A Wedding Between Enemiesis a workplace, enemies-to-lovers, engagement of convenience romance by Harlequin Presents author Lorraine Hall.
Her Hate him or marry him!
Straitlaced Serena Valli didn’t expect her late father’s company to come with ruinous debts. Her strategy? Forge the merger of the century by marrying infamous rival CEO Luciano Ascione. A foolproof plan, if she can stand the maddening—and infuriatingly handsome—Italian…
Fabricating a playboy lifestyle has worked in Luciano’s favor; the world and his cruel father underestimate his every move. The pleasure he takes in vexing his alluring and steely fiancée, however, is very real. And when Serena matches his fire with her own, Luciano fears it’s not only she who's unraveling…
From Harlequin Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.
I neither loved or hated this story but the constant bragging by MMC of his Manho stud status, non stop bickering and running sentences throughout, just made me want to finish and be done with it.
I liked the fact that for once the FMC was made into a strong, rich and super smart business woman, but why did she have to be a virgin while he got to *@%*! around in the past? So tired of always making MMCs into manwhores like it's something to be proud about. This is in fact where it went downhill for me because every time the MMC opened his mouth or his POV and boasted about his past conquests, all I could think about is what's in store for poor FMC (STDs, kids with many OW, reminders left & right, etc.).
Additionally, I really didn't feel any chemistry between them at all. It felt too forced since both stated numerous times how neither liked one another (more so MMC than FMC). To put it in context, they both came from rivaling/competing families and are considered enemies. Both have Mommy/Daddy issues.
MMC has issues with his Father who didn't think he was good enough so he rebelled & stopped trying to appease him, until his Dad died and he wanted to make the business a success to stick it to him. FMC on the other hand had her own issues with Dear Dad but at least he knew she was smart in business. It's her personal life he had an issue with which she came across as a dork & an introverted cat lady.
Anyway, since there is another competitor who is stealing their clients, FMC comes up with a plan to get married and show a united front so that their clients could return back to them. (How that's suppose to happen is beyond me, but okay....). So she seeks out MMC and proposes marriage after she explains how their companies will not survive if they don't do something drastic to stop the competitor. Eventually after a lot of distrust from him, he agrees to the faux marriage and they start posing as a couple and this is when their relationship turns a corner and eventually they get to their HEA.
Received an advanced copy from publisher & NetGalley for an honest opinion.
Sometimes I’ll read an enemies-to-lovers trope style romance and wonder where the heck the “enemy” part comes into the story. Not so with Serena and Luciano in A Wedding Between Enemies, I had no doubt that this couple hated each other from the start, were born to their darker emotions towards the other, since their rivalry was encouraged by the actions of their fathers. Yet, desperate times call for equally desperate decisions, and Serena has made the choice to make Luciano an offer that he’d be foolish to refuse. Marry her, and save both of their companies, their legacies, from a company leeching away their clients.
Watching two extremely stubborn people work their way from enemies to something neither really knows how to handle was engaging, intriguing, and entertaining. If there was someone to hate in their story, it was Serena’s mother. The more I got to know Luciano and Serena, the more their attitude made sense, and that realization was, at times, heartbreaking.
If you love a well-written, emotional, enemies-to-lovers romance that will touch your heart as the couple deals with and grows from their pasts, then you’d enjoy A Wedding Between Enemies by Lorraine Hall.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley, and I sincerely thank the author or publishing house for their trust. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
From the very first page, there’s no question that Serena and Luciano are sworn rivals—bred into hostility by the machinations of their feuding fathers. The tension between them crackles with history, pride, and deep-seated resentment, making their eventual emotional journey all the more rewarding.
When Serena proposes a marriage of convenience to save both of their crumbling family companies from a mutual threat, it sets the stage for a slow-burn transformation—one where two fiercely stubborn individuals must learn to cooperate, confront old wounds, and unearth the vulnerability beneath their hardened exteriors. Their chemistry is undeniable, but it’s their growth and emotional reckoning that truly stand out. As the story unfolds, the motivations behind both Serena and Luciano’s behaviors become clearer, and that emotional unraveling is what makes the story both engaging and at times, heartbreaking.