Ellie Greco wishes she weren’t stuck in Milborough. For a few brief, shining years, she escaped her hometown to pursue her dream career—designing beautiful, elaborate costumes for theater—until her father’s death five years ago called her home to run the family’s decades-old deli. Yes, she loves the place, but she’d always thought she was meant for more exciting things than stocking the right tinned fish. But when Ellie hears that a local landlord is planning to rent to Mangia, the glitzy gourmet food department store, the very existence of Greco’s Deli is suddenly in jeopardy.
She tries to plead her case to Theo Taylor, scion of the property management firm that is about to put her out of business, but their meeting goes from bad (it’s not her fault he’s infuriating) to worse (no one expects the ceiling to literally fall in).
With Theo out cold, Ellie panics and claims to be his fiancée . . . and almost passes out herself when amnesia means Theo seems to actually believe her. Soon, the effects of the head injury wear off, but Theo proposes that their “engagement” stick around. If they manage to convince enough people, they might both get what they want: an end to the Mangia deal. Ellie doesn’t trust him (after all, if Theo Taylor wants it, how can it be good for her?) but seeing no other option, she reluctantly agrees.
And miraculously, the fake engagement seems to be working—even Ted, Theo’s shrewd, cold father seems convinced—that is, until Sam, Theo’s ex-fiancée, reappears on the scene. Not only does she see through their ruse, but she proposes an arrangement of her own, forcing Ellie to decide between a blossoming friendship, her family legacy, and the burgeoning romance she frankly never asked for.
Release Date: Apr 30, 2024
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Penguin Random
Imprint: Dell
Price: $12.99
Ellie came back home after her father’s death to help run the family’s deli. She loves the small town, but she never dreamt of staying here. Her concerns are not leaving her hometown but fighting for her family business when a big gourmet deli threatens to move into the neighborhood and push her small business out. She has to convince the son of the property management firm to find somewhere else to go. Things just don’t go as she plans.
I was immediately drawn to the blurb of the book. Who doesn’t love a small-town/ fake romance? However, this story instantly fell short on multiple levels. The romance didn’t hold a heavy punch, and I didn’t care for the characters.
Ellie sets out to meet Theo to convince him to move on, but he has a freak accident at the site. Ellie has to pretend that she is his fiancé to go along with him to the hospital. Theo has a short stunt of amnesia and confesses that he doesn’t really believe in the gourmet deli moving into the small town. He asks Ellie to agree to pretend they are engaged in order to play on his father’s heartstrings. Of course, his father wouldn’t want to put his daughter-in-law out of business, so Ellie agrees.
This all sounds good at this point until other characters start to come into play. Sam is Theo’s ex-girlfriend who shows up and befriend Ellie after she recognizes the scam going on with their so-called engagement. She wants Theo back, and Ellie agrees to help her. Why? I guess to create this love triangle. I felt bad for Sam, and I didn’t like how Ellie handled that situation at all. She lost any potential of me liking her.
Then, towards the end of the book, Theo’s behavior shows that he isn’t the nicest person. He ends up being a jerk. I thought he ended up showing that he is a typical rich man, unaware of how he speaks to others.
Overall, the book started off promising and lost a bit of its spark. Fans who don’t mind some of the small nuances may like this more.
~ Samantha
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