The Magnate's Mail-Order Bride (The McNeill Magnates #1) by Joanne Rock Published by Harlequin Desire on April 4th 2017
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A mix-and-match mock engagement?
Ballerina Sofia Koslov's career is on the line when she's accosted at the airport by a rich, reckless playboy who thinks she's his mail-order bride! But the playboy's levelheaded brother, Quinn McNeill, solves the media snafu with a switcheroo. He'll pretend to be her legitimate fiance to protect her reputationand to protect his family's business deals from her father's wrath. Sofia's one condition: they'll share the spotlight as a loving couple but won't share a bed. But soon Quinn's gentlemanly ways strike a chord, and Sofia's dying to renege on that condition and have a real fling
The Magnate's Mail-Order Bride is part of The McNeill Magnates series.
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….Dropping the box onto the couch cushion, Quinn held the ring in one hand and took her palm in the other. The shock of his warm fingers on her skin caught her off guard.
“I can’t wear that.” She sat across from him, their knees bumping while his thumb rested in the center of her palm.
Awareness sparked deep inside her, a light, leaping feeling like a perfectly executed cabriolé jump. Her heart beat faster.
A slow smile stretched across Quinn’s face, transforming his features from ruggedly handsome to swoon-worthy.
“We agreed on an engagement. Don’t you think it makes more sense to use the ring we have than to go shopping for a new one?”
The insinuation that she was being impractical helped her to see past that dazzling smile.
“I never would have guessed your brother would spend a small fortune on a ring for a woman he never met.” She edged out of his grip. “I thought he was a romantic, not completely certifiable.”
Quinn’s smile faded. “I assure you, Cameron is neither.” He set the ring on the steamer trunk beside her. “I’ll let you decide whether or not to wear it in the morning. And in the meantime, I’d better let you get some rest.”
He rose to his feet, leaving a priceless piece of jewelry balanced on last month’s Vogue.
“Quinn.” She stood to follow him to the door then reached back to grab the ring so she could return it. “Please. I don’t feel right keeping this here.”
He turned to face her as he reached the door, but made no move to take the glittering ring.
“If you were my bride-to-be, I would spare no expense to show the world you were mine.” His blue eyes glowed with a warmth that had her remembering his kiss. Her breath caught in her chest and she wondered what it might be like for him to call her that for real.
Mine.
“I’m—” At a total loss for words. “That is—” She folded the diamond into her hand, squeezing it tightly so the stones pressed into her soft skin, distracting her from her hypnotic awareness of this man. “If you insist.”
“It’s a matter of believability, Sofia.”
“It’s only for one month.” She wasn’t sure if she said it to remind him or herself.
“We’ll work out the details tomorrow.” He reached to smooth a strand of hair from her forehead, barely touching her and still sending shimmers of pleasure along her temple and all the way down the back of her neck. “Sleep well.”
She didn’t even manage to get her voice working before he was out the door again, leaving her alone in a suddenly too empty apartment.
You can follow The McNeill Magnates series on Goodreads.
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US giveaway which includes signed print copies of THE MAGNATE’S MARRIAGE MERGER and SECRET BABY SCANDAL, plus notecards, cute sticky notes and Hot Mess hand cream from Posh. For one INTL winner, I’ll give digital downloads of both THE MARRIAGE MERGER and SECRET BABY SCANDAL.
We are curious…..
What would make you decide to be a Mail Order Bride?
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~~Reviewed by Monique~~
THE MAGNATE’S MAIL-ORDER BRIDE has to be the best contemporary fake engagement story I have ever read!
Sofia Kostov is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, and dancing is her life. Sofia is an American citizen; however her father adheres to the old-fashioned Ukrainian way of doing things, and he wants Sofia to get married instead. The American McNeill brothers are in a similar predicament: in order to get their inheritance, their grandfather insists they must get married the sooner the better, and stay married at least 12 months. Older brother Quinn is definitely not keen on the idea, while Cameron – reckless fool that he is – goes ahead and tries a matchmaking agency. And to put it mildly, Cameron makes a big mess of things, and Quinn steps in to save the day. I will not say anymore of the plot, because it’s extremely intricate, and to my utter delight, utterly convincing, which was a huge relief for this cynical sceptic, so trust me on that. I couldn’t resist this story because Sofia is a ballerina, and I think I keep torturing myself in trying to find contemporary romances that deal successfully with fake engagements and marriages of convenience, and Joanne Rock has a real winner in THE MAGNATE’S MAIL-ORDER BRIDE! She might also have described my favourite book boyfriend ever!
THE MAGNATE’S MAIL-ORDER BRIDE is simply fabulous! Ms. Rock’s prose is simple, crisp, and impeccable to the last comma. There is no instalove, and just a touch of instalust. Quinn is a naturally nice man, charming, practical, and a natural fixer, and he is not a manwhore! Sofia is reserved, somewhat melancholy, and awkward in social situations, while Quinn thrives in them, and he takes care of a very complicated situation in a very logical and honest manner. While there was bound to be complications, the author resolved them very convincingly. I absolutely loved how Quinn and Sofia eventually accepted and realised that they had fallen in love; nothing was contrived, and it actually had me tearing up at how lovely it all was. I also appreciated Joanne Rock’s knowledge of the ballet world, as well as the inflections of Ukrainian speech in one particular character. Quinn and Sofia have compelling, and superb backstories, both are so fully fleshed-out, they might as well be real people. Needless to say, THE MAGNATE’S MAIL-ORDER BRIDE is superbly written and all the delicious little details made everything so wonderful. And the sex scenes are tasteful, passionate, and feel realistic. And, dear readers, all this fabulousness is achieved without a single cliché in sight. And that tango? Be still my heart! THE MAGNATE’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE is as perfect a book as you can wish, and I can hardly wait for the next two instalments in this trilogy!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
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About Joanne Rock
Joanne Rock is the author of over eighty books published in twenty countries and translated into twenty-six languages, including seventy-five books for Harlequin in a variety of series. A popular workshop speaker, Joanne parlays her experience in the college classroom to substantive seminars that motivate, educate and inspire authors at all levels of their careers. Her book Self Promotion: Your Guide to Launching a Book is the culmination of requests for her notes on this topic. She has a Master’s degree in English from the University of Louisville and is the winner of Romantic Times’ WISH Award, the 2015 Snow Globe, multiple Cataromance Reviewers’ Choice Awards and the Golden Heart. A four-time RITA nominee, Joanne is committed to finding the happily-ever-after joys of the writing life.
I would guess that desperation would be a big motivator. Needing to get away from a bad life, to get out of your country, needing medical care for a loved one, etc.
To save someone
Nisha, see below, you are one of the winners for this visit. CONGRATULATIONS!
Thank you
To save someone that I love.
Kate, see below. You are on of the winners for this visit. CONGRATULATIONS!
Not be satisfied with the life you have and wanting a change and adventure.
Id do it. Not for desperation but for a new adventure. Who knows maybe he’d be mr right. Im not opposed to unconventional ways
Extenuating circumstances.
Congrats on the releases, Joanne! Love the way you write romances but with a twist. I suppose a mail order bride could consider her situation as quite adventurous! Love, after all, is a journey…
Thank you, Audrey!! It’s exciting when those story twist ideas pop into my head! I came up with this meet between the hero and heroine before any other part of the story and then worked the rest of the story around it. I loved the idea of meeting this way 🙂
To get a big change and have a new adventure.
If I needed a way out and it was my only option
I’d do it just for an adventure.
I never thought about it but I would do it as a last resort to solve whatever problem I had. However, I do love reading books about it.
Me too!! My good friend, author Winnie Griggs, has written this idea for Love Inspired Historicals (Hand Me Down Family was one of them) and I just loved the way it pits the hero and heroine together but in conflict, too.
In this day and age where education is important, I would be a mail order bride if the husband sends me to a school rgat offered my chosen major.
I actually enjoy mail-order brides. My son recently started using one of those match yourself to the perfect person. Some of his experiences were absolutely hilarious. We aren’t as innocent and straight-forward as we used to be. I thought how similar the usage of the internet is like the mail-order bride stories I read. Congrats on your release.
I haven’t read any of your work, yet, but would enjoy reading and reviewing.:)
Thank you, Eileen!! It’s funny how things come around…. generations before us protested arranged marriages, and now so many of the online matchmaking tools revert to the same strategies that families once used to find appropriate partners for their sons/daughters.
Since I’m married to my “boy next door” several years later, had he asked me to join him in Texas, paid my way there …. I would have ran! He went in the air force right outta high school and was sent to Texas. I would have had a ton of explaining to do since I was engaged back then. I don’t know if I would have ran off to a stranger . I know I would not go to Alaska as I don’t much care for anything colder then where I do live here in New York state!
I would do it as a last resort or to protect someone I love.
I think if I lived in a desolate place where I was far away from anything & anyone, I would be a mail order bride. Thanks as always for your generosity.
Like most have answered, probably foremost would be if I needed to get away from some person, or place.
Also, if I hadn’t found anyone in my area, and REALLY wanted to have my own family (husband & children), this would be a way.
I’m really shy and scare a bit easily so I think it’s. It something I’d do unless I’d really have to, like if the life of a loved one depended on it or I was in a very dire situation.
I really can’t see me doing anything like being a mail order bride. I have my one true love! Even if something took him from me, there would never be one to replace him. Maybe that would be a reason to not “look” for someone to marry so much but you needed companionship or help financially. So one might look for someone that you really weren’t looking for that intimate connection with but something for convenience. It could develop into something after the “contract” though. 🙂
probably a sense of adventure and a quest for a better life – my current life would have to have no desernable future.
Winners!!! Congratulations Kate Sparks, Winner of the Prize pack pictured above!! And Nisha Tissoo, I’ve got digital downloads for you! Just email me at jrock008@gmail.com to arrange for shipping/delivery. Thank you, thank you ALL for stopping by the blog and visiting with me! I hope you’ve had a fun weekend and double cheers to Buried Under Romance for hosting me!