Otherwise Engaged

Sunrise Key Trilogy #3

by Suzanne Brockmann

Widow Molly Cassidy inherits a rundown mansion that she hopes to renovate and turn into a B&B, but billionaire resort-owner Preston Seaholm wants to buy the waterfront property and won't take no for an answer.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Audiobook, Romantic Suspense, Adult

210 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

After childhood plans to become the captain of a starship didn’t pan out, Suzanne Brockmann took her fascination with military history, her respect for the men and women who serve, her reverence for diversity, and her love of storytelling, and explored brave new worlds as a bestselling romance author.

Over the past thirty years she has written sixty-three novels, including her award-winning Troubleshooters series about Navy SEAL heroes and the women—and sometimes men—who win their hearts. Her personal favorite is the one where her most popular character, gay FBI agent Jules Cassidy, wins his happily-ever-after and marries the man of his dreams. Called All Through the Night, this mainstream romance novel with a hero and a hero hit the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list. In 2007, Suz donated all of her earnings from this book, in perpetuity, to MassEquality, to help win and preserve equal marriage rights in Massachusetts.

In addition to writing books, Suz writes and produces indie movies and TV including the award-winning romantic comedy The Perfect Wedding. Her recent feature, Out of Body, is streaming on Amazon Prime.

In 2018, Suz was given the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from the Romance Writers of America. Her latest projects are Blame It on Rio (Tall, Dark & Dangerous # 14), available in print and e-book from Suzanne Brockmann Books, and Marriage of Inconvenience, a six-episode LBGTQ rom-com TV series, streaming on Dekkoo in April 2023.

Reviews

[willaful · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Sunset Keys tycoon Preston and new resident Molly find themselves caught up in an increasingly complicated fake -- or is it real? -- relationship, when she is mistaken by the press for his latest love interest.

This started off seeming a bit overplotted and dumb -- and we never did find out why Pres wanted to buy Molly's house so much -- but got better and better as it went along. Molly kind of irritated me, practically wanting Pres to fall to his knees and propose the minute they had sex, but I liked her son Zander and the relationship between him and Pres. The themes of what money can and can't do were interesting (Zander has a degenerative condition that will leave him profoundly deaf in the future and there's simply nothing that can be done about it, not for all the money in the world.) And Pres is one of Brockmann's classic passionate heroes, who fall so hard they just make you melt.

This is third in the Sunset Keys series; several characters from the previous books appear, but it stands alone just fine.

[SheLove2Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. Not quite 4 stars but not a 3 either. Loved the hero of this book and the heroine's son. She wasn't bad but had a TSTL moment near the end that really irked me.

SPOILER ALERT

The heroine had been hurt by her previous husband who wasn't very forthcoming with his emotions and eventually cheated on her. I get that and I get that this is hurtful. But near the end of the book, our hero was asked by the heroine "what's your deepest darkest secret/desire?" And he couldn't answer her. Not because he didn't want to tell her, but because he didn't want to scare her off by telling her he was already in love with her. She takes this as being secretive and says she cannot be with a man who isn't totally open and honest 100% of the time.

What?!?! I'm all for honesty but there are times when you have something in your life you just don't want to share. That's not dishonesty that's just being private. And I don't think anyone has a realistic expectation of laying out their life for the world to see like the heroine expected the hero to.

[Kath · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the best of this three book triology, but still only worthy of 3 stars. Unlike the other 2, I don't think you need to read Kiss and Tell and the Kissing Game (books 1 and 2) prior to reading this one. It stands fine on it's own, though you might have a better appreciation for a few of the secondary characters.

This is yet another earlier SB work, so I considered that when rating it 3 stars. I really did like the characters of Molly and Pres and loved her son Zander, who was hearing impaired. This added some interest. The fact that Pres was famous added some additional interest as well, though I found some of the things they did to please the press as pretty unbelievable.

Again, if you like SB, it's fun to read her earlier works, but not worth making a special trip for this.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of her early works that has been republished. I enjoyed the story of a batchelor billionaire Preston Seaholm, that thinks he can buy anything at the right price, but soon finds out that not everyone can be bought when he meets Molly Cassidy and her 10 yr. old son Zander. After he is made Batchelor of the Year by a magazine the pressure gets to be too much with the press and he spontaniously announces that he is getting married. The press assumes that he is involved with Molly and the crazy farce goes from there.

I enjoyed the read, though it wasn't one of her best. But this was published as a Siloette Romance. so that is probably the reason for the shortness and quality of the story. I give this one 3 of 5 stars.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet little romance. The heroine is a widow who has inherited a big old house on one of the Florida Keys. The hero is a resort owner billionaire who wants to buy her house, and she doesn't want to sell it. There's some back and forth about that in the beginning but things quickly get sidetracked by this tabloid-style magazine that names him a hot bachelor and wants to do a nekkid photo spread of him. Mostly because he used to be married to an up-and-coming actress. So he lies and says he's engaged and the paparazzi decide the heroine is his fiancee. And their attempts to deal with it and protect her son from the rabid press (the boy is mostly deaf and couldn't hear what was going on) make up the rest of the book. Brockmann gets some good internal conflict in this short book mostly from their respective previous relationships. It's a good read. I liked it.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third of the Sunrise Key trilogy, it was pretty much just "ok" although it was interesting to have a book address issues of dealing with a hearing-impaired child, and the relationship of the child to the story. I thought our heroine was a bit more stubborn than necessary about almost everything, so that was annoying for me. And, ok, I read time travel so why finding the whole paparazzi element unrealistic I'm not sure! Unfortunately it was necessary to drive the plot, and I had a hard time buying it and their ways of dealing with it.

The narration by Susan Boyce was slightly over a 3 star - she didn't differentiate much between the hero/heroine voices, although it was easy enough to tell who was whom. I wouldn't avoid her but wouldn't seek her out either - not inspiring, but not annoying either.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The press won't leave Billionaire Preston Seaholm alone when he is named the Most Eligible Bachelor in the country by Fantasy Man magazine. Desperate to be left alone, Preston claims that he is engaged, but won't tell them the name of his fiancee. The press quickly jumps to conclusions when they see Preston talking to Molly Cassidy who he had just met. Molly goes along with the ruse and soon they are making public appearances in hopes the media frenzy will die down and just leave them alone.

This was a fast moving category romance with likeable characters. Pres and Molly get caught up in his little lie to the press and can't seem to get out of it. Soon they start wishing the lie about being engaged was the truth. My rating: 4 Stars.

[jenjn79 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars actually...A short, sweet love story. The kind of thing to read when you want a basic romance that will make you smile and believe in happily-ever-after. It's not real involved and pretty simple storyline wise. Which is typical of a category romance book. But it was a nice read.

It's an older Brockmann book and very different from what she produces these days. So if you're a fan of the Troubleshooters series, it's not a given you'll like this book. I'd compare it to something you'd find from the Silhouette Special Edition line.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I needed something light to break up the Zoe Archer Blades of the Rose series. This fit the bill. It reads more like a novella than a full book. I finished it in about 2 hours total reading time. It was like a small piece of chocolate after dinner rather than a full dessert. I liked the characters and the 10 year old son of the heroine was more than a simple plot moppet. Instead of being left with a smile at the incredibly happy ending, though, all I was really left wanting to know was...Why did he want the house so much in the first place?

[Jana at ThatArtsyReaderGirl.com · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite... I did not like Molly's reason for not wanting to be with Pres. Weak.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, solid writing makes ANY idea for a book a good one.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two-haiku review:

He's rich, wants her house
She doesn't want to sell it
Craziness ensues

Pretend engagement
And hoards of paparazzi
Not believable

[Joi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, simple romance books.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story was ridiculous. Molly was supposed to be focusing on fixing up the house to become a B&B and instead gets wrapped up in absurd press-related stupidity. Preston isn't some famous entertainer, etc so why would the press really care about his love life? All the fake things Molly & Pres try to do to fool the press was just dumb and idiotic. One last eye roll moment I'll note is when Pres doesn't have a condom in his home "because he never brings anyone there" - does he buy them one at a time & puts only one in his wallet?!?!? Just too many absurd scenarios in this book to really enjoy it.

[Kristen Lewendon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one better than the other two books in the series. Probably only because I didn’t hate the heroine as much. Now, if that’s not damning it with faint praise, I don’t know what is. I really liked Pres, even though I’m not a fan of smokers as leading characters – I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt for the time this was written. But the Molly’s need for radical honesty and one hundred percent full disclosure of all inner thoughts, dreams, emotions, just didn’t seem realistic. I adored Zander and the ending is too precious for words.

[Nabilah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It reads like a Lifetime movie, which isn't a bad thing if you're in the mood for this kind of story. A divorced billionaire hero with a widowed heroine who has a hearing-impaired 10-year-old son. She keeps saying no, and he keeps throwing his money around in order to sort of buy her affection, I mean - c'mon, I wish that happens to me in real life! I'll probably put the author's books on my radar whenever I'm chomping for a contemporary romance. It's cliche and sappy, but hey this book puts a smile on my face by the end of it, and for me, that's good enough.

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light hearted read perfect for a relaxed afternoon.

I’ve read almost all of Suzanne Brockmann’s books and enjoyed the action packed romantic suspense with their well developed characters. This story reflects her romance roots and while the characters and plot a simpler the quality of storytelling is solid making this a very enjoyable read in between action packed thrillers.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the most enjoyable of the three books. I think when one of the protagonists has a kid or kids, it always improves the story. You get to see what kind of parent the romantic interest would be and especially when it’s a guy learning to be a father, it’s very attractive. The added joy of a child gaining more family is always rewarding!

[Ellen Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe a 2.5 This was on one of Mrs Darcy’s lists so I tried it. The narrator was ok, storyline a bit weak, filled with cliches. Characters pretty thin as well but an ok “beach read” filled with the prerequisite damsel in distress, knight in shining armor, and of course a bit of lust thrown in

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great finish to the Sunrise Key series.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

a quick, fun read. I've not read either of the other two in the series and it was still good.

[Kya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect beach book! But I read it while eating breakfast in my apartment.

[Mandi Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audio book

Was a quick cute story.

[Etiennee Myers Thake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read love story

[Marilyn K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable, pleasant, mundane.

[Jean Cable · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read

[Athena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Suz's writting, and this book is no different. A sweet, quick read.

[Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

No real plot line to this. It’s ok.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

rerelease of Loveswept #824

[susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story the characters were great and the story line had a nice flow never lost my interest.