My Darling Bride by Ilsa Madden-Mills @ilsamaddenmills #sebastianyork @savannahpeachwood @brilliancepublishing #TheDarlings #MyDarlingBride

the setup…
Emmaline (Emmy) Darling runs a bookstore and helps take care of her younger sister, brother and niece. But she’s now in a desperate situation in a seedy motel called the Iguana somewhere in the Arizona desert. She’s running from her abusive ex-boyfriend Kian and now is being threatened by an over amorous motel guest. When another man called “G” rounds the corner, she uses him as her “fake” boyfriend for escape. Later when she realizes Kian has tracked her, she grabs “G’s” car keys and flees, leaving him a note. Turns out that “G” is Graham Harlan, the most famous tight-end in the country who plays for the New York Pythons and won them the Super Bowl. And that car? A Lamborghini.

the heart of the story…
While Emmy left Graham a note where he could find his car, things got really complicated about that Lamborghini. She returns to New York fearing she’d be arrested any day. But when he contacts her, Graham has a whole new proposition. He needs to marry in order to get his portion of the inheritance left by his grandmother. There’s a whole backstory there, too. I loved the banter between these two and both had good hearts, wanting to do the best for their siblings. While their attraction is real, Emmy’s not ready to give her heart away again given her history and Graham’s been burned too. They vow to keep the marriage platonic until they divorce. Yeah, right.

the narration…
I’m a longtime fan of Sebastian York and he again proves why here. Savannah Peachwood was equally wonderful as she was the perfect Emmy. I loved everything about their performances.

the bottom line…
I was looking for a nice romance and got a really great story. There’s a lot of substance here and the fake marriage romance was unconventional in a lot of ways. The secondary characters weren’t just background but vital aspects of the story. This was a lovely surprise and reading experience.

Book Info

• Release Date: December 5, 2023
• Series: The Darlings #1
• Narrators: Sebastian York & Savannah Peachwood
• Audio Length: 9 hours, 47 minutes
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio

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