Review: With This Fling

Title: With This Fling
Genre: Contemporary
Author: Kelly Hunter
Pub: June 7, 2011 by Harlequin

Successful archaeologist Charlotte Greenstone has no time for men, so invents a convenient one—who bears a highly inconvenient resemblance to sexy stranger Greyson Tyler! To protect her mortifying white lie, Charlotte begs Grey to act as her temporary fiancé….

One glimpse of Charlotte's killer curves, and Grey can't resist making his own outrageous proposition—he'll pretend to be her fiancé… if they can enjoy all the benefits of being a couple! Smoking-hot Grey is definitely fling material, but Charlotte knows that's all it can ever be…. Isn't it?

Making the Grade: B

For My Thoughts

As soon as I started reading this book I couldn’t help but notice the similarities to another book I had recently read.

A young woman makes up a story about a fake fiancé to appease the worries of her dying godmother. Insert Grandma worrying, but not dying about her granddaughter and you’ve got the same set-up as Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey.

Only in With This Fling you get a more cerebrally matched duo in Associate Professor of Archaeology Charlotte Greenstone and Dr. Greyson Tyler, botanist.

It started out innocently enough and with the best of intentions when Charlotte Greenstone manufactured her imaginary fiancé Thaddeus Jeremiah Gilbert Tyler. Whoaaa that's a mouthful! Her Godmother Aurora was dying and the stories of Gil (as Charlotte called him), eased Aurora’s worries in her final day. And after Aurora passed peacefully...Charlotte killed off Gil as well. No harm, no foul.

Except Charlotte’s co-workers found out about her “fiancé” and before Charlotte knows how to stop the run-away train, her non-existent fiancé arrives in Sydney the form of Dr. Greyson Tyler.

Greyson Tyler’s come to claim his belongings inadvertently sent to the esteemed Dr. Greenstone and really he’s quite understanding as he discovers the part he’s played as Charlotte’s imaginary fiancé. Not one to pass up an opportunity, Greyson decides to take advantage of the situation since it seems he finds himself in need of his own fake fiancée for a family function. Who better to play the part of that loving fiancée than Charlotte herself.

Grey and Charlotte are good together and with all cards on the table they agree to engage in an equally and mutually beneficial relationship with no strings attached. Beside Grey’s a traveller, always on the move for his job and Charlotte’s been there and done that and she’s not interested in doing it again. In the long term they could never have a “real” relationship. Well maybe they could especially with the unexpected surprise they are about to get in say...nine months time.

No they’ve got a whole new set of problems to deal with if they are going to become a real family. It’s going to require compromise, sacrifice and big adjustments to make their relationship work...if it’s even possible.