Second Bride Down is the second book in the Majestic Maine series by Ginny Baird is a fun friends-to-lovers story about small-town relationships and family obligations. The story pulled me in from the very beginning, and I honestly could not put it down.

Thank you so much to Net Galley, the publisher, and author for providing this book for my honest review. This is such a cute and wholesome hallmark type book that takes place in a small town in Maine. I love small town feel good romances and this one fits that perfectly. This is the second book in a trilogy about three sisters. Each book focuses on a different sister. I did not read the first in the series, and I fully enjoyed this book. I do want to go back and read the first in the series, but it is not necessary to understand and enjoy this book. They can for sure be seen as stand alone rom-coms. If you love small town, cute, wholesome romances then you will really enjoy this one as well. Thank you again to Net Galley, the publisher, and author for providing this book for my review. I am excited to go back and read the first in the series and the third one as well.

Second Bride Down is the second book in Ginny Baird’s Majestic, Maine series. Sisters Nell, Charlotte, and Misty Delaney are presented with a dilemma. In order to salvage the family business, Bearberry Brews, their parents home, and set the family up financially, it has been put forth that if one of the girls will agree to marry the son of the man who had been their father’s business partner until he swindled the Delaney’s out of millions of dollars the family will be set. They will be able to own half the company and pay off all their debt if the stipulations of the in name only marriage are met. It must last five years and it doesn’t matter which girl Aidan Strong marries.

In book one of the series eldest sister Nell finds her perfect match. In the second book, baby sister Misty is the focal character. When Misty announces she will bite the bullet and take on the marriage, her sisters revolt. Middle sister Charlotte creates a billboard campaign to find a local love for Misty. But upon seeing the billboard and the fuss it creates, Lucas Reyes, who has worked at the coffee company since his early teens, takes charge to protect Misty from the billboard fallout.

However, Lucas has carried a torch for Misty for years but has yet to leave the friend zone. Perhaps the next week, when he will be staying with Misty, will change that status. And Misty might just find her match as well.

This is as delightful of a story as the first book in the series and I look forward to book three. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

A sweet and romantic story. This second in the series sees the second sister Misty trying to find a way to win the marriage bet. Her friend Lucas comes to her rescue and pretends to date her. It is a lighthearted and fun story as the two discover all the things they hadn’t known about each other. As the secrets unravel they find a lot in common and a love that will stand the test of time.

It's never a good sign when the first feeling after finishing a book is relief. This was reasonably cute but if I hadn't had a review copy I would have DNF'd early on. The writing and romance aren't particularly special or memorable so this just didn't keep me interested and there were a few things that really irritated me.

The basic premise of this book is that to save their family business one of three sisters will marry a rich estranged family friend. However despite wanting to save their business neither sister wants to marry Aiden, instead they make a bet: whoever hasn't found love in 30 days will marry him. This was handled badly. Instead of focusing on finding someone Misty genuinely loves she is fixated on winning the bet and on beating Charlotte - which completely misses the point of the bet and left a bad taste in my mouth for how the sisters treated each other.

They also created a list of things to do with the person they are dating to help them establish their compatability and fall in love. Once again the focus was on completing the list before one other (winning again) and not actually doing the things for their intended purpose.

On top of all of this the timeline in this book is completely ridiculous (I'm not even sure if we made it a full week?).

Although this was much better than the first book this still sadly completely missed the mark for me and I won't be continuing on with the series.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fake Dating a Co-Worker.
Turns out that Misty is the only one who doesn’t know that Lucas has had feelings for her for years. When forced into close proximity with him she starts to look at her friend with different eyes, but can she open her heart when she is hiding a secret?
An enjoyable read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Misty is ready to fall on the proverbial sword to save her parents business and family home. Sisters Charlotte and Nell try to talk her out of it. It isn't till Charlotte does something drastic, that Lucas steps up to the plate. Lucas has been working for the Delaney's since he was 14 years old. From the moment he saw Misty, it was instant attraction. It never went away. Now he is making his move to help her win the bet but hopefully win her heart. Nell had a list of things to accomplish. Along the way Misty had changed. Not only did she want their friendship to grow but also the love. In the end, both of them had dreams and both reached for the stars.

Loved the second book in this series!

Three sisters agree that the sister who isn’t engaged to be married in a month will accept a marriage of convenience that will correct a past swindling and save the family business. The groom doesn’t care which sister he marries. Sister Nell has already found her man so with only two sisters left Misty declares she is willing to marry the guy as there is only three weeks to the deadline. But in a move that makes zero sense Charlotte posts a billboard with a photo of Misty saying Marry Me. Because one or the other is going to have to marry the guy I don’t understand why Charlotte pushes Misty to find love and is still out looking herself. What is the reason of the contest at this point?

When a line forms out the shop door Lucas who works in the shop declares Misty and he are already involved. So now it is a fake relationship troupe but not really because Lucas has been in love with Misty for years. Lucas and Misty agree to live with each other, platonically, to find out their feelings. The sisters give them a list of challenges to get to know each other. Things like take a bike ride, look at the stars, share a secret. The two getting to know each other is actually sweet. Misty has actually known Lucas for years but just as someone who works in their shop.

The premise is fun but because of the short time frame everything has to move along quickly. The characters at times are almost cartoonish in actions. I can see this being fun and escapist reading for some but it didn’t connect me to the characters because they didn’t feel realistic. Lucas is too perfect, he cooks, he cleans, he listens to her every want, but he also comes off as misogynist planning a future without talking with her. Misty is the dreamer, with a tat and piercings who wants to go to design school. When she is willing to give that up for someone else's plan and because she may be homesick I was ready to throttle her.

I’m giving a weak three stars because I’ve now finished two books in the series. I’m invested enough to want to Charlotte’s story. If you are looking for a clean, wholesome romance and can embrace the silly set up, please enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Second Bride Down by Ginny Baird is the second book in the series. I didn’t like it as much as the first one. However if you are a fan of friends to lovers and enjoy a small town romance, you will enjoy this story. Ginny writes sweet clean romances with kissing only.

Lucas has always been in love with Misty but never acted on it. I could not tell why he never acted on it. He was a very sweet character but I wanted him to have a little more confidence and backbone.

Misty seemed to be a bit of a whiner and lost in life.

I am super excited for Charlotte’s story. I think hers will be the best one yet!

Kissing only

Sweet friends to lovers romance. Second sister finds her man right under her nose. Pleasant and clean romance. Frustrating cliffhanger. Obviously need to read third book to find out what happens with third sister. Epilogue was five years in the future and didn't address the bet.

I really enjoyed this book. Mercy and her 2 sisters have to decided to bet to see if who ever doesn't find love within a certain amount of time they would have to marry to save their parent's business. It had some surprising light hearted. The book flowed easily and kept you interested. This is the 2nd in the series but can be read alone. The Misty and Luke are enjoyable characters. I like the spark between them. They are friend to lovers and light hearted. The book flowed easily and kept you interested. The author made me want to read more of her work. I am looking forward to the final book. I would recommend this book if you are looking for light HEA.

**I received this book free from NetGalley.

3.75
Thank you to Entangled for sending me an e-arc of this book to read and review! this was the second stand alone in the interconnected Majestic Maine series and I liked Misty's installment. Lucas and Misty were a slow burn and almost a bit too slow for me at points. I wanted them to explore their relationship a bit earlier on, but it eventually progressed. I loved seeing the sisters chime in and their shenanigans were genuinely funny. The small town vibe was great and I loved the romance to-do list. This was super sweet and I liked it. I do think I liked Nell and Grant's story a bit more, but I'm excited to read Charlotte's!

Misty and Lucas end up fake dating so she can avoid an arranged marriage with the son of her parents business partner. He has always wanted a chance with her, so will this lead to more for them? Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Only Misty and Charlotte remain to win the bet and be engaged before the end of September or they will need to marry Aidan and move to London to save their family business and home. Lucas is been in love with Misty since day one. Can he let her slip from his fingers or will he fight for her love? A fake-relationship, a must-do list and real love will win this time. Sweet.

This book was funny, heartwarming and full of heart.
This felt like I was reading a Hallmark movie. It was the perfect escape read if you've been stressed out (as I have been lately).
I really liked how the friends to lovers trope was executed here. I really felt that they had a genuine connection and they were willing to sacrifice for each other. Their relationship was so sweet. I was grinning from ear to ear whenever I would sit down to read this.
The small town atmosphere was really fun too. There's just something cozy and quirky about them that makes you fall in love.
Overall, this marriage of convenience story was a fun time that will definitely melt some hearts.
I would recommend this for readers who like friends to lovers, secretly pining hero, cinnamon roll hero, small town romance, fake dating/marriage of convenience, and Hallmark movies.

Set in small town Maine with three sisters and a bridal bet engineered to save their family’s coffeeshop, Second Bride Down has the makings of a sweet and charming Hallmark Movie.

Nell, Charlotte, and Misty have agreed that whichever sister is not engaged by the end of September will enter into a marriage of convenience with the son of her family’s onetime partners—now enemies—overseas. Nell found her true love in the first book, and this one centers around Misty’s story.

Misty feels like she should give up on the bet and go ahead and marry the enemies’ son, but her sisters doubt that she is making the right choice. They decide to force her hand and make her see out the end of the bet. And, well, it turns out they were right.

In attempt to outmaneuver her sisters, Misty begins fake dating her co-worker and longtime friend, Lucas.

This one is good for fans of the friends to lovers, fake dating, he falls first, longtime pining, and forced proximity tropes with an added romance bucket list twist. It also is tailored for fans of kissing only scenes on page.

Lucas truly is a sweetheart. He sees his chance to finally gain Misty’s attention but refuses to push. He treats her with respect and care throughout the book and showers her with thoughtful gifts, gestures, and attention.

Misty’s lightbulb moments of falling in love with her friend were a bit less believable for me, and her thoughts on the bridal bet, her family’s situation, whether or not she should date Lucas, and her prospects with art school became repetitive.

Again, this would make a sweet Hallmark movie with the sisters’ antics and the romantic beats of the bucket list, but as a book, it went a little long for the short timeframe covered by the plot.

I received an advance copy of the book from Entangled Publishing via NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Lucas and Misty together and how supportive they were of each other's dreams. I haven't read the first book of the series so this one spoiled things a little for me but I'm still looking forward to reading it. I can't wait for the third book to find out how Charlotte's story will go.

Warm, romantic and different, in the very best way. This author has woven more than a hint of magic through the pages. I absolutely adored it!

I really enjoyed the second book in the Majestic Maine series. In the first book, hints were dropped that Lucas was in love with Misty while she had no idea. I was excited to see Lucas get his shot with her.
Lucas is a lovely man. He is kind and thoughtful and dependable. I loved the way he treated Misty through the whole book.
Misty has been so busy trying to be herself that she has forgotten who that self is. She thinks she knows what she wants, but she isn't sure. Lucas helps bring all of that into focus for her, and she ends up being the woman she always should have been.
It was fun watching Misty discover her feelings for Lucas. I loved the epilogue, too. It was the perfect way to wrap up this story.

This is the second installment in a series, although I have not read the first one and didn’t feel I was missing out.

Sisters Nell, Charlotte and Misty are in a competition to find true love and not have to marry a former family nemesis to save their family’s business…ok, so the plot is a bit silly I will admit. I mean, the fact that their family, each other, the whole town is willing to see one of them marry a stranger for five years to save their family business. That being said, Nell has found her true love so now that pressure is on Charlotte and Misty. When a billboard gets put up of Misty looking for a husband, her longtime friend Lucas steps in to save the day and tell everyone they are a couple. The hard part for him, his feeling are not an act. I enjoyed the progression of the friends to lovers/fake dating premise and liked Misty and Lucas together. The collection of guys vying for a chance to win Misty’s hand were kind of funny. Overall the writing and characters were very cute, just had a bit of an issue with the general idea! Fun, clean romance!