Marry Me at Dawn Author: Lucinda Whitney
Series: Romano Family #6
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
Pages: 219
Date: September 27, 2019
Publisher: Lange House Press
He’s afraid of commitment. She yearns for a family of her own. How can they turn a marriage of convenience into happily-ever-after?
To Damian Vaughn, image is everything. As CEO of the family business and heir to a fortune, he lives his life above reproach, not wanting to repeat his father’s mistakes that almost brought the company to ruin.
Gabriela Romano has discovered she’ll never be able to bear children. Distraught and still recovering from surgery, she leaves for an extended vacation in the Azores Islands, far away from her family’s prying eyes and the constant reminders of what she’ll never have.
When social services drop off a baby they say legally belongs to Damian, he knows it’s not true, but the media will be quick to judge if the news leaks. Desperate to avoid a disaster, he takes his lawyer’s drastic suggestion and proposes to Gabriela, a woman he’s just met. She has her own reasons for accepting, and as long as she guards her heart, she’s confident she’ll be fine.
But as sparks start to fly, Gabriela begins to wonder—how can she turn this marriage of convenience into her happily-ever-after?
Rating: Mild. Mild kissing.
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About Lucinda Whitney
Lucinda Whitney was born and raised in Portugal, where she received a master’s degree from the University of Minho in Braga in Portuguese/English teaching.. She lives in northern Utah. When she’s not reading and writing, she can be found with a pair of knitting needles in winter, or tending her herb garden in the summer. She also works part-time as a substitute teacher.
I like a good marriage of convenience story. The premise for this one was a bit different since it was in modern times and usually I only see that in books based in different centuries.
I liked both the main characters. I felt Gabriela’s pain at suddenly losing the hope of having children. It would definitely be something to mourn but I cringe at the idea of someone believing they are not “whole” because they can’t bear children as if they are of less worth than anyone who can bear children. Gabriela had already shown her ability to nurture and love an adopted child. That should have told her she was fully capable of being a mother even if she didn’t give birth. While it is true that Damian deserved to know the truth of it, it still didn’t make her of less worth. Perhaps she will come to the realization as she works through her grief. Okay, rant over.
I also thought Damian was a particularly good person to take on a child that he knows isn’t his. I think many would say it was not their responsibility and pass it off to someone else.
I’ve read all but one in this series (I keep going out of order) and this one is perhaps the most edgy as there is a lot of sexual tension and thoughts and discussion about consummating the marriage and so forth. And there is closed door sex in their marital relationship. Some people would have no problem labeling this book clean and others might lean toward clean-ish.
I was a bit taken aback by the revelation of who the father of the baby was. I almost wish it had never been found out. But I guess it made elements of the story more believable to know that in the end.
I also liked Damian’s mother and grandmother. They were very accepting though Nana may have been a bit prone to sticking her nose in. 🙂
Sex: closed door marital relations, a lot of sexual tension
Language: no
Violence: a little