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Cordially Invited #1
I Temporarily Do
A little white lie. A little white wedding. A pair of roommates in over their heads.
Days before she's set to move across the country and start a prestigious graduate program, a con artist leaves Emmy with no where to live and less than zero dollars in her bank account. But her day doesn't seem quite so bad compared to Beckett's--his fiancée called off their wedding just days before they tie the knot. Now he's single and ineligible for his place in married student housing.
So what are a girl without a home and a guy without a wife supposed to do? A quickie wedding in Vegas will solve both their problems. It's a business arrangement, and no one even needs to know. They'll just get an annulment in a few months. What could go wrong?
Only Beckett forgot to mention his new apartment is a one-bedroom. And neither of them counted on their new friends at Middlesex University thinking they're a great couple.
The platonic newlywed game might be harder to play than Emmy thought. Especially when it starts to feel less than platonic.
I Temporarily Do is a Stand-Alone Romantic Comedy
Days before she's set to move across the country and start a prestigious graduate program, a con artist leaves Emmy with no where to live and less than zero dollars in her bank account. But her day doesn't seem quite so bad compared to Beckett's--his fiancée called off their wedding just days before they tie the knot. Now he's single and ineligible for his place in married student housing.
So what are a girl without a home and a guy without a wife supposed to do? A quickie wedding in Vegas will solve both their problems. It's a business arrangement, and no one even needs to know. They'll just get an annulment in a few months. What could go wrong?
Only Beckett forgot to mention his new apartment is a one-bedroom. And neither of them counted on their new friends at Middlesex University thinking they're a great couple.
The platonic newlywed game might be harder to play than Emmy thought. Especially when it starts to feel less than platonic.
I Temporarily Do is a Stand-Alone Romantic Comedy
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 8, 2017
1901 people are currently reading
8229 people want to read
About the author
Ellie Cahill
12 books254 followersWant to be the first to know the latest releases and giveaways from Ellie? Sign up for Ellie's newsletter to get a free epilogue to CALL ME, MAYBE!
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Ellie Cahill is the author of the Cordially Invited series, including I Temporarily Do, as well as stand-alone romantic comedies like When Joss Met Matt, Call Me Maybe, and Just a Girl. Ellie is also the not-at-all secret pen name of Young Adult author Liz Czukas (Ask Again Later, and Top Ten Clues You're Clueless). Liz's books are often compared to John Hughes movies, while Ellie usually gets compared to Nora Ephron. Either way, if you like a good 80s rom-com, you've found the right place. When they're not writing fun, funny romances full of shenanigans and awkward kisses, Liz and Ellie are at home with their family and a golden retriever with different ideas about the definition of "dog bed."
You'll find Ellie on Facebook and Twitter (@ellie_cahill) but you'll more easily find Liz in those same places as well as Instagram and Tumblr. You'll find either one of them parked in front of the TV every Sunday night getting their fill of Zombies, Westeros, The Doctor, or any other place where cute English guys fight evil.
Speed round: sweet tea, Hufflepuff, dark chocolate, cheese is the perfect food, Go Badgers, and Han shot first.
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Ellie Cahill is the author of the Cordially Invited series, including I Temporarily Do, as well as stand-alone romantic comedies like When Joss Met Matt, Call Me Maybe, and Just a Girl. Ellie is also the not-at-all secret pen name of Young Adult author Liz Czukas (Ask Again Later, and Top Ten Clues You're Clueless). Liz's books are often compared to John Hughes movies, while Ellie usually gets compared to Nora Ephron. Either way, if you like a good 80s rom-com, you've found the right place. When they're not writing fun, funny romances full of shenanigans and awkward kisses, Liz and Ellie are at home with their family and a golden retriever with different ideas about the definition of "dog bed."
You'll find Ellie on Facebook and Twitter (@ellie_cahill) but you'll more easily find Liz in those same places as well as Instagram and Tumblr. You'll find either one of them parked in front of the TV every Sunday night getting their fill of Zombies, Westeros, The Doctor, or any other place where cute English guys fight evil.
Speed round: sweet tea, Hufflepuff, dark chocolate, cheese is the perfect food, Go Badgers, and Han shot first.
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AMAZON
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,006 reviews
August 10, 2017
"I pulled him close, until his forehead rested against mine. "I want you to be happy."
He smiled. "Then shut up and kiss me."
Sometimes I just want to read an easy, stress-free romance. Sometimes I get bored with reading 150 pages before a douchenozzle Alpha dude decides being a douchenozzle might not be the best way to get through life. And sometimes I just wish that there was a book with characters that sound like actual people, not weird cardboard cutouts of people. If any of this sounds like you too, then guess what. Read this book. It's short and easy to read. Read it. Read it now.
I was not expecting much from this book. The synopsis sounds completely ridiculous. Like really ridiculous. But it was an ARC and sometimes you just have to go for it. I'm really glad I did.
Now, for the aforementioned silly plot:
Emily, who prefers to be called Emmy, is moving to Iowa for Grad school. She currently shares an apartment with a few other people who she is really close with. It isn't the biggest apartment so they know each other well. One of her roommates is Beckett (I just love that name), is also moving to Iowa and going to the same grad school Emmy is, even for the same program. This might sound super lazy plot-wise, but they are studying a weird subject that doesn't really have a wide selection of schools to choose from. He is about to get married to a different Emily, who he has been with since he was 16. No one says it, but everyone thinks she's pretty awful. One day, Emmy discovers that the roommate she had found on Craigslist to live with in Iowa stole all of her money. The particulars are explained but I don't remember them. All I know is Emmy was too trusting and this girl emptied her bank account and ran. It will be a long time before she gets her money back. Needless to say, Emmy is having a pretty shit day. Then Beckett returns to the apartment looking like he was hit by an emotional mac truck. Turns out that his fiance, who he was marrying in a matter of days, left him. And has wanted to leave him for a while, but said nothing until days before their wedding. And didn't even leave him in person. If that wasn't bad enough, he is now screwed out of married housing at the grad school. So they are both essentially homeless.
After a night of heavy drinking with their friends, they wake up realizing they are still homeless. Beckett hatches an idea. Her name is Emily too, she can just live there with him as his wife instead of the other Emily. They immediately realize that would never work. They need proof of marriage. So when they set out to drive to Iowa, they make a quick stop in Vegas at a chapel and without mentioning it to anyone they know, get a quickie marriage. Now that they're married they will live in Beckett's reserved married housing, not consummate their marriage, and later get an annulment. No one will be any the wiser. They already lived together for two years and are close friends. It will just be a secret business arrangement between friends. This is all well and good until they realize as they move in that they are surrounded by other married couples in housing who want to hang out and do couple-things. This means that need to get comfortable with PDA quick, you know, holding hands, occasional kissing, stuff like that. They are surprised to find that it comes really easy. As with most fake romantic relationships, the line between fake and real gets blurred, except unlike other "fake romance"s these two just naturally discover that jumping from friends to lovers is easy and natural. They make each other happy.
This just sounds like the most absurd thing, like a bad TV movie. It wasn't. The dialogue was completely natural. It was so easy to visualize these people because they sounded and acted like regular people. There was nothing wrong with Emmy and Beckett. It was the strangest thing. They were nice people. They treated other people well. They treated each other well. They supported each other, looked out for one another, and genuinely enjoyed each other's company. Beckett was such a nice guy without being the nice guy. The kind of guy that would do anything for her without wanting anything from her. He even managed all of this without being a personality-less doormat. He was a freaking unicorn of man that was somehow believable enough that you could almost think he might be the guy next to you at Starbucks. His speech at the airport was adorably filled with swearing and was one of my favorite declarations of love that I've read. I mean, who knew that a speech filled with several "I'm in fucking love with you"s could be so romantic?
Guess what Beckett?
Now don't get me wrong, there is drama. It comes in the form of the other Emily, the ex-fiance, and Beckett's meddling mother. I found myself oddly protective of my darling Beckett and every time Emily was near him I wanted to jump in front of him and just smack her right upside the head.
Besides this book being surprisingly sigh-worthy, it was also really funny. Emmy and Beckett had great banter and I found myself laughing out loud more than once. I really couldn't ask for more from a romance novel. It was just so pleasant. This is pure fluff, but in my opinion, it's fluff done well.
*I received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
June 23, 2020
This was a fantastic modern marriage-of-convenience story starting with a very solid initial impetus for the convenience. It's also a credible friends-to-lovers story. Which is to say that it's a fantastic romance with all the right highlights and I loved every moment and I had hard a hard time putting it down.
A large part of this working is how engaging Emmy is from the start. We enter with her scrambling through a financial setback and that drew me right in. And I really liked how the author showed her breaking but not broken; so while she leans on her friends to help her through, you also see her picking herself up and doing the best she can one step at a time. I liked seeing that resilience as she transitions from undergrad to her next steps with Beckett along the way.
Beckett was similarly engaging, though I'm glad Cahill was smart enough to keep away from his PoV. Seeing him suffer from Emmy's perspective was enough and seeing him grow to rely on her and his care for her was a great way to get to know him. Plus, I'm always going to fall for the caring guy who does his best for the people around him.
And I particularly liked that there wasn't a lot of manufactured drama in the story (well okay, a bit at the end that was mildly manipulated, just not drawn out or unreasonable). There was plenty there for the reader to engage with just falling into love and trust as they work out living and studying together.
Anyway, I don't have a lot else to say. I picked it up for free at one point and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. It deserves all the stars, though with the caveat that it's a low-drama, low-conflict relationship that you could call light or fluffy if inclined. I might, but only with the follow-up that sometimes that's exactly the story I want.
A note about Steamy: There's a single explicit sex scene putting this on the low end of my steam tolerance. Though they share living space for much of the story, Cahill explores the emotional intimacy more than the physical (though not exclusively so). I think that was another good call and worked particularly well, here.
A large part of this working is how engaging Emmy is from the start. We enter with her scrambling through a financial setback and that drew me right in. And I really liked how the author showed her breaking but not broken; so while she leans on her friends to help her through, you also see her picking herself up and doing the best she can one step at a time. I liked seeing that resilience as she transitions from undergrad to her next steps with Beckett along the way.
Beckett was similarly engaging, though I'm glad Cahill was smart enough to keep away from his PoV. Seeing him suffer from Emmy's perspective was enough and seeing him grow to rely on her and his care for her was a great way to get to know him. Plus, I'm always going to fall for the caring guy who does his best for the people around him.
And I particularly liked that there wasn't a lot of manufactured drama in the story (well okay, a bit at the end that was mildly manipulated, just not drawn out or unreasonable). There was plenty there for the reader to engage with just falling into love and trust as they work out living and studying together.
Anyway, I don't have a lot else to say. I picked it up for free at one point and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. It deserves all the stars, though with the caveat that it's a low-drama, low-conflict relationship that you could call light or fluffy if inclined. I might, but only with the follow-up that sometimes that's exactly the story I want.
A note about Steamy: There's a single explicit sex scene putting this on the low end of my steam tolerance. Though they share living space for much of the story, Cahill explores the emotional intimacy more than the physical (though not exclusively so). I think that was another good call and worked particularly well, here.
November 9, 2022
It was cute and really fast paced. Very good for a reading slump.
This was single pov which was sad. I’m so used to dual pov I kept finding myself looking for the guys name to pop up on the chapter heading 🤡
I skimmed quite a bit but it was good to just turn off my brain and read something fun.
This was single pov which was sad. I’m so used to dual pov I kept finding myself looking for the guys name to pop up on the chapter heading 🤡
I skimmed quite a bit but it was good to just turn off my brain and read something fun.
July 3, 2021
The story was very simple and fun. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I would happily recommend this book to anyone, especially those who loves the concept of fake marriage.
June 18, 2018
Ahhhhh! This book was so fucking cute! I was going to give it 4.5 stars but I don't even care. I would reread the hell out of this book and recommend it to anybody who loves romcoms. THIS is how you do fake married tropes. Emmy and Beckett were a great pair of characters. They had the background of being friends for a long time, were roommates, and had the same majors. The problem of Beckett's awful fiancee breaking up with him and Emmy's financial issues were laid out immediately. He would lose out on his apartment if he wasn't married and she needed a place to stay so they decide to get married. There was no tension between them because the friendship foundation was there already. Beckett was funny but caring at the same time. He wasn't afraid to express himself (especially when dealing with his anger about his ex-fiancee) and he was always respectful of Emmy's boundaries. Emmy was smart and a strong person, who was also a great friend and careful of Beckett's feelings. They supported each other even when they were just friends. This is the kind of couple I love. There's no alpha male and there's no helpless female. They are well-rounded and I love them both.
The story was fun, watching them slowly get closer was fantastic, and the transition to more was the best. It was sexy, romantic, and intimate in all the right ways. I absolutely love Emmy and Beckett and could have read about their adventures for plenty more pages. I tore through this book in a matter of a couple hours. I absolutely love books that I can't put down and this was definitely one of them.
I love Ellie Cahill's writing style and I am definitely going to check out the rest of her books if they're as cute, sexy, and fun as this one!
The story was fun, watching them slowly get closer was fantastic, and the transition to more was the best. It was sexy, romantic, and intimate in all the right ways. I absolutely love Emmy and Beckett and could have read about their adventures for plenty more pages. I tore through this book in a matter of a couple hours. I absolutely love books that I can't put down and this was definitely one of them.
I love Ellie Cahill's writing style and I am definitely going to check out the rest of her books if they're as cute, sexy, and fun as this one!
August 1, 2022
“I think maybe we were supposed to be friends…” he swallowed, “first.”
“I pulled him close, until his forehead rested against mine. “I want you to be happy.”
He smiled. “Then shut up and kiss me.”
**Synopsis:**
Beckett and Emmy currently share a home with 4 other college kids. All of them are wrapping up undergrad school and going their separate ways. However, Beckett and Emmy just happen to be going in the same direction after they graduate. They both will be attending graduate school at Middlesex University in River Glen, Iowa.
After Emmy was scammed and her bank account was drained, her housing situation for grad school tanked and she had nowhere to live.
Beckett’s fiancé (a different girl named Emily) dumped him one week before their wedding, putting his grad school “married student housing” living arrangement in jeopardy.
So, seeing as Beckett and Emmy were current roommates, they knew they could get along and live together and both were in dire need of a housing solution, they hatched a plan. A temporary marriage so they could live in married student housing while attending school.
- ”What the hell else are we going to do? I am literally homeless, Beck. Seriously, what options do I have?” I looked at him. “You have a home but no Emily. I am an Emily and I have no home. I mean, what are the odds?”
Because the university required proof of marriage, they had a quickie wedding in Vegas and were just going to stay married until the housing situation could be fixed.
So, who thinks the fake marriage will turn into something real, raise your hand. 🙋♀️🙋♀️
** The following are my thoughts about this book: **
* * hate to say it, but I could totally relate to the big hangover scene. 🤢 Unfortunately I had a few of those mornings with my college roommates.
* * no stupid humor (thank god!) and I could easily see where other authors would have taken this down that path. I’m so glad this author chose to keep the maturity level in keeping with their age and didn’t create any annoying over the top characters.
* * I loved the relationship between the undergrad roommates. Six friends just making it through college life
- ”these people had been my family for two years. They’d been with me after my mom died during my sophomore year. They’d been there for me every step of the way. And Ashley had been my roommate since our first year in the freshman dorms. This was my tribe. My college support system, and we were all going our separate ways in just a few days!”
* * the transition from friends to lovers is always a tricky one. Plus throw in a guy who was basically jilted at the altar and it’s rather tough to get the chemistry right with the new couple. However, because of the slow burn (and it’s reeaally slow) I did feel like that lent a little more believability to them moving from friends to lovers. I don’t think they had hot, scorching chemistry but their friendship was a solid foundation and they cared for one another and that came through loud and clear and created a believable slow transition to “I Love You” love.
* * there wasn’t enough of them together as a couple. It happened late in the book and then there was some drama and at 99% they finally professed their love and then it was over :(
** Emmy and Beckett were very easy to like. They were nice to other people, they didn’t say harmful or hurtful things and they supported each other, They were the type of friends you would probably like to have in real life.
* * nothing overly deep or intense about the book. The writing was good and it would be a good beach read.
**Overview:**
- Trigger warning: None
- Setting: River Glen, Iowa - Middlesex University
- POV: female POV (there was enough dialogue between H/h and not a ton of inner dialogue rambling, so the one POV was ok, but it’s still not my favorite)
- Tropes: fake relationship, friends to lovers
- Who is the Hero? Beckett Anderson (age: 22). In grad school and planning to be a Pathologist’s Assistance
- H likable? Yes.
- Who is the Heroine? Emily Black (age: 22). In grad school and planning to be a Pathologist’s Assistance
- h likable? Yes.
- h virgin? No
- First time they kiss: 39%
- First time they sleep together: 78%
- First time they say I Love You 99%
- steamy? No. only 1 bedroom scene late in the book and really nothing leading up to that.
- OW/OM drama? Yes. Beckett has an ex fiancé that creates a bit of drama
- H/h cheat? No
- Time apart? No
- Did I skip pages? No
- Big secrets? No
- Did I cry? No
- Did I laugh? No
- Did I swoon? 🥰 Beckett was a great guy. I might have had a few small swoons
- Cliffhanger? No
- HEA? Yes
- Epilogue? 1 year later. It was extremely short. Not even 1 full page 😕
- Recommend? if you are in the mood for something light, low on angst, low on steam with completely relatable characters who are easy to root for, then yes.
**Quotes**
“When your life is full of question marks, sometimes it’s just easier to sink your teeth into something that you can completely control.”
“We did what any twenty-two-year-olds with no real life experience would do: Nothing.” 😂
“You okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” I wheezed.
“Good.” He looked over his shoulder at me. “Because you know if you die, they’ll definitely blame me. They always look at the husband first.”
“Someday, men will learn that telling a girl not to cry is basically an instruction to do the opposite.”
“I pulled him close, until his forehead rested against mine. “I want you to be happy.”
He smiled. “Then shut up and kiss me.”
**Synopsis:**
Beckett and Emmy currently share a home with 4 other college kids. All of them are wrapping up undergrad school and going their separate ways. However, Beckett and Emmy just happen to be going in the same direction after they graduate. They both will be attending graduate school at Middlesex University in River Glen, Iowa.
After Emmy was scammed and her bank account was drained, her housing situation for grad school tanked and she had nowhere to live.
Beckett’s fiancé (a different girl named Emily) dumped him one week before their wedding, putting his grad school “married student housing” living arrangement in jeopardy.
So, seeing as Beckett and Emmy were current roommates, they knew they could get along and live together and both were in dire need of a housing solution, they hatched a plan. A temporary marriage so they could live in married student housing while attending school.
- ”What the hell else are we going to do? I am literally homeless, Beck. Seriously, what options do I have?” I looked at him. “You have a home but no Emily. I am an Emily and I have no home. I mean, what are the odds?”
Because the university required proof of marriage, they had a quickie wedding in Vegas and were just going to stay married until the housing situation could be fixed.
So, who thinks the fake marriage will turn into something real, raise your hand. 🙋♀️🙋♀️
** The following are my thoughts about this book: **
* * hate to say it, but I could totally relate to the big hangover scene. 🤢 Unfortunately I had a few of those mornings with my college roommates.
* * no stupid humor (thank god!) and I could easily see where other authors would have taken this down that path. I’m so glad this author chose to keep the maturity level in keeping with their age and didn’t create any annoying over the top characters.
* * I loved the relationship between the undergrad roommates. Six friends just making it through college life
- ”these people had been my family for two years. They’d been with me after my mom died during my sophomore year. They’d been there for me every step of the way. And Ashley had been my roommate since our first year in the freshman dorms. This was my tribe. My college support system, and we were all going our separate ways in just a few days!”
* * the transition from friends to lovers is always a tricky one. Plus throw in a guy who was basically jilted at the altar and it’s rather tough to get the chemistry right with the new couple. However, because of the slow burn (and it’s reeaally slow) I did feel like that lent a little more believability to them moving from friends to lovers. I don’t think they had hot, scorching chemistry but their friendship was a solid foundation and they cared for one another and that came through loud and clear and created a believable slow transition to “I Love You” love.
* * there wasn’t enough of them together as a couple. It happened late in the book and then there was some drama and at 99% they finally professed their love and then it was over :(
** Emmy and Beckett were very easy to like. They were nice to other people, they didn’t say harmful or hurtful things and they supported each other, They were the type of friends you would probably like to have in real life.
* * nothing overly deep or intense about the book. The writing was good and it would be a good beach read.
**Overview:**
- Trigger warning: None
- Setting: River Glen, Iowa - Middlesex University
- POV: female POV (there was enough dialogue between H/h and not a ton of inner dialogue rambling, so the one POV was ok, but it’s still not my favorite)
- Tropes: fake relationship, friends to lovers
- Who is the Hero? Beckett Anderson (age: 22). In grad school and planning to be a Pathologist’s Assistance
- H likable? Yes.
- Who is the Heroine? Emily Black (age: 22). In grad school and planning to be a Pathologist’s Assistance
- h likable? Yes.
- h virgin? No
- First time they kiss: 39%
- First time they sleep together: 78%
- First time they say I Love You 99%
- steamy? No. only 1 bedroom scene late in the book and really nothing leading up to that.
- OW/OM drama? Yes. Beckett has an ex fiancé that creates a bit of drama
- H/h cheat? No
- Time apart? No
- Did I skip pages? No
- Big secrets? No
- Did I cry? No
- Did I laugh? No
- Did I swoon? 🥰 Beckett was a great guy. I might have had a few small swoons
- Cliffhanger? No
- HEA? Yes
- Epilogue? 1 year later. It was extremely short. Not even 1 full page 😕
- Recommend? if you are in the mood for something light, low on angst, low on steam with completely relatable characters who are easy to root for, then yes.
**Quotes**
“When your life is full of question marks, sometimes it’s just easier to sink your teeth into something that you can completely control.”
“We did what any twenty-two-year-olds with no real life experience would do: Nothing.” 😂
“You okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” I wheezed.
“Good.” He looked over his shoulder at me. “Because you know if you die, they’ll definitely blame me. They always look at the husband first.”
“Someday, men will learn that telling a girl not to cry is basically an instruction to do the opposite.”
October 21, 2024
reread #1: 10/20/24 ➥ 4✰
second time reading it and it’s just as adorable and funny as I remember, I love Emmy & Beck🫶🏻
I just wish we had more scenes of them as a real couple :(
first read: 06/12/22 ➥ 4.5✰
second time reading it and it’s just as adorable and funny as I remember, I love Emmy & Beck🫶🏻
I just wish we had more scenes of them as a real couple :(
first read: 06/12/22 ➥ 4.5✰
January 25, 2023
this book book is perfect if you wanna read fast paced romance; fake dating/marriage, friends to lovers trope
January 10, 2020
Read for Smutathon round 5- 2020 challenge!
Square- Fake Dating and/or Marriage
This was generally the perfect book title to match this challenge square too. Emmy and Beckett are friends and college roommates, until the day Emmy is conned out of her savings and Beckett loses his fiance after she bails on him. Both Emmy and Beckett want to study at the same grad school but to do this and get a roof over their heads, they need to be a couple together to get campus accommodation. Soon, they marry quickly in Vegas and living a huge lie while studying and struggling with family relationships. A little slow to start off with, however, the plotline was interesting. I don't really like fake dating/marriage books. The writing style was easy to get into. Overall- 3.5 stars!
Square- Fake Dating and/or Marriage
This was generally the perfect book title to match this challenge square too. Emmy and Beckett are friends and college roommates, until the day Emmy is conned out of her savings and Beckett loses his fiance after she bails on him. Both Emmy and Beckett want to study at the same grad school but to do this and get a roof over their heads, they need to be a couple together to get campus accommodation. Soon, they marry quickly in Vegas and living a huge lie while studying and struggling with family relationships. A little slow to start off with, however, the plotline was interesting. I don't really like fake dating/marriage books. The writing style was easy to get into. Overall- 3.5 stars!
December 27, 2023
As a general comment, here is a link to a more general complaint of mine regarding romance novels (this novel was cited as an example of the problems I discuss in my complaint).
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Yes, I read this. I started out liking this (albeit as a very fluffy read) at first, then... this happened.
I also don't know why I seem to be the only one remarking on this - did I read a different book from everyone else???
(Please note that in the following quoted passage, the main male character in this romance novel is discussing his ex-fiancée with the main female character. The text is from the point of view of the main female character, who is meant to wind up with this guy now that he has been dumped by his villainous ex.)
-----------------
(Begin quote)
"God, I think waiting was half of it. Only so far and then, nope. She was saving herself. That fucking purity ring. It drove me crazy. I just wanted her to say yes."
This was news to me. I had no idea that Emily had taken one of those purity vows. "But she did, right?"
"Yep. Three years, two months, and twenty-six days later. But who's fucking counting, right? Winter break, sophomore year. She cried. Told me how we had to get married or she was going to hell. Exactly what you want for your first time, right?"
Holy. Shit. I could not believe what I was hearing. "Oh my god Beckett, that sounds awful."
(End quote)
------------------
...Excuse me for a minute here, but after reading that I just have to...
Basically, this passage and the entire book emphasizes how much of a 'bitch' this guy's ex was... And neither the book nor either of the two main characters ever consider the notion that, hey, if the girl was crying when they first slept together, maybe the whole thing wasn't entirely... what she wanted to do in the first place?
This quote strongly suggests that our lovely main male character was putting pressure on his girlfriend to have sex with him and that this was a large part of why she did finally go through with it. On the other hand, we're supposed to believe that this guy (=Beckett) is just wonderful and 'one of the good ones' and so on and so forth, while his ex was entirely to blame with regards to the problems in their relationship.
...Except he PRESSURED her to have sex. Until she had sex and CRIED. BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE SEX AND YET SHE FELT SHE HAD TO DO IT.
So basically, you assaulted her, asshole. YOU forced her (because yes, emotional harassment is sufficient for things to be considered forced) to do something sexual against her will, because if you hadn't pressured her she wouldn't have gone through with it.
This passage also strongly suggests that this douchebag considered sex to be his 'due', because he and this girl were dating.
Newsflash asshole: NO ONE OWES ANYONE SEX. PERIOD. Why is this apparently so hard for so many to understand??
(I'll admit the gif below is just me venting while imagining what I would like to do to this book. :)
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Yes, I read this. I started out liking this (albeit as a very fluffy read) at first, then... this happened.
I also don't know why I seem to be the only one remarking on this - did I read a different book from everyone else???
(Please note that in the following quoted passage, the main male character in this romance novel is discussing his ex-fiancée with the main female character. The text is from the point of view of the main female character, who is meant to wind up with this guy now that he has been dumped by his villainous ex.)
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(Begin quote)
"God, I think waiting was half of it. Only so far and then, nope. She was saving herself. That fucking purity ring. It drove me crazy. I just wanted her to say yes."
This was news to me. I had no idea that Emily had taken one of those purity vows. "But she did, right?"
"Yep. Three years, two months, and twenty-six days later. But who's fucking counting, right? Winter break, sophomore year. She cried. Told me how we had to get married or she was going to hell. Exactly what you want for your first time, right?"
Holy. Shit. I could not believe what I was hearing. "Oh my god Beckett, that sounds awful."
(End quote)
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...Excuse me for a minute here, but after reading that I just have to...
Basically, this passage and the entire book emphasizes how much of a 'bitch' this guy's ex was... And neither the book nor either of the two main characters ever consider the notion that, hey, if the girl was crying when they first slept together, maybe the whole thing wasn't entirely... what she wanted to do in the first place?
This quote strongly suggests that our lovely main male character was putting pressure on his girlfriend to have sex with him and that this was a large part of why she did finally go through with it. On the other hand, we're supposed to believe that this guy (=Beckett) is just wonderful and 'one of the good ones' and so on and so forth, while his ex was entirely to blame with regards to the problems in their relationship.
...Except he PRESSURED her to have sex. Until she had sex and CRIED. BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE SEX AND YET SHE FELT SHE HAD TO DO IT.
So basically, you assaulted her, asshole. YOU forced her (because yes, emotional harassment is sufficient for things to be considered forced) to do something sexual against her will, because if you hadn't pressured her she wouldn't have gone through with it.
This passage also strongly suggests that this douchebag considered sex to be his 'due', because he and this girl were dating.
Newsflash asshole: NO ONE OWES ANYONE SEX. PERIOD. Why is this apparently so hard for so many to understand??
(I'll admit the gif below is just me venting while imagining what I would like to do to this book. :)
May 26, 2022
I loved this book so much that I have to post 🫀🫀🫀 right after finishing it, (so this probably won’t be my best review ever, I should really get some sleep). I noticed I give five stars less often than I used to, but this book deserves them all!
Emmy and Becket are just everything, they are the kind of characters you wish you knew in real life, cause they are so much fun. They are good friends and have been roommates for two years which means they’ve seen each other in pajamas, are not embarrassed about buying toilet paper etc. Their dynamic, their banter! 🫠🤤🥰 !!
The drama towards the end is not too made up (maybe a little, but I didn’t have to roll my eyes once and that’s something, folks!) and quickly over cause they actually decide to just come clean. And isn’t that refreshing?
Emmy and Becket are just everything, they are the kind of characters you wish you knew in real life, cause they are so much fun. They are good friends and have been roommates for two years which means they’ve seen each other in pajamas, are not embarrassed about buying toilet paper etc. Their dynamic, their banter! 🫠🤤🥰 !!
The drama towards the end is not too made up (maybe a little, but I didn’t have to roll my eyes once and that’s something, folks!) and quickly over cause they actually decide to just come clean. And isn’t that refreshing?
January 10, 2020
This book was so cuteee! ❤️ I loved it!
October 30, 2019
Actual Ratings : 3.9 stars
A cute, fun and quick romance story. First time I read the blurb I felt as if the premise was quite childish. We all knew how this would end so there weren’t exactly a lot of surprising moments. Still the author manages to give a sweet romance. Not exactly what you call a memorable love story but a sweet and quick one to read. I’ve got to admit though. It was the cover that got me interested in it and I don’t exactly regret the decision.
A cute, fun and quick romance story. First time I read the blurb I felt as if the premise was quite childish. We all knew how this would end so there weren’t exactly a lot of surprising moments. Still the author manages to give a sweet romance. Not exactly what you call a memorable love story but a sweet and quick one to read. I’ve got to admit though. It was the cover that got me interested in it and I don’t exactly regret the decision.
August 5, 2022
More 3.5 almost 4 rating. The thing is that I felt like I needed a little bit more. It was enjoyable and fun! I read it so quickly; the chapters are short and easy to get into. Emmy and Beckett are cute together and they have such a good relationship before getting the marriage of convenience, so their relationship after the MOC is amazing as well. They're literally so funny lmao and now they're basically roommates who are also fake husband and wife.
It's for sure a slow burn, so that's why I felt like I needed it a little bit more. It has a weird pace, because in the beginning it's a slow burn, you literally have to wait until maybe 70% of the novel for them to finally kiss FOR REAL (they kiss in front of people before just to make them believe their marriage is real tho). So when you suddenly change the pace to fast and insta-love, I'm like???? BUT?? This is not what you introduced at the beginning. I totally needed 3-4 more chapters at the end. It definitely feels like the ending is rushed, and that's mainly why I have to rate it this way.
The couple and romance were cute. You know I'm a sucker for marriage of convenience, so you're always going to have me there, reading, enjoying it.
It's for sure a slow burn, so that's why I felt like I needed it a little bit more. It has a weird pace, because in the beginning it's a slow burn, you literally have to wait until maybe 70% of the novel for them to finally kiss FOR REAL (they kiss in front of people before just to make them believe their marriage is real tho). So when you suddenly change the pace to fast and insta-love, I'm like???? BUT?? This is not what you introduced at the beginning. I totally needed 3-4 more chapters at the end. It definitely feels like the ending is rushed, and that's mainly why I have to rate it this way.
The couple and romance were cute. You know I'm a sucker for marriage of convenience, so you're always going to have me there, reading, enjoying it.
September 17, 2022
aww okay yeah this was cute and easy read, definitely something that could get you out of your slump. i loved emmy and beckett. beckett is like the perfect guy and i loved emmy’s character as well she was really likeable and the story was funny. it enjoyed it but i just wish there was more of them together to further solidify their connection. they were really cute with each other but i think i just needed more moments of them together to really feel their connection especially at the end
November 9, 2021
3 stars. A quick listen, available on Hoopla. I actually mostly really enjoyed this book, but the 3 star rating comes down to a few issues I had with it.
1. I have a problem with friends to lovers almost always. This book wasn’t too bad, but they had known each other for four years and had both been with other people. I think it would have been fine if the hero hadn’t nearly married OW, and only didn’t because of the OW.
2. They were too clueless about their mutual feelings for too long. I especially didn’t like how willing the hero was to just go with the flow. Makes me wonder if the heroine was just the next convenience.
3. The end wasn’t really a very HEA at all, but very much a HFN… I needed a better epilogue.
Still, I did enjoy most of this book, even though this kind of story is really not my cuppa.
SWE, Hero & Heroine knew each other for 4 years when the story begins, for most of undergrad. They were good friends & roommates. Hero is broken up with by his fiancée at the beginning of the story. He is very taken off guard by this and spends a good chunk of the story with some emotional turmoil over the OW. The heroine really had no feelings for him until quite a ways into the story, so no issues with jealousy. Hero was only ever with the OW in the past, and heroine has several partners, and she def was the one who was more experienced and had a better sex life, which greatly redeemed this book for me. She tries to get him to find a rebound hookup at one point. There are no others for either of them during this story though.
1. I have a problem with friends to lovers almost always. This book wasn’t too bad, but they had known each other for four years and had both been with other people. I think it would have been fine if the hero hadn’t nearly married OW, and only didn’t because of the OW.
2. They were too clueless about their mutual feelings for too long. I especially didn’t like how willing the hero was to just go with the flow. Makes me wonder if the heroine was just the next convenience.
3. The end wasn’t really a very HEA at all, but very much a HFN… I needed a better epilogue.
Still, I did enjoy most of this book, even though this kind of story is really not my cuppa.
SWE, Hero & Heroine knew each other for 4 years when the story begins, for most of undergrad. They were good friends & roommates. Hero is broken up with by his fiancée at the beginning of the story. He is very taken off guard by this and spends a good chunk of the story with some emotional turmoil over the OW. The heroine really had no feelings for him until quite a ways into the story, so no issues with jealousy. Hero was only ever with the OW in the past, and heroine has several partners, and she def was the one who was more experienced and had a better sex life, which greatly redeemed this book for me. She tries to get him to find a rebound hookup at one point. There are no others for either of them during this story though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2017
I love Ellie Cahill and the fake boyfriend/husband trope, so I was all over this book when I saw it.
I liked Emmy and Beckett. They’re both really sweet, good people and I did enjoy seeing their relationship evolve.
Plot wise, I would have liked to see just a bit more chemistry from the two of them. Everything moved pretty quickly and I was left wanting in that department. I guess I just wanted more UST.
Overall, it was a quick and cute read with a fantastic ending.
I liked Emmy and Beckett. They’re both really sweet, good people and I did enjoy seeing their relationship evolve.
Plot wise, I would have liked to see just a bit more chemistry from the two of them. Everything moved pretty quickly and I was left wanting in that department. I guess I just wanted more UST.
Overall, it was a quick and cute read with a fantastic ending.
September 6, 2017
This was a fun, cute read.
November 6, 2017
***4.5 Stars***
I loved this book. It was such a sweet love story that built over time. One big plus was the hero had only been with one woman, so no man-whore here. Gosh I loved that!!
Beckett Anderson (Love the name Beckett) is a 22-year-old college graduate who is moving on to grad school in a few days. He has been dating a young woman, Emily since he was sixteen years old, so that is approx. six years. They were getting married so they could share the married couples quarters on the campus of the grad school he would be attending while she finished her undergrad there. They really weren't thrilled about getting married so young but her family was strict so her father forbade her to live with him on campus. Their solution was to go ahead and get married to make things easier. Throughout his four years at University they had lived apart seeing each other seldom. A few days before the wedding she dumped him. He was devastated. Now there were bigger problems. School started in a few days and he would not be allowed to live in the married-only apartments and there was no other rooming available on or near campus.
Emily, who is known as Emmy, not to confuse with Evil-Emily the awful girlfriend/fiancee, was one of six who shared a place to live at the college where she was within days of finishing her undergrad degree. She was a good friend and housemate of Beckett's. Because she and Beckett were in the same field of study they would be moving on to the same grad school. Unfortunately, Emmy had all her money stolen and has no idea how she will be able to pay for a place to live on campus.
Don't miss this book. It was so good. I loved it and highly recommend it. I mark it down 1/2 star because the first 60% seemed to move a little more slowly than I like.
I loved this book. It was such a sweet love story that built over time. One big plus was the hero had only been with one woman, so no man-whore here. Gosh I loved that!!
Beckett Anderson (Love the name Beckett) is a 22-year-old college graduate who is moving on to grad school in a few days. He has been dating a young woman, Emily since he was sixteen years old, so that is approx. six years. They were getting married so they could share the married couples quarters on the campus of the grad school he would be attending while she finished her undergrad there. They really weren't thrilled about getting married so young but her family was strict so her father forbade her to live with him on campus. Their solution was to go ahead and get married to make things easier. Throughout his four years at University they had lived apart seeing each other seldom. A few days before the wedding she dumped him. He was devastated. Now there were bigger problems. School started in a few days and he would not be allowed to live in the married-only apartments and there was no other rooming available on or near campus.
Emily, who is known as Emmy, not to confuse with Evil-Emily the awful girlfriend/fiancee, was one of six who shared a place to live at the college where she was within days of finishing her undergrad degree. She was a good friend and housemate of Beckett's. Because she and Beckett were in the same field of study they would be moving on to the same grad school. Unfortunately, Emmy had all her money stolen and has no idea how she will be able to pay for a place to live on campus.
Don't miss this book. It was so good. I loved it and highly recommend it. I mark it down 1/2 star because the first 60% seemed to move a little more slowly than I like.
January 22, 2020
No chemistry between the characters.
That's the biggest flaw of this book. The fact that they stayed friends for 4 years while he was with someone else should have made me feel alarmed. He was engaged to his first love. He became single only when she left him. Even in their fake marriage, for a long while, they still remained as friends - no sexual tension, no chemistry, no moves...
Only after the 75 % of the book, they become lovers but still there is no chemistry at all. Everything feels tasteless and soulless.
There is only one intimate scene - few details are given, though, it isn't a long scene. As the guy is not experienced and was only with one girl before with whom he had mediocre sex, the heroine takes the lead, saying she will blow his mind. I don't like it this way when it is their first time. In their first time, I would prefer he blow her mind or both of them blow each other's mind. In this case, the guy seemed to be too passive for me.)
All in all, this book was not good enough for me. I didn't feel anything while reading their story. And I didn't believe in their love.
Also, the book is too young adult for my age... I shouldn't try any more books from this genre.
*********************************************
Additional info:
- Safe, no cheating
- Not hot
- Not emotional
- Mostly boring
- Mediocre writing
- 1st person point of view
*********************************************
The book is promoted as "Stand-Alone Romantic Comedy" but there is nothing either funny or romantic about it.
That's the biggest flaw of this book. The fact that they stayed friends for 4 years while he was with someone else should have made me feel alarmed. He was engaged to his first love. He became single only when she left him. Even in their fake marriage, for a long while, they still remained as friends - no sexual tension, no chemistry, no moves...
Only after the 75 % of the book, they become lovers but still there is no chemistry at all. Everything feels tasteless and soulless.
There is only one intimate scene - few details are given, though, it isn't a long scene. As the guy is not experienced and was only with one girl before with whom he had mediocre sex, the heroine takes the lead, saying she will blow his mind. I don't like it this way when it is their first time. In their first time, I would prefer he blow her mind or both of them blow each other's mind. In this case, the guy seemed to be too passive for me.)
All in all, this book was not good enough for me. I didn't feel anything while reading their story. And I didn't believe in their love.
Also, the book is too young adult for my age... I shouldn't try any more books from this genre.
*********************************************
Additional info:
- Safe, no cheating
- Not hot
- Not emotional
- Mostly boring
- Mediocre writing
- 1st person point of view
*********************************************
The book is promoted as "Stand-Alone Romantic Comedy" but there is nothing either funny or romantic about it.
November 24, 2017
Cute, sweet and kinda silly. This was fun :)
March 3, 2022
3.5/5; 4 stars
An uncomplicated and very sweet contemporary romance with the ‘marriage of convenience’ trope front and center.
An uncomplicated and very sweet contemporary romance with the ‘marriage of convenience’ trope front and center.
July 21, 2021
This was a sweet little story ... a twist on the fake relationship trope. It was short, but that was a good thing, because Emmy and Beckett already started this thing out as good friends. Making this book too long would have required introducing lots of unnecessary drama, and this book didn't need that. I appreciated that when the story begins Beckett and Emmy have already been roommates and good friends for a long time. Beckett has been engaged to be married to his high school sweetheart, so they never saw each other as anything more than friends and roommates. Through a (admittedly) convoluted set of circumstances, Beckett and Emmy find themselves potentially homeless as they get ready to head to grad school in Iowa. Beckett was supposed to be living in married housing with his new wife, Emily. Emmy was going to be living with a new roommate she found through Craigslist. Beckett's fiancée dumps him in an awful way and Emmy's new roommate ends up scamming her and stealing all her money. The solution? Get married quickly so that Beckett and Emmy can live in the married housing. Yeah, kinda cheesy setup here ... but it worked.
I think it worked because Beckett and Emmy were such good friends. They were the kind of friends who found it somewhere between crazy weird and hilarious that they now had to suddenly be all lovey-dovey to one another. They were the kind of friends who always looked out for each other in all situations, showing their love for each other, even though they weren't ever really thinking about being in love. I liked both of them a lot. It's weird that I can't really think of any moments that stood out in their developing love. They really did already love each other from the start. They just needed to get to a point where they saw that they were IN LOVE. It was sweet.
Luckily, the little blip in the relationship was about five pages of the story, and it was hardly a blip at all. It just was the catalyst needed for them, and especially Beckett, to say how they were feeling out loud. If I had any complaint about the story at all, I'd say that I wish there was a bit more of a payoff moment at the end. But, really, when you start the book already as great friends, continue to be great friends for the entire story, and really only need to come to a point where you say, "Yeah, let's just go ahead and stay married" ... well, I guess it doesn't quite lend itself to an epic HEA sort of ending. It was just sweet. I'll give this four stars. I really liked it and look forward to the next book in the series.
I think it worked because Beckett and Emmy were such good friends. They were the kind of friends who found it somewhere between crazy weird and hilarious that they now had to suddenly be all lovey-dovey to one another. They were the kind of friends who always looked out for each other in all situations, showing their love for each other, even though they weren't ever really thinking about being in love. I liked both of them a lot. It's weird that I can't really think of any moments that stood out in their developing love. They really did already love each other from the start. They just needed to get to a point where they saw that they were IN LOVE. It was sweet.
Luckily, the little blip in the relationship was about five pages of the story, and it was hardly a blip at all. It just was the catalyst needed for them, and especially Beckett, to say how they were feeling out loud. If I had any complaint about the story at all, I'd say that I wish there was a bit more of a payoff moment at the end. But, really, when you start the book already as great friends, continue to be great friends for the entire story, and really only need to come to a point where you say, "Yeah, let's just go ahead and stay married" ... well, I guess it doesn't quite lend itself to an epic HEA sort of ending. It was just sweet. I'll give this four stars. I really liked it and look forward to the next book in the series.
August 18, 2022
4.5 stars. I loved this so much. This slooooooow burn friends to lovers was right up my alley. I loved that they didn’t immediately jump all over each other in their marriage of convenience. Even with the “only one bed” and “gotta kiss to prove to everyone that this marriage is real”. They lived and treated each other so kindly and lovingly.
Yes, this starts with this dude almost marrying someone else… but there was time for him to realize that the other woman and their relationship wasn’t what was right for him. They had time to really get to know the other as a potential romantic partner before anything happened and I liked that. I love a really SLOW burn like this.
The drama with the OW when she tries to win him back is over the top, but i didn’t mind. I would have loved a little more time with the couple after everything went through. Like a discussion of when they knew they loved each other.
But in general, it was so satisfying and I loved it soooo much.
I listened to the audiobook and the single POV worked for me.
Yes, this starts with this dude almost marrying someone else… but there was time for him to realize that the other woman and their relationship wasn’t what was right for him. They had time to really get to know the other as a potential romantic partner before anything happened and I liked that. I love a really SLOW burn like this.
The drama with the OW when she tries to win him back is over the top, but i didn’t mind. I would have loved a little more time with the couple after everything went through. Like a discussion of when they knew they loved each other.
But in general, it was so satisfying and I loved it soooo much.
I listened to the audiobook and the single POV worked for me.
March 26, 2020
Loved this❤
Wow this book was amazing! Holy crap the emotions I went through were crazy and over the top but I loved every minute of it! These two had some of the worst luck ever but still came out on top! I love that their relationship wasnt filled with a whole lot of back and forth drama just between Beck and Em. Such a good book. I do wish Emily would have gotten a bit more karma to bite her in the @ss but all in all this was oh so good!
Wow this book was amazing! Holy crap the emotions I went through were crazy and over the top but I loved every minute of it! These two had some of the worst luck ever but still came out on top! I love that their relationship wasnt filled with a whole lot of back and forth drama just between Beck and Em. Such a good book. I do wish Emily would have gotten a bit more karma to bite her in the @ss but all in all this was oh so good!
July 28, 2020
One of the hero’s major problems with his ex is that because of a purity ring she refused to have sex with him for 3.5 years. What!?! When he met her she had a purity ring, she didn’t just switch-up on him, so it was not unreasonable of her to stick to her beliefs. In fact, his own comments were a bit creepy and entitled.
March 31, 2022
So….. this was so dang cute!!! So nostalgic of When Joss Met Matt. This is low angst and the perfect friends to lovers, marriage of convenience storyline. One of the best proclamation of feelings was in this little gem as well. Available on Hoopla. This would make the perfect palate cleanser!
October 27, 2019
Honestly, just cute and wholesome fun. Is it a tad clique? Sure, but most fake to real marriages. Still, I enjoyed this story simple, pleasant read.
August 6, 2021
3,5 stars
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