Hard-working Canadian expat Amy Bell found her home away from home in America. In a few short years, she’s built up a small pinball arcade into a coast-to-coast franchise, and nothing is going to stop her now.
Nothing, that is, until immigration services comes knocking. The company she hired to get her a green card husband—a lumberjack so handsome he’s almost a cliché—is under investigation, and so are all the marriages they brokered, including Amy’s. She must convince the US government, as well as her new business partners, that she really is married to a man she hasn’t seen in years . . .
Reclusive Victor Sullivan just wants to be left alone with his woodworking tools and his golden retriever on his own private stretch of Wyoming. So when the woman he married sends her lawyer to fetch him, he would return the man empty handed—if not for those pesky F words the attorney uses . . . fines, fraud, and federal prison.
Vic finds himself heading to California. He isn’t disrupting his life just to see that gorgeous, smart, energetic woman again. It’s only to stay out of jail. No other reason. And maybe if he says it enough, he’ll actually believe it.
Book three in The Unwedding Vow: Having just attended a wedding with the queen of all bridezillas, the ten unmarried members of wedding reception table nine have taken an oath. They will never, ever get married. Can this collection of oddball personalities keep their promise to be single? Or will love pick off each member of The Unwedding Vow?
Amy Bell has been hiding a secret marriage. A marriage that was a business deal to get her a green card, and now she's facing deportation to Canada while she is opening her most exciting pinball venture to date. Under this threat, she and her husband must meet with a US Immigration officer to determine the validity of the marriage. So Victor Sullivan is summoned, and they have a week to get their story straight. The busiest and most stressful week of Amy's career turns out to be the most challenging ever as she prepares to open her biggest venture and spend time with Vic.
That week also turns out to be jammed packed with problems, a creepy nephew of her new business partner, a husband who has good intentions, but inadvertently causes problems, food poisoning, and termites! Fortunately good friends are also there to help Amy, bringing with them many elements from previous books in the series. Delightful characters, friendships, and humor woven together made this sweet and funny story a terrific entry into a refreshing and superb series to be enjoyed by all!
The Pinball and Chain is aptly named: the story is set at a pinball arcade, and the fake marriage relationship is one of the "ball and chain" variety. Amy, an arcade owner, needs to convince immigration that her green card marriage is real in order to keep her business. The only problem? She and the guy she married don't really know each other at all.
There's a bit of a Pride and Prejudice vibe with how Amy and Vic hold misconceptions each other, which they learn to address throughout the story. That makes for good romantic chemistry and real relationship problems rather than just misunderstandings (Amy's stubbornness was at times aggravating but also understandable, making her feel realistic). Plot-wise, the story spotlights business owners, like in the previous installment, Under a Big Top.
One of my favorite scenes was when Vic takes over for an interview segment about a pinball tournament and waffles it horribly, turning himself into a meme. On that point, Vic is probably my favorite of The Unwedding Vow heroes to date. He's down-to-earth, adores his dog, and is all around the kind of guy anyone would want to fake-marry and accidentally fall in love with.
There are several cameo appearances from characters in the first two books, In Broad Strokes and Under a Big Top, and it's cool to see the whole wedding table forming lasting friendships. I especially enjoyed the heart-to-heart conversation between Vic and Tyler (the anxious main character of In Broad Strokes), as it's rare to see that type of genuine friendship between men.
Overall, this was an enjoyable comfort read that subverts romance tropes as much as it follows them.
I'm part of the street team for Story Garden Publishing, and I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Amy Bell has a secret. She is a Canadian citizen who came to the U.S. to start a chain of pinball businesses. She took a shortcut that she shouldn't have taken. Amy used a broker to get an American husband so she could gain citizenship. She hasn't seen her husband for years but has her lawyer go get him so they can meet with the immigration officer to determine if their marriage is real. Will she survive some craziness with her business and trying to deal with a husband she doesn't even know? This is the third book in the Unwedding Vow series and was a nice mix of their story and revisiting old favorite characters.