Marty Vee

Having read more romantic comedies than I care to mention, I've endured varying emotions when the story ends: elated, overwhelmed, irritated, disappointed. Never have I ever felt sadness and loss from a happy ever after ending. For Owen and Emmeline (Em), I didn't want the story to end. Through the course of reading, I fell in love with these characters - with their struggles, their history, their connection.

Just Fake Married is more than your typical fake coupling romantic comedy. It dives deeper into the consequences of poor communication, assumption, and the devastating effects of an unhealed passed. Without realizing it, Owen and Em are two peas in a pod. A mirror image of unrequited love, they spend a single day jogging together and the rest of the week longing for one another; believing, through assumptions of their own, that they don't stand a chance to ever be together. Justifying that being friends is better than being nothing at all, Owen and Em are committed to this casual charade until Em asks Owen to be her plus one for a New Year's Party. In an attempt to avoid an awkward work situation if she goes alone, she offers to attend Owen's work party to return the favor. Agreeing to go with her but declining reciprocity, Em finally presses Owen to discover that he doesn't want her to attend his get-together because…he's married! Knocked off her feet (literally), Owen explains that a pushy donor was relentless about Owen dating his daughter so the only way he could get out of it without being rude was to lie and say he was married. Believing there were a million other ways Owen could have sidestepped his dilemma, Em puts her foot in her own mouth when she finds herself delivering the same lie when presented with an impossible situation. In true romantic comedy form, two completely different social circles, same lie, there is no way their worlds could possible come crashing together, or so they think.

What I liked about this book: It's one thing to have a one sided story of unrequited love but doubled sided pinning - hilarious torture! The first person alternating POV was the icing on the cake as you had the pleasure of seeing the outside interactions vs the internal struggle of the characters. You just wanted to yell "For the love of all that is holy! Are you blind?!" As for the characters, I will be honest - I definitely have a crush on Owen. He is a "naughty librarian" fantasy wrapped in a quiet, shy veterinarian. The steamy scenes between him and Em were intense! There were moments I caught myself holding my breath and had to take a minute before I kept reading. Breathtaking scenes aside, I also enjoyed the family and friend support system of each character. Marty incorporated secondary characters so well into the story that they became intricate pieces of the overall puzzle.

What I loved about the book: The one thing I have come to expect in a romantic comedy is the simple formula: meet, break, mend, rinse and repeat. When an author takes that idea and decides to go deeper, that is when I am pulled in. Marty didn't just go with the obvious, she kept it realistic. These two people were thrust together in an already doomed situation. Sure, it would have been easy to wave the magic writing wand and it all worked out with no baggage but Marty went even further. She presented the characters with real doubts, insecurities, and unresolved pain. The relationship between Owen and Em was complicated and so relatable. Watching them, we are reminded that when we fail to heal the wounds of the past, we enter new relationships on shaky grounds. Resistant to letting go and being all in, we shield our vulnerabilities and keep one eye on the exit because, despite anything to the contrary, we "know" what's going to happen - creating the vicious cycle of self-sabotage.

What I am indifferent about but feel I should mention: As I believe this is Marty's third book, her writing style is more intermediate than advanced. I found some redundancy in descriptions and two plot holes but it didn't take away from the story as either it was explained much later in the book or there was enough context clues you were ok with your assumption. I can only imagine how she will take off with the right publisher and would love to see if she continues this series with two specific characters in mind.

Smoldering scenes blended with deep emotion and character relatability, Just Fake Married is a quick read full of hilarious awkward moments, fantastic banter, and heartwarming memories.… (meer)