How to Win a Fiancé

Stefanie London

Oct 2018 · Sold by Entangled: Indulgence

About this ebook

Marianna Halsey has the most boring life in the world. With seven overprotective older brothers, she’s even ended up a virgin at twenty-four. But when a dark and sexy male prevents her from getting her wallet stolen on a Greek vacation, she decides it’s time for some adventure. She’s read a gazillion romance novels. How hard can it be to score a hookup?

Greek billionaire and stock market whiz, Nico Galinas has built an empire from nothing. Literally. Orphaned as a baby, Nico trusts no one. Especially not the quirky, attractive woman using the worst pickup tricks in history. She wants something, and Nico decides to play along, even when she invites herself back to his place.

But what happens when "the beast" accidentally knocks up "beauty"?

Ratings and reviews

Accompanying her older brother Daniel on a trip to Corfu was the perfect opportunity for Marianna Halsey to get rid of her pesky virginity. At twenty four, her seven overprotective older brothers hadn’t made her sex life easy. She sees the perfect man for the task, and when Nico Gallinas rescues her from a pickpocket, she knows he’s the one to introduce her to passion. And two months later, Marianna learns she’s pregnant. BEAUTY AND THE GREEK BILLIONAIRE started off nicely enough with the awkward, clumsy, tongue-tied Marianna and the sexy, confident Nico. Until Marianna learns she’s pregnant. I thought she made the worst decision possible under the circumstances, and I started to dislike her. Lucky for her, Nico viewed the situation the same way. I loved that there was no lies, no misunderstandings at the beginning – that came much later, when an entirely unnecessary source of conflict was introduced. I somehow suspect it was to make Nico unlikable, for a while anyway. Marianna’s linguistic quips were amusing at the beginning, until they started annoying me. I disapproved how Marianna handled the whole pregnancy thing: I felt she was very naïve, with an odd sense of family, and clung to unrealistic romantic ideals. I also disliked her overall attitude, I thought she was extremely pushy, and very selfish if only in refusing to honour Nico’s very simple request – which, it seems, he eventually found lovable. Anyway. I loved Dion, Nico’s friend and business partner; I liked Alethea, Nico’s ex; I also liked Julian, Marianna’s friend, even though I sense that I was supposed to maybe dislike him. Or not, I don’t know. Given the fact that I intensely disliked Marianna, and I never saw anything beyond sexual chemistry between her and Nico, I was never onboard for the “romance”, even if I was told that they loved each other. Overall, I thought the book was sad and depressing, and felt like a throwback to the 1950s. When I looked at the cover of the book, I didn’t like the female model’s appearance: although she’s very pretty, she looks smug; she has this unpleasant smirk. It turns out it was a good depiction of Marianna, because it is eventually precisely how I imagined she’d look. So what I garnered from BEAUTY AND THE GREEK BILLIONAIRE is that sexual attraction, great sex, and an accidental pregnancy equals love. Okay then.

Marianna and Nico’s unexpected love story in How to Win a Fiance’ by Stefanie London, was a wonderful, and enjoyable read. Deciding to have some fun while on a Greek vacation and away from her overprotective brothers, sheltered Marianna hooks up with a sexy man who helped her keep from being pick-pocketed. Greek billionaire and stock market whiz Nico came from nothing, being orphaned as a baby and trusts no one; especially awkward and socially inept Marianna. Nico takes her to his house to swim at his private beach. Let’s just say that six weeks later Marianna flies from Australia to see Nico and let him know of the consequence of their afternoon together. Despite marrying, Nico keeps to himself, afraid to open up and let Marianna into his life. This was a fun take on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, with the beauty, Marianna, taming the beast, Nico, showering him with love and attention. Ms. London wrote a wonderful, sexy and emotional story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with sexual chemistry, amusing banter, and endearing characters giving Marianna and Nico a chance at love, happiness, and a future neither expected to make them happy. I especially loved the scenes where Marianna moved the cat statute and left Nico notes from the cat. I highly recommend How to Win a Fiance’ to other readers.

This is a sweet and sexy romance that I just loved. Marianna is a young woman cloistered by her brothers in their efforts to protect her. Nico is a man damaged by his past and feels unlovable. When Marianna travels with her brothers to Greece, she decides its her opportunity to break out of her protective cocoon and experience things for the first time. When Marianna and Nico's paths cross, Marianna has no idea who Nico is, but quickly learns who he is after their afternoon's dalliance leads to unexpected consequences. Nico is determined to do the right thing, but does not trust Marianna. Marianna is determined to create a real thing, despite all of Nico's efforts to the contrary. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and fans of the genre will love it. While this is a somewhat familiar trope, the author has added enough twists to make it feel interesting and new. I loved the characters and felt invested in their story...I found myself wishing for them to get their HEA ending. The author is on my must read authors' list, and, if you enjoy the genre, should probably be on yours as well.

About the author

Stefanie London is the USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romances and romantic comedies.

Stefanie’s books have been called “genuinely entertaining and memorable” by Booklist, and her writing praised as “Elegant, descriptive and delectable” by RT magazine. Her stories have earned accolades such as the RT Top Pick and have achieved bestseller status with USA Today and iBooks.

Growing up, Stefanie came from a family of women who loved to read. After sneaking several literature subjects into her ‘very practical’ Business degree, she worked in HR and Communications. But writing emails for executives didn’t fulfil her creative urges, so she turned to fiction and was finally able to write the stories that kept her mind busy at night.

Originally from Australia, she now lives in Toronto with her very own hero and is currently in the process of doing her best to travel the world. She frequently indulges in her passions for good coffee, lipstick, romance novels and anything zombie-related.