The Temporary Wife

Once upon a Time, Book 1

De: Maya Alden

Narrado por: Nikita Mirpuri, Saleem Udean

Once upon a time, there was a young woman called Liesel Brooks who came to Everwood to marry a reluctant prince who thought he wanted another.

Liesel would never have agreed to marry the prince if she'd known he belonged to another woman. But her dying father had insisted that the prince wanted her and that he wanted her safe after he was gone. You see, Liesel had an autoimmune disease that wouldn't kill her but gave her pain nearly every day of her life. She bore the pain gracefully and created magical paintings that turned her agony into beauty.

So, Liesel arrived in Everwood, a beautiful wine town where her future husband owned Callahan Vineyards. He was handsome. He was smart. He was not happy about marrying her. She was a slight, dainty, almost fairylike woman with a face that would not launch even one ship, but then Atlas Callahan didn't see her heart, which would have launched thousands.

Kind, wonderful, big-hearted Liesel married her prince, and…no, they didn't live happily ever after. Well, not until there was magic.

I am Seraphina Vine, the fairy godmother of Everwood. I bring lost souls and broken hearts together. So, I wave my magic wand and tell you the story of a little match girl who brought light into the life of a reluctant prince.

The Temporary Wife is the first book in the Once Upon A Time series and is based on the H.C. Andersen fairytale, The Little Match Girl. This is a standalone book with a very happy fairytale ending. If you love the arranged marriage/marriage of convenience trope and are fans of authors such as Catharina Maura and Shain Rose, you'll love this series.

©2023 Maya Alden (P)2024 Podium Audio

Immature writing with lackluster performance

This book seems like it was written by a high school student. I was excited for a story with a protagonist who had a chronic illness but the actual discussions of her day to day experiences were few and mostly consisted of a couple events thrown in for drama. There was however so much talk about wine that I can only assume the author was either raised on a winery or spent more time researching wine making than writing the book. The characters seemed underdeveloped and the love interest was unlikable. Furthermore the performances were lackluster at best. The male narrator didn’t alter his voice for the various characters which caused confusion as to who was saying what. Finally, the editing was choppy and inconsistent. Sometimes it seemed like the narrator was facing away from the microphone and other times, they just dropped in 3 or 4 words that were obviously re-recorded after the initial recording.

Atlas & Liesel

Atlas & Liesel are in an arranged marriage made by her father. Her father was his mentor when his parents passed and needed to run the winery and raise his siblings.
Atlas tells the FMC he will never love her, a loveless marriage and he doesn’t cheat on his vows.
Liesel understands even though she wants more but, accepts. Liesel’s lives with a chronic illness, is kind, sweet, strong and a rich artist.
Confused about: one moment she is
not physically attractive then she is physically? Some character growth.

Constant alcohol consumption, flat characters, not fantasy

The workplace setting is at a winery, but there is not a single chapter without extensive and lengthy descriptions of alcohol. It was incredibly tedious. The attraction and “chemistry” between the two main characters is inexplicable and makes no sense. We are just told that at first she was not very physically attractive and then all of a sudden she became physically attractive to him. The whole premise of the book seemed to be leaning into a grovel, but when the final moment arrives, it is an unbelievable letdown. The only nod to fantasy was a supposed matchmaker (who does not have anything to do with making the match?) whose eyes were described as amethyst several times. Apparently she has a mystical quality and sparkle in her eye and is therefore a magical character. There is not a single element of fantasy in this entire book. I feel like it is thrown in there to try and catch a wider net of readers… it is a bait and switch.