Review: This story overall was cute but peculiar.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 07 8, 2013
Jake Olsen, famous rock star of the UK band Five Awesome Emperors, is on a mission. He suspects that Brad, the fiancé of his half-sister Skyla, is still hung up on his ex-wife, Beth. It doesn't matter that Skyla and Beth are friends and that Beth has agreed to plan their wedding. Brad talks about her non-stop and has even agreed to move in with her temporarily to help her through a difficult time. Jake's curiosity and protective instincts lead him to devise an eyebrow raising plan to insinuate himself in the middle of this perceived love triangle. Beth is about to become the lucky winner of a fake bridal lottery.Beth is still mourning the recent loss of her mother when a stranger shows up on her doorstep and declares himself her fiancé. She's not about to let a total stranger into her home, but once it dawns on her who he is, and he shows her the future headlines announcing their engagement, she has no choice but to listen as he gives her a rundown of the mayhem about to come crashing down on her.The forced confinement brings Jake and Beth intimately close together in a very short time. As feelings develop and are squashed, the question becomes whether Jake is willing to give himself to something other than his career, and will Beth be able to handle the fame and lack of privacy.This story overall was cute but peculiar. It definitely had a very modern vibe of a Cinderella fairytale (it certainly made enough references to it). I had to suspend disbelief for the majority of the book before things evened out a little towards the end. My main concern with this story wasn't Jake's crazy plan, but rather Beth's reaction (or lack thereof) to the whole debacle. Jake may have had good intentions, but poor execution. Poor guy.In keeping with Entangled Indulgence's guidelines of being dialogue-heavy, oh yes, it was. But most of the time it felt like the characters were talking a lot without really saying anything, other than Jake repeating more than once why he'd devised that plan, why she can't leave the house, what usually happens to women he's associated with, Beth's wishes for a family or her connection with Brad. I skipped some of those passages as they arose. On a positive note, Ms. Thomas does really well with angst and pulling at heart-strings. During the climax of the story, I truly "felt" for these characters for the first time. Getting Jake to open up to her and tell her personal, deep, meaningful things about his life took a little too long to get to. The ending felt like a rush in an effort to bring the two love sick characters back together.In summary, I liked it, but unfortunately this story lacks something to make it memorable. I would read more from this author, but not at this time. My rating: 2-2.5.Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.