2 of 2 copies available
Marriages of convenience are so...inconvenient.
For months Holland Bakker has invented excuses to descend into the subway station near her apartment, drawn to the captivating music performed by her street musician crush. Lacking the nerve to actually talk to the gorgeous stranger, fate steps in one night in the form of a drunken attacker. Calvin Mcloughlin rescues her, but quickly disappears when the police start asking questions.
Using the only resource she has to pay the brilliant musician back, Holland gets Calvin an audition with her uncle, Broadway's hottest musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until his reason for disappearing earlier becomes clear: he's in the country illegally, his student visa having expired years ago.
Seeing that her uncle needs Calvin as much as Calvin needs him, a wild idea takes hold of her. Impulsively, she marries the Irishman, her infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves and Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway—in the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting—will Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
December 5, 2017 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781508237570
- File size: 276458 KB
- Duration: 09:35:57
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from October 9, 2017
Lauren’s delightful urban contemporary brings together two New York artists in a modern marriage of convenience. Holland Bakker, an aspiring writer who works as an archivist for her uncles, is looking for her purpose in life but instead finds herself with a husband. Calvin McLoughlin, a handsome and talented Irish musician who plays in the 50th Street subway station, is about to make it big on Broadway, but his student visa has expired; after he helps Holland get away from a violent stranger in the subway station, she offers to marry him so he can stay in the country. Holland, a beautifully flawed and likable protagonist, humorously does her best to manage her growing fondness for Calvin while keeping low expectations for them as a couple. Her interaction with her uncles and brother reveals her fierce affection for them, and her quiet hopes that Calvin will come to love her create sweet romantic tension. In addition to Holland’s running stream of consciousness, the natural dialogue brings out the awkwardness and tenderness in the relationships between the characters. The descriptions and imagery, especially of New York City and Calvin’s music, are fresh and sensual, and the lyrical language creates atmosphere that sets this novel apart from others of the genre. Lauren’s standalone brims with authentic characters and a captivating plot. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. -
When Holland's crush, a busker from the subway station, turns out to be the amazing guitarist that her uncle needs for his Broadway show, she does the only reasonable thing she can and enters into a marriage of convenience with the handsome Irishman. Narrator K.C. Sheridan does a great job capturing Calvin's Irish accent, though it sometimes spills over into Holland's dialogue. Holland's uncles also play a major role in the developing relationship between Holland and Calvin, and Sheridan provides voices for them as well as for Holland's best friend and Calvin's family. When their marriage of convenience turns into something else, Holland has to figure out what's real and what's just wishful thinking. E.N. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
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