Customer Reviews

The Inconvenient Bride (Mills & Boon Romance)

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Dominic Wolfe has had it with his father's meddlesome matchmaking. The driven businessman has no time for a wife and harbors bad memories of being jilted twelve years ago. But when his father forces his hand, Dominic decides to beat him at his own game and railroads hair stylist Sierra Kelly into marriage figuring he's better off with the devil he knows rather than the one he doesn't. Sierra would be the first to say the two of them know next to nothing about each other. With her purple hair and her optimism, she couldn't be a more inappropriate wife for the straitlaced Dominic with his business suits and his mergers. And the vibrant attraction they feel for one another is not a solid base for marriage. Still, Sierra is determined to get beyond the walls her husband has in place to prove to him that love, like any merger, is worth fighting for.

In "The Inconvenient Bride", Anne McAllister has penned a heartwarming story about two opposites who marry in haste and feel compelled to make things work. But for such opposing characters, this leaves a lot of room for interpretation. To Sierra, marriage means admitting her feelings for Dominic go far beyond their initial attraction. She loves him and sees this marriage as an opportunity to learn more about each other and to make it last. And she realizes that she has barely scratched the surface of her husband's heart. Dominic's character provides the most challenge when it comes to the story. It is easy to see why he hedges when it comes to committing his heart and his blunt honesty when it comes to the reason why he married Sierra is very painful. For him, marriage is a convenience and Sierra is there for him to indulge in the attraction between the two while he continues business as usual. But his foolish belief that he will never love her throws a monkey wrench into his plans. With an unreceptive Sierra on his hands, Dominic realizes that if he wants this marriage to last, he is going to have to get to know his wife. The problem is, what he comes to know he can't help but love. McAllister does a fantastic job in her characterization of Dominic. Both Sierra and the reader come to realize that there is more to the man than just the suit. And with Sierra's help, he begins to unwind and to realize that business is not everything. Dominic is an interesting character because he tries so hard not to fall in love with Sierra and to retain the compartmentalization of his life. His bluntness when it comes to his wife doesn't just hurt her; it also reveals his vulnerability. Sierra is a blessing in disguise for him. She has a generosity of spirit that doesn't quit and an unflagging faith when it comes to her love for him. I really enjoyed Dominic and Sierra and how they came to understand that having little in common proved to be no match against the excellent balance they struck together.

New York businessman, Dominic Wolfe was given an ultimatum by his father to get married. Painted into a corner, he proposes and marries the most inappropriate woman he could find, Sierra Kelly to get back at him.

A hairdresser with wildly colored hair and outrageous outfits, he had an affair with her at a wedding and can't get the hot sex out of -his mind. But he doesn't think more of her than that. He was forced into the marriage and had no intention of them having to change their lives too much. Whereas seemingly wild-child Sierra wants the marriage to work and sets about conforming to the role of traditional wife. The reason for the marriage and Dominic's views of said marriage and of Sierra hurt her, but it is her hurt that opens his eyes to the woman underneath the raccoon eyes and purple hair. A woman who would, without hesitation, give away all of her money to pay for her neighbor's surgery.

This book is a Harlequin and I don't think they can go through a year without at least a dozen forced marriages woven into the plots of their books. But as forced marriages go, at least this one had some originality. Sierra was good at what she did and successful in her own right. She wasn't a downtrodden, gullible waif that needed a big, strong man to come rescue her, and for that I'm grateful.

I do have a problem with the fairytale-like associates of Dominic and his father. Here is a group of conservative, upper crust socialites who turn their noses up and ridicule everything, and not one of them had anything derogatory to say about Sierra's hair and attire. I know we are meant to believe that Sierra's personality bowled them over, but come on. A little realism. If even the maitre d' wanted to hide her behind a potted plant so as not to cause a ruckus in the restaurant, you're not going to convince me that she would be so readily accepted into their set.

Anyway, it was a sweet story. Dominic's reasons for being marriage-shy were well and truly justified, and Sierra was there to help him through it.

The story had realism issues for me but I still found it to be a worthwhile read.

Fifth book in Anne McAllister's outstanding New York! New York! series ... all six books in this series are not to be missed. I recommend reading them in order, although each can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel as well. Make room on your keeper shelf for the entire series: Finn's Twins, Fletcher's Baby, Gibson's Girl, Rhys's Redemption, The Inconvenient Bride, and Nathan's Child.