If you are looking for a fun, upbeat contemporary romance, then The Wedding Hoax by Heather Thurmeier is for you. This is the story about wedding gown designer Daisy Willows, and bridal magazine publisher Cole Benton. Daisy and Cole have a history. After dating happily, lustfully and exclusively for about a year, Daisy started talking about marriage, a white picket fence and babies. Cole, a playboy and complete commitment phobe, liked things the way were and never had any desire to settle down. In fact, Daisy was the first woman that Cole had a relationship with which lasted longer than a few weeks. Daisy was heartbroken when Cole broke up with her a month later.

A year has gone by and due to the poor economy, both Daisy's bridal boutique and Cole's magazine are not making any money. The bridal industry in general is not seeing much growth or profitability. Luckily, the richest man in the bridal expo business has a plan, a publicity stunt that would result in tons of new expo traffic, new magazine subscribers and wedding gown orders. He would infuse cash into both their respective businesses and provide free premier expo space, if Daisy and Cole agree to a publicized six-month fake engagement, followed by a fake wedding and honeymoon. The public would be involved, voting on their wedding venue, flowers, etc. A hoax that would top all former hoaxes. Naturally, spending time together, holding hands, kissing, selecting rings and sleeping in the same bed evolves their fake relationship into something real and tangible.

I really liked Daisy and found her to be replete with kindness and graciousness. Her love for her mother is truly heartfelt. She handles her customers with great care and goes out of her way to treat everyone fairly.

Engagement of Convenience stories are my absolute favorite type of romance trope, and this one does not disappoint. This is a well written book that will keep you entertained from beginning to end. The story is nicely paced, the characters are well developed and replete with realism. In addition, Ms. Thurmeier has a real knack for creating unscrupulous characters, which include Cole's despicable father and his slimy brother. The author evolves Cole's character thoughtfully, and in the end, he turns out to be a loving man who was just a little slow on the uptake.

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