Accidental Wife

Fairytale Weddings #2

by Day Leclaire

Welcome to the Cinderella Ball: come single, leave wed! As if by magic, meet and marry your perfect partner—all on one special night…

FAIRYTALE WEDDINGS

Nikki Ashton was invited to a wedding--her own!

To keep her love-struck boss, Eric, at bay, NIKKI ASHTON had told him she was happily married. The wedding ring had been easy—all she needed now was a husband!

JONAH ALEXANDER seemed heaven-sent. Unfortunately he'd come to the ball to stop a wedding, not start one! He was convinced his brother Eric was about to make the biggest mistake of his life—marrying Nikki Ashton. But then he realized Nikki wasn't so much waiting for her husband-to-be as shopping for him….

Genres: Romance, Harlequin Romance, Contemporary, Harlequin, Marriage Of Convenience, Contemporary Romance, Category Romance

188 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

I love family first and foremost, which is why writing family sagas and stories that involve family is so much fun. Maybe you can tell that from my books since they always feature the warmth and joy and ridiculousness that comes from having a close-knit family.

I also love animals and have taken in rescue dogs and cats and fostered dogs for the local animal shelter.

And of course, I love writing. All I need is a functioning brain (batteries not included), a pen, and paper, and I can write anywhere. Please don’t let a conversation with me lag because my imagination takes over and I. Am. Checked. Out!

USA Today bestselling author, Day Leclaire is the author of more than 60 novels and has received an impressive eleven nominations for the romance industry's most prestigious award, Romance Writers of America RITA© Award. Day lives in Charlotte, NC and spends her days obsessively writing while vaguely remembering to pay attention to her adorable husband, busy son and daughter-in-law, two tiny grandchildren, and two even tinier Teddy Bear dogs. Not to mention a whole lot of dust!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my books. If you'd leave a review, I'd very much appreciate it. Authors are dependent on reviews in order to obtain ads and garner new readers. I love hearing from my readers. For a personal response, please contact me at Day@DayLeclaire.com.

And be sure to visit my website (www.DayLeclaire.com). Sign up for my newsletter for my latest releases and to receive a FREE book!

You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter.

Reviews

[Fizzydrinks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super duper uber mega tropey but that's what I live for. Pseudo masked ball, lust at first sight, misunderstandings, the older brother falling for the younger brother's crush which is reciprocated, MOC, you got it. I loved that the H literally couldn't keep his hands off the h and kept grabbing her waist or pulling her close and smooching her lol. The h was also insta bowled over. No angst on the H's side cz the h had it in spades; with her convoluted relatives who were honestly a lead weight for me and I wanted none of them - not her niece nor sister nor ancient, aged aunt and uncle. BTW this lovely aged couple ended up costing her HER ENTIRE CAREER and respect in society thanks to their oversharing and the h was saved by the skin of her nails by her last minute attempts and frankly the H's influence in business. If I was her I would hire an accountant/financial advisor for the oldies and move on with my life stress free.

The (widowed mother of one sister) gets a very random and extremely forced HEA with the h's old crusher which was ridiculous and made me think that he just made do with the h's alternate version because both sisters were very like. This OM/2nd hero got NO COMEUPPANCE for his mopey love attempts towards the h aka harassments he inflicted on her at their workplace too. Rest assured, this guy has a total of 5 lines in the entire book so dont worry, he didn't shadow the actual romance which was super straightforward with a quick HEA.

Decent read if you want a fluffy tropey few hours with no real OM OW or major misunderstandings or separations.

[JillyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

3-4 very cotton candy, marshmallow fluff, bubble gum stars! This is not for angst junkies😔but it delivers a rather sweet love story. This is part 2 of DL’s Cinderella ball stories, so you can tell by the name, it’s a fairy tale. (Except the Disney version not the Grimm’s)

I am not sure if this quite makes my usual 4 star read, I think it is closer to 3.4stars(that’s specific, yeah I know) However, I did tear up. I am thinking I am a little hormonal at the moment, because I normally don’t think this would have given me tears.

Ok now for the 🍦

Heroine: Nikki, 28 year old career woman (she was burned in love and business about 7 years ago and isn’t entertaining any future dalliances). She is in charge of taking care of her sister, aunt and uncle, and cousins. (Her parents died 8 years ago, and her teenaged sister’s husband died shortly after her niece was born)Her younger boss believes himself in love with her and her younger, single mother sister is afraid to move on so she uses the h as her crutch to stop her from moving on.

The h decides she needs to put off her boss(the fake engagement isn’t working) and get her sister to move on even though it will hurt her to not live with her sister and niece anymore. She has been invited to the Cinderella Ball in Nevada where the attendees are guaranteed marriage and hopefully love. She just wants the marriage on a temp basis. So off to Nevada she goes……

Hero, Jonas(mid or later 30’s) he is summoned to his mom and stepfather’s Chicago high rise. His 1/2 brother(the h’s boss) is in love with an older married woman(the h)and is making critical business mistakes. They want the hero to solve the problem. He would get the h sacked, but she is up for a prestigious award and it would darken their business to have any scandal. So he goes in search of his brother and the heroine. He finds the brother got on a plane to Nevada, where everyone in the office also knows that the h has gone. Well, there is no business in Nevada, except monkey business, so the hero does some snooping in the h’s office and finds the Cinderella Ball announcement and heads out on a plane to put a stop to this gold digging hussy.

So that is the set up….and now for the SPOILERS….SPOILERS…..SPOILERS


The H and h have instant attraction to each other(he was already intrigued by her scent left in her office. She doesn’t know who he is, as he doesn’t have last name as brother and he uses Joe as his first name.

Misconception #1-He thinks she is there to marry his brother, but discovers as night goes on she is trying to distance herself from his brother. He marries her(the ball is set up for instant marriages) after he sees that his brother as arrived at the ball and they go back to her hotel. He falls asleep fondling her breasts(he has had no sleep in 30 hours as he traveled from London-Chicago-Nevada.

The next morning the brother discovers them. He tells the brother he married her months ago secretly.

They travel to Chicago and tell the parents the ruse. He takes charge of this, and to the h’s chagrin he announces it without any prep or fanfare.

They then travel to NYC where the h lives and works. She tells him to let her do the talking to her sister. Misconception 2: He thinks she is trying to push out her sister and niece. In a way, she is, but she wants the sister to go live with the friend that offered a place so her sister will get out there and live. So, the H announces that the h and he will be living at his apartment so the sister can stay in the home with the niece. Basically, he has just undone her 2nd reason for marrying him.

Now they are working at the same NYC office together and sparks are flying. DL is able to infuse some very light hearted moments in her stories. The staff are listening outside the office door as the 2 are arguing over who should head up an account. It ends with them making a bet and the loser has to strip naked in the office. The staff quickly disperse when they realize that the argument is coming to a close and it so happens the h’s sister was there to see her. An attractive man forces the sister into a confined space. The sister feels sparks. The man does too. It so happens it is the 1/2 brother. They make introductions and he invites her to lunch. He also tells her he about his misplaced infatuation with her sister.

Ok, so the Aunt and Uncle have been wanting to meet the new husband, but the h keeps fobbing them off with excuses. Now the Aunt and Uncle have a business opportunity(scam) and they want the h to release their money(as she is in charge of the financials). Since the H works late she has them come over. He walks in and jumps to misconception #3- he thinks she is being controlling not releasing their money. The aunt and uncle allude to some big bad scandal the h has in her past that she shuts down quickly. The h then explains to the H that there is a shister trying to take advantage of her family with a dubious get rich scheme. So mc#3 is debunked. The H wants the h badly and starts the moves but then stops as he doesn’t want her if she can’t trust him with her deep dark secret.

MC#4- The h has a collection of plants on their last legs. The H believes his wife to have a black thumb. However, she is actually the plant Dr. She rescues the plants from coworkers and brings them back to life. She has her own mini potting shed box in her office closet. (Cute!!)

A few days later he says screw it. They finally come together in a sweet non graphic coupling. The h realizes she loves him and trusts her with her big bad secret. From here on out the H keeps showing that he is what every hero should be. He is supportive when the shister tries to bring down the h and expose her past. It comes out and her award is threatened. She has to go in front of the committee and the H is there to support her. At this point, DL again gives us some very flirty comedy that centers around what they are or are not wearing under their suits. The truth about her past comes out. She got involved with her business professor years ago and he convinced her to invest in things and he inflated the value etc.(although not specifically stated it is assumed she was probably the professor’s lover, but unlike a KU professor, he was a user and not some insta love Daddy type) Anyhoo, she lost all the family money. In recent years she has replaced all the money and her aunt/uncle have been very prosperous with their coffee shop etc…One of the board members was familiar with the Professor as he was her daughter’s professor too…he is in jail now.

She gets the award. I got teary eyed at her speech🥹. However, our couple is still not clear if their MOC has turned into a marriage of love. He seems to be waiting for the h to make the first move. He goes back to London for a few days but plans on being back for Christmas. Each of them share their love and very, very heart warming gifts. Oh and the H’s brother is getting his own HEA with the h’s sister. I just wished there was an epilogue☹️ .

The last 60 pages had me bump this story up to a 4. I really liked how DL handled the couple’s flirting and interactions with each other. The H really comes out as a winning hero, even though we don’t really learn about his romantic history. I don’t get the sense he is damaged or a manwhore. Just a regular 30 something guy who hasn’t been struck by the love bug yet! The h has to do the most changing in the story in regards to learning how to trust and let love come in. This means letting go some of her control issues. This is the 2nd DL book in 36 hours I have read(I thought I read some of her other stories but it isn’t recorded in GR) I like how she infuses humor. Unfortunately, I am such a angst junkie that she won’t be my go to author, but she will be great for those times I need a break from the cruel heroes, ott ow’s, sniveling om’s, and hapless heroines!!!

Side note: The original cover art is a great depiction of the h except for the non-red hair. It does describe her as somewhat Victorian with a Gibson hair style.(I am impressed the hero knew to describe it as Gibson style 😂

[Ujjwala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so sweet. I loved - the hero and the heroine, their banter, and the way their relationship progressed. It also had one of the most unique premise of a first meeting between the hero and the heroine.

Such a wonderful story to end the year.

[Jennell Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice book

[More Books Than Time · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not finish, even skimming was hard. I usually love MOC romances but this one is incredibly silly and the h shows lousy judgement.

[taro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fucking….. Perfect……. for show and tell…………. SEE U AT BOOKCUB

[Lisa Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

FARYTALE WEDDINGS
Nikki Ashton was invited to a wedding—her own!


The inspiration behind the Cinderella Ball was simple—come single, leave wed. By midnight perfect strangers could find themselves married…as if by magic!

To keep her love-struck boss, Eric, at bay, Nikki Ashton had told him she was happily married. The wedding ring had been easy—all she needed now was a husband!

Jonah Alexander seemed heaven-sent. Unfortunately he'd come to the ball to stop a wedding, not start one! He was convinced his brother Eric was about to make the biggest mistake of his life—marrying Nikki Ashton. But then he realized Nikki wasn't so much waiting for her husband-to-be as shopping for him….

I enjoyed the witty repartee between Nikki and Jonah. They were well matched.

[Modesty_b · Rating 4 out of 5]

fits and giggles...

[Naima · Rating 3 out of 5]

jiahhh lupa ceritanya bagaimana tapi yang jelas emang bagus, kapan2 tak re-read kalau luang waktunya.

[Alarna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. I really do like this series. :)

[Amina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! The only thing wrong with this amazing tale is that its too short!