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How to Marry a Matador

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New York telecommunications expert Jessica Bloom has never quite gotten things right. She's failed at relationships, and only believes herself to have moved ahead at work due to dumb luck. Her fortunes change when she flies to Madrid on an acquisitions deal -- but wakes up married to a matador instead! While she's held a burning attraction to her handsome business adversary for months, she never dreamed she'd make such an enormous split-second decision. Surely, this is a mistake they can both get undone? Her new husband, however, has plans to the contrary...

Fernando Garcia de la Vega runs a telecommunications firm poised for a US takeover. What Fernando doesn't expect, is its
beautiful International Division head also capturing his heart. Descended from a long line of bullfighters, Fernando stands to inherit the family's lucrative estate, if he meets the criteria in his grandfather's will and marries by age thirty-two. Yet, a marriage of convenience was something Fernando was loathe to consider... until now. When the fates conspire to put the right woman in the right place -- at the right time, how can Fernando deny his destiny? His only problem lies in convincing Jessica to remain his bride.

191 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2012

191 people are currently reading
732 people want to read

About the author

Ginny Baird

64 books892 followers
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ginny Baird writes heartwarming contemporary stories filled with love, laughter, and happily ever afters. Visit her website to learn more about Ginny and her books. www.ginnybairdromance.com

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5 stars
196 (25%)
4 stars
190 (24%)
3 stars
241 (31%)
2 stars
108 (13%)
1 star
42 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
Profile Image for Kathy Davie.
4,876 reviews737 followers
June 19, 2019
I suspect it’s meant to be the first installment in a series. The couple focus in this one is on Jessica Bloom and Fernando Garcia de la Vega and takes place mostly in La Esperanza del Corazón in Spain.

My Take
Cute and short enough to be a novella at 189 pages. It also has some odd problems.

It's cute in that Jess gets married on a whim — or is it a subconscious desire? — to the businessman-cum-matador she has been negotiating with for the past six months over the acquisition of his telecommunications business.

There’s a codicil in his paternal grandfather’s will that puts a deadline on Fernando to ensure the family’s continuing. And then we learn that the rancho is from his mother’s side of the family while the techcomm business appears to be his own venture. So what he’d be losing…I don’t know.

There’s the disconnect between Jess not having paid attention to her faith for years, and Fernando thinking she’s religious. All interspersed with the silly tropes of Jess telling Fernando she doesn’t want him and then being pissed because he finally accepts what she’s telling him *eye roll*. Then what’s with the scene in the bullfighting ring? Jess is supposedly intelligent and yet she can’t seem to make that mental connection between bull-in-ring-about-to-charge-her-husband and the fact that he probably needs to concentrate on the more immediate danger? Duhhh… Another reason to question her I.Q. is how slow she is to pick up on the Gemini comment.

For all that, there’s surprisingly little conflict. Yes, I know it’s there in Fernando wanting to stay married and Jess not wanting to. In Jess’ own internal debate. But it’s not really there. You’ll see what I mean if you read this, as everything is la-la land. I suspect the story conflict is supposed to be why Fernando wants this marriage as well as Jess’ experiences in the past. The first is bypassed quickly and the story concentrates on Jess’ issues.

The rancho is worth two billion dollars with vineyards, desert, and bulls raised for the ring with poor villages?

What’s with the flipping back and forth between using Spanish and then not using it? Fernando requests dos café of an old family retainer, and she responds with a query about two. The same servant, I'm assuming she's Spanish, flips between referring to Fernando’s mother as Señora and Mrs. At the wedding, in Spain mind you, the priest pronounces them Mr. and Mrs. Um, wouldn’t Señor y Señora be more appropriate?

Evie rushes to stop Jess and does a sudden about-face, claiming she only came to check on her. But she’s spent all her time here so far, trying to push Jess onto a return flight to New York. WTF?

On the plus side, it is sweet and a story of equals.

The Story
A drunken night of sangria and a handsome man finds Jess married to the man whose company her company is buying out. This wasn’t part of her plan…and besides, no man has ever stayed for her.

The Characters
Jessica Bloom heads up the foreign acquisitions office at Global Financial Telecom. Madeline is her boss. Allen is the ex-boyfriend. Evie Parker is her best friend and works as a general dogsbody in a publishing house. Jess says Evie makes so very little, so I’m curious as to how she rates a platinum credit card.

A successful businessman, Fernando Garcia de la Vega gave up a promising career in the bullring to make one woman happy. Now it looks as if he’ll be giving up the love of his life to make another woman happy. His mother, Ana María, is trying to make the best of it. Margarita is his sister. Consuelo is the housekeeper; Gustavo is her son and almost a brother to Fernando. Don Pedrito seems to be all things. Ernesto Garcia de la Vega is his grandfather and also his father, both famous matadors. Tia Margarita is actually Fernando’s great-aunt; Antonia is her maid. Rudolfo is her puppy. Alejandro is a dangerous and unpredictable bull.

Father Domingo is an old family friend. Brother Emilio taught Fernando his numbers.

The Cover
The cover has a white background with the groom in a black suit carrying his frothily dressed bride carrying her bouquet. A flash of red pulls in the matador side.

The title is how Jessica manages in How to Marry a Matador.
Profile Image for Patti Fischetti.
125 reviews1 follower
July 1, 2017
Easy reading

I love books that are fun, romantic and easy to read and this book is the one that combines it all. In this almost short but amazing novel, the characters have to develop quickly and the plot has to move along pretty fast. It delivers both as I couldn't put it down. I think you would enjoy this book.
Profile Image for Vania Nunes.
2,348 reviews52 followers
January 24, 2019
Jessica's life always seemed to be one mistake after another. At least as far as relationships were concerned.
When she goes to work in Madrid, she believes she can change her destiny.

And it changes !!

From the beginning, Jess and Fernando didn't like each other, but despite this, Fernando could not deny that the blond American was beautiful.
Jess is surprised on a beautiful day when she wakes up with a hangover ... married. With Fernando.

After discovering the reasons why Fernando needed to be married until he was 32 years old, it was imperative that they travel to Seville to enter the marriage annulment papers.
The only problem was ... Madrid and Seville were so beautiful ... Fernando was so charming ... and Jess was sooooooo in love ...
How could she break up with her Matador?
5 stars
Profile Image for Jackie.
2,554 reviews
January 20, 2019
DNF - quit @ 54%
I don’t know what happened, but the further I read, the more I disconnected with Jess I became. Jess is not a character that I can relate to. The part I did read was flat & boring, I just couldn’t force myself to read another page let alone another chapter. I just couldn’t keep reading about a mixed up relationship & believe that it would end up as “love”.
Profile Image for Nancy Brady.
Author 7 books45 followers
June 12, 2024
A cute romance between a young businesswoman and a businessman/matador. Waking up to find herself married to Fernando, Jess knows it is a mistake. Or is it?

The chemistry is there; the hot sex is there, but is it enough? Jess wants to get the marriage ended, but does she really? Fernando doesn't want to end the marriage, but can he convince her otherwise?
Profile Image for Amber Dawn.
888 reviews1 follower
July 6, 2021
Dnf

I enjoyed the idea but Fernando was a creep. I rolled my eyes to many times before I was even a quarter way through. I think a lot of people will enjoy this but I need something g that's not so over the top.
Profile Image for Sandra Lopez.
Author 3 books348 followers
August 29, 2021
Waking up married to a Spanish matador? Yikes!

I thought this would be a fun romantic comedy, but it really wasn’t as good as I expected. Not funny at all. Just kind of drags on after the whole “I married a matador” debacle. Really, it couldn’t get any better than that?
304 reviews
October 5, 2024
So Good

This is a first read for me from Ginny Baird and she doesn't disappoint. Highly recommend this author and this book. The story was entertaining and fun and the characters wonderful.
42 reviews
October 7, 2024
Pleasant short story

This pleasant short story seemed more like an outline for a story than a finished product. The elements are here to make an entertaining romance if the author takes the time to complete the story.
6 reviews
October 9, 2024
This was fast and fun

Ok, this was fun it is a light romance with a few turns. You know from the start what the ending will be. Even at the last trun, you know. If you are looking for a light, no real drama, read you have it right here.
452 reviews2 followers
Read
October 17, 2024
How to Martha Matador

This was such a fun story to read. I loved the humor and the romance and the intricate way they made the only decision to make. I'm sure everyone will enjoy reading too.
169 reviews1 follower
November 7, 2024
Romantic & fun

A quick fun read, Fernando definitely a dream, Jess well thought out. The setting made me want to get on a plane! The author excelled in her descriptions on all fronts made me believe.
1,016 reviews
December 18, 2025
Ole cried the Matador

They met as business associates that didn't get along very well. Then one night they ended up married after a few glasses of wine. Many changes and happenings made thus a great read.
600 reviews4 followers
January 15, 2019
Review

Sweet story rather romantic and fluffy chick lit and light hearted. Ok for a quick read when you need something light to pass some time.
918 reviews3 followers
February 28, 2022
Disgusting premise, people with absolutely no good sense and very questionable morals do not add up.to a good book.
846 reviews7 followers
January 26, 2025
Incredible

This romantic story was so cute. I loved every bit of it. I was hopeful when they separated,for,a,few and,was so happy with the,ending.
1,262 reviews3 followers
April 23, 2025
Good

I enjoyed this book and the characters in this book I enjoyed the ways they had to overcome their fears
Profile Image for Kira.
332 reviews
March 12, 2017
I enjoyed this book. It's a cute story and fairly clean; romantic content PG13 level and minimal swearing. There is a formatting issue with the Kindle copy; there's no visual cue when switching between characters. This issue made the story difficult to follow at times.
Profile Image for Cassey.
1,344 reviews4 followers
March 5, 2017
Short and sweet with moments of funny.
4,416 reviews28 followers
February 21, 2017
Cute romantic comedy written by author Ginny Baird.
Profile Image for Kayla.
135 reviews2 followers
November 10, 2014
This was a rom-com type of read. This book was like the written story of What happens in Vegas or about the Carrie Underwood song Last Name. It was cutesy and fun and a little sad but things worked out and it was happily ever after. I LOVED that the story took place in Spain. I lived in Spain for 4 years when i was younger and believe me it IS that romantic. I loved that Jess eventually made HER OWN decision after realizing she had been letting everyone else make her decisions. The fact that Fernando love his momma, is easy on the eyes (brain in my case), and tries to woo her even when she has said she doesn’t want to marry or be married to him endears me to Fernando a bit. Sometimes I feel as thought it is much easier for me to like a male character vs a female one.

Somethings though: the story was a bit choppy to me and could have flowed a bit smoother. there were a couple of times that i had to backtrack to make sure i didn’t double tap on accident or something when i know i didn’t.
There was A LOT of information on Fernando but not really about Jess. The info we do learn is through her agonizing if she is doing the right thing or not by leaving Fernando.

It was a bit predictable but I mean *shrugs* when you’ve read romances a bunch it’s bound to happen

The last thing was Evie. The best friend. she just kind of felt like an after thought towards the end of the book and not very well thought out. I know she is there for book two but still she just felt like an extra. Gustavo, who made and even more brief appearance, felt like less of an imposter. It was almost weird especially since that is Jess’s best friend.

For me this wasn’t a read that i would buy the 2nd book. I enjoyed the story but it wasn't anything that riled serious interest or devotion.
Profile Image for Tofu Fairy.
174 reviews8 followers
November 5, 2012
This was a very short story...a novella if you will. I don't think it is advertised as such, but it was only 141 pages long, so it seemed to be a novella to me at least. It was a fun read but I was disappointed in it. I won it on her via a giveaway, so I really can't complain to much as it was free to me. That said, I will say that it seemed to be in outline format. There was very little description and it left you feeling like you were missing out on a lot. The sex scenes were pretty much non-existent and that was an unpleasant surprise for me, given the hotness of the cover and excerpt I read prior to entering the giveaway. But the rest of the book was pretty much lacking description as well, so it sort of went with the territory. It really read like a Dick and Jane book...sort of page after page of sentences just giving facts but not any background or emotions. I felt lost a few times and didn't understand what the characters were doing or why, which lead to the book not really suspending my disbelief. I can't say that I would recommend this book really, because it is not something that I would read myself again. This storyline had such promise and sounds like it would be such a good read, but the lack of character development and descriptive language really makes it lacking. OH and one more thing...thought it was sort of weird that over 1/4 of the book was an excerpt from a new book by the author...47pages of it!
Profile Image for Alice.
1,189 reviews39 followers
August 25, 2014
Excellent idea, needs editing

Excellent idea, needs editing

The story opened so abruptly that it was hard to figure out anything about the H/h. It continued without developing any attachment between readers and characters. There were switches in dialogue that were jarring and unclear as to who was speaking. Paragraphs were repeated. But I continued reading as the setting and idea was different. Close to the halfway mark, the author came up with an editor and the rest of the book was a good read. I also could not respect or root for the heroine, Jess, who was described as a intelligent, hard-noised business woman. All of her dialogue and action displayed illogical thinking, indecision, and easily influenced by anyone else who spoke. Why this supposedly fabulous man wanted her remains a mystery. At the end she comes through, of course. I think
This book has merit and would upgrade my rating to a 3 with the editing of the beginning and a 4 with a slight revamp of Jess' character.
Profile Image for Julie Barrett.
9,210 reviews206 followers
January 21, 2014
HOW TO MARRY A MATADOR
Jessica flies to Madrid on an acquisitions deal but wakes up married to a matador!
She can't understand how it happened til she pieced together some clues from the night before...
Fernando is very compelling and with the sangria has gotten her to marry him.
They both are used to be the leader and handle confrontations well, except with one another. after she hears him out, as to why he has to marry and quickly she kind of understands but wants out of the marriage. is it a marriage anyways with the Spanish laws?
Then he tells his mother that Jess is pregnant... Her whole life is in the states...
Travel is really descriptive! Liked hearing about his profession. Her BFF shows up to help out with the problems... Excerpt from Santa Fe Fortune is also included.
I received this book from the author as a gift in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for SandyL.
3,738 reviews
August 10, 2014
How to Marry a Matador is a cute, quick read. Jess has been working for the last six months on an international acquisition for her company, buying a telecom firm from Spaniard and former matador Fernando Garcia de la Vega. She wakes up one morning married to him, after a night of too much sangria. Fernando's 31st birthday is fast approaching, and if he doesn't marry and produce an heir by his 32nd b-day, he'll lose his family ranch and his mother will have to move. But, he really is in love with Jess, so he feels this is a win-win. Jess doesn't believe in love and is horrified that the practical woman she is let loose and ended up in this situation. It's a short book, so not much time for character development, but Jess and Fernando are very likeable as are the rest of the people in the book.
173 reviews
October 29, 2014
Romance in Spain

Jess, an intelligent and beautiful American businesswoman, and Fernando, a handsome and wealthy Spanish business owner had a good working relationship over the last 6 months, and finally completed a large International deal.

Celebrating their successful business transaction they went out for a quiet dinner on such a beautiful night in this gorgeous countryside of Spain. Dinner led to learning more about about each other, combined with too many Sangrias for a spectacular evening.

The next morning remembering such a perfect romantic evening along with much more than Jesse and being so close to Fernando and his loving ways made it impossible to think straight. Would she leave Spain and Fernando behind or give in to him and stay?
Profile Image for pinK.
479 reviews8 followers
August 22, 2012
I received this book as a first reads giveaway.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick and enjoyable read. It was predictable, but romance novels often are. Although it was predictable, I still really enjoyed it. Predictability works in romance, so it didn't affect me poorly at all.

I really liked that this novel was not smutty. I was a bit nervous when I saw the cover, because it just screamed "throbbing member" to me, but it was written very well and wasn't filled with indecent scenes that always make me uncomfortable.

I would definitely suggest this to anyone that likes a romantic story without all the down and dirty details.
Profile Image for Aly Pie.
20 reviews1 follower
January 3, 2015
Short and cute can only descirbe this book. It was a cute story, but nothing very exciting happened. I had high expectations for the climax but was very disappointed.

I felt like the ending was rushed and way too short. Fernado needed a wife and a heir by his 32nd birthday. He got the wife but did they get the baby? I wish the ending had mentioned that. This book was set up like a series but its a stand alone which frustrates me because I want to know about Eve's relationship and if there is a baby...
Profile Image for Stacy.
1,305 reviews8 followers
August 26, 2012
I received this book as a FirstRead.

This book was a fast, cute read. I would recommend it for someone looking to distract themselves while passing a couple of hours. I liked the two main characters but would liked to have seen a little more depth to the supporting characters, who mostly seemed flat. Nevertheless, they did not detract from the main storyline. I would love to see a sequel based on Evie and Gustavo.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews

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