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Just Married?
When uptight British bookshop owner Emily Bartlett goes to Las Vegas to get over a humiliating breakup, she’s expecting to make a few mistakes. But when she meets Ruby Knight, a pessimistic American C-list TV actress with designs on a movie career, she makes a whopper. The pair get so incredibly drunk together that they end up getting accidently married.
In the cold light of day, both women are shocked to find themselves wedded to a virtual stranger. But maybe it’s not such a big mistake? Could Ruby’s marriage to Emily help boost her profile and get her the biggest role of her life, earning Emily a big payday in the process? Only if they can make it seem like they’re really in love. And only if they can navigate the treacherous LA movie scene without tripping themselves up and giving the game away. Or worse, getting carried away with their fake relationship…
But what if they do let themselves feel something? Could they fall in love? Or are they Just Married?
A witty romantic comedy, ‘Just Married?’ is the latest book from Natasha West, the internationally bestselling author of ‘By Any Other Name’ and ‘The Plus One.’
In the cold light of day, both women are shocked to find themselves wedded to a virtual stranger. But maybe it’s not such a big mistake? Could Ruby’s marriage to Emily help boost her profile and get her the biggest role of her life, earning Emily a big payday in the process? Only if they can make it seem like they’re really in love. And only if they can navigate the treacherous LA movie scene without tripping themselves up and giving the game away. Or worse, getting carried away with their fake relationship…
But what if they do let themselves feel something? Could they fall in love? Or are they Just Married?
A witty romantic comedy, ‘Just Married?’ is the latest book from Natasha West, the internationally bestselling author of ‘By Any Other Name’ and ‘The Plus One.’
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 15, 2019
332 people are currently reading
816 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
September 13, 2019
I've read a handful of Natasha West's books and I think this is my least favorite among them. She's a pretty solid writer if you're looking for an f/f romance with some humor and quirk. And her Julia Hawke series is pretty sophisticated and on my favorites list (caveat about the first book not being so great while the 2nd and 3rd are really good).
"Just Married?" gives us a Hollywood faux-mance that requires some suspension of disbelief. There are some interesting ideas in this one but we have a lot of books in lesfic that hit these Hollywood and fake romance tropes and this one doesn't really stand up to them. It's an okay read, on the whole.
Mainly, my biggest peeve with the actual writing is that it's the type of conflict that could be resolved if the leads were honest with each other and just had conversations. Instead, the entire premise hinges on their misunderstandings. Blech.
If I read the story in its words I give it about a 3. If I listen to the story, my rating actually drops.
This is an audiobook on Scribd and that's how I consumed it. We have a British lead and an American one but the narrator is British which means we're getting a Brit doing an American accent. Maybe others won't be bothered by it but I listen to a lot of BBC radio dramas and whenever they need to do an American accent it's really grating to my ears. They over emphasize consonants, especially 'R' sounds, and over-act, stripping an American accent of nuance. I'm sure Brits have similar complaints when Americans try to be English.
But, unfortunately, this audiobook was no different in the delivery of the lines. It wasn't fun to listen to and the emphasis of expression when using the American accent made a character even crossing a room sound overly dramatic. Whenever the narrators would slip into the British character, though, it was much more natural and a better experience.
I'll go with an overall 2.75 on this one.
"Just Married?" gives us a Hollywood faux-mance that requires some suspension of disbelief. There are some interesting ideas in this one but we have a lot of books in lesfic that hit these Hollywood and fake romance tropes and this one doesn't really stand up to them. It's an okay read, on the whole.
Mainly, my biggest peeve with the actual writing is that it's the type of conflict that could be resolved if the leads were honest with each other and just had conversations. Instead, the entire premise hinges on their misunderstandings. Blech.
If I read the story in its words I give it about a 3. If I listen to the story, my rating actually drops.
This is an audiobook on Scribd and that's how I consumed it. We have a British lead and an American one but the narrator is British which means we're getting a Brit doing an American accent. Maybe others won't be bothered by it but I listen to a lot of BBC radio dramas and whenever they need to do an American accent it's really grating to my ears. They over emphasize consonants, especially 'R' sounds, and over-act, stripping an American accent of nuance. I'm sure Brits have similar complaints when Americans try to be English.
But, unfortunately, this audiobook was no different in the delivery of the lines. It wasn't fun to listen to and the emphasis of expression when using the American accent made a character even crossing a room sound overly dramatic. Whenever the narrators would slip into the British character, though, it was much more natural and a better experience.
I'll go with an overall 2.75 on this one.
February 22, 2019
Book 11 that I've read by this author and unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations. The blurb had me immediately intrigued because the combination of a drunken Vegas wedding and a fauxmance in one sounded amazing.
To be fair, the book started off great and it completely had my attention. The pacing was a little fast though but given the length of the book that was to be expected. I liked the main characters well enough, even though I wanted to whack them upside the head every now and then for either being a jerk (Ruby) or being a spineless pushover (Emily & Ruby).
The part that ruined this book for me was caused mainly by a secondary character. This person's manipulative behavior and abrasive personality was too dramatized and so very over the top that I had a hard time not getting angry for real. The other minor part that had me baffled was how two grown women both allowed someone to treat them like unruly children, scolding and all. It really started to tick me off after a while.
Though there were a few moments that made me laugh, I can't call this a comedy or label it as humorous. Romance fans may swoon however over the very cheesy ending.
Read this book at your own risk since you may feel like punching something (or someone) during certain moments.
Overall 3,25* rating.
To be fair, the book started off great and it completely had my attention. The pacing was a little fast though but given the length of the book that was to be expected. I liked the main characters well enough, even though I wanted to whack them upside the head every now and then for either being a jerk (Ruby) or being a spineless pushover (Emily & Ruby).
The part that ruined this book for me was caused mainly by a secondary character. This person's manipulative behavior and abrasive personality was too dramatized and so very over the top that I had a hard time not getting angry for real. The other minor part that had me baffled was how two grown women both allowed someone to treat them like unruly children, scolding and all. It really started to tick me off after a while.
Though there were a few moments that made me laugh, I can't call this a comedy or label it as humorous. Romance fans may swoon however over the very cheesy ending.
Read this book at your own risk since you may feel like punching something (or someone) during certain moments.
Overall 3,25* rating.
June 23, 2019
While it is true that miscommunication/lack of communication/communication mistakes are a tried and true addition to Romances and Comedy, going back centuries even (what’s Romeo and Juliet but a lack of communication/miscommunication scenario, eh? ‘I shall take this drug to make myself appear dead so that it will be easier to . . . um . . . appear dead . . . for reasons of starting life anew elsewhere with my beloved. Oh, monk/priest/dude – let my beloved know I didn’t really kill myself, okay? *monk dude nods evilly; woman drinks, body grows cold and stiff. Begins to smell (what, it’s the age of open sewers and little hygiene)*’ ‘What’s this! NOOO! My beloved has mysteriously died for no known reason, maybe because her heart burst from love, fear or lack of oxygen. It is kind of closed off down here. *pulls out dagger, monk-dude peers around corner with, like, a gleam of sparkle in his eye, Romeo stabs self in heart, drops dead; Juliet gasps and pulls air into lungs, wiggles, thinks to herself, out-loud since this is a play ‘Why am I all sticky? What’s this weight upon my breasts? NOOO! My beloved has stabbed himself! I cannot bear to live *grabs knife, plunges into kidney, screams in pain; gasps, pulls out dagger, tries again, plunges into lung, lung begins to collapse, gasps out ‘why is it so hard to join my beloved?’ stabs self in heart, dies; evil monk dude shakes head, mutters to himself ‘if only they’d talked to each other, eh? Stupid barely teenagers. Walks away drinking blood, spots the families, makes a speech about ‘see, this is your fault. Do you wish a dagger to take your lives?’ *receives wailing, but no one takes him up on the daggers*).
Where was I? Oh, right, communication issues are a tried and true addition to many a genre. Sometimes to the point of excess, like, say, in lesbian fiction. Well this book here is both a romance and a comedy – so there’s something like a double helping of miscommunication going on here (with, in addition with, like, that evil monk dude above, an evil mother type who adds a layer of disinformation to the mix).
There’s a ton of genuine humor in the book – mostly in the beginning area, but some filtering through the rest. The kind that makes even me to laugh (I like laughing so don’t read that ‘even me’ too hard). There’s also a ton of errors throughout. And I’m not talking about the number of times the American characters talked about sat on things. The word ‘sitting’ is apparently banned in the British Isles, but I’ve already wasted plenty of words about that issue in other reviews (though I stress again that it is the American characters (in addition to the British) using this ‘sat’ word weirdly. No, the errors are the other stuff. Like that time when the chapter was focused on Emily (there’s a certain amount of head-swapping, but it’s mostly between Emily and Ruby, and there tended to be breaks between the swaps) when suddenly Emily is running somewhere, the name given for the person is Ruby (and yes it is obviously still Emily’s chapter), when the story includes the bit about how she (presumably Ruby, but no, it’s Emily, Ruby was just inserted incorrectly) really needs to talk to Ruby (wow, good thing I knew this was really Emily’s chapter or that’d been confusing. Ruby really needed to talk to Ruby?).
Oh, right, and as mentioned, there’s an evil mom in the book. This is one of those kinda annoying (to me) books that involve women who are old enough to control their own lives (both characters are around 27, 28), but who allow themselves to be dominated by an older woman. Denise being the older woman’s name – the mother of Ruby Knight, actress. Denise ‘sacrificed’ herself to get Ruby’s ‘dream’ to come to be real – acting. Somewhere along the way (apparently not from beginning) she also became Ruby’s manager. The evil micro-managing bitchy all controlling type of manager. Presumably there’s some backstory for Emily as well, based on hints dropped here and there, but she’s mostly ‘managed’ by Denise when she comes under her spell (the hints involving the kind of praise that undermines instead of uplifts, and working for her brother instead of with him in running the family bookstore).
I got away from myself and the little helpful tidbits are so far down in the review, they probably will get lost but: this is a lesbian-lesbian book (which is occasionally important to note) involving two late twenties women from different circumstances. One, as the book description puts her, is a C-list actress (who, I do not recall if this is in there as well, is an American with a bitchy manager who is also her mother); while the other is a bookstore employee from Britain, specifically Oxford.
The book opens with Emily getting dumped, with one of the comments being that’s she’s too unspontaneous (or however that was worded). And then Emily goes back to ‘their’ place to toss all of Katie’s things into the yard (not really, but yes Katie did ask Emily to pack up her things for her, she’s that type of bitch). Somewhere along the way, though Emily finds herself cramped on a transatlantic flight to Las Vegas. A place that she’d never particularly wished to go, but a couple of coin flips finds her heading there.
Meanwhile (and now I’m picturing Stephen Colbert being a little too . . . . aroused/excited/whatever when he says ‘Meanwhile’ for his ‘Meanwhile’ segment (seriously, what’ s up with his orgasmic response to the segment opening credits?), another woman is in a different kind of argument – this one with her mother. This being Ruby and Denise. At some point Ruby darts out, gets in her car, and heads for home . . . somehow ending on the on-ramp to Vegas.
The two lead characters meet. Ruby immediately erupts at Emily because she’s full of herself and assumes Emily is some kind of fan who wants a video or something. Things move from there and they have great fun together – to the point of drunkenness.
Where-upon the story turns in another common trope, though from a direction I’m not sure I’ve actually seen before. It’s the ‘pretend relationship for career gain trope!’ (Actually, while the ‘for career gain’ is something of a sub-trope of ‘pretend relationship’, I was going more for the ‘pretend relationship’ part. Why are these two random strangers suddenly in a ‘pretend relationship’? Because, apparently, they got married during their drunken night of fun, they even have a certificate to prove it!
One thing leads to another, bitch mom is initially annoyed, then . . . not happy, but something like that, because there’s positive viral internet trending for her client-daughter based on this marriage. She initially wants to make use of this romance, but learns the two women didn’t actually know each other before yesterday night, so instead wants to make this be a pretend romance ‘at least until x!’ – for career gain (daughter’s career gain).
Fun, funny, incredibly short book. My third, I think, work by this author I’ve read. I seem to alternate between 2 or 4 ratings, and here we seem to have landed on . . .
Rating: 3.88
March 19 2019
Where was I? Oh, right, communication issues are a tried and true addition to many a genre. Sometimes to the point of excess, like, say, in lesbian fiction. Well this book here is both a romance and a comedy – so there’s something like a double helping of miscommunication going on here (with, in addition with, like, that evil monk dude above, an evil mother type who adds a layer of disinformation to the mix).
‘Right. But rather than talk about it, you just started looking for someone else’
There’s a ton of genuine humor in the book – mostly in the beginning area, but some filtering through the rest. The kind that makes even me to laugh (I like laughing so don’t read that ‘even me’ too hard). There’s also a ton of errors throughout. And I’m not talking about the number of times the American characters talked about sat on things. The word ‘sitting’ is apparently banned in the British Isles, but I’ve already wasted plenty of words about that issue in other reviews (though I stress again that it is the American characters (in addition to the British) using this ‘sat’ word weirdly. No, the errors are the other stuff. Like that time when the chapter was focused on Emily (there’s a certain amount of head-swapping, but it’s mostly between Emily and Ruby, and there tended to be breaks between the swaps) when suddenly Emily is running somewhere, the name given for the person is Ruby (and yes it is obviously still Emily’s chapter), when the story includes the bit about how she (presumably Ruby, but no, it’s Emily, Ruby was just inserted incorrectly) really needs to talk to Ruby (wow, good thing I knew this was really Emily’s chapter or that’d been confusing. Ruby really needed to talk to Ruby?).
Oh, right, and as mentioned, there’s an evil mom in the book. This is one of those kinda annoying (to me) books that involve women who are old enough to control their own lives (both characters are around 27, 28), but who allow themselves to be dominated by an older woman. Denise being the older woman’s name – the mother of Ruby Knight, actress. Denise ‘sacrificed’ herself to get Ruby’s ‘dream’ to come to be real – acting. Somewhere along the way (apparently not from beginning) she also became Ruby’s manager. The evil micro-managing bitchy all controlling type of manager. Presumably there’s some backstory for Emily as well, based on hints dropped here and there, but she’s mostly ‘managed’ by Denise when she comes under her spell (the hints involving the kind of praise that undermines instead of uplifts, and working for her brother instead of with him in running the family bookstore).
I got away from myself and the little helpful tidbits are so far down in the review, they probably will get lost but: this is a lesbian-lesbian book (which is occasionally important to note) involving two late twenties women from different circumstances. One, as the book description puts her, is a C-list actress (who, I do not recall if this is in there as well, is an American with a bitchy manager who is also her mother); while the other is a bookstore employee from Britain, specifically Oxford.
The book opens with Emily getting dumped, with one of the comments being that’s she’s too unspontaneous (or however that was worded). And then Emily goes back to ‘their’ place to toss all of Katie’s things into the yard (not really, but yes Katie did ask Emily to pack up her things for her, she’s that type of bitch). Somewhere along the way, though Emily finds herself cramped on a transatlantic flight to Las Vegas. A place that she’d never particularly wished to go, but a couple of coin flips finds her heading there.
Meanwhile (and now I’m picturing Stephen Colbert being a little too . . . . aroused/excited/whatever when he says ‘Meanwhile’ for his ‘Meanwhile’ segment (seriously, what’ s up with his orgasmic response to the segment opening credits?), another woman is in a different kind of argument – this one with her mother. This being Ruby and Denise. At some point Ruby darts out, gets in her car, and heads for home . . . somehow ending on the on-ramp to Vegas.
The two lead characters meet. Ruby immediately erupts at Emily because she’s full of herself and assumes Emily is some kind of fan who wants a video or something. Things move from there and they have great fun together – to the point of drunkenness.
Where-upon the story turns in another common trope, though from a direction I’m not sure I’ve actually seen before. It’s the ‘pretend relationship for career gain trope!’ (Actually, while the ‘for career gain’ is something of a sub-trope of ‘pretend relationship’, I was going more for the ‘pretend relationship’ part. Why are these two random strangers suddenly in a ‘pretend relationship’? Because, apparently, they got married during their drunken night of fun, they even have a certificate to prove it!
One thing leads to another, bitch mom is initially annoyed, then . . . not happy, but something like that, because there’s positive viral internet trending for her client-daughter based on this marriage. She initially wants to make use of this romance, but learns the two women didn’t actually know each other before yesterday night, so instead wants to make this be a pretend romance ‘at least until x!’ – for career gain (daughter’s career gain).
Fun, funny, incredibly short book. My third, I think, work by this author I’ve read. I seem to alternate between 2 or 4 ratings, and here we seem to have landed on . . .
‘Oh god, did you kill her?’ Phil asked.
‘What? No!’
‘Because it’s always the quiet ones.’
‘I didn’t kill her. It’s the total opposite, actually.’
Phil went quiet for a second and then asked, ‘You gave birth to her?’
Rating: 3.88
March 19 2019
February 16, 2022
Vegas wedding.
I'm reluctant to say this because Emily Beresford is one of my favourite narrators, but I'd recommend reading this over listening to the audiobook. This one has two narrators, Emily and Rachael Beresford, to deliver one point of view each and I would have enjoyed it far more if they had delivered the dialogues based on the characters they represent instead of going by chapters because it's confusing when one character has two voices. To be fair, this problem isn't unique to this book. There are dual narration audiobooks out there with the same problem although it's worse in this case because of the differences in accent. Emily Beresford has an American accent and Rachael Beresford has an English accent, which is a great match for the two main characters, but they did a terrible job when they had to swap accents.
As for the story itself, I love the celebrity trope and I also thought the premise was funny - Emily and Ruby being complete strangers who had gotten drunk-married in Vegas and decided to perpetuate their lie of a planned, happy marriage for personal gain. It started well and I bought the story of how they had ended up getting married by accident and even their instalove. But the story turned out to be more frustrating than I had anticipated because the miscommunication between them was so drawn out and they were so angry with each other half the time due to their one-track mind and Ruby's mother.
I think I would have enjoyed this more if the characters had a better time learning more about each other and loving their time together rather than miscommunicating their intentions so much.
I'm reluctant to say this because Emily Beresford is one of my favourite narrators, but I'd recommend reading this over listening to the audiobook. This one has two narrators, Emily and Rachael Beresford, to deliver one point of view each and I would have enjoyed it far more if they had delivered the dialogues based on the characters they represent instead of going by chapters because it's confusing when one character has two voices. To be fair, this problem isn't unique to this book. There are dual narration audiobooks out there with the same problem although it's worse in this case because of the differences in accent. Emily Beresford has an American accent and Rachael Beresford has an English accent, which is a great match for the two main characters, but they did a terrible job when they had to swap accents.
As for the story itself, I love the celebrity trope and I also thought the premise was funny - Emily and Ruby being complete strangers who had gotten drunk-married in Vegas and decided to perpetuate their lie of a planned, happy marriage for personal gain. It started well and I bought the story of how they had ended up getting married by accident and even their instalove. But the story turned out to be more frustrating than I had anticipated because the miscommunication between them was so drawn out and they were so angry with each other half the time due to their one-track mind and Ruby's mother.
I think I would have enjoyed this more if the characters had a better time learning more about each other and loving their time together rather than miscommunicating their intentions so much.
December 14, 2019
I had to suffer through the audio version of this book. The one narrator, Emily Beresford, is just not right for romance novels. I've commented on this before with another book she did, Never Just Friends. She would be better suited for voicing non-romantic comedy. Or auctions. Or being some sort of announcer. I'm fairly certain that I would have rated this book higher had it not been for the audio.
This book had a funny (if not unbelievable) premise of getting pissed drunk and married in Las Vegas. Ruby is a d-list actress on a terrible T.V. show that posts about the wedding on instagram. That is sure to damage Ruby's reputation and kill her shot at this movie she is up for. So her mother/agent cooks up a scheme that would have Ruby stay married to Emily (The British chick she fell for in Vegas) in order to control the narrative.
So these two messy ladies fake their marriage all the while trying to deny their real feelings for one another.
This was entertaining and sometimes funny. The back and forth and miscommunication of it all was a little annoying, though. I literally was screaming in my car to 'JUST TELL HER FOR GOD'S SAKE!' To both of the them. Multiple times.
The ending was super rom com cheesy. And I still liked it.
I recommend the BOOK (Not the audio. DEFINITELY not the audio) to those who like to rom coms, angst, fake relationships, celebrity relationships, and miscommunication.
This book had a funny (if not unbelievable) premise of getting pissed drunk and married in Las Vegas. Ruby is a d-list actress on a terrible T.V. show that posts about the wedding on instagram. That is sure to damage Ruby's reputation and kill her shot at this movie she is up for. So her mother/agent cooks up a scheme that would have Ruby stay married to Emily (The British chick she fell for in Vegas) in order to control the narrative.
So these two messy ladies fake their marriage all the while trying to deny their real feelings for one another.
This was entertaining and sometimes funny. The back and forth and miscommunication of it all was a little annoying, though. I literally was screaming in my car to 'JUST TELL HER FOR GOD'S SAKE!' To both of the them. Multiple times.
The ending was super rom com cheesy. And I still liked it.
I recommend the BOOK (Not the audio. DEFINITELY not the audio) to those who like to rom coms, angst, fake relationships, celebrity relationships, and miscommunication.
April 15, 2019
I went on strike with this author because she wasn’t coming out with Book 3 of the Plus One Trilogy quick enough for me. But I was in the mood for anything not on my to-do list, sampled various KU books, ejected out of many, tried again until I settled in with this one. After a few chapters, it became clear to me that I’ve only been punishing myself in not reading any more Natasha West books because the writing is clever, breezy, and the main characters are always lovable. Just Married? fit my craving for quick fun but decent writing. A little rushed at the end but I’m not complaining. Inbasket to self: no more author strikes ever again.
March 11, 2019
This was a fun, quick read featuring a fake relationship, which is one of my favorite tropes.
February 22, 2019
Nearly a 3*
March 6, 2019
3 stars. I enjoyed this book, but it was nothing amazing. This book is about a British bookstore Owner, Emily Bartlett, whose fiance breaks up with her after cheating on her for six months. Emily is called boring and predictable and her ex-fiance just moves in with the girl she has been cheating with. Emily needs to get away and takes a trip to the first place in America she can get a plane to, Vegas. In Vegas, she meets Ruby Knight, a C rate TV actress who is currently in a teen drama. They start to spend time and drink together and they wake up the next morning married to one another. They both find themselves married to a stranger and unsure what to do. Ruby's agent thinks they should stay married as it is boosting Ruby's career and her chances to get a lead in a big movie role. Emily agrees and they start their wild time together.
I enjoyed this book, but it was was just okay. The writing was not amazing and the story was semi-predictable. It was a solid read on Kindle unlimited and I would recommend it on there, but I would not recommend it to buy. The interactions between the two main characters was good but not great, and I am not sure I could believe how they fell for each other. It was a little too cheesy for my taste.
I enjoyed this book, but it was was just okay. The writing was not amazing and the story was semi-predictable. It was a solid read on Kindle unlimited and I would recommend it on there, but I would not recommend it to buy. The interactions between the two main characters was good but not great, and I am not sure I could believe how they fell for each other. It was a little too cheesy for my taste.
March 25, 2019
Just married?
Sweet, easy read with enough twists and turns to make it an amusing but sometimes serious plot that keeps you turning the pages.
Sweet, easy read with enough twists and turns to make it an amusing but sometimes serious plot that keeps you turning the pages.
March 28, 2019
This is my 4th book by West and probably my least favorite. I think this story had the potential to be better, but it fell flat for me. It just seemed like the MC's didn't have real chemistry. I read another book like that last year where the author tried to make them have chemistry but they just didn't. So not only was the marriage in this one fake, the chemistry came off as fake. Of course there are plenty of books out there with fake marriages for various reasons, but this one was just silly. I did alot of skimming in this one because I did want to see how it ended.
June 4, 2019
I am a bit of a ‘sucker’ for the pretend relationship plot, but I’m afraid this one didn’t do it for me. The basic story was OK and the initial opening chapters were quite promising, but it then fell flat. The two main characters were a bit pathetic and there wasn’t a decent cast of supporting characters to fill out the story. Also I know the use of miscommunication is endemic in this type of novel, but I think it was over-done in this book.
March 18, 2019
The story was unrealistic and unbelievable. But hey, it's fiction, so this was not the main reason for my low rating. I didn't like the main characters thinking one thing and saying or doing the opposite. That and the obnoxious mother/mother-in-law.
May 27, 2020
Hollywood marriage
If I was Ruby I would have told her mom off long ago. I give Emily a lot of credit for sticking by Ruby. This story gives you a glimpse of Hollywood behind the scenes. An amusing story with a bit of angst. I loved both of the narrators for this audiobook
If I was Ruby I would have told her mom off long ago. I give Emily a lot of credit for sticking by Ruby. This story gives you a glimpse of Hollywood behind the scenes. An amusing story with a bit of angst. I loved both of the narrators for this audiobook
October 27, 2019
DNF in first download.
Then downloaded and read again. Fake romance, odd couple and celebrity make great ingredients. But somehow this felt like it took forever to get going. Never got going. And then was over.
Then downloaded and read again. Fake romance, odd couple and celebrity make great ingredients. But somehow this felt like it took forever to get going. Never got going. And then was over.
May 14, 2020
While the Villains (Rock and Denise) were extremely obvious I will praise the author for not making them evil for the sake of having a cliched villain. Both Rock and Denise (Ruby's mother) got on my nerves countless times but I can admit they had good character motivations.
The last 3 chapters were so unbelievable. Denise's actions in the end made no sense to her established character. Everything felt rushed. Like the author needed to rely on plot convinces. I also found Emily and Ruby incredibly annoying after listening to the first 50 percent of the book. They'd just sexually or romantically get involved then pretend it never happened as they'd wonder how the other feels.
The last 3 chapters were so unbelievable. Denise's actions in the end made no sense to her established character. Everything felt rushed. Like the author needed to rely on plot convinces. I also found Emily and Ruby incredibly annoying after listening to the first 50 percent of the book. They'd just sexually or romantically get involved then pretend it never happened as they'd wonder how the other feels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2020
I rarely read books offered on KU, as I do not subscribe. I purchase ones I see have several positive reviews. This was a super-fast read, took me no time at all to read it. Worth picking up if you have KU. It was okay, not the best fake relationship book I have read and by far not the worst. 3 stars from me.
February 18, 2019
3 1/3 stars. I enjoyed it but didn’t love it. I didn’t like the over bearing mother character. I know I wasn’t supposed to, and I guess Hollywood mothers can be like that, but I wanted her to be less harsh.
March 28, 2020
Took a little while for me to get into the story but once I was into it I was completely invested. I loved our two MCs and even though the fake marriage trope has been done to death, there were unique elements. Another great book from Natasha West.
May 28, 2019
Silly, small & short tale which I enjoyed - very easy on the mind and the body. Be seduced into a new show business world where money is top-dog but romance conquers all!
April 12, 2020
Alot of miscomminication,Very fast paced,very bad secondary character,it was funny,i love this author and this premise but this wasnt it.
June 23, 2019
representation: lesbian mc's, f/f romance
Definitely not the best from Natasha West. If this is the only book you've read by her, I highly recommend picking up something else by her because this isn't indicative of the best she has to offer. This needed a bit more proofreading and editing, while the resolution towards the ending was too rushed. I think the end could've been perfect if it ended right on the plane scene after they kiss again. It didn't really need an epilogue or further justification for their relationship, we should've just seen their fake meet-cute come to life and then assumed what happened next.
"How stupid, she mused. To fall in love with your own wife. Well, no, you were supposed to do that, but usually before you married them and not during a preposterous fake relationship that followed."
Definitely not the best from Natasha West. If this is the only book you've read by her, I highly recommend picking up something else by her because this isn't indicative of the best she has to offer. This needed a bit more proofreading and editing, while the resolution towards the ending was too rushed. I think the end could've been perfect if it ended right on the plane scene after they kiss again. It didn't really need an epilogue or further justification for their relationship, we should've just seen their fake meet-cute come to life and then assumed what happened next.
May 21, 2019
i love fauxmance books but this was pretty meh
April 14, 2023
And as she said it, she knew what had fascinated her so much about Ruby’s story. She wished it was true.
2.5 stars. This has a promising beginning and a satisfying enough end, but during the middle portion I found myself more irritated than anything? It's a fake dating, married in Vegas celebrity romance between an English bookstore employee and an up-and-coming C-list American actress. Emily takes an impulsive trip to Vegas after her fiancé dumps her, and meets Ruby, an actress with an overbearing mother for a manager. After hitting it off, they get drunk and accidentally married, then decide to keep on faking it... you know the drill. It's a common trope/formula because it's fun and it never gets old, and at first I was enjoying it quite a bit. The banter and chemistry when they first met was really cute. Unfortunately, neither character ever really grew on me much? I liked them fine, but we never really got to know them. Downfalls of a short book, I guess. Ruby's mother was so cartoonishly controlling and manipulative, it just became silly, rather than sympathy-inducing, imo. (But she was awful enough that she definitely did not merit a redemption.) In a situation like this, where they literally had a semi-formal contract for their fake dating/marriage, I expected more situations where they would have to pretend? I wanted more discussions about the actual situation, but it seems like they never had those. Especially since Emily makes some pretty silly mistakes and forgets to consider a couple things that realistically should have been at the top of her mind. IDK, it was a little annoying. I didn't care about the Hollywood plot, the misunderstandings were not the cute kind, and some of the supposed humour/random digs at other people just weren't funny. The ending did kinda bring it back together, thankfully. There was a great grand gesture and an epilogue that made me smile a lot.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Emily Beresford and Rachael Beresford, and it was pretty okay. I liked Emily's narrator a lot more. Neither of them were great at the accent swapping, but they weren't terrible either. I'll try reading from West again, but as always, I do feel like I ought to stay away from short books that don't let the authors/the characters shine like they could.
May 17, 2019
I enjoyed the characters and I enjoyed the storyline, however I disliked the mother 😂 and I was annoyed at how ruby just went along with it all the way through like I wanted her to grow some balls way before she did 😂 but other than that .. good read! Love me some romance
February 4, 2020
“Just Married?” is a delightfully entertaining fauxmance story with fantastic narration by two narrators. Yup, I’m disagreeing with many other reviewers, here. Maybe we have another “Cassie” situation?
There is so much fun banter and interactions between so many of the characters, I nearly hurt my face smiling so hard!
MC Emily hops on a flight from England to Vegas after being dumped by her fiancée to prove to herself she can be spontaneous and fun. She awakens the next morning in a hotel room to find her comrade-in-adventures of the previous day and night, MC Ruby, has left without even saying thanks and goodbye. She also finds a marriage certificate! Oh my, Vegas can be an interesting town!
Ruby is of course, the epitome of “I don’t do relationships because I don’t want to be vulnerable” trope, as well as of the “I can’t stop having my life controlled by my mother” trope - yup - another double epitome MC. Oh wait…and she doesn’t communicate with her mother or with Emily….she’s a triple epitome!!
Ruby’s mother Denise decides that since drunk Ruby plastered wedding photos all over Instagram, that they need to protect her acting career by hiring Emily to play her wife. Interactions between the MCs and Denise, Ruby’s jackass costar Rock, and an unusually kind and understanding Hollywood producer are just so much fun!
While there is insta-attraction between the MCs, and they wake up with a marriage certificate, the story really features a slow-burn romance, some very hot kisses, and some entertaining eventual sex.
These women are 27yo and 28yo, and one is a blonde. I just don’t get why authors pick covers that don’t look anything like the characters. 1* for the stupid cover, but 6* for the narration and 4.5 stars for the well-written fun story. I’ll relisten to to this when I’m looking to revisit a lightweight (low angst) funny romance. Rounded to 5*!
There is so much fun banter and interactions between so many of the characters, I nearly hurt my face smiling so hard!
MC Emily hops on a flight from England to Vegas after being dumped by her fiancée to prove to herself she can be spontaneous and fun. She awakens the next morning in a hotel room to find her comrade-in-adventures of the previous day and night, MC Ruby, has left without even saying thanks and goodbye. She also finds a marriage certificate! Oh my, Vegas can be an interesting town!
Ruby is of course, the epitome of “I don’t do relationships because I don’t want to be vulnerable” trope, as well as of the “I can’t stop having my life controlled by my mother” trope - yup - another double epitome MC. Oh wait…and she doesn’t communicate with her mother or with Emily….she’s a triple epitome!!
Ruby’s mother Denise decides that since drunk Ruby plastered wedding photos all over Instagram, that they need to protect her acting career by hiring Emily to play her wife. Interactions between the MCs and Denise, Ruby’s jackass costar Rock, and an unusually kind and understanding Hollywood producer are just so much fun!
While there is insta-attraction between the MCs, and they wake up with a marriage certificate, the story really features a slow-burn romance, some very hot kisses, and some entertaining eventual sex.
These women are 27yo and 28yo, and one is a blonde. I just don’t get why authors pick covers that don’t look anything like the characters. 1* for the stupid cover, but 6* for the narration and 4.5 stars for the well-written fun story. I’ll relisten to to this when I’m looking to revisit a lightweight (low angst) funny romance. Rounded to 5*!
April 9, 2021
5/10
I can't say I didn't like reading this one but, sadly, I also didn't enjoy it either. About 2/3 in I just wanted to be done with it. It was kind of unrealistic and weird and felt too rushed and confusing and the miscommunication is always annoying to me but it was cute so hence the rating.
Even though I didn't have luck with this one I do have a lot of Natasha West's books in my to-read shelf. Hope I'll like those more than this one.
4/10 audio
Emily Beresford and Rachael Beresford did an okay job with narrating this one. Can't say I'd really recommend it, though.
I can't say I didn't like reading this one but, sadly, I also didn't enjoy it either. About 2/3 in I just wanted to be done with it. It was kind of unrealistic and weird and felt too rushed and confusing and the miscommunication is always annoying to me but it was cute so hence the rating.
Even though I didn't have luck with this one I do have a lot of Natasha West's books in my to-read shelf. Hope I'll like those more than this one.
4/10 audio
Emily Beresford and Rachael Beresford did an okay job with narrating this one. Can't say I'd really recommend it, though.
August 31, 2022
Kindle Unlimited. Just a good casual read. Natasha West's stuff is always reliable for good quick reads that give you exactly what you want. Interesting characters, a good amount of drama, romance and a happy ending. What more could you want?
June 18, 2020
4.5 Stars - very well written, funny, fav trope (fauxmance). Will be looking for other books by this author.
OK.... I started reading and I was immediately hooked. I loved the set up - sweet English gal, Emily, gets dumped and in a fit of forced spontaneity takes a flight from the UK to Las Vegas where she runs into C-List Celebrity, Ruby. They hit if off and after a drunken night wake up to find they are married. Ruby is trying to land a role in a big blockbuster movie to catapult her career to the next level so Ruby's mom/manager/uber-bitch (trust me you are gonna haaaate her) convinces them they need to play it off until Ruby gets the role or not. The arguments for why Ruby would agree to this plan seemed pretty obvious and I bought into the reasoning for Emily's acceptance at first as well.
However there were a few VERY frustrating moments for me revolving around two points.
1 - Denise (Ruby's mom). What a f'ing dragon lady. There were several moments when I really wanted Emily to tell her to shove it or slap her or both. Emily! Why are you putting up with this shit??
2 - If Ruby and/or Emily would have just f'ing TALKED to each other... UGH. There was a point at which I was shaking my kindle and growling. lol.
BUT.... trust me, just power through it folks because the ending was a lot of fun and just a cute way to wrap it up in a full circle kind of bow. AND - bonus we get a peek into life one year later - YAY!
Even with my two frustration points, I really liked this story. I would definitely recommend to fauxmance fans and especially ones into celebrity fauxmance (I am lookin' at you Lex :). I don't think you will be disappointed.
OK.... I started reading and I was immediately hooked. I loved the set up - sweet English gal, Emily, gets dumped and in a fit of forced spontaneity takes a flight from the UK to Las Vegas where she runs into C-List Celebrity, Ruby. They hit if off and after a drunken night wake up to find they are married. Ruby is trying to land a role in a big blockbuster movie to catapult her career to the next level so Ruby's mom/manager/uber-bitch (trust me you are gonna haaaate her) convinces them they need to play it off until Ruby gets the role or not. The arguments for why Ruby would agree to this plan seemed pretty obvious and I bought into the reasoning for Emily's acceptance at first as well.
However there were a few VERY frustrating moments for me revolving around two points.
1 - Denise (Ruby's mom). What a f'ing dragon lady. There were several moments when I really wanted Emily to tell her to shove it or slap her or both. Emily! Why are you putting up with this shit??
2 - If Ruby and/or Emily would have just f'ing TALKED to each other... UGH. There was a point at which I was shaking my kindle and growling. lol.
BUT.... trust me, just power through it folks because the ending was a lot of fun and just a cute way to wrap it up in a full circle kind of bow. AND - bonus we get a peek into life one year later - YAY!
Even with my two frustration points, I really liked this story. I would definitely recommend to fauxmance fans and especially ones into celebrity fauxmance (I am lookin' at you Lex :). I don't think you will be disappointed.
June 19, 2023
This was a cute, easy read. It wasn't a really long book, but I feel that there was still a good amount of character development/growth. Ruby and Emily were both very lovable and relatable, and their relationship was really sweet. I would love another story on them and where their relationship went or maybe a story on the time in between this story and their actual wedding that took place at the end of the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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