Love this series by Victoria James. Little twists & turns it was a delight to read I cannot wait to start the next book

Oh, the feels! Victoria James's stories manage to pull me into that amazing reader space where everything that exists is the story and the characters, where there are laughter and tears, where the angst ties you into a knot yet the jubilee of life and love breaks all the shackles in your heart and mind. ​
This series has been an emotional roll-a-coaster for me from the start and finding this pearl on my backlogged TBR file made me stay up at night to read it through in one sitting.
There is so much to love about Molly Mayberry and Ben Matthews, and about their love story. Both Molly and Ben are driven professionals, dedicated, caring people, who feel deeply, who are protective, loyal, honest, and kind, willing to go the extra mile for their loved ones. Or walk away from their lives, if they believe that is the right thing to do.
I loved the honesty between Molly and Ben, yes, that might seem a contradictory term with all the secrets, but when they are now facing each other, they have this raw honesty about their feelings towards each other that they are unable, or even willing, to deny or hide. It went directly to my heart, oh, the agony, hurt, and pain, from the past and the in the present, it was so tangible and true.
My heart went out for Molly, everything she had to go through, for everything she had survived, and for everything she hid in her heart. She is such a strong, amazing woman, I admire her immensely.
Ben's forgiving, understanding character just blew me away. He is headstrong, yet so tender with Molly when needed. He can be a daredevil in his job, yet so patient and caring with Molly's heart.
It honestly broke my heart to read about the adversity Molly had gone through. To top of that, her mother's manipulation and controlling attitude, and I wanted to run to hug her, to protect her, and to stand up for her, not that she would have needed it, cause this lady was capable to stand up for herself, she had to learn that in the hard and painful way a decade ago.
All that ache and angst of life and love is beautifully balanced with witty dialogue and humor between the siblings and their friends. The supporting cast and grew, especially both Molly's and Ben's siblings, are a delightful addition to the tale, and I so hope they all get their own HEA as well.
Another balancing act for the relationship drama was the details of both Ben's firefighter job and Molly's work at the hospital and at the shelter as a doctor. Those details and events gave front row seats to the hero and heroine's lives, soul, and mind, to see what they were made of to having to be able to deal with things they did, on a daily basis, and still continue on.
The love scenes in the book happen behind the closed doors and in the reader's imagination. I didn't notice any major issues with language in the tale, yet I do feel compelled to mention that some might get trigged of issues surrounding detailed conversations about rape.
Not even family drama and past mistakes can stop the true soulmates finding their destinies, in this deliciously adorable love story that pulled all the emotions to the surface, and had me up till wee hours of the morning light.
I just love this series, the small town and its characters, and the easy, effortless flow of the author's writing.
~ Five Spoons

I thought this was a good and entertaining second chance at love story, although I was floored by the actions and thoughts of Molly's mother during that traumatic time for Molly. Understandable is Ben's anger towards Molly, even after almost a decade of no contact. Kudos to Ben's brother for his plan to force Molly and Ben back into close proximity, and how everything played out for them.

This is amazing story. The passion between the characters is blazing hot and good job their is a Firefighter handy 😊 this is a well written and very entertaining story with great characters. Would recommend

I'm a huge fan of second chance romances and fake relationship tropes!
"Now the one woman he never stopped loving is living with him in a fake relationship, driving him crazy. Pretending only reminds him how right they were once, but if Ben gives in to the heat building between them, heartache is sure to follow."
How could this go wrong? Very enjoyable read and I look forward to reading other books by this author.

This was a mostly good story which is what I've come to expect of Victoria James. What I didn't expect was for some of the characters to be such stereotypes. It took me awhile to warm up to the story and pretty much everyone it but by the end I was glad I finished it because it hits on two of my favorite tropes, second chance romance and fake relationship stories.

This was a lot of fun to read. I was not sure about the initial premise, but the author writes so well that I was rooting for the characters after only a couple of pages. I recommend this novel and will be looking to read more by this author.

Molly left her hometown of Shadow Creek and her fiancee years ago to pursue her education and career. Now she has the opportunity of a life time in a local hospital in Shadow Creek. That would mean revisiting her painful past and all that would en-tale. Ben has never gotten over Molly. Now she is back in town at the same time he is trying for a promotion and his boss wants a family man for the position. Enter the pretend fiancee. Sometimes pretending can bring real feelings to the surface. Can they make a clean start or if the future destine to follow their past? Great read!

Molly Mayberry left Shadow Creek nine years ago, inexplicably breaking up with the love of her life, Ben Matthews, by telling him an awful lie. Now she’s returned as the hospital’s new pediatrician, both reluctant and anxious to face him, knowing he probably still resents her betrayal. Ben is a captain in the Shadow Creek Fire Department, looking to be promoted to chief soon by the man currently in that role who’s ready to retire. However, he’s looking for someone more settled and less inclined to take high risks. When Ben’s brother unexpectedly announces that Molly and he (Ben) have not only reconciled but are engaged, both decide to continue the ruse until Ben gets the promotion and his mother’s health improves.

This is a sweet story that served up some extremely serious themes. Molly’s secret is shocking and there were far more devastating impacts than at first perceived. I was drawn into a story with many more layers than I’d anticipated, which made this a page turner. The title suggests a certain frivolity that’s just not here (thankfully). I’d trusted the author to deliver as she’s done with the other books in this series and she came through. Ben and Molly are complex characters beneath the surface and their issues don’t have easy resolutions. Their families play pivotal roles, which added many more layers. I liked that it evoked a wide range of emotions to keep me engaged.

I very much enjoyed the story, though there were a couple of dangling plot issues involving secondary characters that weren’t more fully explored. It ends with a cliffhanger involving one of them so I’m hoping I don’t have a long wait for the next book. 3.5 stars

This was a good read. The writing flowed well, and I liked the characters. Ben and Molly were good together, but I felt sorry for Ben most of the book. He was a really good guy, and I felt like Molly could have been up front with him sooner. I hated that Molly was in her head about them, but Ben was right when he said that she wasn't running because she didn't want that life anymore, she was running because she was scared that she did. I liked her sisters and Ben's brother. They were great secondary characters. Molly's mom on the other hand was a horrible woman. I was expecting some kind of resolution with that, but there wasn't any. This book ends on a little bit of a cliffhanger, but Ben and Molly's story is complete. This was a first for me from this author, but I will be looking for the next book in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

Molly Mayberry is back home after nine years and she figure’s her fiancé from back then Ben is probably married and has children, she is wrong. He is still single still in love with the one women who broke his heart and is now standing on the sidewalk and apologizing for spilling coffee on him. Molly so wants to tell him want happened back then nine years ago, but she is afraid of how he will take the news. Seeing him was better than seeing her mother who throughout the book is really not a nice person to her daughter. She even embarrasses her or tries too in front of a group of people. She and Ben fake their engagement to help his mother who is recovering from a surgery and also he trying for a promotion to fire chief. What really happens is that two people find themselves and the love and strength they had is still there. Molly has other relationships to fix besides Ben, she also must work on the ones with her two sisters. When you find out everything you realize just how wrong and evil the mother was and is. Overall good book.

4.5 stars

I loved The Firefighter's Pretend Fiancee from beginning to end. The writing is well done, the storyline captured my interest from the first page, I just didn't want to put it down.
I loved Molly and Ben, they're beautiful, likable, passionate characters that brought out the feels with their love story.

I'm a big fan of author Victoria James writing, she writes with heart and once again she's delivered a heartfelt read and I highly recommend this book, and all the books in the Shadow Creek, Montana Series!

*A big thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the advance copy*

The Fireman’s Fake Fiancé sounded like a light hearted silly read from the title. It isn’t.Molly has returned after nine years to her hometown. The author sprinkles in hints as to what happened to her to cause her to end the relationship with Ben, the man she had always been in love with. When we get the whole story it is still heartbreaking even with the hints that we were given.
Molly is super intelligent and a brilliant doctor. It was nice to see an author creating a character with so many dimensions.

Ben was Molly’s first and only love. When she broke up with him it devastated him. Ben and his brother are firefighters just like his dad had been. He is a wonderful character. He had just the right balance of confidence and empathy.

The relationship between Molly and Ben’s mother was precious and in direct contract to the relationship Molly had with her own evil witch of a mother.

The next book in the series is Finn’s story. I hope Molly’s mother gets her Karma in that book.

Molly’s sisters are also interesting characters and I hope they get their own books. Her one sister is also a doctor and the other sister opened a book store.

I highly recommend the book. However it helps to know that you are not going into a chick lit story. This story is emotional on several levels. It helps you understand what someone goes through after a traumatic experience. I also understood more about what a firefighter goes through when told them cannot save someone and they have to leave a building knowing someone might be in it still.

Language - d2mn (23), Sh7t (6), b2stard (1),
violence - 1.5 - it was in the past so I only rated it 1.5, the author didnt give a lot of descriptive details
sex - behind closed doors
drugs/alcohol - some drinking

My rating: 4.5 Stars

Molly Mayberry and Ben Matthews were a young couple very much in love with a marvelous future ahead of them. Something drastically changed, however, and, as this story shifts, it is now nine years later. Molly had made a difficult decision and left town. She is back again, now a pediatrician, with a one-year contract at the local hospital. There are two people Molly would desperately like to avoid, Ben and her mother.

Ben is a firefighter, and has risen to the ranks of captain. He is now after the position of fire chief. He may be declined the position because he is not a family man. Before he can stop himself, Ben blurts out to his boss that he is actually engaged to be married.

Through an odd set of circumstances his brother tells their mother that Ben is indeed engaged - To Molly. Now, Ben not only has to tell this to Molly, but he must make it seem real. Part of the reason is that his mother is in ill health, and Ben and his brother know that this will make her very happy. Can Ben and Molly pull it off?

The Firefighter’s Pretend Fiancée is a great second-chance romance story. The characterization is great. Ben is a hardworking firefighter, and a man dedicated to his family. He was incredibly hurt by Molly, and even though he thinks this plan just might work, he has to fight his feelings for her. Molly is a bit overworked. She is quite focused on her work and her future. Despite her past, her life now, and her goals, it is no surprise that Molly still desires Ben. She had a reason for her actions, but does not want to deal with the past. She would just like to fulfill her current obligations.

This is quite the balanced story. It deals with such a sweet romance, with enough conflict to keep the story very interesting. It was a delightfully quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed. There is a sensitive issue that is dealt with in this story, however. It is very easy to connect with Molly and Ben, as well as the others in this story. This is the fifth book in a series that I have not read, but it does quite well as a standalone. I can definitely see other stories that will develop and so I hope to continue with this series.

Many thanks to Entangled Publishing for this ARC to review in exchange or an honest opinion

Molly didn’t believe in happily ever after like she once did. She was a pediatrician with no desire to get married or to have a family of her own. There was nothing that could prepare a person for sudden events or devastating medical news. That was why Molly had learned not to get attached to people. You had the power to destroy them and they could do the same to you. It was also why Molly stayed away from Shadow Creek for nine years. She had hurt to many people there. Now she was back to fill a year long contract position in the new pediatric health center at the regional hospital. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. It was a state of the art pediatric center that had attracted some of the best pediatric surgeons, oncologists, and specialists. This was to lead the state in specialized health care,. Molly couldn’t turn down being head of pediatrics at such a young age was the crowning career achievement especially at Molly’s age. Molly couldn’t turn it down. After the year Molly was joining Doctors Without Borders in Mexico. Coming back to SHadow Creek hadn’t been part of Molly’s life plan. Molly didn’t stay long o one place anymore, Her plan was not to socialize with anyone from her past. Molly eve had a top ten list of people she didn’t want to run into . One person on the list was her mother- Marlene- another was Ben who she had almost been engaged to and abruptly broke it off without even facing him.Molly had never got over Ben but she kept the secret as to why she broke off things deep inside her.Molly paid for therapy for a decade and she was finally doing fine. Sometimes at night she imagined her and Ben and their home together and their family. She would imagine nothing horrible happened to her and she had no secrets to keep and never share. Molly goes to the coffee shop then she sees her mother her mother warns her to stay away from Ben.Then she looks down to her phone to receive a message and seemed to walk right into a wall and spilled her coffee.Then she heard the familiar voice say” hell I heard you were back.” She didn’t want to see or talk to Ben but here he was and she spilled coffee on him like before but he didn’t hate her then. It was too soon too much- first her mother now Ben. She was filled with shame how she had treated Ben. He seen secrets in Molly’s eyes that he didn’t need to know as she had made a fool of hm; broken his heart and even though it had been a lifetime ago Ben had never had the connection with another woman like he’d had with her. Ben thought about the first time Molly spilled coffee on him-it was love at first sight unlike today when she did it again. Ben wanted to be Firechief Chief when the current one- Darren- retired he was a family friend but basically said Ben had to be married so he was more settled and not so impulsive. Ben said he would have his better half at the Harvest Festival and Twilight Dance. Then they weren’t sure how his and Finn’s mother was doing as she had surgery but hadn’t really woke up yet she had a tumor in her stomach removed and it would be a bit before the found out if the tumor was benign. Then Finn told their mother Ben and Molly were back together and his mother woke up and happy and excited. Ben then went to Molly’s office where she had tried to get a twenty minute cat nap before going to work in The E R. She woke up to Ben and he told her what Finn had told their mom- Marjorie- and how excited his mother got and also she would have to go to the Twilight dance with him in front of the whole town so he could get the Fire chief position he dreamed of. Molly was surprised Marjory didn’t hate her after what she had done to her son Ben. Molly had loved Marjorie like a second mother but she had been closer to Marjorie then her own mother. So she owed Marjorie and Ben deserved to be Captain. Maybe after this he wouldn’t hate herand even forgive her and she may finally have peace. When Marlene heard Molly was living with Ben she threatened her if she didn’t break up with him she would tell him everything. Molly had a nightmare that night and she woke up in Ben’s arms and him trying to comfort her.
I loved this book. It was a great, emotional read with some drama. I loved Molly and Ben together they just belonged together even after the lies and heartbreak and anger they were true soulmates. . I loved the way they interacted. I loved ben would be there at her side as Molly completely healed and she there with him through life now he knew they truth. I like Finn jumped in and got things rolling and how it all turned out. There was a hint that there was someone for Finn so I hope the author gives Finn a book of his own and I get to read it. I happily found nothing to criticize in this book. I loved the pace and the plot. I read this in just one setting I couldn’t put this down. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend.

“You can pretend that we’re back together. That we’re engaged.”


I was so excited to take a trip back to Shadow Creek and see what everyone in town was up to. Add in a “fake fiancée” and second chance trope and I’m in heaven. Ben Matthews and Molly Mayberry have been featured in previous stories in this series, but this book was all about how their young love went wrong and a meddling brother who set both of them on the path to try again.

If I had to describe Molly in a single word, it would be “tragic”. Without fully knowing her story, her introduction into the story left it pretty clear that she had been through some pretty terrible experiences. My heart just broke for her, knowing she was putting on a cold exterior to everyone and all the while holding in so much pain. Even though I didn’t know what had happened, I fully on team Molly and wishing I could guard her against the animosity coming from Ben, her jilted ex.

“I’m sure you’ll manage. You’re pretty good at pretending.”


It was pretty laughable when Ben claimed to be outraged when his brother, Finn, lets it “slip” that Ben and Molly are engaged. It’s so clear to the reader that, despite being heartbroken from all those years ago, Ben can’t help but allow himself to be put in a situation that places him with Molly again. I loved all of the interactions between Ben, Finn and their mother. Finn’s meddling was hilarious.

“Just because she was his fiancée—fake fiancée—didn’t mean he had to care. Or maybe what bothered him the most was that he hadn’t ever stopped caring.”


I really liked the way Ben worked his way back to Molly again. Both clearly were still attracted to one another, but it was more about getting to know her again and breaking down her walls.

There were so many great secondary characters in this story that have me very excited to see more Shadow Creek, Montana books! Loved this so much!

2.5☆

What I liked:
The writing style
Most of the characters
Part of a series: Shadow Creek, Montana
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

What I didn't like:
Molly

I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

How do you not fall in love with a small town in Montana-land. The state with some of the most sweet, sexy, tender-hearted romance brings me this one from Victoria James. Molly did something nine years ago that she would never regret. She finds that returning to the scene of the events from the past will not be so easy after all. Going back to Shadow Creek, even if it is for work, proves something she got wrong years ago. She regretted leaving the one man that she loved and still loved. If only she open up her eyes, mind, heart, and give it more than the chance laid at her feet.

Ben still loves this woman that left him behind. And now he gets a chance to see if things can be what they should have been by doing something more so to help his chances at a new higher position. Ben and Molly finds themselves in a second chance fake relationship that turn all too real. They find that time has only allowed for their feeling and connection to deepen.

This was my first visit to Shadow Creek and I am most certainly looking to see more of this town. I would happily recommend this romance to anyone looking for a romance, a small town romance, a Montana-land romance, a second chance romance, a fake to real romance, a left you nine years ago now I'm back romance. These characters are warm and welcoming. There are complexities to some characters while others were just as they seems at first glance.

The Firefighter's Pretend Fiancee is a sweet, second-chance, fake relationship romance set in Ms. James's fictional (unfortunately!) town of Shadow Creek, Montana. Molly's back in her hometown after nine years away--she never intended to come back, but a one-year career opportunity came up that she can't say no to--and her first love and guy she unceremoniously dumped nine years ago is not only still there (and a hot fireman to boot) but he conveniently needs to appear "settled" to get a promotion.

Obviously, a fake relationship is the way to go, right? Nothing could go awry there... ;)

Though Molly and Ben were great characters and wonderful together--once they let themselves be together, that is--I have to say that my favorite relationship in the whole book is Ben and Finn's. Nothing made me LOL as much as when those two were on the page together...heck, Finn didn't even have to be there in person, because sometimes Ben just thinking about him (okay, what he was going to do to him when they were together again) was enough.

My only complaints here are with the resolution--things get resolved really, really quickly in the end, and it doesn't seem like quite enough, somehow--and the fact that Molly's mother is so unrepentantly horrible. Maybe she'll come of better in future books...? But here we're left pretty unresolved as far as she is considered. Still, a reason to keep reading! (As if I need one... ;))

Though this is the fifth book in the series, it would work just fine as a standalone--several past series characters make (very brief) appearances here, but you don't need to be familiar with their stories at all to enjoy this one. Molly has two single sisters, though, and Ben an unattached brother, so...

(Not even a subtle hint, I know. I am not ashamed.)

I'm really looking forward to Finn (here I'm giving the author some serious side-eye for that epilogue, because that was just not right--it had better be fixed soon), Addie, and Melody's stories!

Rating: 4 stars / B

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Molly left her hometown and fiance in the dust and hasn't looked back. Its been nine years and shes back for a career opportunity shes been wanting and unfortunately needs to be back to her hometown to her dismay hoping that the year she'll be here she won't run into any one familiar. Figures she would run into her ex and his mother she that adores comes up with a plan while she is healing under the guise that they are together again. It works doubly for her Ex Ben who in order to get the job he wants need to seem like a family man and his mother seems in greater spirits since this fake announcement came up. Thing is they next expected for secrets to be told and hearts to start revving up once again.

Overall this was a pretty great standard contemporary romance. I really like the characters and getting to know them and how they interact with their family. For obvious reasons I wasn't a fan of Molly's mother and if you read this book why. I love how playful Ben's brother was. I loved seeing the family dynamics. I loved seeing that romance between Ben and Molly and seeing how things works when secrets were spilled. Overall a pretty great book I really enjoyed it.