The Marriage Bargain (Marriage to a Billionaire, #1)

by Jennifer Probst

A marriage in name only ...To save her family home, impulsive bookstore owner, Alexa Maria McKenzie, casts a love spell. But she never planned on conjuring up her best friend's older brother--the powerful man who once shattered her heart. Billionaire Nicholas Ryan doesn't believe in marriage, but in order to inherit his uncle's corporation, he needs a wife and needs one fast. When he discovers his sister's childhood friend is in dire financial straits, he's offers Alexa a bold proposition. A marriage in name only with certain rules: Avoid entanglement. Keep things all business. Do not fall in love. The arrangement is only for a year so the rules shouldn't be that hard to follow, right? Except fate has a way of upsetting the best-laid plans ...

• ISBN10: 1622669037
• ISBN13: 9781622669035
• Publish Date: 17 August 2012 (first published 1 February 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: The Gallery Press
• Imprint: Gallery Books
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

3.5 I love arranged marriages and contract troupes ..they always end up with delicious results. The Marriage Bargain while completely predictable was a fun fast read and one I thoroughly enjoyed. All the ingredients were there; sexual attraction, fear of commitment, tension and bittersweet moments. Alexa was a strong, caring, romantic character and I just clicked with her. Nicholas is our damaged, pretty boy who needs Alexa more then even he can imagine. The chemistry felt genuine and there was a nice mix of tender and funny moments.

[e_rodz_leb]

My original review can be found here: Reading with ABC

The Marriage Bargain was such a good book! After I read the synopsis I thought that it would be a very predictable story, instead I found myself savoring every word.


The plot of the story is somewhat predictable and you have probably read a book with this story line before, what make The Marriage Bargain a great book is the writing and the characterization. The writing is funny, realistic, and quirky and I appreciate that Alexa and Nick were not in ‘agony’ for eleven months before realizing that they were in love. I really dislike that type of book because it becomes repetitive.


When the need to get married arrives for both Nick and Alexa they come up with a list of attributes that their partner should have. This ‘rational’ approach to marriage is hilarious, especially since the lists are almost the complete opposite of each other :). Alexa was a great character. She is loyal, loving, fun, tender hearted, but also has her feet firmly set on the ground. She would to anything for her family, including marrying Nick to save her parent’s home. Alexa is best friends with Nick’s sister and they knew each other when they were children, so at least she is not marrying a complete stranger.


As I said, this is a great story, steamy love scenes, funny situations, and amazing characters. I truly enjoyed the story and I can’t wait to read about Maggie and Michael in book # 2 of the series!


About the cover: Steamy, but tasteful.

[lizarodz]

My original review can be found here: Reading with ABC

The Marriage Bargain was such a good book! After I read the synopsis I thought that it would be a very predictable story, instead I found myself savoring every word.


The plot of the story is somewhat predictable and you have probably read a book with this story line before, what make The Marriage Bargain a great book is the writing and the characterization. The writing is funny, realistic, and quirky and I appreciate that Alexa and Nick were not in ‘agony’ for eleven months before realizing that they were in love. I really dislike that type of book because it becomes repetitive.


When the need to get married arrives for both Nick and Alexa they come up with a list of attributes that their partner should have. This ‘rational’ approach to marriage is hilarious, especially since the lists are almost the complete opposite of each other :). Alexa was a great character. She is loyal, loving, fun, tender hearted, but also has her feet firmly set on the ground. She would to anything for her family, including marrying Nick to save her parent’s home. Alexa is best friends with Nick’s sister and they knew each other when they were children, so at least she is not marrying a complete stranger.


As I said, this is a great story, steamy love scenes, funny situations, and amazing characters. I truly enjoyed the story and I can’t wait to read about Maggie and Michael in book # 2 of the series!


About the cover: Steamy, but tasteful.

[rakesandrogues]

Originally posted at: http://muggle-born.net/the-marriage-bargain-by-jennifer-probst-romance-book-review/

Heroine: Alexa, our protagonist in THE MARRIAGE BARGAIN by Jennifer Probst, is a little too perfect. She’s generous, attractive, and independent. And let’s not forget the fact that she owns a bookstore! (A struggling bookstore… but still.) Despite that she has a lot going for her, Alexa doesn’t know it. I love how she is unaware of her attributes. Alexa also doesn’t have everything going for her, but she doesn’t let it get to her. She is always positive and makes the best out of the situation. She is no simpering miss. She is willing to make sacrifices and compromises to get what she wants.

Hero: Nick Ryan is a little broody. Thankfully, he has good reason for it. Nick Ryan does not want to marry for love – especially after he grew up with his parents’ loveless and hurtful marriage. Nick is guarded because of his parents’ divorce and the lack of love in his family while growing up. Probst lets readers to really understand his character as he struggled with conflicting emotions as he got to learn more about Alexa.

Supporting Cast: Of the supporting characters, my favorite would have to be Maggie – Alexa’s best friend and Nick’s sister. I liked how she played matchmaker at the beginning of the novel. The romance would not have been possible without her help. Though she is pretty close to both the heroine and the hero, I like that she does not get too involved into the relationship. She advises Alexa every now and then, but Maggie does not meddle. Probst makes it pretty obvious that Maggie will take the spotlight in the second book, and for this, I cannot be more excited.

Plot: I’m a sucker for arranged marriages and I’m so delighted that Probst manages to pull it off in a modern day setting. I think that the arrangement works in THE MARRIAGE BARGAIN by Jennifer Probst because the motives of each character is believable.

Romance: I loved the romantic tension between Alexa and Nick. The fact that the two characters have shared history adds to the credibility of the romance. Probst takes the time to develop the romance in THE MARRIAGE BARGAIN which only made for a sweeter finish. This reader was very satisfied with how the romance played out. My only complaint? The resolution was just too saccharine for my liking. However, I thought that the epilogue was a nice touch and it only makes me look forward to the second book of the Marriage to a Billionaire series.

[Cocktails and Books]

Alexa needs to save her family's home, so she tries to cast a love spell to capture a man who has a lot of money but also meets the other qualities she looks for in a man. If she's going to use a spell to help out her family, she might as well get what she wants to. Enter best friend Maggie with her own suggestion: marry her brother Nick, who needs a wife in order to retain controlling interest in his family's architecture firm.

Of course, neither of them is what the other imagines in the spouse they need, but they agree to a one year arrangement anyway. But things get a little messy when childhood feelings and lustful stirrings get in the way.

I enjoyed this story, especially since the arranged marriage storyline didn't include complete strangers but instead two people who knew each other as children and one of them harbored feelings for the other. It gave this a whole new emotional twist, which I really enjoyed.

As expected, there were jealous feelings, miscommunications, accusations and finally heartfelt apologies, but the story was engaging and both Alexa and Nick were wonderful characters that had you hoping they could make it work.