Newlywed Games

by Mary Davis

Every woman will relate to Newlywed Games, a hilarious romantic comedy about a "little white lie" that grows into a very big problem. Meghann Livingston invents a husband to soothe her dying mother. But when her mom miraculously recovers, then comes for a visit, Meghann is hard-pressed to explain her "husband's" absence! Before Meghann can come clean, her handsome, elusive boss, Bruce Halloway, inadvertently steps into her romantic charade ... and to Meghann's shock and horror, insists upon playing "son-in-law" to her mom. The masquerade's success depends upon them playing their newlywed games extremely well. But when they do, both Meghann and Bruce -- even as they struggle to overcome the consequences of their deceptions -- find themselves falling in love ... for real!

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary

384 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

Mary originally earned her college degree in elementary education. So where did the passion for inspirational romance books begin? In her head! Her characters would not leave her alone. They kept her from sleeping at night, and focusing on anything else during the day. Over forty titles later, they still keep bothering her to this day - luckily for her readers and fans!

Quiet-natured and creative, Mary also enjoys many crafts such as porcelain doll making, quilting, knitting, and many others!

Neither her dyslexia nor the cat on her laptop has kept her from producing award-winning and bestselling works such as her Quilting Circle series, Mrs. Witherspoon Goes To War, and Newlywed Games. Her published works have been on Publisher’s Weekly bestselling lists several times.

Additionally, she contributes to the writing world as a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers).

She currently resides in Washington State with her husband, a black cat named Buffy, and her favorite weather: the rain.

Reviews

[Lovely Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

This is Rom-Com gold!

Meg’s mom wakes up from a coma and believes Meg got married to her employer and is now happy and settled with a loving new husband. Meg attributes her mother’s improved health to this misunderstanding and now feels obliged to go along with it.

Things get complicated when her employer learns of this facade and decides to go along with it for his own reasons.

This was so much fun! I devoured this 367 pg book in 3 days (which is impressive for this slow reader!)
Also, there is so much faith content throughout and it is wonderful…I especially appreciated how, all throughout, both characters feel very convicted about this lie that they are perpetuating-and though their flesh fights the conviction, they continually pray and seek God’s guidance.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a reread for me. I originally read Newlywed Games many years ago, and although I remembered some parts of the story, there were many details I had forgotten. I especially liked how the two main characters, Bruce and Meghann, felt convicted about the lie they were living but didn't know how to correct it without dire consequences. It was a very believable story and one I really enjoyed reading again. Highly recommend it to fans of contemporary romance.

[Julie Victor Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an older book on my shelf. I am trying to read one old and then one new. This was a cute read.

[Eli · Rating 1 out of 5]

0 stars. I didn't realize that there was such a thing as Christian fiction. I don't need to be preached at by a novel. God forbid someone have a glass of wine...they're going to hell!

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, my this is such a fun book. I didn’t want to put it down. It is all very relatable. Meghan works for a handsome man, Bruce. When her mom wounds up in the hospital, Meghan, on the advice of her best friend, lies to her mom. This is the start of her lie that gets so out of control. When her mom sees Bruce, she believes her daughters lie and thinks that Bruce is her soon to be son in law. And to Meghan’s horror, Bruce goes along with the lie. Then other things start to happen, and Meghan feels like life is totally out of control and she doesn’t know how to stop the train. Her best friend doesn’t help, saying she should make it real. This is a fun book. I don’t want to spoil it for you. By picking up this book you will be in for a wonderful ride of truth and lies.

[T Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this book several times throughout the years, and I always enjoy it (but also always get frustrated with the characters). It's a sweet story. While I don't recommend the main character's method for getting a husband, and it really could have turned out very badly for her, I think the author handled the situation well. She showed not only that decisions have consequences and our own efforts to try to cover up bad decisions can make things worse, but also that God can work things out for good even when we've messed up, and especially when we come clean about our mistakes.

[Aud · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Newlywed Games" by Mary Davis
One little lie... One fabulous ride
I have read this book more than a dozen times since 2002 and I still love my time in this story. I just read it again this week and realized I had never posted a review of it.
IF you love sweet clean romance with a bit of faith and the suspense of what is going to happen next? I am sure you will enjoy reading this story just as much as I have.
note: This review expresses my honest opinion.
I have a hardback edition in my library.

[Hana Bilqisthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really page turnur and the character quite believeable but I think Megan kinda have anger management problem and dense. How can she did not realize Bruce like her? Duh!
I think this book kinda different since the heroine admit to her family that it is all lie and I love how Bruce and Megan's family react

[Megan Mcallister · Rating 2 out of 5]

So very bad. Bad writing, no plot. Let's see Valedictorian, class president, quarterback, captain of the football team with loads of $$ is supposed to like a front desk worker at a hotel. And when our Mary Sue H tells the tstl h that her hair is the color of honey and that's his reason for liking her I was ready to throw the book. h spent the whole book being mean and withdrawn. Last 1/3 she spent refusing to have a conversation that could have mercifully cut this book short and acting like a temperamental 2 year old. I should have dnf it but Kindle edition was $12.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free book from giveaway shelves at pool. Not worth reading unless desperate.

[Linda Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was an intriguing book about a unique couple. A great first book by Mary Davis! I’m going to suggest that my husband read this book.

[Linda Aldridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Brynn Bodily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 ⭐
It's a feel-good romance, so it's automatically a little bit generic, but it presented new aspects of one of the most used tropes

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun and breezy read. Perfect for a beach read. Entertaining enough to hold your attention.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

""

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Newlywed Games
Mary Davis

Publisher Summary: Every woman will relate to Newlywed Games, a hilarious romantic comedy about a "little white lie" that grows into a very big problem. Meghann Livingston invents a husband to soothe her dying mother. But when her mom miraculously recovers, then comes for a visit, Meghann is hard-pressed to explain her "husband's" absence! Before Meghann can come clean, her handsome, elusive boss, Bruce Halloway, inadvertently steps into her romantic charade ... and to Meghann's shock and horror, insists upon playing "son-in-law" to her mom. The masquerade's success depends upon them playing their newlywed games extremely well. But when they do, both Meghann and Bruce -- even as they struggle to overcome the consequences of their deceptions -- find themselves falling in love ... for real!

Review: This was a fantastic book. I just loved the whole premise. The struggle the couple had being dishonest and falling in love for real. It was funny, quick paced and all around fun! I would reread parts of this book again. It was just so unique. This author has some smaller books but I would love to see her have another longer book to enjoy. Her characters were fresh and realistic. The plot was continuous and had no deviation from its purpose. A must read for every romance reader. I read fiction to see how people work situations out with believability and Ms. Davis did this up right. It was a pleasure to read the first time or the 3rd time.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book! It is one of my favorites and is going to be on my bookshelf for a long time! It was really funny, and I fell in love with the characters. The ending was GREAT! Thanks for writing this book! :)

[Jan Bethel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book a lot. I finished it within a day. I laughed a lot and smiled a lot about Bruce's and Meg's relationship. And not mention that Gayle is really entertaining. Every woman would sure enjoy and love this story!

[Sherri Bryant]

Couldn't get into this story...

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have literally read this book ten times or more. It's a sweet simple book with a good message and a happy ending. My copy is falling apart!

[Kura2025 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once you're involved in the plot it's easier to ignore the poor writing but it's rough going for the first couple of chapters.

[Angela]

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[Mary Elizabeth Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful Christian romance. :)

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book!!

[Naomi Sif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eh. It was very predictable. The book needn't be that long. And the God factor, though welcome, would have fit better in a novel, not a romance. What the hell is an inspirational romance?

[calli ! · Rating 5 out of 5]

so cutsie