Asher Morgan’s publisher is ready to drop the cranky author. And if he isn’t married in four days, his rich grandmother will disown him. He needs to polish his image and find a husband — fast.
Jess Winters needs cash, like yesterday. His bookstore is on the verge of bankruptcy and if it goes under, he and his dog Gary will be homeless.
A marriage of convenience is just what they both need to make their dreams come true. Except the more the chemistry heats up between them, the less convenient their little deception becomes.
When the time comes for their story to end, will either man be ready to close the book?
Let's Pretend We're Married is a full-length novel featuring an idealistic bookstore owner and a cranky author, a lovable shop dog, a group of crazy friends, scorching hot explicit scenes, and a no-cheating, all heart, fully realized happily ever after, all set in everyone's favorite town of Amberly, the cutest town in America.
Another fake relationship for the win! I really enjoyed this one. [=
Asher is a famous author who has recently gotten some bad press that has dwindled his chances at a book deal he was counting on. Without the deal and the money that comes with it he will have to succumb to the demands that his grandfather left in his Will and one his grandmother is enforcing. In order to receive his inheritance he must be married at the age of 30. He has put it off as long as he could considering he's already 30. So he has no choice but to get married if he wants to remain being an author that can write what he wants.
Jess is a bookstore owner. An owner who is in quite a bit of debt. He invites Asher to his store to do a book signing in hopes that his appearance will raise enough money to keep his home and shop afloat. Unfortunately even Asher's appearance, which did garner a lot of attention for Jess's store, wasn't enough to keep him in business.
Asher is attracted to Jess and finds him interesting and someone he thinks he wouldn't mind being married to if had to choose someone. So when he see's Jess's pile of past due bills he figures he'd take a leap and make the offer. He gets his inheritance and Jess can save his shop.
Jess is a romantic and has a healthy (clears throat) obsession with romance novels. He has a bit of a naïve lookout on how marriage should be. He has his perfect marriage and husband all figured out in his head and Asher isn't it. But he feels an attraction to Asher and feels like this could be an adventure. So he agrees.
The more time spent together the more Jess see's how much he was wrong about Asher and starts falling pretty fast and hard for the guy. Asher started falling before the vowels were given. He's just been waiting on Jess to catch up and to realize he's it for him.
The relationship is sweet and all the side characters were charming and likable. I even loved the dog. It was just a really sweet read that had no angst and very little to no drama. I liked both men and felt they had great chemistry.
When I read about fake-marriage, I expect some sort of "tension". Either because the couples are enemies, or strangers, who have to learn how to fake relationship but then fall in love in progress OR between friends, who realize that they have feelings for one another.
This one didn't have that, in my humble opinion. Though strangers at first Asher and Jess was easily fall into the relationship, practically no trouble at all. Like they have been familiar with each other for long time. Well, that BORED the hell out of me. I ended up skipping a lot, and dismissing all the extras
In addition, there were quite a number of editing error here, like Dante suddenly become Damon, or Asher's chapter titled Jess, etc. I usually am not very perceptive of these things, because I am not a detailed person, but the glaring errors were too obvious even I noticed.
4.5 stars rounded up...I actually thought this was a sweet story. I love these type of books. Forced to be married but along the way falling in love...
Have you ever read a book and you can't put your finger on why it didn't work for you? Well, that's what's happened with this story and me. I know it happens and I can live with that.
This is the first book I've read by this author and I liked it. Asher and Jess both found themselves in a jam. The best (and quickest) way for them to find their way out was to get married.... to each other. It took me a little while to warm up to Asher but I liked how we got to see him grow as the story progressed. They ended up being a good couple and I was glad to see them get their HEA. I would read more by this author. *I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. This is my honest review.*
Asher and Jess both find that they need each others help so a marriage of conveniences is what they find themselves in. There is some angst, falling in love with your fake husband and realizing that they make a great married couple. This is a really sweet read. I received a copy for an honest review.
What do you get when you mix an asshole writer with a romantic, yet prickly bookstore owner? One heck of a fun story. My favorite stories have a lot of sarcasm and snark, with a good mix of fun loving. This story delivers in spades. Love it.
I’m not sure what to think of this book. It had…issues? I guess is the right word. The premise sounded really good to me. Small bookstore owner in little town hosts an award winning author for a book signing and circumstances lead them to a marriage of convenience. It sounded really cute with the potential to have some very interesting well-developed characters. I gave it two stars for having a creative concept.
Asher and Jess had some very interesting conversations about commercial versus literary books, not so briefly hitting on the old argument of romance novels and their place in literature. I quite enjoyed these discussions.
“Popular and commercial always outsells award-winning and literary. That’s why you shouldn’t disparage romance novels.” “Just because something makes money doesn’t mean it’s good.” “Maybe, but just because something’s popular doesn’t mean it’s bad…”
At about thirty percent, I started noticing a few missed words, a pronoun here, a wrong tense verb there, forgetting to capitalize the letter “i” which my word program wouldn’t even let me do just now, missing opening quotes, etc. This book definitely needed another edit for the little things. But…
Suddenly, at seventy-five percent on my Kindle, Asher wrote a couple of chapters of a new book, he and Jess went for a walk on the beach, Asher suddenly has a book deal and is leaving to go to a meeting with the publishers while in the middle of a fight about divorce. All in less than five pages? Did I fast-forward and miss something? Did time pass? Do authors really write a few chapters of a new book and suddenly have meetings with publishers in just a few hours?
Then at eighty-three percent, I find myself in the epilogue, only there’s another chapter after that. A couple of pages later, I’m trying to figure out if this is an excerpt from Asher’s book or is this some other book or what? I look at the table of contents and see that there are still five more chapters listed. So I use the trusty skip button on my kindle to skip ahead and I guess the rest of the chapters are the first chapters of other stories by this author? Followed by another chapter full of reviews for said story? I don’t know it was all very confusing.
Bottom line – the end of this book was very rushed. There was room for so much more development with these characters but it just seemed like the author was trying to rush from point B to point D and just get on to the next book. I felt like I missed a big chunk of Jess and Asher’s story as a result.
Romantic, sweet and full of fun moments, this is also a steamy love story. And my favourite trope, to boot! I quickly fell in love with both characters, for different reasons, as they have really different personalities.I like Jess' hopeless romanticism, his idealism, and Asher's sincere attempts to tame his arrogance and crankiness. The only complain I have is that its pace felt a little rushed. I'd have enjoyed a little more of clueless fumbling and tension between the characters, but that is just me, probably. A really enjoyable reading.
2.5 I was sort of disappointed with this one because I love this trope - marriage of convenience that turns real. This one missed the mark somewhere. There are editing problems that were very noticeable but there was also a definite lack of any tension here. Even the misunderstanding lasted about two pages and was resolved in a couple sentences. We are told often how grumpy Asher is, how antisocial, but we didn't see that. So, just a miss for me.
This was a cute story. I love the cover. It's eye catching. The story itself was enjoyable. Predictable to a fault, but still fun to read. I really liked both characters and could relate with them. The dog was cute. The grandma was fun. The plot itself with the inheritance thing was sorta weird. But I went with it anyhow. I read this in one setting and would recommend if you're looking for a sweet story with mild spice.
Read it in a couple of hours in between classes. It was a quick, little fake relationship romance.
Fake lovers/husbands (to friends) to real lovers is my kind of jam. THOUGH ! I haven't really enjoyed this one. It was too fast, their attraction was too intense too fast (the very beginning) and well the ending was SO RUSHED to me. So 2 stars or even 1,5 stars. I haven't loved it, or hated it. It was a mmmeh/ okay-book.
So badly edited it spoiled the story. One character's name was changed for an entire chapter! Along with bad grammar and repeated paragraphs this book desperately needed an editor. I'm usually pretty relaxed about overlooking little mistakes\word swaps but this spoiled the flow.
I think this series just keeps getting better and better with each story. Asher's grandmother is a sneaky little thing. Luckily her meddling turned out okay. I love the idea of finding your true love in a matter of days and that books brought them together. I don't think life gets any better than that.
Je suis assez difficile en romance feel-good et celle-ci a été une belle découverte. Sans attente particulière, j'ai profité du voyage et je me suis beaucoup attachée à Jess et Asher. Ils sont vraiement adorables tous les deux et c'est une petite histoire parfaite à lire en cette période.
J'ai très envie de découvrir les autres tomes de la série.
I read a free Advance Reader Copy of this book for my honest opinion and review. Jess and Asher were a joy to watch fall in love with each other. It was sweet, funny and very steamy. The story was well written and the characters were believable. I would definitely enjoy reading a series spin-off.
Great build up until ~60%. The point of no return and ending seemed rushed without dwelling on the thoughts and emotions needed to invest yourself in the story.
Loved it. It was well written and kept a nice steady pace. Always loved fake boyfriends or husband type books. This one is very good. Loved the characters and Gary the dog. I liked how they get married for Asher's trust fund money but end up slowly falling for each other. They had hot steamy moments that rock the pages. Loved how Asher was writing the ending of the story. It's one I haven't seen many do on books, that I have read any way. The two characters made me feel like a part of their world. Made me want to go visit their little town.
Hope to read about the other characters that were in the book. Will keep a eye out to see if they get a story about them.
Let’s Pretend We’re Married by Edith Scott is a wonderful love story that manages to not get stuck with clichéd romance. It was warm, it was touching, it was funny, and it dealt with issues that affect us all, especially in life and new relationships. This is the first book I’ve read from this author and I will read more.
Asher Morgan is a cranky, self-centered, but deeply buried good person. He is an author who is trying to get that next great read out of his head but really doesn’t like catering to a reader’s tastes. He wants what he wants, of course! He also needs to get married to inherit a fortune…within the next week. Yeah, what could go wrong? Jess Winters is a struggling business owner who runs a book store (that is really so much more) and invites Asher to do a book signing, hoping it will help his flagging business with a revival. Jess is struggling to keep the lights on but the store is his life – books are his life. When Asher and Jess meet, sparks fly! You’ll have to read the book to know what happens next, especially what each of them needs to do in order to survive the days they are together for the book signing, as I could not do it justice. You’ll meet folks in Amberly, the town where this takes place, and Jess’s dog Gary. The dog seems to know just what Jess and Asher need; he is so very intuitive! And Asher’s grandmother? Such the matriarch; I loved her!
MM. An explosive combination: Jess has romanticized romance and Asher does not believe in romance at all. I knew I would love Asher's grandmother as soon as Jess met her. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
I loved the story, the town, and the characters. Jess is such a romantic. Asher is his own worse critic. Together they are perfectly paired. Asher's grandma is a trip. 90 and full of fire. She really should have a dog. I received a complimentary copy and am leaving an honest review. I love Edith Scott's books and the little town Amberly with its unique and wonderful characters that she created. Plus, she has the cutest illustrations. I highly recommend reading her work. All her books are sweet, sexy, and fun.
Let's Pretend We're Married is a well-written sweet romance (with a lot of heat!) from beginning to end!
I loved Asher and Jess! At first, Asher comes acrpss as an arrogant, cranky author. But, the minute he sees Jess for the first time he is smitten. Jess is a sweet, romantic, idealistic bookstore owner. Both men were in a jam and found a way to help each other out and then it evolved into so much more!
I loved Jess's eccentric friends and I adored Asher's grandmother! She saw things that neither Asher nor Jess had figured out yet, so she meddled and helped them to finally find what their relationship really was. Then there was Gary! Gary was Jess's dog that he had adopted from the local shelter. He was great! Even Asher's grandmother loved him.
This was such a fun story! I loved how they finally found their HEA and how it showed a glimpse into their life together after the went home to Amberly! Also, the way that the book ends is perfect, but you will have read it to see what I mean! I can't wait to read more of Ms. Scott's books! If you like sweet m/m romances, then you definitely need to try Let's Pretend We're Married!
*I voluntarily read a review copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else's*
Wow Asher and Jess's story was absolutely amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Let's Pretend We're Married was fun, sexy, and hot as hell.
Asher was grouchy yet broody but being around Jess bought out his playful side. Jess was sweet, fun yet emotional - he could never hide his emotions as they always reached the surface. These two had explosive chemistry - it was passionate yet intense. Asher had a dominant side in the bedroom but he wasn't overbearing. Both characters complemented each other beautifully throughout.
There were several funny moments - I found it funny when Jess went off in a huff at Asher, after hearing his conversation - the comment he made at Asher to go to McDonalds for a happy meal was definitely amusing. Another funny moment was when they go to the cafe; Molly starts batting her eyelashes at Asher and he responds by getting closer to Jess and putting his arms around him lol. Jess's reaction made me laugh,
"I wanted to stab him in the ribs with my keys. Would that count as assault?" Lol
I loved how Asher pushed Jess's buttons - it definitely made things more interesting and amusing.
The author has done as amazing job - I loved the characters and the story had a nice balance of sweet and sexy.