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From Here to Paternity #1
A Proper Wife
FROM HERE TO PATERNITY The heat is on and so is their marriage!
Ryan Kincaid doesn't like being told what to do. When his grandfather pressures him to marry and introduces him to a suitable bride, Ryan is furious. Devon Franklin is the most argumentative, grasping female he's ever met! So what if she's gorgeous and he can't stop thinking about her?
Devon is perfectly capable of running her own life. She doesn't need a husband and certainly not one like Ryan disgustingly rich, dangerously handsome, infuriatingly smug ! Who cares if his kisses turn her knees to jelly?
Perhaps the solution is a whirlwind wedding and an equally quick divorce?
From Here to men who find their way to fatherhood by fair means, by foul, or even by default!
192 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1996
About the author
Sandra Marton
583 books541 followersI've been a writer, one way or another, all my life. Before I could read, I made up poems and my mom wrote them down for me. In elementary school, my teachers almost always let me write poems or stories instead of requiring me to do art projects. Always, I dreamed of becoming a published writer...and that dream came true! I write novels about sexy, powerful men and independent-minded women, and what happens when they find each other and fall in love. My books are sexy and romantic, and they've very often full of romantic suspense. I write the kinds of books I love to read, and I hope that makes my readers happy.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 12, 2018
Re A Proper Wife - Sandra Marton kicks off a new year long mini-series called From Here to Paternity with a tagline that reads: Men who find their way to fatherhood by fair means, by foul, or even by default!
Which means that we are in for a lot of H POV for the next year, almost all of the stories either have dual POV or first person H pov as our hapless Hero's all succumb to the inevitability of the HP Lurve Force Mojo.
One new thing for HP covers in the New Year of 1997 is that they are all sporting a little green side banner that says things like "Tantalizing!" and "Surprising!" which is supposed to convey the tone of the story in one word, kinda like a very old skool book tag, but in print.
This one sports the "Exhilarating!" tag and to be fair, I think SM was trying really, really hard to write a bantering, witty back and forth feisty battle of the sexes with a lot of Lurve Force Mojo tension running amok.
Unfortunately for SM, comedic writing is not a gift the HPlandia gods decided to bless her with, so her humor has all the appeal of being hit on the head in a dark alley with a lead brick. Indeed, this one actually starts with the H getting punched in the face by the h, which is always an interesting way to begin a romance.
When the book opens, the H and his BFF are cutting through a NYC department store to go to a bar. There is a regularly scheduled fashion show in progress and one of the models becomes the focus of the H's licentious comments about how he would like to unwrap her from her cloak and do lascivious things to her.
Unfortunately the music stops at that point and EVERYONE hears the H's lewd comment, including the model. She stalks over to the H and after some verbal battery exchanges between the two, she punches the H in the face. Then the H gets her fired.
The h is the model of course, her Tarty Harlot of the US Gold Digger Mother has dragged her to Manhattan to mooch upon the extremely wealthy family of her most recent dead husband. The h's Harlot Mother was married to man-number-whatever-he-was and then he caught her in bed with another guy and cut the mother out of his will.
The h's mother also dumped the h in a an exclusive boarding school while she was married to her last husband, she just couldn't be bothered with having her around. (Tho in typical sewer slurper relative fashion she makes sure the h feels tons of guilt cause her poor, slaving mother had to pimp herself out for her daughter.)
The boarding school was horrible because the h did not fit in at all, but it did give the h the manners and mental thoughts of a lady raised in the Victorian era. Now that her mother has lost her meal ticket husband, she is demanding the h find a way to support her in the style that she has become accustomed to.
The h is upset about being fired and upset that her mother is expecting the h to pimp herself out to continue the mother's gravy train life. As this is HPlandia tho, the h's anger with her mother only means that there will be a lot of mopey moments as the mother and the H's grandfather tell the H and h that they have to get married.
Turns out the H is the younger brother of the h's mother's dead husband and the H's grandfather gets involved because his oldest grandson felt bad that he did not leave any money for the h as her stepfather.
After numerous H temper tantrums, that look better on a two year old as opposed to a 32 yr old supposed CEO of a big conglomeration, the h and H marry in a six month contract and then spend five months fighting interspersed with Lurve Force Mojo induced roofie kissing moments.
The grandfather and the h's mother do their best to stir the pot with their antics too. Both contribute very tacky non-solicited advice about sex, marriage and the treatment of spouses. The grandfather gets himself a little romance too, as he decides to marry his long time housekeeper.
Both the grandfather and the mother keep pushing to make the marriage last longer. The grandfather because he likes the h and the mother because the H is supporting her San Francisco lavish lifestyle.
Eventually the H and h manage to have a big lurve club event and both of them are feeling the love for the other - but as this is SM and there is a mandatory break up period full of drawn out mopey moments, SM has to engineer an h dumping moment before we can have an HEA.
This time the H's former girlfriend runs into the h and H while they are out and about in Manhattan. She insinuates to the h in front of the H that she and the H are still having a big fling and the H doesn't deny it or cut the OW off from her game playing.
Instead, because the H is in love and can't admit it, he allows his ex (who was only a booty call for convenience, but he slept with her right up to the wedding,) to belittle the h repeatedly by calling her the wrong name and also allows the OW to hang all over him as well.
Then he drags the under-dressed h into an exclusive NYC restaurant, picks a fight with the maître d', and then demands a hot dog. (Which was a mistake on SM's part, because this guy is supposed to be some big time CEO Captain of Industry and the maître d' has NO CLUE as to who he is.)
The h is embarrassed by the H's temper tantrum and upset that the H tacitly confirms that he was banging the OW during their marriage. (He wasn't really, but he says nothing when the h flat out asks him, he feels it would be too unmanly of him to admit to fidelity while chasing the h for the lurve club event.)
This ends the h's idear of a happy marriage and she takes her now broken heart off to Chicago. She gets a job in another department store and has her required HP mopey moment while living in a shared grotty flat and eating beans on crumbs. (Even tho the H and the H's grandfather set up huge trust funds for her to live on.)
Eventually the grandfather harangues the H into going to Chicago to reunite with the h. In a full circle event from the start of the book, the H walks into the department store where the h is working, makes a lascivious comment or two and the h throws herself into his arms.
We get the lukewarm big love declarations and an epilogue where the grandfather is still going strong at 95 and the H and h are married with kids for a mediocre HEA and HPlandia outing.
This one wasn't really worth the effort to read it. SM tries to be funny but it comes off as crass and the H was more like a thwarted child than an actual adult male. The h wasn't terrible, but her continual willingness to do the mother's bidding while openly despising her created an inconsistency that did not play out well for the story line.
Even the advent of the stated Lurve Force Mojo and Treacherous Body Syndrome were not enough to make me believe in this one. I guess the h stayed with the H because of pre-conditioning, at least she was getting some Lurve Club Explosions out it and she was used to the self-serving, temper tantrum behaviors because of her mother.
Still, is it is a poor way to portray a romance and really poor way to waste an HP outing so avoid this if you run into it.
Which means that we are in for a lot of H POV for the next year, almost all of the stories either have dual POV or first person H pov as our hapless Hero's all succumb to the inevitability of the HP Lurve Force Mojo.
One new thing for HP covers in the New Year of 1997 is that they are all sporting a little green side banner that says things like "Tantalizing!" and "Surprising!" which is supposed to convey the tone of the story in one word, kinda like a very old skool book tag, but in print.
This one sports the "Exhilarating!" tag and to be fair, I think SM was trying really, really hard to write a bantering, witty back and forth feisty battle of the sexes with a lot of Lurve Force Mojo tension running amok.
Unfortunately for SM, comedic writing is not a gift the HPlandia gods decided to bless her with, so her humor has all the appeal of being hit on the head in a dark alley with a lead brick. Indeed, this one actually starts with the H getting punched in the face by the h, which is always an interesting way to begin a romance.
When the book opens, the H and his BFF are cutting through a NYC department store to go to a bar. There is a regularly scheduled fashion show in progress and one of the models becomes the focus of the H's licentious comments about how he would like to unwrap her from her cloak and do lascivious things to her.
Unfortunately the music stops at that point and EVERYONE hears the H's lewd comment, including the model. She stalks over to the H and after some verbal battery exchanges between the two, she punches the H in the face. Then the H gets her fired.
The h is the model of course, her Tarty Harlot of the US Gold Digger Mother has dragged her to Manhattan to mooch upon the extremely wealthy family of her most recent dead husband. The h's Harlot Mother was married to man-number-whatever-he-was and then he caught her in bed with another guy and cut the mother out of his will.
The h's mother also dumped the h in a an exclusive boarding school while she was married to her last husband, she just couldn't be bothered with having her around. (Tho in typical sewer slurper relative fashion she makes sure the h feels tons of guilt cause her poor, slaving mother had to pimp herself out for her daughter.)
The boarding school was horrible because the h did not fit in at all, but it did give the h the manners and mental thoughts of a lady raised in the Victorian era. Now that her mother has lost her meal ticket husband, she is demanding the h find a way to support her in the style that she has become accustomed to.
The h is upset about being fired and upset that her mother is expecting the h to pimp herself out to continue the mother's gravy train life. As this is HPlandia tho, the h's anger with her mother only means that there will be a lot of mopey moments as the mother and the H's grandfather tell the H and h that they have to get married.
Turns out the H is the younger brother of the h's mother's dead husband and the H's grandfather gets involved because his oldest grandson felt bad that he did not leave any money for the h as her stepfather.
After numerous H temper tantrums, that look better on a two year old as opposed to a 32 yr old supposed CEO of a big conglomeration, the h and H marry in a six month contract and then spend five months fighting interspersed with Lurve Force Mojo induced roofie kissing moments.
The grandfather and the h's mother do their best to stir the pot with their antics too. Both contribute very tacky non-solicited advice about sex, marriage and the treatment of spouses. The grandfather gets himself a little romance too, as he decides to marry his long time housekeeper.
Both the grandfather and the mother keep pushing to make the marriage last longer. The grandfather because he likes the h and the mother because the H is supporting her San Francisco lavish lifestyle.
Eventually the H and h manage to have a big lurve club event and both of them are feeling the love for the other - but as this is SM and there is a mandatory break up period full of drawn out mopey moments, SM has to engineer an h dumping moment before we can have an HEA.
This time the H's former girlfriend runs into the h and H while they are out and about in Manhattan. She insinuates to the h in front of the H that she and the H are still having a big fling and the H doesn't deny it or cut the OW off from her game playing.
Instead, because the H is in love and can't admit it, he allows his ex (who was only a booty call for convenience, but he slept with her right up to the wedding,) to belittle the h repeatedly by calling her the wrong name and also allows the OW to hang all over him as well.
Then he drags the under-dressed h into an exclusive NYC restaurant, picks a fight with the maître d', and then demands a hot dog. (Which was a mistake on SM's part, because this guy is supposed to be some big time CEO Captain of Industry and the maître d' has NO CLUE as to who he is.)
The h is embarrassed by the H's temper tantrum and upset that the H tacitly confirms that he was banging the OW during their marriage. (He wasn't really, but he says nothing when the h flat out asks him, he feels it would be too unmanly of him to admit to fidelity while chasing the h for the lurve club event.)
This ends the h's idear of a happy marriage and she takes her now broken heart off to Chicago. She gets a job in another department store and has her required HP mopey moment while living in a shared grotty flat and eating beans on crumbs. (Even tho the H and the H's grandfather set up huge trust funds for her to live on.)
Eventually the grandfather harangues the H into going to Chicago to reunite with the h. In a full circle event from the start of the book, the H walks into the department store where the h is working, makes a lascivious comment or two and the h throws herself into his arms.
We get the lukewarm big love declarations and an epilogue where the grandfather is still going strong at 95 and the H and h are married with kids for a mediocre HEA and HPlandia outing.
This one wasn't really worth the effort to read it. SM tries to be funny but it comes off as crass and the H was more like a thwarted child than an actual adult male. The h wasn't terrible, but her continual willingness to do the mother's bidding while openly despising her created an inconsistency that did not play out well for the story line.
Even the advent of the stated Lurve Force Mojo and Treacherous Body Syndrome were not enough to make me believe in this one. I guess the h stayed with the H because of pre-conditioning, at least she was getting some Lurve Club Explosions out it and she was used to the self-serving, temper tantrum behaviors because of her mother.
Still, is it is a poor way to portray a romance and really poor way to waste an HP outing so avoid this if you run into it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2017
Wow. That was one peach of a "hero." He started off strong (as an ass) and finished up strong (as marginally less of an ass).
December 29, 2011
There was no synopsis, so I copied this from another site.
The heat is on. . . and so is their marriage!
Ryan Kincaid doesn't like being told what to do. When his grandfather pressures him to marry and introduces him to a suitable bride, Ryan is furious. Devon Franklin is the most argumentative, grasping female he's ever met! So what if she's gorgeous and he can't stop thinking about her?
Devon is perfectly capable of running her own life. She doesn't need a husband and certainly not one like Ryan--disgustingly rich, dangerously handsome, infuriatingly smug...! Who cares if his kisses turn her knees to jelly?
I thought this was a real cute, fun story. However, the h is feisty and smart mouthed with the H. So if you don't like feisty you propbably won't like this one.
The heat is on. . . and so is their marriage!
Ryan Kincaid doesn't like being told what to do. When his grandfather pressures him to marry and introduces him to a suitable bride, Ryan is furious. Devon Franklin is the most argumentative, grasping female he's ever met! So what if she's gorgeous and he can't stop thinking about her?
Devon is perfectly capable of running her own life. She doesn't need a husband and certainly not one like Ryan--disgustingly rich, dangerously handsome, infuriatingly smug...! Who cares if his kisses turn her knees to jelly?
I thought this was a real cute, fun story. However, the h is feisty and smart mouthed with the H. So if you don't like feisty you propbably won't like this one.
December 18, 2017
It was such a thrill to find this book in the giveaway bin at my local library. THE CORSICAN GAMBIT by Sandra Marton is the first Harlequin Presents I ever read, and I've been looking for a book that hypnotic and erotically charged ever since.
Unfortunately, this is not that book. Oh, the story of Ryan and Devon is a fast paced, entertaining tale, but everything about the plot seemed rushed and the NYC setting felt awfully generic. Where CORSICAN GAMBIT had a dreamy, seductive feel, with mood and atmosphere to spare, this story just seemed to rush from one scene to another without much character development or sensuality.
Ryan is a jerk most of the time, and not just when he's lusting after the heroine. At one point he smacks his best buddy just for joking about how cold Devon is in bed . . . when the hero has been crying and moaning about her keeping him at arms' length for weeks! Then there was the scene in the fancy restaurant where Ryan has to show off what a big man he is by threatening the waiter, and then he insultingly orders the guy to "bring me a hot dog." Classy, right? None of this stuff built him up in my mind. Max in THE CORSICAN GAMBIT owned his own castle, and the locals adored him. This clown can't even figure out how to get a good meal in a fancy restaurant! Oh, and don't get me started on how Ryan relates to his grandfather like he's five years old, if that. "I don't want Devon! I love Devon! I don't want Devon!" I thought it was women who couldn't make up their minds, pal!
At the same time, the heroine Devon was a pain for a different reason. We keep hearing over and over about how much she despises her gold digging mother Bettina. But somehow Devon always seems to end up doing exactly what Bettina says. Such as falling for Ryan. And sleeping with him. And marrying him. Not necessarily in that order! The whole problem is that Bettina is what they call a Judas goat. She takes the blame and Devon gets the rewards. It's a genre wide problem, and twenty years on you see the same fake dynamic in the novels of Caitlin Crews.
The overall feel I had was that a.) this book must have been rushed, written in a big hurry and b.) the author may have been publishing in the Nineties but her understanding of male female relationships is like an artifact from the Thirties. This whole story felt like a really bad black and white screwball comedy, something Carole Lombard might have starred in. Problem is, Devon doesn't have the screwball heroine's irreverence, sense of fun, or the subtle leaning towards anarchy. She's really almost desperately old fashioned! And that would be fine, but her passion for Ryan is never really justified by anything he does. He's a spoiled brat most of the time, and their final make up just didn't seem real to me.
So why am I giving this book four stars? Because it's Sandra Marton, that's why. Oh, and the senior romance between Grandfather James and his housekeeper really made me smile. I liked the housekeeper and the grandfather more than Ryan and Devon!
Unfortunately, this is not that book. Oh, the story of Ryan and Devon is a fast paced, entertaining tale, but everything about the plot seemed rushed and the NYC setting felt awfully generic. Where CORSICAN GAMBIT had a dreamy, seductive feel, with mood and atmosphere to spare, this story just seemed to rush from one scene to another without much character development or sensuality.
Ryan is a jerk most of the time, and not just when he's lusting after the heroine. At one point he smacks his best buddy just for joking about how cold Devon is in bed . . . when the hero has been crying and moaning about her keeping him at arms' length for weeks! Then there was the scene in the fancy restaurant where Ryan has to show off what a big man he is by threatening the waiter, and then he insultingly orders the guy to "bring me a hot dog." Classy, right? None of this stuff built him up in my mind. Max in THE CORSICAN GAMBIT owned his own castle, and the locals adored him. This clown can't even figure out how to get a good meal in a fancy restaurant! Oh, and don't get me started on how Ryan relates to his grandfather like he's five years old, if that. "I don't want Devon! I love Devon! I don't want Devon!" I thought it was women who couldn't make up their minds, pal!
At the same time, the heroine Devon was a pain for a different reason. We keep hearing over and over about how much she despises her gold digging mother Bettina. But somehow Devon always seems to end up doing exactly what Bettina says. Such as falling for Ryan. And sleeping with him. And marrying him. Not necessarily in that order! The whole problem is that Bettina is what they call a Judas goat. She takes the blame and Devon gets the rewards. It's a genre wide problem, and twenty years on you see the same fake dynamic in the novels of Caitlin Crews.
The overall feel I had was that a.) this book must have been rushed, written in a big hurry and b.) the author may have been publishing in the Nineties but her understanding of male female relationships is like an artifact from the Thirties. This whole story felt like a really bad black and white screwball comedy, something Carole Lombard might have starred in. Problem is, Devon doesn't have the screwball heroine's irreverence, sense of fun, or the subtle leaning towards anarchy. She's really almost desperately old fashioned! And that would be fine, but her passion for Ryan is never really justified by anything he does. He's a spoiled brat most of the time, and their final make up just didn't seem real to me.
So why am I giving this book four stars? Because it's Sandra Marton, that's why. Oh, and the senior romance between Grandfather James and his housekeeper really made me smile. I liked the housekeeper and the grandfather more than Ryan and Devon!
August 6, 2025
Sandra Marton’s A Proper Wife is a heady mix of passion, pride, and the irresistible pull of two people who, on paper, should never have worked. As the opening novel of the From Here to Paternity series, it sweeps readers into a tale of family meddling, reluctant vows, and a relationship that begins in sparks and keeps burning right through.
Ryan Kincaid, a man Time magazine dubbed “The Lone Raider,” is wealthy, commanding, and absolutely unwilling to be dictated to, especially by his grandfather. Devon Franklin, on the other hand, is fiery, independent, and saddled with a mother whose ambitions extend far beyond her own. Their paths collide in the most unexpected (and explosive) of ways, and what begins as a clash of wills evolves into a marriage neither truly wanted, but both can’t walk away from.
Ryan is very much the quintessential alpha hero: virile, confident, with a streak of arrogance that makes him fascinating. However, there is a vulnerability that he hides beneath that confident façade stemming from his deep-seated issues with abandonment.
Devon, at only twenty-three, is no meek heroine. She has strength, courage, and a sharp tongue, and while she initially appears overwhelmed by the larger-than-life Ryan, she proves more than capable of holding her ground. Together, their chemistry is combustible, with every encounter threatening to set off fireworks.
The heart of the novel lies in the conflict that stems from their forced marriage, a union orchestrated by Ryan’s grandfather and Devon’s mother, each with very different motivations. Both Ryan and Devon enter this marriage unwillingly, determined not to bend to the will of meddling family members.
Yet the irony lies in how deeply they affect each other, even as they try to maintain distance. The push and pull between them and their reluctance to admit what they truly feel fuels the narrative, making their separation and misunderstandings as compelling as their moments of intimacy.
What I particularly enjoyed was the earthy, raw quality of Ryan as a hero. Sandra Marton has always excelled at creating men who are magnetic and unapologetically masculine, and Ryan is no exception. His refusal to fall into the cliché of a lovesick husband was as fascinating as it was believable.
Devon’s strength was equally appealing; she is no doormat, and her fire balances Ryan’s dominance beautifully. That said, I did miss some of the banter I had hoped for as the couple spend a surprising amount of their marriage leading separate lives, and while their union is fiery, more moments of verbal sparring would have elevated the connection even further.
Still, Marton knows how to deliver intensity. The sensuality here is high, with scenes that simmer with desire and crackle with tension. And woven throughout is the poignant reality that both characters, scarred by imperfect childhoods, don’t quite know how to accept love when it is on the table.
Recommended for: Readers who love classic Harlequin Presents-style romances filled with fiery chemistry, reluctant vulnerability, and a marriage-of-convenience trope that turns deliciously real.
Final Verdict: A Proper Wife delivers passion, sizzling tension, and a hero and heroine who do not want to be married, as they fight against the very love that could heal them both.
Rating = 4/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit A Maldivian's Passion for Romance
Ryan Kincaid, a man Time magazine dubbed “The Lone Raider,” is wealthy, commanding, and absolutely unwilling to be dictated to, especially by his grandfather. Devon Franklin, on the other hand, is fiery, independent, and saddled with a mother whose ambitions extend far beyond her own. Their paths collide in the most unexpected (and explosive) of ways, and what begins as a clash of wills evolves into a marriage neither truly wanted, but both can’t walk away from.
Ryan is very much the quintessential alpha hero: virile, confident, with a streak of arrogance that makes him fascinating. However, there is a vulnerability that he hides beneath that confident façade stemming from his deep-seated issues with abandonment.
Devon, at only twenty-three, is no meek heroine. She has strength, courage, and a sharp tongue, and while she initially appears overwhelmed by the larger-than-life Ryan, she proves more than capable of holding her ground. Together, their chemistry is combustible, with every encounter threatening to set off fireworks.
The heart of the novel lies in the conflict that stems from their forced marriage, a union orchestrated by Ryan’s grandfather and Devon’s mother, each with very different motivations. Both Ryan and Devon enter this marriage unwillingly, determined not to bend to the will of meddling family members.
Yet the irony lies in how deeply they affect each other, even as they try to maintain distance. The push and pull between them and their reluctance to admit what they truly feel fuels the narrative, making their separation and misunderstandings as compelling as their moments of intimacy.
What I particularly enjoyed was the earthy, raw quality of Ryan as a hero. Sandra Marton has always excelled at creating men who are magnetic and unapologetically masculine, and Ryan is no exception. His refusal to fall into the cliché of a lovesick husband was as fascinating as it was believable.
Devon’s strength was equally appealing; she is no doormat, and her fire balances Ryan’s dominance beautifully. That said, I did miss some of the banter I had hoped for as the couple spend a surprising amount of their marriage leading separate lives, and while their union is fiery, more moments of verbal sparring would have elevated the connection even further.
Still, Marton knows how to deliver intensity. The sensuality here is high, with scenes that simmer with desire and crackle with tension. And woven throughout is the poignant reality that both characters, scarred by imperfect childhoods, don’t quite know how to accept love when it is on the table.
Recommended for: Readers who love classic Harlequin Presents-style romances filled with fiery chemistry, reluctant vulnerability, and a marriage-of-convenience trope that turns deliciously real.
Final Verdict: A Proper Wife delivers passion, sizzling tension, and a hero and heroine who do not want to be married, as they fight against the very love that could heal them both.
Rating = 4/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit A Maldivian's Passion for Romance
March 1, 2021
2.5
The hero, Ryan Kincaid and our heroine, Devon Franklin, get into a rousing argument where she ends up punching him for his chauvinistic ways, but at this point, neither of them realize who the other is. This mystery is solved for each of them that very night when Ryan Kincaid's grandfather suggests that he marry his dead brother's stepdaughter, to ensure she's taken care of, since it was his brother's last wish. Ryan has no interest in marrying anyone and he is especially not interested when he finds out that Devon is the step-niece in question. Ryan's grandfather and Devon's mother, Bettina (who was married to Ryan's brother ever so briefly) both push for the marriage and eventually get their way. But Ryan and Devon do what they can to control the situation by making it a legal contract for a 6 month duration only . And despite the fact that she can't resist Ryan's kisses, she makes it absolutely clear that the marriage will be one in name only. 5 months and 3 weeks later and the contract is almost up and one night has both of them realizing they don't want the marriage to end, but neither is certain how the other feels.
Kind of a cute story, but not my favorite and not particularly memorable in the long-run (although I may remember the mental gymnastics I was trying to pull off when it was mentioned that Devon was Ryan's brother's stepdaughter...trying to calculate how old Ryan's brother must have been, how old Bettina must be and then how old Devon must be.) You start out with both the hero and heroine acting pretty ridiculous and neither really won my affection with all of that. Then, as the story continues, you sort of go back and forth feeling sympathy for both, but I can't say I really liked one or the other. Ryan is most certainly a chauvinistic ass who right up until the wedding (and likely after) believes that Devon is in the marriage to keep her mother (and herself) rolling in the money. Nevermind that she fought so hard to keep from going through with it. It's not clear when his opinion changes because right after the wedding and the wedding night laying down of ground rules in which celibacy is Rule #1, we fast forward 5 months and 3 weeks and are led to understand that they've each sort of lived their own life and not really interacted. I didn't really care for this set up because we miss out on seeing them actually fall in love...or the interactions that might help you understand what they see in each other. But at this fast-forward point, both are thinking how much they long to have a good relationship with the other and how they must be in love. Unfortunately, the reader doesn't get to know how or why.
I did like their contentious relationship. Sometimes it felt a bit forced, but I liked that Devon mostly sticks to her guns (except when she's being seduced into kisses) and that Ryan never really has any malicious or blackmaily intentions. He honestly just wants his grandfather to be happy. I was more than a little disappointed that Bettina ends up off the hook in the end and never really learns her lesson (though it's hinted that she's trying to be a better mother?). I also appreciate that this was an easy and quick and engaging read.
The hero, Ryan Kincaid and our heroine, Devon Franklin, get into a rousing argument where she ends up punching him for his chauvinistic ways, but at this point, neither of them realize who the other is. This mystery is solved for each of them that very night when Ryan Kincaid's grandfather suggests that he marry his dead brother's stepdaughter, to ensure she's taken care of, since it was his brother's last wish. Ryan has no interest in marrying anyone and he is especially not interested when he finds out that Devon is the step-niece in question. Ryan's grandfather and Devon's mother, Bettina (who was married to Ryan's brother ever so briefly) both push for the marriage and eventually get their way. But Ryan and Devon do what they can to control the situation by making it a legal contract for a 6 month duration only . And despite the fact that she can't resist Ryan's kisses, she makes it absolutely clear that the marriage will be one in name only. 5 months and 3 weeks later and the contract is almost up and one night has both of them realizing they don't want the marriage to end, but neither is certain how the other feels.
Kind of a cute story, but not my favorite and not particularly memorable in the long-run (although I may remember the mental gymnastics I was trying to pull off when it was mentioned that Devon was Ryan's brother's stepdaughter...trying to calculate how old Ryan's brother must have been, how old Bettina must be and then how old Devon must be.) You start out with both the hero and heroine acting pretty ridiculous and neither really won my affection with all of that. Then, as the story continues, you sort of go back and forth feeling sympathy for both, but I can't say I really liked one or the other. Ryan is most certainly a chauvinistic ass who right up until the wedding (and likely after) believes that Devon is in the marriage to keep her mother (and herself) rolling in the money. Nevermind that she fought so hard to keep from going through with it. It's not clear when his opinion changes because right after the wedding and the wedding night laying down of ground rules in which celibacy is Rule #1, we fast forward 5 months and 3 weeks and are led to understand that they've each sort of lived their own life and not really interacted. I didn't really care for this set up because we miss out on seeing them actually fall in love...or the interactions that might help you understand what they see in each other. But at this fast-forward point, both are thinking how much they long to have a good relationship with the other and how they must be in love. Unfortunately, the reader doesn't get to know how or why.
I did like their contentious relationship. Sometimes it felt a bit forced, but I liked that Devon mostly sticks to her guns (except when she's being seduced into kisses) and that Ryan never really has any malicious or blackmaily intentions. He honestly just wants his grandfather to be happy. I was more than a little disappointed that Bettina ends up off the hook in the end and never really learns her lesson (though it's hinted that she's trying to be a better mother?). I also appreciate that this was an easy and quick and engaging read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2020
Hrdinka nebyla zlatokopka. Proto se nedotkla hrdinových peněz. Na začátku měla „posledních pár dolarů“. Do práce nechodila. Takže zjevně si za půl roku sama nekoupila ani kafe.
s. 33 Všechno.“ Řekl
s. 73 bylo.“ Ozval se
s. 84 Obě vyprávěli
špatné dělení slov - s. 35
ji/jí - s. 14, 28, 74
uvozovky - s. 92, 108, 137, 142
s. 33 Všechno.“ Řekl
s. 73 bylo.“ Ozval se
s. 84 Obě vyprávěli
špatné dělení slov - s. 35
ji/jí - s. 14, 28, 74
uvozovky - s. 92, 108, 137, 142
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November 20, 2021Cute. So different since it was written 25 years ago
February 9, 2022
I like this. If you take the characters as written they act as you would expect.
October 25, 2021
The heat is on...and so is their marriage!
Ryan Kincaid doesn't like being told what to do. When his grandfather pressures him to marry and introduces him to a suitable bride, Ryan is furious. Devon Franklin is the most argumentative, grasping female he's ever met! So what if she's gorgeous and he can't stop thinking about her?
Devon is perfectly capable of running her own life. She doesn't need a husband and certainly not one like Ryan - disgustingly rich, dangerously handsome, infuriatingly smug...! Who cares if his kisses turn her knees to jelly?
Perhaps the solution is a whirlwind wedding...and an equally quick divorce?
Ryan Kincaid doesn't like being told what to do. When his grandfather pressures him to marry and introduces him to a suitable bride, Ryan is furious. Devon Franklin is the most argumentative, grasping female he's ever met! So what if she's gorgeous and he can't stop thinking about her?
Devon is perfectly capable of running her own life. She doesn't need a husband and certainly not one like Ryan - disgustingly rich, dangerously handsome, infuriatingly smug...! Who cares if his kisses turn her knees to jelly?
Perhaps the solution is a whirlwind wedding...and an equally quick divorce?
April 16, 2014
gud enough but so cliched! ryan tended 2 think the worst of devon due 2 her mother's gold-digging schemes. der was lack of character development in the middle. instead of narrating how those 2 were coping wid marital life, the author just skipped some 5 months n told us they had been living as strangers n out of the blue, they had fallen in love. as if she lacked inspiration or she wrote the book in 2 parts: the start n the end n just skipped the middle lol! so i minused 2 stars.
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October 18, 2018Miniseries: From Here To Paternity
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