Book Review: His Marriage Bargain by Sidney Bristol

Title: His Marriage Bargain
Series: So Inked, Book 3
Author: Sidney Bristol
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: review copy provided by author
Published: June 27, 2014 by Ellora’s Cave

A woman who loves too much…

When Autumn’s best friend proposes a pretend marriage, the chance to make all the kisses she’s imagined real is too much for her to pass up. She seduces him with her body and enjoys pushing his boundaries and fulfilling their sexual fantasies—but her heart isn’t supposed to be part of the bargain.

A man about to take his last breath…

Sammi has just weeks left to live out his dying wish—the white picket fence, the house and the wife. If Autumn is the last woman he gets to taste he’ll die a lucky man. Her body, her heart—everything about her calls to him. But love isn’t supposed to be in the plans.

In the crucible of passion, these two lovers will find out what they’re really made from, and just how long I do lasts.

Reviewed By: Babs

In a Nutshell: I liked this book and reading more about the ladies of So Inked. It’s a nice continuation of the series.

Why I Read This Book: The prior books in the series sucked me in and I was ready for Autumn’s story.

The Set Up: Autumn is there for Sammi when he asks Autumn for a favor. They each get more than they expected from their “marriage bargain”.

What I Liked: I liked the continuation of the relationships and story-lines from the first two books in the series. I think series are my end-all, be-all. I love getting to know the characters through the run of the series and getting glimpses of past main characters and future main characters in each story.

I’m glad Autumn finally had to face the consequences for her actions in this book and actions from the previous stories. I think she started growing up a little from the perspective of taking responsibility for her actions and accepting the consequences.

I’m happy Sammi and Autumn worked things out in the end. I think most of the conflicts were resolved successfully but maybe not happily.

Like the previous two books, this one has brief descriptions/definitions at the beginning of each chapter. This book describes or defines types of piercings mostly. I thought some were too scary and/or painful sounding for me but still informative!

What I Didn’t Like: Like the other books in this series, there was a lot going on within the relationship, with the individuals, and around the relationship. To me it was almost too much conflict to resolve. When do they take a breather and just be?! If this was real life, I I think there’d be a lot more hysterics and mental breakdowns.

It was pretty obvious to me what was going on with Sammi and that there was something else or something different wrong with him. I feel the outcome of the “mystery” was predictable.

Sammi and Autumn both suggest they were attracted to the other during their friendship before this story starts. I would have liked more build-up to the sexy times instead of just the kiss during the ceremony that confirms the attraction is mutual then bam—sexy times!

Overall Impression: If you’re a fan of marriage of convenience/marriage in-name-only that becomes more (of course!), this may be a book for you. I’m looking forward to Mary’s story next!

Bab’s Rating:

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Bab’s reviews for other books in this series:
Under His Skin, Book 1
The Harder He Falls, Book 2