Title: An Arrangement
Author: Lindsay Marie Miller
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Published: August 30, 2016
I have one week to marry a billionaire.
Or my little sister will die.
When Claire Andrews returns home from college for the summer, her little sister is rushed to the hospital due to a life-threatening heart condition. On her twenty-first birthday, Claire will receive a trust fund set aside by her late father with enough money to cover all medical expenses.
The catch?
Claire must marry a rich man or her access to the trust will be denied.
Her childhood crush, Benjamin Lewis, is a twenty-eight-year-old billionaire business mogul and New York City’s most eligible bachelor. When Ben agrees to marry Claire, her financial problems are solved.
But will the price Claire must pay in return be too much for her heart to bear?
"A must read!! You don't want to miss a minute of this story!" - Nerd Girl
"I definitely recommend this novel!" - My Slanted Bookish Ramblings
"...couldn't put down. It made for compulsive reading." - LBM Book Blog
What an interesting take on a fake engagement! An
Arrangement is such a unique novel. This book has a little bit of everything.
There is sexual tension, family drama, secrets, lies, and a fake engagement. If
you like a whirlwind story, then this is the one for you.
The plot was fascinating. I love fake fiancée/marriage
books. There is just something about being thrust into a situation and then
finding feelings that calls to me. An Arrangement does this for me. The plot is
written well. The story line is unique to most fake engagement books. There is
a whole back story to go along with the present story. I think this part was
done perfectly.
The characters were written well, but I had trouble
understanding them. Ben is an interesting character. He obviously has his own
agenda within the book. I liked learning about what that is. Claire, on the
other hand, is a hard character to like at first. I found her to be a little
bit immature and rash. With that being said, I learned to like her by the end.
I loved her loyalty and determination to take care of her sister.
The heat in this book is slow burning. There is sexual
tension throughout the story, but things don’t heat up right away. These two
characters have history which adds a layer to the relationship that enhances
the story. Add in the high stress situations that they are going through and
the banter between the two, and you can almost feel the crackle of electricity
they cause.
The writing style is where I found issue. The pace of the
book was steady and the content was written well. What I didn’t like was the
back story. While I am glad it was there to add depth, it also made me feel
weird because of the age difference. I felt it was a little too much. The other
issue I found was the relationship between the characters. There was a lot of
back and forth. Now this may be realistic, but for me, it was a turn off. I did
like the mother character. She was the perfect villain. I also liked that it
was told from single pov which was Claire. I think it kept us wondering about
Ben.
Overall, this was a good book. I enjoyed reading it. I would
recommend this book to others. It is perfect for anyone who enjoys fake fiancée
books. It would also be good for someone who likes family drama and secrets.
This book did have its downfalls for me, but overall, I would read it again.
Ratings:
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Heat: 5/5
Writing Style: 4/4
Overall: 4/5
“You didn’t need to do this, Claire.” He waved the check in his hand. “I already paid for everything.”
I grinned up at him until he was staring into my eyes. “I just want to make it right.”
Benny examined the check in his hand and stood still, not knowing what to do next.
“Good night.” I left an innocent kiss on his cheek and walked away.
“I don’t get a kiss good night?” Benny challenged with an authoritative tone.
Confused, I turned back to him and paused. “I thought I just gave you one.”
“No.” He left the check on his desk and took a step towards me. “Not like that.”
I swallowed and he came closer, cornering me in front of the bookcase. My back pressed into the wood as he glanced down at me, asking permission with the seductive gleam in his eyes. I took a breath and nodded ever so slightly, enough for him to know that the obvious answer was yes.
Benny leaned down and planted his lips on mine. It was a gentle, sweet kiss at first, but then the electrifying touch turned into something more. His mouth sent chills down my spine as I closed my eyes and fell into the warmth of his embrace. Before long, I found myself curling my arms around him and twirling my fingers through the hairs at the nape of his neck.
When he paused to take a breath, I opened my eyes to find him staring down at me. For the first time since our wedding night, I took action and jerked at his collar until his mouth returned to mine. Benny wrapped his arms around my back and gifted one kiss after the next, sneaking his fingers beneath the hem of my shirt. I felt the cool metal of his wedding band against my bare skin when he touched my stomach. The full weight of his body pressed into mine, but I loved the way it made him lose control.
“I want you so bad,” he gasped, trailing kisses from my jawline down to my neck.
I tilted my head back against the bookshelf and sighed in ecstasy. Then my arms went over my head as I gazed into his eyes with a smoldering glint of desire. Benny grasped the end of my shirt and I felt his fingertips glide over my abdomen as he removed the garment and tugged it over my head.
Standing in a black bra and pair of shorts, I felt my long hair fall against my back. Benny skimmed his hands over either of my arms before taking my face in his hands and leaving a tender kiss on my lips. When he hesitated and cast a weary glance in my direction, I opened my mouth with a breathy, “Yes.”
Benny smiled as he tucked a loose lock of hair behind my ear and kissed the side of my face. Then he bit his lip and crashed back into me, lifting me in his arms and coiling my legs around his waist. My body rejoiced at the victory, because it was finally going to happen. At this point, I didn’t care if we did it on the floor. So long as he loved me like I had wanted him to since the night we rejected each other in the honeymoon suite.
Loud noises made my eardrums rattle harder as Benny swept everything off his desk. I heard breakable objects come crashing to the floor, but he laid me down on the shiny surface like nothing had been destroyed. I sat up when he stood between my legs and we took his shirt off together. With his bare torso exposed, I couldn’t help smoothing my palm over his chest and abdomen like an artist brushing paint over canvas.
Benny clasped my wrist in his hand and I saw desire shoot like fire from his eyes. After five torturous days, we were finally going to quench the scorching ache that had burned us both. I couldn’t wait anymore, couldn’t resist my wanting him, couldn’t resist him wanting me. Tonight was finally the night to consummate the marriage for as long as it might take. Nothing was going to get in our way.
Impatient and breathless, Benny stretched out over my body and traced his fingertips across my ribcage. When his mouth clamped down on mine, I tugged at his lower lip until he groaned. Then he placed one hand on the desk and his bare stomach slid against mine. There was something so overwhelming to having him this close. I knew that after tonight, nothing would ever be the same. In a good way.
As his hand travelled from my calf to my thigh, I struggled for air. The stubble of his beard tickled my sensitive skin when he kissed my neck and the dip it formed when meeting my shoulder. His finger slipped beneath my bra strap as he pushed it over my shoulder and down past my arm. My body was like a live wire, every inch of skin ready to ignite in flames at even the ghost of his touch.
But then a familiar tone caught us both off guard and Benny moaned in aggravation. I sat up on the desk and leaned back on my palms as he trudged to the other side and picked something up off the floor. When I saw the cell phone in his hand, disappointment sank in deeper than it ever had before.
“Hello,” Benny answered, fixing his gaze on me with an apologetic look in his nearly dark eyes.
I wrapped my arms around my stomach and hugged myself, feeling awkward half-dressed on the cold wooden desk in his study. But then the expression on Benny’s face shifted from desire to fear.
“What?” He placed a hand on his hip and turned his head away. “We’ll be right there.”
Benny hung up and looked over at me. I didn’t like the way he stared.
“What is it?” I wondered, searching his unreadable face. “Who was that?”
Benny reached out to take my hand, but I was too worried to let him.
“It’s Amy,” he revealed, clenching his jaw with the words. “She’s in a coma.”
Lindsay Marie Miller was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, where she graduated from high school as Valedictorian. At sixteen, she started writing her first novel, Emerald Green, after being inspired by Stephenie Meyer's International Bestselling Twilight Saga. During her time in college, Lindsay wrote 5 more novels and over 100 songs. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Florida State University, she put her B.A. in English Literature to good use and published her debut novel, Emerald Green. An author of over 10 Romance Titles, Lindsay currently resides in her hometown of Tallahassee where she is always working on her next novel.
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