruder and one who was stealing her grandfather's time and attention.
He really couldn't root for their relationship.
My son has asthma and I identified with her anguish when having an asthma attack. There are several triggers that trigger an asthma attack and as a mother I was always alert and anxious about the next attack.

[Raffaella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know that when the first book you write is a masterpiece as Unwanted wife it’s very difficult to write something similarly perfect afterwards but I must admit she has some good books anyway and she never tried to write the same trope as UW.
Sadly this one was somehow similar to UW but not as good.
UW has the perfect ingredients to be super angsty and super emotional.
- pov completely of the heroine
- Big Misunderstanding
-severely misjudged heroine by the hero due to a conniving evil parent
-conniving ow who tries to have the hero back
- hero who’s besotted in the beginning but resent the heroine because he thinks she betrayed and blackmailed him with evil parent
- miscarriage
This one has:
- misunderstanding but not so big. The hero thinks the heroine knows her grandfather is dying and therefore agree to get married to make the old man happy. It seems a bit too stretched. The hero simply doesn’t talk to her about it and only presumes she knows, so he thinks she’s selfish because she behaves like nothing happened. This was not believable since she loved grandpa to death, he was her family.
- the hero misjudged the heroine but not because of a conniving evil person, but because he’s simply a stupid idiot selfish bastard who presumes the worst of her. With no reason. She has a job with a high income and good references, she suffers from asthma, she basically never asks anyone anything so why does he thinks she’s selfish spoiled and attention seeking? Nonsense
- the hero dates her and proposes her in front of her grandfather with a grand gesture, she thinks he’s in love with her as she’s with him, then when they get married he’s furious because she tells him she loves him, and cuts her to pieces with a cruelty that left me without words. For no reason. And he’s upset because she doesn’t want to have anything to do with him any longer.
This was useless, cruel and there was no way to go back from there imo.
Their honeymoon was a tragedy and the. Her grandfather died and she didn’t even know he was sick.
Afterwards the hero tries to persuad her to stay married but I wish she had dumped him at the speed of light.
- the end and his turning into a watering pot is really unbelievable and unlikely. His confession that he has always loved her but didn’t know is pathetic.
- the heroine was not a pleasant character too, and I was so angry because she was a successful and determined person but so very doormat with the hero. NA has some heroines with a backbone, some of them even divorce their asshole husbands heroes and take them back only after months of groveling, years sometimes. Sadly this heroine forgave him basically at once.
Or too soon for how he behaved to her.
- he wasn’t besotted with her. He lived with her for 15 years and had ows aplenty, and only married her for the old man’s sake. He didn’t even like her. She wasn’t celibate too, she had other boyfriends but had always a crush on him, pathetic.
I can’t say I liked this one, even if I love this author and some of her books.

[Jac K]

DNF @ 31%

This could’ve been angsty gold had it been executed differently… specifically had the h been heartbroken and the H been more of an asshole. Now before you say “but Jac, all these reviews said he’s TERRIBLE” remember that I'm an assholoholic. I seek these bastards out on purpose, so my tolerance is much higher than the average reader.
.
…This was the issue for me… based on the facts we’re provided...

Ben and Lilah get married under a HUGE miscommunication. He ASSumes that she’s aware they are doing this for her grandfather because he's never dated or displayed any affection towards her. While she ASSumes that despite them never dating, spending quality time getting to know each other, or receiving any form of affection from him for 10-15 years I believe… that he’s madly in love with her. So basically, from the gate I found her stupid.

Making matters worse (for me getting some angst) Lilah tries to save face and tells him that she knew it was BS all the time. He’s not buying it, but instead of trying to drown him in guilt making him feel like dog shit (what I would’ve done) … she acts prickly and stubbornly clings to lying that she never had feelings for him.

For his part, Ben does feel bad, suggest they make the best of what they can, promises to be faithful and take care of her, etc. ect. Until he gets frustrated with her attitude.

The big issue is that unfortunately I had to agree with him on some parts, namely her acting childish. Stamping her rhetorical foot while trying to save face and constantly argue/bicker/complaining while stating she hates him does (IMO) make her actions childish and immature which killed all my feels…. If you hate him— leave or guilt him—if you love him—try to build something. She acted like he maliciously tricked her when he assumed she was onboard with the plan, then acted super hurt that he didn’t feel the same way.

It wasn’t like he was refusing to stay in the marriage or trying to make her life miserable. He’s promising to be faithful, suggesting the try to build something with respect not love, ordering her food, apologizing for snapping at her, carrying around an inhaler for her, going on the honeymoon… which doesn’t scream dickwad at least to me. 🤷‍♀️

This sums up the majority of the book…

”I’m not punishing you,”
“Of course you are. I don’t love you and you’re embarrassed because you thought I did, and you think that somehow, you’ve been played a fool.”

It just wasn’t enough for me to sink my teeth in. Now if he’d pretended to love her purposely planning to trick her into marriage so he could secure his inheritance leaving her CRUSHED when she realizes it was all fake… maybe even learning the truth by overhearing him speaking to an OW at the reception… right before he dumps her in the country and leaves for his honeymoon with said OW… THAT would generate some drama and is something I could work with.

Sadly, that wasn’t the case, so I never really got invested in the story. I found both MC’s frustrating and not really likable. I wasn’t connected and was getting zero feels.

Bottom Line- I was skimming HARD by chapter 8. I hated the flashbacks. I hated the constant cycle of bickering. Ben sucked and Lilah was annoying AF. Chapter 13 I can’t take anymore. 400+ pages is too much for me to put with immature/ non communicating conflicts.

[Capt. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t pretend this book is good.

I’ll NVER ever understand authors who love to belittle and degrade their female characters in order to uplift their “OTT alpha grump” male characters.

This author also wrote Unwanted Wife, and though I am 50-50 on that one, at least the FMC had a little bit of balls and gutsy when it comes to the MMC’s mistreatment.

But in here? FMC’s spine? NONEXISTENT
MMC’s redemption and grovel? NADA. NOTHING. IMAGINARY as the fmc’s brain.

[Aou · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of the book was not written well imo. I couldn’t believe how h can be soo naive but afterwards it became good and angsty. I didn’t think h was a doormat and even when H was cruel I felt his confusion about his feelings and his hurt.

[Nikki ღ Navareus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. The end started to drag a lot, but it ended well.

[Crazy About Love 💕 · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️ two stars -

I am not convinced that this is a new Natasha Anders offering. In fact, I was so convinced that this poor example of her work is a re-run of an old title that I checked Google, Anders’ Wikipedia bibliography, as well as her own website, to verify that this was, in fact, really and truly a new publication. Unfortunately, from what I can gather it does appear to be a new release…. 🥲

First off, I am normally a big fan of Anders. Yes, I’ve read a few duds from her (“Wingman” and that whole series comes to mind), but her “Ruthless Proposition” is one of my all-time favorite books. In fact, I had even created a specific shelf in honor of that favored book, and it’s titled “highly romantic, all the feels”. I just love it that much and would strongly recommend it to any of my fellow romance readers (who have a tolerance for spice and the whole cruel Hero/strong heroine trope). You can read my review of that favorite title here 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

“Don’t Pretend I’m Yours” reads more like a first-time author attempt. I’m completely convinced that she pulled this out of an old file somewhere and published it since she needed 💵. No judgement, but if she had gone through a publisher (last print of this work was 2023 and it appears to be self-published) I would guess that they would have strongly advised her that she should not publish this - or if she must, at least put it under a pen name. This book tarnishes the brand and does not showcase her other titles in the best spotlight.

If you have never read Anders before, I urge you to pass on this book. Try her hugely popular “The Unwanted Wife” (I personally didn’t care for the plot of that one, but it’s a huge romance favorite of my fellow reviewers) or my own recommendation, “Ruthless”, and skip this unfortunate offering.

There are much better ways to spend your time than with this rehashed plot, one-dimensional characters, and emotionless mc’s. No romance and no feels here to be found. I stopped reading at 48% and had zero motivation, nor interest, to resume, which leaves it a dnf for this reviewer.

Two dull stars. See above for alternate Anders recommendations.

[Vashti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite honestly think that no other book that this author has written can possibly top her first book,The Unwanted Wife,that to me was a masterclass in angst,and I love angst in my romances.
Ben and Lilyah,the couple in this romance married,she thought it was love,he not so much,and on their wedding day he tells he that he does not love her,but their marriage will go on as planned.Lilyah,devasted says no way,they will stay married for a year ,then divorce,her grandpa will understand that they were just not meant to be.
This couple has been in each other's lives for the past 15 years when Lilyah was very young (12)and Ben,17years old came to live with the heroine and her grandpa in SA when his parents died.She has always had feelings for him,and he was a closed book.But this reader could tell that the hero has feelings for the heroine thru the numerous flashback chapters.Now let's talk about the flashbacks,I did not like them as they took me out of the story each and every time.
I really disliked Ben at the beginning, but I really began to dislike the heroine as I read on.She came across as a bitch,and I never warmed up to her afterwards.Of course I saw where the hero was coming from as I read on and he had my sympathy.
Honestly,I did not see the progression to love,only towards the end when the hero semi groveled with tears.
The epilogue was good.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.
God, I do love this author....she can sure write the hell out of dysfunctional relationships with asshole heroes.
I thoroughly enjoyed this fake marriage romance....it was so easy to connect emotionally with both Ben and Lilah and the story was extremely engaging.
Her heroines might initially appear sweet and submissive, but they always have strength of character and backbone to go with it.
A great read.
Honestly, I do think Natasha Anders has a unique voice, her books are so distinguishable from other authors in the same genre just like another one of my favorites Eve Dangerfield...no one else writes contemporary romances in quite the same way as they both do (style or quirkiness).

[Athena Que Será, Será · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tags: age-gaaap, betrayal, cruel-cruel-hero, grovel-remorseful, hero-hurts-heroine, heroine-leaves, marriage-of-convenience, older-hero-younger-heroine, over-the-years, read, rich-heroine, unlikable-hero, unrequited

[AvidReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

—marriage of convenience.
—jerk of an hero.
— grovelling.
—drama & angst.
— safe, KU and recommended.

P.s Ben’s pet was too cute!

[B.E.Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you know Natasha Anders books you know. This book is just what you would expect from Ms. Anders is all the best ways. Super possessive hero great love story that they have to fight for and a wonderful happily ever after. This is a perfect summer read, if you could read this sitting on the beach you would have a perfect day.

Lilah was raised by her grandfather and she love him with all her heart, when she was a young girl Ben came to live with them after loosing her parents and very quickly came to love Lilah's grandfather as well and they became a family of sorts. But Ben couldn't stand Lilah shortly after her met her thinking she was spoiled and a girls who made bad choices. Lilah on the other hand quickly fell in love with Ben and that never changed.

When Ben starts to date Lilah she is over the moon and then when he proposes she finally has her dream till she learns very quickly what she expected isn't so. Ben is very practical and he makes plans and expects them to work out just fine but he married the wrong woman for that and soon see's he doesn't have everything handled quite like he thought. Then the worst news possible happens throwing them both into a new world neither was ready for and with this new twist of life truths are revealed that may tear them apart beyond repair. But Ben has had some new revelations he never thought possible and will do everything he has to to get his wife back in his arms.

This is a fun summer read, like I said Natasha Anders has really found her niche and she does it well.... more than well. I liked that we got to see their past when they were young that really made me feel connected to them and gave me a chance to see more of who they are and were. I also loved seeing their relationships with her grandfather. Lilah makes Ben work to fix what happened and Ben does thats and then some. Once he see's Lilah, really see's her that's it for him. I highly recommend this book especially if you are a Natasha Anders fan, this is just what we have come to love from her.

*Thank you Natasha Anders for this ARC.

[Juniper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it. I’ve read quite a few of Natasha Anders books and I’ve realized that I don’t think I’ll ever truly love her books. I like her writing style, I like her plot ideas, I think it’s the execution and follow through with her characters where she loses me. I’ve noticed that she does a really good job of an angsty build up where her H’s are cruel dickheads, but then doesn’t really give me a satisfactory redemption.

In this story, the H Ben is a cold, robotic asshole. He says such mean, dehumanizing things to the h Lilah. I mean, he completely eviscerates her on their wedding day, tearing apart her character. He doesn’t respect her, he admits he doesn’t even like her. He treats her like a child even though she’s 28 and has been living on her own and supporting herself. He’s arrogant and dismissive. Why she loved him I have no idea.

They “dated” for 6 months and he barely ever touched or talked to her. I was annoyed at Lilah for having such low standards. It didn’t make sense for her to accept such poor treatment and make excuses for him, fooling herself that he loved her too. She never exhibited any signs of low self esteem or confidence issues. She was a successful, beautiful business owner who had good friends and her grandfather spoiled her with love. So why was she so weak to accept such shitty treatment from Ben? He never gave her any indication that he valued her.

We also don’t get much insight into Ben’s thoughts for most of the book so he’s just this flat, arrogant asshole for most of the story. This is why I don’t like 3rd person POV, I need to be in their minds to understand and forgive. There was no explanation of why he was the way he was. We get a little background about his parents who died when he was 17, they had a loveless marriage…but that shouldn’t make someone into an emotionless asshole. He says his parents loved him, just not each other. I just wasn’t able to connect with him at all.

The other thing that NA fails to do in her books is give us proper acknowledgement of all the horrible things the H says to the h. If someone said to me the shit that he said to Lilah, I’d be throwing it in his face and demanding an explanation of why he was insistent on them having a real marriage when he clearly hated everything about her. If you’re going to put us/the h through the heartbreak of hearing those things, I need the follow up when he acknowledges and atones for each and every cruel word. Otherwise I cannot accept this 180 change that the H always has where suddenly he’s so in love, worships her, likes everything about her. I don’t believe it. I have no reason to believe it because while I was shown how much he hated her, I was never shown why he loved her.

In the end he says she brings the sunshine into his life. Yeah, I can see that. I can see a lot of ways she would make his life better. What I can’t see is how he could make HER life better. We weren’t given one single example of why she should settle for him. Oh, he breathes with her through her asthma attacks..umm ok? I would do that for a stranger. He held her while she cried over her grandfather’s death. Again, bare minimum that you would do for any human. He also said holding her comforted him too so it’s not like it was a selfless act. He knows what snacks and drinks she likes. He’s been in her life for 15 years, I’d hope he knew some basic shit about her. Absolutely nothing that he did on the “positive” side cancelled out all the horrible things he said to her and they way he treated her. There was no character development for him. He’s in his mid 30’s, has never shown any hint of emotional maturity yet after just him crying and telling her he loves her, we’re expected to believe he’ll all of a sudden know how to treat her and love her? Nah, I’m not buying it. Enjoy your bare minimum Lilah, you deserve it.

Overall I think Natasha Anders is just one of those authors who is never going to fully satisfy me. I put her in the same category as Maya Alden and Susie Tate. They spend too much time making their H’s be horrible and not enough time making them redeemable.

[t malik · Rating 2 out of 5]

this makes me so sad because i was really excited for this book but it just didn’t do it for me. lilah was actually really nice but we didn’t see ben’s growth up until like 65-70% and he didn’t start making up for it up until 80%. by that point i was getting really bored and it stopped being interesting to me. i do think that the ending was kind of sweet but by that point i just wanted it to be over.

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

An angsty read although the book has some childish bickering. And unusual venom.
4*ish. Because Ms Anders knows all about A-hole Hs and Angst.

I disliked the author's use of, in initial chapters, that old vinatge-HP device of making the h seem immature, childishly snarky and petty, put her in the wrong etc. in order to level the field vis-a-vis the H's heartlessly disproportionate a**hattery.
She's 27, FGS and is sweet, grounded and unspoiled for all that.
Her hurt and expectations are all real and understandable.

But his inexplicably smug, sneering disdain of her makes me hate him so.
“He felt trapped. Like he had been conned. Love didn’t factor into this arrangement. It shouldn’t. Why the hell would she do this? He was punch drunk, confused, resentful.”
“Ben couldn’t remember any other time when he’d felt this incandescent with rage.”
All because she uses the L word in her wedding vows!

The h comes from a wealthy protected background - only grandchild, only relative of a wealthy shipping magnate (also his guardian, mentor), so yes, she's a child of privilege. When the H entered their lives, she was very young and resented him for a very short time but he carried that grudge till now and looks down upon her.

Even with the restriction of her bg and her asthma, she has done well for herself as a much sought after indie photographer. It's a real job, unrelated to her grandfather's corporation in any way but the H still sneers at her career as well. POS!
“She’d certainly given the appearance of maturity. Even-tempered, usually affable, she was as sweet and bland as rice pudding.”

The Conflict/Plot Device for the moc and his subsequent cruelty is also a bit limp.
The author couldn't make it plausible that the H courts the hated girl just to keep the old man happy - all the while not letting the h know of his real feelings during their courtship.
BUT she already believed he'd done it to please her grandfather. And it was no great love match. So why so much secrecy/keeping the 'truth' of his non-feelings from her? Why not just say - let's agree to do it to make him happy? Why let her get feelings and then crush her?
At 82, and with his medical condition, the old man cannot be expected to live for much long anyways.

Sex is hot and the post sex 'buzzkill' was funny hot! :DD

Ofc, he realizes her true worth, slowly but surely and tries to back-pedal furiously but she's not having it. And then in true HP fashion, we are also told how he always had this deeply hidden attraction towards her. *eyeroll*

Triggers?? - Be ready for a good amount of gaslighting.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this was so good! I cried, laughed, gasped. I was loving both characters and their interactions. The sunshine/grumpy trope is one of my favorites!! And he was so grumpy while also being so protective, I mean he carried around an asthma inhaler for her!! Swoon. Totally my jam.

Around 60% is where things just sort of petered out for me. I liked the drama but all of their chemistry just stopped. They were so at odds ALL the time. They couldn’t make it through one interaction without some bickering.

He was such a gentleman, too much so for my tastes. With how protective he is, scared for her health, and him always being a sort of watchdog to her it made sense why he wasn’t as heavily handed as I prefer but I just wanted more. The BBS would have worked so good here!! She turned into a pile of mush anytime he gave her any bit of sexual and intimate attention so why not use that reaction more to his advantage? It would have gone a long way for their chemistry IMO. It doesn’t even have to be sexual either but just him touching her hair, rubbing her wrists, just something! This is a romance and that last bit just got real dull on the romance. I mean he essentially manipulated her into a quickie marriage! That he be so passive now just doesn’t jive. I think in her quest to make him so respectful of her boundaries their connection really suffered. She leaves their home and instead of dragging her ass back home he sends her a note for crying out loud!! We didn’t get any J/P scenes either. Boooo. It drove me absolutely insane that part of his reasonings for things being as messed up as they are between the two of them were based off of her reactions to breakups with her exes. That was just ridiculous and weird.

The dog stuff was absolutely cringe to me as well. I honestly was embarrassed by it. And I do not like being embarrassed by the Hs. Really, what was the point of all of this? To show us he’s lonely? We already know he is, dude has his work and one friend. To show us he’ll be a good dad? Again, we know he will he because of how fiercely protective of the h he is. To show the h these things? Not needed. She’s known him her whole life. She knows what kind of man she is. That aspect was just so not for me. A pink bejeweled dog tag that says “daddy princess”. Nerp!!!

I still really liked the beginning though it’s just all the missteps made me not care about either character or their relationship by the end.

[Elle ♡ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Can you plagiarize your own novel? I'm kidding, but this is definitely the reprise of The Unwanted Wife and I'm not mad about it because I love that book so much so it was fun to get another novel with a similar vibe. The set up is slightly different, instead of an evil, conniving dad there's a benevolent, loving grandfather. That being said the grandfather's actions aren't always the best and have long reaching reprocussions in this book 👀. Also, the H/h have know each other for 15 years, since the Lilah was 12 and Ben was 17 rather than just being introduced so I liked seeing their shared history. But like TUW Lilah enters into a marriage with Ben under the impression they love each other and is quickly disabused of that notion, rather than the slow torture of TUW.

When I'm feeling ungenerous Ben is an entitled, secretly jealous, manbaby who misconstrued every interaction he had with a girl (literal child the first 5 years they knew each other) then woman over the past 15 years. I don't know how you spend that much time with someone and don't take a second to truly get to know them. It's odd to me how much he loved and respected her grandfather and despite Cyrus’ love and praise for his granddaughter Ben thought it was all just an old man's delusion clouded by love and that she was actually an awful human being? So to me that speaks to jealousy of sharing Cyrus' affection and time and if anyone should be holding that grudge it's Cyrus' actual blood relation not Ben, but anyway. When I am feeling generous though, Ben was a grief stricken and traumatized teen who's trauma response led him to be overly judgemental in an effort to remain emotionally closed off? Idk that's my best effort. Point is his emotional intelligence is at a zero and he’s just fumbling through life. Always funny when a guy so clearly loves a girl, but can’t even fathom he loves her. Any way you slice the pie though he's a bit of a delusional dick, but lucky for romance authors that's how I like my hero's 😌 don't @ me.

Although it’s insane Lilah convinced herself all of Ben’s sus actions and words while they were “dating” somehow meant that he loved her, I liked how she stood up for herself and stuck to her guns once she understood the true score and didn’t settle for less. This book is a bit of a tear jerker with some pretty good grovel. It wasn’t the best grovel ever because it took him an agonizingly long time to grovel for the right things but there was a looot of grovel and we got there in the end.

So if you liked TUW or the blurb appeals to you, I’d check this out. Natasha Anders is a go to author for me and I really enjoyed this one.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting for this book since the moment I saw it advertised on Amazon Kindle. It’s reminiscent of Anders’s first book and one of my all-time favorites, “The Unwanted Wife,” but is still a completely original story. You’ll love this if you want more of that angsty, tear-inducing romance that breaks your heart over and over before slowly piecing it back together again. Something about the unwanted trope really appeals to me because I think that it’s a feeling everyone can relate to. It’s a pretty niche trope, and Natasha Anders is the only author I’ve ever known to master it. Anders has been one of my favorite authors ever since I first read it, and I eagerly devour her novels in one sitting like a hyper-focused madwoman. I become so immersed in the story that I can’t seem to willingly leave it.

I really appreciated that Lilah has so much integrity in the face of all of Ben’s mistreatment of her. I also liked that Lilah’s asthma was represented in such a realistic way. Many people, like Ben, often assume it’s a dramatic cry for attention until they realize you can actually die. Lilah was so strong, refusing to let Ben patronize her and refusing to settle for less than she was worth. Ben underestimated Lilah, assuming she must be spoiled and entitled even when he sees how charitable she is (like how she volunteers her photography services at animal shelters to help animals get adopted). Ben’s one of those stubborn men who is too stupid to realize his own feelings, so he focuses on this inaccurate idea of Lilah to keep her at arm’s length.

If you��ve read “The Unwanted Wife,” then you’ll find Ben and Alessandro very similar in the way they take their women for granted until they realize they might lose them. You’ll hate both of these men for more than half of each book. They each had to work hard to earn back the love they took for granted, and it’s such a beautiful journey of character growth. Even though both books have the same trope, they’re completely different stories, and both are worth reading.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review, but I was planning on reading this as soon as it came out anyway.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

I have a weird thing where I don't like to go to bed without knowing what I'll read the next day. So when I decided on this book last night I read a few pages...then some more...and then the rest of them.

I ended up staying up all night reading and I could not put this book down even when my eyes were begging me to. The angst was amazing, I loved the emotions that we got from Lilah, and she had me tearing up more than a few times. Ben made me want to smack him, especially when he couldn't see just how badly he was hurting Lilah with his unfeeling and cold solutions to their sham of a marriage. In the end though I ended up really liking them as a couple and I even came to understand some of Ben's motivations.

There were some times that I thought Ben was a little too unredeemable and Lilah's character had me wanting more of a back story on her (not in random past scenes that were popping up though). But overall I enjoyed seeing the relationship they eventually grew into. It was definitely a read worth losing sleep over.

[Mairi Swan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! I was so into the story that I finished it in one sitting. The emotions were running high and though I usually hate miscommunication trope in this one I didn't mind. The hero was actually a lot of harsh until nearly the end but considering his heartache I forgave him. There wasn't really much grovel but I felt satisfied with the ending.

[Vaidehi Bhongale · Rating 1 out of 5]

My niece could do better then this if she was given a crayon and a paper

[NYC reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t like this miscommunication/semi-fake marriage trope book, skimmed last 25%. The dynamic between Ben and Lilah was off-putting and bland. They have known each other for 15 years and, initially, Ben resented having to marry her, didn’t like her much but was resigned to spending the rest of his life taking care of her. He didn’t know her very well, apparently having made 0 effort to learn much about her. He acted surprised he found her desirable after they got married. He said some cruel things and was jerky to her. Lilah behaved like an immature idiot, she thought they were marrying for love based off of very little info to support that idea, he thought they were having a marriage of convenience, and they were both upset when they found out they weren’t on the same page. Lilah berated herself plenty when she wised up, but it doesn’t change the fact she she planned a fairy tale wedding and dream honeymoon with a guy who clearly didn’t give a damn about either or her feelings and rejected almost every pass she made at him before they got married. Like, how did she see him evolving into a husband she’d want? I didn’t like either of these characters.

[Margo · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s possible that you read this description and thought that this book might somehow resemble the angsty masterpiece that is The Unwanted Wife. They are married! She loves him and thought he loved her! He hates her and he’s doing it out of loyalty to someone else! How could you not get your hopes up?

Well, unfortunately, this book definitely delivers on the hatred, but there is such a river of contempt running through the story that it’s impossible to get behind the idea that the H has positive feelings for the h. I lost count of the number of times that he described her as immature, irrational, or unreasonable. In reality, while she is definitely unrealistic because she somehow doesn’t see that the H doesn’t love her, there are no signs that she is any of those other things, except for the fact that she is a sunny optimist who likes to dress in feminine clothing and who has been spoiled by her beloved grandfather. In reality, she has a hugely successful business and is a responsible adult, but she never pushes back as hard as she should about the H’s outrageous characterization of her.

He repeatedly insists that he’s not attracted to her(most notably to himself, which makes it all the more convincing, since he’s not just trying to push her away,), but the second he touches her he starts pushing hard for them to consummate the marriage. He keeps an outrageous secret from her, and the fact that he does it shows that he does not see her as a competent adult, or as someone worthy of respect.

He kind of groveled in the sense that he was penitent for much of the last third of the book, but it just didn’t have the potency of the groveling in TUW. I never felt like he had the same kind of intensity of feeling that the H in TUW had.

The other thing that bothered me is that this H was tearing her down in a way that was destroying her self-esteem. He got a sadistic satisfaction out of breaking her spirit. If men use that tactic once, they’ll use it 1000 times.

[Rossy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐

I enjoyed this.

Good writing style, nicely developed characters and I feel like their relationship had depth. Some side characters but not over cluttered with them.

It did however stall/was a bit slow in places and I also think that it lacked some steam/passion.

Finally, the chihuahua dog thing was a bit cheesy for my liking.. 😅

But what I did really like, which is a spoiler - the way the pregnancy thing went at the end. Made me believe their getting together is for real, not cause of a baby!