booksaremytherapy 's review for:

The Rejected Wife by L. Steele

3.0

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This one had all the tropes I usually love—nanny/single dad, fake marriage, grumpy billionaire, sunshine heroine—but unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver on the emotional payoff I was hoping for.

The setup starts strong. Tyler is a former Marine turned broody billionaire and single dad, and Cilla is the confident, curvy nanny who shows up and throws his world off balance. Their first meeting was fun and flirty, and there’s instant chemistry between them. The marriage of convenience plot kicks off with solid potential, and I was all in for the found family vibes, especially with Tyler’s daughter being adorable from the jump.

But as the story went on, the pacing dragged and the characters started to feel stuck. Tyler, who was such a commanding presence early on, shifts in ways that didn’t quite make sense emotionally. His choices, especially after a certain incident with his brother, felt disconnected from the man we met at the start. I really needed to see more effort from him—some redemption, growth, or even just a conversation that felt earned. Cilla carried a lot of emotional weight, but her inner monologue was so repetitive that it slowed everything down.

There was a twist that caught me off guard (in a good way), and I’ll give the book credit for that. And while I didn’t fully connect with the characters by the end, I was still curious enough to finish it. So, not a total miss—just not the five-star hit I was hoping for.