natalie12345's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
no2camels's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
#23for23
The book/story is fine.
The narration is abysmal. Just abysmal. The narrative keeps describing the male MC's voice as a deep baritone, but Kurt Sanchez Kanazawa voice is quite high and quite young: as if a 16 year old is reading this part. His voices for women and for children are painful to the point of distraction. Juliet Ann Maura presents almost the opposite problem: her voice for the female MC is "old" sounding--like a 65 year old trying to use teen slang (it is awkward). Her voice for the Male MC is actually quite good.
I was so distracted by the misfit and the limited range of voices I concentrated much more on the sound than on the actual story.
Am going to recommend actually READING the book and skipping the audio.
The book/story is fine.
The narration is abysmal. Just abysmal. The narrative keeps describing the male MC's voice as a deep baritone, but Kurt Sanchez Kanazawa voice is quite high and quite young: as if a 16 year old is reading this part. His voices for women and for children are painful to the point of distraction. Juliet Ann Maura presents almost the opposite problem: her voice for the female MC is "old" sounding--like a 65 year old trying to use teen slang (it is awkward). Her voice for the Male MC is actually quite good.
I was so distracted by the misfit and the limited range of voices I concentrated much more on the sound than on the actual story.
Am going to recommend actually READING the book and skipping the audio.
max_pink's review against another edition
3.0
3 Stars
This was completely fine. I appreciate the representation, but that and the cover were the only things that really sparkled for me. Garrett makes such a bad third act breakup choice that I truly wonder what Natalie sees in him outside of his abs.
Maybe if there were more domestic moments, it would have worked better for me.
This was completely fine. I appreciate the representation, but that and the cover were the only things that really sparkled for me. Garrett makes such a bad third act breakup choice that I truly wonder what Natalie sees in him outside of his abs.
Maybe if there were more domestic moments, it would have worked better for me.
brandece1's review against another edition
3.0
This one was really cute, and exactly what I was looking for in that moment. I love the premise of this one, the diversity, and I really thought the MC were good together. This one is full of family drama (for both MC), and I love the modern day marriage of convivence trope, and I think it played out very well. This one was short, so it did leave me thinking it was a little too instalovey. I also felt like there were some situations that I would have loved to see a little more developed. While this is not my all time favorite romance, I would say it was a good time and it is one of my favorites from this author, and I am really looking forward to finishing this series off.
ladym23's review against another edition
3.0
3.8 liked the characters but I get story was predictable.
louandlife's review against another edition
4.0
I would highly recommend this book for fans of kdramas featuring contract marriages. This book satisfied all of my desires and I even wish that this book was longer!
The plot of this book is really good. It gripped me from the beginning. I read the first 100 or so pages in one go and stayed up really late to read it. I picked this book up during a reading slump and it helped me get out of it. The only thing I didn't like about the plot is that I felt like the time skips in the beginning shouldn't have happened. I would have liked to have seen key scenes within those time skips, and I would have liked to have seen more of Natalie and Garrett's work life when they announced their engagement and after they got married as we didn't see any of that.
It's a good romance book. It's also written by an Asian author! I loved the Korean culture aspects of this book and related to the scenes where Natalie had to meet Garrett's family. I would definitely recommend this book.
The plot of this book is really good. It gripped me from the beginning. I read the first 100 or so pages in one go and stayed up really late to read it. I picked this book up during a reading slump and it helped me get out of it. The only thing I didn't like about the plot is that I felt like the time skips in the beginning shouldn't have happened. I would have liked to have seen key scenes within those time skips, and I would have liked to have seen more of Natalie and Garrett's work life when they announced their engagement and after they got married as we didn't see any of that.
It's a good romance book. It's also written by an Asian author! I loved the Korean culture aspects of this book and related to the scenes where Natalie had to meet Garrett's family. I would definitely recommend this book.
katielvk's review
4.0
Marriage of Convenience
"His partner in crime had to be someone discreet, practical and desperate enough to agree to a fake marriage. Simple."
Garrett Song is in line to become the next CEO of his family's company. The only problem? He doesn't have a wife.
In walks Natalie Sobol--literally--to potentially solve his crisis...and to hand him HR paperwork to sign.
While Garrett needs a wife to become CEO, Natalie needs a husband to increase her chances of being able to adopt her deceased sister's baby girl. Natalie agrees to the marriage on one condition: they must remain celibate until their planned divorce a year later.
Unfortunately for them, their shared but yet unspoken attraction to each other is through the roof...
I love the marriage of convenience trope. Sure, they're predictable, but that slow burn is so worth it!
I read this as one of my picks for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Jayci Lee writes from her own perspective as a Korean-American, working hard to bring Asian-American characters to the forefront and simply be seen as American.
I will definitely be reading the next book in the series!
"His partner in crime had to be someone discreet, practical and desperate enough to agree to a fake marriage. Simple."
Garrett Song is in line to become the next CEO of his family's company. The only problem? He doesn't have a wife.
In walks Natalie Sobol--literally--to potentially solve his crisis...and to hand him HR paperwork to sign.
While Garrett needs a wife to become CEO, Natalie needs a husband to increase her chances of being able to adopt her deceased sister's baby girl. Natalie agrees to the marriage on one condition: they must remain celibate until their planned divorce a year later.
Unfortunately for them, their shared but yet unspoken attraction to each other is through the roof...
I love the marriage of convenience trope. Sure, they're predictable, but that slow burn is so worth it!
I read this as one of my picks for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Jayci Lee writes from her own perspective as a Korean-American, working hard to bring Asian-American characters to the forefront and simply be seen as American.
I will definitely be reading the next book in the series!
onceuponatimeireadabook's review against another edition
4.0
Temporary Wife Temptation is the other book I chose to do for this tour set and if that wasn’t enough of a disclaimer, the publisher sent me a free book to read and review for my site and that doesn’t influence my rating whatsoever because I take after my great-grandmother, I’m an opinionated woman with a big mouth.
I liked reading Temporary Wife Temptation, it was a quick, entertaining read that had just the right amount of spice to it to keep me interested in the story. We have Garrett Song and Natalie Sobol who are both super attracted to each other and, y’all, we get the marriage of convenience trope. That’s a good trope. Garrett needs an out from a surprise arranged marriage and the bonus of a wife who can wow the business contacts is great. And Natalie needs a promotion so she can adopt her orphaned niece. A deal is struck, a nice celibate deal. *cue the evil laughter*
There were parts of this that I didn’t like and some that I will fight for. I loved the mix of Garrett’s traditional Korean background and Natalie’s only access to her heritage being what she gleans from KDramas (girl, same, dramas connect us with what our parents didn’t give us) and how they were brought up a lot. Natalie didn’t know wedding traditions or how to wear a hanbok but between Garrett’s sister, Adelaide, and her neighbour, Mrs Kim, she manages to find her feet. I did not like the time jumps. A day or two is one thing, but the passing of time is problematic for me as it is so I do not like having major time skips in my stories. And we missed out on the awkward roommate vibes, which I love. So, boo.
Overall I’m giving Temporary Wife Temptation 4 stars and 3 flames. I didn’t get bored reading this or dredge my way through reading it and I can’t wait to read Adelaide’s story in the Fall! I hope y’all give Temporary Wife Temptation a try!
This has been a review from Once Upon a Time, I Read a Book. Until next time, have a happily ever after!
I liked reading Temporary Wife Temptation, it was a quick, entertaining read that had just the right amount of spice to it to keep me interested in the story. We have Garrett Song and Natalie Sobol who are both super attracted to each other and, y’all, we get the marriage of convenience trope. That’s a good trope. Garrett needs an out from a surprise arranged marriage and the bonus of a wife who can wow the business contacts is great. And Natalie needs a promotion so she can adopt her orphaned niece. A deal is struck, a nice celibate deal. *cue the evil laughter*
There were parts of this that I didn’t like and some that I will fight for. I loved the mix of Garrett’s traditional Korean background and Natalie’s only access to her heritage being what she gleans from KDramas (girl, same, dramas connect us with what our parents didn’t give us) and how they were brought up a lot. Natalie didn’t know wedding traditions or how to wear a hanbok but between Garrett’s sister, Adelaide, and her neighbour, Mrs Kim, she manages to find her feet. I did not like the time jumps. A day or two is one thing, but the passing of time is problematic for me as it is so I do not like having major time skips in my stories. And we missed out on the awkward roommate vibes, which I love. So, boo.
Overall I’m giving Temporary Wife Temptation 4 stars and 3 flames. I didn’t get bored reading this or dredge my way through reading it and I can’t wait to read Adelaide’s story in the Fall! I hope y’all give Temporary Wife Temptation a try!
This has been a review from Once Upon a Time, I Read a Book. Until next time, have a happily ever after!
jamietherebelliousreader's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars. I honestly picked this up because that cover is absolutely stunning but I'm happy to say that the story inside was also fantastic. I really enjoyed this book. I hate that Harlequin novels get such a bad rep because people are missing out on some good stuff. There's been some duds that I've come across, sure, but then you get really great stuff like this one.
Garrett and Natalie are wonderful characters and I loved them both. They were extremely likable and strong characters that had a lot of depth to them. Their relationship is a marriage of convenience (my fave!) and they both have such huge, personal things attached to it and the reason they go along with it in the first place. Garrett is trying to get out of an arranged marriage that has been set up by his grandmother and Natalie is trying to get custody of her baby niece after a tragedy leaves her orphaned. It was all really well done and to see them actually fall for each other and not just pretend was wonderful. I will say though that by the end I wanted to shake the hell out of Garrett and tell him to get his act together but the groveling he does more than made up for it. I love good groveling. Everything wrapped up perfectly and I'm super excited for book two which will follow Garrett's younger sister, Adelaide.
If you're looking for a good, steamy, swoony romance I'd highly recommend this.
{Challenges completed:
✔For Love of a Book: Greatest Love Stories Challenge
✔For Love of a Book: Camping Team Challenge}
Garrett and Natalie are wonderful characters and I loved them both. They were extremely likable and strong characters that had a lot of depth to them. Their relationship is a marriage of convenience (my fave!) and they both have such huge, personal things attached to it and the reason they go along with it in the first place. Garrett is trying to get out of an arranged marriage that has been set up by his grandmother and Natalie is trying to get custody of her baby niece after a tragedy leaves her orphaned. It was all really well done and to see them actually fall for each other and not just pretend was wonderful. I will say though that by the end I wanted to shake the hell out of Garrett and tell him to get his act together but the groveling he does more than made up for it. I love good groveling. Everything wrapped up perfectly and I'm super excited for book two which will follow Garrett's younger sister, Adelaide.
If you're looking for a good, steamy, swoony romance I'd highly recommend this.
{Challenges completed:
✔For Love of a Book: Greatest Love Stories Challenge
✔For Love of a Book: Camping Team Challenge}
curvyblackgeek's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0