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2.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't win me over, May 18, 2006
From the back cover:
Single, sexy and soon-to-be wed!
In name only?
Dan Lucas thought he was safe from the matchmakers of Shotgun Ridge, Montana. As the preacher, he was supposed to perform weddings, not take part in them! But when beautiful photojournalist Amy Marshall came to him with her plight, he found her offer impossible to refuse.
Amy needed to marry Dan to fulfill the terms of her grandfather's will. However, she hadn't bargained on becoming an instant wife and mother, when Dan unexpectedly received custody of an orphaned baby. Brand-new feelings for both had Amy facing a difficult decision. Was she about to let her marriage become real...body and soul?
And my review:
As marriage of convenience stories go, this one had a fresh twist: Dan and Amy were upfront with everyone that their marriage was only temporary, and why. That's very rare, since most stories of this type have the characters keeping their arrangement secret.
This book is part of a series (Bachelors of Shotgun Ridge) and it shows. Since I hadn't read any of the previous books, I was left feeling a little "out of the loop" as characters that must have had their own books were introduced in a nostalgic way. The small-town aspect of this story was well-done and heartwarming.
And Dan and Amy were likeable characters. So what was the problem? The way they interacted with one another. When Amy first meets him, thinking that he's a doctor, she blurts out that she hasn't had sex in as long as she can remember. I guess this was supposed to provide comic relief, but I just found it to be a big turn-off. And the constant repetition of Amy saying (and thinking) "You can't have physical desires. You're a minister!" to which Dan replies "Yes, I'm a minister, but I'm also a man." It would have been fine if this idea had been introduced once. Instead, it gets rehashed so many times I wanted to scream. It was like trying to listen to a broken record. And that was only at the halfway point in the book!
I didn't get farther than halfway, and the baby mentioned on the back cover still hadn't shown up. I felt like the story still hadn't really started, and I'd already invested 125 pages to it. I have too many other things to read to waste my time.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Lively and fresh! - Very highly recommended, January 15, 2002
Shotgun Ridge's matchmakers gain a little help from beyond the grave in Mindy Neff's PREACHER'S IN-NAME-ONLY WIFE. The four geezers have successfully meddled and interfered in the love lives the town bachelors until most are married and have children. Llyod, Henry, Vern and Ozzie might be unlike matchmakers, but they are successful. This time Ozzie's old war buddy aids the matchmaking in the form of a will designed to marry photojournalist Amy Marshall to preacher Dan Lucas.Amy needs to marry Dan for ninety days in order to fulfill her grandfather's will. Otherwise her mother's home will be sold and the proceeds donated to charity. Neither Amy nor Dan have the means to buy her mother's home themselves, so marriage and fulfillment of the will's conditions seem the only solution. Amy has just enough time to fill the will's conditions and then leave on an assignment for the National Geographic to fulfill her lifelong dream. Her father had also been a photojournalist, and she longs to walk in his footsteps and prove that following a coveted dream is worth the personal sacrifices that it entails. Dan finds himself in quite a conundrum. He can either desecrate sacred wedding vows by knowingly entering into them temporarily, or he can follow his instinct and help a woman in need. Amy's grandfather had risked his life to save his grandfather. Somehow it seems only right to return the gift. After all, ninety days of friendship and companionship and then an annulment doesn't seem like much of a chore. Then Dan's loving, generous spirit leads to providing a home for a homeless infant, and suddenly Amy and Dan are thrust into a much deeper emotional commitment than either bargained for. Unlike most marriage of convenience plots, PREACHER'S IN-NAME-ONLY WIFE boldly announces to the town why they are getting married and for how long. Despite the fact that this is a marriage of convenience, the town rallies around the couple. The entire tone shifts away from the typical "no one can know" formula because no one's keeping secrets or presenting a false front, giving PREACHER'S IN-NAME-ONLY WIFE a lively freshness. In addition, these are imperfect main characters. Amy has imperfect motivations for pursuing her career, and must endure much self-honest and reevaluation of priorities if she's have what her heart truly desires. Dan likewise makes a fascinating preacher with his chili pepper tie (who would have thought a preacher could be such hot stuff?) and hula dancer night-light. Dan finds himself falling into the emotional trap of lashing out at one point because he fears loosing Amy. Favorite characters from previous books of the Bachelors of Shotgun Ridge also put in appearances, providing updates and further enriching the background. I must admit that if I could pick a fictional hometown where I'd like to live, Mindy Neff has created it. I'm going to miss these wonderful matchmakers and their fabulous town. Very highly recommended.
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