When New Zealander Jack needs a visa to stay in London, Maya finds herself suggesting that they get married. She doesn’t think marriage is anything more than a piece of paper, while he finds it hard to commit beyond a few dates.
With his best mate Adrian and her flatmate Emmie now a couple, Maya needs a new place to live. Her estranged father has died and left her a swanky flat so Jack moves in with her, even though he is still dating other women and they haven’t told anyone they are now married.
The premise that “the agreement was to get married, not fall in love” makes for a cute romance but after a while I found the yarn repetitive and began skipping pages. There was no plausible reason for them to be each keeping a big family secret from the other – apart from it making for some plot drama. Not quite as “sweet as” as I’d hoped.
Eve is helping her best friend Becky find a match via a dating app, while Max is advising his best friend Tom. When teacher Becky and personal trainer Tom pair up, it’s Eve and Max who are secretly keeping their text conversation flowing. It all gets confusing when Eve begins to fancy Tom, and Max the same with Becky.
Told from the alternating viewpoints of Eve and Max, this debut was an enjoyable read about finding connection. The story also touches on other issues, such as Eve feeling unfulfilled in her media job and Max’s guilt about his late grandmother. One thing that niggled me, though, was how Becky was portrayed as naive in her knowledge of the world yet she’s a teacher. I would definitely pick up another title from this author.
