Catharina Maura

The Temporary Wife

“Nah. I don’t hate you. I hate how much I fucking want you. I hate how beautiful you are, and I hate how much you mess with my mind. Above all, I always hated that you weren’t mine.”

“You want the full truth? I fucking hate that you wore red for him, and I can’t stand the way you were smiling at him when I walked in. You have never smiled that way for me. Not once.”

“You were always my queen. Everyone knew it but you.”

“I don’t even remember her fucking name,” he tells me. “I can’t, because all of my thoughts are filled with you.”

“You drive me truly, utterly, entirely, mad,” he whispers, his forehead pressed against mine.

She’s a vicious fucking beast wrapped in the sexiest body I’ve ever laid eyes on.

RacquelElizabeth

She truly is everything to me. The calm to my chaos. The light to my darkness. The love of my life.

I'm letting her leave my office today, but she's crazy if she thinks I'll let her walk out of my life so easily.

raia – inactive

Valentina looks up, confusion in her eyes.

I smile at her. “Ten years ago, I told you that I couldn’t put all of your fears to rest just yet, but ten years from then, we’d look back at that moment and I’d tell you I told you so.”

“That’s the two of you, days after Valentina was born,” she explains as we take in the photo of me at age five with a baby in my arms.

We’re at the lake where my tree is. I can see it in the distance, all lit up with countless fairy lights, but that isn’t what’s most shocking. There are hundreds of lanterns in the water. Each with a pink sticky note stuck to it — all of them ones I’ve written throughout the years.

“I collected them,” he tells me, his voice shaky. “For years, I collected each nice note you wrote me. Granted, more often than not, you wrote me veiled insults, but over the last nine years, you’ve written me over a hundred nice ones. I guess some of them may not sound nice, but every single note here made me smile.

“Don’t tear down another woman just because she has what wasn’t meant for you. You’ll find your own happiness, Jessica. I’m sure of it.”

“Yeah,” he whispers. “It’s my favorite hobby.”

My wife’s eyes widen a fraction, and she smiles broadly as she poses for me. For a moment, I just stare at her, frozen in place.

I snap out of it and take a couple of photos, my heart racing. She’s so beautiful, it’s unreal.

She’ll never know, but she’s the reason our entire company now gets free catered lunch in the cafeteria. It’s something I implemented when I realized she was eating cup noodles every single day, despite the salary I paid her.

“It indeed looks like there’s been a misunderstanding of some sort,” I tell him, my voice soft despite my anger. “It appears you think Valentina is merely a secretary. You’re mistaken. She is the one person I trust above anyone else, my right hand, my de facto co-CEO. If she didn’t grant you a meeting, it would be for a reason. I don’t need to know why, and quite frankly, I don’t give a fuck. If she says no, it means no. I respect her opinion above all else, and I strongly suggest that you do the same.”

 “You were always my queen. Everyone knew it but you.”

Sophia

Valentina laughs then, and it’s the first time I’ve heard her laugh since we got the news. I stare at my wife in awe as she watches the video, and I silently thank Abuela for returning her smile when I couldn’t.

I glance at Ares for support, but he just shrugs his shoulders, unfazed. “Leave them be,” he tells me. “Just wait until it’s their turn. Karma is a bitch.”

Lexington pulls a face. “I will never become a fool over a woman.”

Ares and I exchange a look before both smiling knowingly. “Right,” we both say, in unison. 

Lexington is our youngest brother, and out of all of us, he’s the most sensitive. He’ll fall the hardest, and it’ll be so fucking amusing to witness.

Oh yeah right because she's special🙄 That doesn't make me like him more it just shows he was an asshole before lmao

I can’t remember the last time I cared more about a woman’s pleasure than my own.

Luca’s hand threads through my hair, and he grips tightly.

“Hate me as much as you want, baby. Resent me. Despise me for shackling you to me when I should’ve offered you unconditional help. Torment me for using you, Valentina, but don’t you fucking leave me.”

I didn’t think he’d have anything left to say, but he leans against the doorway and looks into my eyes, his gaze unfocused.

“You were never a pawn,” he says, his voice soft. “You were always my queen. Everyone knew it but you.”

And this man had the audacity to repeat 500 times he's in love with Hannah and not Raven🙄

I take a sip of my wine, my eyes settling on my older brother, Ares. At this loud table, he and I are the only ones who are quiet tonight. I follow his gaze to find him staring at Raven. She’s laughing at something Valentina said, and he can’t seem to tear his eyes off her.

Surprisingly enough, this book got me. While it continues with the same vibes as the previous one, and obviously the writing and plot style, the chemistry, development and main couple were breathtaking. I fell in love with Luca since the very first chapters and he never disappointed. I wish I could say the same about Valentina but there were moments where she felt annoying and childish (this didn’t apply to the grandma storyline). At the end, I almost cried when I realized i had finished because they stole a bit of my heart 💓

tahira

I just know there will be something about this series that I won’t be able to explain but I’ll be obsessed with. Having a hidden marriage of convenience between the future ceo and his executive assistant. Yep, I knew I would love it. I will say I liked everything that was involved with the plot I just think the pacing of it all was off. I think if the events would have played out like they did in a different sequence I would have rated it higher. But overall I’m really liking this series and am really looking forward to Dion and Faye’s book from the building we got in this one and I can already feel the angst playing from here too. 

Priscilla Stanfield

4/5⭐️ • 2.5/5🌶️

I just know there will be something about this series that I won’t be able to explain but I’ll be obsessed with. Having a hidden marriage of convenience between the future ceo and his executive assistant. Yep, I knew I would love it. I will say I liked everything that was involved with the plot I just think the pacing of it all was off. I think if the events would have played out like they did in a different sequence I would have rated it higher. But overall I’m really liking this series and am really looking forward to Dion and Faye’s book from the building we got in this one and I can already feel the angst playing from here too. 

Anjorin Molayo 

2.5 stars… i have no words for this mess of a book. 
all the characters are so manipulative and psychotic. i never thought i’d hate read a series in my entire life. 

long chapters, repetitions, same story pattern. i could scrap over 15 chapters and this book would still stand.

zatul 

[6.25 stars ⭐️.] Sorry to say it, but this book was drastically better than Ares and Raven’s was. Obviously there were some things I absolutely despised about this book, but there were things I enjoyed as well. 

- I absolutely hated how Luca manipulated Val into their marriage. Like…who does that??? If he had REALLY cared about her, he wouldn’t have used her sick grandmother as a chess piece to marry him. That part really rubbed me the wrong way and is one of reasons this book isn’t a five star. It’s just..insane in so many ways. 

- Why the grandmother did what she did was so confusing? I know it was mentioned as to why she jumped through hoops to get them together, but girl… 

These two points really summed up the negatives, I think. 

 - I knew that as soon as I started this book that Valentina would become one of my favorite characters of all time. I don’t think I’ve ever read about a character like her. She’s..just really unique and different. I love her ❤️. 

- I loved the family bond throughout the book. You see it a bit more than in the previous one, imo. I loved the brotherly bonds, the bond between the girls, and just the whole family as a whole. This was definitely one of the highlights of the book. 

- Lastly, I LOVED the epilogues, they really tied the book up. It.. was just so wholesome and sweet. I really think it was the perfect ending for Val and Luca. 

I honestly didn’t intend to write this much of a review.. but I guess I had a lot to say. I wouldn’t call this one of my favorites, but it was enjoyable to an extent. I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series, but I’m content? with this book (for the most part).

Raven K

[6.25 stars ⭐️.] Sorry to say it, but this book was drastically better than Ares and Raven’s was. Obviously there were some things I absolutely despised about this book, but there were things I enjoyed as well. 

Let’s start with the negatives: 

- I absolutely hated how Luca manipulated Val into their marriage. Like…who does that??? If he had REALLY cared about her, he wouldn’t have used her sick grandmother as a chess piece to marry him. That part really rubbed me the wrong way and is one of reasons this book isn’t a five star. It’s just..insane in so many ways. 

- Why the grandmother did what she did was so confusing? I know it was mentioned as to why she jumped through hoops to get them together, but girl… 

These two points really summed up the negatives, I think. 

Now, for the positives:

 - I knew that as soon as I started this book that Valentina would become one of my favorite characters of all time. I don’t think I’ve ever read about a character like her. She’s..just really unique and different. I love her ❤️. 

- I loved the family bond throughout the book. You see it a bit more than in the previous one, imo. I loved the brotherly bonds, the bond between the girls, and just the whole family as a whole. This was definitely one of the highlights of the book. 

- Lastly, I LOVED the epilogues, they really tied the book up. It.. was just so wholesome and sweet. I really think it was the perfect ending for Val and Luca. 

I honestly didn’t intend to write this much of a review.. but I guess I had a lot to say. I wouldn’t call this one of my favorites, but it was enjoyable to an extent. I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series, but I’m content? with this book (for the most part).

Not my favorite of the series but I still really liked it. The main characters had really good chemistry but the storyline was a little blah in my opinion.

Indulgent soap opera-y smutty KU goodness

Abigail

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️

Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻

Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️

Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒💒

Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂

The Temporary Wife is a story that was teased in the first book "The Wrong Bride" and I was very intrigued to see where the author would take this book and how it would be developed. I honestly went into this one pretty blind and I am happy that I did because this book while not quite as good as the first book, was such a win of a read and I couldn't put it down. I had such a blast with Luca and Valenina and their chemistry was off the charts. Its definitely a story that will intrigue you as its very unique in its set up and has a blend of both arranged marriage and marriage of convenience and once you read the book you will understand how it has both. haha There is such beautiful banter between Luca and Valentina and whenever you get such strong personalities, you just know that both will clash so quickly with each other. Its also such a well developed story that quickly had me all in for this pair.

There's a bead of swear forming on the forehead of the man sitting in front of me, despite the chilly temperature in my office.

An alpha, commanding, CEO of his family's finance company, and prideful

Determined, will fight for those she loves, and is efficient and strong willed.

The Temporary Wife is a story that I loved up and down. The first is the banter between Val and Luca. They are on fire together and from the beginning you know that there is definitely more between them than a love/hate relationship being forced to work together. They have worked together for years, so there is that sense of knowing each other and how the other works. They like to play some tricks on each other but its pretty low key. What I really fell hard for was the pining that they both have with each other. They just don't want to admit what they are feeling for each other. And it isn't until Luca gets engaged, that their feelings for each other actually come to the surface but they don't even admit fully what they have together. It takes some craftiness of their family, for them to truly admit what they are feeling for each other. The heroine especially is in denial. Luca is pretty clear on what he is feeling for the heroine. But Valentina is so determined not to love anyone and Luca is one determined man. He isn't an alpha male for no reason. He stays the course and fights for the woman he loves. And Luca is definitely my favorite hero so far that this author has written.

I will be honest in that I think the heroine took matters a bit too far in her resistence against Luca. She also is a ice queen and too stubborn for her own good. I do wish we could have seen her show her vulnerabilities and heart to Luca a bit earlier in the book.

The Temporary Wife is a powerful story that held my attention from the very beginning. Its a story of family, fighting for what you believe in and sacrificing it all for love in the end...

"You were never a pawn," he says, his voice soft. "You were always my queen. Everyone knew it but you."

The man holding my hand… he isn’t the cold and indifferent Luca I know. I don’t recognize this version of him, and it terrifies me. It terrifies me, because this version of Luca? This is a man I could lose my heart to.

You brighten up my darkest days, and you give me purpose when everything feels hopeless. At the core of all that I am, there is you. Until I breathe my last breath, that will be true.” He takes the ring out of

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Marriage of Convenience, Forced Proximity, Boss and Employee

Lover of Romance 

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖📖
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨.5


First Impressions
The Temporary Wife is a story that was teased in the first book "The Wrong Bride" and I was very intrigued to see where the author would take this book and how it would be developed. I honestly went into this one pretty blind and I am happy that I did because this book while not quite as good as the first book, was such a win of a read and I couldn't put it down. I had such a blast with Luca and Valenina and their chemistry was off the charts. Its definitely a story that will intrigue you as its very unique in its set up and has a blend of both arranged marriage and marriage of convenience and once you read the book you will understand how it has both. haha There is such beautiful banter between Luca and Valentina and whenever you get such strong personalities, you just know that both will clash so quickly with each other. Its also such a well developed story that quickly had me all in for this pair.

First Line
There's a bead of swear forming on the forehead of the man sitting in front of me, despite the chilly temperature in my office.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Luca
An alpha, commanding, CEO of his family's finance company, and prideful

The Heroine: Valentina
Determined, will fight for those she loves, and is efficient and strong willed.

What I Loved
The Temporary Wife is a story that I loved up and down. The first is the banter between Val and Luca. They are on fire together and from the beginning you know that there is definitely more between them than a love/hate relationship being forced to work together. They have worked together for years, so there is that sense of knowing each other and how the other works. They like to play some tricks on each other but its pretty low key. What I really fell hard for was the pining that they both have with each other. They just don't want to admit what they are feeling for each other. And it isn't until Luca gets engaged, that their feelings for each other actually come to the surface but they don't even admit fully what they have together. It takes some craftiness of their family, for them to truly admit what they are feeling for each other. The heroine especially is in denial. Luca is pretty clear on what he is feeling for the heroine. But Valentina is so determined not to love anyone and Luca is one determined man. He isn't an alpha male for no reason. He stays the course and fights for the woman he loves. And Luca is definitely my favorite hero so far that this author has written.

What I Struggled With
I will be honest in that I think the heroine took matters a bit too far in her resistence against Luca. She also is a ice queen and too stubborn for her own good. I do wish we could have seen her show her vulnerabilities and heart to Luca a bit earlier in the book.

Overall View
The Temporary Wife is a powerful story that held my attention from the very beginning. Its a story of family, fighting for what you believe in and sacrificing it all for love in the end...

Favorite Quote(s)
"You were never a pawn," he says, his voice soft. "You were always my queen. Everyone knew it but you."

The man holding my hand… he isn’t the cold and indifferent Luca I know. I don’t recognize this version of him, and it terrifies me. It terrifies me, because this version of Luca? This is a man I could lose my heart to.

You brighten up my darkest days, and you give me purpose when everything feels hopeless. At the core of all that I am, there is you. Until I breathe my last breath, that will be true.” He takes the ring out of

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance
Character Types: Billionaire, Ice Queen
Themes: Book Boyfriend, Angst
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Marriage of Convenience, Forced Proximity, Boss and Employee

Book Perspective
Duo POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Relationship Conflict

Song This Book Inspires
Hopelessly Devoted To You

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes Read in Order if Possible but can be read as a standalone

I loved this book! Especially because Luca had to grovel only once and that was in the very beginning because after that one mistake he was perfect.

Catharina Maura writes her men so open and honest it's perplexing haha I was stunned silent when Luca just admitted all kinds of things and I wasn't even half into the book.😂

Thank God for not giving grandmother Anne more lines. The more I read her the more I dislike her. How can they all share such a special bond and then she threatens them to take away everything they have over an arranged marriage? It's confusing and, to be honest, repulsing. I mean, WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER that she throws her own grandson out of his own house and "fires" his wife just because they broke one fucking rule which is about THEIR MARRIAGE. Valentina was GRIEVING and Luca was hurting and all she could do was throwing them out like garbage? I hate her. I absolutely fucking hate this woman. Luca was so right when he talked about how he wasn't blinded by love for her. She acts like a shitty human being. She's old. Would it be that bad if she finds peace and just dies? I would prefer to have her dead rather than Abuela.

WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? And then she prides herself with the motto family above all. The hypocrisy! The audacity?! She thinks she can control every fucking sibling and their partners? She thinks she can control their marriages and their work life and their places to sleep? Well FUCK HER! How dare she?! I didn't like her in The Wrong Bride but I just thought I read her wrong. No. She was just shitty. I'm so angry with this woman it's unreal. Hannah was a piece of shit who at least never really hid her true intentions. Nightmare-Granny here wraps the whole family around her little finger and cries on weddings and is there for you but when it comes down to it and they don't follow every single ridiculous rule? She drops them faster than a hot potato. Again. WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER.

I never wanted to punch an old lady so badly in the face. She was ruthless. Her shit talking about having their best interest at heart was a fucking delusion. In whose interest was it to throw Luca out of his own house only days after his wife left him and broke his heart. WHO DOES THAT?! And not enough, no, she tricked them into thinking they got BLACKLISTED so they wouldn't find another job. Over what? A depression that was rooted in the loss of one of the most important people in Valentina's life? I'm fuming with anger.

Her bullshit excuse was so not it. She could've handled it very differently. And the worst part? If they would've stayed broken up (because sometimes love truly isn't enough and you need to focus on yourself and your healing) I have no doubt she wouldn't have done a thing to help them. Her grandmotherly love isn't fooling anyone. Her scheming ways seem only charming when things go her way but I fear the day when they don't. Because it's all sweet and nice when they fall in love or get back together but this could've easily broken them. Both couples Ares and Raven and Luca and Valentina.

I really want to know how she got so much power. It baffles me. When their parents died why didn't the siblings inherit everything when they turned 21? Or 25? Why can she choose if they get something or not? Why do their marriages have to be arranged ones? Someone has to strip her off that power because Granny has gone off the deep end with her power trip and it's getting insane at this point. She's their grandmother, not their dictator.

I hate that they excused her actions in the end of both books. They forgive her without a consequence and she turns around and does the next shit. Just because someone made you stronger, or rather forced you to be stronger and fight more, doesn't mean it's okay. It's toxic and abusive.

Completely opposite was Abuela. I loved Valentina's grandmother! The funny, kind, supporting grandmothers are always the best side characters! I wish she would still be with them. She would pummel Grandma Anne into the ground if she knew how she treated Luca and Valentina in the hardest time of their lives. She would never even think about being this cruel.

I loved to see that the ex-fiancé was a nice sweet person after all. She was beautiful and rich and nice and not at all what he thought she was and it was refreshing to say the least. It's so tiring when the other woman (who's done nothing wrong but to exist) is described as spoiled or bitchy or superficial. I wanted to deck Luca for that comment so it was nice to see him realize what a douchbag he was.

I loved this book! Especially because Luca had to grovel only once and that was in the very beginning because after that one mistake he was perfect.

Catharina Maura writes her men so open and honest it's perplexing haha I was stunned silent when Luca just admitted all kinds of things and I wasn't even half into the book.😂

Thank God for not giving grandmother Anne more lines. The more I read her the more I dislike her. How can they all share such a special bond and then she threatens them to take away everything they have over an arranged marriage? It's confusing and, to be honest, repulsing. I mean, WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER that she throws her own grandson out of his own house and "fires" his wife just because they broke one fucking rule which is about THEIR MARRIAGE. Valentina was GRIEVING and Luca was hurting and all she could do was throwing them out like garbage? I hate her. I absolutely fucking hate this woman. Luca was so right when he talked about how he wasn't blinded by love for her. She acts like a shitty human being. She's old. Would it be that bad if she finds peace and just dies? I would prefer to have her dead rather than Abuela.

WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? And then she prides herself with the motto family above all. The hypocrisy! The audacity?! She thinks she can control every fucking sibling and their partners? She thinks she can control their marriages and their work life and their places to sleep? Well FUCK HER! How dare she?! I didn't like her in The Wrong Bride but I just thought I read her wrong. No. She was just shitty. I'm so angry with this woman it's unreal. Hannah was a piece of shit who at least never really hid her true intentions. Nightmare-Granny here wraps the whole family around her little finger and cries on weddings and is there for you but when it comes down to it and they don't follow every single ridiculous rule? She drops them faster than a hot potato. Again. WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER.

I never wanted to punch an old lady so badly in the face. She was ruthless. Her shit talking about having their best interest at heart was a fucking delusion. In whose interest was it to throw Luca out of his own house only days after his wife left him and broke his heart. WHO DOES THAT?! And not enough, no, she tricked them into thinking they got BLACKLISTED so they wouldn't find another job. Over what? A depression that was rooted in the loss of one of the most important people in Valentina's life? I'm fuming with anger.

Her bullshit excuse was so not it. She could've handled it very differently. And the worst part? If they would've stayed broken up (because sometimes love truly isn't enough and you need to focus on yourself and your healing) I have no doubt she wouldn't have done a thing to help them. Her grandmotherly love isn't fooling anyone. Her scheming ways seem only charming when things go her way but I fear the day when they don't. Because it's all sweet and nice when they fall in love or get back together but this could've easily broken them. Both couples Ares and Raven and Luca and Valentina.

I really want to know how she got so much power. It baffles me. When their parents died why didn't the siblings inherit everything when they turned 21? Or 25? Why can she choose if they get something or not? Why do their marriages have to be arranged ones? Someone has to strip her off that power because Granny has gone off the deep end with her power trip and it's getting insane at this point. She's their grandmother, not their dictator.

I hate that they excused her actions in the end of both books. They forgive her without a consequence and she turns around and does the next shit. Just because someone made you stronger, or rather forced you to be stronger and fight more, doesn't mean it's okay. It's toxic and abusive.

Completely opposite was Abuela. I loved Valentina's grandmother! The funny, kind, supporting grandmothers are always the best side characters! I wish she would still be with them. She would pummel Grandma Anne into the ground if she knew how she treated Luca and Valentina in the hardest time of their lives. She would never even think about being this cruel.

I loved to see that the ex-fiancé was a nice sweet person after all. She was beautiful and rich and nice and not at all what he thought she was and it was refreshing to say the least. It's so tiring when the other woman (who's done nothing wrong but to exist) is described as spoiled or bitchy or superficial. I wanted to deck Luca for that comment so it was nice to see him realize what a douchbag he was.

The Temporary Wife

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