Some UNDERRATED Marriage of Convenience romance reads for you all. Happy Reading
The Underrated Ones
Marriage of Convenience is one of my favorite genres. Nothing more exciting than two people coming together as a means to an end, only to slowly fall in love.
If you are familiar with the trope, here are some underrated books to discover and fall in love with. These are all books that I’ve read and enjoyed. I hope you do too. Happy reading! 🙂
Grayson’s VowMia Sheridan
With…
While not a series, per se, this book follows Fiona Cole’s titles “Blame it on the Tequila” and “Blame it on the Champagne”. But this book can easily be read as a standalone without any issues whatsoever.
One of my favorite movie quotes from my absolute favorite romcom, “When Harry Met Sally”, came to mind several times while I was reading this witty, sweet, and touching best friends to lovers romance: “...when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible”.
While reading this book I felt like the main male character, Austin, somehow had become the epitome of this quote. He knows just who he wants to spend the rest of his life with, and while it takes setting the primary point of conflict for the entire book for him to be put in a position of possibly making the rest of his life start as soon as possible, once he gets there all Austin wants is to ensure he keeps his somebody and starts their life together as soon as possible.
The issue is that the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with (our main female character, Raelynn) might as well be a commitment-phobe with a ton of baggage when it comes to the idea of marriage. Don’t get me wrong: she has a whole lot of sound reasons for her outlook on marriage to be the way it is, but that doesn’t help the fact that Raelynn never wanted to be married and now doesn’t know what to do when she finds herself unexpectedly married to Austin, who has been her best friend since college.
I usually don’t do a plot recap in my reviews, because I feel like all of you can get what you need from the book blurb, but here I’m recapping it because I loved both Raelynn and Austin, with all their preconceptions, misconceptions, emotional baggage, and fierce commitment to their friendship no matter how tumultuous the world around them gets.
From the witty and engaging beginning scenes of this book that serve to draw us readers immediately into Raelynn and Austin’s world to the excellent spice scenes with an absolutely delicious dose of dirty talk and the very real fears and hopes one can feel when it comes to marriage, Fiona Cole’s newest is a fun, hot, and touching ride.
A birthday fic that I made due to the fact that it's my birthday! I hope you all enjoy this!
"Eis, set those chairs right over here, please," Lance said, looking at the firefighter while holding a recipe book. He pointed to a vacant table. "They are on the heavy side, so make sure to handle them with ease."
"On it, Lance," Eis replied as he and Jose started to lift the chairs up, one by one, and bring them to the table that Lance pointed at.
"What do you think of these decorations, Balan?" NiGHTS asked. They were helping Fiona and Haoyu hang up balloons and other pretty birthday decorations the colors of royal blue, light yellow, white, and apple red. "Think Aria would love them?"
"Why, my dear cousin, I'm sure as sure can get," Balan replied with a grin. "Aria would no doubt be thrilled to see the final results, if you want my bet."
"I agree with Balan," Iben added with a nod. "After all, they are all in Aria's signature colors." She continued to place the decorations on each table.
Everyone in the Balan Theatre had been extremely busy for almost a week. The reason for this made so much sense; Aria's birthday was coming up. Of course, they had to keep what they were doing under wraps whenever their friend was around.
"Say, has Lance decided on what kind of cake that he'll make Aria?" NiGHTS asked.
"He wishes for it to be a surprise," Balan stated. "But trust me when I say that you will love it when you see the cake with your own eyes."
The doors barged open to reveal Kaylo holding a LARGE pile of presents. "I hope I wasn't too late," Kaylo said.
"Where were you, Kaylo?" Rebecca asked, looking up from the refreshment table that she was busy decorating.
"My family and I went gift shopping for Aria," Kaylo explained. "Then, I spent all morning helping them wraps the presents up. So sorry for the long wait. Where can I set them?"
"I finished setting up the gift table," Bruce responded. "You can set them over there." He pointed to the gift table that was currently vacant aside from the decorations.
"Thanks, Bruce." Kaylo made her way to the table and carefully placed the presents down.
"Wow, that's a lot of presents," Yuri said. "I still have mine at home. I was told that Aria's favorite insect is the Monarch Butterfly."
"One of them is from me," Kaylo said. "I got her a pretty spring outfit. The rest are from my family."
(Meanwhile, in the Night Dimension)
Reala sat on the throne of his domain, humming in deep thought. Since the beginning of the week, that was what he had been doing aside from his duties as a Nightmaren General. This was because he was well aware that Aria's birthday was coming up…
…But there was one problem…
…He was the only one who had no idea as to what to give Aria for her birthday.
Reala needed to think fast as to what to give her. Fortunately, in the time that he dated her, he got to know her a lot better just like she got to know him. So it was easy for him to remember her personal likes and dislikes.
Aria obviously loved cats. Royal Blue was her favorite color. She also liked wearing jewelry as evident on the day that he first met her. She had been wearing her wedding ring that was placed onto her left ring finger by the man that she was once married to.
To know that he was able to fill the gap in her heart that Aria's late husband left brought Reala genuine happiness. To the point where there had been times that he would wonder how things would if he married her.
While he and Aria had talked about marriage at one point, Reala was well aware that she was still a bit iffy about remarrying. This was due to her fear that the same thing that happened to her late husband would also happen to Reala. That he would leave her only for disaster to strike, making him unable to return to her.
That was when it hit Reala…
…He knew exactly as to what to give Aria for her birthday…
…He was going to pop the question to Aria. After all, the two had been dating each other for quite some time.
He had an idea as to what Aria's present from him would look like. It would no doubt represent the love that they had for each other.
With a determined smile, Reala flew into a deeper part of his domain and got to work on Aria's special present from him.
(Three Days Later…)
"SURPRISE!!" Everyone yelled in joy when Aria turned on the lights to the room that the party would take place.
Aria gasped in awe and delight as she looked around. "Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed. "I can't believe you did all of this of me!"
"Well, of course, darling!" Lucy replied with the same amount of joy that Aria had. "You've been such an amazing friend to us! When your birthday came, we just had to celebrate it!" Her eyes landed on a silver charm bracelet that was on Aria's right wrist. "Your bracelet is adorable! Where did you get it?"
Aria smiled as she looked down at the charm bracelet. It had seven charms on it; one was Aria's initial, one was Scotland's flag, one was a princess crown, one was a butterfly, one was a star, one was a heart, and one was a dove. "My mother gave me the bracelet this morning," She replied.
"Well, it looks really lovely on you," Cal commented. "Now, let's go celebrate your birthday." He motioned for Aria to join in on the fun.
"Shall we watch Aria open presents or should we all sing to her a Happy Birthday?" Trisha Jane asked. Before Aria could answer, Leo and Emma came rushing by, fear on their faces.
"Guys!" Emma cried out. "Reala is here in the theatre! He's looking for Aria!"
"What could he possibly want with Aria this time?" Sana asked, suddenly getting protective along with Eis.
"Hard to say, but I only know that he likes her a lot," NiGHTS said, becoming protective. "Either way, if he tries anything funny to Aria, I'll be sure to step in!"
As if on cue, Reala suddenly appeared inside the room where the party was at. Kaylo, Mei, Marina, Rebecca, and Trisha Jane all backed away. Leo quickly shielded Emma while Jose and Attilio shielded Yuri and Cass.
"Reala, why are you here?" NiGHTS demanded, getting into a fighting stance.
Reala smirked at NiGHTS's annoyance. "Isn't it obvious, my dear sibling?" He replied in an amused tone. "I came here to see my girlfriend, Aria. I also happen to have a present for her."
"Reala, this better not be a trick or a sick joke," Lance said, glaring at his cousin. "Because if it's either, you will be one sorry bloke."
"I can assure that it's neither," Reala said, frowning at Lance.
Aria looked at NiGHTS and the two maestros. "Don't worry, you three," She assured. "Reala would never hurt me." She approached her Nightmaren lover.
"Ah, Aria," Reala spoke, a light smile on his face. "I have made you a very special present. I do sincerely hope you love it." He then cleared his throat. "Now, we have been together for a quite a while, haven't we?"
"We have." Aria nodded in response with a smile.
"Since the day we met, I found myself thinking about you a lot," Reala explained. "I'd never felt this way toward anyone before. Not even toward a Visitor. You're the only Visitor that I know would never betray my trust. What I am trying to say is that you are MY brightest star in my universe. And I never realized how cold my life really was until I met you. Which is why I wish to ask you something that I should have asked you on the day that I confessed my love for you…"
He then revealed what he was hiding behind his back; a small ring box. Everyone, including Aria, gasped in awe as Reala got down on one knee and opened the box to reveal an engagement ring with a black gold band and two heart-shaped stones; one with a red diamond and one with a blue diamond.
"Aria Montgomery, will you marry me?" Reala asked.
Aria was silent for a minute. Then, happy tears swelled up in her eyes as she nodded. "Yes, I will marry you!!"
Everyone clapped at Aria's response as Reala placed the ring on her left ring finger. The two engaged lovers shared a passionate kiss together.
"Guess we'll have to start planning for Aria's wedding soon, huh?" Haoyu asked Fiona with a smile. All Fiona could do was nod with a smile.
tagging: @direwombat @clonesupport @strangefable @adelaidedrubman @josephslittledeputy @strafethesesinners @derelictheretic @confidentandgood @inafieldofdaisies @kyber-infinitygems @marivenah @detectivelokis @eclecticwildflowers @trench-rot and anyone else who’d like to give this a go (because I know there are a ton of people i forgot, my brain is swiss cheese) consider this me tagging you
Favorite OC
I don’t think anyone is going to be surprised by this answer. She appeared in my brain one day, kicked all the other ocs to the curb and has now lived there rent free with her horrible ginger murder husband and I have come to accept this fact. She’s a year old and while her face claim changed, her character never did -- she’s always been my feral killer and I love her for it
Newest OC
Sia has existed for nearly 7 months now. I got suckered in by Sam Drake’s charms and I had to make a little lady to keep him in line. There’s still a fair bit I’m figuring out about her (and admittedly don’t spend enough time doing because Kit won’t leave me alone) but overall she’s my salt of the earth Irish academic who got suckered in by the chance at a little freedom and got stuck with Rafe Adler as a boss.
Oldest OC
TBH I don’t quite recall who is actually oldest but I know they were both in creation around 2005 so that’s about as much as I can remember (also getting to make banners for them was really cool because neither of them get much play in my head anymore unfortunately, luckily I still had their pinterest boards though)
Evangeline went through several rewrites and character changes, first she was a Dean ship, then a Sam ship, and then Lucifer showed up and well he absolutely won (can we all see why I have a Jacob ship now) anywho... she was my Louisiana witch OC who helped the boys on hunts and since I was but a baby teenager when I made her the most OP OC who just so happened to be the child of God...luckily my writing and character creating skills have vastly improved since that time
Fiona is my marvel oc who started out with the comics and then moved into the MCU. She was a Tony ship in the comics, who was besties with Daredevil, Spider-Man and Wolverine. She’s a reporter by day and a mutant with pyrokinetic abilities and an Avenger by night. Later, when I moved her into the MCU she became a Loki ship and then after the events of Infinity War she became a Bucky ship
Meanest OC
It’s got to be Kit again, while Nora is mean girl levels of mean, Kit can be inherently cruel. She looks down on people as weak, despite them being people she should see as friends. She enjoys the kill. There’s a reason why she was made to be part of the cult.
Softest OC
Ava is absolutely just my little babygirl, out there trying to save people and just the most broken little thing who wouldn’t even harm a fly. The absolute cruelty of Halcyon and the way it treats its citizens upsets her to the core and all she wants is to give the colonists a better life even at the risk of her own
Most aloof/standoffish OC
Heh, I sense a running theme here...
Kit once again wins this prize. Written to be cat coded she prefers to be left alone and has a really terrible time having to socialize to the point where she pushes most people away since she’s fairly unsettling as an individual to begin with
Dumbest (affectionate) OC
Nora doesn’t have to be smart when she’s pretty and used to living the fancy life. She’s gotten away with living on just her looks and her sonic powers for sometime and that’s just what she’s used to now. Makes it easier for her to stay under the radar too, no one will expect the pretty blonde acting as Homelander’s arm candy.
Smartest OC
Toss up between these two ladies, Sia has a masters in maritime history and is excellent with research and is a star in her field taking after her father.
Ava Mueller was in her residency to become a medical doctor with a specialization in Neurology before heading to Halcyon.
OC i’d be friends with IRL
Another toss up, I just think these two are the most down to earth out of the bunch, easy to talk to, not afraid to make jokes and would have lots of interesting stories to tell
When Young teens Leo and Emma find themselves at a mysterious theater, along with 12 other people, they are told by the enigmatic Maestro Balan, that in order to leave this place called Wonderworld, they must find and repair their hearts. Unfortunately, it will not be easy, as there is a negative Maestro named Lance trying to stop them.
Can the humans repair their hearts and return home? Or will lose everything to Wonderworld?
I know it’s 2 days late to make this post work but…
BALAN WONDERWORLD GHOST AU
So Leo and Emma go in a haunted house and try to find ghost. And which they did.
So yeah the 12 inhabitants are the ghost stuck in a haunted house for almost all eternity. And they all have unique curses on them due to how the way they die in this au