THE WEDDING AGREEMENT by Elizabeth Hayley: Review

Posted April 25, 2016 in Reviews / 0 Comments

THE WEDDING AGREEMENT by Elizabeth Hayley: ReviewThe Wedding Agreement by Elizabeth Hayley
Series: Strictly Business #3
Published by Signet
Publication Date: May 3rd 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 320
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Buy Online: Amazon  B&N  Kobo

Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.

The author of Just Say Yes is back with another sweet and sultry Strictly Business novel about working hard and falling harder into an unexpected romance…
 
Love doesn’t always follow the same schedule…
 
Alex Walker doesn’t need a woman in his life. In fact, he doesn’t have time for one. Between his career in the FBI and the demands of being good father, romance is an unwanted distraction. 
 
Likewise, Cassidy Mullen is fine on her own. The independent career woman has never had a husband in her plans—forget about kids. But when her friend Alex gets into a bind with his ex over their daughter, Cass finds herself suddenly playing the part of Alex’s stable, child-loving fiancée—and liking it a lot more than she’d care to admit.
 
Soon Alex and Cass can’t deny the real passion growing between them. But as fake affection turns into real love, Cass and Alex will have to make a choice: say “I Do” to their feelings or give up on happily-ever-after for good.

 

 

Review

Cassidy Mullen is focused on her career and has made no secret of the fact that she has no plans to ever settle down in suburbia with the husband, 2.5 kids and dog, but she can’t resist stepping in to help a friend when he finds himself in a tight spot and her impulsiveness lands her in the starring role of a devoted fiancée, planning a fake wedding. 

Alex Walker has two priorities in his life: his job and his daughter, in exactly that order. His foray into marriage convinced him that relationships are stressful and while he doesn’t mind the occasional booty call or friends with benefits relationship like the one he has with Cassidy, he has sworn off commitment except to his job and his daughter. Unfortunately, if he wants custody of his daughter over the summer holidays, he has no choice but to go along with the fake engagement to Cassidy and in fact, actively go through the motions of planning a wedding that would not be taking place.

Sometimes, all that is needed to change a relationship is close contact and that is exactly what happens with Cassidy and Alex. They have always had a good friendship but with the time they spend together, their feelings for each other grow and they find themselves questioning everything they’ve always believed and their choices/decisions about relationships. Cassidy especially finds herself emotionally bonding with Alex’s daughter and rethinking her prejudices about marriage, family and motherhood.

I really enjoyed how the authors gave the characters depth, let readers see their personal struggles and played around with the usual stereotypes. Nothing about them is exactly what you would expect and they have enough edges that they won’t fit into a box. Alex was a good father to his daughter when he was present, but his dedication to his job meant that she got the short end of the stick most of the time. Cassidy came from a family straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, but wasn’t interested in having one of her own. Even Alex’s ex-wife who did him dirty, was hard to dislike because she was genuinely and rightly concerned about her daughter’s well-being. 

THE WEDDING AGREEMENT is an entertaining and fun read and perfect for a lazy day. I especially love that the drama and angst level is low and even the conflict is resolved satisfactorily.

 P.S: Ms. Hayley, for the record, I share your sentiments about Adam Sandler:)

 

 

 

About Elizabeth Hayley

Elizabeth Hayley is actually "Elizabeth" and "Hayley," two friends who love reading romance novels to obsessive levels. This mutual love prompted them to put their English degrees to good use by penning their own. The product is Pieces of Perfect, their debut novel. They learned a ton about one another through the process, like how they clearly share a brain and have a persistent need to text each other constantly (much to their husbands' chagrin).

"Elizabeth" lives with her husband, daughter, and nutjob of a dog. "Hayley" lives with her husband, son, and her own crazy dog. Thankfully, their children are still too young to read.

Elizabeth Hayley's writing motto is best captured by the words of Patrick Dennis: "I always start with a clean piece of paper and a dirty mind."


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