Allison: Four Weeks Till Forever | Nadia Lee | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

"He's never met a woman he wants to spend his life with..."

The man: Billionaire playboy Mark Pryce.

The problem: A "real" date for his family's Fourth of July party...or he'll have to attend with the heiress his mother's picked out for him to marry.

The woman: His best friend's executive assistant Hilary Rosenberg--the only one who can save him from this fate worse than death.

"..she is convinced good men are a thing of the past."

Disillusioned by a series of painful relationships, Hilary has no interest in dating Mark--even as a pretense--for the next four weeks. He's too sexy, too smart, altogether too attractive--and a sure bet to break her heart. But she owes him a favor, and she always pays her debts.

When their charade threatens to turn into a happily ever after, can a reformed playboy convince his wary Cinderella that fairy tale endings really can come true?

In many ways, Four Weeks Till Forever by Nadia Lee is a modern day Cinderella. You’ve got a woman with a horrible past and a man who is a billionaire and who has yet to find the right woman to settle down with. There is also a very uncinderella fact though and that is that the two main characters have known each other for a while prior to officially getting together. So, it’s not an overnight – glass slipper – type of situation. Instead it’s a situation where there is work involved to build a relationship, the characters have realistic flaws, and you realize that happily ever after doesn’t come nearly as easily as portrayed in a fairy tale.

Hilary Rosenberg is a victim of circumstance and she is desperate to break out. She has made a good living for herself but she still feels tied down to her family who never respects her and who has always been known for their bad reputations. Enter Mark Pryce, who is a womanizer, and whose mother continuously pushes women at him so that he will settle down. Mark and Hilary have known each other previously but have never really had very much in common so when he asks her to act as his girlfriend for a family function, it kind of comes a surprise to both Hilary, and also to myself. I couldn’t help but wonder what the connection was between these two people whom I had just met basically and who were already faux-dating. I don’t know why but it seemed kind of rushed to me. Also, when the date of the party actually arrives, it is kind of just brushed by which was kind of surprising to me given the context and what I believed would be its importance to the story.

Mark Pryce reminded me of Mark Sloan from Grey’s Anatomy in a lot of ways. In fact, while I was reading this, I couldn’t help but picture Eric Dane as him. It must have been because I already had the image of Mark Sloan stuck in my head and I just couldn’t get it out. From his dialogue to his mannerisms, there was something about him that just spoke Sloan to me, and I think that is why his journey in the story was probably my favorite aspect. I liked watching him go from an unconcerned womanizer to a man with feelings and who is unsure if his feeling are being returned or not. Hilary also goes through a bit of a journey as she begins to trust this man who has so much to offer her while also battling feelings of unworthiness. The chemistry in Four Weeks Till Forever is there between the two characters as they share plenty of sweet and steamy moments together.

The side characters were my absolute least favorite part, especially Hilary’s family. Her family wants to keep her in their grips and doesn’t want to see her succeed without forgetting where she came from. They were so unbearable and so unrootable which I guess was kind of the point but sometimes it was a little over bearing. It felt like the information about Hilary’s past was continuously being drilled into me and told to me instead it being demonstrated on the page. Eventually, this causes a conflict between Hilary and Mark as she becomes too insecure about her worth in their relationship. The one blessing in terms of a side character was Hilary’s best friend Jo, who doesn’t judge her for her background and who is always there is her corner no matter what the circumstances. And when things goes south, Hilary really needs her best friend, and she’s right there to help her through until Mark is able to get himself straightened around.

Four Weeks Till Forever by Nadia Lee was a good book to pass the time with but unfortunately it is also a book and a series that I highly doubt I will be returning to. This isn’t because I didn’t like the book but it’s simply because as much as I didn’t mind the book as it held my attention, it was honestly more of a filler book for me than anything else. Something that I used to help pass my time, relax for a little bit, and then move forward with my life. The characters were decent, the romance was sweet but in the end it wasn’t life changing. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with a book like that! Yet it is also because of this that I feel that one read will be simply enough for me.