WANTED: Wife by Gwen Jones

Andy Devine is advertising for a wife on a utility pole, and interviewing him is the last thing TV reporter Julie Knott needs. Especially after her cheating fiancé just tweeted their disengagement. Now she has got to choose: 

Get the story — or become it?

WANTED: Wife

Landed, Financially Secure 40-Yr-Old Male

* Handsome, but with old-school communication skills and a secret past *

Seeks Healthy, Athletic Female

* Preferably a pretty reporter with a messy love life who has never spent a day in the woods *

For Marriage and Family

* What could possibly go wrong? *

Fresh, quirky, loaded with fun... such a cute, romantic, sexy story! 

When reporter Julie Knott answers an advertisement placed on a utility pole by a man wanting to interview potential wives, she does so in hopes of a story, never dreaming she'd end up his wife. But that's exactly what happens when one disaster after another makes Andy Devine her last hope of salvaging her career and her self respect.

Life with Andy is more than Julie could have ever imagined it would be, and Andy feels the same way about her. They get along well, bot in bed and out, and given life on the farm, that's saying a lot. Things are going better than either could have hoped for until, that is, Julie utters the "love" word and quickly discovers there's so much more to Andy than meets the eye, and it's heartbreaking.

Can Julie find a way through the fortress Andy has built around his heart so they can find a happily ever after despite the odds, or are Andy's secrets too much for them to overcome?

I can't even tell you what a surprising delight WANTED: Wife turned out to be. There's so much more to this story than just a cutesy contemporary romance, and I enjoyed every single bit of it! Andy is a super sexy French talkin' hottie and I want an Andy for myself!

I'm blown away by the idea that this is Gwen Jones' debut novel, because it doesn't read like one at all. Ms. Jones is an incredibly gifted storyteller and I'm looking forward to reading more!

ARC provided by Avon Books in exchange for an honest review.

Laura's Big Break by Janet Elizabeth Henderson

Laura needs to interview the hero of the moment to keep her new job with a women's magazine. She'd rather stick a fork in her eye. Twelve years have passed since her disastrous one night stand with Charlie and they've barely exchanged two civil words in that time. She calls him the Neanderthal and he calls her The Iron Maiden. If it wasn't for the fact his sister was Laura's best friend, she wouldn't have anything at all to do with him.

Charlie has come back from a stint in Afghanistan with a souvenir - nightmares. After one afternoon arguing with Laura, Charlie makes a wonderful discovery: she's so irritating, she scares away his dreams. So Charlie agrees to give her an interview - at a price. She has to accompany him on a two week cycling holiday in Holland, that way he might actually get the rest he needs. He takes particular delight in the plan because he knows that Laura hates exercise, loathes the outdoors and despises him. It feels good to have the upper hand for a change.

Laura needs an interview. Charlie needs sleep. And they both need to grow up and get over the past. But not before Laura cycles into a canal, sets fire to a tent and posts nude pictures of Charlie on the internet - all with the hope of getting her story.

*****

Laura's Big Break is a steamy, quirky, funny, friends to lovers story. Okay, "friends" might be stretching it a bit. Laura and Charlie can hardly stand to be in the same room (or tent or country) together.

I enjoyed this story and read it in a day. The author has such a great way with dialog and creating characters we can relate to. It's a bit on the shorter side and some of the relationship building suffered for the lesser page count, but all in all, a very entertaining read!