The Marriage Mistake

The Marriage Mistake
by Jennifer Probst
Published by Gallery Press
352 pages
Genre: chick lit; romance
Thanks to edelweiss for the preview
4 / 5 cupcakes


If you read The Marriage Trap, you met Carina Conte. Michael's youngest sister, Carina has had a raging crush on Michael's best friend Max ever since childhood. As the kid sister, though, she rarely rated more than a ruffle of her hair from Max. Carina is all grown up now, complete with a Masters degree, and she is 100% woman, complete with a woman's needs. And she still has that crush.

So when she comes to New York to work with Michael, learning the family business, she is thrown when Michael assigns her to work under Max. Boy, does she want to "work under Max"! Ba domp shish! She may be Michael's baby sister, but now that she is in her twenties, Max no longer sees a fun loving kid; he sees a woman, and he likes what he sees.

But wait. She's Michael's kid sister! And Michael's family always took care of Max, especially when the none-too-fabulous news about his father got around in their Italian hometown. And he works for Michael. This could get awkward!

And it does.

After a trip to Las Vegas ...

Much like its Marriage Trap brethren, The Marriage Mistake comes at the story from both points of view, and it also presents the love birds without benefit of any filter. Carina and Max have their share of shortcomings and preconceived notions, but they are made for each other. We understand Max's reluctance to give in to the attraction he feels for Carina, just as we understand her frustration that he does not. When she tells him that she just wants to rock the headboard with a capable man, we feel Max's rage and jealousy, just as we feel her (momentary) sense of freedom at being able to utter what she wants. When the two go to Vegas, we expect them to succumb, and we are not disappointed.

Yes, it's predictable, but you won't care that you know what's going to happen a good dozen pages before it does. You won't, because you will like Carina and Max so much. We understand them, and that's thanks to the way Jennifer Probst writes. She knows how to create characters that we get close to and feel as if we know. She makes us care about them, and when she allows us to be a voyeur in their bedroom, we are grateful.

Boy, are we, because Max? Knows what to DO, people. He not only knows how to rock the headboard, he knows how to keep it rocking until you've had enough.

If you know what I mean.