With Marissa's life in so much drama it resembles a soap opera, she needs a solution. Her boss, Patrick, comes up with one, marry him. It will give her the stability she needs and protect her from her brother and it will get his mom off his back with her matchmaking intentions.
Opinion
This is the final book in The Donovans series (though it looks like a spin off could be coming with some cousins.) While I have immensely enjoyed the entire series, I think this one was by far my favorite. I think that Marissa's strength just spoke to me.
This book has all of the elements of a good romance. The male character is swoon worthy. There is some type of turmoil that throws the two together. There is some kind of misunderstanding that makes the relationship come to a blowing point.
As I was reading this book, it felt like the characters were in the room with me, perhaps I was a part of their extended family. I just felt like I knew them and knowing them, I had to love them. These characters were well defined to the point where I could make predictions on what they would do.
I would 10 out of 10 recommend this to any romance reader.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Valentine PR for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I love the marriage of convenience trope. It’s harder to find in contemporary romance. I was super excited to get Patrick’s story. Everyone knew that Patrick and Marissa were meant to be. They just needed to stop fighting it. I love the small town aspect. I love family series. It was great to get updates on all the family couples. We get introduced to some new characters, and I can’t wait to find out about them.

This book was so freakin sweet! I haven’t read anything by this author before and it was absolutely awesome!

(3.5⭐️’s) This may have minor SPOILERS so be warned🚩

Kiss Me- Patrick and Marissa’s Story

I’m usually not a big fan of the whole Fake Dating Trope, it’s not usually my jam, but in this story it actually works pretty well. I think it’s because the H and h are really into each other before the Fake Marriage comes into play. With him being her boss, they both never wanted to cross that line so they hid their feelings for one another. But having to marry each other gave them the push they really needed. The whole transition was actually pretty smooth and the story flowed really well.

THE H (Patrick): I always knew he was the smart one of the bunch. As much a he wanted to jump in and save the h, he knew she could save herself, and told her just that. He’s definitely a keeper.

THE h (Marissa): This girl is as tough as nails, with a soft and smooshy heart. But I will say, I’m actually surprised she didn’t break earlier with all the crap her family was putting her through. Thats a lot for one person to have to carry on their own. I’m just glad she knew when she needed help and didn’t turn the H away.

SIDE CHARACTERS: Loved seeing all the characters from the other books all happy and in love. Now the h brother on the other hand, OMG, that guy was a piece of work. I’m soo happy he got what was coming to him.

ENDING: HEA. These two definitely loved one another. Never had a doubt.

TRIGGERS: Drug Addiction and Mental Abuse (h brother, on and off page). Stroke (h mother, off page but the aftermath is on page)

STANDALONE: I’ll always recommend reading a series in order because IMO it’s more enjoyable that way. However, if you don’t mind mild spoilers about the other characters in this series, then you can start with this book.

OVERALL: I really enjoyed this book and am sooo happy to find out theres more Donovans coming are way. Yes, you read that right! The Donovan cousins are getting their own series. At the end of this book, we get a teaser chapter for “Loving You, which is the first book in The Donovans Sweetbriar Ridge Series and let me just say, I’m already hooked. But the best part…we only have to wait 2mos till that bad boy comes out. Woohoo!! I’m soo ready.

Happy Reading🖤

Oh, and I received an ARC from NetGalley but this review is 100% all me.

Marissa has worked for Patrick for five years and has always been able to keep her problems with her family hidden from him. He's a workaholic and seems content with his life, except now all his siblings are getting married so his mother is determined to find him a wife. When Marissa isn't able to keep all the trouble in her life from Patrick, he's determined to help. He's attracted to her but doesn't think she feels the same way. He presents a plan to her that will help her and benefit him by giving him a plus one to his sibling's weddings and get his mom to back off. It's just supposed to be for a year but in a short time he realizes that he's happier and more content than he's ever been since they got together. Now he needs to figure out if she feels the same way and how they can make things work forever. I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Another great romance from Samatha Chase. The Donovan family of five siblings and this time the emphasis is on Patrick. He is a real estate agent who felt like he couldn't compare with the achievements of the rest of the family. Marissa has been his assistant for five years and his having sever family problems. This is the perfect storm for a fake marriage that both want more.a total standalone but I think if this is your first Donovan family read, you would want more. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Patrick Donovan is the real estate mogul of Laurel Bay area and that’s partly due to his competent assistant, Marissa Barrett. They work so well together that even though they are attracted to each other, neither acts on it, not wanting to risk changing the dynamics. But all that changes when Marissa has a family issue, and Patrick proposes fake marriage. Ignoring their attraction while living together proves impossible, and soon the lines between real and fake start to blur.
This was a delightful read. I found the reason Patrick and Marissa got married was a little far fetched, but I enjoyed the book once I overlooked that. I enjoyed catching up with the other Donovan brothers and we got to meet some new characters so the series will kind off continue (yippee).

Not a favorite. I don't think I even requested this book... but here we are. Easy read, not many believable characters or storylines. Thank you to NetGalley and Valentine PR & Literary Management for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Donovan's of Laurel Bay are a big loud family that love hard. Kate Donovan the matriarch, pulls no punches that she wants all her children to live the HEA she lives. Patrick Donovan has lived on his own terms for the longest time. Marissa is everything he needs. When life gets crazy and complicated they find them selves in a massage of convenience. Insecurities and unsaid truths get mixed up and in the way of living there best lives. After they set aside all the craziness they find the true line that has always been there.

Kiss Me by Samantha Chase is the fifth book in The Donavans series. This is Patrick's story.

Who doesn't love a good fake marriage trope? Patrick Donovan has been focused on his career for the last several years. The last thing he needs is his mother pushing every single woman at him now that his siblings are settled. So when he realizes that his assistant Marissa's issues with her family have escalated, he goes into problem solving mode. Getting married would solve both problems. A marriage in name only for one year should cover them.
Now we know it's never as simple as that.

Let's go over all the ways this could go wrong?
1)The entire family finds out it was all a lie, and the betrayal causes strife.
2)They realize they have been suppressing feelings and realize it to live happily ever after.
3)They fall immediately into bed with each other, and there's a surpise baby (double trope).
4)They don't communicate well, have self-doubt, great chemistry, and almost throw the best thing for both of them away...

But you'll have to read the book to figure out which scenario unfolds. Enjoy finding what makes Patrick tick, and hopefully, your family likely isn't as dysfunctional as what the writer can come up with.

I love the Donovan’s so much!!! I read this book in one day! It’s such a fast read that made me cheesy grin the whole time. Can’t wait to read the other Donovan family books.

Married for a year...

That's the crazy solution Patrick has for Marissa's problems with her brother and for his problems with his matchmaking mama.

I liked that they were friends and co-workers who didn't want to change the status quo. Patrick definitely has a jones for Marissa and it isn't until he can be her knight in shining armor (or groom) that he jumps in. The deal is just for a year. Yeah. We'll see how that goes.
Recommend.

Marissa has been working in Patrick’s real estate office for several years and has enjoyed every moment. One night after she thought Patrick wouldn’t return to the office, she sat down on the floor and started to sob uncontrollably. Unfortunately, Patrick showed up unexpectedly. Figuring she had to come clean, she started to tell him her sad tale. Her brother, an alcoholic and drug addict, had trashed her home while she was at work, thinking she was never coming home for lunch. Worse, he had intentions of setting it on fire. Patrick makes sure she packs a bag to go stay with him. Now he has come up with a crazy solution, MARRY HIM! This way, he figures, her brother won’t come after her since they will married. Patrick explains that since his mother has been trying to get him married for several months, if he’s married, she will leave him alone. They agree to do so for a year with a signed contract.

Patrick always had a crush on Marissa but never acted on it since she was his assistant. Now that she’s living with him, all he can do is think about her, and all the things he wants to do with her. This is going to be a very long year!

I truly enjoyed this book.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

After reading the previous book with Jamie and Fallon, I could not wait to read about Patrick and Marissa. They seemed more than a work/friend relationship and that is because they both have buried their attraction to each other.

Neither wants to lose their current relationship but yet they have feelings for each other that get tested when they enter the "fake" marriage agreement. They have their ups and downs as neither is on the same page and it takes a while for them to even realize that they might have deeper feelings and maybe stay married.

It was also great to see the other couples as they are such a close family. Now, we have the cousin's story to look forward to!

This just such a cute and sweet story with a simple plot line. Patrick and Marissa are the best couple I met so far in Marriage of Convenience. Damn... Mr. Meowgi is such a cutie pie too. The small town gossips and at the same time the way the author brought about the innocence among the small town people, I feel like I should just shift to small town.

Marissa and Patrick's moments were completely heart-touching and definitely at the same time sizzling. Argh! Their chemistry blew my mind.

I haven't read the Previous books in this series but this one just made me curious to meet Patrick's brother, sisters and sister in laws.

It's truly an excellent writing by the author and she did winders at capturing my attention. I look forward to read more of her books in the future.

Kiss Me
By Samantha Chase

Another perfect Samantha Chase series.

Kiss Me might be my favorite book of the Donovan series! I loved Patrick! I enjoyed how he was mysterious through the first books, and no one knew what his character was going through. I adored how he not only wanted to do the right thing but needed to be able to fix things for Marissa.  She is so capable, strong, and intelligent, that she’s been taking care of herself all her life. Even though Patrick knew this, he still had to be there for her and be a strong landing place for her.  He was all in right from the beginning.

The families and small towns in a Samantha Chase book as places I want to move to and families I want to be a part of.  These Donovans are probably my favorites.  The text chains between the siblings are hysterical and show how close they are to each other and how intertwined their lives are.  Their mom is a hoot. I have to admit, she took some getting used to from the first book in the series, but now I just love her and want to give her a big hug. It was hilarious to watch Patrick get flustered and Marissa know just what to say to ‘handle’ her. I hope we’ll get to see more of Uncle Ronan (the family gossip) since the next series is with his kids.  I’m looking forward to the Donovan cousins and their stories.

I absolutely love the Donovan Family! I’m always eager to get my hands on another one of their mixed up love stories.

I am an avid reader of all books by Samantha Chase, and I’ve read ARC’s of each Donovan story, not just because I love her stuff, but because that is my son’s name!

In Kiss Me we finally get to figure out what Patrick has been up to all of these years. He’s becoming a huge real estate mogul (for Laurel Bay) and always puts his work first. We find out that he may have just been finding a way to spend more time with his lovely assistant, Marissa. She has a messed up home life that causes Patrick to ride in on his Royal steed to save his damsel in distress.

You definitely don’t want to miss this latest installment!

This was a rather sweet, but improbable story. We’re supposed to believe that, in a small, friendly town, the police would just ignore the fact that Marissa’s house has been broken into and trashed. Everyone knows her brother is the culprit. Marissa has the title to the house, but somehow,the police aren’t interested in keeping her despicable, greedy brother out of the house because he’s been using the address. And the legal advice from her lawyer is that her title to the house would be stronger if she were married. That doesn’t even make sense. Your title to property isn’t dependent in 2023 on whether or not you’re married.

But fake marriages are always unbelievable. And that’s the set up we need to get to the standard fake marriage tropes.

The best thing about the story are the teasing text chains among the Donovan family members. Those are amusing, but it’s not a good sign when the relationships among siblings is better than the main pilot of the story.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Marriage of Convenience
Friends to Lovers but also Boss/Employee to Lovers

Oh Marissa...I hope you stretched before all these mental gymnastics. Patrick did everything but draw you a map to his true feelings.

Thank you to NetGalley, Samantha Chase and Valentine PR & Literary Management for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Marissa's family is....less than stellar. Her brother is a user and a drug addict and her mother enables him. Then her mother, in a moment of clarity, signs over all the assets to Marissa which REALLY ticks off her brother. Then her mother has a stroke and it's all a big mess. Marissa's brother decides to make things really hard for Marissa by trashing the house and maybe trying to burn it down.

Here comes boss Patrick Donovan. Patrick is the town real estate agent, working to make Laurel Bay a place people want to stay. Patrick has had feelings for Marissa for a long time but finding her crying one night in the office really makes him want to help her. Then while away for work he finds out that her brother trashed her house and he rushes home to help her and take care of her. His solution? Let's get married for a year, it helps to have two names on the deed to fight your brother and you can accompany me to all the family weddings over the next year and keep my mom from setting me up every five minutes. Then after a year they can go their separate ways.

HAHAHAHA You silly gooses thought it would be just like that.

Listen, if you haven't met the Donovans yet I'm not sure what you're waiting for. This family is so sweet and loving and special. I've read 3 of the 5 and I'm going in for the rest ASAP.

#KissMe #TheDonovans #BookFive
#PatrickDonovan #SamanthaChase
#ARCReview #NetGalley #ValentinePRandLiteraryManagement
#MarrageOfConvenience #BossToLover
#ReadAllTheBooks #ARC #ReadTHISBook

Back to visit the Donovan family again and this time it is Patrick's turn to fall head over heels or is it? As always, humor and witty banter soften the blows of harsh realism in life, in this case family abuse and alcoholism. The plot is wonderfully woven to be entertaining and fun while dealing with the reality that many people deal with in life. The characters are so well developed that you feel like you are visiting old friends at the family pub rather than just reading another well written romance. I really can't wait to continue the series with the cousins in the future!