Book Description:
After all is wed and done, can a fake marriage turn into true love?
September
With the prized assistant editor position up for grabs, I’m ready to do whatever it takes to get a promotion. That includes writing the best article ever—a how-to piece on renewing wedding vows on a budget. My only problem? I’m missing the husband my boss wants me to bring along for research.
Tristan
I swore off all romantic relationships years ago, a fact that should have stopped me from volunteering to help September. There’s no rhyme or reason why I should care about her success—especially when we’re hardly friends—except that I can’t seem to get her off my mind.
September
I’m shocked but relieved when my annoyingly handsome coworker offers to be my fake husband. Tristan’s attitude is as pleasant as the stomach flu, but at least I don’t have to guess where he stands, unlike my long distance boyfriend’s commitment level. This ruse might not be so hard to pull off, assuming we don’t drive each other crazy first.
Tristan
Pretending to be married for a week should be a piece of cake, but nothing about this arrangement is as sweet or as simple, especially when it involves feeding each other cake. Between my fake wife’s annoyingly cheery personality and the intimate demands of this assignment, I’ve got a bad case of cold feet. But when the sparks between us become a little too real, it’s time for me to decide: do I bail or let her in? For better or worse, my heart may never be the same again.
The Fab Forties series was written by an over-40 author with readers of all ages in mind. This rom-com is guaranteed to tickle your funny bone and help you escape reality. So, sit back, relax, and be prepared to laugh!
*This story first appeared in Save the Date, a wedding anthology that hit the USA Today bestsellers list in October 2021. It has since been expanded with four brand new chapters for your reading pleasure.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading Joined at the Hip, Book 3 in Liwen Y. Ho’s The Fab Forties Series set in San Jose, California. September needs to research a magazine article for work on how to renew wedding vows on a budget. She has never married, and hasn’t seen her long distance boyfriend in months. September has worked at the magazine with Tristan for years, and he has effectively ignored her friendly hellos and goodbyes.
Tristan is a writer who doesn’t particularly like September’s cheery disposition. He volunteers to be September’s fake husband and help her research her article by visiting wedding-related businesses with her. The fake relationship aspect of the story is hilarious, and September and Tristan start to relax and realise they don’t hate each other.
I loved the banter and competition between September and Tristan’s mothers who regularly play Mah Jong together. The Asian mothers are arch enemies who have no idea their offspring work together and are in a fake relationship with growing secret romantic feelings. I recommend Joined at the Hip to contemporary romance readers who like opposites attract and enemies to love rom coms with a relevant faith element in the story.