Faking Forever (First Wives Book 4)

Some of my favourite reads have been of the unplanned kind, where the book somehow ‘found’ me, rather than the other way around, but it doesn’t happen all too often that a single book sends me down the rabbit hole in such a way that before I know it, I’ve not only read the whole series, but purchased the author’s ENTIRE back catalogue, too. From the moment I read the blurb, I knew this story would be my catnip—be it because of a heroine whose biological clock is ticking away, or a hero who’s left at the altar, or the mounting sexual tension that inevitably comes with a love/hate scenario—but little did I know I would love it SO SO much. This story had everything I always hope to find in a great romance—depth, emotion, banter, tremendous chemistry between the characters, perfect pacing, and even a few moments where I had to hold back the tears—but it is Catherine Bybee’s sublime writing that turns a great story with a fairly simple premise into an extraordinary one. And as I’ve discovered since then, she does it oh-so effortlessly time and time again.“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.”When Shannon Wentworth agreed to enter into a temporary marriage arrangement with a perfect stranger, she never expected to walk away with a broken heart, but falling in love with her husband had never been part of the deal, and no amount of wishing otherwise could turn a fake marriage into a real one. Three years after her divorce, Shannon is still mourning the loss of a marriage that was destined to end from the start, but even more so the missed opportunity to become a mother. Thirty-five years old and financially secure, all Shannon wants is a baby, and with no ‘Mr. Right’ in sight, she is willing to have one on her own. So when her photography business takes her to sunny Mexico for a location wedding, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to find a perfectly willing ‘baby daddy’ and have a night to remember. But one runaway bride later, and instead of looking for potential hookups, Shannon finds herself facing the wrath of the jilted fiancé who blames her for his bride’s change of heart.“𝘔𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥.”𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥. “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?”“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?”“𝘠𝘦𝘴.”“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵, 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.”It’s no secret that Victor Brooks is a notorious workaholic, but no one knows that more than the young woman he is about to marry. So when she calls off the wedding at the very last minute and leaves him humiliated in front of family and friends, Victor finds himself alone on his honeymoon, facing the embarrassing aftermath of yet another failed relationship, while also taking a hard look at his priorities in life. The last person he expects to run into again, however, is the sassy photographer he accused of sabotaging his wedding, and no matter how hard they try to keep disliking each other, their mutual attraction only grows stronger and stronger. But not even the undeniable chemistry between them can sway Shannon to throw caution to the wind and become romantically involved with a man who was about to marry another woman not even a week before.“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰.”“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦.”“𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦.”𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴?“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮.“𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦.”After agreeing to reconsider her decision in three months’ time, they part ways having only shared a single kiss, but fate has other plans, and before long, they find themselves exploring something neither of them ever expected to find in life—a love connection that is both tender and passionate.Catherine Bybee’s knack for creating vivid, endearing characters truly shines in this uplifting, warmly satisfying romance that reminds us that the best things in life happen when we least expect them. This was one of the most well-rounded and compulsively readable books I’ve ever come across—splendidly written cover to cover—and the large, loving cast of secondary characters immediately sent me looking for every one of their stories. And what a glorious #BybeeBinge that was!

Most of Ms. Bybee's books that I've read have some action or adventure. This one didn't it was all romance. That doesn't mean it wasn't a good book. Ms. Bybee is a good story teller and while the story was a romance novel, it was still good.

Let me say that I rarely write reviews and am only doing so now because how much I liked the author's books I read so far. Given this books 3 stars feels weird to me, because I feel it deserves 4 stars as much as it deserves 2 stars. For 90% of the book was Great! But the last 10% made me have to force myself to finish it. Once the book really got going it was very good and I had a hard time putting it down. Both the Male and Female characters where likable but flawed. He needed badly to get his priorities straight and learn to socialize better, she needed to learn to stand on her own and move past old hurts... plus give up on one of the worst baby making schemes ever. But they where overcoming this together with plenty of wonderfully written moments. But then the time for the last big hurdle of their love was presented and the book came crashing down for me, to the point where I had to force myself to read even the last few pages. The problem for me is that in the end both of them made very human mistakes but only the man's problems are truly acknowledged and hers are as if forgotten. The problem is a very common one in romance novels and i will admit I know it is written that way for a different target audience then myself, being male. And normally it would only be slightly irritating but not worth much comment it is just the great contrast from the ending of this book compared to the rest and compared to the previous book in the series really makes it stand out and frustrating to me. The ending conflict is setup were tabloids show pictures of the female lead Shannon smiling at her ex with his hands on her face with articles that say she has chosen her ex over Victor, though she was actually saying goodbye forever to her ex not Victor. An ex, though, we know she has been in love with and pining for, for years. The male lead Victor sees these and at first just confused about what's going on, not really believing it but not sure what to make if it. Then his well meaning but mislead brother calls saying how bad it looks and reminding Victor of how short of a time he has known Shannon plus how it wasn't long ago he had another women jilte him. Still he wants to hear an explanation from Shannon herself and in person he drives to her house and knocks and no answer. So not wanting to give up he calls her only for it to go to voicemail. Of course at this point anyone would be getting anxious and this is when he sees the flowers he just sent her, Shannon had thrown them out ( thinking they where from her ex). And now he is convinced she has betrayed him. He then goes to her studio to confront her, when he arrives asking if it's true and how she could do it she is obviously hurt that he doesn't trust her. Now at this point no one has done anything wrong really they have both made mistakes but very human ones. He has had a lot of 'evidence' thrust at him after being away and she mistakenly threw out his flowers and is hurt by her new boyfriends accusations, and that to me is also part of the crux of the problem for the rest of the book it's her New boyfriend, I dont think they been dating even 2 months at this point and trust is something earned not given. And yes she has earned a fare bit of trust with her actions so far in this relationship but he just had signs and images thrust at him that would make a happily married man of 50 years have doubts. But even as he starts to think he might have got it wrong and starts to try and talk about this and even apologize she thrust him out and slams the door in his face ignoring his knocks and calls. Even here I think she is making a slightly immature mistake but an honest human one. She is pretty knew to relationships and needing to step away and think on it for a bit is understandable. But that isn't what she does instead she runs away, without telling anyone where she is going and this is really where the books falls apart for me. For the rest of the book she never apologizes to him for her actions he has to literally crawl on his knees and beg and cry for forgiveness but she never once says sorry or that she might be a little in the wrong to, it is hinted at by a side character but quickly squelched and forgotten. And this imbalance is what gets me, this last 10% is what nearly made me give up on the book and think it may be more worth of a 2 or lower stars. This implication that the man need beg for forgiveness of his faults while the women need not even acknowledge hers, it leaves a bad after taste of what was, to me, a wonderful story.

I’ve only recently started reading Bybee’s books: both mysteries and romances. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them all. I’m going to work my way through as many as I can find. She’s worth following.

I absolutely love this series. Honestly, I’ve read every book written by her and it only gets better and better. This is one heart warming, lovely series that deserves to be read. And I’m so excited to know there will be more of the First Wives Club!!! I can’t wait.

Thank you Catherine for such a fabulously fantastic read. Absolutely loved reading Shannon's story.A fiery and volatile start to Shannon and Victor's love story.Shannon heads to Tulum to shoot a wedding, enroute meeting Mr Phone, Victor aka the jilted fiance. It's a frustrating start to their relationship where Shannon believes he is an arrogant self centered businessman, which ends up in a good few barbs and brings out the sass in the usually quiet observant Shannon.Shannon is a divorcee, finding her place in the world and most importantly with her biological clock ticking, wanting to have a baby. That's why this trip is not only business but to find a baby daddy without daddy being in the picture ever.Victor is a very busy man who is put in place on his flight over to Tulum where he will be getting married, unknowingly that the lady he has annoyed is also good wedding photographer.When they meet again sparks fly lots of sass and verbal abuse which is absolutely hilarious on both sides. It didn't help with Victors brother Justin being their to make matters worse. Lol.The wedding falls apart with the bride running away before the vows start, leaving Victor feeling humiliated but unmoved. Rather than heading back home and to work, he stays behind an extra week to contemplate where he went wrong, in doing so he meets Shannon and they get to know each other so much now.Just so that there relationship is not based on being rebound, Shannon tells Victor to give it 3 months before they see each other, to give him enough time to get over Corrie his ex-fiance.They try their best but this don't always go planned in life. It's great to see how much their relationship develops between each other over time and how they both change in holding themselves back and just bring true to themselves.However, will the past come back to hurt them, and if so will they be strong enough to trust each other to overcome it. A beautiful ending.Can't wait for the next one. Thank you Catherine

Another great romance story that sets your heart à flutter in as much as thé reader is routing for Shannon to find her quest for a baby daddy, but never quessing it would turn out to be bridegroom who's wedding she was the photographer for. But à run away bride who did à runner at the 11th hour will definately kill any wedding plans dead. Whilst staying à week as planned, Shannon and her friend, who arrived the next day, got to know Victor, as she sat next to him when flying to Mexico for this non wedding and thought he was à jerk, putting or mildly. But he had à way of getting under her skin and two gay fellas sought them out for drinks in the evening along with Victor. Shannon and Victor were getting to know each other as Avery discovers she's pregnant and feeling sickly. And when it was time to go their separate ways back home, Victor wanted to keep seeing Shannon, so they made a pact to see other in three months time to get over his non wedding. A really enjoyable story which had trust issues on both sides, but once mistakes were rectified,it was full steam ahead to à glorious and love filled future. Great read.

Reading Catherine Bybee spoils you for when you read other books. She has such a way with words that you almost live the story. I like the book grouping too when you can follow characters that have appeared in previous storylines. I haven't read them straight after one another, as I like a change, and then return. I have OneNote to go in this series,which I will get at some point. This series, as others have been, are well worth reading. I would definitely recommend them.

Wow what another amazing read from Catherine. I must say this was a slow read for me, I think waiting anticipating on Shannon’s story it took a while but boy when that read got going I loved it it was just Shannon all over she’s quiet, observing and astounding and she was spot on with her observations of Victor but never judge a book they say and if you do everyone has their own version and interpretation of that said book. Can’t wait for more from this series especially Sasha