Grace under Pressure

by Thea Dawson

So much for holding the bride’s bouquet and making a toast—this maid of honor has to go on honeymoon with the groom!

Law student Grace McGuire knows right from wrong. And helping her best friend run away from an arranged marriage to an arrogant mobster was right.

But she might not have thought it all the way through.

Turns out mobsters don’t like being ditched, and now one very angry groom has decided that she’s going to take her friend’s place.

Rafe Guidice, Mafia prince, knows wrong from right. And things have just gone very wrong. His marriage of convenience was supposed to make peace with his family’s oldest rivals so he could finally go straight. Having the maid of honor pose as his bride on honeymoon will at least give him time to figure out his next steps.

But he might not have thought it all the way through.

On the surface, straight-laced Grace and playboy Rafe have nothing in common. On a tropical island, away from family, friends, and the pressures of real life, attraction is starting to build.

And it’s getting harder and harder to tell right from wrong.

130 pages, ebook

Published June 1, 2022

About the author

World traveler, vegetarian, salsa dancer, film fanatic, lover of happy endings. In an alternate steampunk universe, Thea travels by dirigible and gets in sword fights with dashing villains.

In this one, she lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband/salsa partner, three antic children, and an agenda-driven cat. She writes at the intersection of sweet and steamy, and hopes her stories will melt your heart and brighten your day.

Reviews

[Barbara Hackel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her best friend Lucky is supposed to marry a mobster's son, Rafe, but Grace helps her get away from the church and ends up going on a fake honeymoon to give Lucky a chance to get away. The ruse works for awhile with complications until the Family catches up with them.

This prequel was fun and exciting, giving readers a different view of a Mafia Family and the changes in the generations. Rafe showed a tender side, a loyal to the Family side, and the hope for changes that will make the Family a legal business.

Beware that this intentionally leaves the reader with a huge cliffhanger... and will make you want to continue the series! Personally I am happy to have discovered this series and am going to get the first book and continue reading... right now!

[BP34 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cute story that will make you fall in love with this series. When Grace rescued her friend from an arranged marriage to a mafia boss she never imagined that he'd kidnap her. He needed her to pose as his bride on his honeymoon to gain some time to come up with a plan to satisfy his dad. This book will keep you laughing at the banter between Grace and Rafe. What happens when chemistry gets in the way? A great addition to the series but it does end with a cliffhanger. Grace and Rafe were so cute together once they let their guard down. I read a free copy via the author and voluntarily chose to review it.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An instalove romance between Grace and Rafe, who are the bridesmaid and groom of a merger wedding between two Mafia families, that did not happen. Rafe was supposed to marry Grace's best friend, Lucky but Lucky ran away minutes before they were due to tie the knot. Rafe desperately tries to rescue the situation by staging an elopement but with Grace, who they dressed to look like the bride. This story was entertaining and both main characters were well developed. It ends in a cliffhanger with the book leading into Lucky's story, so the reader does not know what happens between Rafe and Grace unless you read on. I rate this book 4.5*.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Getting Lucky, I really enjoyed finding out what happened to Lucky's best friend and bridesmaid Grace and her groom Rafe she ran away from. Pretty cute story - they go on Lucky's honeymoon, have lots in common and fall for each other. But they're still trying to escape Rafe's father, the head of a mafia family, and try to save Lucky and Anthony from the previous book. Fun plot with intelligent characters. He's a lawyer and Grace is getting ready to take the bar exam. Now how do they all escape the mafia? Please let there be a third book. Fun and entertaining story!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rafe and Grace are on the honeymoon that Rafe was supposed to be on with his contracted bride to be Lucky. While on the honeymoon, Rafe and Grace are also on the run from the mafia. They are both really smart and once they are safe, they try and work out a way to work everything out for everyone. But will they be able to stay safe? And while they enjoy irritating each other, do Rafe and Grace see that there might be a future for them together too?

Beware that this book does end in a cliffhanger, but this series is so good, you should read the whole thing anyway.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace has helped her friend Lucky escape a mafia family arranged marriage to Rafe. However, Rafe dreams up a plan to try and buy him some time from his irate father. He persuades Grace to go on the honeymoon with him. Rafe tells her he will help her study for her law exam. What he doesn't expect is that the attraction to Grace that he has felt before can possibly turn into something real and mutual. Another lovely story in this series.

[LA FITCH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not your usual Mafia style book, this is more the "fringe" story which makes it more enjoyable. Grace and Rafe go through the usual dislike, discover they like being with each other, forced to part then come back again but it leads onto the next book so you are never sure if they do actually get together in the end. Well worth reading

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! I just loved this story. These two strangers, Grace and Rafe, are seemingly a total mismatch. But they were adorably sweet together. I really enjoyed their accidental love story. I read an ARC and am happy to offer this honest review.

[Debs · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first from this author absolutely loved it what could go wrong when grace helps her bestie escape her arranged marriage to mafia rafe only to be thrown into the mix and take her place sounds simple not when ya fall for him and he falls for her and they have father to contend with eek

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun twist on the runaway bride. What happens to the groom he runs away with the bridesmaid, but when the bride and groom both come from Mafia families you know they are going to want payback.

[Babs7248 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done. I laughed from beginning to end. The insinuated animosity between Rafe and Grace was infectious and I really enjoyed how you put it into words so well.

[Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book.

[Sandra Singleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic plot and characters. This is a must-read. Can't wait for the next book. I volunteered to read an advance copy for an honest review.

[Loretta Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved the book, it made me cry and laughed. He was a great guy and she was like me toward the animals. Can’t wait to read Lucky side of the story.

[AutumnDove Wakinyela]

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[Hager Moharram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved Grace and Rafe
Hated I was left on a cliffhanger

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book . Super cute light mafia romance

[dornzz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really short read bc it’s rushed af. No time to flesh out the characters, the chemistry wasn’t believable and I’m not sure what kind of ending that was