THE ENGAGEMENT ARRANGEMENT by Jaci Burton

Publisher: Berkley
Date Published: June 29, 2021
ISBN#  978-0451491305
Contemporary Romance
Reviewed by Gina (myreviewbooks@aol.com)
Obtained via publisher

4 Hearts

After a disastrous marriage the now divorced Brenna Bellini is more than happy to be at home working at the family winery. Along with her sisters, Honor and Erin her life is pretty set and she couldn’t be more pleased. Sure, she dates, but none of the men she’s meeting are quite right.

Brenna’s mother, Maureen, brought Finn Nolan to Oklahoma after her longtime friend, his mother, died when he was eighteen. The Bellini family welcomed him with open arms and he quickly became one of the family. Honor and Erin looked on him as a brother. Brenna, not so much. Sure, she was kind to him but a brother? Nope. Not happening.  And why was that? Finn has a feeling it has a lot to do with why he has never thought of Brenna as a sister. Mostly he’s just been waiting for her to realize they are more than friends and adopted family. When Brenna finds out her ex-husband and high school nemesis will be at another friend’s wedding taking place at their winery the last thing she wants is to be a solo guest. Rather than have her ex- and his now wife, her nemesis, she asks Finn to be her finance…for the weekend of the wedding. Not one to turn down a request from a friend, and really, seeing this as an opportunity to show Brenna how good they can be together, Finn quickly agrees.

Can Finn finally convince Brenna he’s the man for her? Or is this really just a temporary arrangement.

I’ve been a Jaci Burton fan since I “discovered” her when she first started writing and was published with a small press. I loved her writing – her characters were, and still are, people you either feel like you know or would want to know. I was a little disappointed in the first book in this series, THE BEST MAN PLAN. It read like someone else wrote it and was just a flat read. I was a little wary starting book two, THE ENGAGEMENT ARRANGEMENT, but went ahead and boy oh boy, what a great read! It was exactly what I was looking for and needing to read right now. I fell in love with Finn. He’s a solid, steady, man who knows what he wants and is willing to work for an wait for it.  And the dynamics of the sisters, Honor, Brenna and Erin makes for great reading. Each is unique and adds to the fullness of the story. 

 I’m looking forward to the next entry to this series.

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.