The Marriage Conspiracy (men in uniform) [Paperback]

Christine Rimmer (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Silhouette Books (2001)
• ISBN-10: 0373362692
• ISBN-13: 978-0373362691
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Christine Rimmer has written more than seventy-five contemporary romances for Harlequin Books. A reader favorite, Christine's stories consistently appear on national bestseller lists, including the Waldenbooks and USA TODAY lists. She has won Romantic Times BOOKreview's Reviewer's Choice Award for best Silhouette Special Edition. She has been nominated three times for the Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award and four times for Romantic Times Series Storyteller of the Year. Christine lives in Oregon with her family and two very contented cats named Tom and Ed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intensive read -- Highly recommended, September 21, 2001

By 

C. Penn "WordWeaving" (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Marriage Conspiracy (Conveniently Yours, Bravo Family) (Silhouette Special Edition, No 1423) (Paperback)

The Atwoods have too much money and too much power, which corrupted their only son. Joleen believed Bobby's silken lies until he'd wanted nothing to do with his child, abandoning Joleen when she learned of her pregnancy. Now her son Sam is eighteen months old. Six weeks ago Bobby died in a power skiing accident. In spite of the past, she'd contacted his parents to tell them that they have a grandson. Their response is to offer her money for custody. When Joleen refuses, they threaten court, counting on political favors to win them the child.

Dekker recently learned that he's the Bravo's missing heir. Now a millionaire, he immediately steps in to help Joleen when he learns of the Atwood's threats. The stability of marriage and the money to hire the best lawyers should protect the child. He warns Joleen, however, that he's emotionally dead when it "comes to man-woman love." A bitter marriage with a woman who couldn't be satisfied and eventually left him widowed resulted in becoming absolutely numb. The only woman Dekker lets close to him is his beloved childhood friend Joleen. She's always touched the parts of him he keeps silent, hearing the things he can't always articulate.

Joleen's feelings move from tender goodwill to defensiveness when their act of their marriage, and a couple of kisses, awaken a powerful yearning. In her mother's words, she wants magic, passion, and excitement. And she wants it with Dekker. When he said that neither of them were in the market for a grand passion, or possibly ever would be, she didn't want to confess that she wants the passion he believes impossible.

Christine Rimmer's special talent for creating emotional vulnerable characters once again sparkles in THE MARRIAGE CONSPIRACY. These are imperfect, believable people struggling with their feelings and the past. Secondary characters, even those only sketched at the wedding, for example, also shimmer with plausibility and humor. With a heart stopping threat regarding custody, as well as healing old wounds, THE MARRIAGE CONSPIRACY results in intensive read that comes highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A better than average read, December 23, 2005

By 

Gemma "bookworm" (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Marriage Conspiracy (Conveniently Yours, Bravo Family) (Silhouette Special Edition, No 1423) (Paperback)

From the back cover:

A hasty wedding

Hardworking detective Dekker Smith had always been beautician Joleen Tilly's best buddy. But when Joleen fell for a rich boy's honeyed lies--producing precious but fatherless little Sam--and Sam's powerful grandparents demanded custody, Dekker proposed an astonishing solution: a most convenient marriage!

For Dekker had discovered he was the missing Bravo billionare, wealthy enough to fend off any claims on Joleen's toddler. But could Joleen fend off her sudden, searing desire for her in-name-only husband? Would that unexpected heat burn the bonds between best friends? Or forge a family that was meant to be?

And my review:

This was a better than average read. I had never read anything by this author before, and I was quite impressed. I love marriage of convenience stories, and this one was very well done.

Christine Rimmer does a masterful job of writing sexual tension without having it overtake the romance of the story. And the struggle of falling in love with your best friend and not wanting to ruin the friendship was also very keenly felt.

This was good, but wasn't quite outstanding enough to make the cut for my keeper shelf. Still, it was very enjoyable, and I would recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Read, Great Heroine, August 17, 2011

By 

Terracotta Dove (Arlington, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Marriage Conspiracy (Conveniently Yours) (Kindle Edition)

This is #9 in Rimmer's Bravo series, where we discover the fate of the Lost Bravo Baby (think Lindbergh Baby).

I liked the hero, I liked the families on both sides, and mostly, I LOVED the heroine. Joleen is awesome!

Standard plot for a Category Romance, the marriage of convenience to protect custody of a child. But the interactions between the characters make this book a stand out. Honorable mentions include the mother-daughter talks, the brothers talking by the pool and the grandmothers' friendship.

Enjoy.