Married For A MonthRating: 3.75 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


When Chase and Alec meet as teens, they immediately became the best of friends. Sure Chase was attracted to Alec at first, but when nothing came of it they developed a life-long friendship. Chase and Alec both have successful careers and as their group of friends starts to get married, they both know that marriage is not for them. That is until they take a bet to pretend to be married for a month.

The guys agree to live together, take on one date night a week, and share a bed. It’s easy going at first and the hardest part for both of them is always having someone in their space. Their relationship has always been platonic and continues that way until it isn’t. Now, Chase and Alec have to redefine their relationship as they can’t keep their hands off of each other. But it’s just a month and then everything will go back to the way it was. Right?

The fake marriage trope is not usually a go-to read of mine as it generally involves the characters trying to fool and convince others they are married for any number of reasons. Married for a Month was then a refreshing change as the bet is out in the open and the guys don’t actually get married. Since Chase and Alec have never been in a relationship together, they become more roommates than spouses. Their lives aren’t joined in any way other than them living together and having to go on weekly dates and the premise here from the start, including the wager, was a little weak for me.

But as the guys live together, they become aware of each other in ways they hadn’t in the past. Now it only takes a few days for the attraction to kick in, which then made me wonder why they were never attracted to each other before this. Sure it is mentioned, but that was a bit weak for me as well. Their voices were overly similar even with the story being in dual POV and I also wondered how Chase never had to go back to his home at all over the course of the month to pick up mail, pay bills…something?

The guys have distinct jobs with Chase being an urban planner and Alec owning a welding business, which added a different flair. Chase’s job was of particular interest until a storyline there became predictable as well. There is not a lot of angst here as the men move to a friends-with-benefits relationship for the duration of the month. They both start developing feelings for the other, but don’t want to ruin their friendship. Alec runs so he doesn’t have to talk and Chase is afraid to really tell Alec how he feels, but there is not much conflict to get in their way.

The book started really picking up for me well into the story when life became a little more challenging for the men. The story is definitely lighter with some moments of chemistry and some moments of heat, but overall it was just an okay ride for me. It was a combination of the guys sounding similar and perhaps the tone was too easy breezy for me. But, if you enjoy this author’s work and are looking for a friends-to-lovers story with little conflict, this could then be the one for you.

 

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