Accidentally Engaged

by Mary Carter

I'm just the messenger. Please, don't kill me . . . Don't hate me because I'm psychic . . . everybody else already does. My name's Clair Ivers and these days my "gift" seems more like a booby prize. It all started when this crazy woman tried to bribe me into skewing a reading to warm her future sister-in-law's cold feet. Then the prospective sister-in-law threatened to kill herself at the altar if I didn't give her a phony reading saying she should break off the engagement. Oh, and did I mention she ran out, leaving her three-carat rock of a ring right there on my table? So what's an honest woman to do? Find the man who belongs to the ring, of course. And boy, have I found him. The minute I lay eyes on Jack Heron, I know he's the one . . . for me, that is. The problem is making him realize it once he finds out that I may be responsible for the flight of his fiancee. At least his grandmother likes me. Of course she thinks I'm someone else. And then there's the best man who keeps calling me for dates . . . and stock tips. Between the people who think I'm someone else, the people who wish I were, and the people who just want a bead on the winning Powerball numbers, I'm seriously considering packing in my deck for good. But not until I throw caution to the wind and make a play for my very own Jack of Hearts . . . Mary Carter is a freelance writer and novelist living in Manhattan. Accidentally Engaged is her second novel.

Genres: Chick Lit, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Rom Com

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Radin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quotes I love in the book:

"Naked ring finger and barren womb."

"I was on a long, long hiatus from men. As a bona fide recovering from love-aholic."

"Love letters are the gateway to sex with your ex."

"Unleashed a few primal screams."

"Strong wing whip my hair into a frenzy."

"I gracefully descended the winding staircase."

"It's easier to pick out china, cakes, flowers than to find a man with whom you can get along for 6 months."

"The car slowed down to almost human speed."

"My heart was pounding in my chest like tribal drums and my palms were drenched in sweat."

"I felt like throwing up but I wasn't sure if I even had a stomach any longer, it felt as if it had been hollowed out like a pumpkin."

"Trees were whizzing by so fast they loaded like furry green snow cones."

"I'm definitely not in love with him. I'm just loving the sensation of being in love, my constantly tingling stomach, obsessive thoughts about the person, deviant sexual fantasies running through my brain every time he looks at me."

[Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know the last time I laughed so often while reading a book, but the humor just wasn't enough to make it a great book. The only reason I continued reading was to see what Clare would say/do next. At times it was a little out there, but if you need a good laugh, and nothing too heavy this is the book for you.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a fun/different storyline but I could have done without the foul language. The ending was a little weird and I found myself often times saying - "just tell him why you came already!".

[L.A.L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish this book. I picked it up only to read a couple paragraphs before I put it back down. I finally gave up in chapter 10—my tbr is too large to waste time trying to force myself to read this book. I found the main character unbelievable (but not because she was a psychic—that was about the only thing I found to be believable). Moreover, I just found the main character boring. I could not care about her at all. Plus she came across a bit whiny, which I found irritating. Then the writing style and pace did not engage my interest. I felt it took too long to get into the main plot of the story. It felt like this was a novella that was poorly stretched into a novel.

[Kaylee Stinebiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was a novel worth reading, if only for pure entertainment’s sake. The main character, Clair (a psychic Tarot-card reader) was very original—her voice was distinct and consistent, and I quickly became interested in her thoughts, feelings, past experience, etc. Her serious moments were taken as such, but she also had her funny moments: witty comments, narrative hyperboles, and random tangents of hilarious situations that she’s previously found herself in. I was entertained. Learning about Clair’s failed marriages while watching her accidentally fall in love with a new man often brought a smile to my face.

I was intrigued by the idea that Clair is a psychic, but as the book went on, I did get a little lost. Pieces of her psychic readings and perceptions are placed right in the middle of scenes with dialogue and other characters, which sometimes makes it difficult to decipher what’s physically happening between the other characters and what is in Clair’s mind. Cases when Clair is flashing back to a scene or event from her childhood also lost me in some places because they’re dropped right in the middle of the present-day dialogue.

The novel turns out to be more of a mystery, who-done-it type of story, full of “oh, that’s why!” moments for the reader, but it was still a pleasant, quick, unique summer romance read.

[Chelsea Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

So happy I’ve finally finished this book. One of the worst books I’ve ever read. The jokes that were supposed to be funny, fell flat. She had tried to make political jokes bashing Republicans, and they really were not necessary in this book. She also tried to make a joke about a 13-year-old girl masturbating, which was kind of ridiculous. I’ll never read another book by this author again.

[Stephanie]

What a mess. The publisher copy made it sound like it would be breezy and fun read but it’s almost completely nonsensical. The set-up and first few chapters were okay but by the time the main character met the love interest the story had gone off the rails. What followed was completely unbelievable and ridiculous dialogue and actions on the part of...well, just about everyone. The story pretty much disintegrated after that—a lot of words were written but nothing really happened.

Unrated—I gave up on page 180/314 because I was So. Bored. I just didn’t care anymore.

[Nell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aspects of this story were enjoyable but the author tends to ramble making reading hard work.

[Kate Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely LOL with this story. Clair the clairvoyant, just wanted to go home. However she was convinced to do one last reading before heading off for her spiritual pilgrimage. She should have listened to her own intuition, as this reading was like no other. Rachel wanted to have a reading that told her to call off her wedding to Jack - head of Heron Estates Winery... two weeks before the wedding. Clair went against her better judgment and gave Rachel her wish. What ensued was a madcap (truly) adventure trying to return the engagement ring back to Jack. Throw in funny stamps, gardeners, a domineering MOL, an endearing grandmother, and a Tarot deck from Clair's grandmother, and you have a fun story.
This book was written so well that I lost sleep over it, ended up sneaking the book out during work to read, and finishing it too quickly. The only problem I had with the story was a couple of odd situations that just didn't fit with the rest of the story. If you are looking for a fun, humorous read to pass the time on the beach, this is a good one!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty decent. I picked it up randomly at my library and decided to give it a shot. Claire is a fun character and there’s plenty of humorous situations to keep a reader interested. There was even a few moments where I laughed or gasped out loud which is always nice. I liked the story overall I just think that it was a little slow in the beginning and then very very rushed in the end; the real climax and resolution happened 15 pages from the end of a 330 page book. I just wish it had started a little earlier.

All in all it was a quick fun read. I’d recommend it to someone who’s looking for an easy and good time.

I will say if you don’t like reading secondhand embarrassment this is def not for you.

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

finished 11/20. this book was part fluff, part frustratingly defensive argument for psychics their gifts and part drug trip. the characters were ok, though i felt very pushed into feeling for several of them, when I really didn't care much about them. For example, susan. her future with or without her husband doesn't matter so much to me. even until the end, i had trouble caring about Mike even because of how pushed around i felt to like him. All in all, i don't know what the purpose was for the book: to tell the story or to make me appreciate fortune tellers. that wasn't in the summary. probably won't read again. might read another book by the author because i saw in some minor characters that the author could really make a character whose story i want to read.

[Autumn]

DNF @ pg 205

I have not picked this up in weeks and I have no desire to finish it, so I am going to consider this a DNF (I might come back to it sometime in the future though... maybe). However, I am still marking it as read because I made it well over 50%. I just did not like the main character and everything that was happening was so weird so I just couldn't properly get into it.

[Chanda M · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started off pretty good. Got quite a few chuckles out of me. But then in went sideways a bit. I can honestly say this book will be completely forgettable for me because I was more than 1/3 in before I realized I had already read this book before! 🤦 And promptly forgot it afterwards. Just like I will most likely do again this time. 🤷

[Cassi Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I love rom-com books, so I thought I would give this one a try. I liked it, wasn't what I was expecting but it was a good story. Just wish she would have ended it a little different.

[Nae · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars
Was engaging in the sense that I kept reading on to see what happened, but overall, it was confusing & there were unanswered questions & annoying miscommunications. Left feeling like “that’s it?”

[Judy Gross · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to stop reading on page 110 when the character said she loved the song “I like Pina Coladas” but the quotes a line from Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne”. I can’t stand those kind of careless mistakes so it immediately killed my interest.

[Misha Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character is so delightfully crazy, I laughed out loud several times. Open your mind and go along for this silly/ crazy journey with her. Low on the spice scale, but the author knows how to string sentences together.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This was a fun story. I laughed out loud a few times and the author kept me engaged for the most part.
I’m not too into the tarot cards and psychics, and some parts of the story seemed far fetched and unbelievable.

[Marilyn Schmitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but silly. A beach read

[Dani Koontz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weirdest book ever, but I kind of totally loved it. Was honestly very thrown off in the beginning, but I'm glad I stuck it through! It was very enjoyable to be honest.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

when I like a book, I can't put it down. This was one of those, funny and engaging,ha!

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny. Irreverently funny. A good light read!

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cringe humor and bridget Jones vibes. Enjoyable and a quick read.

[Deborah Borges · Rating 2 out of 5]

A personagem se meteu em tanta situação absurda que eu fiquei desanimada com a leitura... Achei meio forçado demais...

[Kelli Grimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chaos

This book is insane. The chaos and calamity are off the charts. But it’s funny and fast paced and all over the place. I belly laughed more than once.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky and funny, but it was rather obvious what was going on (I thought). It lifted my spirits with its silliness and I found Clare to be an awkward and likable character.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun read. Kind of predictable but a good read overall. I think I'll check out more of her books.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun to read! I loved the psychic insights and foibles.

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Idk how this book ended up on my list. It was cheesy unbelievable and honestly annoying. If I didn’t spend many hours a day bored while breast feeding I would have never finished it.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely could not tell where this book was going. A very unexpected book with lots of twists and turns. I finally saw one coming. Liked how it wrapped up. Thought it wrapped up a little quickly.