A review by agrippinaes
Marriage for One by Ella Maise

4.0

Rating: 4 stars
What I Liked: I enjoyed the concept of this. I found the marriage of convenience aspect a little forced, but I think that comes with the trope sometimes. They had quite a sweet relationship; it’s a very slow burn, but it worked really well.
I liked both the main characters, Jack and Rose. Jack was - mostly! - a sweetie, as I’ve already said, and I liked how he wanted to take care of Rose. Rose was a really fun character. Her sunshiney personality lifted the story up a lot and made it a lot lighter, but I also liked that she had a backbone and stood up for herself.

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It was funny when she called him a jerk or called him out on his behaviour.

There were so many cute moments in it: their grumpy / sunshine dynamic was really entertaining.

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Her obsession with his rolled up sleeves and her anticipation of him coming to see her everyday was adorable, and I loved all of the things with him helping her with the coffee shop, such as buying her the flowers and the coffee for all of his office. It was so sweet and supportive.

I also enjoyed the mutual pining aspect; their chemistry was quite gentle but I liked that it got stronger as the book developed.

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The giddiness after her surgery, as they built up to sleeping together for the first time, was really cute and fun.

I think one of the nicest aspects of their romance, actually, was the steadiness of it - I liked that she had someone to rely on to help her -

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such as when she collapsed in the park or when she’d been to the doctor, I really liked that she just wanted Jack to be there for her, and that was enough.

The routines, as well, were sweet. The author did a good job at showing the way their relationship developed

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I particularly liked the glimpses of Jack’s feelings deepening, such as when he swore when she told him about her diagnosis.

I also appreciated how fully they both talked about what Jack did before they met (read the content notes if you want a full explanation on that) - I think it was a good choice on the author’s part and I think I preferred it to

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some grand gesture on his part.

I also wanted to touch on the major plot point of Rose’s health issues -

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I thought it was an interesting choice and covered quite well. I appreciated the amount of detail that the author went into and that it had actual impact on the plot.

What I Didn’t: I didn’t really like the revelation about what Jack did before they met -

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I’ve put a full description in the content notes, but I think his actions were bordering on creepy even if it was done out of genuine concern for her. It just wasn’t my kind of plot point.

I found the writing a little stilted and stiff in some points; some of the dialogue didn’t really feel like people having a conversation and some of the early chapters

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especially the flashback to his proposal

felt very forced when it came to exposition.
It was also a little bit long - some of the build up to Rose’s surgery and the final fall out was a bit repetitive.
Overall: It was quite a good, entertaining read; there were just the right levels of angst contrasted with a bit of humour to stop it from getting too grim, and at its core, the central romance was quite sweet and touching.
Would I Recommend It?: Yes, if you want a slow burn, marriage of convenience romance with a grumpy/sunshine dynamic and a bit of angst.
Would I Read Something By The Author Again?: Yes.
Content Notes:

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Warnings: Death of parent (in past), mentions of cancer, childhood neglect, depictions of illness

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The heroine is diagnosed with a cerebrospinal fluid leak. The symptoms she shows are a clear fluid running from her nose and dizzy spells.

, depictions of medical procedures

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The heroine has MRI scans and undergoes surgery

, depictions of recovery after a surgical procedure, panic attacks

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The heroine is scared of hospitals and the MRI scan she undergoes is traumatic for her.

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Other: On page sex, OM drama

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The heroine’s ex shows up numerous times and tries to blackmail the hero, which causes the heroine and hero to split for part of the book.

, mild OW drama

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The hero’s ex is a partner at his law firm and she’s in a few scenes generally being petty and annoying.

, manipulative behaviour from the hero (in past)

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The hero saw the heroine prior to their marriage and was attracted to her, he didn’t want to act on this as she was in a relationship but after discovering the heroine’s fiance was a fraudster / gold digger he paid her fiance to break up with her and then engineered the situation so they married. He lied to her about the reasons he was marrying her.