The best marriage of convenience books that are like explosive fireworks that bind two souls for a lifetime

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve loved to read from the moment I discovered I could, going to the library and checking out the max number I was allowed every week. When I discovered romance novels, I’d hide the covers so no one knew what I was reading but I could never stop. My favorites were the ones focusing on marriage of convenience. They have multiple layers of conflict and the happily ever after never comes easy. There is something about forcing two unwilling souls together that makes for some interesting, complicated, explosive, delightful, and heartwarming storylines. No matter the time frame, two people fighting their attraction but ultimately loving hard is worth the read.


I wrote...

Thundering Meadows

By Nicole Neiswanger,

Book cover of Thundering Meadows

What is my book about?

After serving six years in prison James is determined to make the best of his future as he climbs aboard a train late on Christmas Eve. Rose boards the same train with a desire to disappear. The one thing she didn't consider was that her unborn child would pick Christmas Eve to arrive.

When their train derails deep in snow country, James delivers her child and a tenuous bond develops, but when rescuers arrive, Rose's worst nightmare appears. James offers Rose a chance at a different future and she accepts. As they try to make the best of their new life, difficulties from their pasts threaten their future. Will they be able to fight these demons together, or will they let fear pull them apart?

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Unfortunately Yours

Nicole Neiswanger Why did I love this book?

There just aren’t enough words to describe how perfectly satisfying this novel is. I started it and couldn’t put it down until the very delicious end.

Natalie and August butt heads from the moment they first meet, constantly throwing jabs at one another, neither giving an inch. When Natalie suggests a marriage of convenience benefiting each of them, she doesn’t anticipate the feelings that bombard her from the moment she says, “I do.”

There is nothing more delectable than a man in uniform and August is a Navy SEAL through and through, but has a heart of gold who wants to help and protect those he loves. When he realizes the depth of his feelings for Natalie, it is like an explosion that only a SEAL can navigate.

By Tessa Bailey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Unfortunately Yours as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey is back in Napa Valley with this hilarious rom-com about a down-on-her-luck heiress who suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can't stand... only to discover there's a fine line between love and hate.

After losing her job and her fiance in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she's sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she's ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms…


Book cover of Outlander

Nicole Neiswanger Why did I love this book?

It was 1996. I walked into a Walden Books and discovered Diana Gabaldon. Immediately intrigued, I purchased Outlander and was hooked.

When Claire is thrust back in time, she is rescued by a Scot, and finds herself in a pickle. An English captain believes she’s an English spy and wants her brought in for questioning, but according to Scottish law, the order can be ignored if Claire is Scottish.

It is suggested she marry Jamie to avoid imprisonment. The problem is, she’s legally married to Frank Randall in 1945 but is not legally married to anyone in 1746. Left with few options, she reluctantly agrees and the amazing love story drags you in and never lets you go, to the point where you re-read every novel over and over again.

By Diana Gabaldon,

Why should I read it?

30 authors picked Outlander as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The first book in Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series.

One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBS’s The Great American Read!
 
Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon’s work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured the hearts of millions of fans. Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and…


Book cover of The Heart of a Texas Cowboy

Nicole Neiswanger Why did I love this book?

Who doesn’t love a cowboy, a marriage arranged by two loving fathers, and two souls who have lost something precious?

Cowboy novels are downright delicious and Linda Broday has a knack for making you fall for tough but sensitive cowboys who passionately protect those they love. Lara and Houston meet for the first time on their wedding day. When Houston lifts the wedding veil, he finds a woman with beautiful green eyes, an ugly scar marring her cheek but a defiant glean in her hope-filled eyes.

Houston decides he will protect this woman and will avenge those who hurt her if it’s the last thing he does. I’ve loved cowboy novels for years and will devour Linda Broday’s novels as soon as they are released.

By Linda Broday,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Heart of a Texas Cowboy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Linda Broday's heroes step right out of her books and into your heart." ―JODI THOMAS, New York Times bestselling author

He married her to keep his ranch, but she just might save his heart in this emotional historical western romance from queen of the genre, USA Today bestseller Linda Broday.

One bullet is all it takes to shatter Houston Legend's world. He swore he'd never love again, but with the future of the Lone Star Ranch on the line, he finds himself at the altar promising to love and cherish a woman he's never met―a woman whose vulnerable beauty touches…


Book cover of When the Scoundrel Sins

Nicole Neiswanger Why did I love this book?

Who doesn’t love a hero who fights his attraction and love for a woman until it’s almost too late?

Annabelle requires a husband before she turns twenty-five in just four weeks. A marriage of convenience is all she needs in order to keep her beloved home. When her aunt enlists the help of Quinn who caused Annabelle’s fall from grace six years prior, Annabelle is furious but goes along with the plan albeit reluctantly.

As Quinn sends suitor after suitor away, the time grows short and she still doesn’t have a potential husband outside of Sir Harold who only wants the money that comes with her land. When Quinn finally realizes what he might lose, it could be just a moment too late. A swoon-worthy book everyone should read.

By Anna Harrington,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked When the Scoundrel Sins as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Six years ago, a childish prank perpetrated by the reckless Quinton Carlisle ruined Annabelle Greene's reputation and any chance she had at securing a successful marriage. Incensed, she moved to her beloved estate on the Scottish border and has reveled in the solitude...until now when the contents of a family will are revealed. Suddenly, Belle's single status may cost her the only home she's ever known. Now, with her only marital prospect a horribly greedy and completely undesirable man, Belle knows just the person to rescue her-the one person who owes her for his bad behavior...

There's nothing Quinn Carlisle…


Book cover of All Roads Lead to You

Nicole Neiswanger Why did I love this book?

I couldn’t put this book down. I cried, I laughed, and I cheered for Finn and Beth to find their happily ever after.

This novel didn’t have what I would consider a typical marriage of convenience trope, but it developed regardless. No one is forcing them into a relationship but circumstances do push them there and both agree for very different reasons. Each have experienced a significant tragedy but one has fought their way out of the pain and wasn’t going to let it define them, while the other was still struggling.

Their chemistry was off the charts and you could practically feel it oozing off the page. Beth’s insight into Finn’s pain was touching and when Finn finally realized that he could love her, just made my heart burst.

By Jackie Ashenden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All Roads Lead to You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Second in a sexy small-town contemporary romance series set in New Zealand

Don't miss the first book in a new bright, bold, and sexy contemporary romance series from bestselling author Jackie Ashenden, featuring-

A grumpy wilderness guide who just wants to be left alone
A cheerful jewelry designer determined to get him to open up
A breathtaking New Zealand town that inspires second chances
An unlikely love that won't be denied

Brightwater Valley, New Zealand is beautiful, rugged, and home to those who seek adventure. Finn Kelly loves everything about guiding wilderness hikes, except the part where he has to…


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Let Evening Come

By Yvonne Osborne,

Book cover of Let Evening Come

Yvonne Osborne Author Of Let Evening Come

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up on a family farm surrounded by larger vegetable and dairy operations that used migrant labor. From an early age, my siblings and I were acquainted with the children of these workers, children whom we shared a school desk with one day and were gone the next. On summer vacations, our parents hauled us around in a station wagon with a popup camper, which they parked in out-of-the-way hayfields and on mountainous plateaus, shunning, much to our chagrin, normal campgrounds, and swimming pools. Thus, I grew up exposed to different cultures and environments. My writing reflects my parents’ curiosity, love of books and travel, and devotion to the natural world. 

Yvonne's book list on immersive coming-of-age fiction with characters struggling to find themselves amidst the isolation and bigotry in Indigenous, rural, and minority communities

What is my book about?

After her mother is killed in a rare Northern Michigan tornado, Sadie Wixom is left with only her father and grandfather to guide her through young adulthood. Miles away in western Saskatchewan, Stefan Montegrand and his Indigenous family are displaced from their land by multinational energy companies. They are taken in temporarily by Sadie’s aunt, a human rights activist who heads a cultural exchange program.

Stefan promptly runs afoul of local authority, but Sadie, intrigued by him and captivated by his story, has grown sympathetic to his cause and complicit in his pushback against prejudiced accusations. Their mutual attraction is stymied when Stefan’s older brother, Joachim, who stayed behind, becomes embroiled in the resistance, and Stefan is compelled to return to Canada. Sadie, concerned for his safety, impulsively follows on a trajectory doomed by cultural misunderstanding and oncoming winter.

Let Evening Come

By Yvonne Osborne,

What is this book about?

After her mother is killed in a rare Northern Michigan tornado, Sadie Wixom is left with only her father and grandfather to guide her through the pitfalls of young adulthood.
Hundreds of miles away in western Saskatchewan, Stefan Montegrand and his Indigenous family are forced off their land by multinational energy companies and flawed treaties. They are taken in temporarily by Sadie's aunt, a human rights activist who heads a cultural exchange program.
Stefan, whose own father died in prison while on a hunger strike, promptly runs afoul of local authority, but Sadie, intrigued by him and captivated by his…


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