So, the reason I read this book was because I was going to start a very tough classic and I wanted something quick to read before that. And since I am a big fan of arranged marriage trope, I decide to choose one from the Goodreads list.
Given below are my own unbiased opinions.
Given below are my own unbiased opinions.
Title: A Negotiated Marriage
Author: Noelle Adams
Genre: Romance
Pages: 134
Buy From: Amazon
A USA Today bestseller.
Sex wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal.
Three years into a marriage of convenience, Molly’s high-powered CEO husband wants to add a new term to their marriage agreement. Sex—without any messy emotional entanglements. But weekly sex with Luke, despite their carefully negotiated terms, is likely to get messy eventually.
Content in a mutually beneficial arrangement, Molly isn’t going to fall for Luke the way she fell for an old lover, only to be crushed in the end. She vows to stay strong, no matter how much intimacy develops between them in bed. When her old lover returns, finally wanting a real relationship, Molly has the chance to give her heart to a man who will accept it.
It’s too bad she now wants to give it to her husband, who has never admitted her heart is what he wants.
Sex wasn’t supposed to be part of the deal.
Three years into a marriage of convenience, Molly’s high-powered CEO husband wants to add a new term to their marriage agreement. Sex—without any messy emotional entanglements. But weekly sex with Luke, despite their carefully negotiated terms, is likely to get messy eventually.
Content in a mutually beneficial arrangement, Molly isn’t going to fall for Luke the way she fell for an old lover, only to be crushed in the end. She vows to stay strong, no matter how much intimacy develops between them in bed. When her old lover returns, finally wanting a real relationship, Molly has the chance to give her heart to a man who will accept it.
It’s too bad she now wants to give it to her husband, who has never admitted her heart is what he wants.
I have mixed emotions about the book. On one hand I absolutely adored Luke, but on the other hand I felt that the author had not done a good job on completely removing the veil between the readers and the characters.
On one hand I felt like meh after reading this but on the other hand, some scenes from the book kept replaying itself in my mind.
I guess it was just one of those books, that felt flat while reading but had many memorable scenes that may make me cherish this book. As I said , it opened a mixed bag of motions.
So, I will make a list of pros and cons and you can decide for yourself, if you want to read ( it was 100 something pages and took me less than two hours. So, you don't have to invest much time in this).
Pros
- The story starts, not when they enter a fake marriage but three years after it. I love this unique little twist.
- The characters were well developed. I loved the fact that Molly had her own job and could stand on her own feet even without her billionaire husband's help. She was an independent career woman who did not like taking her husbands money, since she believed she was not in a real marriage.
- Luke was adorable.
- Even though it was told from Molly's point of view, I could understand Luke's perspective too. The author has done a wonderful job on that. It reminded me of Tangled by Emma Chase, where despite being told from the hero's POV, you could understand the heroine's emotions as clear as the sky ( although the hero was not as perceptive as us. Hihi)
- It was short.
Cons
- It was short, so the author, instead of showing many scenes has told them. Molly says that she is heartbroken about her ex-flame but the past scenes are not really well shown. She says that Luke is shy and charming but its not strongly shown. So many things were told that I felt like I was reading through a detailed summary of the novel.
- It had potential, so much potential, if only the author had quit writing the novel, as if it was an essay.
- In the blurb, it says about the returning ex-flame, but that dude just has a few lines utmost. He is just there as an excuse for Molly and Luke to get married, and then again to provide material for the pivotal moment.
- There was almost no character development of the secondary characters. I understand that the length of the book was a limitation, but it cannot be an excuse, considering the amount of words spent on describing frivolous things. It was like a movie with only two characters but with lots and lots of cameos ( Reminded me of Madonna's song- Bitch I am Madonna, I came to know about the barely 2 second cameos in it, after I saw its parody)
- The book fell flat to me.
So, My final rating would be
Rating: 1/5
Well on second thought I am changing my rating on account of the few memorable scenes.
Final Rating: 2/5
Now I am going to read my classic.
OR 