The Marriage Game: A Novel [Hardcover]

Fern Michaels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2007

With legions of devoted fans and more than seventy million copies of her books in print, Fern Michaels delivers another tightly woven tale featuring captivating characters and such fast-paced authentic prose that readers are practically pulled into the pages. When Sam and her best friend, Slick, fail to make it in the CIA, they team up with ex-wives Kayla, Olivia, and Zoe in a plan to get even with Douglas, the cad in need of a payback, vigilante style. Before they can set their plan for seeking vengeance in motion, the women are lured into a secret law enforcement agency that is hiring CIA dropouts. The agency's recruiter, Poke Donovan, sends Avery Mateo to spy on the five women, but the incompetent mole bungles the job, and now Sam is suspicious of the year-long training contract she has just signed. Meanwhile, Pappy, the covert operation's leader, insists that the Mateo mix-up was orchestrated to test the women, but Sam isn't buying it. So on her first day at Big Pine Mountain, the agency's training headquarters, Sam has a whole list of questions for Pappy about the organization, and the answers are more than she and her band of justice-seekers have bargained for.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Michaels's talent for crafting quirky characters and gratifying narratives makes every page shine."

-- Booklist

About the Author

Fern Michaels is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of Hey, Good Looking, Pretty Woman, the #1 New York Times bestseller The Nosy Neighbor, Family Blessings, Crown Jewel, The Real Deal, Late Bloomer, Trading Places, No Place Like Home, Plain Jane, and dozens of other novels. There are more than seventy million copies of her books in print. She lives in South Carolina. Visit her website at www.fernmichaels.com.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; Large Print edition (April 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739480693
• ISBN-13: 978-0743477451
• ASIN: 0743477456
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,314,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Fern Michaels is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Fool Me Once, Sweet Revenge, The Nosy Neighbor, Pretty Woman, and dozens of other novels and novellas. There are over seventy million copies of her books in print. Fern Michaels has built and funded several large day-care centers in her hometown, and is a passionate animal lover who has outfitted police dogs across the country with special bulletproof vests. She shares her home in South Carolina with her four dogs and a resident ghost named Mary Margaret.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Simply Awful, May 25, 2007

By 

Marcia Brinkley "Book Lover" (San Pedro, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Marriage Game: A Novel (Hardcover)

Thankfully, I checked this book out from the library instead of buying it. The plot is contrived, the characters are one-dimensional, and the dialogue is hackneyed. I thought it was a joke at first and that the "real" plot would emerge from the dreck, but no such luck. Just a few "plot" elements: a U.S. Senator marryies women and divorces them after the honeymooon, eleven times, without being recognized; five bimbos (the Senator's exes) take special ops training after two (one of whom is a model) were dumped from FBI training; one of the bimbos falls for the special ops trainer who can't leave the mountain training ground ... dreadful! Maybe as a James Bond movie ...

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars RIDICULOUS......................., May 2, 2007

By 

Dana Y. Bowles "DYB" (West Chester, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Marriage Game: A Novel (Hardcover)

Completely ludicrous tale about a gaggle of women who are all ex-wives of a total louse who is addicted to honeymoons and marriage---but is completely NOT the marrying kind. When Samantha Rainford gathers all of the ex-wives together, they make a pact to get even with their ex-husband. Soon, the women find themselves in the mountains of North Carolina, undergoing special-ops training. What Sam does not bargain for in her quest for revenge is to fall for the staggeringly handsome Greek god running the program....and could it be that he has fallen for her also?

With a ridiculous "plot" (if one could call it that) and editing that falls woefully short (why are questions throughout this tale treated as statements??), this is a novel that I had difficulty getting through. Very slow starting, it was at least palatable by page 100. However...this author's writing style is just not for me. My first and probably last novel by Fern Michaels. 2.5 stars simply because there were some genuinely likeable characters in the story.

DYB

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revenge is Sweet, April 21, 2007

By 

Shelly Itkin "Book Lover and Mom" (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Marriage Game: A Novel (Hardcover)

Samantha thought she found the man of her dreams but after returning from her honeymoon and being married less then two months she was handed divorce papers.............something is wrong here. Not only is Samantha devasted as to what happened but why?

With the help of her best friend Slick a model they decide to investigate Douglas and find three others who were married to him and experienced the same short quick romance and divorce.

Revenge is sweet and these women are going to do what it takes to find him, bring him down and make him pay for breaking there hearts.

It is an easy read, has lots of interesting twists and turns and once again Ms. Michaels makes sure to have fun and bing romance into her story and make sure that the women get what they are due.