The Accidental Newlywed Game - Jaci Burton (Penguin - July 2022)

Series: Boots and Bouquets (Book 3)

Wedding planner Honor Bellini is in Las Vegas for a work convention when she runs into her sister’s ex-fiancé, Owen Stone, who’s also in town for his craft brewery business. They’re both glad to see a familiar face from home…until a night of drinking leads to waking up in bed together—and a marriage certificate from a wedding that neither of them can recall.
 
Horrified, Owen suggests an immediate annulment. Honor agrees, but when they spend the day together, their chemistry is overwhelming. Plus, Honor has a flash of memory of their steamy wedding night, and she definitely likes what she remembers. They decide to wait before canceling the whole marriage thing, though they both head back to Oklahoma determined not to tell anyone at home what happened in Vegas.
 
The problem is, Honor and Owen can’t seem to stay away from each other—or keep their hands off one another. The longer they keep their secret, the harder it gets to deny how they really feel. Even worse, this huge secret has the potential to hurt someone they both care about. They need to get an annulment before this accidental marriage turns into love.
 
A fun and emotional friends-to-lovers book. This is the third book in the series and can be read as a stand-alone, though the experience is richer if you've read the others.
 
Honor and Owen have been friends for a long time. When they encounter each other in Vegas, where both are on business trips, they get together for a drink. One drink turns into shots; the next thing they know, they wake up in bed together wearing wedding rings. Neither has any recollection of how it happened. Complicating matters, Owen is her sister Erin's ex-fiancé. Their initial reaction is to apply for an annulment immediately, but they hold off until they find out if there are consequences from the wedding night they don't remember. They also plan to keep what happened a secret from everyone at home.
 
I enjoyed watching the relationship between Owen and Honor develop. I understood the initial impulse to keep what happened a secret. Owen walked out on his engagement to Erin right before the wedding with no explanation, creating heartache and hard feelings. It wasn't until the end of the first book that they discovered he had panicked over his cancer diagnosis. His relationship with the family has recovered, though Owen still feels a lot of guilt over his actions. Neither Honor nor Owen wants to cause Erin any distress, even though she has moved on and is happily married.
 
Keeping the secret proves to be very complicated. Owen is friends with the family and with the sisters' menfolk. Honor and her sisters run the family's wedding business together, are very close, and don't generally keep secrets from each other. Honor and Owen find themselves wanting to spend more time together, and when they do, the sparks fly. I loved seeing them together. They have so much in common; their interactions are fun, easy, and realistic. Owen is a sweet guy who enjoys taking care of Honor, from cooking for her to adopting the rescue dog she loves so much. Honor is a strong woman who has no problem standing up for what she wants but doesn't want her actions to hurt someone else. I especially liked when she went with Owen to his doctor's appointment.
 
The longer Honor and Owen go without confessing, the harder it gets. When the truth comes out, the fallout is immediate and intense. Battle lines are drawn, and the tension is off the charts. Owen, Honor, and Erin all need to face their feelings before moving on to the future. The ending was fantastic, emotion-filled, and heartfelt. The epilogue was a terrific wrap-up.
 
I loved the setting of the book. The Bellini Winery/wedding business provided many laugh-out-loud moments that relieved some of the building tension. There are also more family dynamics, from Honor dealing with her sisters' inconvenient nosiness and matchmaking to Mama Bellini's cure for sisterly tension. I also enjoyed getting to know Owen better and seeing his joy in his work. He won my heart when he adopted the dog, Bettie, and she became such a big part of his life. 

Bride for a Day - Carolyn Brown (Sourcebooks - Apr 2022)

Cassie O'Malley is on the run. In a few months her inheritance will kick in. Until then, she just needs a job and a place to stay under the radar. But when Cassie gets off the bus in north Texas and runs smack into the town sheriff, she quickly does the first thing she can think of—approach the handsome stranger on the street and pretend to be a couple. Luckily, the sheriff believes it and the man surprisingly plays along—all the way up to the courthouse, where the officer insists he marry them himself.
 
Wondering how she got herself into this mess, Cassie can't believe her plan got so far out of hand. Her new husband Ted assures her that his Uncle Ash, a lawyer, will get the whole thing straightened out with no problem. Cassie will only be a bride for a day, and then she can go on her way. But as his family welcomes her with full hearts, she begins to wonder if she'll be able to say goodbye to the first loving family she's known in her life. Not to mention a man like Ted.
 
This was a sweet, clean romance with likable characters. It is a revamp of the 1998 book Love is the Answer that the author wrote under the name Abby Gray for the Precious Gems line. The main characters are younger than those found in more modern romances, perhaps increasing its appeal for the young adult or new adult audience. That did not diminish my enjoyment of the story. While the characters do not have the same depth as those in the author's more recent works, the signature humor, close family, and small-town are all there.
 
Cassie is just a few months shy of twenty-one when her guardian dies, leaving her at the mercy of the woman's husband. She knows she must get out when she finds out that he's sold her to a sex ring. If she can find a place to lay low for a few months, she can claim her inheritance. So, she takes what little money she has and hops on a bus headed toward Oklahoma. When she gets off the bus in a small Texas town for a break, she discovers the town sheriff is looking for her. Panicking, she approaches the young man sitting alone in the diner and asks for his help. She's relieved when he plays along but never anticipated the turn it takes.
 
Ted, a usually shy and introverted guy, was stunned when Cassie approached him and asked for his help. Asking himself what his twin brother would do, Ted immediately steps up to the plate and confirms they are a couple. But his nerves get the best of him, and he embellishes the story, claiming they are eloping. In either a fit of romanticism or suspicion, the sheriff decides to help them - all the way to the town Justice of the Peace. The next thing Ted and Cassie know, they are married and gifted a night at the local motel for their "honeymoon."
 
The book immediately drew me in with this scenario. I liked Cassie's quick thinking, both for her escape and her encounter with the sheriff. She got fortunate with her choice of an accomplice. Ted is a good guy but still suffering grief over the death of his twin brother four years earlier. He imagines John's response to the situation and uses that as his guide. I enjoyed watching him get into the deception and laughed out loud at some of his commentaries as he dragged Cassie along. There were a couple of hold-your-breath moments when I thought the cat would be out of the bag.
 
There was one scene of Cassie freaking out because she realized she hadn't needed the help, but it was too late to do anything about it. I liked how Ted was calm, reassuring Cassie that his uncle, a lawyer, would process an annulment for them right away. The next day they head back to Oklahoma and Ted's family home. Cassie is afraid of their reaction and is stunned when she's warmly welcomed. I liked that she and Ted are honest with the family about why they are married, which goes a long way toward their acceptance of her. It was fun to see them find ways to make her welcome and comfortable staying for a while.
 
I liked watching the relationship between Ted and Cassie develop. They connected right away and found it easy to talk to each other. Cassie has a significant impact on Ted. His grief for his brother has been so overpowering that he closed himself off to all emotion and has just gone through the motions of living. Being around Cassie stirs up feelings he's buried, and Ted finds himself falling for her. Though Cassie has been isolated for several years, she hasn't lost her sense of self. She knows what she wants out of her life and isn't afraid to go after it. I liked watching them grow closer, talk about their dreams, and acknowledge the attraction building between them. There was no angst-driven black moment, just a steady realization that they belonged together. I liked Ted's big moment and the surprise he had for Cassie.
 
Ted's grief over his brother John's death, was a big part of this book. Much of it was tied up in his guilty feelings, thinking he should have been able to prevent it from happening. John was never far from his mind, and there were many times when he heard John's voice in his head, giving advice or brotherly commentary. From the moment Cassie appeared, the walls around his feelings began to crumble, and the grief started to fade. I loved the scene in their childhood bedroom.
 
There were a couple of things I thought were left hanging. Cassie's guardian made a brief appearance, and I loved how Ted and his father and uncle handled him. However, I would have enjoyed a mention of whether their proposed actions were effective. Other than brief mentions, nothing more was said about Cassie's inheritance, despite the importance of hiding out until her birthday.