Series:
Montana Mavericks: Brothers and Broncos (Book 4)
Fake wedding.
Fake pregnancy.
His plan is almost foolproof.
Commitmentphobic cowboy Maddox John will do anything to
hang on to the Double J Ranch -- even if it means getting hitched. He finds a semi-willing
bride in Adeline Longsworth, who agrees to the marriage of convenience for
reasons of her own. But their strictly business arrangement hits an unexpected
bump in the road when the pretend lovebirds make love for real…
Overall, this was a good book. Maddox has just discovered
that his father will give a majority share of the ranch to the son with the
most elaborate wedding. He has been vocal in his refusal to marry but is now
rethinking his stance. He hatches the idea of finding a woman willing to enter
into a marriage of convenience long enough for him to secure his claim. Then he
meets Adeline.
Adeline's father owns one of the area's largest ranches.
He and his wife are very conscious of their position (snobs), and he is very
controlling in his attitude toward his daughters. As the story opens, Adeline
has reached the breaking point in the job arranged for by her father and
decides to quit. She wants to open her travel agency, but her father won't loan
her the startup money she needs. I liked Adeline's decision to stick up for herself
after how her coworkers and bosses treated her.
The first meeting between Adeline and Maddox was
interesting. Maddox has quite the eye for the ladies, and Adeline immediately
attracts his attention. She also notices him, and they strike up a conversation. I
liked their banter as they commiserated about controlling fathers. Underneath
their teasing, there are also sparks of attraction. After hearing Adeline's
story, Maddox floats his idea to her, but she turns him down.
Adeline reconsiders when she has another run-in with her
dad. When she shows up at the ranch to talk to Maddox, he takes her agreement
and runs with it. This is where Maddox started to irritate me. He is so
consumed with beating out his brother for control of the ranch that he doesn't consider
all the ramifications of their deception. Adeline at least felt guilty about it,
though she was willing to go along.
As Maddox and Adeline begin their deception, neither
expects the attraction or the feelings that grow between them. There were some
sweet scenes between them as they got to know each other. Unfortunately,
Maddox's laser focus on his goal causes him to ruin many of those moments by
reminding himself and Adeline that their relationship isn't real. By the time
they give in to their attraction, Adeline realizes she's in love with Maddox,
but he is still fighting his feelings. I ached for Adeline as she admitted she
wanted more than he was willing to give and did what she had to do to protect
herself. Maddox earned every bit of his misery while coming to grips with his
feelings and guilt. He redeemed himself somewhat in the end through his
emotional confession to Adeline.
The portrayal of the two sets of parents was very
interesting. Maddox's parents are warm and accepting of Adeline, and I didn't
get much of that controlling feeling from his dad. I felt that Maddox could
have avoided much of the angst if he had talked to his dad about his feelings
regarding the ranch. Adeline's parents gave off a completely different vibe. Her
father is obnoxious in his refusal to accept Maddox as Adeline's choice, and her
mom is a bit of a doormat. I understood Adeline's need to get away. There is clear
growth on both sides by the end of the book, and I enjoyed seeing the changes happen.
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