I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
How to Lose a Fiancé by Stefanie London Published by Entangled Publishing, LLC (Indulgence) on June 17, 2019
Pages: 277
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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Sophia Andreou has always been the “good daughter” who tried to keep her domineering father happy. She followed the rules and did everything that was asked of her. But this time, her father is asking too much. The family company is crumbling, and her father has arranged a marriage to a Greek billionaire who can save their property business. What?! Umm no thank you. If Cinderella can dress up to win a prince, surely Sophia can do the opposite and ditch hers...
Dion Kourakis has come a long way from being an orphan with only a single friend to his name. Now he runs a billion-dollar investment company and has the respect of everyone in Europe. His charming personality covers a lot of emotional scars, including his desire to make his mentor proud. Dion doesn’t exactly want a bride to go along with his next business deal, and he plans on letting the lass down gently when they meet...
Only, his future bride has turned out to be nothing like what he thought she’d be. She’s quirky and has a habit of turning up to social events in strange outfits. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what she’s up to, but the harder she tries to convince him she’d be an awful wife, the more he wants to convince her they’d be perfect together.
My love of all things Stefanie London is no secret. However, even I had to pause when I saw that her latest book was going to be a Greek billionaire. It’s never been my favorite trope, and while I was sure it would be a good book, I wasn’t sure how I’d like it.
Well, I loved it. Dion Kourakis was an absolute gem of a hero. I was prepared to… maybe not hate him, but at least be ambivalent toward him. I was presently surprised when I fell in love with him as much as Sophia did. Then my only problem was how they were going to get together while still not letting Sophia’s dad win. Because seriously – fuck that guy.
Sophia was so funny. She realizes that if she refuses to marry the man her dad is trying to force her to marry, her dad will take his anger out on her mother. But he can hardly blame her if Dion refuses the match. So she sets out to do everything in her power to make him call off the marriage. She dresses in bonkers clothing that makes her look bananas, she tells Dion that her favorite hobby is taxidermy, then orders dozens of taxidermy animals to decorate his house with, even becoming friends of a sort with his nemesis. But Dion really wants Sophia’s dad’s company for reasons of his own, and he’s willing to put up with her antics if it means he can have it. But he can’t quite reconcile the over-the-top personality he’s seeing with the woman he researched. He starts to suspect something is up, and his inability to figure it out is driving him nuts. He’s determined to get to the bottom of it, though.
The best part of this was Sophia and Dion’s communication. Yes, it was based on a bit of subterfuge on Sophia’s part, but it wasn’t malicious or cruelly done. Her dad basically sold her, and, as you would imagine, Sophia did not take kindly to being sold. But she realized as quickly as we did that Dion was a genuinely good guy who didn’t realize the depths her father had gone to, and they talked everything out. They actually listened to each other, paid attention to what the other was saying, and reacted with openness and even more communication. And they had the same question I did – how can they be together while still not letting her father win?
This was such a great read. It was fun, light-hearted, and so, so sexy. I loved it. It’s the 2nd book in a series, but I didn’t read the first one, and had no problem with this one.
About Stefanie London
Growing up, Stefanie came from a family of women who loved to read. Her favourite activity was going shopping with her Nan during school holidays, where she would sit on the floor of the bookstore with her little sister and painstakingly select the books to spend her allowance on. Thankfully, Nan was a patient woman.
Thus, it was no surprise Stefanie was the sort of student who would read her English books before the semester started. After sneaking several literature subjects into her ‘very practical’ Business degree, she got a job in Communications. When writing emails and newsletters didn’t fulfil her creative urges, she turned to fiction and was finally able to write the stories that kept her mind busy at night.
Now she lives with her very own hero and dreams of travelling the world. She frequently indulges in her passions for good coffee, French perfume, high heels and zombie movies. Recently she gave up her day job to write sexy, contemporary romance stories and she couldn’t be happier.
