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The Marriage Game - Large Print Edition by Fern Michaels
In a celebration of friendship and love, acclaimed bestselling author Fern Michaels brings her trademark wit and warmth to a thrilling story of a group of women who bond Survivor-style . . . and find romance along the way. When Samantha Rainford—newly wed to Douglas Rainford III—returns from her honeymoon to find divorce papers, she’s shocked and heartbroken. Discovering that she’s actually the fourth Mrs. Rainford, she puts into practice the old Don’t get mad, get even. Sam enlists the three other Mrs. Rainfords to do whatever it takes to bring down their ex-husband.At a top-secret special-ops training program, these determined women meet ex-CIA operative Kollar Havapopulas. Handsome as a Greek god, “Pappy” is the best at transforming civilians into highly skilled fighting teams. He’s less adept at telling a woman how he feels, and before long he’s developed very warm feelings for Samantha Rainford—an attraction seemingly fated to be a disaster. Two personalities as strong as Sam and Pappy are sure to strike sparks, but will the fire burning between them consume everything in its way?
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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About the author
Fern Michaels
423 books6,461 followersFern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
November 18, 2017
Ok read! a bit funny at times but not as good as i thought....should have been better (paperback!)
March 11, 2009
I checked this audio book out from the library and what a waste of time. This book is completely ridiculous, poorly written, and unbelievable. Here is a sneak peak at what you missed; a U.S. Senator marries eleven women and divorces them after the honeymoon without being recognized. Five of these bimbos (the Senator's exes) take special ops training after two (one of whom is a model) were dumped from FBI training. One of the bimbos falls for the special ops trainer, “Pappy”. Pappy and his wolf dog companion can't leave the super secret mountain training ground… DO NOT READ.
February 27, 2008
So the other day I threw out my back. As I waited to have my prescriptions filled, I grabbed a couple of paperbacks from the grocery store, figuring I could use some good brain candy while I spend the next couple days in bed.
I'm sad to say that even on muscle relaxers AND Vicodin, this book sucks. I made it through the first 50 pages or so before tossing it to the floor in sheer boredom and disgust. I think we're told the premise of the MC's problem (married quick, three-week honeymoon, served with divorce papers right after) about five times in the first ten pages. I GET IT. I may be on painkillers, but I can still follow a plot.
Too bad there's no plot here. Her supermodel friend loses her job, they cry into some beef stew or something, then decide "Hey, the FBI is recruiting, let's go do that!" Wow. My cousin does work for the FBI, it took a couple years for that clearance to come through. Doesn't matter though, since they flunk out of the program, hook up with some other characters who had also been married briefly to the MC's quickie-divorce husband (they were all introduced so fast and with so little characterization that I don't remember who was who, really), and they get recruited into some special-ops program thing. It was then, when they'd tied up their recruiter with pantyhose and made him drink a lot of water so he'd have to pee (???), and pretended to give him a tattoo that was only a decal (I think he'd be able to tell the difference between a tattoo needle and a slap-on decal) that thankfully the Vicodin kicked in and I could stop reading.
Boy, am I steering clear of this writer in the future.
I'm sad to say that even on muscle relaxers AND Vicodin, this book sucks. I made it through the first 50 pages or so before tossing it to the floor in sheer boredom and disgust. I think we're told the premise of the MC's problem (married quick, three-week honeymoon, served with divorce papers right after) about five times in the first ten pages. I GET IT. I may be on painkillers, but I can still follow a plot.
Too bad there's no plot here. Her supermodel friend loses her job, they cry into some beef stew or something, then decide "Hey, the FBI is recruiting, let's go do that!" Wow. My cousin does work for the FBI, it took a couple years for that clearance to come through. Doesn't matter though, since they flunk out of the program, hook up with some other characters who had also been married briefly to the MC's quickie-divorce husband (they were all introduced so fast and with so little characterization that I don't remember who was who, really), and they get recruited into some special-ops program thing. It was then, when they'd tied up their recruiter with pantyhose and made him drink a lot of water so he'd have to pee (???), and pretended to give him a tattoo that was only a decal (I think he'd be able to tell the difference between a tattoo needle and a slap-on decal) that thankfully the Vicodin kicked in and I could stop reading.
Boy, am I steering clear of this writer in the future.
August 21, 2020
I mean, this book was like a horrific accident that you wish you could look away from but you force yourself to finish. It was TERRIBLE. A) Pappy. I cannot think a man named Pappy is attractive. B) All those ex-wives becoming friends? Sure I guess. But then their actions later on? And the last surprise with the ex? Ugh. C) All this cloak and dagger nonsense “for the good of America” bs. None of it felt legit, I was expecting them to be under Russia’s influence or something. D) Terrible love story. He’s mean to you because he likes you? Trite. Also STOP COMPARING HER TO YOUR EX.
What I liked: kick ass women who can do whatever they set their hearts to.
What I liked: kick ass women who can do whatever they set their hearts to.
November 22, 2008
Wow, I rarely give this bad of a review because let's face it, I'm not really all that picky when it comes to my reading material. First of all, the plot was preposterous...I mean, I'm all for suspension of disbelief in order to get into a novel, but this was ridiculous. Ch. 1 is about her divorce after only 3 weeks of marriage, then ch. 2 she's into the FBI training program and just flunked out, then ch. 3 she contacts all the previous ex-wives of her ex-husband and they decide to get even, but then ch. 4 they are all recruited into a non-governmental covert operations and they leave 48 hours later to live a year on a secret training mountain. Blah. In the end, it all gets resolved and figured out, but I think the author was trying to cram too many things into the same plot...take just the marriage or just the spy aspect and work them separately because they aren't working together.
On the plus side, she was an incredibly clean author who didn't really swear and let the romance leave off from "and then they kissed... The next morning, yadda yadda yadda."
The other thing that bothered me throughout the novel was the voice. I don't mind 3rd person omniscient because it's kind of fun to get into all the main character's heads and understand them, but this author took it too far. She was telling you the thoughts of some really minor characters that you just didn't care about them, let alone what they thought about. Lame. Anyway, not worth reading...finally, a book randomly pulled off the shelf backfired on me. :)
On the plus side, she was an incredibly clean author who didn't really swear and let the romance leave off from "and then they kissed... The next morning, yadda yadda yadda."
The other thing that bothered me throughout the novel was the voice. I don't mind 3rd person omniscient because it's kind of fun to get into all the main character's heads and understand them, but this author took it too far. She was telling you the thoughts of some really minor characters that you just didn't care about them, let alone what they thought about. Lame. Anyway, not worth reading...finally, a book randomly pulled off the shelf backfired on me. :)
July 4, 2011
Contrary to many reviewers, I didn't think this book was horrible. It is NOT a great work of fiction or even a great romance novel, but it is not horrible. I picked this book up because I remember my mother reading Fern Michaels on the beach when I was a kid. After reading the completely improbable teaser on the book jacket, I just had to read it! The combination of "revenge of the multiple ex-wives" and "super secret spy boot camp" was to good to pass up. If you were not prepared to suspend your belief and suffer multiple cliches after reading the jacket, it is your own fault if you hated the book. I read this book during a blissfully mindless afternoon sunbathing, and that's about all I'd recommend it for. There is very little actual love story or character development, but the wacky concept and some slapstick humor kept it moving. My favorite character by far was the dog Alpha. I won't be re-reading it or recommending it, but to be honest there are MUCH worse books out there.
October 13, 2015
When Samantha Rainford --- newly wed to Douglas Cosmo Rainford III --- returns home from her honeymoon to find divorce papers waiting, she's shocked and heartbroken. Then she discovers that she's not the first to be abandoned --- she's one of four (or maybe more) ex-Mrs. Rainfords --- and decides it's time to put into practice that old truism: Don't get mad, get even.
Ummm what the fuck did I just read? Seriously, what did I just read? This book made no sense at all and when did Samantha and all her friends all of a sudden become G.I. Jane? I rolled my eyes so much while reading this I surprised I didn't hurt myself. I'm all for strong woman characters but this was so ridiculous and far-fetched that it became unbelievable.
Ummm what the fuck did I just read? Seriously, what did I just read? This book made no sense at all and when did Samantha and all her friends all of a sudden become G.I. Jane? I rolled my eyes so much while reading this I surprised I didn't hurt myself. I'm all for strong woman characters but this was so ridiculous and far-fetched that it became unbelievable.
February 16, 2010
Ay yi yi...First I should say, I rarely read chick lit anymore but every once in a while I just want something nice, easy, and light to pass the time--especially with an audio book. I use audio books to entertain myself while I do a home project or to pass time during a long drive. I checked this one out for both purposes. I can't say if I've ever read or, er...listened to a Fern Michaels' book before but it will be a LONG time before I pick up another (if ever). I only made it to disc 2 before I just ejected it in disgust! UTTERLY RIDICULOUS! Now I love a bit of escapism in a good story just as much as the next person but this story had absolutely ZERO believability. Save your time, money, library card, etc and pass up this one.
November 24, 2010
I totally enjoyed this book! Honestly, I can't remember the last time a book has sucked me in like this one - it's been a while. The story was one of drama and romance like most of the books I go for, but there was something more to it. The plot was a little different, with Samanthan being a real go-getter. She's no holds barred tough, independent, a born leader, yet she's also feminine, graceful, and even reserved and sometimes insecure.
I enjoyed the details of the paramilitary training, which was a large part of the story. And the fact that those in the training program were mainly women was even better. Definitely worth reading, and I will check out more Fern Michaels novels.
I enjoyed the details of the paramilitary training, which was a large part of the story. And the fact that those in the training program were mainly women was even better. Definitely worth reading, and I will check out more Fern Michaels novels.
August 20, 2022
I have a question:
You are having one the worst days of your life — you just got rejected from the FBI after 8 months of training, your divorce for a marriage that lasted three weeks was just finalized, and a stranger has just threatened to kill you if you don’t listen to what he has to say. The stranger in question offers you a job. If you say yes, you must cut off all contact with your previous life, train for a year, and spend at least three years as a mercenary for an unnamed secret organization. Would you say yes to the stranger? No? What if I told you that although I can’t give any specifics about the organization, that they are definitely the good guys? Still no? Oh…
Well don’t worry, the AFJ (Americans For Justice) doesn’t need you! Because our main character Samantha and her best friend Slick not only said yes to the mysterious stranger, they recruited three of Samantha’s ex-husband’s ex-wives to come along with her! And in case you were wondering, no, Samantha’s ex-husband doesn’t have four ex-wives, he has eleven of them!
Why does Samantha join the AFJ? Because getting this top-notch training will give Samantha just what she needs to finally get revenge on her ex-husband—a man who has a habit of courting a woman for three weeks, taking her on a honeymoon for another three weeks, and then divorcing her. When Samantha presents her best friend and three of the other ex-Rainfords this once in a lifetime opportunity, they all say yes. And that’s how a belly dancer, a cartoonist, a female plumber, a model, and a CPA all ended up going to a training school on top of a mountain in the middle of North Carolina in pursuit of becoming a mercenary for “the good guys”.
The Marriage Game is one of the most ridiculous books I have ever read. It reads like a bunch of kids were playing spies one day and then their thirteen year old babysitter who was really into Wattpad turned it into a book. What Wattpad gal wouldn’t want to write a book that includes torturing men for information you’re already going to learn in a week, winning paintball by distracting everyone with your belly dancing, a Christmas break unlimited shopping spree in New York, a scene where the love interests helps the main character when she’s sick, a confrontation with the eleven ex-wives dressed up as nuns, and a cute dog? Oh, and let’s not forget some of my favorite lines:
As for the protagonist and love interest, they suck. Samantha Rainford is a YA protagonist who went Turbo and found her way into a Women’s Fiction novel. She’s one of the greatest recruits the mountain has ever had because… she’s the main character? She’s supposed to be smart, but the only reason she’s smart is because everyone else around her is even dumber than she is. Sure, she gets a perfect score every time she shoots the guns, but she’s below average to average in everything else we see her do. Despite not ever seeing her actually do well in anything, all of the characters are always talking about Sam and how she’s such a natural and the most amazing person ever. Literally all she did was show the middle finger to their trainer.
Speaking of their trainer, Kollar “Pappy” Havapopulas is an awkward, ethnically ambiguous, Greek guy who supposedly was one of the greatest CIA agents ever but now works as the trainer for the AFJ recruits. It’s hard to believe this backstory, however, because he’s completely clueless, dependent, and whiny. He doesn’t have the respect of the people he’s training, he can’t figure out what the four Rainford ex-wives are conspiring about (hmmm… maybe getting revenge on their ex-husband?), and he can’t even get his dog to love him. He spends the whole book thinking about how much he loves Samantha, yet I still have no clue why he likes her. My best guesses are: because she’s not like other girls, because she’s doing so well at training, or because his dog really likes her (the dog is magically obsessed with Samantha to the point that he prefers Samantha over Pappy).
I don’t get why Samantha likes Pappy either. They have absolutely no chemistry, he’s always yelling at her, and she’s always disrespecting him. Every time they spoke, Samantha would tell Pappy she literally hates him, but then her internal monologue would be like he’s the love of my life!!! Oh no!!!! There’s no way he likes me back because he criticizes me sometimes!!!!!
And finally, I have to vent about the climax. Here’s the setup: Samantha finished her year of training and was the only one not offered a job (because Pappy didn’t want her to die, even though she’s “the best of the best”), she just finished swindling her ex-husband (who turns out to be a Senator) with all 11 of his ex-wives, and she now has 10 million dollars and Pappy’s dog (because the dog liked her so much he ran away from Pappy). But Samantha isn’t happy and the dog isn’t happy because they both need to be in the mountains with Pappy! So Samantha flies from Washington to North Carolina and hikes up the entire mountain. She doesn’t text Pappy and go “hey can you drop the cable car so I can give you your dog back?” No. She spends over twenty-four hours climbing a mountain to return the dog. There’s lightning outside, she only brought a windbreaker with her, but she’s determined. And guess what? Pappy is watching her the whole time with the security cameras. He doesn’t help her because she needs to do this for herself. Once Samantha gets to the top of the mountain without dying, she eats a peanut butter sandwich and starts to leave. BUT, as she’s leaving, the big moment we’ve all been waiting for happens:
And then Samantha works as a mercenary for the good guys and then lives on the mountain with Pappy and the 10 million she got from her ex-husband the end.
So, what did we learn from this book? Two things: 1. picking up a random book at a second hand book sale just because it sounds terrible will most likely lead to the book being terrible, 2. if this author has been a #1 NYT bestseller, anyone can do it (if you can get a time machine and go back to 2007, that is).
You are having one the worst days of your life — you just got rejected from the FBI after 8 months of training, your divorce for a marriage that lasted three weeks was just finalized, and a stranger has just threatened to kill you if you don’t listen to what he has to say. The stranger in question offers you a job. If you say yes, you must cut off all contact with your previous life, train for a year, and spend at least three years as a mercenary for an unnamed secret organization. Would you say yes to the stranger? No? What if I told you that although I can’t give any specifics about the organization, that they are definitely the good guys? Still no? Oh…
Well don’t worry, the AFJ (Americans For Justice) doesn’t need you! Because our main character Samantha and her best friend Slick not only said yes to the mysterious stranger, they recruited three of Samantha’s ex-husband’s ex-wives to come along with her! And in case you were wondering, no, Samantha’s ex-husband doesn’t have four ex-wives, he has eleven of them!
Why does Samantha join the AFJ? Because getting this top-notch training will give Samantha just what she needs to finally get revenge on her ex-husband—a man who has a habit of courting a woman for three weeks, taking her on a honeymoon for another three weeks, and then divorcing her. When Samantha presents her best friend and three of the other ex-Rainfords this once in a lifetime opportunity, they all say yes. And that’s how a belly dancer, a cartoonist, a female plumber, a model, and a CPA all ended up going to a training school on top of a mountain in the middle of North Carolina in pursuit of becoming a mercenary for “the good guys”.
The Marriage Game is one of the most ridiculous books I have ever read. It reads like a bunch of kids were playing spies one day and then their thirteen year old babysitter who was really into Wattpad turned it into a book. What Wattpad gal wouldn’t want to write a book that includes torturing men for information you’re already going to learn in a week, winning paintball by distracting everyone with your belly dancing, a Christmas break unlimited shopping spree in New York, a scene where the love interests helps the main character when she’s sick, a confrontation with the eleven ex-wives dressed up as nuns, and a cute dog? Oh, and let’s not forget some of my favorite lines:
"But that’s okay, kiddies, I did it for the good guys, I was just being a good American” (29)
“Are you going to train us to be mercenaries? For the good guys, of course” (69)
“She wasn’t model beautiful, more of a natural beauty who didn’t need makeup of fancy potions to enhance her looks (191)
“Samantha laughed so hard the pajama bottom fell to her ankles” (278)
and finally, “When it appeared neither his son nor his about-to-be daughter-in-law were interested in his food, he tossed the sandwiches off the mountain” (288)
As for the protagonist and love interest, they suck. Samantha Rainford is a YA protagonist who went Turbo and found her way into a Women’s Fiction novel. She’s one of the greatest recruits the mountain has ever had because… she’s the main character? She’s supposed to be smart, but the only reason she’s smart is because everyone else around her is even dumber than she is. Sure, she gets a perfect score every time she shoots the guns, but she’s below average to average in everything else we see her do. Despite not ever seeing her actually do well in anything, all of the characters are always talking about Sam and how she’s such a natural and the most amazing person ever. Literally all she did was show the middle finger to their trainer.
Speaking of their trainer, Kollar “Pappy” Havapopulas is an awkward, ethnically ambiguous, Greek guy who supposedly was one of the greatest CIA agents ever but now works as the trainer for the AFJ recruits. It’s hard to believe this backstory, however, because he’s completely clueless, dependent, and whiny. He doesn’t have the respect of the people he’s training, he can’t figure out what the four Rainford ex-wives are conspiring about (hmmm… maybe getting revenge on their ex-husband?), and he can’t even get his dog to love him. He spends the whole book thinking about how much he loves Samantha, yet I still have no clue why he likes her. My best guesses are: because she’s not like other girls, because she’s doing so well at training, or because his dog really likes her (the dog is magically obsessed with Samantha to the point that he prefers Samantha over Pappy).
I don’t get why Samantha likes Pappy either. They have absolutely no chemistry, he’s always yelling at her, and she’s always disrespecting him. Every time they spoke, Samantha would tell Pappy she literally hates him, but then her internal monologue would be like he’s the love of my life!!! Oh no!!!! There’s no way he likes me back because he criticizes me sometimes!!!!!
And finally, I have to vent about the climax. Here’s the setup: Samantha finished her year of training and was the only one not offered a job (because Pappy didn’t want her to die, even though she’s “the best of the best”), she just finished swindling her ex-husband (who turns out to be a Senator) with all 11 of his ex-wives, and she now has 10 million dollars and Pappy’s dog (because the dog liked her so much he ran away from Pappy). But Samantha isn’t happy and the dog isn’t happy because they both need to be in the mountains with Pappy! So Samantha flies from Washington to North Carolina and hikes up the entire mountain. She doesn’t text Pappy and go “hey can you drop the cable car so I can give you your dog back?” No. She spends over twenty-four hours climbing a mountain to return the dog. There’s lightning outside, she only brought a windbreaker with her, but she’s determined. And guess what? Pappy is watching her the whole time with the security cameras. He doesn’t help her because she needs to do this for herself. Once Samantha gets to the top of the mountain without dying, she eats a peanut butter sandwich and starts to leave. BUT, as she’s leaving, the big moment we’ve all been waiting for happens:
“She called over her shoulder, ‘Do you love me?’
‘Yeah,’ came the response.
Sam stopped in her tracks. He said yeah. Meaning yes, he loved her. She forgot about the pajama bottom as she whirled around and tripped, sprawling in the doorway” (278-279).
And then Samantha works as a mercenary for the good guys and then lives on the mountain with Pappy and the 10 million she got from her ex-husband the end.
So, what did we learn from this book? Two things: 1. picking up a random book at a second hand book sale just because it sounds terrible will most likely lead to the book being terrible, 2. if this author has been a #1 NYT bestseller, anyone can do it (if you can get a time machine and go back to 2007, that is).
April 24, 2024
Rating: 4 Stars!!
Review:
This book was very hard to settle on a definate rating since i had a few issues with it which i'll explain more below. To be fair, Fern's Books are always a Miss for me with only 1 that ive really enjoyed.
As i began this book i didnt expect the twist to happen at the beginning of the book which for me i think took away my excitement to fully enjoy this book which is why i had to knock off 1 and a half points for this rating.
Why start a book off with Newlyweds get Home from their Honeymoon and The Bride finds ALREADY SIGNED Divorce Papers from her Husband?! Like WHAT?!
I feel like that SHOULDNT Of been revealed til THE MIDDLE of the book which made this book feel RUSHED.
The Characters were fun and interesting to read about. Samantha was definately my favorite with her determination to find out WHY her Husband filed for Divorce. Like if it was me i'd want to find out to cause i dont get why someone would do that.
The Setting was beautifully described which made me feel like i was actually in California while reading especially when the scenery was described.
Overall an OK Contemporary Romance but could of been better. I will read more by Fern in the future but hope her other books arent like this one was.
Review:
This book was very hard to settle on a definate rating since i had a few issues with it which i'll explain more below. To be fair, Fern's Books are always a Miss for me with only 1 that ive really enjoyed.
As i began this book i didnt expect the twist to happen at the beginning of the book which for me i think took away my excitement to fully enjoy this book which is why i had to knock off 1 and a half points for this rating.
Why start a book off with Newlyweds get Home from their Honeymoon and The Bride finds ALREADY SIGNED Divorce Papers from her Husband?! Like WHAT?!
I feel like that SHOULDNT Of been revealed til THE MIDDLE of the book which made this book feel RUSHED.
The Characters were fun and interesting to read about. Samantha was definately my favorite with her determination to find out WHY her Husband filed for Divorce. Like if it was me i'd want to find out to cause i dont get why someone would do that.
The Setting was beautifully described which made me feel like i was actually in California while reading especially when the scenery was described.
Overall an OK Contemporary Romance but could of been better. I will read more by Fern in the future but hope her other books arent like this one was.
May 23, 2020
chick lit
Read
October 27, 2023DNF at page 69, just couldn’t do it
January 19, 2025
I nice love story. Lived all the characters, even the bad guy! Never disappointed with Fern Michaels.
June 24, 2008
I can't believe that this book has an average rating of over three stars. When I rate my books on Goodreads, I often feel like I may be giving them too many stars--but then I remember how terrible this book was and how it defines one star to me, and use that for scale. This book was so awful that I only got about halfway through it. The only reason I bought it was because we were at the beach and I had read everything I'd brought with me, and this looked the most promising out of the crappy book selection at Walgreens.
The plotline is totally outrageous--suspension of disbelief wasn't even an option. The dialog was atrocious and cheesy. The WRITING was atrocious and cheesy. I winced at least once per page. I was embarrassed FOR THE WRITER while I was reading this book. I didn't finish it, and I left it in our hotel room when our vacation was over. Just seeing the cover again brings back terrible memories.
The plotline is totally outrageous--suspension of disbelief wasn't even an option. The dialog was atrocious and cheesy. The WRITING was atrocious and cheesy. I winced at least once per page. I was embarrassed FOR THE WRITER while I was reading this book. I didn't finish it, and I left it in our hotel room when our vacation was over. Just seeing the cover again brings back terrible memories.
July 13, 2009
So sad that I spent the time I did reading this book. Had the story been funny, it's unrealistic plot would have been acceptable. However, it was not. Samantha "marries" a man who "divorces" her three weeks later. This man LOVES weddings and honeymoons. (???) To mend her broken heart, she and a model friend join the FBI (yeah, right) and wash out. They're recruited to join a privately owned justice league where she promptly fall in love with the trainer, who, with his father, actually owns the mountain hideaway where they're enscounced for a year of training. Somewhere along the line Sam manages to "find" several ex-wives, the ex--husband, and concoct a scheme to make the bastard pay for breaking their hearts, to the merry tune of $10 million each. Yeah, right. The best part of the book was hearing what was being prepared for breakfast, lunch and dinner...that part was actually good!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2009
Picked this book up in a freebie bin at my doctor's office the other day... THANK GOODNESS. I would have been very upset if I had paid for it! The plot was so utterly ridiculous. I would give it 1/2 star if I could. "Scorned wife joins FBI, flunks out, joins a secret society and formulates a plan to get revenge on the ex-husband." Seriously? A friend of mine was recruited into the FBI and believe me, you don't just walk in the door and say "Here I am! Sign me up!" I also couldn't get past the nickname of the so-called hero - a "Greek God named Pappy". Pappy? Really? Are you Gene Hackman from The French Connection??? So sad. No more Fern for me!
June 12, 2009
I was offered a huge bag of books free from a friend who was moving, and this was one I decided to take. I thought it would be fun to read a just-for-fun novel. That may be true, but not in a case like this where the plot set up is completely unbelievable, the writing is horrible, and the characters are one-dimensional. Read some of the other one-star reviews for specifics. I couldn't get more than a few chapters into it. I'm kind of amazed this even got published, but I guess the author wrote a bunch of books before this one that were well-received. I'm going to try to remember this author so that I never pick up one of her books again.
January 1, 2012
Loved it! I cannot understand the low ratings by people stating it was too far fetched. I wonder if those same people believe that vampires actually exist? Maybe they still believe in Santa too! I read a book to be entertained. Loved loved it. I was into it right away. The main character is feisty and I like that -I prefer strong female leads. The women have fun and are vindictive. The book is about a woman who got burnt, looking to make the man she fell for pay and in the midst of it all really turns out to find out that she just wants to succeed at something. She becomes stronger. She makes it over that wall.
October 5, 2016
I have a distant memory of a truly terrible chick-lit novel which my mum borrowed from the library and thought was so unrealistic that I had to read it to believe it. I think I managed to read a couple of chapters before giving up. Today I stumbled upon this book by accident and realised instantly that this was the book. It makes me giggle to just think about it! :)
July 6, 2010
What a waste of my time this book was! The back cover sounded nice, but the book was a disaster! That was some of the most unrealistic dialog I have ever read and the whole plot was so unrealistic and preposterous that I was rolling my eyes at what was going on almost every other page! First and definitely last Fern Michales book for me!
Read
March 2, 2017Samantha Rainford had married Douglas Cosmo Rainford, III. They went on their honeymoon and after 3 weeks she was summoned to the office of attorney's Prizzi, Prizzi, Prizzi and Prizzi. She was then served divorce papers and handed a check for $5,000, which she refused. She also found out that she wasn't the first wife but rather the fourth ex-wife.
She went home and received a phone call from her best friend and model, Slick. Slick had just been replaced by her modeling agency and was very upset. Sam and Slick decided that they would take up an offer to join the FBI. Six months later, they were washed out of the agency. Sam told Slick that it was time to get back at Douglas for dumping her and that she had done some research on the ex-wives. They went out and met up with 3 previous wives. Sam told them that there were at least 4 more ex-wives that had the same story about marrying and being divorced after 3 weeks. Sam then told them that Douglas Cosmo Rainford, III didn't exist according to the FBI database.
Sam and Slick were then approached by Pete Donovan, Poke for short. He asked them to come work for him without telling them much about who they were working for or what their job would be. They would be trained to become mercenaries and have to give up their lives and identities should they agree. They agreed with the offers should the other three ex-wives be offered the same. They then went back and kidnapped a guy listening in to their conversations and then captured Donovan as well. They wanted answers as to where they were going and who they would be working for. All they got was that it was on a need to know basis. They really scared the guys though. They thought they were better than the women. They had misjudged them.
The girls found out that they were going to a compound on a mountain in North Carolina. They were to be taught by a greek guy named Kollar Havapopulas. They were given beds and lockers in a bungalow. They were well fed in a fancy dining room with china settings. They were also surprised when another of the FBI washouts arrived to be part of their team, Eric Hawkins. He was their firearms instructor.
They worked really hard to pass their physical tests over the year long period of training. Slick and Hawkins fell in love through their being so close together. The attraction was their from their time together in the FBI and it grew stronger. They both agreed that they would take their assignments for the promised period of three more years and somehow they would remain strong in their relationship.
Sam fell in love with Paddy. Paddy was resistant to falling in love with her but he didn't stand a chance. His dog that was part wolf showed Paddy that he was in love with her too. Alpha missed Sam when the teams were allowed to go into New York for a week before Christmas to do some shopping and to have a break. Sam spent most of her time in an internet cafe searching for information on her ex. She found out that there were 7 other wives. There were 12 all together. She found information that he was involved with number 12 now. She still couldn't find out who he really was but knew he was somehow tied to the law firm of Prizzi...
There were 2 teams left now. Paddy had visitors of the people who were the group of financial backers for what he was doing. They told him that they were going to sanction one of their own and were going to use the new recruits to help in this task. Paddy was worried about that and spoke to his father about what was going on. His father was the cook for the recruits. He liked Sam and encouraged his son to get involved with her and leave behind his memories of his fiancee. She was leaving him anyway when she tragically died when hit by a car two weeks after their last conversation. She had just died before they officially ended the relationship. Paddy knew his father was right and burned his photo he had of her.
Sam actually took the initiative and kissed Paddy. Paddy had been on the mountain and alone for ten years. He was at a loss as to how to build a relationship with her. He knew that he didn't want to teach her to become a killer. He wanted to protect her and keep her on the mountain with him. He dreamt of her and she died in his dreams. This really set her apart and made him frightened for her.
Sam and the others grew worried about their future as the end of the year approached. Sam's goal was to research her ex and get revenge somehow. She finished the program and everyone was passed and given assignments to continue except for Sam. She was furious and everyone walked out of the program when that happened. They all left with her and flew home with her. The exes along with Sam and one of the brothers who was a cop all met. The policeman told them all that he had found their husband and the other ex wives along with an 'almost' wife. He was a senator from Kansas.
Paddy met with the consortium and told them that he didn't agree with their sanction because they wouldn't explain. He called the guy that that they were sanctioning and it happened to be the senator from Kansas. He left the mountain for the first time it ten years to go meet with him. It just happened to be the same night that the exes were all set to meet with the senator after dinner.
They were all at the restaurant and they were dressed as nuns. They forced the Senator to invite them to his house after dinner. He did and they were each given a million dollars. With Paddy's help, the senator left the country and went to Greece in order to get away and had plastic surgery.
Sam felt like she was a failure at everything and she blamed Paddy for part of it. She had gotten married and divorced after three weeks. She got washed out of the FBI. She fell in love with Paddy and he let her go without a word except to kick her out of his program. She cried all the time. When she left the mountain, she took Paddy's dog, Alpha, with her. He was miserable and she knew that she had to take him back home.
She made it to the base of the mountain and started hiking up. She didn't realize that Paddy had camera's all over and he knew that she was coming. Alpha got to go home and Sam told Paddy that she was leaving in the morning. Paddy was disappointed but didn't say anything. She talked to Paddy's father and he told her that Paddy was in love with her. He didn't know how to talk to women and didn't know what to do with her. He told Sam to ask Paddy. He wouldn't lie to her. Sam did ask and Paddy didn't lie. He told her that he was in love with her.
Sam told Paddy that how she felt about being sent home. She told him that she felt like a failure and wanted a chance to prove to herself that she was worth something. She wanted to work for a year and then return to the mountain to stay with him. Paddy reluctantly agreed and Sam was allowed to work. She proved herself invaluable. She did a good job and finished her last assignment a week early and headed to the mountain. Paddy met her there and agreed to get married with Slick as her bridesmaid.
One of the exes told her that she might miss the wedding because she had met a man in Greece who reminded her a lot of the senator. She didn't realize that it was the senator who looked different after having plastic surgery. She told Paddy that they should tell her but he disagreed. They had a good laugh and Sam agreed to give it a chance to see if it might work out for them this time.
She went home and received a phone call from her best friend and model, Slick. Slick had just been replaced by her modeling agency and was very upset. Sam and Slick decided that they would take up an offer to join the FBI. Six months later, they were washed out of the agency. Sam told Slick that it was time to get back at Douglas for dumping her and that she had done some research on the ex-wives. They went out and met up with 3 previous wives. Sam told them that there were at least 4 more ex-wives that had the same story about marrying and being divorced after 3 weeks. Sam then told them that Douglas Cosmo Rainford, III didn't exist according to the FBI database.
Sam and Slick were then approached by Pete Donovan, Poke for short. He asked them to come work for him without telling them much about who they were working for or what their job would be. They would be trained to become mercenaries and have to give up their lives and identities should they agree. They agreed with the offers should the other three ex-wives be offered the same. They then went back and kidnapped a guy listening in to their conversations and then captured Donovan as well. They wanted answers as to where they were going and who they would be working for. All they got was that it was on a need to know basis. They really scared the guys though. They thought they were better than the women. They had misjudged them.
The girls found out that they were going to a compound on a mountain in North Carolina. They were to be taught by a greek guy named Kollar Havapopulas. They were given beds and lockers in a bungalow. They were well fed in a fancy dining room with china settings. They were also surprised when another of the FBI washouts arrived to be part of their team, Eric Hawkins. He was their firearms instructor.
They worked really hard to pass their physical tests over the year long period of training. Slick and Hawkins fell in love through their being so close together. The attraction was their from their time together in the FBI and it grew stronger. They both agreed that they would take their assignments for the promised period of three more years and somehow they would remain strong in their relationship.
Sam fell in love with Paddy. Paddy was resistant to falling in love with her but he didn't stand a chance. His dog that was part wolf showed Paddy that he was in love with her too. Alpha missed Sam when the teams were allowed to go into New York for a week before Christmas to do some shopping and to have a break. Sam spent most of her time in an internet cafe searching for information on her ex. She found out that there were 7 other wives. There were 12 all together. She found information that he was involved with number 12 now. She still couldn't find out who he really was but knew he was somehow tied to the law firm of Prizzi...
There were 2 teams left now. Paddy had visitors of the people who were the group of financial backers for what he was doing. They told him that they were going to sanction one of their own and were going to use the new recruits to help in this task. Paddy was worried about that and spoke to his father about what was going on. His father was the cook for the recruits. He liked Sam and encouraged his son to get involved with her and leave behind his memories of his fiancee. She was leaving him anyway when she tragically died when hit by a car two weeks after their last conversation. She had just died before they officially ended the relationship. Paddy knew his father was right and burned his photo he had of her.
Sam actually took the initiative and kissed Paddy. Paddy had been on the mountain and alone for ten years. He was at a loss as to how to build a relationship with her. He knew that he didn't want to teach her to become a killer. He wanted to protect her and keep her on the mountain with him. He dreamt of her and she died in his dreams. This really set her apart and made him frightened for her.
Sam and the others grew worried about their future as the end of the year approached. Sam's goal was to research her ex and get revenge somehow. She finished the program and everyone was passed and given assignments to continue except for Sam. She was furious and everyone walked out of the program when that happened. They all left with her and flew home with her. The exes along with Sam and one of the brothers who was a cop all met. The policeman told them all that he had found their husband and the other ex wives along with an 'almost' wife. He was a senator from Kansas.
Paddy met with the consortium and told them that he didn't agree with their sanction because they wouldn't explain. He called the guy that that they were sanctioning and it happened to be the senator from Kansas. He left the mountain for the first time it ten years to go meet with him. It just happened to be the same night that the exes were all set to meet with the senator after dinner.
They were all at the restaurant and they were dressed as nuns. They forced the Senator to invite them to his house after dinner. He did and they were each given a million dollars. With Paddy's help, the senator left the country and went to Greece in order to get away and had plastic surgery.
Sam felt like she was a failure at everything and she blamed Paddy for part of it. She had gotten married and divorced after three weeks. She got washed out of the FBI. She fell in love with Paddy and he let her go without a word except to kick her out of his program. She cried all the time. When she left the mountain, she took Paddy's dog, Alpha, with her. He was miserable and she knew that she had to take him back home.
She made it to the base of the mountain and started hiking up. She didn't realize that Paddy had camera's all over and he knew that she was coming. Alpha got to go home and Sam told Paddy that she was leaving in the morning. Paddy was disappointed but didn't say anything. She talked to Paddy's father and he told her that Paddy was in love with her. He didn't know how to talk to women and didn't know what to do with her. He told Sam to ask Paddy. He wouldn't lie to her. Sam did ask and Paddy didn't lie. He told her that he was in love with her.
Sam told Paddy that how she felt about being sent home. She told him that she felt like a failure and wanted a chance to prove to herself that she was worth something. She wanted to work for a year and then return to the mountain to stay with him. Paddy reluctantly agreed and Sam was allowed to work. She proved herself invaluable. She did a good job and finished her last assignment a week early and headed to the mountain. Paddy met her there and agreed to get married with Slick as her bridesmaid.
One of the exes told her that she might miss the wedding because she had met a man in Greece who reminded her a lot of the senator. She didn't realize that it was the senator who looked different after having plastic surgery. She told Paddy that they should tell her but he disagreed. They had a good laugh and Sam agreed to give it a chance to see if it might work out for them this time.
September 18, 2024
There are spoilers but all this is an old book so you've had plenty of time to read it lol.
I didn't like that the perspective it's written from but I decided to give it a try anyway.
I felt like this story was all over the place and far fetched. I get that it's fiction but at least make the story believable.
The main character is a woman, who is a tax advisor or consultant, that dates a man for 3 weeks, gets married, then he divorced her after a 3 week long honeymoon. After signing the divorce paperwork, she learns that she's ex wife #4. Her best friend, who is a model, gets fired and they together decide they're going to become FBI agents. This is where I first started rolling my eyes. You can't just quit your our job and up a decide you want to go through FBI training without first meeting anytime of prerequisites.
She and her friend didn't make it past the qualifications period to be agents- no surprise there. But through her FBI resources, she learns the other ex-wives names and contact information. Then what do you know, a secret agency that is looking for mercenaries comes knocking on her door and offers to make her a killer lol. Eye rolls again. But it's not just her... they recruit her model friend, and all the ex-wives who have random jobs like plumber and cartoonist.
So all these women go through this no questions asked type of private training in a secluded mountain to see if they make the cut to be mercenaries. Then the supposed love story kicks in. The guy in charge of this mercenary training program falls in love with the main character. There aren't any love scenes in the book but yet all the other characters know he loves her smh.
At the end of a year long training, the trainer picked everyone to proceed minus her bc he loves her so much that he can't turn her into a killer. But he doesn't tell her that lol he just dismisses her.
She later learns that someone the trainer works with happens to be her ex-husband. The trainer tries to protect him for being "sanctioned" from the secret group- idk if that meant killed. So the trainer helps him get facial surgery to change his appearance and flee the country. Oh but not before all the ex wives hunt him down and demand $10M each or else they'd reveal their serial husband's true identity- state senator- and thus ending his political career.
She returns to her old life, trainer goes looking for her but misses her, she then goes back to him, blah blah.
It all unfolded and it was so uneventful.
I'm going to give this author another chance and try one of her other books before I just completely write her off as not my type of author.
I didn't like that the perspective it's written from but I decided to give it a try anyway.
I felt like this story was all over the place and far fetched. I get that it's fiction but at least make the story believable.
The main character is a woman, who is a tax advisor or consultant, that dates a man for 3 weeks, gets married, then he divorced her after a 3 week long honeymoon. After signing the divorce paperwork, she learns that she's ex wife #4. Her best friend, who is a model, gets fired and they together decide they're going to become FBI agents. This is where I first started rolling my eyes. You can't just quit your our job and up a decide you want to go through FBI training without first meeting anytime of prerequisites.
She and her friend didn't make it past the qualifications period to be agents- no surprise there. But through her FBI resources, she learns the other ex-wives names and contact information. Then what do you know, a secret agency that is looking for mercenaries comes knocking on her door and offers to make her a killer lol. Eye rolls again. But it's not just her... they recruit her model friend, and all the ex-wives who have random jobs like plumber and cartoonist.
So all these women go through this no questions asked type of private training in a secluded mountain to see if they make the cut to be mercenaries. Then the supposed love story kicks in. The guy in charge of this mercenary training program falls in love with the main character. There aren't any love scenes in the book but yet all the other characters know he loves her smh.
At the end of a year long training, the trainer picked everyone to proceed minus her bc he loves her so much that he can't turn her into a killer. But he doesn't tell her that lol he just dismisses her.
She later learns that someone the trainer works with happens to be her ex-husband. The trainer tries to protect him for being "sanctioned" from the secret group- idk if that meant killed. So the trainer helps him get facial surgery to change his appearance and flee the country. Oh but not before all the ex wives hunt him down and demand $10M each or else they'd reveal their serial husband's true identity- state senator- and thus ending his political career.
She returns to her old life, trainer goes looking for her but misses her, she then goes back to him, blah blah.
It all unfolded and it was so uneventful.
I'm going to give this author another chance and try one of her other books before I just completely write her off as not my type of author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2020
I read a lot of other reviews that simply said WTF did I just read and I cant help but echo that sentiment. This book was super weird-- original but weird. Sam comes home from her 3 week honeymoon only to be served with divorce papers. She goes to meet her husband's lawyers and finds out she's the 11th wife of this man and he's done the exact same thing to everyone. He's a senator with a lot of money so in the prenup, they get $5k but not the $10 million that they would get if they were married longer. Her best friend and model comes to live with her then it jumps to 8 months later. Her and her friend have randomly decided to join the FBI but they get eliminated after a training period. So then she gets the first 4 wives together and they're being followed by a man and he propositions them to join this mercenary group that does things the government won't I guess? They like to take the FBI rejects, but she says they're only in if all the other wives can come too. They aren't given any information but they know they have to go to some remote location in the mountains for a year of training then they have a 3 year commitment to the program. Somehow they all join and become GI Janes. They're doing this bootcamp style thing where they run 10 miles, etc. and all of them are just fine and in good shape I guess? Theres a guy named Pappy that runs the whole program and he and Sam have a relationship. His dog falls in love with her and that was super sweet. I liked the dog most of all in this book! ha! Overall, this book was super weird and does leave you saying "huh?? What did I just read?" Not her best.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
There's not much to add except that in the end, all 11 wives (plus 1 fiance) confront the senator and blackmail him into giving them the $10 million each. He also resigns. After the year of training, Sam gets told she's not welcome to stay because Pappy doesn't want her involved and hes scared of his feelings. She leaves and his dog goes with her but then awhile later he acts like he wants to go home so she takes him back and she and Pappy finally get together.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
There's not much to add except that in the end, all 11 wives (plus 1 fiance) confront the senator and blackmail him into giving them the $10 million each. He also resigns. After the year of training, Sam gets told she's not welcome to stay because Pappy doesn't want her involved and hes scared of his feelings. She leaves and his dog goes with her but then awhile later he acts like he wants to go home so she takes him back and she and Pappy finally get together.
January 12, 2023
The concept of this book captivated my attention - a group of scorn women teaming up to seek revenge on their ex-husband. However, I felt the actual book was two separate concepts loosely tied together - the women seeking revenge and the secret agent training. In some ways, I felt like the original reason why the women teamed up was quickly forgotten once the secret service training portion came into play and the solution at the end felt unsatisfactory to me. I wasn't sure how much I was going to enjoy this book at first because all of the women came off as too high-class, Mary Sue-perfect to me and it seemed so random that some of these ladies were going into FBI/secret service training. However, their offputting aspects soon toned down and became more enjoyable to read. The romance between Sam and Pappy was pretty tame but I still enjoyed reading their story, especially with the wolf dog Alpha's role in the mix ((I find it intriguing a German Shepherd puppy was used on the cover to represent him)). Overall, it was a nice book to pass the time with but I was left disappointed with how certain aspects were never fully explained or concluded in an unsatisfying way.
March 2, 2025
Would she chose the Alfa male dog or his Hunky owner? Decisions, Decisions!
The Marriage game is a book you will definitely want to read! Fern Michaels is at her very best writing this one!! I questioned the beginning, I thought it was an odd opening but was I WRONG!!! This book is filled with comedy, a bit of mystery and a whole lot of
fun, and of course love. The stakes are high for Samantha as she is plunges into physical training careers. Her best friend Slick has aged out of being a top model and is up for a new challenge. Sam and Slick sure find them plus add other new friends with the same experiences that Sam went through. It would be so easy to give away some of the surprises that crop up along the way but you will have much more fun reading about them. Fern Michaels has really written an excellent book. I would love if this became a series...there is so very many ways that could happen...so please Ms. Michael's please consider making this into a series. This was an extremely enjoyable read... I know you will agree!
The Marriage game is a book you will definitely want to read! Fern Michaels is at her very best writing this one!! I questioned the beginning, I thought it was an odd opening but was I WRONG!!! This book is filled with comedy, a bit of mystery and a whole lot of
fun, and of course love. The stakes are high for Samantha as she is plunges into physical training careers. Her best friend Slick has aged out of being a top model and is up for a new challenge. Sam and Slick sure find them plus add other new friends with the same experiences that Sam went through. It would be so easy to give away some of the surprises that crop up along the way but you will have much more fun reading about them. Fern Michaels has really written an excellent book. I would love if this became a series...there is so very many ways that could happen...so please Ms. Michael's please consider making this into a series. This was an extremely enjoyable read... I know you will agree!
June 10, 2025
I have read other Fern Michael’s books that I enjoyed, but this one was not a win for me. To start, the title had so very little to do with the plot that it was just confusing and poorly named.
Spoiler:
Having all of these women agree to make such a big decision and change their lives was just too unrealistic. It was just too much to ask, that they should all agree to disappear for a year, risk their lives, and leave everything behind.
What are the chances that all of them would do it? very low.
There was not a lot of depth here. I found myself doing something that I never do. I never read 1/3 of the book. Skip the middle and start reading at the last third of the book. It just wasn’t worth it for me to spend the time to read the entire thing. I would not recommend it. It wasn’t for me. The three stars that I gave were for the writing style that I found easy to follow. I also gave the stars because the author wrapped up the story sufficiently.
Spoiler:
Having all of these women agree to make such a big decision and change their lives was just too unrealistic. It was just too much to ask, that they should all agree to disappear for a year, risk their lives, and leave everything behind.
What are the chances that all of them would do it? very low.
There was not a lot of depth here. I found myself doing something that I never do. I never read 1/3 of the book. Skip the middle and start reading at the last third of the book. It just wasn’t worth it for me to spend the time to read the entire thing. I would not recommend it. It wasn’t for me. The three stars that I gave were for the writing style that I found easy to follow. I also gave the stars because the author wrapped up the story sufficiently.
October 31, 2017
One of the worst books I've ever read/listened to. For most romance books, you have to suspend your belief a bit to enjoy the fun story. With this book, you have to suspend your entire intelligence level. There isn't one aspect of this book that is remotely believable even in the realm of a cute book of fiction.
The written summary of the book is a duped ex-wife finds out her former husband is a marriage junkie and has several ex wives and they get even. Even that is basically a false statement - the book has a running back story on the marriage aspect but instead focuses more on these dimwits joining the FBI (yeah right) then recruited by some secret organization of spies (oh please). And let's not even discuss how stupid the reveal of the husband's identity is! Just plain awful - stay far, far away from this book!!!!
The written summary of the book is a duped ex-wife finds out her former husband is a marriage junkie and has several ex wives and they get even. Even that is basically a false statement - the book has a running back story on the marriage aspect but instead focuses more on these dimwits joining the FBI (yeah right) then recruited by some secret organization of spies (oh please). And let's not even discuss how stupid the reveal of the husband's identity is! Just plain awful - stay far, far away from this book!!!!
July 27, 2019
Interesting, strange, different, but a little convoluted. There were certain aspects of the story that were appealing, keeping you very much in a "what's going to happen?" mode. But there are other aspects that seemed a bit contrived and very implausible. Certain happenings in the course of the story, though necessary in the continuity of the storyline, reached beyond the realm of possibility or mere coincidence. There were just too many things that had to fall into place perfectly in order for this all to happen as it did, and it just didn't seem believable. However, I still gave this 4 stars based on Fern Michaels' writing style, which made the main part of the book, during the women's training, compelling. It's just that the overall premise leading up to training (mostly) and the conclusion (partly) was a little difficult to swallow, no matter how good the writing might be.
March 6, 2020
3 1/2 - 4 star read. I don't normally read romance novels but I was on holidays and this looked like it might be a good read, and I have to say I enjoyed the read, despite the implausible storyline. Samantha has just come back from her honeymoon and discovers that her husband has served her with divorce papers. Determined to discover why, she realizes that there are other Mrs. Rainfords, that she is the fourth. She enlists their help to try to get revenge on the man who treated them all so badly. They are all recruited to a top secret organization and whisked to a top secret retreat to be trained to be operatives. Samantha finds herself falling for the man who runs the program, but he seems to be harder on her than on the other recruits. This is definitely in the beach or plane read category but it was not a bad little read.
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