Bought: One Night, One Marriage

Millionaires and Makeovers #4

by Natalie Anderson

When Cally wins a date with sexy tycoon Blake McKay, she's mortified! Aware of her plain looks, she steers clear of good-looking men--and this guy is way off the handsome scale....

Blake can see there's a fiery, passionate woman beneath Cally's cool exterior, so he buys another date with her. This time he's going to be calling the shots, and he'll give her a night she'll never forget! But neither has bargained on one night becoming one marriage....

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Fiction

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 2008

About the author

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

Natalie Anderson is a USA TODAY bestselling author. She writes emotional contemporary romances full of sparkling banter, sizzling heat and uplifting endings—perfect for readers who love to escape with everyday empowered heroines and arrogant alphas who are too sexy for their own good.
With over five million books sold, her stories are translated into more than a dozen languages, she’s been a Romantic Times Award nominee and a finalist for the R*BY (Romantic Book of the Year).
When she’s not writing, you’ll find her wrangling her four fab kids, walking Alfie, the mini schnauzer and laughing with her husband at the end of the day–unless they’ve taken Romeo, the Campervan for a spin. She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Reviews

[Lori ◡̈ · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only good thing about this book is the cover. I’d have tea with him ☕️😉

I need to learn a lesson… when I have a really hard time trying to find a specific book to download, it’s hard to find for a reason and I need to let it go and stop searching for it. It always turns out it’s unpopular and unavailable as it’s… not very good.

This book sounded cute though. A charity auction where the guy won is the female bidders for the weekend. They fall in love, there’s a pregnancy involved…. This would have worked A LOT better had the guy been grumpy and resistant and the girl a sunshine looking for fun. We get the opposite.

Well, I started the book. Right away I disliked both of the main characters. So I naturally hop on to Goodreads and see if anyone else has complained of the same thing, and if it is mentioned that it gets better as the story goes, etc… Lol, the only reviews I can find are voluntary reviews of ARC peoples, all glowing reviews too, of course.

While I was searching the reviews, I saw one girl had it shelved on a bookshelf called ‘miscarriage’. I was thinking Really?? In all of the glowing reviews I scrolled thru, nobody mentioned that the storyline covers the topic of miscarriage! I’ve not personally experienced a miscarriage, so it’s not a trigger for me (although it’s NOT something I want to read about in my love story) AND the fact that there were no non-ARC reviews yet, I decided to take one for the team and push thru as far as I could. This is what I got out of it…

I could only get as far as 19%, sorry. 😭 I found the two main characters to not have natural chemistry, it was all too forced, cheesy and found myself reading like this: 🤨

The heroine is a standoff’ish rich society girl. Her mother is a 5’11” former model that despises the heroine’s 5’2” chubbiness. We are reminded of this quite often. After being put on a cabbage soup diet as a child to treat her chubbiness, the heroine learned how to make fancy soups and is now a professional soup maker/seller. And that is all she eats. Smoothie in the morning, soup for lunch and dinner. She carries a lot of trauma from her mother fat shaming her. Why, when most people that read romance read it as a form of escapism, do we want to be beat over our heads with how chubby the heroine is? Why does that define her? I’ve gained a few pounds over the last few years, I certainly hope that’s not how people define me. “Oh there goes Lori with the extra 10 lbs she can’t seem to shed on her way to the store.” Anyway, I knew in the first paragraph once it was mentioned how the heroine was obsessed with eating chocolate truffles sitting on the table, it was going to be a fat or eating issue in the story. We are also told that the heroine is not able to get pregnant (reason wasn’t mentioned at this point).

The hero is a business guy that works in finance and was tricked to show up at the charity auction by his secretary. Out of all of the screaming ladies in the audience bidding on him, he singles out the one ice princess glaring at him and becomes entranced. 🙄 He forces the issue that he will be the heroine’s slave for the weekend, even though she tells him ‘No thank you’ several times. (She refused to bid at the auction, but her BFF bid for her and insisted she take the prize.) She finally caves and agrees he can come over to wash her car. So he shows up two minutes early, he takes his shirt off to wash the car, she worries what the neighbors will think, it was all so corny. Then she offers him lunch (soup, of course). Which leads us to this super hot conversation:

“The way she lost all thought compared to the confident way he handled himself was embarrassing. She walked round him to the fridge and challenged, ‘You’re so cool, aren’t you?’
He grinned and leaned against the centre island bench. ‘I guess. My nickname in my teens was cucumber.’
‘You were that cool even at school?’ She opened the fridge and leaned in, taking her time so the cold air might help her think straight.
‘That might have been it or…’ he answered lazily.
‘Or what?’ She poured water from the bottle, keeping the door open with her body.
‘Maybe it was something to do with size...’
Size? The penny dropped. ‘Ugh.’ She slammed the fridge shut.
His laughter was low and dry and she sent him an evil look until he raised his hands in surrender. ‘Kidding.’ His laughter rumbled again as he looked at her still-fiery expression. ‘Got you, though, haven’t I?’
‘Got me what?’
‘Curious.”

Got me almost puking, not the least bit curious. And btw, I grow cucumbers in my garden and they are 4-inches long, so…. This is in the first 24 hours of them knowing each other. It was not hot, there was no sexual tension, it was all so forced and frat boy talk for me. I stopped shortly there after.

Spoiler/Trigger Alert: I searched the word of miscarriage and yes, it did seem to have a miscarriage towards the end of the book.

[Auj · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well written, my second book by this author. I am impressed by how good of a Harlequin novel this is. The end had me crying. They were both incredibly stubborn. I only wish the book was longer lol.

I loved how romantic it was. This was the book I needed.

(reviewing at 4:22 am lol, just finished it)

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing, Awesome,Fantastic !!
I loved, loved, loved this book!
This is romance in it's purest form .. that comes in 192 page package ...

[Breanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got a little weird in the middle there 👀 but it came back around in the end 💋

[RomLibrary · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Cally wins a date with sexy tycoon Blake McKay, she's mortified! Aware of her plain looks, she steers clear of good-looking men—and this guy is way off the handsome scale….

Blake can see there's a fiery, passionate woman beneath Cally's cool exterior, so he buys another date with her. This time he's going to be calling the shots, and he'll give her a night she'll never forget! But neither has bargained on one night becoming one marriage

[Auj · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 200th book of the year! (And with that, I finished my reading challenge! Obviously, I'll still read more because I love books & romance.)

I realized I had already read this before when I saw the copyright page, but since this is my favorite book (that I've read so far) by Natalie, I was willing to reread it. I gave it 5 stars the first time and wrote how it made me cry. I still enjoyed it, but it didn't make me cry & it wasn't a five-star this time around (but that also could have been because I mostly knew what to expect). I even remembered who Luc was lol.

I really liked Cally and Blake together, and honestly, spending a day at Blake's pool house sounds like a blast. I wanted to be Cally at that moment.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout, but this hasn't impacted my honest review or rating.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

As most of you already are aware, I love Natalie's books. :-) This one started out rough for me though. I felt like the heroine swung back and forth and her initial reasons and reasoning for getting involved with the hero seemed to alter. Not saying that doesn't happen in real life but the first reasons were never revisited to my satisfaction I guess. :-( But that having been said, once over that stuff the book evened out and stayed true to the new set of conflicts and really worked for me. I loved the ending and am definitely looking forward to her next book.

[Mulan Book Princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was such a cute romance. Cally ends up paying for Blake at a charity auction but she had already caught his eye before that. These two are dealing with hurts from their past which affect this potential relationship. They have great chemistry together, but there are just so many heart-wrenching moments with them. I found this book entertaining to read.

I received a free advanced reader copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my fair and honest review.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dramatic story with an arrogant, dictatorial hero, but Anderson does a pretty good job of motivating his dictating. The heroine is a business woman whose friend buys her a bachelor at a charity auction. The hero is a venture capitalist who is snookered into being one of those bachelors. They are attracted right off, but make faulty assumptions about each other. It's a good read.

[ChloeLeeNH · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to be a Harlequin addict. Then I moved on... wanted something a bit more meatier. But this plot just caught my eye. I can see it as being a more robust Regency but it was just great for a few hours reading

[LIA Kh. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring

[May Grider · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some things about this book very much for a genre romance book. Something about the relationship was actually quite sweet. There’s a miscarriage that I think maybe people should know about. Plenty of foreshadowing and fear about this happening without being heavy-handed and Gothic. I thought the author wrote the entire theme realistically and sensitively.
The H’s pick-up lines (or seduction attempts) in the early part of the book were *very* cringy, so much so they were funny, but it actually kind of worked to explain why the h didn’t take him seriously at first.
The scene of the charity bachelor auction, where he calls upon his experience as a model (before he became a millionaire, of course) reminded me of Ben Stiller in Zoolander, quite a funny movie, but I don’t think that part of the book was supposed to be funny. (?)
(Other reviewers here on GR have commented about the “cucumber” conversation. Really outrageous, and I would have thought a bit off-putting. Guess he was trying to just get some reaction, but it did feel like a boy sticking a girl’s pigtails in the inkwell.)
The bread making was pretty sexy though!
Sometimes newer authors do write characters that are a bit messy and imperfect with less formulaic plots, and I thought that was going on in this book.
Interesting to see from Goodreads publication dates for this author that this was published in the first year she published any books, and she has gone on to have a prolific and continuing career. Good for her! I think I will try some later books from her.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

So conflicted about this book. A lot of things I hate about FM romance such as miracle babies for infertility. Agh. Also hate the whole she’s crazy about him and he’s indifferent thing. Blah. Never resolved the issues with her mom to any satisfaction as part of heroines personal growth. Like babies cure everything. 100%! Hate she sold her company. wTF!!
But still decent enough writing to give you all the expected feels. Maybe it’s part of the formula of the category romance and the age of the book to highlight all the crappy stuff. But for fans of romance it still delivers. I wonder if author fixed any of this in the re-release of this book under new title in 2022.

[More Books Than Time · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story could be good but characters were a little too predictable and it is explicit.

[Jane Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I swear the more ridiculous the title, the more apt I am to read the story. Bought: One Night, One Marriage fits the bill and is the second novel I've read by Natalie Anderson (the first being All Night with the Boss) and I can say that while the title improved a bit, so did the story.

Calypso "Cally" Sinclair is used to living in the shadow of her model mother. Wealthy, but ordinary, Cally has yet to be in a real relationship with someone that cares for her and not her money. She accompanies her assistant/co-worker Mel to a bachelor auction to raise money for charity -- Cally is big into giving and though she doesn't appreciate the ostentation, she does like the truffles. Enter bachelor Blake McKay, who is gorgeous, rich and generous; he only agreed to be a part of the auction because his pregnant assistant strong armed -- or strong bellied -- him into it (who could say no to a pregnant woman?). Cally and Blake are instantly attracted to each other -- though she denies it as he's out of her league -- and he pushes it because he always gets what he wants. Thanks to Mel's shenanigans and bidding, Cally is stuck with an unwanted, but persistent bachelor for the weekend. Cally tries to push Blake away, but in the end he seduces her and their relationship develops from there.

Anderson does a good job with backstory for the two characters. While I still eye rolled a few of their antics and actions, I could understand why they reacted the way that they did to one another. The story flowed nice enough; there were only a few grammatical snafus, but nothing to take me completely out of the story. Blake was an ideal character, which made him a little less interesting because it's difficult to understand the conflict when one half of the couple is near perfect. Cally wasn't TSTL, which was much appreciated. She seemed like an ordinary woman with her own set of problems that, while not what every woman goes through, still made her easy to identify with. On the whole, the story was enjoyable and I'll have to read what else Ms. Anderson has to offer. 3.5 stars.

[Sabilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so occupied with teaching and had little time to read but when I read the blurb, I was instantly captivated and snatched the ARC which was offered.
I thoroughly enjoy this story, a very plain, common, unattractive but wonderfully generous Cally (she thought so) first encountered this hot, handsome, sexy Blake at the auction. She hates it but she attends because of her best friend. She would rather spend her money on charity but not charity at auction. When Blake steps on the stage, there’s only a woman who is uninterested in him, and it captivates him more, he thinks she judges him from the glare between them.
I loved Cally’s cool ice princess demeanour, she tries to deny Blake’s seduction but Blake will not surrender as his sexual attraction towards her exponentially intensifies every time he sees her. Eventually they make a bet, whoever obtains higher charity fund she/he wins.
This hot steamy emotional romance thoroughly engrossed me from the beginning, I loved when Cally denies Blake, I loved when Blake becomes so dominating especially when he knows that Cally is pregnant and demands they marry. Despite the flaws which Cally always feel and the hurt that was afflicted on Blake, they agree on what is best for their unborn child. It’s actually an irresistible read from the beginning until the last. Thank you, Natalie Anderson, for the ARC which I voluntary reviewed.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book four in The Millionaires and Makeovers Series and it is Cally and Blake's story. When Cally's friend invites her to go to a auction with her Cally reluctantly agrees to go only for her friend to buy Cally a date which Cally is not impressed with at all. Blake was tricked in to attending a bachelor auction which really annoyed him as he didn't do relationships or commitments for anyone but when he meets Cally she becomes a challenge that he can't resist but will it work or backfire on him and will Call take up his challenge of not only time will tell. The characters and storyline pulled you in and even though Cally and Blake were the total opposite of each other in every single way they just seem so perfect for each other and I really enjoyed reading there story with all it's ups and downs and I can't wait to read more book's by this author in the future.

I Voluntarily Reviewed a Copy of This Book.

[Rebmay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cally and Blake’s story starts as a battle of wills, a competition, but leads to something neither could ever had expected. Neither is looking for love or is even certain it exists. After years of criticism from her controlling and rather malicious mother, Cally is certain no man would ever be interested in anything about her other than her money. That is why she tries to hide her tender heart under a cold, rather reserved facade. Blake sees her as a bit of a challenge since her attitude screams of her disinterest even as she bids on him at the charity auction they are both attending. He turns the tables and bids on her and vows her will get up close and personal to the icy beauty. From this point on, Cally and Blake’s story becomes a tad steamy, emotional and completely enthralling. This book is a very enjoyable read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Babara-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

STEAMY BACHELOR AUCTION!

The fourth book of the Millionaires and Makeovers had me enthralled from the first chapter right till the last page!

A Bachelors auction for charity leads to so much more than both Cally Sinclair and Blake McKay expected!

The banter and chemistry was off the charts with these two stubborn characters as they both know this time it is different, a more intense connection that they both have never felt before evolves into the best love story of the series by far!

This is a sweet, intense story about trust, friendship, acceptance and love!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how you will fall in love with Cally and Blake. She's at the bachelor's auction because of her best friend and isn't happy about it. Then he walks on stage as one of the hot sexy billionaire bachelor's. As everyone screams she sits stunned by him while her best friend keeps bidding until she has won him for Cally. Things heat up in their lives and as heartbreak happens their love and strength is shown.

So glad I was listening to this book since I had tears coming out.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cally Sinclair never intended to attend the charity bachelor auction let alone “buy” anyone but her supposed best friend doesn’t just drag her along, she bids for the hottest guy ever on her behalf.
Blake McKay fully intended to torture his PA fifty ways for tricking him into stepping onstage at a bachelor auction. His modelling days were far behind him and he’d worked hard to be taken seriously. Plus, he was single and planned on staying that way. This was a fun read. And am voluntarily leaving my review.

[BusyM3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and entertaining fourth book in this series called Millionaires and Makeovers. In this story we are introduced to Cally and Blake. Cally was brought along to a auction with her friend who bid on a bachelor for her and she ended up with Blake. The chemistry between them is sizzling. The story will keep you interested to see what happen next. This is a new author for me, and I am looking forward to read more.

I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the author and am voluntarily leaving my review. This is the fourth book in the series and is about Blake and Cally. Neither wanted to be at that auction and they couldn't have expected how it would change everything. The book has some heartache but also plenty of passion, friendship and humor. Overall I liked the characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, I recommend this book to all the hopelessly romantics that like a tear jerking charming page turner that is complex and steamingly romantic. The main characters are so and they complete each other so well, their steamy love will pull you in wanting more.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Brenda Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fourth book in the series brings Cally and Blake's story. It's an interesting story with a bit of drama and a ton of steam. The author brings an emotional read, moves it fluidly with perfectly painted scenes and delivers a great read. Loved it!

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this collection. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.

[Victoria Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cally’s bid on Blake at a charity event gave her more than she thought she could have. This story was heartfelt. There was a mixture of laughter, steam, drama, sadness and happiness. Blake and Cally had to go through some things before they realized what they meant to each other. Really loved this one.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Maja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story from start to finish the only problem and the reason I'm giving it four stars is because it was written in the third person. Sorry, but this is a deal breaker for me because it makes the story impersonal in my opinion.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kat Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! It was so much more than I thought it would be. Great chemistry, great storyline, great ending with just enough angst along the way to give all the feels.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Alecia Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

good. happy ending always a good thing.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I liked this better the second time!