This was a quick cute read! I enjoyed reading about Koa and Esther’s story when he returns five years after they have a marriage of convenience. I really liked Koa as a male lead, he was so kind and genuinely helpful. Esther grew as the story went on which was good, I was glad to see her make progress in not needing to be the problem solver for everyone in and everything in her life.

I think both of these characters brought balance to each other and that was great!

The spice in this book was a nice addition as well. This will be a great summer beach read that you can knock out in a few hours!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author Lainey Davis for providing me with a ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve been wanting to read a marriage of convenience romance for ages so I couldn’t resist this book. Esther and Koa are an unlikely pair and not used to long term relationships but when Koa needs help with his immigration status and the funds Esther needs to open her own bar, it seems like they’re in the perfect position to help each other.

I was a little surprised by the 5 year jump in the timeline after this pair’s marriage and would have loved to see their relationship develop more over that time beyond the snippets in postcards and emails that we see. However, when Koa returns as immigration come calling, it’s good to see their interactions and watch as their emotional and physical relationship develops. I did feel really bad for Koa’s character, feeling isolated and without a place in the world and I definitely think Esther was insensitive to that and often drove the point home rather than comforting him. Despite this, the more time Koa spent with Esther’s family and friends, and made friends of his own, the easier it was to see how he was finding his own family and it definitely warmed my heart.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.