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The Marriage Trap by Jennifer Probst
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
What I can conclude after reading #2: If you've read one of Jennifer Probst's books, you've read them all.
My biggest complaint about #1 was the fact that someone was ALWAYS interrupting the "sexy time". Nothing has changed in this book. Every time Maggie or Count start going at it, someone interrupts them. It's just an ongoing cycle with all of Probst material. Nick and Alexa always got hot and heavy when they were upset, and that seems to be the trend with Count and Maggie.
And, of course, like Alexa, Maggie refuses to give in and wants to lie to herself about the feelings she has for Count.
I wanted to believe that book #2 would be better. The writing isn't bad, but the ideas are just mediocre and overused. The whole reason Count and Maggie had to "fake" a marriage was ridiculous too. At least Nick had a plausible reason to take the plunge. Count's reason was very questionable. And I hate to say it, but Maggie was kind of a bitch. It was hard to like her. She's just dead set that something is going on between Count and Alexa, because she's stupid. Obviously it's crazy to think a man could be polite to a woman with no other motives other than sex. <---that data-blogger-escaped-a="" data-blogger-escaped-and="" data-blogger-escaped-are="" data-blogger-escaped-at="" data-blogger-escaped-basically="" data-blogger-escaped-be="" data-blogger-escaped-beautiful="" data-blogger-escaped-because="" data-blogger-escaped-believes="" data-blogger-escaped-bitch="" data-blogger-escaped-br="" data-blogger-escaped-by="" data-blogger-escaped-count.="" data-blogger-escaped-don="" data-blogger-escaped-emotions.="" data-blogger-escaped-every="" data-blogger-escaped-forbid="" data-blogger-escaped-foreign="" data-blogger-escaped-god="" data-blogger-escaped-gold....maggie="" data-blogger-escaped-her="" data-blogger-escaped-how="" data-blogger-escaped-if="" data-blogger-escaped-is="" data-blogger-escaped-just="" data-blogger-escaped-like="" data-blogger-escaped-lol.="" data-blogger-escaped-maggie="" data-blogger-escaped-man.="" data-blogger-escaped-man="" data-blogger-escaped-no="" data-blogger-escaped-none="" data-blogger-escaped-not="" data-blogger-escaped-of="" data-blogger-escaped-re="" data-blogger-escaped-s="" data-blogger-escaped-stared="" data-blogger-escaped-stupid="" data-blogger-escaped-t="" data-blogger-escaped-to="" data-blogger-escaped-told="" data-blogger-escaped-us.="" data-blogger-escaped-us="" data-blogger-escaped-want="" data-blogger-escaped-we="" data-blogger-escaped-were="" data-blogger-escaped-what="" data-blogger-escaped-why="" data-blogger-escaped-women="">
I haven't read the description for the third book. But I'm willing to bet it involves either 1) Max Gray...or 2) Carina? Maybe both. There was far too much focus on Count's family and not enough on his relationship with Maggie. I don't know if I'll read another book by this author. I'm starting to notice the trend of her writing and ideas, and I don't really care for it.
But at the same time...once you get started, you feel obligated to finish a series. So I find myself confused and frustrated.
I keep telling myself the next book will get better...I just don't know. I'm losing hope with this author.
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The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I bought this book at books-a-million ($3.97) and figured I would give it a shot.
I cannot explain how frustrating it was to have something-anything interrupt Nick and Alexa whenever it was getting hot and heavy. First Gabriella, then the police ect...The author tortured me through this one. Alright? It just didn't stop.
Something else that bothered me: liquid warmth. <---ladies data-blogger-escaped-a="" data-blogger-escaped-about="" data-blogger-escaped-and="" data-blogger-escaped-br="" data-blogger-escaped-either="" data-blogger-escaped-every="" data-blogger-escaped-gentlemen="" data-blogger-escaped-giggle.="" data-blogger-escaped-giggle="" data-blogger-escaped-giggled="" data-blogger-escaped-good="" data-blogger-escaped-i="" data-blogger-escaped-just="" data-blogger-escaped-liquid="" data-blogger-escaped-more="" data-blogger-escaped-novel.="" data-blogger-escaped-of="" data-blogger-escaped-ot="" data-blogger-escaped-other="" data-blogger-escaped-page="" data-blogger-escaped-pov="" data-blogger-escaped-profusely.="" data-blogger-escaped-sort="" data-blogger-escaped-talk="" data-blogger-escaped-the="" data-blogger-escaped-this="" data-blogger-escaped-warmth="" data-blogger-escaped-was="" data-blogger-escaped-what-the-hell-were-you-thinking="" data-blogger-escaped-word="" data-blogger-escaped-would="">Every time the word popped up on the page...
ME:
AND THEN:
Things that annoyed me
1) Any time an author uses the "antibiotic" excuse for an accidental pregnancy, all respect I have for the female lead goes out the window. For author's it appears to be the easiest way out, but for readers we don't see it that way. We see pure stupidity. The second I read "You're already taking antibiotics", I started counting down the chapters...Really? Hell, I would've been more acceptable of "the pill just didn't work" instead of the antibiotic excuse.
2) And Alexa's goody doer ways. *SIGHS* She wants to help the pigeons, rats, dogs, fish...This didn't help her in my eyes. I didn't think of how goodhearted she was and all of that good shit. I just didn't feel any sympathy towards her.
3) The sex scenes were not up to par. If you can't write them, just don't. After all of that sexual angst,and 200 pages of waiting, it was a big letdown. I thought the writing was very admirable until the sex scenes came into play. I think this would've been better as a Romance novel (not erotica) because the sex didn't add any impact at all. I could've gone without it, honestly. It was nothing special.
4) For someone who doesn't give a damn about money, Alexa sure as hell wants everything that requires A LOT of it: expansion on her cafe and a big wedding...
5) A rushed ending. The last 30 pages of this book ruined it for me. I'm not a big fan of third person POV's, but I was intrigued with this one. There was a lot of detail and to a certain extent it appeared well written. But this author couldn't deliver at the high points. Every time an argument played out, I expected more and she never delivered. Everything was so "easily" resolved and that left me frustrated. For example: the Gabriella kiss. WTF? She slid a "two weeks later" into the picture and within three pages, all is well in Alexa and Nick's world. The ending was very similar. It was a rushed mess. And it's hard to read such decent material for 200 or so pages and then have an author tank the ending. I get that Alexa is forgiving, but all I saw was weak. Boo-hoo, I'm pregnant, I'm going to do it on my own. He doesn't want to have this baby with me ect...And then oh wait, he's back. I'm going to forgive him because he wore a Met's t-shirt. No. NOPE. As a character she didn't grow. I saw a lot of growth in Nicky, but not in Alexa. If anything, she backslid throughout this damn journey. SAD.
CONCLUSION: 3 stars.
It would've been 4 stars if the ending wasn't rushed. (I even contemplated 5 stars at one point.) I am disappointed. I felt like the author favored Nick's grow over Alexa's and because of that her character suffered in the end. Not sure if I would recommend it to friends. I have to sit on it for a while. This was a book that had a plot that kept going higher and higher until it had nowhere to go but down.
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