My Bought Virgin Wife (Conveniently Wed! Book 3685)

Just imagine having a plastic bag around your head with only enough puncture holes to allow you to breathe and not suffocate... that's how I felt while reading this book. Here you are treated to excessive inner dialogue and contemplation by both main characters only to be interrupted by the occasional scene where the h is being belittled, disrespected or physically and verbally abused. Nevertheless, I kept on reading in hope of being rewarded with an ending that would feel like the plastic bag was lifted from my head allowing me to take a much needed deep breath. And suddenly, the story just ends..I'm left with the bag over my head minus a few dollars and hours of my life! Why!!

I word I could give more stars but alas I cannot. The only drawback to this book is the fact that an epilogue is definitely missing! Really? You can't end with a baby on the way and not let me know what else happens! Shame on you! You're still one of my favorites though! Loved it!

Writing in the first person really made this story so compelling. Great book, the author is such a great writer.

My Bought Virgin Wife by Caitlin Crews is a sexy marriage of convenience romance for a French aristocratic daughter, and a Spanish businessman looking for a society status upgrade – and finding love in the bargain.Imogen Fitzalan is a French heiress who hasn't had a very happy life. Her mother died when she was young, and she's trapped with a cruel father who constantly denigrates her over her flamboyant red hair and impulsive manner, comparing her to her perfectly put together blonde half sister Celeste. Ten years earlier, Celeste had turned down the marriage suit of Javier Dos Santos. Javier is back, with the money and power to marry a Fitzalan daughter whom he desires for their blue blood to counter his own poor upbringing. It will bring him into the upper echelons of society and make others take note. But Celeste married another in the interim so Imogen is the one who will be bargained off.Everyone says that Javier is a monster, but when he is a guest at their home prior to the wedding, she gets caught spying on him and in turn, he gives her a taste of what their marriage bed will be like. She'd thought she'd be leaving one prison for another, but in fact, it's nothing of the kind. Once married, Javier whisks her off to his island paradise and for some idyllic days they exist only for themselves. But emotion isn't supposed to be part of the arrangement and when Imogen finds herself falling in love with her husband, will it push him away or will he admit that she's captured his heart too?At first I couldn't put my finger on why this seemed different than other Harlequin Presents that I've read recently and then it dawned on me that it's written in first person dual point of view ('I did this') unlike most HPs which are written in third person ('She did this'). In this way it draws you right into the heart of what the characters are thinking and experiencing, and from the start Imogen captured my attention and empathy. She can't help that she's been born with red curly hair, but to her father it's as if that was designed specifically to spite him, so he's deliberately cruel to her and her sister is equally mean, though in a less obvious way. Marrying Javier can't be any worse than where she's living now, and so she resigns herself to the marriage, but then finds herself attracted to him even though she knows he's only marrying her because she's the one available.Javier of course isn't the monster everyone says he is. While he may be arrogant and ruthless, he also has a considerate side. His reputation is fierce because his father is a criminal and he worked for him as a child. He eventually was able to pull himself out of the quagmire, make his fortune and now he supports his mother and siblings. He's rich but different than those of the French and Spanish nobility who were born with wealth. It makes him lesser in their eyes, and he figures that marrying into one of their families is his key to their circles. Originally he wanted a wife as arm candy and to provide him with heirs, but after he meets Imogen he realizes that he doesn't want a carbon copy of the society wives out there, but rather her, exactly as she is.Once married, Imogen and Javier get to explore the initial attraction between them and there are several sexy love scenes. But their honeymoon can't last forever. Navigating back into society and facing her family again makes them both realize that their expectations of marriage have changed, but it still takes some time, especially for Javier to get to their true happy ending. I enjoyed everything about this story with its fairy-tale like quality and passionate romance. It's going on my keeper shelf!

This was almost a perfect little romance novel! So freaking close! If not for the end where he runs off and leaves her alone for a long time....Anyway, Imogen Fitzalan has never fit in, with her family, or the high society that she'd forced into. Now she's being forced to marry a man she doesn't know. A man that had once wanted to marry her older half sister... yeah, sounds crazy right? Well, it's all cute. Javier was actually a really nice guy, I felt so badly for him, growing up the way he did and it makes sense as to why he acts the way he does. It fits him perfectly, even if I did want to shake him and tell him to just open up and not run!Overall, it's a sweet little novel that will have you smiling in the end.

Not bad but I would have preferred the female lead character to have more spunk, I'm so over door mat virgins that take whatever garbage is thrown at them by evil relatives. The ending was also rather abrupt. A decent epilogue would have been nice too.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This was a predictable but fun book. I enjoyed reading it. I wish that Imogen would have stood up for herself sooner. Overall a good read though. I give it 4 stars.

Save your brain cells avoid this book cause it will destroy them. The writing is lazy and just plain bad. I could not finish this because I could feel my brain slowly dying from this first person narrative pile of crap.