kfriend's review against another edition
5.0
The much awaited finale to this swoony and emotional small town series has arrived in this also much anticipated story of our leading man Oliver Parkerson- and my goodness, Corinne does not disappoint! Oliver’s and Maren’s story is every bit as charming and moving and captivating as I expected- I fell so hard for this endearing pair. What a beautiful farewell to this series that I have adored.
We know that some of this story will be hard and emotional- particular as it relates to our leading lady Maren, who after being jilted in her last relationship wants to make her dying father’s wishes come true- to see her walk down the aisle. So if she can’t give him the real wedding she envisioned, she turns to Oliver to help her deliver a fake one, and, as we already know, fake romances have a way of becoming very real very quickly, and soon Maren and Oliver have to face their true feelings.
Oliver is everything I wanted- a quintessential Corinne leading man. He’s thoughtful and caring, supportive… I mean the very premise of this story tells you what kind of person he is. He takes a gigantic step to support a friend and make a dying man happy. I mean SWOOON. And Maren just tugged at all my heart strings- Corinne tells her story with such compassion and grace. She’s strong and open hearted, but she’s also facing a heartbreaking reality in losing someone she’s not ready to say goodbye too. I loved them together- their chemistry, their light moments of flirting and fun, and their heartbreaking and challenging ones. They each have their own set of damage and baggage that makes for a few hiccups in their burgeoning feelings, but I loved watching them show up for each other.
There are some real tender moments in this story that brought me to tears, but we also get some great time with the whole family and sibling fun that helped bring closure to this whole series. Corinne saved one of her most charming stories for last, and while I’m sad to say goodbye, I’m so happy to see this whole family find their happy- especially Oliver and Maren.
We know that some of this story will be hard and emotional- particular as it relates to our leading lady Maren, who after being jilted in her last relationship wants to make her dying father’s wishes come true- to see her walk down the aisle. So if she can’t give him the real wedding she envisioned, she turns to Oliver to help her deliver a fake one, and, as we already know, fake romances have a way of becoming very real very quickly, and soon Maren and Oliver have to face their true feelings.
Oliver is everything I wanted- a quintessential Corinne leading man. He’s thoughtful and caring, supportive… I mean the very premise of this story tells you what kind of person he is. He takes a gigantic step to support a friend and make a dying man happy. I mean SWOOON. And Maren just tugged at all my heart strings- Corinne tells her story with such compassion and grace. She’s strong and open hearted, but she’s also facing a heartbreaking reality in losing someone she’s not ready to say goodbye too. I loved them together- their chemistry, their light moments of flirting and fun, and their heartbreaking and challenging ones. They each have their own set of damage and baggage that makes for a few hiccups in their burgeoning feelings, but I loved watching them show up for each other.
There are some real tender moments in this story that brought me to tears, but we also get some great time with the whole family and sibling fun that helped bring closure to this whole series. Corinne saved one of her most charming stories for last, and while I’m sad to say goodbye, I’m so happy to see this whole family find their happy- especially Oliver and Maren.
bookish_dustjacket's review against another edition
4.5
I'm pretty sure this was my favorite book from this series and this was definitely my favorite completed series (that I've read) from Corinne Michaels. I will say I still have decent amount of her backlist to get through, but this series was top notch for me when it comes to a Corinne Michaels book/series.
Oliver and Maren haven't seen each other in about 10 years, but when they were in college, there were pretty good friends, and when Maren called him up needing help with finding a venue for her wedding, he was more than happy to help. Of course, neither one of them were expecting she would need his help in more ways then one. Her father is dying, and one of his greatest wishes was to walk her down the aisles. Which is easy enough when she's engaged to a great guy. At least until that guy calls off the wedding just a days before her family is supposed to get to town. That's where Oliver Parkerson comes in. Luckily for Maren, her family hasn't met her fiancé. But with Oliver Parkerson willing to play the part, they can still make her father's wish come true. The only problem? None of it feels pretend, the kisses, the touches, all of it feels more real than it ever has with anyone else. Falling in love with her fake husband wasn't part of the plan, but maybe it's what was meant to be. But a relationship built on lies can never last, right?
I really loved the connection between Oliver and Maren. Yes, they were friends in college, so there was a bit of a foundation already there for them, but they hadn't spoken or seen each other in over a decade and the way they connected again was just perfection. I loved how Oliver was so willing to help Maren, after coming to terms with the idea of lying to people and I love how Oliver's family supported the two of them through the whole thing. The connection between Oliver and his siblings was so great, I just loved it. I also really loved how Maren and Oliver supported each other. Yes, there was some serious chemistry between the two of them, but I love how they were friends first, and I loved that their friendship was something they both wanted to preserve.
This was a great conclusion to the series, and it is one I would easily recommend to anything who enjoys the following.
✔️ Marriage of Convenience
✔️ Friends to Lovers
✔️ Best Friend's Ex-boyfriend
✔️ Small Town
✔️ First Person Dual POV
Oliver and Maren haven't seen each other in about 10 years, but when they were in college, there were pretty good friends, and when Maren called him up needing help with finding a venue for her wedding, he was more than happy to help. Of course, neither one of them were expecting she would need his help in more ways then one. Her father is dying, and one of his greatest wishes was to walk her down the aisles. Which is easy enough when she's engaged to a great guy. At least until that guy calls off the wedding just a days before her family is supposed to get to town. That's where Oliver Parkerson comes in. Luckily for Maren, her family hasn't met her fiancé. But with Oliver Parkerson willing to play the part, they can still make her father's wish come true. The only problem? None of it feels pretend, the kisses, the touches, all of it feels more real than it ever has with anyone else. Falling in love with her fake husband wasn't part of the plan, but maybe it's what was meant to be. But a relationship built on lies can never last, right?
I really loved the connection between Oliver and Maren. Yes, they were friends in college, so there was a bit of a foundation already there for them, but they hadn't spoken or seen each other in over a decade and the way they connected again was just perfection. I loved how Oliver was so willing to help Maren, after coming to terms with the idea of lying to people and I love how Oliver's family supported the two of them through the whole thing. The connection between Oliver and his siblings was so great, I just loved it. I also really loved how Maren and Oliver supported each other. Yes, there was some serious chemistry between the two of them, but I love how they were friends first, and I loved that their friendship was something they both wanted to preserve.
This was a great conclusion to the series, and it is one I would easily recommend to anything who enjoys the following.
✔️ Marriage of Convenience
✔️ Friends to Lovers
✔️ Best Friend's Ex-boyfriend
✔️ Small Town
✔️ First Person Dual POV
achiu99's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
juliapac's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ianmcnamara's review against another edition
5.0
Sad to say goodbye to this series. Really enjoyed Oliver and Meran’s story. It was clear from the start that they were write for each other. I will read more by this author in the future. Loverly series to get me through the work week.
silvanab's review against another edition
5.0
I just loved this one, a little bit rushed on the end, but it doesn't matter. Great character development, the storyline was good, with some emotional stuff going on, that made me cry for a few more minutes.
After this book I'm curious about the characters that appeared here, but are from the other series, so I guess I will go a little backward.
After this book I'm curious about the characters that appeared here, but are from the other series, so I guess I will go a little backward.
kem0514's review against another edition
5.0
Another amazing story by Corinne! This entire series has been emotional and Corinne ended this series with such an emotional story that made me love her and hate her at the same time. We have all been waiting for Oliver’s story since The One for Me and Corinne certainly delivered one heck of a story!
Since we have all been waiting for Oliver’s story and already witnessed his heart break we needed him to find his perfect. Maren was absolutely perfect for him. Maren loves big so big that she would do any kind of crazy scheme to make the people she love happy. When Maren planned her wedding at the Firefly Resort, she planned it with another guy in hopes of giving her dying father this one last wish. When plans change, she begs her old friend Oliver to step in as the groom. Oliver is reluctant but he also does things to make people happy. From the moment they saw each other, there were sparks that were impossible to ignore. How long will things be fake between them with those kinds of intense sparks?
This book was less angsty than some of the others in this series, but still brought out all the emotions and touched on some heavy subjects. Ollie and Maren fit so perfectly together. Maren brought some life back into Oliver and Oliver helped Maren when she was going through one of the hardest things ever. They leaned on each other and showed that they cared for each other beyond the fake relationship. They had an intense chemistry between them and their love scenes were OMG HOT. But as hot as things are between them, something is bound to go wrong if they won’t communicate, right? Of course! Because it wouldn’t be a Corinne Michaels book if it was smooth and easy. They have to fight for their love.
Corinne brings you some hilarious family fun, a daughter giving her father the last thing he wants before he dies, smokin hot sex, past characters that you will love to hear from again, and the perfect ending to a loved series. And then there was the evil stepmother, who Corinne may or may not have written about from personal experience but absolutely made you want to slap her. Also want to say, READ THE BONUS SCENE.
Since we have all been waiting for Oliver’s story and already witnessed his heart break we needed him to find his perfect. Maren was absolutely perfect for him. Maren loves big so big that she would do any kind of crazy scheme to make the people she love happy. When Maren planned her wedding at the Firefly Resort, she planned it with another guy in hopes of giving her dying father this one last wish. When plans change, she begs her old friend Oliver to step in as the groom. Oliver is reluctant but he also does things to make people happy. From the moment they saw each other, there were sparks that were impossible to ignore. How long will things be fake between them with those kinds of intense sparks?
This book was less angsty than some of the others in this series, but still brought out all the emotions and touched on some heavy subjects. Ollie and Maren fit so perfectly together. Maren brought some life back into Oliver and Oliver helped Maren when she was going through one of the hardest things ever. They leaned on each other and showed that they cared for each other beyond the fake relationship. They had an intense chemistry between them and their love scenes were OMG HOT. But as hot as things are between them, something is bound to go wrong if they won’t communicate, right? Of course! Because it wouldn’t be a Corinne Michaels book if it was smooth and easy. They have to fight for their love.
Corinne brings you some hilarious family fun, a daughter giving her father the last thing he wants before he dies, smokin hot sex, past characters that you will love to hear from again, and the perfect ending to a loved series. And then there was the evil stepmother, who Corinne may or may not have written about from personal experience but absolutely made you want to slap her. Also want to say, READ THE BONUS SCENE.