Book Review: The Un-Arranged Marriage by Laura Brown

[ID: A blue book with an illustration of a man and woman standing on wedding cakes with the woman’s back to the man. The woman is in a yellow dress and the man is wearing glasses with his hands in a questioning pose. The book is laying on a gray wooden floor with a lace shawl surrounded by yellow roses and other yellow flowers. Two gold rings are laying on the lace above the book.]

The Un-Arranged Marriage by Laura Brown, released March 28th, 2022

⁣Summary:

Mark Goldman and Shaina Fogel have never gotten along. Ever. Even when they were in diapers, their bestie mothers wanted them to grow up and get married. Not happening. They’ve spent a lifetime getting on each other’s nerves, but a family wedding is about to change everything.⁣
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For their entire lives, Mark’s never once acknowledged the fact that Shaina’s hard of hearing. So it comes as a massive surprise when she discovers that Mr. High-and-Mighty simply didn’t know. And now she needs his help when it’s revealed that the weeklong wedding events are actually a competition for a dream vacation. ⁣
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As they’re forced to work together and finally communicate, their lifelong animosity begins to fade, replaced with an electric attraction. Will they be able to put aside their enmity for something more? And, shock of all shocks, is it possible their mothers might be right??⁣

@libraryofdreaming’s review:

Thank you to @entangled_publishing and @greyspromo for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I will confess right off the bat that I found this book rather too steamy for my personal taste but I really appreciated the characters and their dynamic. I found it difficult to believe that it took Mark 32 years to realize Shaina was Hard of Hearing, but I loved seeing him learn to adapt and meet her needs! ⁣
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I also loved how the MCs were fully formed adults and their relationship was a meeting of equals. Likewise, their family felt like real people and I appreciated how a lot of the conflict revolved around confronting past wounds. The introverted man/extroverted woman trope was fun to read. ⁣
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As I’ve mentioned, this level of romance is not my personal cup of tea and there were a few moments that felt cheesy even for me. I also wish that Shania had had a better reckoning with her family about not understanding or accommodating her access needs. ⁣
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However, I loved getting a peek into Shania’s world as a uber competitive, HoH woman and I appreciated the ownvoices HoH & demisexual representation. I think my steamy romance loving friends will love this one!