I enjoyed The Christmas She Married the Playboy very much. H/h Santa and Louis have amazing chemistry. Their backstories are well explained and their character development as the story unfolds is realistic.

4.5 Stars

Louise Fuller’s The Christmas She Married the Playboy is a searingly emotional contemporary romance full of drama, passion and intensity.

Louis Albemarle, the Duke of Astbury, is used to seeing his romantic exploits splashed all over the tabloids. Frequently photographed by the paparazzi with a long line of interchangeable gold-diggers hanging off his arm, Louis is a man who plays hard, but works even harder. Determined to prove himself to the shareholders of his company, Louis needs to clean up his act and ensure that he stays out of the gossip pages. Unfortunately, Louis hadn’t counted on being bowled over by beautiful figure skater Santina Somerville…

Santina lives and breathes figure skating. Her parents had made sacrifice after sacrifice in order for her to reach the very top of her game and she is determined not to let them down. With her sponsors keen for her to maintain a pristine image, Santina’s life revolves around figure skating – until she is snapped by the paparazzi in a passionate embrace with Louis, the Duke of Astbury.

With their careers in jeopardy, Santina and Louis need to come up with a plan to placate sponsors and shareholders. With the press keen on inventing wild rumors’ that could seriously damage both their brands, Louis can only see one way out of their current predicament: a marriage of convenience. Only it soon turns out that there is nothing convenient about their feelings for one another…

Will Santina and Louis’ paper marriage lead to the real thing? Or will their fears and insecurities end up costing them a lifetime of happiness together?

Louise Fuller’s The Christmas She Married The Playboy is a sensuous, poignant and highly engrossing contemporary romance with a fantastic heroine and a gorgeous brooding hero who who will certainly get temperatures rising – regardless of the weather.

Louise Fuller’s The Christmas She Married The Playboy is an enjoyable marriage of convenience romance that aims straight for the heart readers will not want to miss.

When figure skater Santina "Santa" meets diamond CEO Louis, the Tenth Duke of Astbury, her whole world gets turned upside down. This was such an easy read. Girl meets boy, sparks fly, drama follows and two protagonists are thrown together.

I will say that if you are looking for plenty of character depth, you won't find it here. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of back story but don't scratch too far beneath the surface as that is not what this story is all about. Both simple yet satisfying, The Christmas She Married the Playboy is the comfort blanket of Harlequin romances where you get exactly what you're looking for and it's all cheesy goodness!!

A heatwave with emotional undercurrents. Louis and Santina burn a whole right through the heart. From past heartaches to present doubt, Fuller spins a tale of love that sets the senses ablaze and the emotions on fire. The Christmas She Married the Playboy is a showstopper just waiting to take the soul by storm.

2.5 /5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

This just wasn't the book for me. As most of HQ's books they are easy to read, and quick to get through. However, I really didn't care much for the characters or the romance. I just couldn't really connect to this book in any way. Also, I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing in this book. I will continue to give this author a try but as I said, this book just wasn't for me.

This was a good book. I liked the story.
I read this book in one sitting because it’s short and I just didn’t want to stop reading.

World-class figure skater Santina leads a regulated life. She doesn't have time for arrogant, hot-as-sin duke Louis to distract her with his handsome, entitled face. Yet the attraction between them is so electric, they can't resist a kiss. Tabloid rumors soon fly, trashing her squeaky-clean image and painting him as a reckless seducer. A marriage of convenience is the only solution to save their reputations. In a year, they'll go their separate ways—unless these opposites can find their way to true love.

Louis and Santina take an instant dislike to each other, getting into irrational arguments throughout the early part of the book. It's their way of dealing with the inconvenient attraction they feel. But once they realize they're stuck with each other, they begin relating on a more open level. That's when the book really comes to life for me. It's lovely to watch Santina and Louis learn to trust again.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Like the blurb says, The Christmas She Married the Playboy brings us a marriage of convenience romance, and it is certainly entertaining. It's almost like we get 2 different stories here - well, same couple and both storylines are leading in the same direction, but the characters do a rather big flip flop once they're married. It's like the wedding made them different people. What saves that is we see the characters making conscious decisions to act differently than they have. Louis becomes much more likable once they get married. A bad relationship left him bitter, but his playboy ways and arrogance go just a shade too far in my opinion. Of course, that's what gives us the wonderfully redeemable hero after the wedding, and I am a sucker for a redeemable bad boy. Santa is kind of uppity in the beginning and she started to really irritate me, but she gets some redemption as well. It is an interesting contrast between these characters and their past and present selves. So, this one had parts I expected and parts I didn't, and the almost complete flip from bickering and trading barbs to a softer, more romantic side of the characters, while somewhat jarring, kept my attention throughout the book.

Entertaining Royalty/ Commoner Romance. He's a dude that was burned years ago and reacts by pretty well sleeping with anything that moves. She's a figure skater with a troubled past. When they happen to see each other in the airport where they both happen to be going to the same hotel... y'all, this is a Harlequin Romance. You know how this goes. I for one loved the bickering of the first half of the book, though I do wish the antics in Vegas had been shown. Instead, at the halfway point we fly (almost literally, in story) right past the Vegas wedding and suddenly we're en route to the honeymoon. But here is where the sweeter side of the romance - and the steamier side - really kicks in and becomes arguably more in-line with what most Harlequin Romance readers expect. I love how both of our leads here make active choices to go against their nature - rather than it just happening, here Fuller actually has the characters' internal monologues *showing* it happening - for the preservation of their new marriage. In that, it becomes atypical - and yet totally in line with the genre and publisher. Could have done without the last bit of the epilogue, but otherwise truly a great story here. Very much recommended.

Santa Somerville is an up-and-coming star figure skater. She has been on the ice since she was three trying to fulfill her mother's and her own dreams. Her mother died when Santa was six; her father remarried; she has two half-brothers. Her father and stepmother have been working two jobs to support Santa's dream. Santa knows and appreciates all their hard work. Now she has gained a sponsorship with an ice cream manufacturer which is finally making things a little easier financially.

Louis Albemarle is the Duke of Astbury. The tenth duke, in fact. He has recently inherited the position after his father's death. Louis was disowned by his father when he left his chosen bride standing at the altar some years earlier. He has been forced to make his own way with the help of his beloved grandmother. Louis has developed a business from a diamond mine to a retail business and to a jewelry brand favored by A-listers around the world. He is quite close to having enough money to buy out his shareholders. He has also developed quite a reputation as a playboy.

The two meet in Switzerland where each takes an immediate dislike to the other despite being incredibly physically attracted. When the paparazzi discover him walking her home after a fancy party, rumors begin to fly that threaten her sponsorship and his control of his business. The only thing he can come up with to make things right is a marriage of convenience. Santa very reluctantly agrees.

They find themselves honeymooning at Louis's Canadian home where the attractions catches fire and the marriage of convenience and separate bedrooms become things of the past. But both are still keeping hurtful secrets. Santa is having trouble getting over the betrayal of her first boyfriend who humiliated her and wrecked her already fragile self-esteem. Louis also has to deal with his issues with his family. Each needs to support the other and help them deal with the hurtful things.

This was an entertaining romance. The characters were well-developed and interesting people. I enjoyed the way they helped each other get through their tough pasts. I liked the way they learned to trust and love each other.

This is Louis and Santa’s story. He is the owner of a diamond company and she is a championship ice skater with a conservative sponsorship. They get caught in a compromising position. He might lose his company and she might lose her sponsorship. They decide on a marriage of convenience but they pretend to be madly in love. She helps him with his relationship with his mother. They realize they fell in love. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Our Hero, Louis Albermarle, Tenth Duke of fictional Astbury is an asshole. Uhm, okay – a Manho. He has issues from the past that makes commitment & love for him a No-No. Our heroine also has issues of her own and is an aspiring professional skater.

At first glance, they are both very attracted to one another but since they were both hurt in the past, they fight it – until they don’t. When pictures of them come out, a marriage of convenience ensues and this when the love story begins and the characters become likable & believable.

It’s the same trope one has read many times, but I found both characters immature and at times a little unlikable with their bickering in the beginning but once the marriage starts, the Hero is redeemed and the writing got better and enjoyable.

I was kindly provided a free copy by NetGalley, publishers and author for an honest review and I want to thank them very much.