Wanted: Wife (French Kiss, #1)

by Gwen Jones

[kimbacaffeinate]

One of my favorite story troupes is contract marriages and Gwen Jones delivered a delightfully funny, totally hot tale with WANTED: Wife. Filled with romance, suspense, a little mystery and a whole lot of heat I consumed this in record time. Three word review: hot, intense and romantic.

We first meet Julie Knott on the worst day of her life as her fiancé tweeted the end of their engagement. As a TV reported she handles random and strange stories a segment the locals enjoy. When a tip comes in about a man advertising for a wife on a utility pole she and her crew set out to interview him. He has scheduled interviews with perspective wives at the local fire station and Julie is knocked over when she interviews Andy Devine. He is drop dead gorgeous, seems intelligent and knows exactly what he wants -Julie to be his wife. He gives her three days to decide and the tale that unfolds was deliciously hot, sweet, suspenseful, and romantic.

Julie goes into this using her brain. She is clever, observant and nobody’s fool. She has a plan and I loved seeing it all unravel on her. Andy Devine is a muscled, educated, walking, talking, god of double-oh-yum. He is smart, a smooth talker and did I mention part French? Oh yeah, he whispers French words of endearment, and whatever he is saying in the bedroom this chick is buying..oh-la-la. I enjoyed Andy despite his sometimes quite reserve and air of mystery. The author does a wonderful job of showing us his softer side through his actions and comments she slowly reveals his past and I enjoyed uncovering his secrets and flaws. Julie is strong and I admired that she stands her ground even if it breaks her heart. While the sexual heat was intense from the beginning, I really appreciated and enjoyed the slow-building emotional aspect of the relationship. It felt genuine and I found myself rooting for a happily-ever-after. Other characters help flesh out both the main characters and propelled the plot forward.

I live in the Midwest now but I am a Jersey girl and the Pine Barrens are very familiar to me so of course I found the setting perfect! The farm, the animals and being away from town really added to the romance, suspense and created some wonderful situations. I laughed, I cried and delighted in their everyday lives as the tale unfolded. Jones added some twists and turns which kept me flipping the pages. I love how she slowly revealed all of Andy to us even if she made me nervous a few times. Did I mention how hot the romance was? The scenes were steamy with just enough heat to have the pages simmering beneath my finger tips. The author shared Julie’s thoughts, wove in the French language and made me believe in the impossible romance. A thoroughly entertaining, funny and romantic tale that left with me a smile.

Read My Review