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Marriage of Convenience Boxed Set
Favorite Romance Themes™: MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE is a boxed set of four complete novels from some of today’s most exciting authors -- at an irresistible price! Just 99c for a limited time!
It’s perhaps the most beloved, classic romance theme of all: a couple who marry not for love, but because of a business contract, an arrangement between families, or the order of a king. They start their married life as strangers… then sparks fly, love catches them by surprise, and their arrangement becomes much more. This boxed set features four full-length “marriage of convenience” romance novels:
Cry Uncle by USA Today bestselling author Judith Arnold
With a hit man after her, Seattle architect Pamela Hayes runs as far as she can: to steamy Key West. Local bar owner Jonas Brenner will lose custody of his orphaned five-year-old niece unless he can convince a judge he’s a responsible father. What he needs is a wife to persuade the court his niece is living in a stable environment. What Pam needs is a new identity. Joe offers her a deal: if she marries him and takes his name, no hit man is going to find her. In return, she can pose as Joe’s wife, dutifully caring for his wild-child niece. A marriage in name only—no sex, no emotions, no love. Which, once Pam and Joe move in together and the sparks begin to fly, is easier said than done.
Falcon’s Fire by RITA Award winner Patricia Ryan
Martine of Rouen resolves never to fall in love after her mother drowns herself in despair over a broken heart, but for her brother's sake she allows herself to be betrothed, sight unseen, to Edmond of Harford. The union has been negotiated by lowborn knight Thorne Falconer in exchange for the estate he covets more than anything--certainly more than love. Thorne never suspected he'd have to protect Martine from abuse at the hands of the brutish Edmond and his vicious brother, but he does, in the only way he can--by marrying her himself.
A New World by USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn
When his Irish eyes are smiling, she's in danger of losing her head ... and her heart. Even when she agrees to marry him, Eleanor refuses to be charmed by the Irish balladeer she hires to strum up business for her Cape Ann restaurant in Massachusetts. Yes, she feels his spell, but bitter reality has taught her that dreamers drift on, leaving heartache. Cahill finds the woman he wants to share his future with in strong-minded, too-practical-for-her-own-good Eleanor, but he must convince her … and time is running out.
Of One Heart by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Wright
When the reckless Marquess of Sandhurst is forced by King Henry VIII into an arranged marriage with a young French widow, he conceives a bold masquerade to outwit the king. Disguised as a humble portrait painter, Sandhurst travels to the French court to have a look at his would-be bride. In this magical novel of love and renewal, Cynthia Wright illuminates the world of Tudor England and Renaissance France.
The Summit Authors Present: Favorite Romance Themes™
These are the classic themes beloved by romance readers around the world, the powerful myths at the very heart of the romance genre. Now, for the first time, your favorite themes are available in a dazzling collection of boxed sets from some of today’s most exciting authors -- at an irresistible price!
Don’t miss any of the enchanting boxed sets from The Summit Authors Present: Favorite Romance Themes™ collection. Find out more at summitauthors.
It’s perhaps the most beloved, classic romance theme of all: a couple who marry not for love, but because of a business contract, an arrangement between families, or the order of a king. They start their married life as strangers… then sparks fly, love catches them by surprise, and their arrangement becomes much more. This boxed set features four full-length “marriage of convenience” romance novels:
Cry Uncle by USA Today bestselling author Judith Arnold
With a hit man after her, Seattle architect Pamela Hayes runs as far as she can: to steamy Key West. Local bar owner Jonas Brenner will lose custody of his orphaned five-year-old niece unless he can convince a judge he’s a responsible father. What he needs is a wife to persuade the court his niece is living in a stable environment. What Pam needs is a new identity. Joe offers her a deal: if she marries him and takes his name, no hit man is going to find her. In return, she can pose as Joe’s wife, dutifully caring for his wild-child niece. A marriage in name only—no sex, no emotions, no love. Which, once Pam and Joe move in together and the sparks begin to fly, is easier said than done.
Falcon’s Fire by RITA Award winner Patricia Ryan
Martine of Rouen resolves never to fall in love after her mother drowns herself in despair over a broken heart, but for her brother's sake she allows herself to be betrothed, sight unseen, to Edmond of Harford. The union has been negotiated by lowborn knight Thorne Falconer in exchange for the estate he covets more than anything--certainly more than love. Thorne never suspected he'd have to protect Martine from abuse at the hands of the brutish Edmond and his vicious brother, but he does, in the only way he can--by marrying her himself.
A New World by USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn
When his Irish eyes are smiling, she's in danger of losing her head ... and her heart. Even when she agrees to marry him, Eleanor refuses to be charmed by the Irish balladeer she hires to strum up business for her Cape Ann restaurant in Massachusetts. Yes, she feels his spell, but bitter reality has taught her that dreamers drift on, leaving heartache. Cahill finds the woman he wants to share his future with in strong-minded, too-practical-for-her-own-good Eleanor, but he must convince her … and time is running out.
Of One Heart by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Wright
When the reckless Marquess of Sandhurst is forced by King Henry VIII into an arranged marriage with a young French widow, he conceives a bold masquerade to outwit the king. Disguised as a humble portrait painter, Sandhurst travels to the French court to have a look at his would-be bride. In this magical novel of love and renewal, Cynthia Wright illuminates the world of Tudor England and Renaissance France.
The Summit Authors Present: Favorite Romance Themes™
These are the classic themes beloved by romance readers around the world, the powerful myths at the very heart of the romance genre. Now, for the first time, your favorite themes are available in a dazzling collection of boxed sets from some of today’s most exciting authors -- at an irresistible price!
Don’t miss any of the enchanting boxed sets from The Summit Authors Present: Favorite Romance Themes™ collection. Find out more at summitauthors.
1346 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 17, 2013
180 people are currently reading
367 people want to read
About the author
Judith Arnold
183 books173 followersBarbara Keiler
aka Ariel Berk, Thea Frederick, Judith Arnold
Barbara Keiler was born on April 7th. She started telling stories before shecould write. She was four when her sister, Carolyn, stuffed a crayon intoher hand and taught her the alphabet, and she's been writing ever since.
Barbara is a graduate of Smith College, where she learned to aim for thestars, and she received a master's degree in creative writing from BrownUniversity, where she took aim at a good-looking graduate student in thechemistry department and wound up marrying him. She says: "Before myhusband and I were married, I had a job in California and he was working onhis Ph.D. in Rhode Island. I became ill, and he hopped on a plane and flewacross the country to be with me. Neither of us had any money, but he saidhe simply couldn't concentrate on his research, knowing I was three thousandmiles away and facing a serious health problem all by myself. He stayed fortwo weeks, until I was pretty well recovered. That he would just drop whathe was doing, put his life on hold and race to my side told me how much heloved me. After that, I knew this was the man I wanted to marry."
Barbara has received writing fellowships from the Shubert Foundation and theNational Endowment for the Arts, and has taught at colleges and universitiesaround the country. She has also written several plays that have beenprofessionally staged at regional theaters in San Francisco, Washington, D.C.,Connecticut and off-off-Broadway.
Since her first romance novel's publication in 1983 as Ariel Berk. Shewrote one novel as Thea Frederick, and since 1985 she writes asJudith Arnold. Barbara has sold more than 70 novels, with eight millioncopies in print worldwide. She has recently signed a contract with MIRABooks. Her first MIRA novel will appear in 2001. She has received severalawards from Romantic Times Magazine, including awards for the Best HarlequinAmerican Romance of the Year, Best Harlequin Superromance of the Year, BestSeries Romantic Novel of the Year and a Lifetime Achievement Certificate ofMerit for Innovative Series Romance. She has also been a finalist for theGolden Medallion Award and the RITA Award for Romance Writer of America. Hernovel Barefoot in the Grass has appeared on the recommended reading listsdistributed by cancer support services at several hospitals.
Barbara lives in a small town not far from Boston, Massachusetts, New England with her husband, two teenage sons, and a guinea pig named Wilbur. Her sister Carolyn died of breast cancer in 1998.
aka Ariel Berk, Thea Frederick, Judith Arnold
Barbara Keiler was born on April 7th. She started telling stories before shecould write. She was four when her sister, Carolyn, stuffed a crayon intoher hand and taught her the alphabet, and she's been writing ever since.
Barbara is a graduate of Smith College, where she learned to aim for thestars, and she received a master's degree in creative writing from BrownUniversity, where she took aim at a good-looking graduate student in thechemistry department and wound up marrying him. She says: "Before myhusband and I were married, I had a job in California and he was working onhis Ph.D. in Rhode Island. I became ill, and he hopped on a plane and flewacross the country to be with me. Neither of us had any money, but he saidhe simply couldn't concentrate on his research, knowing I was three thousandmiles away and facing a serious health problem all by myself. He stayed fortwo weeks, until I was pretty well recovered. That he would just drop whathe was doing, put his life on hold and race to my side told me how much heloved me. After that, I knew this was the man I wanted to marry."
Barbara has received writing fellowships from the Shubert Foundation and theNational Endowment for the Arts, and has taught at colleges and universitiesaround the country. She has also written several plays that have beenprofessionally staged at regional theaters in San Francisco, Washington, D.C.,Connecticut and off-off-Broadway.
Since her first romance novel's publication in 1983 as Ariel Berk. Shewrote one novel as Thea Frederick, and since 1985 she writes asJudith Arnold. Barbara has sold more than 70 novels, with eight millioncopies in print worldwide. She has recently signed a contract with MIRABooks. Her first MIRA novel will appear in 2001. She has received severalawards from Romantic Times Magazine, including awards for the Best HarlequinAmerican Romance of the Year, Best Harlequin Superromance of the Year, BestSeries Romantic Novel of the Year and a Lifetime Achievement Certificate ofMerit for Innovative Series Romance. She has also been a finalist for theGolden Medallion Award and the RITA Award for Romance Writer of America. Hernovel Barefoot in the Grass has appeared on the recommended reading listsdistributed by cancer support services at several hospitals.
Barbara lives in a small town not far from Boston, Massachusetts, New England with her husband, two teenage sons, and a guinea pig named Wilbur. Her sister Carolyn died of breast cancer in 1998.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 27, 2014
So far so good. The first book is simple, without a whole heap of angst (sometimes they main characters carry on for so loooong you are like, come ON already, get a clue). Lots of quirky side characters in this modern romance.
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The second book, while technically a marriage of convenience (there are two in here, in fact) still doesn't fit the theme of this boxed set, because for the majority of this book the heroine is in love with a man other than her betrothed. If anything, this book should be in a set called "loving the wrong one", the very antithesis of what people drawn to this niche theme are after.
Aside from that, it's a tale set in medieval times. At first the author is awkward in the descriptions, pointing things out in a too obvious manner and breaking the fourth wall (hey, I did some research and know stuff about the age) but this smooths out after the first couple of chapters and the story takes hold. Also, some truly obvious points of plot happen, but one can't complain about that in a romance novel much (after all, it's not like we don't know how the story is going to end when we first pick up the book).
Maybe the failing is mine, perhaps I'm just too cynical for certain types of romance novels, especially the ones where people act unfailingly stupid over and over again whether or not it's in the name of love. It just strikes me that knights are about chivalry, and the classic joy of picking up a tale involving these paragons of virtue (even though we know they are truly anything but), is that we are going to find that we have a strong, but wayward heroine, with a knight who is noble and whose love always looks out for her best interest, even at the cost of personal sacrifice...and maybe a good swordfight or two. Well, no good swordfights, and this knight constantly puts the lady in peril by pursuing her with his passions when he should not, and it is she who must keep him at distance...if she can control her own heart. That's all well and good if we are dealing with a stuffy duke or lord, but people pick up these books to read a variation on the same theme, and this time, not only did the book fail to be in keeping with the theme of the boxed set, it also failed the classic setup of a knight's tale.
At least it had plenty of steamy scenes to make up for it.
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Third book was just okay. Didn't love it, didn't hate it, and a month from now I'll be hard pressed to remember what it's even about if you asked me.
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I stand in utter awe at the amount of loving-care that has been woven into the writing of the fourth and final book. The research and dedication...even if the author is a known historian this piece is still quite simply a tiny piece of historical art. Someone took their time to make it correct down to the smallest details. Well done.
-----
The second book, while technically a marriage of convenience (there are two in here, in fact) still doesn't fit the theme of this boxed set, because for the majority of this book the heroine is in love with a man other than her betrothed. If anything, this book should be in a set called "loving the wrong one", the very antithesis of what people drawn to this niche theme are after.
Aside from that, it's a tale set in medieval times. At first the author is awkward in the descriptions, pointing things out in a too obvious manner and breaking the fourth wall (hey, I did some research and know stuff about the age) but this smooths out after the first couple of chapters and the story takes hold. Also, some truly obvious points of plot happen, but one can't complain about that in a romance novel much (after all, it's not like we don't know how the story is going to end when we first pick up the book).
Maybe the failing is mine, perhaps I'm just too cynical for certain types of romance novels, especially the ones where people act unfailingly stupid over and over again whether or not it's in the name of love. It just strikes me that knights are about chivalry, and the classic joy of picking up a tale involving these paragons of virtue (even though we know they are truly anything but), is that we are going to find that we have a strong, but wayward heroine, with a knight who is noble and whose love always looks out for her best interest, even at the cost of personal sacrifice...and maybe a good swordfight or two. Well, no good swordfights, and this knight constantly puts the lady in peril by pursuing her with his passions when he should not, and it is she who must keep him at distance...if she can control her own heart. That's all well and good if we are dealing with a stuffy duke or lord, but people pick up these books to read a variation on the same theme, and this time, not only did the book fail to be in keeping with the theme of the boxed set, it also failed the classic setup of a knight's tale.
At least it had plenty of steamy scenes to make up for it.
-----
Third book was just okay. Didn't love it, didn't hate it, and a month from now I'll be hard pressed to remember what it's even about if you asked me.
-----
I stand in utter awe at the amount of loving-care that has been woven into the writing of the fourth and final book. The research and dedication...even if the author is a known historian this piece is still quite simply a tiny piece of historical art. Someone took their time to make it correct down to the smallest details. Well done.
April 16, 2014
I read those four books in one week so much I was unraptured by them.
Well, some are less amazing that others but it was really a great time to dream!
I will probably do a longer review after but for now, here my first impressions:
Falcon's Fire (Patricia Ryan): 5 stars! read in 3 days! A beautiful adventure full of passion and emotion. I loved the characters, the fact that you breath at the same rythm as the heros, hoping they will succeed to free themselves and have finally the happiness they deserved so much. The story is full of twists so even if you can guess some points, you can't have them all and the surprises are really great! I enjoyed it so much that I already plan to read it a second time as soon as possible.
Of One Heart (Cynthia Wright): 3,5 stars! The less enjoyable to my test. The story is nice but really too long! If would have been so much better if some scenes had been cut, giving a better rythm to the story.
Cry Uncle (Judith Arnold): 5 stars! A little jewel! A really cute and moving story between a single "father" trying to have the custody of his little niece and a woman whose life is endangered. Of course, since the beginning you can guess the ending of this story but believe me, you will be charmed by the characters and you will not regret to have read it.
A New World (Patricia McLinn): 4 stars! A really pleasant story with its lot of moving and funny moments. The characters are strong, their background complex, the story gives us some good twists. A sweet moment of entertainment.
Well, some are less amazing that others but it was really a great time to dream!
I will probably do a longer review after but for now, here my first impressions:
Falcon's Fire (Patricia Ryan): 5 stars! read in 3 days! A beautiful adventure full of passion and emotion. I loved the characters, the fact that you breath at the same rythm as the heros, hoping they will succeed to free themselves and have finally the happiness they deserved so much. The story is full of twists so even if you can guess some points, you can't have them all and the surprises are really great! I enjoyed it so much that I already plan to read it a second time as soon as possible.
Of One Heart (Cynthia Wright): 3,5 stars! The less enjoyable to my test. The story is nice but really too long! If would have been so much better if some scenes had been cut, giving a better rythm to the story.
Cry Uncle (Judith Arnold): 5 stars! A little jewel! A really cute and moving story between a single "father" trying to have the custody of his little niece and a woman whose life is endangered. Of course, since the beginning you can guess the ending of this story but believe me, you will be charmed by the characters and you will not regret to have read it.
A New World (Patricia McLinn): 4 stars! A really pleasant story with its lot of moving and funny moments. The characters are strong, their background complex, the story gives us some good twists. A sweet moment of entertainment.
September 19, 2016
Because I get confused easily and forget which box set I have read and which I haven't. This one is done!! Good job, self!
Cry Uncle by Judith Arnold, 2/5
Falcon's Fire by Patricia Ryan, 4/5 - I actually liked this one enough to read the next one.
A New World by Patricia McLinn, 3/5
Of One Heart by Cynthia Wright, 2/5
Basically, I'd get the Ryan book if that seems up your alley, otherwise I don't recommend this boxed set, which isn't on sale anymore anyway, BUT I THOUGHT I'D TELL YOU.
Cry Uncle by Judith Arnold, 2/5
Falcon's Fire by Patricia Ryan, 4/5 - I actually liked this one enough to read the next one.
A New World by Patricia McLinn, 3/5
Of One Heart by Cynthia Wright, 2/5
Basically, I'd get the Ryan book if that seems up your alley, otherwise I don't recommend this boxed set, which isn't on sale anymore anyway, BUT I THOUGHT I'D TELL YOU.
August 16, 2015
2 historical, 2 contemporary. bought these a few years ago and re-read because I needed some escapism. wrote notes at the beginning of each. some were better than others, but I only paid a couple of dollars for the collection.
Read
February 4, 2014Wonderful
enjoyed the descriptions of land, clothing and emotions. especially liked that the story took you into their lives after they fell in love.
enjoyed the descriptions of land, clothing and emotions. especially liked that the story took you into their lives after they fell in love.
October 30, 2014
Book one enjoyable but gave up on two, three and four as each I found annoying.
January 22, 2015
There were four stories, two of them being historical are not my cup of tea, the other two were just o.k.
Sorry, but I can't give more than two stars for that compilation of random stories.
Sorry, but I can't give more than two stars for that compilation of random stories.
February 2, 2016
Great bookd
I loved every minute of every story. I'm going to look for other stories. You have a fan. I had to go through so much bad writing to come to such great writting
I loved every minute of every story. I'm going to look for other stories. You have a fan. I had to go through so much bad writing to come to such great writting
June 11, 2016
all great books , loved them all
December 24, 2016
Please see individual stories for review.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews