Nothing feels worse than being single in a family that expects you to be single your whole life. Maddie McCarthy has had a “curse” on her since before she could remember. WD-40 is its name and it’s supposed to basically repel any chance of a relationship for those who have been cursed with it. Her family doesn’t let her forget her relationship states… ever. With reminders at every corner, she cannot bear the thought of going to her younger sister’s wedding, single, as her bridesmaid, alongside her nasty cousin Veronica. All the factors are not in her favour which calls for desperate measures. Maddie calls the number for Match Made Easy after seeing it in a magazine and needs a quick matchup after having lied and made up a fake boyfriend. So she hires one for the entirety of the wedding festivities.
Little does she know that the man she is being matched with is not one she could have ever expected. Trent is a successful man looking for some extra cash to help hold up his business. Doing his cousin a favour, he subs in for Match Made Easy and agrees to play his part in this new charade. The one problem other than him really not wanting to do this, is that he hates weddings. Another problem? Maddie is gorgeous and he’s in for a lot of trouble. Before they know it, they’re swept up into the busyness of the wedding and have no time to second guess their decisions, but nothing can stop these two from falling for their act as the hours pass.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
OH BOY.
So I love anything with that arranged marriage or hired/fake relationship storyline. I know, I know, it’s so far fetched. BUT IF WE CAN READ ABOUT CHRISTIAN GREY DOING ALL OF WHAT HE DOES TO ANASTASIA, I’M PRETTY SURE WE CAN ACCEPT THIS.
I thought this book was a pretty decent one to pick up. It was fun and funny which I don’t see enough of in Romance (which is actually so disappointing because everyone always says that one of the first things they look for in a partner is a good sense of humor). Maddie was not obnoxious or frustrating, and Trent wasn’t an arrogant pain in my ass. Louise was such a sweet sister, and VERONICA NEEDED. TO. GO.
I did not like this whole curse thing that was going on. I mean I get it and I liked the part it played overall, but this poor girl has a man on her arm and her family is still mentioning it. These girls live in fear that the next man that walks into their lives is going to make a U-turn and forget she ever existed. It’s gone down the family, so now it’s their turn? No way. Louise was already beating the odds and as soon as we met Trent we all knew that Maddie was going to soon realize that this curse was nothing but a load of shit.
Veronica was such a nasty character. She was making digs at Maddie the entire story and I just wanted someone to take her face tape it all up so she couldn’t speak anymore. Jealousy does a lot to a person, clearly.
Trent and Maddie had an equal amount of relationship issues that lead to their fear of getting into something serious again. Maddie was cheated on, Trent’s college football fame and potential was taken advantage of (there are some stupid and reckless people on this planet, let me tell you), neither of them have a great track record. But I enjoyed that it was not Trent, or just Maddie that had these problems, but both of them. It just made for a great opportunity for them to grow as characters together and see how good they could be together. How good a stable, healthy relationship could be at all actually.
Trent respects Maddie more than he ever admits in this book. You can totally tell though. The minute he recognizes where he knows her from he knows he fucked up in high school. Maddie was a bit heavier in those days, and himself and his friends didn’t let her live it down. She hated him, but also had a crush on him.
High school crushes are the worst.
He apologized again and again, he told her that she had every right to hate him and not trust him, but that he wasn’t the same guy and she needed to give him the chance to prove that to her. And he does. Trent knows what it’s like to have what he wants, but he isn’t the type of character to flaunt it like most do when they come from money. Despite having a shitty family situation, he still comes out with respect towards people and a successful, promising future. He has his life handled pretty well from my perspective.
Maddie is not as fortunate. Her stupid boyfriend cheats on her, bad mouths her to their boss (they worked together at a restaurant), and gets her fired. So now she’s single, heartbroken, and unemployed. BUT THIS GUY GETS ANOTHER GIRL AND HE KEEPS HIS JOB? Nice. Stand up guy. This just adds fuel to the “curse” fire and makes matters far worse for Maddie. So it’s safe to say that she’s closer to the opposite end of the spectrum Trent is on. So when she gets tired of the constant nagging of how single she is and “when are you going to put yourself out there?” questions, she spits out a lie before she can think it through. This is where Trent officially comes in. Who knew that they’d end up balancing and complimenting each other so effortlessly.
I liked how Maddie was able to give Trent a proper chance at redeeming himself. She did make a few digs here and there – rightfully so. She was humiliated in high school, she can get away with a few blows to his ego. But she let herself enjoy the fake relationship, and genuinely had a good time with him. It wasn’t until other people started putting ideas in her head, that she began doubting him. It was just a decent book in my opinion. Aside from their exes, I enjoyed following along with every character.