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"You need a wife, Brad - And fast."
When she made the suggestion, Gail Meredith never thought she'd be the one tying the knot! Gail was hardly Brad's type. Yet he insisted she was the most "convenient" candidate for the marriage that would give him a stable image.
So Gail agreed to the arrangement only for the good of his faltering political campaign - never dreaming she'd want to be Mrs. Brad Harrison permanently.
But with his old friend, Judith, always hovering around, how could Gail let him know that she really loved him?
When she made the suggestion, Gail Meredith never thought she'd be the one tying the knot! Gail was hardly Brad's type. Yet he insisted she was the most "convenient" candidate for the marriage that would give him a stable image.
So Gail agreed to the arrangement only for the good of his faltering political campaign - never dreaming she'd want to be Mrs. Brad Harrison permanently.
But with his old friend, Judith, always hovering around, how could Gail let him know that she really loved him?
- GenresRomanceHarlequin Romance
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1987
About the author
Kate Denton
38 books6 followersKate Denton is a romance author who wrote 1990's novels for Harlequin Romance.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 19, 2014
I was really disappointed in this book. I chose to read this book because I like books where the characters get married for some reason other than love.
It was okay at first but once Gail and Brad got married it started going downhill. I didn't like that Gail completely changed her looks and suddenly obsessed with fashion. Brad's behavior was awful and bordered on domestic abuse. Overall the book was kind of boring as well. Towards the end I just started skipping to the parts where the characters were talking.
I also did not like how it was only told from Gail's point of view, we were never privy to what was going on in Brad's mind.
Wouldn't have finished if it had not been so short.
It was okay at first but once Gail and Brad got married it started going downhill. I didn't like that Gail completely changed her looks and suddenly obsessed with fashion. Brad's behavior was awful and bordered on domestic abuse. Overall the book was kind of boring as well. Towards the end I just started skipping to the parts where the characters were talking.
I also did not like how it was only told from Gail's point of view, we were never privy to what was going on in Brad's mind.
Wouldn't have finished if it had not been so short.
June 11, 2025
The story was okay but the cover deeply disturbed me. The man looks like he’s 20 to 30 years older than the heroine. She looks about 13/14 years old.
April 1, 2026
I know the perfect way to describe this book: form but no substance. It sounded like it would be good and it started out that way but then it just fell flat. The whole campaign issue of environmental concerns and the H's playboy image that needed to go (the reason for the marriage of convenience to the h) took a back seat to a lot of silliness, as both the H and h waste time being jealous of the OM and OW without any cause (both were just friends, the OW was in love with someone else and the OM had feelings for the h but knew he didn't stand a chance) and both pretending they wanted their marriage to continue as a business arrangement/political maneuver.
But for two people who were supposedly all for a marriage of convenience, they conveniently overlooked the fact as they hit the sheets more than once, then afterwards acted like it hadn't happened. This was really out of character for the h, since you get the impression her experience with men was limited, so it didn't seem right that she's take a "Oh, what the heck?" attitude toward sleeping with a man she'd fallen for but was convinced didn't feel the same about her.
And while we're told the reasons for the h's insecurities, the H's feelings are barely touched upon, so you don't get enough of a character sketch to explain his behavior, like when he thinks the h got jealous over a phony picture of him with another woman and retaliated by going out on a date with the OM. (She was jealous, before she found out it was a phony picture, but it didn't even cross her mind to even call the OM.) Just because he couldn't reach her all day and the OM wasn't in his office, he assumed they were together and that was just dumb.
Despite her beauty/fashion makeover (one of those Plain Jane to Knockout ones), she was still the chubby girl with glasses in her mind, so her insecurities didn't help things. Meanwhile, due to his mother's cheating on and leaving his father, he had major trust issues and would make jealous accusations for no reason. If she smiled at a man on a campaign tour, he'd worn her he won't tolerate her being unfaithful. Enough, already!!
There were moments of connection that were cut short, and times when they should have talked never occurred. (Like after they first sleep together, they get up and start their day as if what happened didn't mean anything, whereas considering theirs was supposed to be a temporary marriage to help win the election, it should have meant a lot!) Also, there weren't enough scenes with the h's mentor, a friend of her late father who was like a second dad to her. He had the common sense to realize the H and h belonged together but after one scene with him trying to get them to see that, he disappears, and considering the marriage idea was his, he should have been around more.
I loved the H's grandmother, who was responsible for the h's makeover, but it seemed like she would have tried to do more to bring them together.
And too much time was spent on the h's shopping sprees and fantastic new wardrobe, that could have been spent on those environmental issues that were supposed to be so important.
And talk about STUPID: the h decides to pack up and leave minutes after he wins the election!!! what the heck would that have told voters about their marriage, which was supposed to appear as a true love match??? Despite her heart being in a turmoil, she had too much professional/political savvy to pull a stunt like that!
Even more DUMB was, after the H put a stop to her exit, they (finally) declare their love and decide to hit the sheets, with a houseful of people downstairs celebrating his victory!
OH, COME ON!!!!
This book had too many flaws.
But for two people who were supposedly all for a marriage of convenience, they conveniently overlooked the fact as they hit the sheets more than once, then afterwards acted like it hadn't happened. This was really out of character for the h, since you get the impression her experience with men was limited, so it didn't seem right that she's take a "Oh, what the heck?" attitude toward sleeping with a man she'd fallen for but was convinced didn't feel the same about her.
And while we're told the reasons for the h's insecurities, the H's feelings are barely touched upon, so you don't get enough of a character sketch to explain his behavior, like when he thinks the h got jealous over a phony picture of him with another woman and retaliated by going out on a date with the OM. (She was jealous, before she found out it was a phony picture, but it didn't even cross her mind to even call the OM.) Just because he couldn't reach her all day and the OM wasn't in his office, he assumed they were together and that was just dumb.
Despite her beauty/fashion makeover (one of those Plain Jane to Knockout ones), she was still the chubby girl with glasses in her mind, so her insecurities didn't help things. Meanwhile, due to his mother's cheating on and leaving his father, he had major trust issues and would make jealous accusations for no reason. If she smiled at a man on a campaign tour, he'd worn her he won't tolerate her being unfaithful. Enough, already!!
There were moments of connection that were cut short, and times when they should have talked never occurred. (Like after they first sleep together, they get up and start their day as if what happened didn't mean anything, whereas considering theirs was supposed to be a temporary marriage to help win the election, it should have meant a lot!) Also, there weren't enough scenes with the h's mentor, a friend of her late father who was like a second dad to her. He had the common sense to realize the H and h belonged together but after one scene with him trying to get them to see that, he disappears, and considering the marriage idea was his, he should have been around more.
I loved the H's grandmother, who was responsible for the h's makeover, but it seemed like she would have tried to do more to bring them together.
And too much time was spent on the h's shopping sprees and fantastic new wardrobe, that could have been spent on those environmental issues that were supposed to be so important.
And talk about STUPID: the h decides to pack up and leave minutes after he wins the election!!! what the heck would that have told voters about their marriage, which was supposed to appear as a true love match??? Despite her heart being in a turmoil, she had too much professional/political savvy to pull a stunt like that!
Even more DUMB was, after the H put a stop to her exit, they (finally) declare their love and decide to hit the sheets, with a houseful of people downstairs celebrating his victory!
OH, COME ON!!!!
This book had too many flaws.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2016
Hero and heroine embark on a scheme to deceive the public in order to win a seat in congress. Sounds about right.
Read
July 4, 2018"You need a wife, Brad - And fast."
When she made the suggestion, Gail Meredith never thought she'd be the one tying the knot! Gail was hardly Brad's type. Yet he insisted she was the most "convenient" candidate for the marriage that would give him a stable image.
So Gail agreed to the arrangement only for the good of his faltering political campaign - never dreaming she'd want to be Mrs. Brad Harrison permanently.
But with his old friend, Judith, always hovering around, how could Gail let him know that she really loved him?
When she made the suggestion, Gail Meredith never thought she'd be the one tying the knot! Gail was hardly Brad's type. Yet he insisted she was the most "convenient" candidate for the marriage that would give him a stable image.
So Gail agreed to the arrangement only for the good of his faltering political campaign - never dreaming she'd want to be Mrs. Brad Harrison permanently.
But with his old friend, Judith, always hovering around, how could Gail let him know that she really loved him?
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews