The Engagement Cover

Title: The Engagement Cover
Author: A.M. Heath
Series: Christmas in Garland collection, book 2 (standalone series)
Major Themes: Romance, Christmas
Synopsis: When Teresa has to find a man to pretend to be her boyfriend…and then someone else to cover for him when he can’t be there…her life becomes pretty complicated.

I don’t remember when I first heard of The Engagement Cover, but I remember following along with its development with a great deal of interest. Somehow, I never read the synopsis before I got into the book, but the story itself arrested my attention and drew me in before I had time to think about what a fun premise it had!

Life is going pretty well for Teresa. She’s a successful model and devoted employee of a business whose owners are more friends than bosses. Her parents and brother are loving and thoughtful . . . the only thing she really has to deal with right now is her grandmother’s insistence that she get herself a boyfriend and get married. Her grandmother has been saying something similar for years, but now that she’s on her deathbed, the request is a bit more pointed. Teresa is worried. How can she get through to her grandmother that she doesn’t need a man? That she can provide for herself? What will happen if she holds out and disappoints the older woman so much that she dies? There’s only one conclusion she can come to: She’ll have to find a fake boyfriend for a while, and perhaps that will satisfy her grandmother’s wishes. But what if her fake boyfriend isn’t able to be there when she needs him, and she has to find someone else to fill his shoes?

The Engagement Cover is a delightful book, and even though I try to steer clear of books that are almost exclusively romance, I didn’t mind this one in the slightest. I laughed throughout the story . . . when you start with one lie, that always leads to another and another until the trap you’ve set for yourself is so deep there doesn’t seem to be any way out. Add to that the flavor of Mexican food and an almost-obsession with hockey (or hate of it, on Teresa’s part), and you’re guaranteed to have a fun read. I enjoyed this light, quick read. And even though it IS mostly romance, it’s got some good thoughts about learning to yield to God and rest on His timing, rather than pushing ahead and making a mess of it ourselves. Recommended.

I was given a review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.

WARNING: Ch. 1 has a woman get hit in the nose and start bleeding all over the place. Ch. 2 has two models holding each other for a photoshoot, and they kiss. There’s lying in ch. 3, and “thank goodness” is used. A couple holds hands in ch. 11, kiss in ch. 12, someone lies in ch. 22, and there are more kisses in ch. 25 and the epilogue. Also, there’s the overarching theme of lying through the book with the fake boyfriend/fiancé.