A review by romancedispatch
The Engagement Arrangement by Jaci Burton

funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Brenna Bellini's chosen to be a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding. When she realizes that she’s going to have to spend four days in the company of not only her ex-husband, but also his new wife (her high school nemesis), she enlists Finn Nolan to act as her fake fiancé. Finn's had it bad for Brenna ever since he came over from Ireland to work at the Bellini family vineyard. After falling for her from afar for years, he’s determined to show Brenna that he is her Mr. Right.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. 

Despite how much I wanted to like Brenna, I couldn’t warm up to her. You’d think someone who’s dated and has been married would have a bit maturity and experience at life and relationships, but she behaved like a crazy, dramatic teen all the time, acting moody and childish around everyone, especially her love interest. 

Finn, on the other hand, was way too mellow and never really even argued with Brenna, so I didn’t really feel the chemistry between them. The sex scenes are great, but the lead up to them makes little sense. Also, that’s the second time I see the heroine leaving the hero in the middle of a date to go about a business deal. Is this normal? Is that what people do today? Leave right in the middle of a date? If a guy did that to me, I sure wouldn’t want to see him again.

One more thing that put me off: Finn doesn’t sound Irish at all, despite having lived in Ireland for 18 years before moving to the US. And Brenna’s father also doesn’t sound as Italian as he should. Why write foreign characters if you don’t know your foreign languages?

All in all, this was a light, easy read, and I really enjoyed the parts of the book that dealt with the vineyard, the wedding business and the process of wine and whisky making, but that’s as far as it goes for me.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an eARC, in exchange for my honest opinions.

PS / SPOILER:

I don’t know if I’m going to stick around for book three in this series. This book kind of solidified my fear that book three will be about the third Bellini sister, Honor, and Owen - Erin Bellini’s Owen, the guy who left Erin at the altar in book one. Yeah, not a big fan of the „sister’s ex fiancé“ trope. I’m not here for it.