I have been wanting to read some of Shain Rose’s work for a while now and when I was out shopping earlier in the month, the first three books in this series were available in the 3 for £6 deal at The Works. So, I took it as a sign to start it and it was enjoyable, but I wanted to slap Declan. 

This book has two points of view. The first is Everly and her father’s business partner will do anything for the empire they’ve built together, even marry Everly. Declan Hardy is an all-American heartthrob and retired NFL billionaire and complete opposite to Everly. He is commanding where she is cooperative. He is spontaneous whilst she is deliberate. He is loud when she stays quiet. The only thing that they have in common is that both of their names is on her father’s will. Declan will inherit the fitness and hospitality empire, and she will keep the one thing she holds dear. If she marries him and it has conditions. It is one year of a fake marriage, one year of living together, one year of pretending she belongs in his luxury lifestyle. But the stipulations are never that simple. Especially when she can’t tell if his kisses are fake or if she is pretending when she kisses him back. And as more conditions arise, it’s clear there’s a fine line between commitment and betrayal and neither of them know where that line falls.  

I liked the storyline and how Everly grew as this person who wanted to hide from her past and make sure that no one knew who she was to this confident woman who will stand up for herself and for her family. I liked Clara and how she was the only member of Carl’s married family that actually had a soul and cared for the humans involved rather than the businesses. But I enjoyed the family aspect, how the Hardy family have zero privacy between them, and they all knew about the will and the pregnancy and everything else. I loved that Everly can take a grown ass man and wasn’t afraid to let anyone know from Dom to Declan and how that’s how she basically met Declan.  

Declan just drove me nuts, he wasn’t cute or adorable. He was annoying and gave me a headache. I was rooting for Dom and Everly than Declan and Everly. The third act conflict and miscommunication just weren’t needed. All he needed to do was tell Everly that he had a plan and this was what was going to happen and then once the plan was over he wanted to actually court her, but instead he straight up told her he didn’t love her after they’ve had sex at a gala in a garden (which I found weird). Then Everly could have been in on it and prepared for it but instead he destroyed her confidence and mental health because she trusted someone and got screwed over again. Everly forgave him way too quickly, I don’t care that he battered the piss out of her rapist, I would have told him to crawl to work to get forgiveness especially after the third act breakup and then accusing her of sleeping around that he didn’t believe Everly’s child was his. He didn’t deserve to be the father after that. His jealousy was actually driving me nuts, I don’t mind being possessive and, but it started affecting her work and he was just being too controlling, like I would have run for the hills. This is one of those couples where once the children have left the nest, they would get a divorce because they are too busy fighting now that they aren’t being nice because the children aren’t around. Carl seems like a horrible person, and he just needed to be honest with his daughter and business partner instead of blackmailing them. His wife doesn’t seem any better and she is a gold digger.  

I liked that all the siblings have been introduced and from the epilogue, you can tell that Clara and Dom’s story is next and hopefully Dom doesn’t give me the ick like Declan did.