Seven Day Fiance by Rachel Harris
Series: Love and Games #2
Published by Entangled Bliss
Publish Date: October 14, 2013
Source: Author for Review – Thank you!
Find It: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N
One bad boy. One good girl. One unforgettable week.
Angelle Prejean is in a pickle. Her family is expecting her to come home with a fiancé—a fiancé who doesn’t exist. Well, he exists, but he definitely has no idea Angelle told her mama they were engaged. Tattooed, muscled, and hotter than sin, Cane can reduce Angelle to a hot mess with one look—and leave her heart a mess if she falls for him. But when she ends up winning him at a charity bachelor auction, she knows just how to solve her fiancé problem.
Cane Robicheaux is no one’s prince. He doesn’t do relationships and he doesn’t fall in love. When sweet, sultry-voiced Angelle propositions him, he hopes their little fiancé game can finally get her out of his head. He doesn’t expect her to break through all his barriers. But even as Angelle burrows deeper into his heart, he knows once their seven days are up, so is their ruse. (from Goodreads)
Seven Day Fiance by Rachel Harris
My Thoughts: After I read Taste The Heat by Rachel Harris a few months ago, I quickly went to Goodreads and added the whole Love and Games Series to my to-read shelves immediately. I had such a good time with that first book for so many reasons and I’ve been holding my breath just W-A-I-T-I-N-G for Seven Day Fiance to arrive on my Kindle so I could love it just as much.
AND YOU GUYS I DID! I DID! I’m so excited that I get to share my thoughts with you because I think I liked this one even more, which I barely even believe is possible.
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Seven Day Fiance by Rachel Harris revolves around a fake-fiance story line. You guys, I’ve read a few “fake” stories lately and for some reason, I really enjoy them. But this one had some extra stuff in it that gave it that extra something-special, and I think that may be why it just might be my favorite one so far. The setting is Southern and completely fantastic, there is plenty of Cajun food involved, and the characters are just perfect.
Angelle Prejean is relatively new to Magnolia Springs, Louisiana and has fallen right in with the Robicheaux family just like she has been a member all along. She’s great friends with sisters Sherry and Colby, and she’s got a serious crush on brother Cane. She moved from her hometown after a very public break-up with her boyfriend of eight years – he asked her to marry him in front of basically the entire town, and she told him no. Besides some other heartache from her younger years, Angie knew that she could never be her own person with her overprotective-yet-loving parents always keeping a close watch on her life. So she set out to do something completely out of character for herself – she moved to a completely new town where she knew absolutely no one. She started a new life! And this is where she finds herself now – Magnolia Springs. Happy, loving the life she has created for herself, and thrilled that she’s been able to begin to find herself all on her own.
As the book opens, Angie has just arrived at a charity event – a bachelor auction. One of the bachelors up for bidding is none other than town-hottie Cane Robicheaux, and MAN that makes Angie’s heart race. She’d love to have the nerve to bid on him and win a date! Her crush is MAD, oh so mad, but he’s such a ladies’ man. Cane is the last bachelor of the night and by the time he steps on stage, the crowd of women goes wild. Angie is just there to watch, though – she has no plans to bid…that is, until Cane’s certifiably crazy, almost-stalkerish ex-girlfriend starts bidding on him. And she keeps outbidding everyone! Angie notices a look of horror (which he tries to hide) on Cane’s face, and sees that his sisters can’t pool enough money to help him out. It’s beginning to look like crazy ex-girlfriend may win a date with him until…OH MY GOODNESS! ANGIE OUTBIDS EVERYONE! SHE WINS THE DATE! Hooray for Angie!
Wait, what? But she didn’t even plan on bidding!
But oh you see, things have worked out perfectly. Angie has a favor to ask of Cane anyway, and winning him at the auction actually helps her case. She needs him to be her fake fiance while she spends the holidays with her family because she’s gone and told them she’s engaged. Sure, she regrets that little lie now, but it’s a little too late for that. Angie sheepishly figures that since she helped him out, surely he’ll help her out, right?
And YES, he does. Quick trip to meet the family, be a fake fiance, no strings attached. NO. STRINGS. ATTACHED.
Sure, that’s what they all say.
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I must be the best judge of books EVER because I certainly have picked winners lately. This, guys, is a winner. I had THE MOST FUN reading this book – just like I did with Taste The Heat. I’m sensing a trend with this series and I really like it.
Cane Robicheaux feels like an idiot after agreeing to take part in that stupid charity auction for his sister – he didn’t realize that he’d have to appear in front of all of those women shirtless, dressed in red drawstring pants, and with a Santa hat on. Good grief! And when he finally makes it out there, he never expected his crazy ex-girlfriend to try and buy him! Thank goodness he sees Angie Prejean sitting up at the front – she’s beautiful and he’s had his eyes on her for he past few months anyway. They lock eyes, and he can sense that she feels something for him too. Before he can turn on the charm for Angie, crazy ex-girlfriend starts bidding AND SHE JUST WON’T STOP – what the heck will he do if SHE wins? UGH. Not to worry, Cane is saved by…Angie? Oh thank goodness. And YESSSS! he thinks…
…until she asks her favor. A fake fiance, seriously? He doesn’t do stuff like that. Commitment and relationships and love and all of that just is not for him. But it is fair, and he has been wanting to go out with Angie for a while now. Thinking that it’ll just be a few days of fun and then they’ll return to Magnolia Springs unattached – perhaps even friends – Cane agrees and they set off to stay with her family. But right away – RIGHT AWAY – there is an undeniable connection that they both can feel. And the attraction is off the charts. And it is so much fun to read. I absolutely love to read when two people are attracted to each other or even falling for each other, but fight it so hard. Seven Day Fiance is exactly one of those stories.
Cane is one of those guys that has the appearance of a bad boy, but he really isn’t. Sure he has tattoos and drives a motorcycle – that’s why he looks like the bad boy, but those looks are so deceptive. He’s a chef and bartender at his family’s restaurant, and he likes to play music sometimes onstage – but it’s what people don’t know about him that makes him really cool. He loves math and science and Discovery Channel. He loves puzzles and even little kids. He reads a ton. These are the things that you can’t keep hidden from someone when you spend a week away together – and when that person has shared interests, there is bound to be some increase in the chemistry, particularly when there is already chemistry there. Also…other people are bound to notice it, even if the engagement is fake.
Adding to the romantic FUN of this story, there is the Southern setting – it’s the same Louisiana setting from Taste The Heat, and I loved it. It felt very local with the customs and all of the family traditions and Cajun-ness. There is the food, and plenty of it, that is local to the area. Love that too! More than any of that, though, it’s these characters. I’m such a sucker for characters that I can relate to and fall in love with.
Cane and Angie are both so easy to love. They’re both so likable. Cane isn’t the mysterious or broody bad boy, he’s the good guy that looks like the bad boy – and he’s the smart guy. That is such a sexy combination in real life and in books. I love the juxtaposition in his character and the way it kept Angie on her toes. She, and especially her family, had preconceived ideas about him because of his tattoos and his clothes but he kept impressing them over and over again with just how ‘NOT LIKE THAT’ he was – they’d suspected he was wild and crazy, but he just wasn’t. He was a totally normal, likable, approachable guy. And Angie was a girl that had lived a little sheltered by her parents when she was younger – this was the result of some family tragedy – but she decided before the book began that she wanted to live her own life, and she did something about it. That’s awesome, and even as the book progresses, Angie is still taking strides and measures to continue to build her self-esteem and courage, and continues to become her own person throughout the story. I am all for character development and growth, any day of the week. Yay for Angie.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Jason and Colby made a few appearances – they’re the focus from the first book, Taste The Heat. Colby is Cane’s sister and Jason is his best friend, so these characters are all very well-connected. They’re very well-developed and fun characters that I love to pieces, so to see that they stuck around made me very happy. And of course I love the addition of new characters because that means that getting to know them now assures me (hopefully) that at least some of them may show up in the next book.
I had no trouble at all visualizing this book in my head – even though I’ve never been to this region of the United States, Author Rachel Harris paints a vivid enough picture that I can always create the scene, and the characters are so vibrant that the story always comes alive. The same thing happened with the first book. I’ve loved them both so much, and I’m so excited that the series will continue and there will be more to love. This is just a fun, fun series with swoonworthy romances, great settings, and fun, colorful characters. I recommend it to anyone that loves great romance stories that are just flat-out fun to read.
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YOU GUYS!!
I have an excerpt from the book!
Author Rachel Harris was kind enough to share an excerpt with us today!
This excerpt takes place when Cane and Angie are on their way to fool Angie’s family into thinking they’re engaged over the holidays.
Just over two hours. That’s how long the trip from Magnolia Springs to Bon Terre was. Cane hated being still for two minutes, and sitting inside a truck for that long was practically torture. That’s why he had bought his bike. Riding demanded his total attention, complete immersion. With the wind hitting his face, the energy of the engine ripping through his body, and his synapses firing to stay alert, Cane felt alive. Free. Unconstrained.
But damn if driving with Angelle tucked beside him, the sweet scent of sunflowers filling the cab, didn’t make him feel alive, too. And turned on. This plan of his better work. So far, close proximity only served to heighten his desire, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. Tightening his grip on the steering wheel, he asked, “Anything I should know before we get there?”
Angelle startled. Cane realized it’d been quiet, with not even the radio playing, for going on ten minutes. Apparently, they’d both been lost in their own thoughts. And from the way she’d jumped at the sound of his voice, he’d like to know what hers involved.
With a nervous laugh, Angelle glanced over, dropped her gaze to his mouth, and then quickly looked away. Interesting. “Well, yeah.” Then she frowned. “A whole lot of stuff, actually. If you’re my fiancé, you should probably know everything there is to know about me. And I should know about you, too.”
The smooth skin between her eyes furrowed as she nibbled on her bottom lip—an expression Cane had seen far too often over the last five months. It meant she was worried, nervous, maybe even scared, and for once, he could understand why.
“Don’t worry about it, Angel. We’ll figure it out.” He sent her a confident smile, hoping he was right. Spending the holiday with this charade blowing up in his face was something he’d really rather avoid. “We have two-plus hours to get a crash course in each other. Plenty of time to hit the highlights.”
Angelle nodded distractedly, clearly unconvinced, and began tapping a rhythm on her lap. Cane knew a thing or two about nervous habits, so he placed his hand over hers to calm her down—and caught her shiver from the corner of his eye. The tapping stopped, and he bit back a smile.
Now unable to help himself, knowing his touch affected her, Cane encircled the slender bones of her wrist with his thumb and finger. Angelle was tough, but she was also much more delicate than any woman he’d ever known. So feminine and vulnerable. The contradictory mix fascinated him. It brought out every protective instinct he had, and attracted him like nothing else before.
On the underside of her wrist, the site of her tattoo, he felt the raised skin of a scar. Curious if the injury linked to the mysterious one-word brand, he grazed the pad of his thumb over the mark. Her pink lips parted. When he did it again, her head lolled, and her breath caught.
The stuttered sound, the rise and fall of her chest, the way her hand flexed and curled as his thumb drew slow circles…it only made him want her more. He hadn’t thought that was possible. And when her head shifted and she peered up at him with unmistakable, unhidden desire, well, it was all over.
Cane gunned the accelerator. Flipping on the turn signal, he switched lanes, headed for the rest stop an exit ahead. Angelle’s voice was whisper soft when she asked, “Where are we going?”
“We need to get something out of the way right now.”
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Seven Day Fiance will appeal to fans of:
Adult Contemporary Romance
Romance: Instant-attraction but slowly-developing romance.
No triangle. LOTS of swoons!
Great setting: Louisiana
Cajun Food!
Music!
Seven Day Fiance by Rachel Harris
is currently available for purchase.
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Rachel Harris grew up in New Orleans, where she watched soap operas with her grandmother and stayed up late sneak reading her mama’s favorite romance novels. Now a Cajun cowgirl living in Houston, she still stays up way too late reading her favorite romances, only now, she can do so openly. She firmly believes life’s problems can be solved with a hot, powdered-sugar-coated beignet or a thick slice of king cake, and that screaming at strangers for cheap, plastic beads is acceptable behavior in certain situations.
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What do you think of that excerpt?
Does this sound like something you’d like to read?
I PROMISE you’ll love it!
About Asheley
Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.
You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.
Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!
Asheley, you always write the BEST reviews!!! I love how your personality shines in them, and they always have me smiling like a loon. So so glad you enjoyed Seven Day Fiance! Thank you for reading, and for your fabulous enthusiasm. It truly means the world <3
xoxo
Rachel
I also love fake fiance type books or OMG marriage of convenience books.So good. Sooooo 7 Day Fiance sounds like something I would totally read. I mean -there's bidding. And there's a crazy ex. And it's set in the South. What is not for me to love?