PAPER MARRIAGE PROPOSITION – Red Garnier
Silhouette Desire #2064
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-73077-3
ISBN-10: 9-780373-73077-3
January 2011
Contemporary Series Romance

San Antonio , Texas - The Present

Bethany Lewis hates her ex-husband, Hector Halifax. He left her with nothing and destroyed her reputation so the courts refused her custody of her son, David. She knows someone who must hate Halifax as much as she does, if she can just convince him to help her make a short term marriage so she can reclaim sole custody of David.

Landon Gage made his father's newspaper into a multi-million dollar business. When the beautiful woman stalking him finally presents her cause, he is dismissive. However, Bethany re-ignites his hate of her ex-husband whom Landon holds responsible for the death of his first wife and son. He agrees to a marriage on paper with a firm prenuptial agreement excluding Bethany from any payoff for her part in a sham marriage. By the time the marriage takes place, Landon's motives have changed.

Red Garnier pulled off a tricky predicament of making a good romance develop from two people joined only by their mutual hate and revenge for the villain. The narrative changes from Bethany 's to Landon's at regular intervals, which allows the reader to witness the protagonists' alternating attitudes between distrust and attraction. These sea changes make an emotional roller coaster for the hero and heroine. Perhaps too much of the entrapment of Hallifax remains hidden by the time the custody hearing takes place. Surprise witnesses and evidence seem a little serendipitous, but the fact is Hallifax is a horrible man, and the reader is only too happy to accept these actions. There are a couple incidents between Bethany and her ex that reinforce this attitude and recast Landon into a dragon slayer, but the prose reads fast and holds attention, so makes PAPER MARRIAGE PROPOSITION an enjoyable reading experience.

Robin Lee