Falling for the Ex (A small town enemies-to-lovers romance)

Lili Valente

Sep 2020 · Bliss River Book 2 · Self Taught Ninja

About this ebook

“You’ve been served, ma’am.” As if being called ‘ma’am’ isn’t bad enough. Turns out, my cheating ex is suing me for custody of our daughter.

This means war.

I may have stayed mostly rational while the jerk dipped his wick all over the county, but now I’m going full mama bear on his hide. Don’t mistake the filtered mom-of-a-toddler speak for meekness because son of a biscuit, I’m aiming to straight-up knee the man in his twig and berries.

Fancy lawyer, private detective, you name it, I’m doing it.

But then my other ex, Nash, my first crush (first everything, really) who I have a decade-long love-hate relationship with, gives me the idea for the craziest solution of all…

* * * 

Did I really just agree to what I think I did? With the one human who can drive me crazier than anyone ever has, and likely ever will? The mother of undoubtedly the cutest toddler ever? The woman whose prick of an ex-husband makes me want to aim my service weapon at his head?

Yes. Yes, I did.

And that’s how we end up tying the knot at the courthouse.

I know this all started as an albeit convoluted way to help Aria keep custody of her kid. But when the lines start blurring and playing pretend house becomes something I don’t ever want to give up, I know playtime is over.

Now it’s time I convince my prickly bride to start falling in love with me (again).

Previously titled Married to the Enemy. Same swoony, feel-good story, just with a fresh title and cover makeover.

The Bliss River Series

- Falling for the Fling (Lark & Mason)

- Falling for the Ex (Aria & Nash)

- Falling for the Bad Boy (Melody & Nick)

Ratings and reviews

I was still upset with Aria after the last book. But I was definitely curious to know more about Nash! We only met him briefly in Dating Dr. Dreamy. And the two of them clearly had a sordid past that I was dying to hear about. Married to the Enemy satisfied all my curiosities. And Jason Clarke reading Nash with a drawl? Whoa! *Fans self* This book was sweet, romantic, and steamy. My anger faded as I got to know Aria better. She has a lot of insecurities, which is understandable considering what her ex is like. Nash was honest and caring and seductive. And is there anything hotter than a guy who loves babies? *Swoon* I only wish Aria had caused him to make good on his promise in the beer garden.

4.5 Stars After reading the first book in this series I couldn't wait to dive into this one. This book had me at single mom. I loved the tension between Aria and Nash. Oh my gosh, Nash with little Felicity will melt your heart. Those are some ovary exploding scenes for sure! They may be enemies, but man oh man do the sparks fly between those two. All too soon this pretend arrangement begins to feel all too real. This book had me rooting for the two of them right from the beginning. They so deserve a HEA. Fate has given these two a second chance. Will they grab it with both hands? Or is history going to repeat itself? This is definitely a must read. The characters are great, even the secondary ones. I liked the little set up for the last sister. I'm already intrigued. This book met all my expectations and more.

I loved this book!! What a pleasure it was to listen too! Jason Clarke and Lili Valente are absolute magic to listen to as Nash and Aria. They make you feel everything their characters are feeling and going through and have such soothing voices. And Jason with a mild southern drawl is positively delicious and so sexy! I just love when they collaborate on audiobooks. I am also really loving this series so far, the characters are all so likable, relatable and lovable. Nash and Aria have a brief interaction in the last book that has had me wondering what could have possibly happened between them to elicit that kind of reaction when they see each other again for the first time in years at her sister’s BBQ. We don’t have to wait long to find out what that was in this book as we are witness to exactly what took place when they were teenagers. Fast forward a decade and they run into each other at a fair, and each have some less than desirable situations going on in their lives especially Aria. To help each other out, they decide on a fake marriage, which of course turns into a second chance for them and it is so wonderful. I love when they realize they should maybe give it a real shot, because Nash is pretty irresistible as a fake husband and step dad and I don’t know how Aria was resisting the urge to jump his bones. I absolutely adore the way Nash loves Aria’s baby girl Felicity, it is just the sweetest and made me swoon as much as the way he treats Aria does, but that nickname he gives her is awful lol. But things that are that good can’t possibly last when there are strong forces working against them, especially if they are close family members, can they? This definitely makes the story take a difficult and emotional turn for a little while. My heart hurt so much for them. Can their love see them through? Of course it can, this is a romance after all, so that’s not really a spoiler. There has to be a happily-ever-after! Nice little bonus short story at the end too!!

About the author

Author of over forty novels, USA Today Bestseller Lili Valente writes everything from steamy suspense to laugh-out-loud romantic comedies. A die-hard romantic, she can't resist a story where love wins big. Because love should always win. She lives in Vermont with her two big-hearted boy children and a dog named Pippa Jane.

Lili also writes naughty books as L. Valente. Learn more at www.lilivalente.com