5⭐️/ 4🌶️

Emma was a lover of love, she believed in all things romance, and of course being a bridal dress designer it made sense she’d be a bit of a hopeless romantic when creating such beautiful dresses. Reeling from the breakup of her boyfriend of two years, Emma was trying to move forward especially after initially thinking she and her boyfriend were going to get engaged, but clearly that didn’t end up happening. Fresh off the success of her first major runaway show, and her birthday, one would think that Emma would feel like she was on top of the world, except she felt knocked off her center with the fact that her ex just got engaged… on her birthday! Meanwhile, Griffin was prepared for his last day as a male revue dancer. After many years of working as a dancer in order to provide for his younger sister, Griffin was looking forward to the new chapter in his life. Somehow, one night brought Emma and Griffin together, and from there it snowballed into an interesting situation they both weren’t expecting. Erin Hawkins once again has brought back the fun, lighthearted romance that I know and adore as well as bringing the heat, the passion, and oh so swoon worthy moments that left me wanting a Griffin of my own. 

I had been waiting so long to read Emma and Griffin’s story especially once Erin announced it so, now having had the chance to read it, I was ready for all the fun! With Emma wanting to have fun, let loose, and forget about Alec (her ex) she was just trying to make the most out of her birthday, she wasn’t expecting to wake up the next day married to the gorgeous man she met before, Griffin, but hey, there were worst things that could have happened to her right? In a way, this spontaneous moment created a twist in Emma’s life and while she was initially looking forward to hanging out with Griffin the night of her birthday, she got a lot more out of it haha. Emma had always envisioned her wedding day as something she would put a lot of meticulous planning, not something she would do out of the blue. Being a hopeless romantic, I could see where Emma was coming from so, with her newly married status, it was a lot to take in. Emma was use to having everything go according to plans, but not this time. 

Right away, I fell in love with Griffin! I mean, come on, don’t act surprised. Griffin was utterly handsome, sweet, thoughtful, and although he worked as a male revue dancer, you would think he’d be all cocky like the other guys, he wasn’t. Griffin was actually the kind of shy and quiet type, and something about that type of man is one that I LOVE! Especially since… it’s always the quiet ones *wink, wink if you know what I mean! Griffin was always focused on raising on his sister, Sophie and making sure she had a good life, and was provided for when going to school. In other words, Griffin was the trifecta of all great qualities in a fictional man, he was a great big brother, a caretaker, protective, strong, reserved with others, but open to those closest to him, and so much more! 

Now, as if things couldn’t get any more complicated, with Emma apparently posting a video about her marriage online, and it going viral! That meant Emma and Griffin needed to stay married a bit longer in order to safe and protect Emma’s career as a bridal designer. Yup, no big deal right? More like Griffin and Emma had to maintain the perfect image of newly wedded couple, madly in love with each other. The good thing about Emma and Griffin was that even before their accidental marriage, the chemistry was strong between them as well as their attraction so, it wasn’t necessarily hard for them to try to make the marriage work. Plus, I really loved those moments when Emma and Griffin would look at their wedding rings and look at one another and think, “he’s mine/ she’s mine”, Lowkey both of them loving that they had staked their claim on each other! 

Griffin had always been the caretaker with his mom, Sophie, and Emma, that no one really took care of Griffin. I admired the loyalty and instinct to help others whenever necessary from Griffin, but when he talked about how no one really took care of him, it made me a bit sad for him. So, the fact that Emma did little things for him really stood out to Griffin and made him see Emma truly was putting him first. For Griffin, he was always putting others needs before his own so, when he first met Emma it was the first time he went after what he wanted just for himself. Even Emma could see that Griffin was always thinking of others so, she wanted to make sure that Griffin got the same, If not more loving treatment he deserved for all that he did for his family and her. 

As the story progressed, the tension between Emma and Griffin started to steam up! Although their marriage started off due to a drunken night of fun, as Emma and Griffin spent more time together and learned about one another, it became more evident just how much their initial attraction grew stronger. From the long looks of checking each other out, to “practicing” kissing/ touching each other, at one point it was just an excuse to be intimate with each other like, come on, YOU TWO WANT MORE! I wouldn’t say this was a complete slow burn romance, but it had its moments where it would slowly build up, and the little teases here and there even had me burning up! For sure Griffin was giving lots of praise to Emma with him calling her.. “GOOD GIRL” OMG YASSSSS! Griffin may have been a humble, sweetie of a man, but don’t be deceived because, he knew he could switch it up to his sexy, commanding persona when he wanted to get Emma right where he wanted her… AT HIS MERCY! WOO! I also loved seeing Emma be more vocal in what she wanted, again seeing a female character explore her sexuality and being more free with her love interest is amazing! I was loving the passionate and desire that was constantly brewing between Emma and Griffin. 

I CANNOT STOP SMILING AND SWOONING AND FEELING SO HAPPY! The more I read, I fell more in love with Emma and Griffin! The romance was fantastic! And also the amount of times when Griffin would be like, “she’s mine” or a personal favorite, “that’s my wife”! OMG I FREAKING LOVED IT! Anytime Griffin would say a comment along the lines of bringing up Emma as his wife, I swooned and was internally screaming for joy! Emma and Griffin’s marriage started unexpectedly (haha pun intended) but it became clear they were perfect together and meant to be. I also loved seeing Barrett and Chloe again! Aww missed those two! The build up in the story was amazing! Definitely enjoyed the tension between Emma and Griffin, but for sure the spice in this book was HOT! SEXY! And Griffin was leaving shocked and jaw dropping with his dirty talk and way around the bedroom! WOW! The occasional “good girl” and praise was much appreciated! Emma was lovely and sweet, and I loved Griffin’s humble, quiet, relaxed personality. Both Emma and Griffin seemed laid back, but they knew when to turn the tables and switch on their sexy mode with one another! There wasn’t a moment I wasn’t laughing, smiling, giggling, swooning, sweating, and loving every single moment of this book! The ending was oh so lovely and the epilogue was heartfelt, meaningful, and made my hopeless romantic heart VERY HAPPY! All this to say, Bravo Erin, you did it again with such a beautiful story, I have nothing but so much love for Emma and Griffin (and you too of course!) Highly recommend if you’re in the mood for a marriage of convenience, steamy romance, lighthearted romance, humor, and lovable characters as well as a MC who loved to refer to his wife multiple times!