Scan barcode
tempest_1313's review
2.0
Boring, slow, and highly predictable. Not worth the time to read, in my opinion.
Oh yeah, and let's not forget the extremely two-dimensional characters that show absolutely no personal growth during the cookie cutter plot!
Oh yeah, and let's not forget the extremely two-dimensional characters that show absolutely no personal growth during the cookie cutter plot!
nononanette's review
3.0
Two love stories simultaneously told. One light and humorous, the other more mature and serious but also far fetched. I could see an estrangement but that it would go on for so long was pretty unbelievable, despite the psychology. And then it continued. I did enjoy the book nonetheless. Especially the relationship between the younger couple.
bananatricky's review
2.0
I found A Counterfeit Betrothal to be ok but didn't warm to any of the characters. A young woman tries to reconcile her parents by pretending to be engaged.
Her parents have been estranged for 14 years after her father went to a wedding alone, got drunk and was shamed into sleeping with another woman.
The young woman pretends to be engaged to a childhood frenemy - of course what is clear to the reader is that he has feelings for her and is using the fake engagement as an excuse to get closer to her.
I found the young woman to be, quite frankly, TSTL and her parents to be rather pathetic.
Her parents have been estranged for 14 years after her father went to a wedding alone, got drunk and was shamed into sleeping with another woman.
The young woman pretends to be engaged to a childhood frenemy - of course what is clear to the reader is that he has feelings for her and is using the fake engagement as an excuse to get closer to her.
I found the young woman to be, quite frankly, TSTL and her parents to be rather pathetic.
librarydanielle's review
3.0
everyone in this story, except for lord francis, is a total and utter selfish twit, and he comes close. olivia especially. and sophia, who tries to manipulate the world like a naive twit.
olivia goes into a sulk and tells her husband that she can never forgive him after an indiscretion. (note, I would leave him immediately myself, but different time, different mores.) she holds onto her sulk for 14 years. fourteen. they never see each other, they never speak, she sulks. marc becomes a doormat and then a self righteous twit over it. he does admit he screwed up big time, which gives points, but then he just bends over and says ok, sulk for 14 years, I'm cool with that. sophia waits till she's 19 and an "adult" (sure) to make a stand and act like a 6 year old. she decides to fake a betrothal and manipulate her parents into loving eachother again. lord francis agrees to be her dupe.
then the story meanders around and around and over and sideways and on and on and on as all four twist things to fit their happy little world view. if mary balogh wasn't such a good author this would have been deleted asap.
olivia goes into a sulk and tells her husband that she can never forgive him after an indiscretion. (note, I would leave him immediately myself, but different time, different mores.) she holds onto her sulk for 14 years. fourteen. they never see each other, they never speak, she sulks. marc becomes a doormat and then a self righteous twit over it. he does admit he screwed up big time, which gives points, but then he just bends over and says ok, sulk for 14 years, I'm cool with that. sophia waits till she's 19 and an "adult" (sure) to make a stand and act like a 6 year old. she decides to fake a betrothal and manipulate her parents into loving eachother again. lord francis agrees to be her dupe.
then the story meanders around and around and over and sideways and on and on and on as all four twist things to fit their happy little world view. if mary balogh wasn't such a good author this would have been deleted asap.
virginiaduan's review
3.0
The real story is between Sophia's parents - who incidentally, I am older than or of the same age. Wth.
I found Sophia immature and annoying whereas I would have liked Francis more if I had more time with him.
The parents were okay and made me sad. Overall, not bad but not great.
I found Sophia immature and annoying whereas I would have liked Francis more if I had more time with him.
The parents were okay and made me sad. Overall, not bad but not great.
mousegoddess's review
3.0
They were all idiots and I enjoyed their idiocy immensely even as I facepalmed.
aisforawkward's review
4.0
<3 <3 <3
I love a good quarreling couple, and a fake-real betrothal is such a fun trope. Both together made this short book hilariously adorable. While there were minor dialogue & descriptive type issues I found anachronistic (which is usual for Balogh), I didn't find them too distracting at all. If it hadn't been for that and a few over the top scenes, this would have been a 5 star for me just because I loved Sophia and Francis so much.
I don't really have a lot more to say about this one except that I loved it and it will be something I will read again in the future.
The premise is that of a fake betrothal used as a pretext to get Sophia's estranged parents to reconcile, after 14 years apart. At the beginning Sophia declares she has no interest in marriage because she has seen what happens in her own parents' failed marriage, and so plans to stay single forever. A chance comment and silly scheming convinces her to try to bring her parents back together with an unsuitable fake relationship and then fake betrothal, Francis agrees to go along with it for the supposed amusement factor.
In private Sophia and Francis do absolutely nothing but bicker, and it is absolutely perfect. There is this hilarious back and forth where she talks both about what they will do to break off the betrothal once her parents are back together, as well as what they can do after the marriage to keep them together. His response is to ask her when she is going back to bedlam, or to simply say "bedlam!" repeatedly. It is hilarious, and the bickering continues all the way through to the wedding and after.
Meanwhile equal time is given to her parents story as her own, which is the story of the seemingly perfect couple destroyed by a single night of infidelity on his part. Despite constant attempts on his part to reconcile she refuses repeatedly, until after 6 months he leaves and they live estranged thereafter. This relationship followed the usual lack of communication/miscommunication plot line which I typically find annoying, but in this case it mostly worked for me given the 14 year estrangement. During the betrothal the two attempt to pretend reconciliation for their daughters sake, even as they circle true reconciliation in private, but never quite make it work because they never communicate beyond accusations and old hurts.
I think it would have been a better book if there had been more time given to the bickering, and less to the estrangement but overall I liked the way the two relationships structured the book, and how the narrative switched back and forth between them.
If you like fluff historical romance, bickering couples, fake betrothals (which lead to real weddings), and reconciliation romances (after cheating) you will likely enjoy this one.
I love a good quarreling couple, and a fake-real betrothal is such a fun trope. Both together made this short book hilariously adorable. While there were minor dialogue & descriptive type issues I found anachronistic (which is usual for Balogh), I didn't find them too distracting at all. If it hadn't been for that and a few over the top scenes, this would have been a 5 star for me just because I loved Sophia and Francis so much.
I don't really have a lot more to say about this one except that I loved it and it will be something I will read again in the future.
The premise is that of a fake betrothal used as a pretext to get Sophia's estranged parents to reconcile, after 14 years apart. At the beginning Sophia declares she has no interest in marriage because she has seen what happens in her own parents' failed marriage, and so plans to stay single forever. A chance comment and silly scheming convinces her to try to bring her parents back together with an unsuitable fake relationship and then fake betrothal, Francis agrees to go along with it for the supposed amusement factor.
In private Sophia and Francis do absolutely nothing but bicker, and it is absolutely perfect. There is this hilarious back and forth where she talks both about what they will do to break off the betrothal once her parents are back together, as well as what they can do after the marriage to keep them together. His response is to ask her when she is going back to bedlam, or to simply say "bedlam!" repeatedly. It is hilarious, and the bickering continues all the way through to the wedding and after.
Meanwhile equal time is given to her parents story as her own, which is the story of the seemingly perfect couple destroyed by a single night of infidelity on his part. Despite constant attempts on his part to reconcile she refuses repeatedly, until after 6 months he leaves and they live estranged thereafter. This relationship followed the usual lack of communication/miscommunication plot line which I typically find annoying, but in this case it mostly worked for me given the 14 year estrangement. During the betrothal the two attempt to pretend reconciliation for their daughters sake, even as they circle true reconciliation in private, but never quite make it work because they never communicate beyond accusations and old hurts.
I think it would have been a better book if there had been more time given to the bickering, and less to the estrangement but overall I liked the way the two relationships structured the book, and how the narrative switched back and forth between them.
If you like fluff historical romance, bickering couples, fake betrothals (which lead to real weddings), and reconciliation romances (after cheating) you will likely enjoy this one.
reader_fictions's review
4.0
The heroine engages in a fake betrothal so she can parent trap her parents who have been separated for 15 years. The fake engagement is super cute (constant arguing banter), and the parents' romance is decent, despite the constant lack of communication.
georgiewhoissarahdrew's review
2.0
A pleasant intertwining of two generations of lovers. I won't go back to this, as the younger lovers' story was not really developed fully enough, and the older couple's story was just a little too improbable, though moving in parts.