Temporary Wife Temptation

This is a beautiful book with wonderful characters I loved the different culture it was nice getting to know a different culture a bit. I look forward to reading more by this wonderful author.

Natalie and Garrett were so good together. Although, they moved fast with their relationship I could feel the chemistry between them. It was hot. Hot enough to light a candle. However, it felt right too. What I mean by this is that sometimes I am not a fan of characters in a story instantly hooking up within the first couple of chapters of a book. It does not feel authentic if not done right. In this case, it was right.

I am Korean. So, I appreciated reading this book. However, I was not raised in the traditional culture so I can not speak to authenticity. Yet, I do imagine the way that Garretts parents and grandmother acted were appropriate. Everyone was so enjoyable to get to know that I really had a good time reading this book. If you are looking to add some spice to your bookshelves and in your life, you should treat yourself to a copy of Temporary Wife Temptation!

When I started following Jayci Lee on Twitter it was quite by accident—a happy accident. She is writer friends with a couple of authors I adore. When I saw the cover of her book and read the excerpt, I was hooked, and boy did she hook me. Garrett Song is the brooding, hot businessman who has worked his way up through his family’s company. Natalie Sobol is vulnerable but not weak. In fact, they are both vulnerable but still strong, how Jayci managed to write these characters so well is beyond me.

At the very beginning on the fake spouse plan you know it’s not going to work. They are already attracted to each other, perhaps, that is why Garrett came up with the idea. Each of them has needs that having the other in their life will make the situation better, but they know that their marriage also provides complications, especially to their hearts. I laughed until I cried, and then I bawled like a baby. Oh, my god! You talk about ripping out my heart, the whole last half of the book I’m sobbing as I read but I can’t freaking put the book down because it is that damned good. And get this y’all, this is Jayci’s debut novel. If this is her first book, then I’m standing in line for the next one because if she’s this good already she’ll be serving my heart on a platter with her next one.

If you are looking for a beautiful story with a lot of heart, strong but vulnerable characters and a little flavor of Korean culture, this is a story you don’t want to miss. If you don’t care about other cultures, don’t worry, it’s still a great story. Read the book and you will realize that there are so many similarities between one culture and another that the only differences are in the details. Loved this book. Congratulations Jayci Lee!

Temporary Wife Temptation by Jayci Lee
Heirs of Hansol Series #1

Arranged marriages…would YOU want one? I wouldn’t…
Marriages of Convenience…would You want one? I don’t think so

So…

Why would two attractive people in this modern age opt to move into a situation that would put them together 24/7 and create havoc with their hormones KNOWING that they should not succumb to one another even though both feel the chemistry?

AND then…

Throw in a bit of
*cultural information
* a hunky and wealthy Korean American super-handsome male thinking he has life his life all planned out only to find out that his grandmother has another plan in place for him…one he is not willing to go along with
* a woman working in the family business that might help him out while he helps her out by providing a partner that will increase her likelihood of adopting the daughter of her deceased sister
* a hanbok (that REALLY caught my attention because my sister told me all about wearing one to her son’s marriage and how it fit and felt and all the rest)
* how one deals with the person one wants but can’t have…according to the contract for the marriage of convenience
* information on how to deal with in laws in a culture you did not grow up with
* a baby that more than one couple wants
* avoiding falling in love…or not

This book was not what I thought it would be but am glad that I read it and in reading it learned a bit, laughed a bit and enjoyed the reading while wanting to find out what will happen next in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Desire for the ARC ~ This is my honest review

3-4 Stars

Garrett Song is rich, handsome, and poised to take over his family’s fashion empire, Hansol. He can walk on the wild side, but knows his duty as the heir to the proverbial throne. When his grandmother wants to play matchmaker to join the Song family forces with another influential family, comes up with a plan. He hates the idea of marriage and plans on being a lifelong bachelor. But then he decides to handpick his own wife, one he knows would benefit from their marriage just as much as he would. If only he can get her to accept.

Natalie Sobol is having a rough time. She’s been working for Hansol for a while, and has her eye on a position that could validate her career choices and set her up for life. But the death of her sister and brother-in-law leave her the guardian of a little girl, her life goes into a tailspin. She needs a promotion and money for her niece’s medical issues and schooling. She hadn’t planned on being a parent just yet, but when Garret offers her a way to get everything she wants, it’s hard to say no…only there’s a catch, one that makes her question everything.

In the beginning, the deal is clear. They marry so Garret gets the CEO position and Natalie is promoted to the VP of Human Resources and is able to fully adopt her niece. They’ll attend parties, go out to dinner, and appear on the outside as a perfectly devoted pair. After enough time passes, they’ll simply annul their marriage. After all, they don’t plan on actually ever consummating it…right?

Temporary Wife Temptation is basically what happens when The Proposal, The Wedding Date, and Crazy Rich Asians combine forces. Sexy, funny, and interesting, the story sets off at a run from page one, not leaving any room for unnecessary filler or fluff. You dive right in to Garret and Natalie’s story, getting both points of view from the beginning.

I really enjoy fake relationship romances and anything with fabulously wealthy people. The world Lee created is the perfect blend of luxury living and real life issues. There’s enough reality to keep you grounded as you follow the romance, but more than enough champagne living to sweeten the deal. It also wasn’t terribly predictable. There were enough twists and turns between the romance to make you wonder if Garret and Natalie would make a real go of their relationship or just start counting down the days until they could split for good.

In this marriage of convenience story, Garrett Song wants to be CEO of his family company, but his grandmother insists that he be married. To be able to choose his own wife and be CEO he must find a wife quickly to keep his grandmother from forcing him into an arranged marriage.

Natalie Sobol wants to be a VP with Hansol, but tragic circumstances mean that she missed her opportunity for an interview for the position. After being at the compnay and knowing she can do the job, she approaches Garrett. Turns out they can both help each other out.

As expected, a mutual attraction grows between Natalie and Garrett as does their relationship. There’s a few hurdles for them to get to the HEA and while there weren’t really many surprises to this story, I loved reading about the different culture and how that impacted the characters view of their world. They do manage to finally admit their feelings for each other and it’s all good.

Overall, an entertaining and quick read.

A review copy was provided by the publisher.

This was such a fun read!! Fake marriage for interesting, individual reasons and adhering to cultural expectations-what could possibly go wrong?!

While oodles and oodles of sexy chemistry between Garrett and Natalie kept me on my toes with ‘will they, won’t they’ moments, I enjoyed their relationship growth best. Garrett fought falling for Natalie tooth and nail, but his actions spoke louder than words and his sweet side was adorable to watch in action. Natalie wasn’t a doormat either. She kept her chin up and held high…Garrett hit the jackpot with her!
There were occasional gaps in transition and a few places I wished things could be explained more in-depth, but for a debut author, I loved the characters and Lee’s voice. I’m looking forward to reading Garrett’s sister, Adelaide’s story as well as her contemporary A Sweet Mess!

I will always give books about marriages of convenience and fake relationships a closer look because there’s something about the trope that I find so very appealing. When I came across TEMPORARY WIFE TEMPTATION by Jayci Lee, not only did the set up appeal to me but the cover had Asian people pictured on it. I was hoping – and was rewarded with a story that also delved into Korean culture.

This is a Harlequin Desire title, and I know they follow a formula but I think Lee’s done a great job in balancing the right amount of detail needed to cement the foundation of the story and giving us a very sexual-tension filled romance between Garret and Natalie. There is certainly a power imbalance on the face of it (he’s the employer, she’s the employee) but it’s never used as tool of manipulation and I do feel Garret and Natalie came together as professional equals; their roles might be different but they were both dedicated, hardworking and high-achievers within their respective professional spectrum.

There is a sense of soap-opera drama in some scenes but I enjoyed them, and as mentioned previously, learning a bit more about some Korean cultural norms was an interesting and welcome addition.

This is the author’s debut novel and I think she’s done marvellously well. I will certainly be looking out for her next book.

TEMPORARY WIFE TEMPTATION by Jayci Lee is the story of Natalie Sobol and Garrett Song.
Garrett family owns a fashion empire that he wants to take over but he is from a somewhat traditional Korean family where his Grandmother wants him to marry to before taking over the company. But Garrett tells her he already has a fiancée hoping to buy time to find someone of his choosing. Natalie’s sister and her husband has died in a car wreck leaving a daughter Sophie behind. To ensure that has no issue having custody of her niece she thinks marriage would help but she needs a promotion too from her job. So when Garrett and her meet a plan is formed to have a marriage of convenience until they both get what they want then go their separate ways. But nothing every goes as plan with marriages of convenience with the attraction is to strong to ignore.
I am always a fan of Harlequin books and love this author’s take on the marriage of convenience story line.

First, can we talk about this cover? GORGEOUS! So that coupled with the blurb, it automatically went on my TBR list, and it’s absolutely delightful! The fake fiance/relationship trope is one of my favorites and Jayci Lee executed it perfectly. The push and pull chemistry between Garrett and Natalie is combustible and the romance so, so very sweet–and sexy. 😀 I can’t wait for more books from Jayci Lee!