I loved this book. Marie Harte is a creative genius!!!

J.T. is a bad boy with a heart of old. He seems like a dumb jock but don’t underestimate him.

Hope can’t seem to find a good man, so she is done dating and all she wants is her mother off her back (Kind of like me).

I loved this pairing. It would seem like they don’t have anything in common but the connection and the chemistry between them is off the charts. Their banter, flirting, and teasing was romantic, and genuine.

Delightful telling of a fake relationship turned real. Marie ALWAYS tells a fabulous story and this one made me smile over and over.

J.T. Webster is the owner of Tull Paint & Body Shop, a tattoo studio, is the son of Liam Webster, mechanic and garage owner, of the Body Shop Bad Boys Series, and has talent oozing from his delicious body. He is half black on his mother's side and a real feast for the eyes. He notices Hope Donnigan at his sister Del's wedding, from the McCauley Brothers Series, but hasn't acted on it since he's been warned off by the brothers. I love the twining of the 3 series'. I don't have to say goodbye to favorite characters and get to see more of what happened after the end of their stories. Hope is a "good girl" who is lost, according to her mother. She has moved from job to job trying to find her niche, and from one bad relationship to the next. She currently is working for her cousin, Cam and loving it, though it is a dead end with nowhere to advance. She never feels like she gains acceptance from her ever successful, perfectionist mother. Mom is always trying to "fix her up" with a wealthy man and Hope just wants to choose her own guy, even if she can't seem to pick "good guys". In desperation she fabricates a real "bad boy" for her mother and Mom invites him to dinner. Since he was made up, Hope has to find someone. She modeled this guy from JT with embellishments, so she contacts him asking to be in a "fake relationship" to get her mother off her back. JT agrees because he can spend time with Hope, yum.

These two have CHEMISTRY in spades. They have such a hard time keeping it fake. They go into it with ground rules that don't last long. They discover while getting to know each other, to make the relationship believable to mom, that they genuinely like each other. That's never happened to JT and Hope has been burned so many times she's sworn off relationships. Surprise, their priorities change as they spend more and more time together. JT gets real close when it becomes apparent that Hope has a "secret admirer" that's warning others away from her because in his mind she's taken.

I loved watching these two fall in real love. I wanted to savor this story and not let go. I seem to do that with every Marie Harte story. I'm so glad her different series' weave together so I will be seeing more of Hope and JT. Thank you Marie and Sourcebooks for the ARC of this book for my honest review.

Hope only wants a fake boyfriend to annoy her mother. JT wants to stop dreaming about Hope.
Hope’s journey to the truth is hard she must except that JT isn't like all her other boyfriends. JT’s journey is even harder he has to overcome his fear that Hope will leave him hurt and wary of all women

Together they realized that the only thing they truly need is each other.

Hope Donnigan and her mother are constantly at odds. Annoyed with her latest attempt to set her up on a date, Hope decides to invent a fictional boyfriend, who might just have a couple traits of a certain sexy man who actually exists…

J.T. Webster has been attracted to Hope forever, but at the wish of his sister, has held himself back from getting involved with her. When she approaches him about having a little fake relationship to placate her mother, all of those boundaries are about to change…

When these two friends embark on a crash course of getting to know each other for the sake of their ruse, it isn’t long before they realize that keeping their hands to themselves is just not going to happen… and their fake relationship turns into something that neither one of them has the desire to end any time soon…

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This was a really fun read, I loved Hope and J.T.’s adorable banter and their completely unique relationship.

Hope is neurotic in her feud with her mother, but even though she recognizes how childish their arguments can be, she isn’t above trying to stick it to her every once in awhile. J.T. is someone whom she has been attracted to ever since meeting him, but with their family members now married, a relationship between the two of them might cause more problems than necessary.

J.T. is simply adorable. He is super hot, sweet and incredibly funny. He agrees to help Hope simply as a way to spend time with her, and the two of them seamlessly move into a non-relationship that works for them like no real relationship ever has. And when Hope starts to get some unwanted attention, J.T. is prepared to do whatever it takes to protect her…

With a sexy, friends-to-lovers vibe and a little bit of suspense added in, this book was a delightful and entertaining read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for my honest and unbiased review.

JT breath caught at the sight at one woman but so many things held him back. Being connected was an issue he didn’t want to explore but he was helpless to ignore the pull he felt when ever Hope was nearby. She thought he was a gift to womankind and his look compelled her to leave being single behind. Something that would make her mother ecstatic. Great story on finding love!

Hope Donnigan has no time for dating. She's off men at least for now since all her previous relationships didn't end well and she can't seem to pick the right guy. Problem is her mother is pressuring her and in general harassing her and trying to set her up with what she thinks is the right men for Hope. To teach her mom a lesson she's going to use J.T. Webster to get her to see she can handle herself. J.T. is more than willing to help out if it means spending time with Hope. They begin a pretend relationship that's never really pretend. I'll start with this is my first Marie Harte book so i'm coming into this without having read the other books in this series. It didn't seem to be a problem in following along with the story. I enjoyed watching Hope and J.T. get to know each other and fumble around trying to find their way through their relationship. They had a lot of chemistry which was obvious from the beginning of the book. In the end this book made me want to go back and read the previous two. I'm glad I took a chance on this new to me author. Excellent read!



Find out more about this series and Marie Harte here www.marieharte.com

I didn’t realize how much I like the fake relationship trope but this gave us a natural development of the romance and a nice blend of sexy and sweet.

How would you like to never measure up to someone else’s standards? In The Only Thing, Hope Donnigan has no desire to fulfill all her mother’s wishes for Hope’s life. No matter what success Hope achieves, it is not what her mother wants for her. Hope and her mother have never had a smooth relationship but Hope had always hoped once she was grown up, her mother would allow her to choose her own path. But, apparently that’s not going to happen.

In utter frustration with her mother’s latest list of must-date rich, successful men who Hope has to meet, Hope tells her mother that she is dating a tattoo artist. A man who has been in prison and has multiple baby mamas through the city.

Hope may just have said that because she has T.J. Webster on the brain and while he is a tattoo artist, she might have been making up the baby mamas and the prison thing. Maybe? She isn’t even sure. Now she just has to convince T.J. to be her fake boyfriend.

T.J. couldn’t take his eyes off Hope when he saw her at his sister’s wedding. When she approaches him about playing her fake boyfriend, T.J. wonders if this is his chance to get to know Hope a little better and maybe convince her that they should take the “fake” out of their relationship.

The romance grows nicely as Hope and T.J. get to know each other. Even though they were still in the “fake” part of their relationship, they both give in to the sexual tensions between them and were clearly well into a real relationship before they made the conscious jump to stop faking it.

While the relationship between Hope and T.J. was sweet. The conversations between Hope and her mother kept raising my blood-pressure. There is a difference between love and persecution and Hope’s mother definitely crosses the line and is always on Hope’s back. Something her mother doesn’t do to any of the three boys in the family. And her brothers and Hope’s father would just quietly back out of the room and leave Hope to the slaughter. This isn’t the first time the author has introduced a horrific mother figure who was constantly on the attack.

I did like that race was barely brushed upon even by the persecuting mother. She was only concerned about his employment and the only skin issue was whether the tattoo artist had tattoos himself since Hope’s mother found them distasteful.

This was a nice romance and to add something besides mama-drama, Hope has a stalker and T.J. jumps into full protection mode, which works against the stalker by bonding Hope and T.J. even faster since T.J. all but moves in with Hope to keep her safe.

All of the author’s separate series merge in her books and while you don’t have to have read them all, the different groups and families are a big part of each story.

THE ONLY THING is the third book in Marie Harte's Donnigans series. I love Marie Harte's contemporary romances, and this turned out to be another favorite. Hope Donnigan and her mother are both usually good people, but when they get together things tend to devolve into a battle royale of words. With Hope and her mom, Marie Harte nails the sometimes competitive and complex relationship that can exist between mothers and daughters. Hope deals with constant anxiety when it comes to her mom because she feels pressured by her mother to make the kinds of life choices that she would approve of. At yet another encounter when her mother is driving her crazy with her poking and prodding, Hope panics and invents a boyfriend to get her mom off her back. J.T. Webster is just the guy to make a perfect fake boyfriend. I love stories about fake relationships that turn real, and Hope and J.T. have undeniable chemistry.

In most "fake relationship" stories, the goal with the fake relationship is to take pressure off one of the main characters by impressing someone. In THE ONLY THING, Hope is hoping to get her mom off her back with this fake relationship, but she's also hoping to annoy her mother by bringing home a guy who doesn't seem as professional or uptight as her mom is. J.T. can't help but play along because of his attraction to Hope and his desire to be near her. Finding something real together is the last thing Hope and J.T. imagine to find, but they quickly come to care for each other and genuinely like each other -- in addition to just being physically attracted. Hope is tired of serial dating a string of losers, J.T. seems to get her, and she has more fun hanging out with him than anybody she's dated in a long time. Because of how his dad has been burned by love in the past, J.T. was determined to keep things light with the women he gets involved with, but Hope is the total package for him -- sexy and with a great personality that has him spellbound. THE ONLY THING is my favorite Donnigans story, so far, because of how much I enjoyed reading about this couple. Marie Harte has written another exceptional character-driven romance to entertain readers.

THE ONLY THING has characters who reluctantly take a chance on love and win big. The secondary storyline involving Hope's stalker adds just the right amount of suspense without obscuring the love story. The danger from the stalker steadily grows as the main characters realize how serious the threat is, as the actions taken by the mysterious stalker get more and more extreme. I hope Marie Harte writes a story for fan favorite Axel Heller soon. I eagerly await Marie Harte's next -- always amazing -- contemporary romance.

4.5 Stars

The Only Thing, is the third title in The Donnigan's series, and features Hope Donnigan and JT Webster. I've read quite a few of Marie's previous titles including several from The McCauley Brothers series, Body Shop Bad Boys and The Donnigans and as such I was quite familiar with this pair and eager for their story.

Hope is sweet, kind and stubborn, endearing and relate-able. She loves her family, despite her mother's need to push, ridicule and nag her at every turn. She has a tendency to attract the wrong men. Although she wants the white picket fence, kids, the whole nine yards, she's quite happy with her life as it is. In order to distract her mother from her constant need to set Hope up with a suitable man, she invents a fake boyfriend and in steps JT to save the day.

JT likes women and he's not afraid to admit it but he's not a player. He's intelligent, artistic and successful as a tattoo artist. Although he doesn't see commitment in his future, he's inexplicably drawn to Hope.

I loved the banter that this pair share it's fun, flirtatious, witty and full of humor. This pair are in complete denial of their true feelings for each other. Their chemistry and connection is intense and packed full of heat and steam!

The sub-plot of a stalker added an extra element of intrigue and suspense to this title and I had no idea who the perpetrator was going to be until it was revealed.

I will be eagerly looking forward to Marie's next release, and hope that Heller and Rena will get their story at some point in the future, as I adore this pair and can't wait to see more of them.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Source books/Casablanca for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I get the impression that this book is part of a series,but not really sure. They all seem to know each other. It does read well as a stand alone book. This is a super enjoyable book with fun characters. A tattoo artist and an administrative assistant with no tattoos. Fake dating to discourage mom! Fun, both in denial. I think most romance readers would enjoy this book. A lot of sex and no cliffhanger. I rate it a 4.

It feels like I’ve been holding my breath waiting for this story for a long time. The Only Thing delivers on that wait in the sexy explosive pairing of Hope Donnigan and J.T. Webster in a sizzling fake boyfriend story that turns very real long before either Hope or J.T. will admit that to themselves let alone each other.

Hope has given up on men. Oh, sure, she wants the happy ever after but all she seems to find lately are the jerks. So what if she invents a truly bad boy pretend boyfriend to get her critical and meddling mother off her case? And when it’s necessary to produce said pretend boyfriend in the flesh, well Hope knows exactly who to turn to, and that’s going to be the best decision of her non-dating life.

J.T. loves the ladies, there is not a doubt abut that. He simply doesn’t believe in the forever happiness of a committed relationship. He’s watched love destroy when it’s gone and has no intentions of falling into that pattern. So when the lovely Hope, who he met at a wedding makes an outrageous request he’s all for it. Pretend boyfriend with no true commitment – isn’t that what every male dreams of when they’re not hoping for that happy ever after nonsense? Except, this is starting to feel rather real and what happens when the pretend becomes reality.

I loved being back in the jumble of these combined family members and friends from several connecting series. Like any large family they all have their opinions – mostly unwanted by either Hope or J.T. but they mean well,, even if they can’t keep their noses and opinions to themselves. Hope and J.T. have sizzling chemistry that leaps off the page, and it’s not hard to see that they are perfect for each other. They’ll actually be acting and thinking like an official real couple long before they’ll admit that to themselves or each other. Add in a touch of danger and suspense and you have a very involved, intriguing and enjoyable romance.

If you’re in the mood for a sizzling, sexy romp with a touch of danger and far more second opinions than the couple needs (grin) then you’ll want to pick up The Only Thing. I had a blast with this one and even if you haven’t read any of the slightly connecting series I believe you would enjoy this one too.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

The Donnigans series continues with the story of J.T. and Hope. J.T., who always had a crush on Hope, sees his opportunity with her when she pretends to be his girlfriend to her overbearing mother. Leery of his bad boy ways, Hope is not as convinced. J.T. sets out to convince Hope he's the real deal and that their relationship goes beyond the pretend facade...
As always, a strong contribution from Marie Harte. The characters are likable, the chemistry is smoldering, and the storyline is engaging. Totally recommend!

Hope is determined to stay far away from love. She doesn’t want to be set up by her mother nor does she want to worry about her brother and cousins trying to watch over her, all protective like. She just doesn’t want to waste her time with love. The truth is, Hope is happy with her life. She's happy at her job, and someday she will be ready to settle down but not right now. One thing Hope isn't happy with is her mother. Her mom constantly is on her case to get married and give her grandkids. So finally Hope comes up with a plan- invent a boyfriend, one her mom would totally hate. She describes someone she recently met thru her family and someone there was chemistry with-- J.T. Webster. JT isn’t looking to settle down; he is a very successful tattoo artist, owns/runs his own tattoo shop and has a great family and friends that he totally loves/appreciates. But there is some things in his past that make him a commitment phobic when it comes to relationships/marriage. While he's had his eye on Hope for months, he knows starting something with her could upset the McCauley / Webster / Donnigan balance so he never pursued anything before now. When he hears what Hope is looking from him, he doesn’t see there being any problem in his helping a friend yet the sparks between the two could set off a forest fire, its so intense between them. Their pretend relationship is better than anything real they’ve ever had... will they continue on and try a real relationship or will they pull back and not give love a chance? I loved JT and Hope. They have style and flair. I enjoyed the humor and the passion between them both. It was great also to see the past characters make an appearance. There is a subplot also going on that had me entertained. I don’t want to give too much away but just know this story will have you hooked from start to finish. I find this a highly enjoyable storyline.
My Rating: 4.5 stars *****
“I received an advanced copy of this book from the author at no cost to me."

Who can resist a tender and steamy fake-relationship-turns-real romance? I can’t! Marie Harte continues her popular The Donnigans series with The Only Thing, the third, stand-alone book, and I will be one-clicking this.

Hope Donnigan is finally happy with her life. She has a great job and awesome friends. Even though there is no man in her life she happy that way after a series of bad dates and worse boyfriends. But her mother doesn't agree she is never happy with anything Hope does and constantly puts her down. So to get her mom off her back and to get back at her a little she makes up a boyfriend her mom would hate. And she just happens to know a hot tattoo artist from the other side of town that would be perfect for the role. J.T. Webster fell for Hope months ago at his sister wedding so he has no problem helping her out but he didn't expect pretending with her would be better than anything real he had with anyone else. Now can these two move past faking it to be a couple for real?

I want to preface this review by stating I have not read the previous books in this series and feel that if I had I would have enjoyed this one more. Please take this review with a grain of salt because I want to go back, read the previous books and then read The Only Thing again. It is not that I didn’t like it, but I felt disconnected and couldn’t connect with characters no matter how hard I tried. Am I saying that Hope and J.T. didn’t have any hot moments? No the opposite actually so that is one reason why I want to get a true feel for this one.

I loved this book and all the others in this series and spinoffs of this family and friends.The acceptance of all the characters no matter how different they were made these books exceptional.I loved JT and Hope who made appearances in other books and when this one was announced I couldn’t wait.The book had romance,drama and mystery and sexy scenes that made it a winner.

THE ONLY THING is the third instalment in Marie Harte’s contemporary, adult THE DONNIGANS erotic, romance series focusing on the Donnigan family. This is tattoo artist JT Webster, and PA Hope Donnigan’s story line. THE DONNIGANS is a spin off from Marie Harte’s THE MCCAULEY BROTHERS and BODY SHOP BAD BOYS series. You do not have to have read the previous series to follow the spin off. The Donnigan and The McCauley siblings are cousins. The reader was first introduced to Hope in A Sure Thing (Book 1).

Told from several third person points of view including JT and Hope THE ONLY THING follows the friends to lovers/ fake boyfriend relationship between tattoo artist JT Webster, and PA Hope Donnigan. Hope’s mother is driving her mad so to stop the accusations, condescending attitude, and numerous arranged dates with men she doesn’t know Hope tells her perfectionist mother that she has a boyfriend-a tattooed, hellion she knows will drive her mother over the edge. Enter tattoo artist JT Webster, the man who stars in all of Hope’s fantasies and dreams, and the man with whom our heroine will fall in love. What ensues is the building romance between Hope and JT, and the ongoing threats against JT and any man who feigns interest in our story line heroine.

Hope’s string of less than stellar boyfriends finds our heroine taking a break from dating but JT Webster continues to star in all of her fantasies and dreams never realizing that JT himself, is struggling with his attraction to Hope. But things go from good to bad when a number of anonymous gifts and flowers escalates into threats against our story line hero, threats that land JT on the receiving end of physical violence.

The relationship between Hope and JT is one of immediate attraction, an attraction that began, months before, at Delilah Webster (JT’s sister) and Mike McCauley’s wedding. The fake boyfriend and girlfriend relationship quickly evolves into something more but something that Hope and JT continue to deny. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including brothers and sisters: Gavin, Theo and Landon Donnigan; Dee Webster-McCauley, and JT’s father Liam Webster, and a varied assortment of cousins from both THE MCCAULEY BROTHERS and BODY SHOP BAD BOYS series.

The world building continues to focus on the Donnigan family including the fractured and struggling relationship between mother (Linda) and daughter (Hope).

THE ONLY THING is a sexy, sassy and seductive story line. The premise is energetic and engaging; the characters are fun, flirty and colorful; the romance is seductive, edgy and provocative.

My only complaint is the identity of who was behind the stalking of our story line heroine, and the threats to anyone who stood in the way-I was totally perplexed; the character came ‘out of left field. An odd connection to the overall story; a bit of a ‘red-herring’ thrown in with an earlier mention.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

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A sweet quick romance, the next Donnigans novel is a romance gone wrong then right. Hope has sworn off men; after disastrous exes and failed chances at love, she’s focusing on herself. But her mother’s got higher expectations and it seems no matter what Hope tries, she’s never enough. fed up she claims that the risqué tattoo artist she met at a family wedding (and can’t stop dreaming of) is her latest boyfriend and challenges her mother to accept him. J.T. now has to go along with her ridiculous scheme. But when these two fake a romance then end up falling for one another when neither had planned for it.

J.T. is one hot man! I loved watching him push Hope’s buttons on what qualified as their fake romance and their true friendship. There’s and obvious chemistry between the two of them and I found myself just wanting to slap Hope upside the head and realize how much J.T. loves her. There aren’t a lot of your typical romance trope of “how will they ever get back together” due to some climax of a breakup. J.T. and Hope are a true slow burn romance filled with sweet moments, funny as hell moments, and moments of clarity that these two are a perfect match (for each other AND a readers).

Hot, sexy and funny! Hope and J.T start out in a fake relationship that doesn’t seem all that fake even from the beginning. The really click even though it doesn’t seem like they should. Lots of visits with the McCauleys, Donnigans and the guys from Del’s garage.

Heller’s story is definitely one that should be written!