What wouldn’t we do for family and best friends?

Synopsis

In this How to Win a Monroe story by Rachael Stewart, could a fake engagement have these best friends heading to the altar—for a real Christmas wedding?

“You want me to be your fake wife?”

When my best friend Aiden Monroe proposes, all my foolish, youthful dreams come true. But the guarded bachelor only wants a temporary fiancée to appease his family. Still, after my recent breakup, spending the holidays with Aiden sounds ideal. We didn’t expect our families’ enthusiasm for our engagement… Or that we’d be hurtling towards a real Christmas wedding!

From Harlequin Romance: Be swept away by glamorous and heartfelt love stories.

How to Win a Monroe

Book 1: Off-Limits Fling with the Heiress
Book 2: My Unexpected Christmas Wedding

My review

Aiden and Elena have been best friend since children. And even when there has been some time between seeing each other, they know they can always count on their friendship, even during the most difficult moments.
Now Aiden needs his best friend by his side as the most difficult moment is looming around the corner, because his mother is having a medical treatment with no clue if it will be successful or not. The biggest wish his mother has, is to see all her children happy. While his sister Avery is already in a loving relationship with his best friend, it’s Aiden that is cause for many worries. Since losing his father, Aiden has done nothing else but focusing on his legacy, making sure that the business runs well, having no time or need to seek a woman to love.
Yet Aiden wants to do anything to see his mother happy, even if that means pretending to be engaged with Elena. But what Aiden doesn’t know, is that Elena has been in love with Aiden for years. And will everyone fall for the pretence? 

Oooh how eager was I to start this book??? After reading Avery’s story, I just wanted to get to know Aiden, because I just knew there was more to him that the businessman and overprotective brother.
And what a delight it was to discover each layer not only of him, but of Elena too! 

Of course Aiden is a businessman, even a workaholic. But here we see also a different side of him. He has already endured the loss of his father, and with his mother needing medical treatment, he is adamant to try everything for not losing her.
But not only that, he realizes how frail life can be, and he wants to see his mother happy, he wants to put a smile back on her face.
While it perhaps may not be the best plan, he is so devoted to his mother that he is willing to be
fake – engaged, just for her.
And who is better to be his fake – fiancée than his best friend? 

From the moment Elena entered the story, I liked her! Even if her and mine world are miles apart, there is just something about her that makes me feel like I have known her my whole life. She has a successful career, loves her singing, but yet remains so down – to – earth with everything. Even when her relationship ended and perhaps not in the best of ways, she tries to keep her head high and move on.
And then there is the fact that she has loved her best friend (a.k.a. Aiden) for years! 

While it was frustrating as she never admitted those feelings, I could understand her, how she didn’t want to jeopardize the most important relationship of her life. Because her friendship with Aiden is worth of the broken heart. She cares more about having Aiden in her life just as a friend than not having him at all after risking to come clean about her feelings. 

And what a loyal friend she is… she knows that the proposal she perhaps always dreamed of is just a fake one, but for her best friend, she is ready to pretend. But to make hr even more loveable, she doesn’t do it only for Aiden, but also for his mother, as the Monroe’s truly are part of her family. 

Most of the time in this book is about ‘will they, will they not’, and so much palpable attraction. As a reader I was just hoping for that one kiss to be happening, and it being a real one, not just one for the show.
Nevertheless, this book goes much deeper than just a love story about best friend, or fake engagement. Because we see how Aiden and Elena are truly there for each other, and see when they are hurt or when hurtful memories arise. Spending all this time together, faking being in love with each other only strengthens their friendship even more. And with Elena’s help Aiden is slowly realizing how empty his life was before, as a result of his own self-preservation.  

But excluding love in your life isn’t the solution to avoid heartbreak. And work isn’t the way to avoid relationships. Because we all need people that we love and love us by our side. As they give us the strength to go through even the most difficult moment.
And the right person by your side will understand what you need, even before you know it yourself and with just one look of understanding. 

I found this truly a wonderful story, fulfilling my extreme high expectations. I loved the chemistry between Aiden and Elena, the Christmas setting, the romance but mainly the love between just all the characters in the book.
We see that for our loved ones we would do anything, to pretend to be engaged, to realize that feelings go way deeper than we ever thought and to see that hope truly is the last thing to die… 

Rachael Stewart wrote once again a marvellous, heartfelt story, with perhaps the most predictable trope (best friends to lovers), but with so many different layers making this still a unique story that any romance – lover will fall in love with!