The Marriage Bargain

Marriage to a Billionaire, Book 1

By: Jennifer Probst

Narrated by: Coleen Marlo

Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

To save her family home, impulsive bookstore owner Alexa Maria McKenzie casts a love spell. But she never planned on conjuring up her best friend's older brother - the powerful man who once shattered her heart.

Billionaire Nicholas Ryan doesn't believe in marriage, but in order to inherit his father's corporation, he needs a wife and needs one fast. When he discovers his sister's childhood friend is in dire financial straits, he offers Alexa a bold proposition: a marriage in name only with certain rules. Avoid entanglement. Keep things all business. Do not fall in love. The arrangement is only for a year, so the rules shouldn't be that hard to follow, right? Except fate has a way of upsetting the best-laid plans.

©2012 Jennifer Probst (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Full of nonstop sexual tension that crackles off the page." (Laura Kaye, author of Hearts in Darkness)

A Straight Romance - nothing more

What happens when a special snowflake meets an unfeeling ass, why chemistry of course. This is one of those pairings where I feel the author took everything they could think of to make these two folks complete opposites and threw into the book. I’m not saying opposites can’t be attracted to each other but this one was beyond unrealistic.

This book contains everything you need for a romance: a past between the two characters, fighting that turns to passion, stupid assumptions keeping them apart and of course jealousy. This is a very straight forward romance and there isn’t much more to add.

You get what you ask for with this book which is a straight romance and that is exactly what this is almost to point of being formulaic. I needed a “brain-break” due to high work stress and decided I hadn’t listened to a good old romance in a long time and chose this one. Now why didn’t I rate it any higher than 3 stars; I didn’t because my taste in stories is changing and I almost didn’t finish this because it was a little too straight forward.

Great romance

Enjoyable little fake marriage trope that ends up getting too real. She is sweet and giving but needs money to save her parents home. He needs a wife to inherit a business. Narrator does a good job 👍

Funny, Cute, Quick Romantic Read

This is a very quick read compared to the other books I normally download but don't let that deter you. It's a funny, cute and quick romance book. Yes, some parts were predictable but let's be honest, ALL romance books have predictable parts. I laughed out loud at some parts and smirked at other. The banter between the two leads was really well done and I'm looking forward to the next book, that I'm assuming will be Maggie.

If you want a great quick beach read or something to listen to while on a flight....I recommend taking a look at this.

What a great concept for a book!

Such a romantic story. I like how these two people came together with no intentions of actually being together, but the chemistry was so great that they just couldn't help it. I like how Alexa stayed true to her character from the very beginning. The characters are so real and believable. Worth every credit!

Touching

Where does The Marriage Bargain rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was surprising to me. One of the best I have listened to.

What did you like best about this story?

How much they tried to fight the passion between them.

What does Coleen Marlo bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Descriptive narrator and I do not like to actually read books.

Good read...horrible narrator

Would you listen to The Marriage Bargain again? Why?

No. The narrator drove me crazy with the same sentence tone...time and time again. UGHH!

Would you be willing to try another one of Coleen Marlo’s performances?

No. She ruined the book.

lighthearted and fun

If you could sum up The Marriage Bargain in three words, what would they be?

Lighthearted, fun, and sweet

What does Coleen Marlo bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like her narration. Her voice was dead on.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I love the bantering b/t Alexa and Nick. Both are great characters and sweet.

Any additional comments?

If you're looking for something light and fun, this is a good book. I am on to the next book in the series.

Great Story

Where does The Marriage Bargain rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Right at the top

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Marriage Bargain?

Where all the dogs are in a room & Nick opens the door thinking it is a burglar . The dogs all fly out of the room nearly knocking him over & he yells for Alexa.

Have you listened to any of Coleen Marlo’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I loved her on this book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed a lot and there were some very sweet moments.

Any additional comments?

Overall this was a very endearing story. Both Nick & Alexa were truly meant for each other. I loved how the romance played out after they signed the contract & married. I recommend this book very highly.

fun story!

Enjoyed the story and the characters! Very entertaining, I'm sure book two has to do with Maggie and will be a good one as well!

Narrator brought the characters to life!

New fan of narrator, Coleen Marlo! She brought the characters to life, or she pulled me into the story -- either way, I enjoyed the experience. I liked the witty banter and playfulness found in the story. I felt like these were characters I'd like to be friends with. I look forward to the next book.