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At R.K. Legal & Associates, office hours are between ten to six, pranks happen after hours, and evidence of all shenanigans are removed before doors open to clients.

When Alice’s boss, Mr. Kenton, starts a prank war with Lance McCarthy, an up-and-coming attorney from a rival firm, she thinks it’s just business as usual.

She’s never been so wrong in her life.

Chosen to be Mr. Kenton’s accomplice, Alice must face off against Lance in what quickly becomes a winner-takes-all game of hearts.

278 pages, ebook

First published March 12, 2019

45 people are currently reading
60 people want to read

About the author

Bernadette Franklin

6 books84 followers
Bernadette Franklin is a figment of imagination owned and operated by two cats, a few plants, and a human otherwise known as R.J. Blain.

Bernadette Franklin writes Contemporary Romantic Comedy.

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5 stars
250 (61%)
4 stars
99 (24%)
3 stars
47 (11%)
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7 (1%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Cindy.
939 reviews19 followers
April 16, 2019
Sequel to Claustrophobic although you don't have to have read it before this one. 5 star romcom. It is frequently laugh-out-loud funny although it has only a nodding relationship with reality. But seriously, if reality is your bag, why would you be reading any romantic comedy?
Profile Image for Natalie  H.
3,796 reviews30 followers
October 16, 2019
Had a great time with this one. Entertaining and funny with romance. It would be the dream to have a work environment like that. Plenty of spiders, glitter and pranks. Gonna have to go back and read Chloe’s story, just given myself spoilers on that one. Loved it, looking forward to reading the next one.
Profile Image for Pegboard.
1,820 reviews9 followers
March 10, 2019
Shammed, by Bernadette Franklin, is an appealing romance which involves pranks, lawyers, spiders, and a spunky red-head. At her previous job as a legal secretary, Alice finds her boss has extreme anger issues and takes it out on her. Working with Mr. Kenton allows her physical and psychological wounds to heal while it encourages her to prank others in her circle of peers. Lance McCarthy is an attractive attorney who is the latest prey and the funds are unlimited. She learns to not let her weaknesses define her strengths as well as not all attorneys can be labeled the same. But there is still that fear he will become upset and seek revenge though they tell her he is nice. She questions how much he can take when old wounds are thrown into the mix.
 
Fascinating and fun makes Shammed a must read for Irish romance fanatics. Bernadette Franklin keeps the office life lively when Alice becomes the secret collaborator for tricks played on the handsome lawyer, Lance. Pretending to need lessons on tricking her boss was innovative to keep her identity hidden. I found parts of this novel predictable while others were original, I really liked the skydiving instructor Lance found for his Hawaii trip. The characters were spirited and amusing though I found some of their tricks extreme. The author does a superb job keeping the pranksters unanimous, and you never knew who was joking whom. Was the greatest prank on Alice and Lance at the end and their friends planned for them to meet this whole time? For those who want to have an amazing trip to a happy ending.  

Written by Peggy Jo Wipf for Readers' Favorite.
Profile Image for Cory Cravens.
182 reviews1 follower
November 7, 2019
So much joy!

Another great story of love and a kick ass woman! Shammed is just so good. The main character started as a minor character in a previous novel. She comes into here own in this book. This story involves so many pranks and they are priceless. I have had so much fun reading this wonderfully imaginative story. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Read it and feel good too.
2,860 reviews12 followers
February 28, 2021
Loved it

I found the author originally via her magical rom coms and fell in love. When I found out she wrote non-magical ones, I couldn’t resist trying them. This is the first one I’ve read and I’m not disappointed! While the magical ones add a bit of extra flare, this was still an excellent book, and I loved the characters and the hilarity (and can appreciate pretty spiders even though they scare me).
152 reviews
September 21, 2021
Pranks galore!

I adore this book! It was the first Bernadette Franklin book I read, and I love it! Alice is amazing in prancing everyone and having others take the fall. Lance helps Alice realize not all lawyers are bad. Plus who doesn’t want to make design choices regarding their dream house?
8 reviews
March 11, 2022
makes me giggle

My husband and I share an account…… Snarky fun and quirky. I giggled and chuckled. This author is one of my favorites, in all the pen name I’ve read so far. Her books are fun and irreverent but do deal with real world issues. Her writing style may not be for everyone but she is my escape when my anxiety is spiking.
Profile Image for Sarah Nutter.
83 reviews28 followers
March 13, 2019
Cute and Sneaky

I really like these characters. They were all fun and quirky and cute. They had a lot of diversity in that their stories and personalities weren't all flowers and sunshine. I can't wait for the next book in the series!
552 reviews2 followers
March 15, 2019
Fun romance without disturbing details

Nice boss and coworkers and loveable skydiving heroine with sense of humor and pet tarantulas.
I wouldn't want to be in same state with hate filled one named Boomer.
1,910 reviews18 followers
December 9, 2022
Building self-esteem through running a prank war - what an amazing idea! And to add the twist of being paid to prank yourself into someone's heart - priceless! I loved reading this (when I wasn't laughing my head off)!
Profile Image for Indira Rivera.
514 reviews18 followers
April 4, 2019
Buy this book. You'll thank me

This book is funny, lovely, and exciting. THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU LOVE PRANKS so be adviced. Thanks for noticing *-*
Profile Image for Gillian.
237 reviews2 followers
May 21, 2019
A perfect

Snarky wonderful irreverent romance novel. Don’t read these if you want depth, just dive into the shallows and enjoy a happy ending with no smut.
35 reviews
July 28, 2019
Punned

Charming hilarious book about prankish lawyers and the secretary that is the brains of the outfit. What’s not to love about this book - absolutely nothing!!!!
411 reviews5 followers
August 11, 2019
Loved it!

I just stayed up way too late to finish this warped, yet LOL funny book! This is a fun series and I can't wait to see what happens next!
Profile Image for Allyson Williams.
56 reviews21 followers
September 8, 2019
Shammed

A rip roaring entertaing read from the very first page! I've totally enjoyed reading Bernadette Franklin's books, and look forward to her next release.
Profile Image for Jessica.
119 reviews8 followers
November 8, 2019
I really enjoyed the book, the pranks, the pets and the laugh out loud moments. A wonderful lighthearted read
Profile Image for Carolyn Evans.
823 reviews6 followers
November 17, 2019
Wonderful

Spiders, shenanigans and sky diving? All of which make for a wonderful story with snarky humor and romance galore. Read and enjoy.
Profile Image for Raquel Silva.
485 reviews
December 23, 2019
DNF. Dialogue and plot just dragged. Not funny, it was like a comedian who says the punchline first.
Profile Image for Suni.
823 reviews10 followers
March 3, 2023
Oh my word!! I loved this novel! I haven't laughed this much while listening to a book in a long time! The pranks are hilarious! And I loved how they all played into the storyline!
Profile Image for Carmen.
328 reviews1 follower
February 22, 2024
Cute fun romance. I really want to see the voice activated spiders trailing glitter.
Way too much glitter. Poop glitter.
I want Juliette to be my friend! Free clothes from a fashion designer!
680 reviews
November 12, 2024
So fun

This series is seriously a fun one. I have laughed and laughed. What a joy to watch Alice get her HEA. I lived all the pranks. A delightful read that's clean (language?)
Profile Image for JM.
225 reviews
March 18, 2025
Utterly ridiculous, but still a lot of fun. Pretty sure there was like 10% legal work and 90% pranks happening at these legal firms
Profile Image for Skye.
1,851 reviews3 followers
June 2, 2024
Shammed is the typical laugh out loud, pure nonsense romance that I’ve come to expect from Franklin. And I absolutely loved it! I mean, who wouldn’t love a novel that careens from high jinx to high jinx? Nonsensical moment to nonsensical moment? Plus, this whole relationship and story line was instigated by prank wars. Something I’ve never actually taken part in, but would absolutely adore to observe (maybe not be involved in, because I’m not exactly great at thinking on my feet or pulling pranks…)

I love that for someone that gets overlooked frequently, and who had a pretty hard run of it in Claustrophobic, Alice is the ultimate prankster. Kind of. I mean, she starts off with a really strong and sassy prankster game. And then, when she realises how much she likes Lance, she ends up just… kind of giving him really sweet and kind presents. I mean, it’s nice, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also not as prank-based as I wanted. Though, kind of a nice courtship – one that involves being giving and truly knowing the source of your ‘pranks’.

Lance’s backstory was honestly a little bit difficult to read, particularly amongst the light-hearted nature of his and Alice’s courtship. But I love, that although it’s totally a feeding ground for angst and bitterness, Lance shows and feels none of this. He’s a far more balanced individual than I ever would be. Which, honestly, that also goes for Alice – she’s definitely entitled to a whole lot more bitterness about her past job than she shows. Ultimately, she’s actually an incredibly humorous and entertaining character. One who sky dives and has no fear of, well, gravity…

There was a lot less Juliette Carter in this story than I had anticipated. I was a lot less disappointed in this than I expected – mostly because there was a lot more Chloe and Julian as a result. Particularly Chloe – I love when she goes on the rampage and just decides to do something somewhat insane. Her and Alice together? Shammed was definitely a story of absolute insanity, led by two incredibly fun women.
Profile Image for Kei.
792 reviews14 followers
February 24, 2020
These books make me happy.
They are not for reading in overly sceptical and realistic moods, they are for reading for fun and to feel good.
I snickered on the parts regarding toilets (because washlets with glowy parts, button panels, and automatic lids are more of the norm around here even in some public restrooms), had a sad sigh on the topic of refurbishing an entire big dream house in 3 weeks for just half a million (I know people who can't find a way/people to do it for almost 2 years already), pretended that I would't myself run away and refuse to return to a room with a tarantula in it, wondered if 10,000 trashy romance novels would fit in my apartment even I got rid of all furniture and packed the books from floor to ceiling, like into a box ... and generally had a lot of fun reading this disregarding of any realities.
Profile Image for Liz Kissel.
97 reviews
September 26, 2022
Such a cool novel

I am already a huge fan of RJ Blaine, this was a stumbled upon accident I could not put down. If you love comedy and romance you will love this book.
PS if you have problems with large spiders be warned there are several.
Profile Image for Heather Hammond.
158 reviews2 followers
February 21, 2025
Excellent story of course

This is an amazing story by one of my favourite authors. I really enjoyed Alice and Lance pranking all over the place, so much glitter. The spiders are not my favourite part but I skimmed over those bits.
244 reviews6 followers
August 16, 2023
Prank war at work as flirting

I liked the characters. I liked the comic books and house renovations. Lawyers can have fun. I have read other books by the author.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews

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