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Second Chances, Fake Fiances, and Weddings*
Clean but Uninspired Romance Box Set
This collection contains six novellas, two each from three of the author’s series: Second Chances for Love, The Gazette’s Fake Fiance’s, and Marrying Nashville.
For the two from Second Chances for Love, I felt the stories lacked a certain emotional honesty that we expect in romance. These are second chances at romance, so the reasons for the couples to part need to be solid. In these two novellas, the backstories of the romances didn’t seem realistic, putting both stories on shaky ground. In the first, Mark decided that he was more interested in pursuing his own wants and needs, and instead of just moving on, he insults the heroine’s art, which ends up having a ripple effect in her life, first causing her to doubt her abilities and then to stop believing in herself in a broader sense. When they meet again and have to work together some years later, he is contrite, but much has changed about her. In the second story, it might be a stretch even to call it a second chance at romance because they never really had a romance. The couple shared a kiss in the past after which the hero became distant because he was unsure if he wanted their relationship to move forward. Second chance? This one never had a first.
I did enjoy the two from the Gazette series more, but I think I might have because I found the concept of having a newspaper as a backdrop for the stories to be interesting. I enjoyed Samantha’s story more than Opal’s. I thought Opal was a bit too shallow; she didn’t seem to give her decisions and actions much thought. The two novellas from the marrying Nashville the series weren’t quite my cup of tea because I’m not a particular fan of billionaire or Cowboy romance.
The books had some of the common issues with punctuation, grammar, and usage. All in all, these are six relatively quick reads that are clean, but that is the most I can say to recommend them. If you are wanting to see if any of the series interest you, this sample pack could help you figure it out.