The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).
Kindle freebie on November 6, 2021 (currently $3.99 and in Kindle Unlimited as of writing this post)
Overall rating 4.10 with 1,210 ratings and 151 reviews
My Fake Christmas Fiance by Julie Kriss Series: Kane Christmas #1
Published by Self-Published on October 2021
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 155
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon
Dear Wesley Kane,
We are not getting married. I know we had to get engaged as part of our companies’ merger plans, but a fake engagement is all I’ll agree to. For business purposes. We are never, ever getting married.
We have nothing in common. I’m the nerdy do-gooder girl with glasses and you’re the playboy with a new woman on his arm every week. I’m not your type, and you’re not mine.
Okay, so you’re incredibly gorgeous. And funny. And you keep giving me That Look. And you’ve ditched all your other girlfriends for me. And I’ve seen you in nothing but your boxer shorts, and I’m still thinking about it. Because…wow.
We have to be married by midnight Christmas Eve, and the deadline is getting closer. It doesn’t matter if you might be my dream guy. It doesn’t matter if I’m falling for you—it’s just a business deal.
We are never, ever—
Oh God, I just kissed you again.
I picked a book by selecting the holiday books which I purchased for free and then sorted them by the highest ratings. Since I was running behind this week, I chose this one with less than 200 pages. Many of them are shorter then the 300-400 pages of other types of books I read. My Fake Christmas Fiance caught my eye because fake dating is a favorite trope.
The first third of the story, the “couple” lives in different cities and doesn’t see each other at all, only exchanging emails. The emails start right after their fathers plan a business merger and that they will get married. Wesley is totally relaxed about it. He is sure he will figure out how to get out of the marriage and the business merger will go well. Penelope is angry, frustrated and not happy with the plan. They both work hard to make the business in its best shape. I did not feel the characters felt realistic at all.
Then “Penny” as Wes calls her, moves to Denver where Wes lives. The chapters alternate between their points of view as the emails alternated between them. Now we get the thoughts in their head and see them interacting which improves things, as they feel more like people and we meet some of Wes’ family and co-workers. The Christmas company is fun and the holiday is approaching. Wes and Penny have some insta-lust and realize they will have to get married to let the merger happen. But then they could get divorced…. because neither of them want to force the other person into a marriage they don’t want.
There are some interesting supporting characters, but the development of the world and characters is little. The entire plot is really about the romance with its fake engagement and marriage. Since this goes on into a series, I might like learning more about the company, family and some of those supporting characters . Wes’ sister Sophie, was especially nice and I’d like to see her find a happy ending. The story feels light, almost too light about serious emotional situations, but it has some fun, sexy times.
These are only Kindle freebies I get, or ones through author newsletters which anyone can sign up and get for free. I don’t include things like Kindle Unlimited or Prime Free Reading (I do have it). Both Tantor and Audible have occasional free audios (to anyone) and I do include those. Since I one-click on 1-2 freebies a day or probably at least 5 a week, I came up with this feature to make sure I start reading them.
I will be putting the rest of my freebie reads for the Ho-Ho-Ho Readthon in the linky below since I won’t have read them all by the date of this post.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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I hope to read a few more holiday freebies. This on was great.
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
Sophia I can always count on you! I loved that one and I don’t even really like historical romance, or most of it. But Courtney Milan is a star.
Hard to totally love a story when it doesn’t feel believable. At least it was short and free!
The emails when they didn’t know each other but were engaged were a combo of funny and infuriating but didn’t feel real. It got better when they moved to in person but still not quite.
Too bad this wasn’t more satisfying but nice that it was still a pleasant experience, Anne.
Yes it was fun even if it wasn’t totally real feeling.
I have picked up quite a few holiday freebies this season. I am so ready for next year 🙂
I’m pretty much always ready. I picked up some. I already had like 90 and I read 2. But I did listen to all the Anne Perry novellas included with Audible Plus. There are more for next year to get at the library, too.