The Un-Arranged Marriage

Laura Brown

Mar 2022 · Sold by Entangled: Amara

About this ebook

Mark Goldman has never gotten along with Shaina Fogel. Ever. Even when they were in diapers, their bestie mothers wanted them to grow up and get married. Not happening. Mark prefers his quiet, reserved life. But a family wedding is about to change everything Mark thought he knew about his archnemesis.

A week of wedding events with Mark Goldman? Shaina would rather have a week of root canals. Maybe the guy is hot, but for their entire lives, he’s never once acknowledged that she's hard of hearing. So it comes as a massive surprise when she discovers that Mr. High-and-Mighty and Annoyingly Sexy simply didn’t know she couldn't hear him. And now she needs his help.

When it’s revealed that the weeklong wedding events are actually a weeklong competition—for a dream vacation—Mark and Shaina do the unthinkable: they decide to work together. And the second the animosity begins to fade, something even more electric takes its place. Only now it’s not just an attraction between enemies. And nothing could be worse than the fact that their mothers might have had it right...

Ratings and reviews

I thought this book was incredibly good and very clever. The author has skillfully crafted a very cute rom-com and breathed a wonderful air of freshness it to it. I found it impossible not to fall for Mark and Shaina. I thought this book was a delightful blend of humorous and heartfelt and I really enjoyed reading it. This is my volitional, candid review.

Whilst I wouldn't exactly classify this as Enemies to Lovers, they are more rivals to lovers. Lots of miscommunication and pressure heaped on them by their mothers has only exacerbated the rivalry between them - neither one wanting to surrender to their respective mothers LOL. Mark is socially awkward and shy and loves his cat more than most people. Shaina being hearing impaired feels excluded from society but this just frustrates her and makes her want to take on the world - as long as her fish comes too! Being disabled myself I know how it feels to be sidelined - everyone wither treats you as a child or as being fragile and it drives me up the wall so I can only imagine how much more frustrating that would be when your disability is less visible. We don't need special treatment, just our needs to be accommodated as much as they can to enable us to do what others can. Fab read. There are not a lot of spicy scenes but enough to keep you satisfied. The laughs are plentiful and well placed. Would definitely read another book from this author.

When Mark and Shaina were born, their mothers decided they were destined for each other. Thirty-two years later, they've barely had a civil conversation. At his sister's wedding celebration, Mark is shocked to learn the reason that Shaina has seemed to ignore him all their lives. Vowing to do better, he agrees to partner with her to win a dream vacation. Will a weekend fling lead to more? This is a steamy enemies-to-lovers rom com with interfering relatives and tons of sensual tension. It's cute and fun with deeper elements of family dynamics that have left their scars. I appreciated the demisexual representation. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

About the author

After spending her childhood coming up with new episodes to her favorite sitcoms instead of sleeping, Laura Brown decided to try her hand at writing and never looked back. A hopeless romantic, she married her high school sweetheart. They live in Massachusetts with their two cats and kid. Laura’s been hard of hearing her entire life but didn’t start learning ASL until college, when her disability morphed from an inconvenience to a positive part of her identity. At home the closed captioning is always on, lights flash with the doorbell, and hearing aids are sometimes optional.