Indeed by Amabel Daniels

​ROMANTIC COMEDY

Publication date: 07/30/2018
Cliffhanger: No

Guest Review by mom, romance fanatic, and (someday) published author Summer Raines!

Holy Beach Reads, Batman! This book will make a splash! *throws hands up* Okay, okay. Goofy joke. (I don’t promise it’ll be my last...) The author labeled this book a beach read with a fake date trope, so I brought it with me to the “beach” of our local lake. I read most of it while my other half fished, and the kids played in the edge of the water. It drew me in so well, I had to pretend not to be irritated when I got interrupted!

Seriously. You gotta love a heroine with sass and a trademark smirk. She’s got girl power down to a science and she’s not afraid to flaunt it. What’s better than a smart-ass heroine? A hunky hero who appreciates her wordplay and is smart enough to listen to her opinions.

Meet our hero, Marc, who comes apart at the seams when he inadvertently hears his boss insist that only a family man should be promoted to Vice President. It’s not fair! His marital status should have nothing to do with his ability to lead the company in remarkable new directions. His rival for the position has a girlfriend. He needs a girlfriend. Fast. He rushes through the employee only doors and searches for a server, any server, he hasn’t seen in the banquet hall yet.

Our heroine, Louie, lusts for an adventure in a new town. There’s only one kink in her plan. Her reliable jalopy just became an expensive bucket of bolts. Unwillingly to pay for repairs from the fund she’s saved for a rainy day, she decides her only option is to request an extension on the two weeks notice she’s already given her manager. Before she can ask, the problem seems to solve itself in the form of a sexy stranger who stumbles across her path and offers to pay her for a few hours of her time. One evening only. No strings attached.

Marc is a frenzied jumble of nerves and desperation as he propositions Louie with an easy way to make some fast cash. Despite his disordered appearance and clumsy manner, he’s undeniably sexy. That was temptation enough for her to consider it. Then he ups the ante until she can’t see a reason to say no.

Five grand to be arm candy? And she didn’t have to put out? Yeah, Louie wouldn’t mind adding this exploit to her stockpile of crazy stories! But dressing up and convincing his coworkers that they were in a solid relationship during one dinner wasn’t enough. Marc’s boss decides that she needs to sail away with Marc’s colleagues on a four-day business trip.

Habitually honest person that he is, Marc’s unclear whether he should be impressed or scared of Louie’s ability to gush bizarre anecdotes and be so intimate with a stranger. He only knows he picked the perfect person to help him secure his promotion. There’s only one kink in HIS plan. The yacht’s close quarters and Louie’s lovesick act are making the entire ordeal hard, (pun intended) but he offered her money to spend time with him. Meaning he can’t put sex on the table.

It’s not a pleasure cruise for Louie either. Unfortunately. She wouldn’t mind a little pleasure to relieve her from the torment that is Marc. Add the fact that she feels something real developing between them and she knows she’s in trouble. Can she resist the urge to mix money and love?
     
Full disclosure: We received an ARC from the author, free of charge.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s stigma free! No rehab needed.

Other reading suggestions
If you liked Isabel Jordan’s You Complicate Me, you’ll like this one. (And vice versa)  ​

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