Practically Married Review

She moved to a new town to marry her fiancé. Instead, she’s burying him.


Ashley Johnson moved to northern Michigan to finally meet her fiancé face-to-face, but she arrived in time to attend his funeral. With no home back in Ohio, she decides to stay in what would have been their house, except his cousin Russ lives there too, and Russ has never heard of Ashley. To complicate matters, her fiancé accidentally willed her the family farm house. Eager to please everyone and desperate to disappoint no one, she proposes a marriage of convenience that could solve her and Russ’ problems, if they can get past her aunt, his sisters, and an ex-girlfriend.

My thoughts: This is such a charming modern marriage of convenience story! Ashley has always longed for a home and family of her own, so she feels like she is finally seeing the fruition of those dreams when she sets out to marry her fiancé Tom, who she has only known online. When she shows up, she finds a surprise waiting for her in that her dreams are dashed away with Tom having died.
I enjoyed Ashley's sweet characters, as well as getting to know Russ. I thought that the author did a wonderful job of writing a modern story of convenience that was entertaining and so much fun! This is an excellent book to pick up.
I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review and is in no way influenced by receiving a complimentary copy.

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About the Author:
Karin Beery grew up in a rural Michigan town where she wrote her first novel in high school. Today, she writes contemporary stories with a healthy dose of romance. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s reading, editing, or teaching it. In her free time, she enjoys being at home with her husband and fur babies watching University of Michigan football and action-adventure movies.

More from Karin
Why would two contemporary American’s agree to a marriage of convenience?
That’s what I asked myself when I sat down to write Practically Married. I love reading historical books about mail order brides and other arranged marriages, but I wanted to see if I could make that historical theme more modern (and still be believable).
That’s how Ashley and Russ came to be, and—after several revisions—I think I did it! It takes two to get married, but this is really Ashley’s story—it’s her past that inspires her future, and it’s up to her to decide where that inspiration with lead her.
The story couldn’t just be about their relationship, though. I’ve always thought it would be fun to have a big brother, so I gave Russ little sisters. And nieces and nephews. And a pie-baking mom who doesn’t like his beard (which may have been inspired my mother-in-law, who tried desperately to get my husband to shave his beard before our wedding). I also threw in some real buildings and places in northern Michigan (even though Boyne Falls is fictional). And it’s possible that some of my character names came directly from friends and other local inspirations. Practically Married isn’t only set in northern Michigan, it’s inspired by it.

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Giveaway!
To celebrate her tour, Karin is giving away the grand prize of a copy of her book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link here to enter.