A Negotiated Marriage by Noelle Adams

This is my invite to the ball, my first non-Austen related book review.
I enjoyed this book immensely, so much so that I had it read within a single night and was reading it again the following! Why? Because I love these types of story lines, the guy is in love with the girl and she's oblivious! Ring any bells!

Molly works for one of the largest coffee shop chains in America and after having an eight month fling with Baron the son of the owner, she declares her love, only to have it embarrassingly thrown back in her face. Heart broken she moves to Canada to work for the coffee chains rival. Luke is the owner & company director and highly sort after by the ladies of the Ton so to speak. Fed up with his private liaisons being constantly exposed by the paparazzi, he seeks to find a solution. Molly's intelligent, attractive and they get along, why not ask her if she would be willing to enter into a marriage of convenience. It will take him off the market as a single bachelor, while presenting a clean image to the media. Molly doesn't want a relationship after her heart was broken, so this arrangement would be agreeable to her plus she too would be off the singles circuit, besides it would be a great way to get back at the culprit of her unrequited love, Baron.
Three years later and the arrangement is going well, Molly only has to attend six social functions with Luke a month, easy right? Well yes, until one evening Luke announces he would like to renegotiate the terms of the agreement, he would like to add sex to the contract! Oh I say, really! Did he just ask that, yes I think he did! I must say, I am surprised Molly didn't choke on her Chinese then and there, bringing the story to an abrupt end.

"I’m not that pitiful.” “I don’t think you’re pitiful.” His expression was casual and unrevealing, as usual. “But, because of James, it’s going to be hard for you to trust another man. Isn’t it?” She made a face, although she knew in some ways he was right. “I trust you, don’t I?” “Not with your heart.” She stared at him, completely perplexed by what looked like diffidence in his expression. “I’m not saying you should,” he continued, barely missing a beat. His hazel eyes rested on her face with a strange sort of caution. “Obviously, that’s not what our marriage has ever been about. I just meant your thing with Baron still has an effect on you—and I don’t think he’s worth it.” - Noelle Adams

Is it possible to have sex with no strings attached? I really liked how the little details unravelled in this book and without Luke's take on things, it was an intriguing read. Things seemed obvious to me yet the author had a way of keeping you guessing, exactly what is the real deal here? Could I be wrong? No surely not. Either way it did not matter, I delighted in seeing their journey and wanted to see how this was going to play out. Molly was a decent girl and I liked her, she reminded me of myself a little!  Her rushing around was too funny to witness. Molly herself did not see any signs that would make her think Luke had an ulterior motive, yet as a reader I had no qualms with Molly not noticing because of the reasoning behind her thought process. Luke actually reminded me of Mr Darcy, only because Molly did not have a clue what Luke thought of her and Luke did not give much away in the department of sharing, the author must indeed be an Austen fan. Considering Luke was fairly rich, I enjoyed the fact there was little emphasis on this. As the story is told from Molly's perspective she rarely mentions his wealth or the lavish lifestyle she lives being married to such a man. Except however, in regards to the separate wardrobe of sophisticated attire she is required to wear, to her six negotiated social functions a month. Clothes that she felt awkward in wearing, inadvertently highlighting her humbleness, which made me like her all the more.  Luke is gorgeous, well dressed and kind, although very reticent in character. I liked seeing little glimpses into the man he was, through his subtle actions.

There are a lot of sex scenes and this was my first foray into such reading material, as I have never read any Mills & Boon or Three shades of grey for that matter. As a result I have no comparison as such, to compare this book with. Yet it matters not, this book could easily stand alone without the sex scenes and be released again in order to reach another audience. Although through them we get a little window into Luke and when the encounters change over time, much can be determined from these changes. There was a part in the story that felt a little far fetched but not totally unbelievable, it certainly added to the books entertainment value and I dearly love to laugh. As stated before I read this book again the following day, so that I could read it armed with the knowledge I had gained. If you have read Pride & Prejudice then you will know what I mean, it is so much more interesting to read it again once you are fully aware of Mr Darcy's feelings.

"It was nice, she decided, that Luke had been worried about her. That he’d tried to take care of her. It wasn't entirely foreign to their relationship. He’d always been considerate with her when she needed it. He’d gone out of his way to help her when she’d sprained her ankle last year. And, when her father had died, he’d sat with her for hours. She’d known he was horribly uncomfortable in the face of her grief, and he’d never hugged her or held her, no matter how helplessly she’d been crying. But he hadn’t left her alone, and that had meant something to Molly."- Noelle Adams

A Negotiated Marriage is fast becoming one of my new favourites and now the Kindle copy is read, time for the Paperback!

This Book is Worthy of 4 Hearts - Mr Bingley!

                                

As always I love to hear your comments!