Faking Forever

First Wives, Book 4

By: Catherine Bybee

Narrated by: Emma Wilder

Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

A Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts bestseller.

From New York Times bestselling author Catherine Bybee comes a new First Wives novel about wanting a family...and finding love.

Shannon Wentworth’s biological clock is ticking, and she isn’t going to let her single status keep her from having a baby. When her wedding-photography business takes her to Mexico, she has every intention of finding a willing baby daddy to help her out. Until the bride goes AWOL, leaving Shannon to coddle the arrogant fiancé who has accused her of sabotaging his wedding.

Victor Brooks never could have imagined that he’d be on a honeymoon for one. Only here he is, taking a hard look at his life after the younger women he thought he loved walked out. The woman who volunteers to help him reflect is the last person he expects to be attracted to. Between the tequila, the sun, and one earth-shattering kiss, Victor finds Shannon a distraction too sexy to ignore.

They strike a deal: wait three months, cool off, and see if their tropical beach attraction is worth taking up when they go back home. Unfortunately, that’s just enough time for the past to come calling. All their best-laid plans are at risk. So is the last thing Shannon expected to matter the most: her heart.

©2019 by Catherine Bybee. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“A charming contemporary with surprising depth…Bybee perfectly portrays a woman trying to hold out for Mr. Right despite the pressures of time. A pitch-perfect plot and a cast of sympathetic and lovable supporting characters make this book one to add to the keeper shelf.” (Publishers Weekly)

Wonderful read and narration..

I just love the First Wives, Shannon, Lori, Avery and Trina. I couldn’t tell you which book was my favorite since they were all special in their own way. BUT I may have liked Avery’s story an itsy-bitsy more than the other 3. Love the husbands too, Wade, Reed, Liam, and soon to be Shannon’s husband, Victor. I did like Shannon. She was less brash and less of a chance-taker than all the rest. So she was totally different that the others’.

AND I’m glad she found out what an idiot he ex, Paul, was. What a creep. You really liked NOT liking him.

This was all about Victor, who was left at the altar, and how he and Shannon got together. Of course, Corrie (the bride) was too young for him, everybody said so, and he didn’t love her. He was ‘settling.’ And his work was more important than she was, anyway. I loved when Shannon told him just what she thought of him as they flew to Mexico for the wedding, only to find out who he really was when she got to the hotel.

There was explicit sex in this, and the F-bomb was used 4 times, and the word fit perfectly each time it was said.

As to the narration: Perfect in every way. Her voices, both male and female were awesome. Emma Wilder gave a perfect performance.

Excellently written loved that Shannon got her HEA

So glad Shannon got how forever ending. Now if you get Sasha story and to join the girls. a book of all the wives that come together. I love these women.

Loved it

Enjoyed this author. Narration was very good. Not one of my usual author s; which is what I love about Audible...the opportunity to experience so many different author and genres.

SD

WOW WOW This one really got to me!!!! Loved the story line. Can't wait for the next one!!!!

Great series

I am sorry to see the end of this series. Each storyline was so different that it kept my interest. I hope that Catherine Bybee writes more like these. The performance enhanced the story and made me like the characters even more.

A HOME RUN!

Loved this story!

Lighthearted, funny at times, with the right amount of angst and ups and downs.

The main characters start by not liking each other much. That starts to change fast and as time goes by they discover they have amazing chemistry. They have both been burned in the love department, so they tiptoe around the subject for a bit.

Both their pasts come to intrude in their newly found feelings, and one of them lets this affect their relationship. Instead of talking things over, distrust reigns supreme hurting the other one deeply. The one in the wrong recognizes the snafu, and goes all out to try to salvage the relationship.

Shannon and Victor make a wonderful couple, and they do get their well deserved Happily Ever After.

The narration was very enjoyable, and the story was worth my time and credit/money so I will gladly recommend it.

5 STARS!

Great series!

I love Catherine Bybee and her First Wives stories. The stories are multilayered and the characters are well developed I especially enjoy that she makes a community of friends out of the main characters. This makes it easier for them to seamlessly pop in and out of each other’s stories, and we as the reader get to be updated on their lives. Totally works!
The only reason I don’t give these contemporary romances 5 stars is because of the gratuitous f-bombs. Totally unnecessary.

wonderful

As to be expected from Mrs. Bybee this book just took me in to the world of the 1st wives. I highly recommend this series for all of you. These ladies along with their men just draw you into their storyline.

Faking Forever by Catherine Bybee

Part of a great series. Though each book is stand alone. You enjoy each one you read, and can not wait to read the next. So entertaining. Love the sisterhood feeling from very good friends.

FAKING FOREVER (First Wives #4) by Catherine Bybee

I knew Shannon's story would be a good one and I was not disappointed! Shannon Wentworth has been slowly mending her broken heart after her divorce and always showing the elegant, sophisticated face of a lady. She's often times been the voice of reason and the rock for her friends as they tried their second chances at love. As much as she encouraged them, she has not been willing to put her own heart out there. She does worry if she doesn't find love soon she'll be too old too have the babies she wants so badly. In FAKING FOREVER the fourth book in the First Wives series by Catherin Bybee, Despite her friends concerns, Shannon decides one of her upcoming destination weddings would be a great opportunity to have a somewhat anonymous fling with an unsuspecting baby daddy. When Shannon decides to buck social norms she does it in a big way.

But then on the flight to the wedding in Mexico she has a fiery connection with the man in the seat next to her... talk about a self-absorbed @ss! Shannon usually so reserved, can't help but make her opinions of him clear. But then she meets him again at the rehearsal... the groom himself. When the wedding doesn't happen she finds herself being blamed by this same groom.

Victor Brooks thought he's made a good plan with an appropriate girl to marry. When that doesn't work out and discovers the wedding photographer his fiancee hired may have encouraged her to walk out on the wedding he wants answers. He finds this woman sparks something in him his young fiancee never brought out. Add in a night of heavy drinking and an incredible kiss. He wakes up realizing he may have been more to blame for the wedding that wasn't than he's thought and more importantly that he'd dodged a bullet. Then there's that kiss he can't forget and the woman who can't seem to stand him. Who calls him Mr. Clueless.

I loved that Victor really brought Shannon out of her shell. And in turn, she made him really evaluate how he'd been living his life and what he'd been giving priority to. His brother Justin was hilarious and great for setting him straight too in that way that only a sibling can do. Good dynamic between the lead characters and well-paced love story. And of course, always good getting updates on the other women in the First Wives group.

I listened to the audiobook version and felt the narrator did an excellent job. 4.5 stars

Another amazing story

Now, I had to admit to secretly wanting Shannen's story to be about her re-kindling her love for ex-husband Paul, second chance love and all that but I have to admit, Shannon found herself a much better love interest in Victor.

It was Shannon's story that I have been looking forward to reading the most and, thankfully, it lived up to all of my insanely high expectations. Shannon, the quietest of the First Wives, has always sat back and observed her friends exploits whilst secretly spending her time nursing her broken heart. With her body clock ticking though, Shannon decides to take things into her own hands and with a trip to Mexico on the cards, puts a plan in action whereby she will return pregnant, or at least that is what she hopes will happen. The problem is, Shannon is not your one-night-stand type of woman and she is certainly not as feisty and outgoing as Avery.

When Shannon is hired as a wedding photographer to the bride-to-be, Corrie, she assumed this will be another straightforward job, that is until she meets an obnoxiously annoying man on the plane to Mexico. After arriving at the wedding venue, which is practically underwater thanks to a storm, Shannon finds the bride in tears and hinting that she has may have made a mistake by agreeing to get married. What Shannon doesn't immediately know if that the groom is the handsome but annoying man she sat next to on the plane.

When the wedding takes an unexpected turn, Shannon continues with her plan to meet Avery at another hotel and to put her plan to get-pregnant-by-any-possible-means into action. That is until she comes across a jilted Victor at the same hotel she and Avery are staying at.

Spending their time enjoying the sun and plenty of strong cocktails, Shannon soon comes to realise that she may have misjudged Victor and before long they actually start to enjoy spending time together. But, the question is, will they and can they keep their friendship going when they return home and will it blossom into something more special?

Gah, I love these books and the First Wives et al. They are all fascinating characters to spend time with albeit via the pages of a book but boy do they lead complicated lives. I thought that all of the drama would end with Avery's book but whilst not as dramatic, Shannon adds her own brand of chaos to this story.

Whilst I said I couldn't wait to read Shannon's story, I have to admit to having a secret obsession with Sasha and I can't wait to see if a man can tame her wild ways and if she can ever learn to trust anyone.

This is a highly recommended series, and author, if you are looking for a new reading direction. You won't be disappointed.

Victor Victorious

Excellent gentle story of life taking a turn, then, unexpectedly veering off to finish somewhere else taking the listener on a lovely journey with more mature characters than in tales of "young love". A real tale with highs and lows of real drama beautifully scripted and paced with more than a sprinkling of humour.

So refreshing to find this series; am usually into sci-fi, cowboys, spies, adventures, mysteries even, but crashed in on Book 4 as a starter while searching for something else on the Audible page. Am now going to get the others, today.

The brave Shannon remaking her life after divorce, soldiering on then making her plan to make a baby. Most women know this journey, some even get a happy ending, some even get the prince.

There are no graphically portrayed sex scenes on every page, no bondage or lube just real love, real passion told by a wordsmith. The excellent narrator did all the voices wonderfully helping the story reach it's 10/10 score.

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