When Ruth gets set up on a blind date with Carter Wilson, she agrees to go out with him as a favor to a friend. But she’s not interested in Carter. He might be the most attractive man she’s ever known, but he’s too rich. Too indulged. Too nice all the time. Right now, her career comes first in her life, and even if it didn’t, she’s looking for a man with rougher edges. Plus, she suspects he might … suspects he might still have a thing for a woman he can never have.
Carter wants to get his friends and family to stop trying to fix him up, so they agree to a scheme that might help them both. They can pretend they fell in love and fake an engagement until Christmas. His friends will back off, and she can use the social events in the very wealthy town of Green Valley to line up a lot of new contacts for her interior design business.
All she has to do is pretend she’s going to marry Carter. It should be easy. It’s not like she’ll ever be his bride for real.
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Her books are happy books.I always watch for her next book.
I always enjoy her books
what was a blind date ended up as an engagement. Just until Christmas that way their friends will quit trying to set them up.
Very good story well told.
Really like this series
Christmas Bride is a warm blanket of a book; you can wrap yourself up in it and feel comforted. This fifth book in the Convenient Marriages series focuses on a fake engagement between Ruth and Carter that they set up to fend off the matchmaking-minded folks who are driving Carter crazy. Being engaged will give him a respite during the holiday season, and then he and Ruth can “break up” in the new year.
Ruth is an interesting character, and she’s different from most romance heroines in that she’s abrupt, speaks her mind without a filter, and sometimes can seem abrasive. I liked that Adams took on a challenge in creating her. That said, Carter was a bit of the opposite—he’s a perfect guy. He’s rich, he’s smart, he’s good looking, and he’s not full of himself despite those first three adjectives. That made it hard for me to accept why Ruth appealed to him so much. I understood it was in part because she didn’t pander to him, but it didn’t explain why he was the one to accept the fake engagement idea when it was a toss-off, almost jokey suggestion from Ruth.
It was easy to see how Ruth moved from viewing Carter as this untouchable figure on a pedestal to someone with shades and colors and shifting aspects to his character. I wished we’d been given some of Carter’s POV, especially because it was an opportunity to know more of him after he appeared as a secondary figure in earlier books in this series. But Adams has created a light, amusing take on the fake-engagement trope in Christmas Bride, one that made me smile as I read it. In its own way, it’s a respite for readers in these times just as Ruth is Carter’s respite from the dating world!
Fake relationship tropes are some of my favorites to read, and this was a terrific one. There is sufficient backstory to make it sensible that Ruth and Carter would benefit from this plan. That same backstory provided the tension that kept me reading to the end because Ruth had compelling reasons to walk away from Carter.
I really liked Ruth and thought she was doing the best she could with her life. She is carrying some grief and heavy responsibilities. Still she is honest and strong. She keeps going no matter what, and Carter definitely respects that.
Carter is a lovely gentleman in this book. He treats Ruth with consideration and listens to her. He has some things that he is ashamed of (even though things generally worked out afterward). He is trying to be a better man, and Ruth is an inspiration to him.
The whole book was very romantic with lots of funny moments and some seriously hot moments. I was completely entranced by the storytelling and hard a very hard time putting it down.
Ruth and Carter meet on a blind date. To get everyone of their backs, they decide to pretend, that they are dating and then engaged. The more time they spend, the more they realize, they like each other, they attracted to each other.
Ruth was always counting on herself, will she trust Carter enough to spent their life together.
As always great story from Noelle Adams.
For two people who aren’t looking for relationships, their fake one took off pretty fast! Ruth has sworn off men but she’s willing to go on a blind date with Carter, even though she’s sure he’s not her type. Carter has a different reason for agreeing to the date…he needs his family and friends to stop feeling sorry for him.
The speed of the pretend courtship did take me by surprise, but right away I loved the chemistry and friendship Ruth and Carter displayed. These two were fun and Ruth was great at getting Carter to be more carefree and less work-driven. Not having read the previous book, I might have been harsh in my apathy towards Carter’s brother Lincoln and his wife Summer, but I was quickly Team Carter and anyone who had hurt him, unintentionally or not, was not anyone I was prepared to like.
Ruth’s step family was a weird dynamic for me, though. With no close friends to speak of and her mother deceased, Ruth’s only close relationship is with her younger step sister. But it was the behavior of the step father and brothers that confused and annoyed me. They were, to me, a weird prop, only existing to explain where Kayla lives. I wonder if it would have been better for Kayla to just be a friend and have Ruth had no family at all.
Regardless of that complaint, Christmas Bride was an enjoyable read with a great couple and interesting storyline. Even though part of a series, it can definitely be read as a stand-alone, like it was for me. 3.75 stars
my thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy. It was a great addition to my seasonal reading list
This is book five in The Convenient Marriage Series and it is Carter and Ruth’s story. Ruth’s friend asked her to go on a blind date and even though she has known Carter since she was sixteen they ran in different circles so she said yes. Carter agreed to go on a blind date just to get his family and friends of his back about settling down but when they met Ruth had a great idea but will Carter agree with it or not. Wow this book was really great and I loved the connection and chemistry they had between them and even though they were from different backgrounds they really got on well together but would it all work out for them or will there be heartbreak in the future. Noelle Adams is an amazing author and writer and her books are always real page turner s and you have to keep reading to see what will happen next and they are so addictive. Noelle Adams is an amazing author and writer and I definitely recommend you read this book, series and other books by her and you will definitely not be disappointed.
I voluntarily reviewed an Arc copy of this Amazing Book.
Christmas Bride has two of my favorite things. Christmas and fake relationships. It’s an odd combo but also a pretty romantic story.
What started out as a fake relationship to get others to back off of setting Carter up on blind dates, turns into a couple who actually date and get to know each other without any pressure.
There was no first judgments that could interfere with moving forward. They still dated without feeling the need to impress each other. They truly got to know each as their real selves.
The only downside to this is when real feelings develop, there is that hesitancy to express them in fear that the other doesn’t feel the same.
I was just as anxious as Carter and Ruth when it all became real. I loved seeing them grow as a couple and wanted it to work out for them just as much as they did.
For a fake relationship, this turned out to be a pretty romantic love story. I really enjoyed it and it gave me the feel good vibes like Christmas does.
This was a great sweet, smexy, fun Christmas romance!
Ruth was quite unique from other heroines I’m accustomed to from this author. I loved that she was so forward and known to speak her mind. And yet, the very thing I loved about her, was the thing that tended to keep her isolated. Her loneliness hurt my heart and I wanted her to find her own circle of friends that would always be there for her.
We are not given Carter’s point of view and I did struggle a tad with exactly what he was feeling, experiencing or thinking. Usually, I never struggle with that issue when reading a Noelle Adams book, but Carter tended to keep things close to his chest. However, that never affected my enjoyment of the story.
I loved Carter and Ruth together as a couple. The fact that they are a couple, even if a fake couple, throughout the book was like the icing on a delicious slice of cake. Watching them fake date and knowing they were both in the process of falling into the real deal fed my heart all it desires. They were just so dang cute together.
While most of this is what I’m accustomed to with a book by Ms. Adams, this one was written in such a way that it felt unique and fresh. Add in so many fun moments, wonderful secondary characters, and some serious sizzle and I fell completely in love with everything about this book!