Surprise Groom by DJ Jamison

Surprise Groom by DJ Jamison

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Buy Link

Amazon

Blurb

Can two men fake their way to marital bliss?

Caleb Taylor is shocked to learn his family could lose Bliss Island Resort — their home and livelihood — unless he makes use of a clause to marry the child of investor Louis Chastain. Sofia Chastain is more like a sister than a love interest, and Caleb isn’t ready to sign over his future. But Sofia has a brother, and Caleb has a plan …

Julien Chastain was disowned at fifteen and has made a life as a go-go dancer in Miami, but he lives paycheck to paycheck. When his childhood friend proposes an outlandish marriage contract, he thinks he’s crazy. But it’s a chance at a future that’s tough to pass up.

Caleb and Julien must present themselves as an authentic couple for the legal loophole to work, but the lines between “fake” and “real” keep shifting as they navigate intimacy, public scrutiny, and sabotage.

Love isn’t part of the plan, but plans change. If they can outsmart Julien’s father and prove their love is worth more than a transaction, they just might find a true happily-ever-after.

Review

My cat one-clicked this book.

To be fair, I had the Amazon page open, because I saw a Facebook post about it that caught my eye. And then my little guy, who’s quite big actually, reached out with his little paw and one-clicked it.

I’ve said a few times that this particular cat takes care of me. He knows what’s best for me a lot of the time. He knows when I need to go to bed, he knows when it’s time for my meds, he knows when I need a break, and he apparently knows when I need an awesome romance to lighten my mood.

The story, on its face, is fairly simple. Caleb faces losing the family business to rapacious investor Louis, but there’s a way to get out of it. Caleb just has to marry “one of” Louis’ children. Louis’ intentions, when he and Caleb’s father made their agreement, was for Caleb to marry Louis’ daughter, Sophia. Louis has a son who he disowned for being gay when he was fifteen, who was also Caleb’s best friend. Caleb decides to ask Julien to marry him instead of Sophia, justifying it as mercy based on Sophia’s apparently fragile state and her juvenile crush on him.

The thing is, there are a lot of complexities behind all the players involved. Julien isn’t exactly enthusiastic about marrying a straight guy, or about getting back in contact with his family. Sophia is not the delicate flower Caleb thinks she is. Caleb’s sexuality is more complicated than Julien has considered. There’s intrigue, past trauma, and a happy ending that’s only possible when family comes together.

Louis is a truly vile example of a human being. That’s not a spoiler – he disowned his fifteen-year-old son because he was gay. That’s vile, no matter how you slice it. But as the story continues we see that Louis’ evil achieves depths I never would have imagined, and I write about serial killers. The only complaint I have about this book is that Louis doesn’t meet a violent and messy end – although given the subgenre it probably wouldn’t fit. (It would suit him, but still.)

I truly loved Caleb and Julien, and the rest of the cast at Bliss Island (Louis excepted. He can go sit in a hole and rot.) I could only want good things for all of them. It was the perfect read for me in the headspace where I was, and I can’t think of a better exemplar of “romance.”

And yes, the cat in question did get extra treats after I finished the book.