Source: Provided by Publisher
Publisher: Entangled Publishing (Ever Afters)
Release Date: February 2012
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Kindergarten teacher Johanna hates Valentine’s Day. She hates romance, hates commercialism, and definitely hates her school’s annual charity date auction. She never expects her pre-auction night of drinking to land a sexy Brit in her bed. Or for that Brit to show up at the auction, bid thousands just to talk to her again, and get down on one knee in front of everyone and ask her to marry him.
Viscount Damon Haymes has never met anyone like Johanna. She’s neurotic, fascinating, and fun. She also doesn’t care about his title and doesn’t want his money, which makes Johanna perfect to fulfill a surprise clause in his father’s will: marry within three months and remain married for a year, or lose his fortune. A relationship is out of the question, but when passions ignite and the two fall in love, their marriage of convenience becomes anything but.
As soon as Damon gets home, his deceased father's lawyer informs him that he must marry in order to inherit his father's fortune. Determined not to lose his title as Viscount and inheritance, Damon sets out to find his "perfect" wife and he's already got an idea of who that woman would be, Johanna. By throwing a few million to her favorite charities, it doesn't take much for Damon to cajole Johanna into a marriage contract. And this is where the fun starts because Johanna is adamant in keeping their "relationship" strictly business while Damon is determined to win over his wife slowly.
I admit, I am a sucker for "marriage of convenience" stories. Although most follow the same formula and circumstances are predictable I can't help but want to read these sort of stories. I was already a fan of Entangled Publishing's The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst so when I received a copy of On One Condition to review I was totally excited. Diane Alberts excels in writing snappy and witty banter between her characters and always keeps her stories light hearted.
The reason why I'm giving On One Condition a 3 out of 5 (actually more like 3.5/5) rating is because the ending felt a little too rushed and the villain seemed to come out of nowhere and wasn't all that villainous. I wished this novella was just a little bit longer so the the tension built up by the villain could have been revealed a little smoothly. Instead, it felt like the whole situation was just thrown out there. Also, at the beginning it's mentioned that Johanna was OCD and I would have loved seeing that trait of hers come out a little more just for plain comedic value. Overall, On One Condition was still a very delectable novella and if you're a fan of marriage of convenience that leads to true love then you will most likely love it.
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This sounds like a promising book. It is too bad that the author built a decent read and rushed the end. I never understand why they do that. I too, am a sucker for marriage of convenience reads. Ya, we pretty much know where each of them is going, but it is fun getting there anyway. Great review.
ReplyDeleteUsually with novellas the ending seems to be rushed but this was still a great read. I don't know what I love marriage of convinience reads are so appealing to me but they are just fun to read. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteOh this one sounds like a riot! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe plot sounds a little cheesy but it's definitely a secret fantasy that most of us have ;)
ReplyDeleteI agree! I mean what woman would say no to a handsome and rich guy proposing to you and offering you a lavish lifestyle. It's our modern fairytale.
DeleteThanks for the honest review - since I've always been a fan of marriage of convenience stories, I think I'll give it a go.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fun read. Can't wait. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read and the teacher part got my attention!
ReplyDeleteYvette
yratpatrol@aol.com
I thought an OCD kinder teacher sounded off & funny which really got me wanting to read this book.
DeleteI can understand you wanting more of the OCD if it is only mentioned in the beginning. I like stories of marriage of convenience so maybe I will go ahead and pick it up. thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI thought that I would have seen more of the OCD trait but it was only brought up in the beginning. It just seemed interesting because Johanna is a kindergarten teacher and she has OCD. Could you imagine how all those kids would have driven her crazy? I would have loved seeing her being driven crazy complaining about little 5 year olds not being able to draw a straight line. LOL!
DeleteAfter reading You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, I've come to love pretend relationships and marriages of convenience, it's my guilty pleasure. I really want to read this one, I'm also a sucked for characters Johanna who are a bit neurotic so that definitely attracted me. It's disappointed to know its a bit rushed and I wasn't expecting a villain but I'll be checking it out. :)
ReplyDeleteIsa @ Chasing Quills