Toymaker, Deacon Stone, needs a wife. If he isn’t married in less than a week his grandmother will sell her shares of the family business, and everything Deacon has worked his entire life for will be taken from him. He isn’t the husband type but he’ll do whatever it takes to keep control of the family business.Single mother, Claire Brooks, dreamed of being an actress, not a maid to the wealthy. … the wealthy. But with an eviction notice, an empty bank account, and Christmas just around the corner, she’s barely making ends meet. When her daughter accidentally breaks a priceless statue belonging to her employer – the gorgeous and aloof toymaker – Claire has no choice but to accept Deacon Stone’s proposal. Marry him for thirty days, convince his grandmother that they’re in love, and he’ll give her a hundred grand and the chance to finally give her daughter the life she deserves.
Claire’s determined to give the performance of her life. But when Deacon’s kisses ignite a scorching hot chemistry between them, the line between make-believe and the truth starts to blur.
Author’s Note: This book contains explicit and steamy sex scenes that may not be your cup of tea. It is intended for mature readers only.
more
While I wouldn’t call this book overly hot, it was a really sweet story that did have a few intimate scenes. It’s a perfect holiday read that will leave you feeling all warm inside when it’s over.
When a story based on lies gets real, it’s hard to walk away from it. I can’t even tell you how much I enjoyed reading this book! I was gifted a free copy in exchange for an honest review, and this is seriously the easiest review I’ve ever had to write. This book is a touching, reality driven piece of art that captures the honest struggles of single moms everywhere. I could see myself in Claire and maybe that pulled me in deeper, but this story is more of everything that makes a story a classic. It has characters with depth, flaws and real temperaments. Claire is a character that has been dealt a lot of defeating blows, but she is still standing, still trying to make a good life for her daughter. She’s a good Mom and her plight is easy to relate to. Deacon is a rich jerk but maybe that’s just because he has never been in contact with children or poverty. Whatever the case is, it works because Hattie is irrepressible and he is about to learn a few things about life in the kiddie pool! Possessing a steady flowing plot that displays an ease of emotional comprehension and is sexy but not just for the sake of including sex in the plot, the developing story is full of moments when you just want to stop and say aww, but lots that will frustrate you too. The more they fight fate, the more it conspires against them! As a fan of Elizabeth Kelly’s writing, I thought that her book Saving Gabriel was the most emotionally grabbing story in her library of books, but The Christmas Wife will give that title a run for its money. Claire and Deacon were fun to read about because they were so diametrically opposite that you couldn’t help but want to see them together. I was totally sold on this guy when he connected with Hattie too. What’s not to love about a girl who prefers the Hulk to a Princess motif? Read this story! It will make you smile and laugh out loud, but mostly, it will make you feel good! This is now my official go to book when I need a pick me up!