Sweet Love or is it Selfish Love

Her First Dance: A Billionaire Fake Fiancé Romance by Suzanne Hart

Nancy is a dancer looking for the next chapter in her life and career. James is her brother Neil’s best friend. James is looking to take over the family business and carry on the legacy that was his parents vision. He meets with the board and finds out they aren’t going to give him the job because he is single. James and Nancy have already been on a date and are in the beginning of a new relationship when Nancy over hears a conversation between James and Neil about finding James a fake fiancé. Nancy, even though she has feelings for James steps in and takes the job so she will have enough money to open a dance studio. Their agreement gets discovered and distroys their budding relationship. With neither of them willing to give up on their dreams can these two find a way to be together? Is their love strong enough to withstand the storm? You will have to one click to find out.

I enjoyed this story but there were a few things that kinda got to me. First, I am not sure that James was actually a billionaire. When his money man told him he had $130,000 available to use for “buying” a fake fiancé I was dumbfounded. I can’t conceive that he did not have more liquid assets obtainable to him if he were a billionaire. He also states late in the book to Nancy, that now that he has the company he has the money to get her studio for her. To give her anything she wants. If he was already a billionaire wouldn’t he already be capable of that? Also I found both characters to be very selfish. Neither one wanted to make a scarafice for their love. Nancy in particular would not make a scarafice stating that James had already proven that the company was more important to him than their relationship and that she could never trust that would not always be the case.

Yet that is precisiouly what James did in the end. He scaraficed the company that he had been working towards his entire life just to be with Nancy. What intrigued me about this was no sacrifices were ever made by Nancy and after saying she had trust issues, James just giving up the company, I guess cleared those issues up for her since she agreed to be his wife.

On the one hand it was nice to read a story where the woman did not have to give up her dream just to get the man. You could say my issue wasn’t that she didn’t do it but that she really didn’t pay any price to the relationship as James had done. I would have found a compromise by both to feel healthier for their love. It would have felt more like forever love. In the end 10 or so years down the road James could easily resent Nancy getting to live her dream but he had to live an abbreviated version of his dream. I can’t help but have these concerns. I get so wrapped up in the book I am reading I tend to write, in my mind, the rest of their lives, long after the last page of actual text.

My last thought was on the contract itself. I don’t understand why there even had to be one. They were already dating I don’t understand why they couldn’t keep doing so while adding the fake engagement for the outside world. This would have allowed them to explorer the relationship yet allow everyone to get what they were looking for from being together, not just things but love as well.

So while all of this might make it seem that I didn’t enjoy the book, that would be wrong. I did enjoy it, the writing was good and the characters, because they were flawed were more relatable and real.

I would like to thank the author Suzanne Hart for allowing me to read an advance readers copy of her book. I have appreciated the journey.

Happy Reading!