The Marriage Trap by Jennifer Probst
Series:Marriage to a Billionaire, #2
Publication Date:October 2nd 2012
Publisher:Gallery Books
Paperback, 328 pages
Useful Info: Goodreads, Author's Website, Book Depository
The Marriage Trap by Jennifer Probst may be the second book in her successful Marriage of a Billionaire series but this is actually the first book I try of this author and let me tell you that I was impressed! Yeah sure it may be a little cheesy at times and certainly full of cliches but I just loved it! It was fun and quick and cute and a read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
This is the story of Maggie, a photographer who thinks that she will never find true love and she doesn't care because she doesn't need it in her life. Or so she tries to convince herself. Michael is the hot billionaire every woman dreams to snatch for herself, a playboy at heart but who is big on family and tries his best to provide everything for his mother and sisters since his father died, even is his personal life's cost. The two of them agree on a faux marriage in order to help Michael's sister to get married and go on a trip to Italy where they finally realise that they are made for each other. Cliche and cheesy enough? I couldn't care less, believe me! I loved the tension between those two and how they didn't fall immediately into each other's arms but kept fighting and resisting their mutual attraction. I just loved their constant bickering and fighting and how different they were from each other.
Michael was as much alpha as one could hope for, reaching caveman level at some points. He was hot-headed and stubborn but so was Maggie. So they were good for each other. Maggie on the other hand was the only character in this book I had some problems with. Maggie and Mama Conte that is. Maggie because she was a little full of pretence in some cases and a bit arrogant as well. Just because a man didn't want to sleep with her, it didn't mean that he was in love with her married best friend. Maybe that wasn't the case, but it certainly came of that way. When she described how certain she was that Michael was in love with Alexa (aka her best friend) it actually came of as her certainty was the result of Michael's rejection.
And I disliked Mama Conte because she reminded me of an old meddling lady who tries to do things her way no matter what, which she actually is. The stunt she pulled towards the end of the book, was just precious! And so obvious I can't understand how no one else saw right through her petty tricks.
Apart from Maggie and Michael who are certainly developed enough as characters throughout the novel, the set of the secondary characters was a bit neglected. Mama Conte was just there only to meddle in things, Michael's sisters apart from Carina who is the main hero in the next novel in the series could just as well have not been present in the whole story and in overall the only secondary characters with some kind of depth are those that appeared in the previous novel (Alexa and Nick) and those that will appear in the next. The rest are just there to fill gaps. But once more, even with the lack of serious character development, I still loved The Marriage Trap. I loved it because it was sexy and cute and delivered in every department a romance novel should.
All in all, The Marriage Trap is a contemporary romance title full of cliches but enjoyable nonetheless. Try it and you won't regret it. At least you'll spend a few fun hours while reading it :)
Useful Info: Goodreads, Author's Website, Book Depository
WIFE WANTED…
Italian billionaire seeks faux fiancée. Willing to agree to anything in return...
In order for his sister to marry, Italian billionaire Michael Conte has to find himself a bride – and fast! When he learns that photographer Maggie Ryan is going to be in Milan, Michael hatches a plan to introduce her to his family as his “fiancée.” Never mind that Maggie is confident, independent, and a control freak. Never mind that she’s everything he doesn’t want in a wife… and everything he wants in his bed!
Convinced that Michael is in love with her married gal pal, Maggie agrees to keep up the ruse if he’ll keep away from her friend. Besides, she’s not attracted to charming, ridiculously hot billionaires who drive her nuts. Once they’re in Italy, however, everything changes – and the sexual tension between Maggie and Michael goes from simmer to naked nuclear meltdown!
But have they found the perfect arrangement… or are they trapped in a make-believe marriage?
The Marriage Trap by Jennifer Probst may be the second book in her successful Marriage of a Billionaire series but this is actually the first book I try of this author and let me tell you that I was impressed! Yeah sure it may be a little cheesy at times and certainly full of cliches but I just loved it! It was fun and quick and cute and a read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
This is the story of Maggie, a photographer who thinks that she will never find true love and she doesn't care because she doesn't need it in her life. Or so she tries to convince herself. Michael is the hot billionaire every woman dreams to snatch for herself, a playboy at heart but who is big on family and tries his best to provide everything for his mother and sisters since his father died, even is his personal life's cost. The two of them agree on a faux marriage in order to help Michael's sister to get married and go on a trip to Italy where they finally realise that they are made for each other. Cliche and cheesy enough? I couldn't care less, believe me! I loved the tension between those two and how they didn't fall immediately into each other's arms but kept fighting and resisting their mutual attraction. I just loved their constant bickering and fighting and how different they were from each other.
Michael was as much alpha as one could hope for, reaching caveman level at some points. He was hot-headed and stubborn but so was Maggie. So they were good for each other. Maggie on the other hand was the only character in this book I had some problems with. Maggie and Mama Conte that is. Maggie because she was a little full of pretence in some cases and a bit arrogant as well. Just because a man didn't want to sleep with her, it didn't mean that he was in love with her married best friend. Maybe that wasn't the case, but it certainly came of that way. When she described how certain she was that Michael was in love with Alexa (aka her best friend) it actually came of as her certainty was the result of Michael's rejection.
And I disliked Mama Conte because she reminded me of an old meddling lady who tries to do things her way no matter what, which she actually is. The stunt she pulled towards the end of the book, was just precious! And so obvious I can't understand how no one else saw right through her petty tricks.
Apart from Maggie and Michael who are certainly developed enough as characters throughout the novel, the set of the secondary characters was a bit neglected. Mama Conte was just there only to meddle in things, Michael's sisters apart from Carina who is the main hero in the next novel in the series could just as well have not been present in the whole story and in overall the only secondary characters with some kind of depth are those that appeared in the previous novel (Alexa and Nick) and those that will appear in the next. The rest are just there to fill gaps. But once more, even with the lack of serious character development, I still loved The Marriage Trap. I loved it because it was sexy and cute and delivered in every department a romance novel should.
All in all, The Marriage Trap is a contemporary romance title full of cliches but enjoyable nonetheless. Try it and you won't regret it. At least you'll spend a few fun hours while reading it :)
*This title was provided for review through Edelweiss
Nice review! I love a good romance and two characters that are enjoyable :)
ReplyDeleteI've heard comparisons to 50 shades so I've steered clear. Did you find it to be like that book?
ReplyDeleteIt actually surprises me to hear that! In this one I couldn't see any similarities with 50, well except for the fact that both main heroes are a bit of cavemen but Christian is faaaar worse. In the third book of the series though, there are some similarities, or rather not similarities but references to 50. There's nothing hardcore in Probst's writing style and the sex scenes are "lighter" than those of an erotica novel.
DeleteThanks, Anna! Good to know! In the blurb I read about the first one, it was compared to 50 so I immediately took it off my radar. I thought it was a sylvia day type thing with the 'next 50 shades'. Good to know it's not on that level, but I'm still not into the cavemen haha!! thanks for the info!
DeleteAnother winner from author Jennifer Probst! I love the way the author tells the story and creates characters that are charming, witty and sassy! Can always count on a sassy woman in the story and that suits me just fine. The smooth writing pulls me in every time and this one was no different. Couldn't put it down!
ReplyDeleteMariz
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