A fake engagement and a mischievous dog... Bound by a Ring and a Secret by Jennifer Faye (Review, Excerpt & #Giveaway) #HarlequinBooks #HarlequinRomance #romancebooks #sweetromance #newbook @harlequinbooks @prismbooktours

Thursday, June 10, 2021 - Leave a Comment

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Welcome to my tour stop! I'm sharing my review and an excerpt today for

this new sweet romance. Check those out and the tour giveaway below...

Bound by a Ring and a Secret

(Wedding Bells at Lake Como #1)
By Jennifer Faye
Contemporary Romance
Hardcover, Paperback & ebook, 175 Pages
May 25, 2021 by Harlequin Romance

Summary

A mistaken identity…
…a proposal that changes everything!

Photographer Gianna is done with men. Retreating to her villa on the shore of Lake Como, Gianna is stunned to find gorgeous Dario renting her house! When Dario is mistaken for her long-gone fiancé, they realize a fake engagement could solve problems for them both. Pretending to be in love should be easy, but what happens when very real feelings start to grow?

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My Review

BOUND BY A RING AND A SECRET is a sweet romance about a woman who is trying to prove herself and a man who is trying to make his own life separate from his family's expectations. There's an adorable meet-cute involving a dog who continues to play a mischievous role in the story. Overall, a fun and light romance ideal for summer reading.

Dario and his little dog tied for favorite characters in this story. The dog makes the introductions at the beginning and I loved how he continues to play a role as things progress, even literally tying the two love interests up a few times. I liked how Dario comes across as naturally confident without being overbearing or pushy. He's fairly laid-back, at least with Gianna. Gianna had to grow on me a bit. I think my issue was that she was a bit flighty and fit herself to whatever guy she was dating, even though she is an honestly genuine person. She has some character development to go through in this story. I also really liked the setting, with the villa, leisure walks, and small-town Italy. There's definitely chemistry between Dario and Gianna with the romance still being sweet, just past the clean line as there is one closed-door love scene. The fake relationship trope is always a fun one, and Faye executes it well in this story.

In the end, was it what I wished for? This was a fairly quick, entertaining read and on par for this line of books. The characters were likable, the romance sweet with a bit of heat, and a little dog was thrown into the mix adding extra charm. A book to grab if you're looking for some light romance to read on the beach or to escape with.

Content: One closed-door love scene and some innuendo.
Source: I received a complimentary copy through Prism Book Tours, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Excerpt

He was strikingly tall as she had to crane her neck to stare into his eyes. His brown hair was a bit longer on top with a little curl. It was a casual look to go with the scruff along his prominent jawline.

A navy T-shirt fit snug across his broad, strong shoulders and clung to his muscular chest. She swallowed hard. She shouldn’t be checking him out. Whether he was hot or not, he’d broken into her home.

His phone buzzed. He withdrew it from his pocket, checked the screen and then slipped it back in his pocket.

When her gaze once more met his, there was amusement dancing in his eyes. He’d caught her giving him a brief once-over. She inwardly groaned. That was not good—not good at all.

Still, she couldn’t deny that he was quite handsome in that playboy sort of way. Not that she was interested. First, he was an intruder in her house. Second, he was infuriating in the way he didn’t take her seriously. And lastly, she was done with men, cute or otherwise.

In an effort to reach for her phone, she tried releasing the pan’s handle with one hand, but the weight of the cast iron was too much to hold with just one hand. Maybe she should have spent more time at the gym and less time traipsing around the continent with a sweet-talking man who didn’t really care about her and was just biding his time until his ex stepped back into his life.

“I have a dog,” she said, glancing down at the stray pup. It was hidden from the man’s view by the kitchen island.

The man smiled. “You mean my dog?”

His dog?

Other Books in the Series

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About the Author

Award-winning author, Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming contemporary romances with rugged cowboys, sexy billionaires and enchanting royalty. Internationally published with books translated into nine languages. She is a two-time winner of the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Award, named a TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous other awards.