A billionaire cowboy, a divorced teacher with nowhere left to turn, and a fake engagement they thought would solve all their problems. They never meant to fall in love.Gwen Alder is starting over — divorced and broke, she’s come to Billings, Montana for a new beginning. But waitressing in a roadside diner for the summer isn’t paying the bills, and she finds herself in over her head with no hope … head with no hope of catching up.
Heath Montgomery has it all — fame, fortune and a mega-watt smile, but one thing he doesn’t have is a date for his cousin’s wedding.
When they cross paths, Heath has an idea — what if he paid her to be his date? No strings, no complications, just a simple business transaction — a way to finally win his father’s trust, and get his parents off his back about settling down once and for all.
She’s poor and plain. He’s wealthy and arrogant.
They didn’t want anything more than a simple arrangement. They never planned to fall in love. But sometimes cupid has a mind of his own.
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fun read for a cloudy afternoon
The plot is similar to some of the Hallmark movies I’ve seen, but there is a bit of a twist with the story. The fact that the main male character is a cowboy adds an extra bit of interest. Good, light reading!
Such a fun book! Had a hard time putting it down!
This was a fun read. I was hard to put it down.
Just okay.
I enjoyed it
A good clean romance. I enjoyed reading this book.
loved Vivi Holt’s Christian values coming thru her writing – great author
4 Star review of Make Believe Fiancee (Make Believe #1) by Vivi Holt
Audio Review:
Both the author Vivi Holt and the narrator Amanda Stribling are relatively new to me.
Gwen Alder has moved to Billings, Montana to start over now that she is divorced and is working as a waitress at a roadside dinner, barely keeping her head afloat. Heath Montgomery is in desperate need of s date for his cousin’s wedding.
When fate puts Gwen and Heath together, Heath sees in Gwen the answer to his predicament . All she has to do is accompany Heath to the wedding as his date, which hopefully will get his parents off his back. A simple solution, Heath with pay Gwen to be his date and since she is broke, she accepts.
What will happen when the magic of the wedding weaves it’s spell? Complications will arise as feelings become involved. Will the issues that Gwen has trusting men destroy their chance of happiness? What will happen when their pretence is discovered?
I found the story to be delightful and heart warming and the narrator did a great job bringing the story to life.
This was a sweet and romantic story about taking a chance on love and happiness and was well written.
#AudiobookObsessionReviewer
This story was so refreshing. I really enjoyed how they set up a fake relationship and grew from there. Neither Heath nor Gwen wanted a relationship, and as in real life, that is exactly when you will find it. Once they agreed to the fake relationship, Sparks started to fly. Gwen has no idea who Heath is, so it makes her attraction to him even sweeter. I found myself routing for Heath and Gwen to have that happily ever after. I love the stranger to lover stories, and Vivi Holy does a wonderful job with it.
Amanda Stribling has an easy to listen to voice. She is able to separate the characters so the story is easy to follow along. bringing life to the many different characters is something I look for in an audiobook, Amanda Stribling delivered that . I hope to hear more from her.
The narration by Amanda Stribling was great, her accenting was very well done.
I really enjoyed this book. Its you classic fake relationship turned real. The drama created by all the side characters really helped the couple along. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
#AudiobookObsession
AudiobookObsession
GwenHeath! Sweet Romance & Great Audible Listen 4.5 Stars
Make-Believe Fiancé
By: Vivi Holt
Narrated by: Amanda Stribling
Series: Make-Believe, Book 1
I enjoyed this cute and sweet story, it is well written and well told. The storylines and characters are interesting and well developed. I really liked Gwen, she has had it tough, faced with financial hardships after a divorce. She sets off to start a new life for herself, moves to Billings, Montana where she will be a teacher. She took a job waitressing at the diner to make ends meet. This is where she meets Heath Montgomery. He took a liking to Gwen and when he heard of her financial woes he offered her a proposition, to be a date for his cousins wedding and to act has his fiance. All goes well and according to plan until it doesn’t. I enjoyed how their story played out, how well they got along and how make believe turned real. I recommend this book there is never a dull moment, there is plenty of drama, some meddling family members and bitter exes as well as sweet romance. Vivi Holt thank you for this great story.
I listened to the Audible edition, Amanda Stripling is a wonderful narrator and voice performer. She brings the characters to life, gives each their own voice and personality. She projects the emotions of the characters in to her performance. She is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another great listen
Thank you @AudiobookObsession #AudiobookObsession #AudiobookObsessionReviewer
I had a free copy of this book, but this is my honest opinion. I really enjoyed reading this book. Vivi did a great job with the story line and the characters. It’s a nice clean story with interesting characters.
I typically enjoy novels by Vivi Holt for they are full of clean romance who keep Christ at their center; however, this time the novel left me with more confusion and disappointment than any of the ones before. The overall storyline was excellent, with many different twists and turns to keep readers entertained and interested, but there were so many different items that were thrown in that could have been left out for they took away from the plot. Gwen’s husband, what ever happened to him? Chantelle, why did we see her thoughts once then she was gone? The theft within the company, why did we find out it was a married company and absolutely nothing else about them? Heath’s sister, she had so many questions and then just disappeared from the story all together? There were so many questions and plot twists thrown in, the novel could have been great if only they would have been answered and expanded upon to bring a complete picture of everything and everyone. Overall, it was a good read but disappointing for it could have been great!
4 stars
I purchased a copy of the novella Make-Believe Series book 1:Make-Believe Fiancé by ViVi Holt and this review was given freely.
Divorced and broke school teacher Gwen plagued by her sponge of an ex-husband agrees to billionaire cowboy Heath’s fake fiancee’ scheme in order for her to pay bills and him to be named CEO. This is a complex sweet Christian romance filled with interesting and realistic characters, workplace and personal conflicts, a touch of humor, and a happy ending.
A adorably fun contemporary romance
I liked this audiobook very much. It is a really good example of the fake relationship trope. The story was bubbly, sweet, and romantic. It is a “clean” romance (no sex, just kissing). The absence of sex and lustful thoughts was not quite believable, especially since Gwen is not a virgin (she is divorced) and Graham is a billionaire. They are both Christian, but mentions of their religion and faith were blessedly minimal for me (I’m not religious). I loved the dress shopping and how Gwen explicitly referenced the movie “Pretty Woman”. I enjoyed the gaggle of Graham’s vivacious and distinctive family members. Graham’s and Gwen’s exes’ efforts to bother the couple added an interesting tension to the plot. The ending was perfectly wonderful, but I want more glimpses into Graham and Gwen’s life together in future books. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a light, fluffy, and clean contemporary romance. This is especially good for anyone who wants a good-hearted billionaire in a PG-rated type of audiobook.
The narrator was pretty good. She had a delightfully upbeat tone that the novel required. She was decent at men’s voices but could be better. She is very good at believable and identifiable characters’ voices for women of all ages. The pacing was good, as well.
I received a free advanced reading copy from the author, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
Though “Make-Believe Fiance” is similar to other fake fiance stories, it has its own charm and character to it. Gwen is sweet, down to earth, as well as down on her luck at the moment Heath meets her. The sparks fly for him the instant he sees her. It is fun to watch how she draws him out of his shell. Definitely predictable, but oh so fun getting to the end. I’m wondering if Dan has a story coming soon. I highly recommend for a quick, sweet, and fun read.