BOOK REVIEW: MAKE-BELIEVE MATCH BY MELANIE HARLOW
Title: Make-Believe Match
Author: Melanie Harlow - Website
Series: Book #3 of Cherry Tree Harbour Series
My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Trope:
💍Marriage of Convenience
💚Fake Relationship
👩❤️👨Friends with Benefits
🔥One Night Stand
💒Vegas Wedding
Blurb:
Fall in love with my enemy? No way. Marry him to save my family’s struggling ski resort? That’s a different story… Getting hitched is the only way I can inherit Snowberry Lodge, and I’ll do anything to spare my childhood home from the wrecking ball–even wear Devlin Buckley’s ring on my finger. Not that I’ll enjoy it. Sure, he’s charming and handsome, and that no-last-names one night stand we shared ended with a fantastically big bang (I saw stars I hadn’t seen in six months, if you catch my drift). But I’ll never trust him–he was working for the company trying to bulldoze my life. Right up until the day he knocked on my door with an offer I couldn’t refuse. Marry him, and he’ll help me restore my family’s crumbling resort to its former glory–and get revenge on his ex-boss in the process. Once our goals are achieved, we’ll go our separate ways. It’s temporary. Strictly business. Purely for show. Until I realize how much I like it when he says "my wife." Once we’re sharing a last name–and a bed–our make-believe match starts to feel a little too real. And if I’m not careful, I could lose everything… my home, my dreams, and my heart.
My Summary of the Story:
Lexi is determined to not let her grandma sell their family resort, Snowberry Lodge, which has been steadily losing money since her grandfather passed away. The resort is filled with all her fondest childhood memories, and she would rather die than let some greedy suits tear it down. She begged her gran to pass the business to her, and of course in true fashion of romcom cliche, she had to be married to inherit the lodge. She met Devlin after her supposed date with a dentist set up by her gran failed, and they had an incredible night together where she finally found her “O” after being stuck for months. What she thought was just gonna be a one-time thing, turned out to be more with Devlin showing up a couple of days later as the rep of the buyer. One thing after another, when things turn sour for Devlin at his job, he decides to help Lexi inherit the Lodge, so he can have his revenge. But they both might have walked into this marriage for more than the Lodge or revenge…..
My Thoughts:
I don't know why this book is advertised as an enemy-to-lovers trope, because Lexi just hates him for a hot minute, and Devlin never even disliked her at all, he was so patient and understanding considering how rude she was to him. It's more like friends to lovers in my opinion, with "benny" on the side. That thought aside, this is the definition of a rom-com in a page, right to the last-minute grand gesture ending. So get your popcorn ready!
Devlin “My Wife” Buckley, oh my, can a guy be so cocky and so damn sweet at the same time? I was just like Lexi, thinking he’s gonna be an asshole and scam her and the grandma, but he was just a cinnamon roll! He loves taking care of other people, especially Lexi, and it was everything… He immediately called Lexi his wife, even before their shotgun wedding, the guy is whipped from day one I tell ya. His promises of 15 minutes never get old (if you read, you know), he adores Lexi but is just so scared of falling in love. It was frustrating at times, cause we see it as clear as day, and he's just so oblivious. And when he realizes, we get that rom-com ending that we love.
To be honest, I don't have that much impression of Lexi, I was so distracted by Devlin all the time while I was reading (he's just that dreamy). She's very emotional and easily attached, so I guess it made sense that she's the one who realized her feelings first. And I'm happy that in the end, he chooses to want someone who stays for her because they want to, not because she had to beg for it. Her childhood story is so heartbreaking, I'm glad she got Gran Martha, and her cousin, Tabitha, though she was a bit bitchy. I was so furious with Tabitha, but once I found out what she's been hiding, it wasn't that bad, then her outburst at the end, I actually felt sorry for her.
But the MVP in this book is Grannie Martha, I love all of her scenes, it was funny and endearing. I imagine her as a cute 85-year-old granny, everytime she threatened Lexi when she didn't get her way, was so funny. “Bury me in my pink suit, darling. The one with the pearl buttons.”😂 Granny likes to play dirty y'all. And of course Devlin's family and partners, just beautiful found family happening here. The scenes where Devlin's dad gave Lexi his late wife's earrings got me sobbing, my heart can't take it!
I cannot believe I never picked up any of Melanie Harlow’s books sooner, this is just right up my alley, small town, wholesome, and heartwarming love story. I cried a lot when I read this, not because it was sad, but because the story and the growth of their relationships are so touching. And of course, don't be fooled by the cute cover, this book is steamy right from the beginning, slow-burn? We don't know her. Daddy Devlin is so horny but patient and skillful in bed and we stand for it🥵. This was such a good read, leaving you with a heart full of warmth and satisfaction, highly recommend it for small-town rom-com fans.
“You give me fifteen minutes in the backseat of my car, and I will give you a hand-crafted, responsibly farmed, artisanal orgasm that will make you forget all your troubles.”
“I thought the best part of this would be getting revenge. I was wrong.”“It’s calling you my wife.”
“This is I’m sorry. This is I love you. This is I want you to be my wife.”
Excerpt from Make-Believe Match by Melanie Harlow
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