Great book, great cahracters and a great story with a modern Robin Hood twist. The whole book is a slow-burn, so nobody should expect action-packed pages but i think it works. The unveiling of the con behind everything is just amazing to read. I think overall it wass well-written and captivating.

Well, damn! Who knew I would ever love a book where the hero is a con artist? I started One Night Wife back in May but I was struggling with my thesis at the time, so I ended up setting it aside as I knew I wasn't in the right state of mind of it. I'm so glad I waited because I have no doubt that I wouldn't have been able to appreciate all the intricacies of this book. Ainslie Paton always delivers with amazing and swoon-worthy romances, but what always impresses me with her stories are how unique her set-ups are. One Night Wife with its Robin Hood style con-family captivated me the whole time.

It has got great characters, an even greater romance and a plot that was just absolutely fascinating. Finley was a girl after my own heart. From the opening scene where she was trying to wrangle some donation for her and her friend's microfinance charity for women in need, she just about stole the show. She was a fun-loving girl with a big heart and some self-confidence issues that she sought to result throughout One Night Wife. Fin brought joy to every scene that she was in and I just wanted to protect her at all costs. Her resilience when it came to finding donations to her nearly-broke charity was admirable and I rooted for her from the very start. Cal Sherwood, our Robin Hood, was just as likable as Fin. He and his family were professional grifters essentially redistributing the wealth of the filthy rich to give to various global causes. I was so intrigued by Cal and his family's scam, especially how deep it went and how successful it was. It was sort of horrific and fascinating at the same time. Technically, I knew what they were doing was wrong, but it's hard not to want to commend them because their hearts were obviously in the right place. Cal was a sweet guy who was out there trying to do some good. I knew that the minute he came on to help Fin. I do wish he had been more open with her about what he was doing, but I also understand that then there would have been no conflict in the romance.

Speaking of the romance, it was just so good! Ainslie Paton can write the most delicious chemistry between her couple. I couldn't get enough of it here in One Night Wife. I knew that I was going to love the whole fake-dating situation that Cal and Fin wound up in so that Fin could get donations and Cal could scam his way, but I was still a little bit hesitant because Cal was using her without her really knowing what she was getting herself into. That being said, I think Ainslie Paton handled the situation well. Cal made sure that Fin was always comfortable whenever they were in public and he was such a gentleman to her. Their banter, their growing feelings for each other and the tension that the fake relationship forces on them were just out of this world. Like I said, Ainslie is just fantastic at writing these all-consuming romances that you wind up being very very jealous of. I also liked all the secondary characters we met here, especially Cal's family, and I'm excited to learn more about them with more companion novels in this series. I'm especially looking forward to more of Karice Sherwood, matriarch and badass extraordinaire of the Sherwood family.

Once again, Ainslie Paton has impressed me with another terrific and unique romance. I'm so glad I discovered her and her books through Lucy Parker and the Stubborn Heart series. She's become an auto-read author for me.

One Night Wife by Ainslie Paton hit the spot!

Ainslie Paton brought her A-game with One Night Wife. Original and interesting storyline that hooked me from the start. This read contained a nicely-built world, endearing characters that had fantab chemistry with a nice slow burn...LURVED it!

An ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review of which this is both honest and completely voluntary.

This was my first time reading Ainslie Paton and I enjoyed the book. The story moves along at a good pace, although it does tend to get bogged down a couple of times along the way, but it wasn't enough to keep me from wanting to finish the book. I was surprised because going in I thought this would be a light and fluffy romance, but it does take a turn where it gets heavy and real, but I think that just adds more depth to the overall story.

Any romance story I have read by Ainslie Paton is always slightly different to any other one I have read. Her plots are refreshing and fun.

This is the story of Caleb Sherwood and Finley Cartwright. Both out to help others but Caleb's family do it in a very interesting way, is it above board or not? Hmm. What will Finley think when she gets hooked in as Caleb's partner or... one night wife.

What Appeals to Me? Learning about the con was fun! I wonder does it really work! I liked that the story points out the greed and huge ego's of many of the rich and famous in this world and how many of them avoid taxes and avoid making real donations. Oh yes, I could name the people on the news who fit this scenario!!

And so... I loved how the Sherwood family were pushing back. Another quirky and charming book from this author.

This is my first book by the author and I've read a lot of rave reviews on the author and story. Unfortunately I just could not get into the story.

I'm sure the fault lies with me and perhaps the timing of when I picked up this story and what was going on in my life. I could not get into it and read enough to give a complete review for which I apologize.

Ainslie Paton is an author who surprises me again and again. I never know what to expect with her books and this was no different. I didn't like the premise of this story. Deception and cons are not my thing, but she handles it well.

I was unable to finish this book, mostly because the writing was not for me. Also, I was confused about the plot because the summary made it out to be a little different than what first occurs in the book.

One Night Wife by Ainslie Paton
Publication Date: May 17, 2018
Contemporary Romance
Entangled

Reviewed by Kini

Favorite Quote: “Are you scared I’m going to bolt?” “I’m scared you’re going to eclipse the sun.” Cal Sherwood, you keep saying things like that, you are so getting kissed.

I loved pretty much everything about this book. The premise is a fake relationship between a con-man hero and a heroine that wants to raise money for the non-profit she just started. They meet in a bar and Fin tries to give Cal the pitch for her non-profit. As he is the big-jerk venture capitalist he knows her pitch is shit. He basic chases her away. But when Fin runs into her ex-boyfriend she goes back to Cal and kisses him. Sparks are ignited. They end up in a hotel but no sex because Cal decides he wants to help Fin with her pitch and knows that sex would ruin it. Queue up a lovely slow burn romance.

Cal and Fin were both wonderfully broken characters that when brought together aren’t perfect, but yet perfect for each other. Cal believes that because of his occupation he’ll never be able to love someone. Fin has been surrounded by people that don’t believe in her, so she finds it hard to believe in herself. Of course when they are together, they learn this things are not true. It was wonderful to watch their journey together.

Paton’s style of writing is fast-paced and in my opinion she makes the reader work. I like the challenge. There were occasionally times when I had to double back and re-read sentences to see which character was saying what. But as I have read at least ten of Paton’s books I am familiar with her style and enjoy it. I know that this style isn’t for everyone, but for those willing to take a chance, I think they will be rewarded.

Back to this book. Cal is WONDERFUL. There is a scene when Fin has her period and she is physically ill and he snuggles her and I wanted to cry.
“Thank you,” she murmured. “You’re welcome. How do you feel?” “Imagine someone stabbing you in the gut and back repeatedly with a dozen rusty serrated knives.” He rolled to his side, facing her, and played with an errant curl of hair, hoping she wouldn’t feel it, wishing there was something he could do so she didn’t feel this pain. “Is it like that every month?”

And then there is this quote-
“You’re such a damn liar.” He opened the one eye closest to her. “You and I pretend all the time. Get over here and pretend.” She was weak. Emotionally fragile. She slid over the cooled sheets and put her head on his shoulder. She didn’t know what to do with her arm. She was a plank, and this wasn’t comfortable. But if she got comfortable it might mess her up forever.

After the period talk and snuggles, they move from fake relationship to a weird relationship space where they aren’t sleeping together, but Cal is being more intentional with his feelings. I was there for every moment of it. There conflict felt true and authentic for the situation. The offending party was appropriately contrite for their actions. There wasn’t a grovel perse, but they resolution to the conflict worked for me on every level.

I really love this book. Cal was tender and wonderful and didn’t give himself enough credit for his capacity to love. Finley was strong in a way she didn’t realize. Watching her realize that she could do the things was great. She didn’t NEED Cal to do these things, he just made it better. I highly recommend this book. If you’ve loved any sort of books containing a caper of some sort, I think you will enjoy this.



Grade: A

Finley Cartwright will do anything to raise money for her charity. So, getting the attention of a room full of people to donate money to her cause isn't above her, especially when she's standing on a barstool and probably making a fool of herself. But just when she thinks her idea is a lost cause, she meets venture capitalist Cal Sherwood. Cal is willing to help her, yet he wants something in return. He needs her to be his partner for a long con without letting on his real reasons for what he needs her for. However, the more time they spend together, the more Cal finds he doesn't want them to go their separate ways when he no longer needs Finley. Will he be able to convince Finley to take a chance on him or will she break Cal's heart with a con of her own?

It took me quite a bit of time to warm up to this story because I thought the heroine comes off as a flake and a little desperate, especially once she meets the hero because he wants to keep things strictly professional while she wants to change their relationship from acquaintances to lovers. Yet, in saying that, I loved the plot twists, and the fact that this was a modern day Robin Hood-esque type story with a wonderful hero and a heroine that did win me over in the end.

As for the dialogue, it was intense due to the main characters back stories and I could understand why the hero and his family do what they do because rich people can be so greedy sometimes and think they can get away with whatever they want, which is proven by something that happens that infuriates the hero and gets the heroine to prove she's not weak when it comes to protecting herself. Really, in the end, once Finley won me over, I found her to be resilient and courageous. While the hero, he's confident, hard-working and I liked the close relationship he shares with his family and how he was willing to fight for his relationship with the heroine since she's an outsider and deemed unacceptable to join their group in the long run. Will Cal win his family over?

Overall, Ms. Paton has penned a read that I liked in this book where this couple had plenty of chemistry; the romance was nicely-detailed and had me glad that the hero gave into their intense chemistry; and the ending had me loving how the heroine makes things right with Cal after what she does to make their relationship go awry. I would recommend One Night Wife by Ainslie Paton, if you enjoy the fake relationship trope or books by authors Talia Hibbert, Lucy Parker, Sarina Bowen and Mia Hopkins.

I loved this present day Robin Hood kind of romance about a con artist and a failed actress trying to a run a charity coming together. There were lots of thoughts on redistribution of wealth, on lying and deceiving the others and ourselves which i found rather entertaining to read. It's a captivating, fast moving story that offered a critical look of a society which values appearances and wealth above all. The story also showcased some interesting family dynamics which is my catnip in romance.

I loved both hero and heroine and their romance arc was fabulous. He was caring but restrained, trying to keep things between them professional, never losing sight of the business and at the same helping her/protecting her. She was totally infatuated with him while also trying to stand on her own, to prove to herself (and in a way the world that has rejected her one too many times) that she is not a failure, a quitter who gives up at first obstacle.

I feel I got to know him and his motivations a bit better and he was definitely my favourite. Despite the lies and deliberate omissions. I loved how she came back to him on her own, after making her mind, fully aware of who he was and he was trying to do.

Absolutely brilliant romance with an unusual premise, richly drawn MCs and supporting cast. It's the first book in a new series and I'm excited to read the upcoming books as well.

A modern day Robin Hood style story, this was so fun! The beginning is absolutely fantastic. Finley Cartwright is a struggling actress who has started a charity with her best friend. The only problem is, her best friend’s father has recently been arrested on serious charges involving money and it’s going to be hard work to convince anyone to donate to a charity connected to that name. Finley is in a bar trying to rustle up some donations from the post-work drinks crowd when she gets a lesson in pitching from a grumpy man at the bar. When Finley runs into her odious ex on the way out, she’s humiliated enough to go back to the grumpy (but handsome) suit at the bar and get him to play along in a little charade.

The man at the bar is Cal Sherwood, a professional grifter. He and his family have long preyed on the rich and careless, swindling them out of money that they redistribute to various causes around the world. Their family ‘business’ is incredibly successful but a recent mistake by Cal has decimated his personal earnings and now he’s looking to build his stocks back up. When he meets Finley he seems a mutual opportunity. He will introduce her to the right people to get donations for her worthy charity and she can be his ‘one night wife’, a fake girlfriend role for various events. Usually this role is filled by someone from within his family’s business but Cal is desperate to convince his family that Finley can play her part.

Cal and Finley have some immediate chemistry, which the opening scene in the bar details really nicely. There’s a sizzling attraction between them but Cal has ideas and so this is definitely a slow burn romance. The desire is there, but Cal doesn’t want things to get messy and so he definitely tries to keep Finley at arms length for a large portion of the book. Finley has a more open sort of attitude to wanting to take things to another level because she’s completely unaware of Cal’s true reasons for bringing her in and how it will benefit him in the end. It can only ever be temporary and so he must keep his distance from Finley but the more time they spend together, the more he gets to know her, the harder that is.

I’m going to be honest and say I don’t -really- understand how Cal and his family do their thing. They seem to swindle very rich people out of large amounts of money by getting them to invest in…things that aren’t real? And then do the people just forget that they invested in these things? And not even worry when they don’t eventuate? Do start ups fail all the time and no one cares as long as they’re in on the one that explodes? I’m not sure, surely this is something that has a limited life span and Cal just can’t keep approaching the same people with amazing new things for them to throw money at, I don’t know. I get that they are funnelling vast amounts of money away from people who have acquired it somewhat dodgily like exploiting cheap foreign labour or through cheating I guess. And they put it toward good causes – Cal’s mother is very passionate about a number of causes (even our Great Barrier Reef gets a mention, as coral bleaching is one of the things she feels as though they must put money towards preventing/fixing) and I liked his family. But I have to admit, the logistics of them always getting money out of people were a bit mind boggling. Maybe these people are so rich they don’t even care and just happily throw money at whoever asks. Aren’t people who are so rich notoriously tight with it? But they happily toss it at Finley when Cal starts teaching her how to pitch. Soon she’s walking away with millions and millions in donations and I was a little bit blown away by how quickly that all occurred. It seemed unlikely that something so fledgling would get these massive donations and what was being done with that money was lost in the narrative of Cal and his long con and what his family were doing with their grifted billions. I wanted a bit more about where Finley’s charity was directing its money. Yes I had the basics – giving micro loans to women to help them improve their situations, but I wanted more. All of a sudden they have all this money thanks to Cal’s smooth game. Surely there’s only so much in charitable donations to go around and the amounts being thrown around in this book just seemed a bit….much.

So that part I felt a bit hazy on but I really enjoyed the relationship itself between Cal and Finley. The hook was amazing, they bounced off each other so well, but Finley doesn’t know everything about Cal. She doesn’t know he’s a con artist and that in helping her, he’s roped her in on his cons. So there’s good conflict too and the sexual tension is orchestrated nicely and with good pace. And I really liked the ending.

7/10

The con is on, but who is the real con artist. The naive girl trying to get money in her charity, or the guy whose family feel their family is like Robin Hood.
He decides to use her as his pretend wife and she benefits by having money flowing in to her charity. What happens when the lines get blurred?
This was a fun book and a fast read.

** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I'm not sure whether it's me or the book this time around, but One Night Wife didn't give me the happy feeling I need from romance these days. If I'm honest? It made me more depressed about the state of the world. The premise is that of a Robin Hood hero, working within the upper echelons of NYC's social scene to fleece rich a$$holes of their billions, then redirect that money to charity. The heroine is one of two young women running an awkwardly named non-profit that facilitates micro-loans to disadvantaged women around the world, helping them to lift their families out of poverty.
There were a lot of things in the book that worked for me, like Paton's usual banter and sexual tension. There were also a lot of things that didn't work for me, however. For starters, the book is overwhelmingly populated by white, rich, and privileged jerks. Now, there's an argument to be made that the book is about a family, so it makes sense for them to be racially matched, that the distribution of the super-wealthy in the US is almost exclusively white, and that the whole point is that the rich are a$$holes and don't deserve to hoard their un-earned wealth. Yes to all of that - but that doesn't make it fun to read about.
I did enjoy the exploration of grifting lingo and the art of the con, but overall the book focuses more on Cal and his family (rightfully so?) and we lose the value of Finley's nonprofit work. It gets funding, yay! She explains over and over why they deserve funding, yay! But then the nonprofit is overshadowed by the Big Con, and it made me sad. I've worked for a number of nonprofits over the years and I know well that it's poor people who donate. Poor people who work there. Poor people who actually give a damn. It's just... I guess I wanted Cal's HEA to be working as a white hat, using his powers for legal good and maybe even to influence the political system rather than essentially giving up on humanity.
Here's the thing - I know that this is a fiction. I know that the entire premise is supposed to be wish-fulfillment. That's why I wanted the wish-fulfillment to be a little less... realistic and depressing. Paton maybe did too good a job of making me see the underbelly of the super-rich, the way they treat women and the legal system and don't care about anything. I kind of wanted a win, even if it was fake. I wanted someone to go to jail, I wanted to see Alex Astor's fall, not just read about it in a throwaway sentence.
Anyway, the book didn't work for me as well as Paton's books usually do. I think that if you're here for Paton's usual sexy fluff, you might be disappointed. If you're here for glitz and crime and something of an antihero who's not that antiheroic, you may be satisfied. Just don't expect it to make you feel better about the current state of wealth distribution and misogyny.

Simply 5 Stars. One Night Wife is a spectacular romantic read!
The main characters Finley 'Fin' and Cal are charming and have a
charisma that I don't see often.
From the beginning when her ex walks into the bar and starts being a jerk and Finley turns and says to Cal 'Go with it' following a knock his socks off kiss the sparks and sizzle starts!

It's not just sizzle it's just good 'ole sweet romance. Cal keeps his hands to himself and charms and woes her.

He does have an ulterior motive but Fin is just Fin and wins his heart.

There is only one bedroom scene and it is sweet and romantic.

Mama might blush a little and reluctantly turn the pages. But Jazzy Grandma would be turning the pages for sure!

The other characters mostly Cal's family members and 'mark' all are woven smoothly into the story.

This is one that I was glad ended with a happy ending. But I was
sad to see it end.

One Night Wife is book one in the Confidence Game series.
I loved One Night Wife and look forward to read many more
from Ainslie Paton.
The cover begs you to open it and read! Fin does get the ring
which is a family heirloom.

I received a complimentary copy.

What a ride!

One Night Wife has a different vibe to it than Ainslie's Stubborn Hearts books, and I am here for this. I've always loved con stories (one of my favourite series is Ally Carter's Heist Society), so this one was pretty easy to get into.

I really liked Cal and the Sherwoods, especially Katrice, the Sherwood matriarch, professional badass. Would definitely welcome a prequel novella about her and Cal's dad in their youth, conning the rich and navigating their forbidden romance. Finley reminds me a bit of Flick from The Love Coupon. She's adorable and I would protect her with my life.

Cal and Finley's relationship gave me the feels; he needed her for a long con so they faked a relationship, and you know how angsty fake relationships could be. I can definitely relate with Cal; Finley was hard not to love. The 90% mark stressed me out so much, and I was even more stressed when we got to the end and there was no epilogue. Why did you deprive me of an epilogue, Ainslie?????

Overall, One Night Wife was a great start to a new series and I'm very much looking forward to Book 2. I'm lowkey hoping we get to see the Sherwoods' other alliance families as well later in series.

This is Ainslie Paton’s newest release and I just know she’s been marketing it as a Robin Hood style romance all about social justice and that’s pretty damn accurate. As soon as I saw it included con artists I was intrigued (I like books about con artists, there’s something about it… don’t know what) and then she said it was a fake relationship book and I was like sold, take my money.

This book was such a fun read. I mean, it was funny and just a joy to read, I cared about Finley from the start. Sure, she acted a little impulsively and didn’t think things through but she cared so damned much about her charity and even though people had put her down as flakey and she never finishes anything but she just hasn’t gotten the chance to find her passion. So when she stumbles upon con man extraordinaire (and the Robin Hood of this tale) at a bar while she’s trying to pick up donations and then bumps into her ex. Turns out the pair have all the chemistry and should totally be together. Me and Fin were on the same page… Cal, not so much. He leaps to helping her con some donations and using her to help hi perform his own cons. That did bug me a little.

I know, I’m reading a romance, I know they’ll get it on eventually but the characters aren’t aware of their romance novel situation so obviously act accordingly. That meant that Cal stayed wanting to keep things strictly professional to further the con and also planned to keep Fin in the dark about his family (because conning is obviously a family business) which seemed a bit harsh to me because she didn’t even realise that what she was doing to garner donations (like ridiculous donations to do a whole heap of good) were done using a very mild form of con to get people’s interest. Now, I’m not hating on Cal, he was head of the little con game he and his family did and they did it all for the greater good. Sure, they were all getting rich from it (I know, doesn’t sound great when I put it like that) but by making themselves rich they ran in the circles of uber rich who did terrible things and never gave money back, instead Cal comes along, takes all their money and sends it off to charities to do good because these rich douches weren’t smart enough to do it themselves. I can’t fault Cal, his heart was in the right place at least and I totally agreed with why he was doing these things. I just wish he had used his words a bit more and he could have saved everyone a little bit of heartbreak.

Look, this is a story that is all about showing up rich folks and demonstrating that there are a lot of awful people in the world and there are plenty of over privileged folks. You will be cheering on Cal with his schemes, these rich folks deserve everything they get. And you’ll be cheering for Cal to remove his head from his ass and admit he’s got a good thing right in front of him in the form of Fin and they should just get it together already.

This is probably a terrible review for a book I really enjoyed but all the best reviews are a little bit terrible (mine are, anyway) so take that as a sign you should check it out. I’d only read Ainslie Paton’s Stubborn Hearts series before this but she can most definitely write all the good stuff, not just one series. Check this out if you want to read a little social justice with your romance and want to feel inspired to give to even more charities

One Night Wife by Ainslie Paton is a modern Robin Hood style romance and the first in a sexy and exciting series.

Cal Sherwood and his extended family are con artists. Following in the footsteps of several generations, and with the help of a few other choice family dynasties, they have taken it upon themselves to take from the rich and give to the poor and disadvantaged. But not just any rich people. Those doing their own charity work and philanthropists are left alone. But arms dealers? Slum lords? People getting rich off of third world sweatshops? Those are the targets for the Sherwoods, who successfully get them to sink some of their wealth into risky investments that somehow never get off the ground. But Cal has a problem.He needs a new partner for a long con, a 'one night wife'. Lucky for him, Finley Cartwright shows up at the perfect time.

Finley is desperate to figure out how to get her and her friend Lenny's microloan charity Dollars for Daughters off the ground. Her best friend Lenny, herself in a bad situation after her father had been found out to be involved in a fraud scheme hasn't the money to help fund their joint venture either. Desperate, she takes to standing on a barroom table and trying to convince the crowd to open their phones and click on the donate tab. When a handsome businessman sitting at the bar offers to give her some tips to get people to take her and her charity seriously, she's tempted. She's also tempted by him, and their first meeting almost leads to something more – until Cal insists that if he's going to help her professionally, they have to keep a lid on anything personal. She's intrigued, and wants to know more.

Cal offers Finley a deal. If she'll come to society events with him as his fake girlfriend, he'll show her how to get them to open their pocketbooks and dish out for her charity. What he doesn't tell her is that her presence is instrumental in his own con. In no time, Finley is swimming in money for her good cause, and finding herself in a somewhat sticky situation as the attraction to Cal soon leads them to a steamy affair. But the bubble of good fortune bursts when Finley finds out what Cal is really up to. Will the truth ruin any chance of them getting their happy ending?

For a lot of reasons this is a really interesting, and thought provoking story. There are some laughs, but a fair number of serious moments too especially as one digests the ethics and morality of what the Sherwoods are up to. Can two wrongs make a right? There's no easy answer to this question.

For Cal, knowing the background of the men and women he is determined to fleece, the money they will lose to him is a drop in their buckets and does so much good in comparison to where it's come from that he is firm in his conviction that he's doing the right thing. The law wouldn't agree of course, and the Sherwood family is very careful to not get caught. They don't steal money. It's given over willingly by those who understand the risks, but don't know that the investments they think they are funding don't actually exist.

In bringing Finley along for the ride without telling her the whole truth, the foundation of their relationship is built on a lie. He had planned to cut her loose when the con was done, leaving her with a well funded charity and him on to the next job. When he realizes the depths of his feelings for her he wants to tell her the whole truth, even knowing what kind of fallout he could face. It makes for some intense drama as the story plays out.

Fin can't believe the good fortune she's had in meeting Cal. He shows her exactly how to flatter and cajole the ultra rich into dropping what are pennies to them – five grand here, ten grand there- but a huge deal to her charity. It's addictive and she wants more. She willingly agrees to be Cal's plus one at social events and falls for his charm and smooth style.

This is a slow burn romance, Cal convinced that it would be a bad idea for them to get personally involved but unable to resist the lure of Fin for too long. The result is some steamy love scenes and emotionally rich moments as they grow more attached to each other. When the truth comes out Fin has a lot to digest, including her own feelings about what she's been involved in, what Cal's family does and who Cal really is. Ultimately both Cal and Fin wrestle with the truth and find a way to get their happy ending. It's a really unique romance, and with more to come in the series, I can't wait to see what the author has up her sleeve!

This review has been posted at Harlequin Junkie and feedback updated with the link. When live, it has been posted at Goodreads, and at sale sites.

when finley cartwright meets caleb sherwood at a bar, she's soliciting donations badly and he's having a bad day. they flirt and bicker and when finley's ex walks into the bar she lays a kiss on caleb that he's not forgetting.

caleb is a con artist, the latest leader of a family of con artists and he is on the lookout for a new one night wife. finley is the perfect person to beguile into the position because she's naive and doesn't ask too many pesky questions. especially once caleb helps her get her charitable foundation out of the red and actually helping people.

the pace and narrative voice are somewhat breakneck, it almost feels like it belongs to a howard hawks film. finley and caleb are well-matched, even if he spends a lot of time lying to her. when he does finally admit the truth, she plays him perfectly in revenge. and yet, comes to realize that he's somewhat necessary to her happiness. and that maybe she wants to be part of the con. the sherwood name is no coincidence, because caleb and his family essentially act like a modern-day robin hood. aiming to save the planet by bilking billionaires of their tax-evaded income.

**one night wife will publish on may 28, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (amara) in exchange for my honest review.

BIANCA

Finley and her friend Lenny just started a charity for women. But then her friend's dad got arrested for fraud and suddenly they didn't have any money to get started with their Dollars For Daughters thing.

Enter Caleb. He's part of a huge family of Wall Street con-men and women. They swindle mega-rich a-holes into investing in start-ups and then they take that money and give most of it to people who really need it. Robin Hood Wall Street Cons.

Caleb needs Fin to be his new pretend girlfriend to swindle some important clients. And she needs him to get those mega-rich guys to give a little to her charity too.

The only problem? ... Fin is already half in love with Cal. And Cal can't have that. He can't bring an outsider into the family business. But he's realllly tempted!

I really enjoyed this book. It's beautifully written. It's smart and fun. It's interesting to see how they swindle all those people out of their money. All of them deserve to be swindled! That was really funny. And it's also really sparky & sexy and cute.

But it's also a bit slow. There's just too much .... Too many words and too much thinking. I wanted more action and more romance, more talking. Sometimes I caught myself fast-reading through the words until I got to the lines where people talked to each other. Maybe it was weird my mood this weekend, but it wasn't my kind of writing and storytelling this time. And I usually LOVE Ainslie's books. I know they can be ... different. Wordy. Complicated. But I really adore them. No idea what happened this time. BUT - once I got back from my nap and ate some cake - I couldn't stop reading! I had to know how those two would get their happily ever after! It's a really beautiful & intersting and adorable story. Keep on reading - don't give up! ☺

JANEANE

I have said it before and I will say it again, an Ainslie Paton book is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.

One Night Wife starts with a meet-cute that will have you smiling from ear to ear, and then the games begin.

Finley and Caleb's story isn't the usual strangers-meet-in-a-bar story. I adore Finley, and Caleb is all kinds of gorgeous.

I love the grifter storyline, it is smart and witty and not something I have read a lot of. I love the player getting played - or do they?

A modern day play on Robin Hood, One Night Wife played me, had me hooked and lead me on for the long con. And I adored it.

I can't wait to see what Ms Paton brings us next.