I thought this was a really interesting novella that shared an anecdotal story of a premarital test that is definitely something different. There was one blaring that that really bothered me about this read. This girl receives this huge rock and just keeps almost losing it and needs reminding. It was to the point that this little thing really stole attention away from the story at different points. There was definitely a lot of symbolism throughout. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley,

I'll admit this is the first anything I've read of the author, so I have nothing to judge this against. It definitely didn't end how I would suspect and the story was meant to show the lead up to a marriage, but I am not sure that works well with a short story/novella where there isn't room to build the story.

This was a wonderful short story about the choices one makes before marriage and building trust. What I didn't like about this story was the rushed the relationship between Justin and Ava.

I absolutely loved In An Instant. I definitely think it’s one of my favorites from last year and therefore I was so excited to read this. I thought this was a decent read. It is a short story, which isn’t usually what I read. I did like these characters and writing style. It was definitely a quick read.

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

The Marriage Test is about exactly that - taking a "test" to see if your marriage will work out. I have never heard of the tradition of a marriage cake so that was really interesting. This book has a lot of fun characters and is a nice, fun read!

This short story was just not for me. The characters were one-dimensional and the entire quest to obtain the egg for the cake, was pretty ridiculous. Ava was so naive and immature, and Justin was the stereotypical man of her dreams who turned out to not be such a nice guy, it was not hard to predict how the story would end.
The one plus of this is that it was only a novella and not a full length novel.
I have heard that Ms. Redfearn's other books are great, so I do hope to give them a try.

3.5★
“Since I graduated college, I’ve proudly stood on my own two penniless feet, and as far as I’m concerned, I intend to continue to do so.”

Ava is besotted with her new boyfriend, Justin, who seems just as smitten by her. His best friend, Walton, is Ava’s dive partner and close friend who is as committed as she is to saving coral reefs and marine species. They are trying to get funding to save what remains of an oil rig that is currently harbouring a lot of ocean life. Justin, on the other hand, is worried about some company merger.

Ava is devoted to her Granmama, whose health is precarious and who is worth a lot of money, but Ava never thinks about that. She just adores the woman with whom she has always spent her summers. She can’t bear to think of losing her.

“She taught me my love of cooking, the ocean, all earth’s creatures, and travel.
‘Exponential!’ she would exclaim whenever we did something wonderful. ‘One plus one is so much more than two.’
I’ve always loved that word because of it.
This summer will be the first summer we won’t take a trip together.”

Granmama is very proud of Ava’s accomplishments, but she doesn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about the new boyfriend. Her family has a kind of mythical tradition about couples making a marriage cake in a special way to pass a test that will determine whether or not they are suited to each other.

Let’s just say that this is not your typical family recipe, it involves crocodile-infested waters, and I’m glad I never tried to make one!

This is one of Amazon's Original Stories, not as magic as the cake, but a pleasant read. Thanks to NetGalley for the copy for review.

In this short story honoring a family tradition does not turn out as expected for a couple on the brink of marriage. This is an easy, enjoyable read.

I don't usually read short stories, but gave this one a go and enjoyed it enough.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I do understand that a short story or novella has its limitations. However, that's where the author's skill lies. To create enough of background and context so that we feel connected to the stories and the characters and actually give a damn

and have been in a long-distance relationship for 3 months, afte which proposed to her and she accepted. Her friend, is not too happy about the whole thing because he feels like they hardly know each other. They are all set for the wedding, but first they have to complete a 250-year-old family tradition, which is to bake a cake that contains the egg of a frigate. Traditionally, all those who have passed the test have had successful marriages.

To make a ong story short, there are lies and deceptions, and in the end, she has to reconsider whether she wants to marry him at all. Will she end up with instead?

There's nothing different or exciting about the story. It's the same old been-done-a-million-times-before formula. It has some loose ends that were just left dangling, and would you determine who to marry based on whether you were able to bake a cake successfully? C'mon now. And if you heard your best friend and fiance in a conversation about YOU, would you never bring it up with either of them?

Overall, 2.5 stars, and yay for the fact that it was really short and hardly took me any time at all to finish!

Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my hinest review.

Published digitally (Kindle) by ‎ Amazon Original Stories on November 23, 2021

If Amazon had labeled this short story as “cheesy romance” I wouldn’t have been suckered into reading it. I’m not familiar with Suzanne Redfearn, but she describes herself as a “bestselling author of captivating mainstream fiction.” I can’t speak to her other work, but “mainstream fiction” refers to fiction that is appealing across a wide audience. I can’t imagine this story appealing to anyone other than a devoted fan of trash.

After three months of dating, Ava Nicole Barnes accepts a massive engagement ring from her dream hunk, Justin. Ava loves him even more because Justin wants to get married before Ava’s beloved but cancer-ridden grandmother kicks the bucket. This whirlwind romance distresses Ava’s good friend Walton, who is steady and devoted and knows how to fix sinks but apparently lacks whatever Ava sees in Justin. Justin met Ava through Walton and instantly breached the man code by disregarding Justin’s request not to ask her out, which says something distasteful about Justin, not that Ava is equipped to understand it. Here are some examples of Ava’s description of her feelings about Justin:

“Thick emotion wells in my throat, as it does every time I see him after we’ve been apart, like I’ve not drawn a full breath since we saw each other last.”

“his touch sends a current down my spine that causes a blush”

"Never before have I felt such attraction to someone, like there’s an electromagnetic connection between us that causes my skin to flame whenever he’s near.”

Trite prose like that causes my brain to flame whenever I read it, but not until a thick stew of stomach contents wells in my throat.

Paradise begins to unravel when Ava and Justin bake a cake together. Justin is a neat freak and Ava is messy. Oh the agony! The baking is a prelude to the “marriage-cake quest,” a tradition in Ava’s privileged family that, if successful, assures a lifetime of wedded bliss, or at least a marriage that doesn’t end in divorce. The tradition has something to with finding the nest of a frigate bird in a swamp, stealing an egg, and using it in the joint project of baking a marriage cake (not to be confused with a wedding cake, which can be made with conventional eggs).

Justin, Ava, and Walton (who is present as a “witness”) go on a hike as part of the quest, giving Walton a chance to suggest that Justin (who is worried about an ill-defined merger of his business with some other business) might be more interested in Ava’s money than in Ava. Say it ain’t so, Justin! In any event, the quest produces misfortune.

Ava is too much of a ditz to gain any sympathy from a reader who isn’t sympathetic to ditzes, but not enough of a ditz to have comic appeal. She fancies herself to be an environmentalist who tries (without any particular plan that a reader can discern) to prevent the destruction of reefs, or at least a particular reef. Ava is clearly too frivolous to make any serious planet-saving effort. She’s more concerned with picturing the perfect life, complete with garden and dog, that she will soon have with beloved Justin.

Will the quest teach Ava a lesson? Of course. Will she learn that there is more to a marriage than romantic platitudes and childish expectations? Will she learn to grow up and stop being a ditz? Will she learn that she shouldn’t tell a whopping lie to her fiancé right before they intend to marry? The lesson she learns has something to do with developing twinned heartbeats like seahorses, a strained analogy at best. Sadly, it is the least important of the lessons she should have learned, making “The Marriage Test” the least important story about marriage I’ve ever read.

NOT RECOMMENDED

2.5 stars...

My first time reading a "novella", so I wasn't sure what to expect. I guess I realized they aren't for me. I enjoyed this author's work, however this was a little short and choppy for me.

This is a short story by the author of In An Instant which I read and really enjoyed. This novella is a cute story with mostly likeable characters and a bit of a surprise ending. The marriage test is a family tradition involving the preparation of a cake using a frigate bird egg. The story is well written and a fast read. I looked up frigate birds on Wikipedia and learned some interesting facts about them.

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and Netgalley for a chance to read this novella. All opinions expressed are my own.

Publication Date: November 23,2021

The Marriage Test is a novella featuring Ava and Justin who are soon to be married along with Walton, Ava’s coworker and Justin’s best friend. As per a superstitious family tradition, Ava and Justin must embark on a journey to retrieve a rare egg to be used for their wedding cake. If they are successful in retrieving and baking the cake, fate has it that they will live to be happily married till the end of time. Should their mission fail, their marriage is destined for failure. Will they be successful and what role does Walton play in all of this?
The story is well written but the idea of placing the fate of an entire marriage on a old family tradition seems silly and therefore the plot wasn’t that great. Even the characters in the story doubted the legitimacy of the family tradition. Perhaps someone who is superstitious would like the story.

TMT by S. Redfearn is part of four Holiday Short Stories, published by Amazon Original Stories/ St. Martin's Press.
Ava Barnes is about to marry her alleged soulmate and wants to take him on a quest her family indulges in for centuries. This marriage tradition will make or brake them for sure. So up they go and take their best friend as witness with them. But nothing ever happens without reason and sometimes its better to part ways.
TMT is a witty and sweet story, excellent written, but it's not what I expected. I was with the heroine til the very, very unexpected hea-ish end of the story. This twist I never saw coming. I recommend this short story, 4,5 stars.

I loved Suzanne Redfearn's In an Instant so I was beyond excited to see she wrote a short story for Amazon. I would classify The Marriage Test more on the chick lit side of genres and it did not disappoint. I thought the characters and plot were well developed considering the short length. If you like Elin Hilderbrand, I think you will find this similar in style. Highly recommend for a quick read.

I was given a review copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon.

This is a good novella, that tells a very cute story. It twists and turns, but does not go down the obvious route. It's a real feel good story. But, you know when one thing bugs you, as a reader, so much that it distracts from the rest of a really solid story? In this case it was that the main character is scared she is going to loose her ring, so she keeps taking it off. What?? if they fit properly, the only truly safe place for a ring is on your finger. Not when you are diving, true, but yes when you are cooking and hiking. Just leave it there. I get that the ring was an analogy, but it still bugged me disproportionately. Still, this was cute and sweet and a lovely palette cleanser.

The Marriage Test by Suzanne Redfearn is a short story about Ava and Justin, an engaged couple, and their friend, Walton, who go on an adventure to continue a marriage tradition of Ava’s family. The adventure is challenging and a true test of their love. Great read. #TheMarriageTest #NetGalley

What a wonderful story! According to a family tradition a couple must retrieve an egg from a bird in the everglades and bake a cake with it. If they do this successfully, their marriage will last forever.

It is a shirt story so it was a quick read. I loved the story and while it did not end up as I thought it would, that made it better. I expected a traditional ending and it was not. Read this story for a quick light story!