Matched to Her Rival

Happily Ever After, Inc. #3

by Kat Cantrell

She was supposed to match him with someone else...

Elise Arundel won't let anyone compromise her high-profile matchmaking business--certainly not Dax Wakefield, the doubting tycoon determined to prove she's a sham. She'll find the sexy bachelor a perfect mate. But when her foolproof program matches him with her, what's a woman to do but give in to unbridled passion?

Dax can't believe how the former-duckling-turned-swan is making him question his playboy status--and his vow to bring down her company. Could sultry Elise--his enemy!--be the one to change his life from one night only to happily ever after?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Desire, Contemporary, Category Romance

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Kat Cantrell read her first Harlequin novel in third grade and has been scribbling in notebooks since she learned to spell. What else would she write but romance?

When she's not writing about characters on the journey to happily ever after, she can be found at a taekwondo tournament, watching Big Bang Theory or dancing with her kids to Duran Duran and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Kat, her husband and their two boys live in North Texas. She was the first Harlequin So You Think You Can Write winner and a former RWA® Golden Heart® finalist for best unpublished series contemporary manuscript.

Reviews

[🐝 Shaz 🐝 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars 🌟
This story started off okay. But got rather boring and I couldn’t wait for it to end.

[Margo · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is nothing worse than a dramatic speech/gesture that makes no sense.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fun series. There's something really satisfying about seeing a fairy godmother come through for some deserving Cinderellas. And it's even more fun when the fairy godmother gets a happy ending of her own, though she certainly didn't have an easy time of it.

Elise was doing an television interview about her business when it was hijacked by Dax Wakefield. He has had it in for her ever since he accused his friend Leo (Matched to a Billionaire) of falling for one of Elise's trained golddiggers and lost their friendship because of it. She refuses to accept his maligning of her business and challenges him to become one of her clients. If she finds him a soulmate, he will advertise her business, if she fails he can attempt to ruin her business.

The sparks between Dax and Elise were incredible from the very beginning. Both of them were absolutely confident in their own positions, and their ability to prove it. Dax is a man who doesn't believe that love exists, and that any relationship based on emotion is doomed to crash and burn. Elise knows that there is a soulmate out there for everyone, even Dax. She just has to get him to cooperate in answering the profile questions, which is an experience in itself. I loved seeing just how much alike the two of them were, in spite of their differing views. Both have psychology degrees and are adept at reading each other and pushing their buttons. When Elise finally gets all of the questions answered and entered into her program, she is stunned to find that it selects her as Dax's perfect match. She refuses to believe it and selects someone else to match him up with. That doesn't go so well, largely because Dax can't get Elise off his mind. Because of it, Dax starts pursuing Elise with more intent, and taking advantage of the attraction he knows she feels too. I loved the give and take between them, and seeing Elise try to resist him. I liked the fact that she actually succeeded for longer than Dax expected.

Both of them discover, to their surprise, that they actually like each other and want to spend time together. By doing so, they learn more about each other and themselves, including their biggest fears. It turns out that each have some serious self-esteem and trust issues. Elise has never really gotten over her body issues from when she was heavy, and doesn't trust that anyone can see the person she really is under the figure she works so hard to maintain. Dax worries that he's like his mother, who deserted him when he was young, and is afraid to trust that he has anything substantial to offer a woman. Just as he's beginning to believe that he and Elise could have something together he learns of her lie about who he was matched with, destroying the fragile trust he had started to feel.

I felt so terrible for both of them, as each of them had really fallen for the other, but neither could let go of their fears. It isn't until they face their own demons that they can allow themselves to trust the other one. For a change it's the woman who has the biggest screwup to fix and Elise does so in a spectacular way.

I liked seeing Leo, Danni and Juliet have parts to play. Leo showed a lot of class in not saying "I told you so" to Dax. And I loved the way that Danni and Juliet showed up to give Elise moral support when she was so unhappy.

[Desere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elise Arundel refuses to let anyone mess with her company. She's good at matching people with their soul-mates and no one will take that away from her. So of course when Mr I always doubt Dax Wakefield challenges her, she takes the chance to bring him round to her way of thinking.

But when her full proof match making program matches her as Dax's soul mate, the situation is more than just a little uncomfortable. It's downright unprofessional to get involved with a client, only she craves Dax and he seems to share the attraction.

Only Elise is his enemy and bring down her company he shall, all he needs to do is resist the once ugly duckling turned swan. Naturally avoiding their mutual attraction is a "So not happening" situation and soon they are lost in a world of passion. But Elise is not ready to be someone's soul mate and Dax well he's not so sure about love really existing in the first place, after all how can a match program find the one you're meant to spend the rest of your life with?

This was the third installment in the Happy Ever After Inc, trilogy, and just like the previous two books it was stunning! I adored Elise when I was introduced to her in the previous book, and I could not wait for her story to see her find her very own happy ever after, because let's face it when your job is matching people to the love's of their lives and here you are still un-happy -ever-after life does start to get a little hopeless.

I was delighted to to discover that Elise's perfect match was a very unexpected one, I did not picture her with the brooding and very stubborn Dax. The man is the kind of hero you want to shove into a tiny room and play love songs and romantic movies over and over till he believes in love. But how I adored him , when the author started showing him in a very interesting and very different light.

Elise was a bit of a shocker , as when I 'met' her in the previous book she was all full of life, go after love and always believe you have a soul mate, and then suddenly when her soul mate is right in front of her she wants to dig a whole and bury herself. I expected her to go after it and make it happen, but through this the author showed not everyone is always as they seem. There is always something more hiding behind the smiles and 'am always happy' attitudes.

I am taking away a message of we can always tell everyone what do to, what to wear and how to think when it comes to certain things in life such as love. But when our own love comes walking through the door
it's not that easy. The trick would be to see if you can follow your own advise instead of only being able to dish it out.

I highly recommend this read for all fans of happy ever after reads. It was sweet and heartfelt with loads of spice and best of all a story that does a 360 degree bend of the normal meet, fall in love , happy ever after. It's Cinderella meets the Frog prince with a new twist or is that a new ball game?

5/5 star review

" She's always one step ahead of him, but he's right there to catch her when she falls"

[Griffinyarn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find the most helpful reviews are not what the person liked about a particular book, but what they didn't like. Because if I think that I can put up with whatever flaws are listed in a review, I'll read it anyway. 5 star reviews don't really tell me a lot.

So I thought I'd mention the thing(s) that brought this book down to 3 stars (for me). The first two-thirds of the book were great. I loved the characters and the way they started opening up to each other. The last third was a let down. I had psyched myself up for a good, angsty "guy loses girl" section of the plot, but instead of being caught up in the heartbreak and gut-twisting emotions of the characters, I felt... nothing. Maybe a twinge of annoyance. I just couldn't buy the reason for the big "conflict". The hero throws a hissy fit because the heroine didn't trust him/herself.

The resolution was also rather disappointing. It felt like a weaker version of the ending to Never Been Kissed.



Note: I read this as a standalone novel.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

surprisingly good and the leads are sweet :)

[Ines · Rating 3 out of 5]

qué bueno chicas.... muy fácil de leer lo que más me gustó fue que estuviera un poco mal escrito y lo predecible que es.... lo compre pq valia un euro en el bazar y personalmente ha sido todo un find. es todo lo que esperas con solo mirar la portada y es muy gracioso en plan cliché. recomiendo si teneis bloqueo lector

[Bunga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book! Lebih bagus dari buku-buku yang sebelumnya, IMO. Saya suka sama hero-heroinenya. Si Dax yang sinis dan Elise yang witty. Emang cocok deh mereka untuk jadi soulmate.

Elise entrepeneur sukses yang punya perusahaan biro jodoh terkenal dengan klien-klien elite ditantang oleh Dax untuk membuktikan cinta sejati itu ada, dan mencarikan si Dax jodoh. Hehehe... Si Dax ini jerk di awal cerita, soalnya arogan, playboy tulen, ga suka komitmen, dan ga percaya cinta. Tipikal hero-hero gitu deh. Dan waktu Elise memasukkan profile Dax di program pencari jodoh miliknya, eh malah nama Elise yang nongol sebagai jodohnya Dax. Wew... tentu saja Elisenya gak sudi. Hohoho... Bukan ga sudi sih, tepatnya Elise yang saat itu mulai agak tertarik dengan Dax, menganggap dia sudah gak objektif lagi ke kliennya. Maka Elise pun berusaha mencarikan Dax jodoh yang lainnya--yang secara garis besar benar-benar tipe cewek idaman Dax. Di sini lucu sih, soalnya di sisi lain Dax pun merasa ada yang salah dengan dirinya. Soalnya dia dipertemukan dengan cewek yang cantik luar biasa, sensual, dan pinter--cewek yang "dalam kondisi normal" adalah pasangan yang tepat baginya, tapi si Dax gak bereaksi sama sekali. Malah pas kencan keinget mulu sama Elise. Si Elisenya juga ngegangguin Dax ngedate, SMS mulu nanya-nanya gimana kencannya. Sama Dax pun sengaja dicuekin SMSnya biar Elise makin penasaran. Wkwkwk...

Ada meweknya juga sih. Yaitu pas Elise dan Dax udah jadi lover dan Elise jujur ke Dax kalo dialah jodohnya Dax yang sebenarnya dan nama Eliselah yang nongol pertama kali di program pencarian jodoh. Di situ Dax marah karena kecewa dibohongi, apalagi karena Dax merasa jatuh cinta ama Elise. Elisenya pun ada salahnya sih kenapa gak jujur. Dia takut untuk percaya kalau Dax itu jodohnya. Ya gitu deh ribet. Hohoho...

Tapi bukan novel romance namanya kalo pasangan sejati ini enggak bersatu di akhir cerita. Hehehe.

[ies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Langsung loncat gw baca no 3 hehehe.. pengen nimpuk Dax dari buku 1 si abisan LOL

Dax Wakefield, playboy dan kaya raya.. pokoknya punya stasiun tv dan majalah dst itu deh. Dia tidak percaya cinta sehidup semati, dan dia sakit hati banget sama si makcomblang Elise Arundel yang ude ngejodoin Leo temen baiknya dr remaja sama Daniella (tokoh buku 1). Makanya pas Elise lagi diwawanca di tv die, die langsung gantiin si pembawa acara (mbuh kenapa boleh) trs bikin taruhan gt, Elise musti nyariin die soul mate, kalau Elise bisa berhasil membuat Dax percaya cinta dan komitmen, Dax akan membayar $500,000 dan akan memprosikan agency nya Elise tapi kalau ga bisa ya Elise tak lebih hanya seorang Penipu.

Elise Arundel, punya emak super model, dari kecil selalu denger "die jelek, die gendut, die ini, die itu" sampai akhirnya die bisa mandiri dan membuat program logaritma untuk ngejodoh2in orang (dih gitu lah pokoknya bingung ngejelasinnya) dan sukses, meski die sendiri selama 7th itu jg blm bisa nemuin soulmatenya. Pas, tiba2 si Dax ngajuin tantangan, Elise mau ga mau musti membuktikan progam nya berjalan dengan benar dong.. masa iya seorang Dax yg nyebelin tp seksi itu mau nuduh die penipu padahal ga ada satu klien pun yg komplen.

Terus, gimana pas setelah mereka melakukan tes wawancara (biar bisa tau dong cocok sama siapa) dan jawaban Dax dimasukkan ke program logaritma dia taunya yg keluar nama nya Elise sendiri ? apa benar Dax soulmate nya dia? atau ada yg salah dgn logaritmanya? terlebih setelah mengenal Dax lebih jauh, dia bukan tidak punya hati hanya saja yaaahhh... dia blm menemukan seseorang yg bisa terima dia apadanya.

Dax sendiri, setelah mengenal Elise.. ternyata, tidak bisa mengalihkan pikirannya dari wanita misterius itu

***duh, keknya aneh deh reviewnya.. gw bikin sambil ngurusin kerjaan hmpfh

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun story. It had me chuckling from the very beginning. At first I didn't like Dax, but he grew on me. By the end I was wishing for a Dax of my own. For me it was the witty humor that made the story. I had a little trouble with the conflict between them towards the end, it just didn't feel right to me, but the resolution was well done and the epilogue brought one or two happy tears to my eye.

[Deb Diem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matched To Her Rival by Kat Cantrell is a fairly quick read, perfect for those with limited time for reading. Ms Cantrell has delivered a well written book. Dax and Elise's story is full of fun characters, humor, drama and a bit of spice. I enjoyed Elise being feisty and full of sass. I enjoyed Matched To Her Rival and look forward to reading more from Kat Cantrell in the future. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

[Katrina Knittle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads win. Will read and review once received.

This was an amazing read. I will definitely be getting my hands on the first two books in the series. Elise was definitely a great character. I think this book was very original and different from what I usually read. I would recommend this to my friends in the future.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hi Kat, I was the lucky winner in the Giveaway by Goodreads of your book "Matched to Her Rival" I just a finished reading it. The story was great! I totally enjoyed the twist and turns in the story. I was glad to read a book that was interesting without details better left to the imagination. Thank you, Alice Boni

[Harlequin Books]

"With snappy dialogue and a sexy hero with all-out seduction on his mind, Cantrell’s Happily Ever After, Inc. trilogy wraps up on a high note" (RT Book Reviews, 4 stars).

Miniseries: Happily Ever After, Inc.

[Ashley Irby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy from First Reads - & I was definitely not disappointed. Just as good as the others in the series. Loved it!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was concerned Elise wasn't going to get her happily ever after thankfully I was wrong.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's OK. At first I didn't like Dax, but he grew on me. I had a little trouble with the conflict between them towards the end, it just didn't feel right to me, I just couldn't buy the reason for the big "conflict", the resolution was also rather disappointing.

It's a fairly quick read and funny.

[Asounani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ni me gusto ni me disgusto

[Renáta Janotová · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kdysi dávno jsem sama sobě slíbila, že Harlequin už nikdy, že jsou to neskutečně braky...a vida, tato knížka mne přesvědčila, že se najdou výjimky. Celkem hezký příběh, celkem hezký sex.

[Makenna North · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel begins by introducing Dax and Elise, our two main characters, where Elise is participating in an interview for the program that Dax's business owns. Dax is a successful businessman who is focused on work and has no interest in a long-term relationship. Elise is a hopelessly romantic matchmaker who is convinced that everyone has the perfect mate and can get that "happily-ever-after", but sometimes it just takes a little to find that someone. Ater watching the interviewer start to question Elise (and recognizing her from his best friend going to her to be "matched", much to Dax's irritation and anger) and seeing an opportunity to improve his ratings, Dax takes the interviewers place and begins to pound Elise on her "Happly-ever-after" theory. In turn, Elise challenges him to come see her and see whether or not she can find his perfect match. The cost of this wager is that if he wins and does not find his soulmate, he can crush her business. If she wins and he does find his soulmate, he will pay for 15 seconds of airtime during the Super Bowl to promote her company.

After meeting, Elise runs Dax through her matchmaking program that she designed herself, and Dax's match comes up as her. She does not think that this is right and swears to herself that she will never tell him, so she tweaks his information a little bit so his match comes as someone else. Against his will, Dax starts to like Elise, and wants to continue with the matchmaking program just so he can have an excuse to spend time with her. Elise also begins to like Dax, but tries to deny it because he is a customer. After a lot of denial, they both accept that they are falling for the other person. When Dax tells Elise that he was really glad that her program was faulty, she accidentally let it slip that she was his match, and that she had changed his information so that he was matched with someone else. Dax is furious, and is convinced that she did it so that she would win the wager, and that she never really loved him.

This is a really general overview of the novel, and it doesn't do it justice. I really enjoyed the book, but it irritated me how many sexual references there were. There were about four chapters that was just sex sex sex, and I personally don't like that at ALL in a book or a movie because I think that it is something that's private and does not need to be publicized. But I liked the storyline, the little plot twists that made the novel seem more realistic and how the novel did not leave any loose ends.

[Tess Audree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book. I wanted this to be five stars. It was addictive and I couldn't stop reading it. The dialogue was great and the main characters were so smart it was refreshing. The book was fun and extremely enjoyable. The plot was easy to follow, but it was rich and interesting. I saw the ending coming, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book. I really really liked it.

So why only four stars? I could not, for the life of me, visualize the characters! I just couldn't. Eventually Elise started to take shape for me, even though I battled with what size she was (was she fat? A little big? Perfectly proportioned and just still obsessing over her size? I know what Dax thought, but he was in love) And Dax NEVER came together for me, even though I tried and tried and tried to imagine him. I really feel that we found out he was a Calvin Klein model too late. By the time I found out the image I had in mind was NOT an underwear model. This lack of image severely inhibits sensual scenes which was a shame because they were written extremely well.

I will certainly read more books by this author and I hope her other characters are as smart as these two were. I just hope I'm able to actual picture them next time!

[Mai Lien Nguyen]

Không biết đặt mấy sao bởi vì không phải truyện hợp với mình.
Đối thoại giữa hai người này dễ thương và sexy lắm.
Nhưng cách phát triển tình cảm thì dở thật, càng về sau càng dở.
Ngoài lề, Harlequin là nxb các tác phẩm in ấn chuyên dành cho phụ nữ có trụ sở chính ở Toronto, Canada. Thế nên đọc giới thiệu và newsletter rất là nữ tính. :)

[Ally · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the hell was that? It started pretty *mehh*, then got better and i was liking it immensely, it was going decent enough until the point (in chapter 19, is it?) where things just went wtf!-level stupid. I mean, what was that, really? Just a forced attempt to throw in some non-issue of a conflict? What was the point of that illogicality and the clichés that follow? :/

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story, but I just wasn't all the impressed with the hero, Dax.