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The Great Wedding Giveaway #9
Make-Believe Wedding
Everyone in Marietta, Montana, is in love and getting married - at least that’s the way it feels to Andie Bennett the night of the Valentine’s Ball. As she watches the man she’s loved from afar for half her life dance with another woman, Andie allows herself a moment of sheer fantasy as she fills out a stray entry form for the Great Wedding Giveaway. Andie channels years of fantasy and yearning for Heath McGregor onto the page, but she never intends to actually enter the Giveaway. Only a crazy woman would do that. But fate has other ideas….
When Heath learns he and Andie are last minute finalists in the Great Wedding Giveaway, he’s completely baffled. How on earth could anyone make such a ridiculous mistake? When it becomes clear that Andie will be humiliated if the slip-up becomes public, Heath does what any good friend would - he suggests they pretend the engagement is real until the Giveaway is over and then quietly “break up” when no one is paying any attention. It’s the perfect solution, except Heath very quickly realises that pretending Andie is his is no hardship at all. In fact, it may just be the best thing that’s ever happened to him…
The Great Wedding Giveaway Series
Prequel: Beauty's Kiss by Jane Porter
Book 1: What a Bride Wants by Kelly Hunter
Book 2: Second Chance Bride by Trish Morey
Book 3: Almost a Bride by Sarah Mayberry
Book 4: The Unexpected Bride by Joanne Walsh
Book 5: The Reluctant Bride by Katherine Garbera
Book 6: Game Of Brides by Megan Crane
Book 7: The Substitute Bride by Kathleen O'Brien
Book 8: Last Year's Bride by Anne McAllister
When Heath learns he and Andie are last minute finalists in the Great Wedding Giveaway, he’s completely baffled. How on earth could anyone make such a ridiculous mistake? When it becomes clear that Andie will be humiliated if the slip-up becomes public, Heath does what any good friend would - he suggests they pretend the engagement is real until the Giveaway is over and then quietly “break up” when no one is paying any attention. It’s the perfect solution, except Heath very quickly realises that pretending Andie is his is no hardship at all. In fact, it may just be the best thing that’s ever happened to him…
The Great Wedding Giveaway Series
Prequel: Beauty's Kiss by Jane Porter
Book 1: What a Bride Wants by Kelly Hunter
Book 2: Second Chance Bride by Trish Morey
Book 3: Almost a Bride by Sarah Mayberry
Book 4: The Unexpected Bride by Joanne Walsh
Book 5: The Reluctant Bride by Katherine Garbera
Book 6: Game Of Brides by Megan Crane
Book 7: The Substitute Bride by Kathleen O'Brien
Book 8: Last Year's Bride by Anne McAllister
245 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 28, 2014
368 people are currently reading
1402 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Mayberry
159 books1,150 followersSarah Mayberry was born in Melbourne, Australia, and is the middle of three children. From the time that she first “stole” paper from kindergarten and stapled it together to make “books,” Sarah has always wanted to be a writer. In line with this ambition, on graduation from high school she completed a bachelor of arts degree majoring in professional writing, then sat down to write a book. When inspiration didn’t strike, she began to wonder if, perhaps, she needed to live some life first before writing about it.
This still left the burning question of how to pay the rent. She found her way into trade journalism, working off the principle that it was better to write anything for a living than nothing at all. Her time there lead to the opportunity to launch a new decorator magazine for one of Australia’s major retailers, an invaluable and grueling experience that she found very rewarding.
But the opportunity to write fiction for a living soon lured Sarah away. She took up a post as storyliner on Australia’s longest running soap, Neighbours. Over two years she helped plot more than 240 hours of television, as well as writing freelance scripts. She remembers her time with the show very fondly — especially the dirty jokes and laughter around the story table — and still writes scripts on a freelance basis.
In 2003 she relocated to New Zealand for her partner’s work. There Sarah served as storyliner and story editor on the country’s top-rating drama, Shortland Street, before quitting to pursue writing full time.
Sarah picked up a love of romance novels from both her grandmothers, and has submitted manuscripts to Harlequin many times over the years. She credits the invaluable story structuring experience she learned on Neighbours as the key to her eventual success — along with the patience of her fantastic editor, Wanda.
Sarah is revoltingly happy with her partner of twelve years, Chris, who is a talented scriptwriter. Not only does he offer fantastic advice and solutions to writing problems, but he’s also handsome, funny and sexy. When she’s not gushing over him, she loves to read romance and fantasy novels, go to the movies, sew and cook for her friends. She has also become a recent convert to Pilates, which she knows she should do more often.
This still left the burning question of how to pay the rent. She found her way into trade journalism, working off the principle that it was better to write anything for a living than nothing at all. Her time there lead to the opportunity to launch a new decorator magazine for one of Australia’s major retailers, an invaluable and grueling experience that she found very rewarding.
But the opportunity to write fiction for a living soon lured Sarah away. She took up a post as storyliner on Australia’s longest running soap, Neighbours. Over two years she helped plot more than 240 hours of television, as well as writing freelance scripts. She remembers her time with the show very fondly — especially the dirty jokes and laughter around the story table — and still writes scripts on a freelance basis.
In 2003 she relocated to New Zealand for her partner’s work. There Sarah served as storyliner and story editor on the country’s top-rating drama, Shortland Street, before quitting to pursue writing full time.
Sarah picked up a love of romance novels from both her grandmothers, and has submitted manuscripts to Harlequin many times over the years. She credits the invaluable story structuring experience she learned on Neighbours as the key to her eventual success — along with the patience of her fantastic editor, Wanda.
Sarah is revoltingly happy with her partner of twelve years, Chris, who is a talented scriptwriter. Not only does he offer fantastic advice and solutions to writing problems, but he’s also handsome, funny and sexy. When she’s not gushing over him, she loves to read romance and fantasy novels, go to the movies, sew and cook for her friends. She has also become a recent convert to Pilates, which she knows she should do more often.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 220 reviews
September 21, 2014
4.5 stars!
This was short, sweet and well written! What's not to like?
Andie Bennett has been love with his older brother's best friend Heath McGregor since forever but he has never noticed her. At least not in the way she wants to be noticed. Years of unrequited longing for
Heath resulted in Andie pouring her heart out on a Great Wedding Giveaway entry that she has no plan on submitting. But fate has other ideas. Andie and Heath found themselves engaged and finalists of the contest. And so their story begins.
Yes, this trope has been done many times before but I still found myself loving Andie and Heath's journey to HEA. Aside from being well-written, Andie and Heath and sympathetic characters. Plus their chemistry is smoking hot. And once Heath started noticing Andie for the wonderful woman she is, he was there all the way. There was no going back for him even when met with his best friend and Andie's brother's disapproval. That made their HEA sweet and believable.
An ARC was provided by Tule Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
This was short, sweet and well written! What's not to like?
Andie Bennett has been love with his older brother's best friend Heath McGregor since forever but he has never noticed her. At least not in the way she wants to be noticed. Years of unrequited longing for
Heath resulted in Andie pouring her heart out on a Great Wedding Giveaway entry that she has no plan on submitting. But fate has other ideas. Andie and Heath found themselves engaged and finalists of the contest. And so their story begins.
Yes, this trope has been done many times before but I still found myself loving Andie and Heath's journey to HEA. Aside from being well-written, Andie and Heath and sympathetic characters. Plus their chemistry is smoking hot. And once Heath started noticing Andie for the wonderful woman she is, he was there all the way. There was no going back for him even when met with his best friend and Andie's brother's disapproval. That made their HEA sweet and believable.
An ARC was provided by Tule Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
January 1, 2017
This is one of those lovely ‘I’ve been in love with you forever, idiot!’ stories with construction boss hero Heath and electrician heroine Andie.
Andie has been in love with her brother’s best friend Heath since she was 13. He’s a bit of a womaniser with terrible taste in women, and she thinks he’s never noticed her because she’s tall, skinny and flat-chested.
One day she dolls herself up in a fancy dress and goes to the local Valentine’s Day ball. She’s wearing the big metaphorical ‘last chance to notice me’ sign around her neck. He doesn’t. He pats her on the head, and then goes dancing by with his tiny curvy brunette date.
So Andie gets very drunk and when someone plonks an application to win a wedding in front of her she wish fulfilment fills it out.
She leaves it on the table and thinks nothing more of it until someone shows up on the building site to announce that she and Heath have made the shortlist for the win a wedding competition. Heath is a good friend and won’t humiliate her on the spot by asking what the hell’s going on in front of the rest of the crew. Then events conspire so they keep the deception going and inevitably, passion blooms.
I don’t go for a lot of small town romance, and I don’t really trust wedding books. However, Andie and Heath are charming. They genuinely care about each other. Heath needs a bit more time coming around to realising that he’s in love with Andie, and of course he hurts her, and of course they also have to deal with some protective and interfering behaviour from Andie’s brother. He’s concerned because even though he loves Heath as a friend, he doesn’t think Heath is right for Andie.
As a ‘friends to lovers’ story, it reminded me of the first Sarah Mayberry I read, ‘Her Best Friend.’ I like her a lot, she does a good job of developing an emotional journey and showing a genuine, loving connection between her characters, rather than throwing in a lot of angsty melodrama. Not that I don’t love angsty melodrama, but it’s refreshing to get to a point where you’re tearing up because the hero and heroine are so incredibly, wonderfully right for each other and deserve good things, rather than wishing someone would eviscerate the hero and that the heroine would leave this whole love thing and instead find emotional satisfaction and happiness in an interesting hobby.
I also noticed that people in Montana sound and act a lot like Australians. It didn’t bother me, and may have only been noticeable because I was thinking about ‘Her Best Friend’ while reading this one. What did baffle me, though, is that at about four other potential heroines (the council lady, the journalist, the new café owner and the neighbour-friend) are revealed, and none of them get a book in this weddings series. I’m not even sure if they get a book at all, which made me really sad because I want to read the book about Andie’s brother and Andie’s ex-stripper neighbour-friend. They had chemistry and I was so sure they were being set up for something. Perhaps there is a book out there for them and I just haven’t found it yet.
This is a really lovely romance with two very likeable characters who are perfect for each other.
June 23, 2016
2.5 stars
October 16, 2014
Did I tell you that I am a sucker for a good friends-to-lovers romance? Well, I am. And Sarah Mayberry happens to be one of those authors who has rocked my world with a couple of romances she has written that fits this trope. Once again, with Make-Believe Wedding, Sarah Mayberry delights her fans with another wonderful romance of the friends-to-lovers variety which I adored right from the very start.
Andie Eloise Bennett has lived a long time with the secret of her love for her brother’s best friend, Heath Adam McGregor, who happens to be her very close friend and boss as well. Andie’s love for Heath wasn’t one of those random things that had happened just one fine day; she’d just known ever since puberty had hit that Heath was the one and that there would be no other. Living with that secret close to her heart for thirteen years had left its mark on her and watching Heath get tangled up with one woman right after the other doesn’t make a difference in her yearning to be with the man she has loved forever.
A lot more drinks than Andie usually entertains together with the grieving thought that Heath would never ever see her in the same light as she does him has Andie filling up an application form for The Great Wedding Giveaway, never knowing that life as she and Heath had known it was irrevocably going to change. When the application goes through by accident and “forces” Heath and Andie to fake an engagement, Heath finds the ground beneath him shift as he starts seeing the girl he’d known practically all his life in an entirely new way.
Make-Believe Wedding constitutes of two protagonists both equally appealing to the heart. Heath is one of those sweet heroes that you’d fall for from the minute you meet him. Though I must admit that of late, I have missed the brooding type of heroes that Sarah tends to create every now and then, Heath definitely ended up being a favorite of the sweet hero variety. Andie is the girl that most of us have been or even are right this very moment. Not extraordinarily beautiful, definitely not equipped with the type of body that men go gaga over and yet hopelessly in love with someone who is definitely above her paygrade. The reason I loved her surpasses all those reasons. She is the type of independent and yet vulnerable heroine that Sarah is legendary for creating and Andie definitely fits the mold.
The story that evolves is one that sizzles with sexual tension as Heath discovers a facet to Andie that has his head reeling from the passion she invokes in him. And well, for Andie, Heath is definitely her dream come true. The angst factor provided by Angie’s brother and of course Andie’s insecurities when it comes to believing something too good to be true provided that extra fodder to the story that made it the entertaining read Make-Believe Wedding turned out to be.
The one thing I am looking forward to now is Beau (Andie’s brother) and Lily (Andie’s friend)’s story. There was a tension that was simmering between them that sets the reader on the edge even in this one and I believe Sarah is going to deliver a hero of the type I’ve mentioned that I miss in her books with Beau. Cannot wait!
Recommended for fans of Sarah Mayberry & fans of friends-to-lovers romances.
Rating = 4/5
For more reviews & quotes, visit www.maldivianbookreviewer.com
Andie Eloise Bennett has lived a long time with the secret of her love for her brother’s best friend, Heath Adam McGregor, who happens to be her very close friend and boss as well. Andie’s love for Heath wasn’t one of those random things that had happened just one fine day; she’d just known ever since puberty had hit that Heath was the one and that there would be no other. Living with that secret close to her heart for thirteen years had left its mark on her and watching Heath get tangled up with one woman right after the other doesn’t make a difference in her yearning to be with the man she has loved forever.
A lot more drinks than Andie usually entertains together with the grieving thought that Heath would never ever see her in the same light as she does him has Andie filling up an application form for The Great Wedding Giveaway, never knowing that life as she and Heath had known it was irrevocably going to change. When the application goes through by accident and “forces” Heath and Andie to fake an engagement, Heath finds the ground beneath him shift as he starts seeing the girl he’d known practically all his life in an entirely new way.
Make-Believe Wedding constitutes of two protagonists both equally appealing to the heart. Heath is one of those sweet heroes that you’d fall for from the minute you meet him. Though I must admit that of late, I have missed the brooding type of heroes that Sarah tends to create every now and then, Heath definitely ended up being a favorite of the sweet hero variety. Andie is the girl that most of us have been or even are right this very moment. Not extraordinarily beautiful, definitely not equipped with the type of body that men go gaga over and yet hopelessly in love with someone who is definitely above her paygrade. The reason I loved her surpasses all those reasons. She is the type of independent and yet vulnerable heroine that Sarah is legendary for creating and Andie definitely fits the mold.
The story that evolves is one that sizzles with sexual tension as Heath discovers a facet to Andie that has his head reeling from the passion she invokes in him. And well, for Andie, Heath is definitely her dream come true. The angst factor provided by Angie’s brother and of course Andie’s insecurities when it comes to believing something too good to be true provided that extra fodder to the story that made it the entertaining read Make-Believe Wedding turned out to be.
The one thing I am looking forward to now is Beau (Andie’s brother) and Lily (Andie’s friend)’s story. There was a tension that was simmering between them that sets the reader on the edge even in this one and I believe Sarah is going to deliver a hero of the type I’ve mentioned that I miss in her books with Beau. Cannot wait!
Recommended for fans of Sarah Mayberry & fans of friends-to-lovers romances.
Rating = 4/5
For more reviews & quotes, visit www.maldivianbookreviewer.com
July 9, 2016
free on Amazon (last checked: 07/09/2016
Another lovely, hilarious, and heartbreaking story (if just a tiny little bit unbelievable) by Sarah Mayberry! I only read this because of her, and judging from my experience I'd say you don't have to read the other stories in this series to understand what's happening.
Andie has a big problem: she's been in love with her brother's best friend (and boss) since the day she met him when they were kids. Seeing him with yet another woman at a Valentine's Dance, she gets truly hammered, and when someone hands her a form to enter in a Wedding Giveaway (where you can win everything you could need for a wedding) she fills it out as a joke, embellishing her and Heath's past to make it sound like they have been together forever. Unfortunately for her, someone finds it and turns it in, entering her and Heath into the competition. So when someone from the giveaway shows up to congratulate the happy couple in front of all her (male) co-workers, Andie is more than a little horrified. Word quickly spreads through the small Montana town, and she finds herself being insulted by one of Heath's exes in front of everyone. He comes to her rescue and agrees to go along with the fake engagement, hoping that everyone will lose interest in time and they can go back to their lives. Once they start pretending, though, Heath begins to wonder why they haven't been doing this all along...
Really, the only tiny quibble I have is the fact that Heath and Andie are best friends for over 13 years before things happen, with her in love with him since day one. All it takes is one kiss (to convince the town they really are a couple), and suddenly Heath has feelings for her. Call me cynical, but you'd think he would've realized that at some point sooner - or never. But, in his favor, he actually apologizes for being such a stupid idiot for so long, hurting her for so many years without realizing it.
All in all, a very emotional and enjoyable quick read by a very talented author!
Another lovely, hilarious, and heartbreaking story (if just a tiny little bit unbelievable) by Sarah Mayberry! I only read this because of her, and judging from my experience I'd say you don't have to read the other stories in this series to understand what's happening.
Andie has a big problem: she's been in love with her brother's best friend (and boss) since the day she met him when they were kids. Seeing him with yet another woman at a Valentine's Dance, she gets truly hammered, and when someone hands her a form to enter in a Wedding Giveaway (where you can win everything you could need for a wedding) she fills it out as a joke, embellishing her and Heath's past to make it sound like they have been together forever. Unfortunately for her, someone finds it and turns it in, entering her and Heath into the competition. So when someone from the giveaway shows up to congratulate the happy couple in front of all her (male) co-workers, Andie is more than a little horrified. Word quickly spreads through the small Montana town, and she finds herself being insulted by one of Heath's exes in front of everyone. He comes to her rescue and agrees to go along with the fake engagement, hoping that everyone will lose interest in time and they can go back to their lives. Once they start pretending, though, Heath begins to wonder why they haven't been doing this all along...
Really, the only tiny quibble I have is the fact that Heath and Andie are best friends for over 13 years before things happen, with her in love with him since day one. All it takes is one kiss (to convince the town they really are a couple), and suddenly Heath has feelings for her. Call me cynical, but you'd think he would've realized that at some point sooner - or never. But, in his favor, he actually apologizes for being such a stupid idiot for so long, hurting her for so many years without realizing it.
All in all, a very emotional and enjoyable quick read by a very talented author!
September 14, 2020
Andie Bennett has loved Heath McGregor from afar for half her life and he barely knows she's alive. He sees her as a little sister. It seems everyone in Marietta, Montana is falling in love and getting married. There's a contest in town and the couple who wins receives a free wedding.
Andie went to the Valentine's Ball alone and dressed to impress Heath but as usual he was there with another woman. He was a player, a man-whore if you will, and had a different woman on his arm weekly. As Andie sat and watched his arms wrapped around his date she stewed. Sitting and watching was painful. A lady comes by and gives Andie an application for the Wedding Giveaway and she channels years of fantasy and yearning for Heath McGregor onto the page, but she never intends to actually enter the Giveaway. But, when she has too much to drink and has to run to the restroom she has no idea someone picked up and turned in the application.
When Heath finds out that he and Andie are finalists in the contest he is baffled and dumbstruck. He agrees to go along with it as not to public embarrass and humiliate her and agrees to pretend to be engaged - planning a breakup after the contest is over. He didn't expect their fake engagement to be the best thing that ever happened to him.
Gosh, I absolutely loved this book. I have read it twice and will read it again. Such a sweet and loving story about a woman who has loved 'the one' for half her life and how he is shocked stupid when he discovers how he feels about her. Tremendous!
Andie went to the Valentine's Ball alone and dressed to impress Heath but as usual he was there with another woman. He was a player, a man-whore if you will, and had a different woman on his arm weekly. As Andie sat and watched his arms wrapped around his date she stewed. Sitting and watching was painful. A lady comes by and gives Andie an application for the Wedding Giveaway and she channels years of fantasy and yearning for Heath McGregor onto the page, but she never intends to actually enter the Giveaway. But, when she has too much to drink and has to run to the restroom she has no idea someone picked up and turned in the application.
When Heath finds out that he and Andie are finalists in the contest he is baffled and dumbstruck. He agrees to go along with it as not to public embarrass and humiliate her and agrees to pretend to be engaged - planning a breakup after the contest is over. He didn't expect their fake engagement to be the best thing that ever happened to him.
Gosh, I absolutely loved this book. I have read it twice and will read it again. Such a sweet and loving story about a woman who has loved 'the one' for half her life and how he is shocked stupid when he discovers how he feels about her. Tremendous!
February 26, 2020
This time only 2.5 stars for the book written by S.M. I expected so much more. It was little bit rushed. I never felt the chemistry between the H/h. Not once. In my opinion very poorly written. And I am very sad because of that, because I love to read Sarah M. books
October 5, 2014
I wish I'd known this was an unrequited love story before I started it. But, uh, it turns out that I could have known, if I'd bothered to to do more than skim the description as I eagerly rushed to buy the new Mayberry!
Anyway, unrequited love stories often make me kind of uncomfortable and sort of sad because of how unbalanced they start out. And this is a novella, which meant there wasn't a lot of set up to the friendship pre-relationship. I feel like I didn't know much about the guy except that Andie was in love with him forever. I didn't know how close they were or why she loved him. Because another thing that I that I find hard about long term unrequited love is falling in love when you're 13 is different from falling in love when you're 26. And I'm not always convinced the first love transitions into the second without encouragement. (This is personal preference; I don't mean to sound like I'm setting global rules of love.)
Buuuut once it became an actual relationship, I was pretty into it! It was hot. I could maybe have done with more of Heath's changing feelings, but, eh, it's a novella. I'm willing to gloss over some things.
And now I really want story.
Edit: Oh good! She's writing their story.
Anyway, unrequited love stories often make me kind of uncomfortable and sort of sad because of how unbalanced they start out. And this is a novella, which meant there wasn't a lot of set up to the friendship pre-relationship. I feel like I didn't know much about the guy except that Andie was in love with him forever. I didn't know how close they were or why she loved him. Because another thing that I that I find hard about long term unrequited love is falling in love when you're 13 is different from falling in love when you're 26. And I'm not always convinced the first love transitions into the second without encouragement. (This is personal preference; I don't mean to sound like I'm setting global rules of love.)
Buuuut once it became an actual relationship, I was pretty into it! It was hot. I could maybe have done with more of Heath's changing feelings, but, eh, it's a novella. I'm willing to gloss over some things.
And now I really want story.
Edit: Oh good! She's writing their story.
March 11, 2022
You can find this review in English below.
Dulce & Breve.
Creo que son las dos palabras que mejor definen esta historia. Y me ha encantado. En tan poco espacio la autora ha conseguido dibujar sus personajes a la perfección, sin caer en el empalagoseo y creando algo de tensión, bastante realista y nada de melodrama.
Y me ha convencido a pesar de que iba predispuesta a no creer la premisa. Pero me ha sorprendido gratamente.
Y encima, a pesar de ser una novela corta dentro de una serie, no hay una tonelada de secundarios luchando por el protagonismo. Ni todas las tonterías que acompañan a una historia cuando se desarrolla en una comunidad pequeña.
Ha estado muy bien, y es gratis. ¿Qué más se puede pedir?
***
Short & Sweet.
I think they are the couple of words that best define this story. I loved it. In so short legth the author has managed to draw their characters almost to perfection, without falling into cutesy and creating some tension, quite realistic but no melodrama.
And it has convinced me even though I was predisposed to not believe the premise. But I was pleasantly surprised.
And above, despite being a short novel within a series, there is not a ton of secondary characters fighting for the spotlight. Neither all the nonsense that accompanies a story set in a small community.
It's been great, and it's free. I couldn´t ask for more.
Dulce & Breve.
Creo que son las dos palabras que mejor definen esta historia. Y me ha encantado. En tan poco espacio la autora ha conseguido dibujar sus personajes a la perfección, sin caer en el empalagoseo y creando algo de tensión, bastante realista y nada de melodrama.
Y me ha convencido a pesar de que iba predispuesta a no creer la premisa. Pero me ha sorprendido gratamente.
Y encima, a pesar de ser una novela corta dentro de una serie, no hay una tonelada de secundarios luchando por el protagonismo. Ni todas las tonterías que acompañan a una historia cuando se desarrolla en una comunidad pequeña.
Ha estado muy bien, y es gratis. ¿Qué más se puede pedir?
***
Short & Sweet.
I think they are the couple of words that best define this story. I loved it. In so short legth the author has managed to draw their characters almost to perfection, without falling into cutesy and creating some tension, quite realistic but no melodrama.
And it has convinced me even though I was predisposed to not believe the premise. But I was pleasantly surprised.
And above, despite being a short novel within a series, there is not a ton of secondary characters fighting for the spotlight. Neither all the nonsense that accompanies a story set in a small community.
It's been great, and it's free. I couldn´t ask for more.
June 23, 2016
Torn between "so-so" and good.
June 24, 2016
This was actually the first book I've read by this author, and my first book in this series, and I loved it: so, yay, for Kindle freebies, lol
(this might be the first time I'm saying this...)
The trope in this book is actually one of my favourites. Friends to lovers... or more to the point, "I have had this BIG CRUSH ON YOU, YOU IDIOT, and you have been blind as a DOOR
Strange right? -_-
Because I am not a big fan of angst... or of idiots.
But this one actually worked. The writing is more than competent at describing Andie's and Heath's relationship from friends to lovers. It helped that there are some promising *future* characters in another book
The motive that starts their whole fake engagement story, was hilarious.
A bit of warning?
If you drink, don't write!
You know, when a character does something so idiotic that you suffer from second hand embarrassment?
Yeah? Well, there's a big scene of that here :D
Bottom line, I really liked everything about this romance.
August 25, 2014
Well written story!!!
Great pacing and engaging characters. Good secondary characters as well. Kept me engaged from the first pages and couldn't stop till I finished the book.
Andie has loved Heath forever it seems like, but she has always been in the friend category, while she watches him date petite, curvy, brunette women. Women who are total opposites from her. Oh, and she works for his construction company too, so another reason nothing can ever happen between them.
Well one night Andie had a little too much to drink at a valentines party. Watching Heath dance with his latest lady friend instigated the overindulgence of a little too much wine and it unfortunately caused her do something that created a situation.
Really enjoyed their story unfold and the friends to lovers romance. Again great pacing and good chemistry too!
Netgalley copy
Great pacing and engaging characters. Good secondary characters as well. Kept me engaged from the first pages and couldn't stop till I finished the book.
Andie has loved Heath forever it seems like, but she has always been in the friend category, while she watches him date petite, curvy, brunette women. Women who are total opposites from her. Oh, and she works for his construction company too, so another reason nothing can ever happen between them.
Well one night Andie had a little too much to drink at a valentines party. Watching Heath dance with his latest lady friend instigated the overindulgence of a little too much wine and it unfortunately caused her do something that created a situation.
Really enjoyed their story unfold and the friends to lovers romance. Again great pacing and good chemistry too!
Netgalley copy
June 11, 2017
Yay!
I so loved this story. Annie and Heath were just wonderful. It could have gone on even longer, and that says a lot to me, to be left wanting more.
I so loved this story. Annie and Heath were just wonderful. It could have gone on even longer, and that says a lot to me, to be left wanting more.
October 17, 2016
This was completely lovely and I adored that the heroine was an electrician.
I now plan on reading everything Sarah Mayberry has ever written.
I now plan on reading everything Sarah Mayberry has ever written.
September 11, 2014
There were so many great things about this book. Andie is an electrician, for one. She's also tall, reed thin and more cute than pretty. She can out-fish, out-hunt and out-spit most men. All-in-all, she's pretty much the opposite of every romance heroine out there. I loved it.
Heath was a little dense when it came to Andie's feelings, but I like how his eyes were slowly opened to her and how his feelings developed once he realized she was an actual woman.
I'm told Beau, Andie's brother, and Lily, her best friend, will get a book early next year. I'm really looking forward to it.
January 13, 2016
This was cute! I'm not always a fan of long, unrequited love stories but this one worked for me. I really liked the misunderstanding premise and awkwardness of their pretend engagement.
September 4, 2016
3.5 Stars. A very cute Fake Relationship/Friends to Lovers story. This was free from B&N and most of the free ebooks I get I never end up reading, but I'm glad I gave this one a try. The only thing I have to complain about is that it had a few graphic scenes I could've done without.
never-to-read
October 21, 2014Heroine's unrequited love.
June 21, 2016
Enjoyed this friends to lovers story. Good characterization within this novella. Totally enjoyed the heroine.
February 16, 2022
Pleasant read.
Hero is everything heroine wants since she was thirteen.
He doesn’t see her that way.
But all of a sudden he does when he agrees to fake being engaged.
There wasn’t any angst and longing and pining.
Sarah Mayberry writes well as always.
Nice story.
There were some parts where one laughed out loud.
Hero is everything heroine wants since she was thirteen.
He doesn’t see her that way.
But all of a sudden he does when he agrees to fake being engaged.
There wasn’t any angst and longing and pining.
Sarah Mayberry writes well as always.
Nice story.
There were some parts where one laughed out loud.
February 11, 2025
I loved this! It was a funny, cute, entertaining read that was hard to put down.
March 16, 2017
A favourite author of mine. Lovely story as always. I love the trope of one character having been in love with the other forever and the other character oblivious. Some may find it a bit cheesy, but that's okay, I like cheesy.
August 10, 2015
Andie snuggled further beneath the covers. Having Heath in her bed—even virtually—was a rare pleasure, and she wasn’t above enjoying it.
When you’d been nursing unrequited love for a man for years, you learned to take your moments where you could find them.
Sarah Mayberry has definitely come up trumps again - this book was had me swooning at its perfection.
How much do I love about it? Let me count the ways:
1. Andie - how many female electricians to you a) know and b) see in romances? Going by how much I liked Andie in this book then not enough! Although being a short story, we didn't really get to see enough of her interaction with the work guys, I loved the way she handled herself. In the first chapter, I felt she was wallowing a bit too much and I was worried this would go on for the whole book but you could see it was partly due to the drink, partly due to the location and I like how she handled her yearning in the rest of the book. And the sassy side of her, the way she gave as good as she got to Sharon? You go girl!
“Not woman enough? That’s not what Heath said last night in the car. And this morning in the shower. And the other day on the kitchen table. And it’s definitely not what he’s going to say tonight. You want to know what he does say, Sharon? That he can’t get enough. Ever.”
2. Heath - why hello there perfect guy! Yes he might start out the book a bit clueless but I can forgive him that when he is otherwise my ideal guy. I loved the video he made for the wedding competition.
3. Backstory - I liked how we got to see Heath/Andie's interactions from when they were back friends either through memories or Andie's real/fiction wedding application.
4. Tropes - I adore a good friends-to-lovers story but sometimes the transition can seem a bit forced, which is why I liked the inclusion of a 'fake relationship' here as a reason for Heath to start looking at Andie differently. I liked the use of Heath reading the fake wedding application Andie submitted as the 'realisation moment'.
5. Beau/Andie's sibling relationship - I liked their scenes and the backstory of their brother as explanation as to why he is so protective of her.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS THE LAST BOOK IN THE SERIES? BUT WHAT ABOUT BEAU/LILY'S STORY?! I NEED THEIR STORY!!!
“I just wondered where you were, that’s all.” His gaze dropped to the shadowy valley between her breasts, a geographic feature that was only possible thanks to the engineering geniuses at Victoria’s Secret.
Andie went very still. She was pretty sure Heath had never looked at her breasts before. Ever. Maybe Lily had been right about the blue t-shirt.
Full review with pictures @ Love's A State Of Mind
April 1, 2015
This sweet and sexy romance is the story of Andie and Heath. Friends forever, Andie has nursed a one sided love for Heath since being a teenager, one that has only gotten stronger over time, while Heath has never seen Andie as anything more than his best friend's little sister. When a drunken Andie fills out her heart's desire for a wedding competition, little does she expect that she and her 'fiance' Heath will be picked to be in the running. To save her from embarrassment, Heath offers to pretend to be involved with her until the competition ends, after which they'll quietly break up and resume being friends. Only, when the pretense starts to get a little too real, Heath suddenly sees Andie for who she really is, a beautiful grown woman - is it too late for him to make her believe that his feelings for her might actually be real?
This was such a fun story to read! I always enjoy Sarah's writing style, and this story has everything I look for in a contemporary romance - interesting characters, fun filled situations, family and friend dynamics, a little tension and a lot of chemistry. I liked Andie's character. She is a strong woman when it comes to holding her own as one of the guys in her job as an electrician with Heath's construction company. But when it comes to dealing with men as dates, she is shy and less self assured. Heath is a handsome, dedicated and loyal man, a bit of a playboy but never settling down with one woman. Being put in the position of fiance for Andie is something he never envisioned happening, but seeing her in a new light makes him realize what he's been missing all along. There is definitely sexual chemistry between them, and when they give into this attraction, the resulting love scenes are steamy and satisfying. Also, there are some secondary characters introduced in the story, namely Andie's less than pleased brother Beau and best friend Lily who have a definite spark of something between them that I hope will be addressed in a future book.
Overall, I found this to be a fast paced and entertaining story with believable and attractive characters and a sweet and sexy romance. 4 stars!
Note: a copy of this story was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review.
This was such a fun story to read! I always enjoy Sarah's writing style, and this story has everything I look for in a contemporary romance - interesting characters, fun filled situations, family and friend dynamics, a little tension and a lot of chemistry. I liked Andie's character. She is a strong woman when it comes to holding her own as one of the guys in her job as an electrician with Heath's construction company. But when it comes to dealing with men as dates, she is shy and less self assured. Heath is a handsome, dedicated and loyal man, a bit of a playboy but never settling down with one woman. Being put in the position of fiance for Andie is something he never envisioned happening, but seeing her in a new light makes him realize what he's been missing all along. There is definitely sexual chemistry between them, and when they give into this attraction, the resulting love scenes are steamy and satisfying. Also, there are some secondary characters introduced in the story, namely Andie's less than pleased brother Beau and best friend Lily who have a definite spark of something between them that I hope will be addressed in a future book.
Overall, I found this to be a fast paced and entertaining story with believable and attractive characters and a sweet and sexy romance. 4 stars!
Note: a copy of this story was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review.
July 14, 2016
YAY! Finally a Book worthy of a 5star rating. I loved the novel/novella. I was short but I'd rather read a short good book with no nonsense and dragged out story than a long one than bores you to tears or makes you want to throw your reading device. Make-believe wedding has a wonderful sweet romantic perfect love story with lovely characters and friends. A complete feel-good-book; a pick-me-upper . If you're looking for a few hours of joyful happy reading then this is the book for you. The sweetest happily ever after, EVER! Considering the length it's understandable that there aren't many deep layers to the plot but it was a pleasure reading it all the same.
What makes it worthy of a 5 star rating?
A delightful read with not a single thing that I found objectionable. Thank you Sarah Mayberry for this freebie because now I'm really hoping this turns out to be a series that I'll love and enjoy reading.
July 24, 2016
I seem to have a thing for novels about make-believe, fake, or negotiated relationships/engagements/marriages. They are predictable, therefore extremely easy to read (without having to concentrate at all) and enjoyable, the characters are often quite likeable, it's often fun, addictive, and there's a happily ever after to be guaranteed - and I love all this somehow. Of course those novels are all pretty similar and not very imaginative or what you call good or valuable literature, but hey I don't mind if they are as nice as this novel.
So, I guess now it's official: novels about make-believe engagements etc. are a guilty pleasure of mine.
So, I guess now it's official: novels about make-believe engagements etc. are a guilty pleasure of mine.
August 5, 2014
A beautiful ending to a wonderful series. This has some of my favourite tropes, and, man, the feels and the swoons.
I just felt so much for Andie. She was overflowing with so much love and bittersweet longing for her brother's best friend that even I ached for her. Heath had all the makings of a signature Mayberry hero: sweet, gallant, honest. I loved them both, and it was truly an exhilarating experience reading their story.
This was a light and happy, but emotional, read. And a darn great one, at that.
Note to self: Reese was a little different here, I think?
I just felt so much for Andie. She was overflowing with so much love and bittersweet longing for her brother's best friend that even I ached for her. Heath had all the makings of a signature Mayberry hero: sweet, gallant, honest. I loved them both, and it was truly an exhilarating experience reading their story.
This was a light and happy, but emotional, read. And a darn great one, at that.
Note to self: Reese was a little different here, I think?
August 3, 2016
Feel good, sweet and sexy story. And it was a freebee on Amazon!
Unrequited love, oh how I love that trope! Can't really get enough of it.
So yes, I probably would have liked this book anyway, but the cute, fresh writing style made it click just that little bit more.
Is it predictable? Sure. Is it believable? Almost. Lol. Did I have issues? Nope. With this trope I am able to let authors get away with a great deal.
Enjoy!
Unrequited love, oh how I love that trope! Can't really get enough of it.
So yes, I probably would have liked this book anyway, but the cute, fresh writing style made it click just that little bit more.
Is it predictable? Sure. Is it believable? Almost. Lol. Did I have issues? Nope. With this trope I am able to let authors get away with a great deal.
Enjoy!
October 22, 2014
Not as spunky or sassy or intense as Mayberry's previous works. Andie was a sweet, complicated protagonist. Heath, on the other hand, was a bit of a cardboard character... sweet, good guy, but ultimately single shaded. This is not Mayberry's best work but even her worst is quite an enjoyable read compared to most other authors.
January 8, 2016
I thought this sweet love story was a great read with a really good plot and a sexy appeal that I found quite satisfying. I'm looking forward to reading more of the books in this long running series by this well accomplished writer who specializes in sweet and sexy tales of true love and commitment. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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