She’s convinced her luck has run out… Socialite Claire Waters’ charmed life came to a crashing halt in a small Iowa community. Out of money and credit, she scrambles for a way out of the one-horse town. The only bright spot in her current predicament is a former flame.Tony Karelli knew Claire years earlier. That was before he turned his life around and became a minister. He’s shocked to see her … shocked to see her and stunned when Claire gives everyone the impression that she’s his fiancée.
Claire is amused by the charade and by Tony’s attempt to keep her at arms’ length. Before he can set the record straight, Tony finds himself seeing a different side of the pampered heiress and falling hard. But can he convince a woman who already has one stiletto out the door that she’s right where she’s meant to be?
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I could not imagine a way Claire could be redeemed after reading Tempted by Taylor, the book prior to this one. Imagine Claire’s surprise to find that Tony has found his place and passion in the ministry.
Claire and her behavior truly did an about face through prayer and faith in God. The author was able to convey Claire’s turnaround, and Tony’s reaffirmation without being preachy about it at all. It was what it was.
While Claire was stepping out of her confront zone, she and Tony were beginning to realize their “fake” situation was becoming very real.
I wish there had been more. More about Tony and Claire’s relationship; their wedding, their future. More about Claire’s relationship with her dad. More about Claire’s Apple pie, Lol. This book left me wanting more and wishing it had been longer. Or, an epilogue would have worked too.
A sweet, clean romance with discussions of faith.
I voluntarily read and reviewed the Advanced Reader Copy.
A sweet faith based romance. This is the second book in the series of Fiancee for the Summer, we first met mean girl, Claire in the first book where she tried to break up Taylor and Nick. Fast forward a few years and she is on the outs with her rich father, and now she needs help from her old flame, Tony. Tony is now the minister of this small town, the residents thought he was engaged, so a fake engagement pursues with Claire and Tony. Claire soon finds herself at home in this small town and Tony starts to fall for her.
I must say I was not excited to read about Claire, I so disliked her in the first book, but it wonderful to see how a person can change for the good. I think we all need to pay attention to the good of people instead of the bad. I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet romance. A perfect read for a lazy afternoon. I read through my kindle unlimited.
This is the second book in the Fiancé for the Summer series that centers around Claire and Tony who were introduced in book one. Claire is the stereotypical mean girl who wanted to break up Taylor and Nick from book one. She had enlisted Tony, Taylor’s long time friend (who had a bit of a crush on Taylor), in her unsuccessful scheme to break the couple up. It is now two years later, and Claire has been cut off by her wealthy father and needs a friendly place to land. She figures that Tony owes her a favor and shows up on his doorstep. Little does she know things have changed dramatically with Tony. In the two year period, Tony has gone to the seminary and is now minister in a small Iowa town. It is his first day in town, when he realizes that the committee that hired him mistakenly thought he was the candidate with a fiancé (their preference). He is about to confess to the committee when in walks Claire, who is mistaken for his fiancée. I have been a fan of Cindy Kirk’s books and her ability to take an unlikable character, in this case Claire, and have her grow to a point that you are rooting for their happily ever after. This is a nice PG rated story, that emphasizes faith and chastity before marriage. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it.
This book is a continuation of events from Tempted by Taylor, occurring a couple of years after Tempted by Taylor. The current book features two characters from the earlier book, Claire Waters and Tony Karelli. In the previous book Claire was not a nice person, to put it mildly. She had enlisted Tony, a childhood friend of Taylor, to help break up Taylor and Nick. Tony eventually refused, and left town.
Skip ahead a couple of years, and Claire is again on the outs with her father, who has cut off all her funds. She decides to hunt down Tony, who owes her. She gets his address from Taylor, and goes to Iowa, not knowing Tony is now broke after going to seminary. Tony has interviewed with a Church in Iowa, but the church members have confused him with another candidate who is engaged to be married. I found this bit hard to believe.
Tony realizes the mixup, but Claire shows up and pretends to be his fiancé. Claire agrees to continue the charade, because she is broke, and Tony has no money to give her. Claire is forced to work humble jobs, and to appreciate good people who are good to her. I found myself rooting for Claire’s evolution into a good person. Can Claire evolve, and can Claire and Tony find happiness?
Despite the lack of believability that all the church search committee members confusing two candidates, overall, I liked this book better than Tempted by Taylor. I found myself rooting for Claire, despite her behavior in the previous book.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing the book.
Claire used Tony in the first book to break up Nick and Taylor, if you have read the first book you know it didn’t work.
Claire wants to find Tony, she has been cut off by her Father for her spending habits. Someone literally cuts her card in half. Spoiler alert, Tony is now a minister which Claire didn’t know, and Taylor didn’t tell her. Tony realizes that they confused him with another man that applied for the same job, this man has a fiancee, while Tony does not. When Claire shows up, everyone assumes she is his fiancee, and neither of them correct anyone. They try to rent her a hotel room, but it doesn’t work out, so she stays at a b&b, the same one Tony is staying at, in exchange for helping with the cleaning.
Claire and Tony pretend to be engaged, and planning their wedding. She hates the engagement ring at first, she doesn’t want to do a bible study class, but the more they spend time together the more she realizes that she loves Tony. At the end of the book, Claire misses a dinner to help a friend. Tony doesn’t let her explain, things are said, and she packs her bags to leave. The girl she helps explains to Tony what happened, he goes to talk to Claire, and the wedding is back on. Unfortunately we don’t get the wedding in this book, but there is another book, to make it a trilogy, cannot wait to read it. This is a clean romance, only kissing.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn’t sure how well I’d like Claire in this book, after meeting her in Tempted by Taylor. I was pleasantly surprised how much I was rooting for her in this book! Claire is knocked down a few levels when her dad cuts her off. She decides to go see Tony Karelli, not realizing that Tony is now a pastor.
Tony is excited about his new job as a pastor in a small town. Until he realizes that they mistaken him a pastor who is engaged. He really doesn’t want to loose this job when Claire comes to visit him, and everyone mistakes her for his fiancé. Tony’s unsure how to approach this, and Claire decides to play along until they figure out what to do.
Claire is left penniless, and is able to be the maid at the boarding house where Tony is staying. Claire learns how her past behavior effects others, and changes her tone. Tony must learn to be patient, and follow his heart. Such an emotional, and loving Christian book!
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it.
In Charmed by Claire, Cindy Kirk gives her readers a sweet story of faith & redemption. Claire was the “mean” girl in Tempted by Taylor. She wanted to marry Nick & did her best to break Nick & Taylor up. She schemed & manipulated & managed to pull Taylor’s friend Tony into her schemes. Now two years later, she’s upset her father & he’s cut her off. She’s gone to Iowa to try to involve Tony in her plan to pacify her father & get back in his good graces. But Tony’s changed a lot in the last two years & Claire lands in an unexpected predicament.
Tony’s spent his time in the seminary & has been hired to head his first church. He’s excited to go to a small town in Iowa & hopes to set deep roots. When he gets there, he realizes they’ve confused him with another candidate – an engaged candidate. He has to explain to them & hope they’ll give him a chance. Or does he?
I really liked how the “bad ones” from the previous book redeem themselves here. It’s not a fast transformation but the delays & slips make it more believable. Tony & Claire are perfect for each other. He sees the good in her & supports her changing. Claire keeps Tony from being too serious & helps him think outside the box. Their journey to happiness isn’t easy & they both have issues but it was an enjoyable read.
What a surprise this book was. After disliking Claire in Tempted by Taylor I get to read her story and I have to say that is a lovely, romantic story. Tony and Claire has so much chemistry that it’s easy for them to do anything together. I like how this story shows a different side of Claire and Tony. This book is sweet and lovely story. I really enjoy reading it. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it.
Charmed by Claire is the second in the Fiance for the Summer Series but can also be read as a stand alone story although I would suggest reading Tempted by Taylor first. This is a sweet, lovable, Christian story about a fake engagement that becomes real. Cindy Kirk takes a character that you love to hate and makes you fall in love. Tony has received the position of minister but realizes that a mistake has been made and the church elders think he is engaged. Claire arrives at the right moment and pretends to be Tony’s fiancé but she has an ulterior motive. Her father has cut her off until she shows some responsibility. The events that follow will have you falling in love with the characters and praying for a happy ending. Absolutely loved this story.
I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher but all thoughts and feelings are my own.
I loved this book because it devoted itself to recognize that even those that never believed in faith can be swayed to do so. If you haven’t read Tempted by Taylor, you should as it introduces Tony and Claire as they both tried to come between Taylor and Nick. This story is about Claire and Tony and the unanticipated act of them falling in love and changing their ways. Claire has always been daddy’s little girl and got almost anything she wanted coming from a family of money. Tony is not so lucky and now he was accepted to be the pastor for a small town. When Tony arrives to the town, he is confused as he realizes that expected him to have a fiancée because one of the other candidates interviewing for the same position was engaged, but guess who shows up before he has a chance to explain that he is not engaged. Claire of course is running because her father is upset with her and cut her off so that she can grow up. Well this little town and Tony, the new pastor, will have to sway her to accept what has been missing from her life and help her grow up.
Mrs. Sandy and her daughter April are pretty good in this book and boy do they help make Claire’s life more interesting. I would have loved an extended ending for the wedding and what will happen to Rachel? I know there must be another book out there because there are other characters that have not received their happily ever after. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
When I realized this book was about Claire I was not very interested. I was also shocked when I began reading and learned the direction Tony’s life had taken him after the previous book. As I continued to read, I was pleasantly surprised at how well they managed their circumstances and were able to develop a connection and eventually an undeniable love for each other. I was so happy to see the change in Claire’s personality and I loved the romantic ending! Despite my hesitation in the beginning I could not put the book down and loved it! I highly recommend this sweet story of romance! I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
This is the second book in the Fiancé for the Summer series, and I wasn’t sure how I would feel about Claire based on her character in the last book. However, as the book unfolded, I fell more and more in love with her, and understood more of her character.
This is a great book to read before bed, on the beach, or if you want to get caught in the romance.
I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from the publisher of this book.
Well, Charmed by Claire is a perfect example of what a good author can do! How do you take a mean girl like Claire and get everyone to root for her? Cindy did it! Claire started seeing how she was offensive and started trying to be better. This is really a story on personal growth. Well done.
“I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it.”
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this book. It is hard to read a book about a character that you loathe. If you read Tempted by Taylor, you remember Claire, the scheming woman who made it her life goal to break up Nick and Taylor. The dislike factor was at a 10 for her and her partner in crime, Tony, faired no better. So I really wasn’t interested in their story but I know this author and know that she has a knack for making you love a character despite their flaws.
This books is set about two years after Nick and Taylor tie the knot. You get a glimpse of their growing family which I adore. I always love hearing about the lives of previous characters that I have read about. Claire is looking for Tony and running away from her father who is thoroughly upset with her. Tony has been to seminary and has been selected to pastor a church in Millville, IA. Claire catches up to him on his first day right after he has discovered that the church had planned to offer the job to the other candidate who had a fiancé. Claire immediately jumps into the role and they make a pact to see this rouse through until Tony is able to secure his position.
This book still captures the Seriously Sweet to a T. You see Claire and Tony’s relationship evolve with Claire’s mindset changing for the better. This book has a lot of elements of religion, much like Taylor’s book. No sex scenes but a lot of steamy kisses. Readers come to meet the real Claire and find that she is very endearing. I am loving these small town, sweet stories that are told so well. Keep it up Cindy.
A Christian love story. I really liked this novel, though to be fair, when I realized the female lead was Claire from the previous book, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it – I didn’t like her at all. Leave it to Cindy, though, to change my mind. By the time the book was over, I was pulling for her. The most important part of this book was that Claire’s transformation was believable. I love the self-reflection that she went through as the book progress, something we all should do from time to time, I’m sure. There were some breath-catching moments when the characters acted more human than Godly (even the minister!), but that just made them all the more realistic. I ended this book with a smile on my face and hope in my heart, which is why I read in the first place. My only gripe is that I didn’t get to attend the wedding!
I was given a preview copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A Cindy Kirk book is my personal peace from this crazy world. I started reading looking for escape and soon found I was finding inspiration instead. Oh this book held the usual expectations , great characters, romance, friendship and some laughs. But it also opened my heart with its honest portrayal of people and of the reflection I found of myself and others I love. It is so refreshing to read about a minister who is not just a man of God but has all the human emotions and problems faced by everyone. I forget like most of society simple things like , don’t judge by first impressions and turning the other cheek should be more than symbolic. If you are looking for a fabulous sweet romance you will find it here. If you also want to be inspired that life can be good again, you will find that here too.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it