Marriage by Design

by Lynn Michaels

There’s only so much taffeta and toile a girl can take.

Passionate, talented, and noticeably stunning, Mia Savard is the top designer at her father’s thriving bridal design company. But her life has hit a bit of a snag. Thirty, recently dumped, and suddenly single, Mia has grown weary of white lace and craves couture. But when Mia’ s most spectacular creation is leaked to the competition, the silk hits the fan. Someone inside Savard Creations is trading with the enemy. In the world of fashion, that means war.

Enter private investigator Joe Kerr, the exceedingly handsome ex-cop hired to nab the clever mole. Stalking dangerous territory–where jittery brides, hysterical mothers, and deadline-challenged designers clash in clouds of gossamer and gossip–Joe is torn between suspecting Mia and seducing her. Amid the treachery, hijinks, and flirtations galore, it seems that for Mia, romance just might be tailor-made.

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

My first book was published in 1984 when I was 12. Why are you laughing? Since then I've published 16 books and 2 novellas: two Regencies originally written as Jane Lynson, one paranormal romantic suspense as Paula Christopher and everything else as Lynn Michaels. My husband Michael warned me never to dedicate a book to him, so instead I stole his name for my pseudonym.

Michael and I have 2 grown sons and 1 grandson. We live in Harry Truman's hometown, Independence, Missouri.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been 100 pages shorter if the author didn't use an adjective to describe every noun, and the sex scenes were more explicit than I expected, but it was a fun fluffy read. I didn't realize Kansas City could be so glamorous.

[Michelle Brogden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Little slow at times.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is about the third time I reread this book and i've enjoyed it every time. Taking place in the apparently cut throat world of bridal design it has an interesting plot. Our heroine Mia Savard, a designer at her family's bridal business, designs a dress for a high profile bride and that design appears in an ad as a dress of the competition. Her father hires a private investigator - the hero Joe - to try and find the mole in the company. There is instant attraction between the two and the only point of conflict for them is that Joe wants to find the culprit before initiating a relationship with Mia. They're a really cute couple who act like adults and don't play silly games, the back drop of Mia's crazy father, the search for the mole and the interesting world of bridal design all made for a really cute read.

The reason for the 5 stars - I read a lot of paranormal, historical and even contemporary romance where the alpha male reigns supreme, he's manly, taller, bigger than the rest, sometimes even immortal and almost always unbeatable, so it was really refreshing to have a normal hero with a very manly job - he'd been a cop and after resigning became a private investigator - who gets knocked out when a dress designer hits him with a sugar bowl - he actually only wakes up in hospital with a massive concussion, and u know what - it didn't affect his hero status - I still thought he was pretty cool. A nice change from the uber, super, extra more alphas that I've been reading.

[Valen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One word: CUTE! This was a very cute novel. Love the theme, love the story, and love the characters.

So Mia comes from a family of designers and somewhere along the way, someone has stole her design. Her father went ballistic about it, starts firing people and throwing chairs (anger management much.) Anyway, her father hires a private investigator, Joseph Kerr, and that's when sparks fly.

I have a couple minor complaints about it. Like the fact that it kinda dragged on a little and the fact that there wasn't much lovey-lovey parts where Mia and Joseph were concerned.

But overall, it was a fun read. Minor characters were funny especially Mia's family. Her mom and dad, sister and brother, her cousins. I also felt betrayed and really annoyed by what happened in the end. I hate it when people do that.

I really liked this one and I'm looking forward to reading more of Lynn Michaels' novels. ♥

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Lynn Michaels' books and this one was a lot of fun. I did have to take away points because of the unnecessary conflict between Mia and Joe, thrown in toward the end, and because we never learned who ransacked the sewing room. Otherwise it was cute and funny with great supporting characters and an open-backed hospital gown!

[Beth Y · Rating 1 out of 5]

Patriot and Aftershock were two of my absolute favorites growing up and they randomly happened to be by the same author. Mother of the Bride stuck with me as well, but this was just too madcap. Just couldn't get into the lead characters or care about the side characters. Did not finish. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood and will give it another shot later.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating this book a little lower since I figured out the "bad guy" very early into the book, which is rare for me.

I would love to continue with the characters in future books!! Imagine what a hoot Robin's book would be!

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute read & kind of kept me guessing until the end!!

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it laugh-out-loud funny in a few spots. It was also a good romance story.

[Angela Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book and I love that is was set in Kansas City. I loved Mia and Joe and their interaction. The thief was a mystery until the end of the book. Great ending as well.

[Soundra Fulton]

I was disappointed by this book. I usually love the characters in Lynn Michaels' books. This one, however, didn't make me laugh....

[Jen]

This was a cute book... a really fast read!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute.

[Michelle]

Read half, cute rom com, but so many good books to read so am putting it to the side for now.