The Substitute

Written by Denise Grover Swank

Narrated by Shannon McManus

Megan Vandemeer meant to tell her parents about her broken engagement, but a month and a half later she finds herself boarding a plane home to her wedding. Having stretched avoidance to its limits, it's time to come clean-a terrifying prospect since her mother is sure to blame her rather than her cheating, emotionally frigid ex. A couple of drinks and two Dramamine later, Megan finds herself spilling her sob story to the tall, dark, and handsome stranger in the seat next to her.

With only one week left to save his business, Josh McMillan boards a plane to Kansas City in a last-ditch effort, leaving the details to chance. An unexpected answer is delivered in the form of the beautiful brunette beside him. Though she's completely loopy, her honesty, openness, and humor charm him. So when she passes out before landing, he helps her off the plane-a good deed that leads to a colossal misunderstanding. Her parents assume that he's her fiance. In a twist of fate, the mix-up might help Josh save his business, so he plays along, figuring that he can help Megan too. All he has to do is stage a public break up convincing enough to appease her mother.

Josh is only supposed to be a substitute groom, but the more time he and Megan spend together, the more their pretend engagement starts to feel real and the less they want to break it off. Can a relationship that began as a farce turn into happily ever after?Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Sep 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781494587291

Denise Grover Swank

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn't lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.  

Reviews for The Substitute

[cubsfan3410 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun romance

I loved this book. There was laughter, emotions and sweetness. My favorite character?-Gram! She was definitely the comedy relief. Megan and Josh are great too.

[karla9brandenburg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Maybe the timing on this was perfect ... I was on an Alaska Airlines flight on my way home from Seattle ... And so was Megan, the character in the book. But I digress.

Megan caught her fiance in a compromising position and called off the wedding with just six weeks to go. The problem is that her mother - Momzilla- pulled out all the stops and is planning "the wedding of the century" and there are no refunds to be had. How can Megan tell her? Well, she doesn't, or rather she waits to tell her in person, four days before the ceremony is scheduled. But a funny thing happens on the way home. She takes a Dramamine, which she mixes with alcohol, and she's down for the count, but not before she tells the cute guy sitting beside her about her dilemma.

Josh's business is about to go under thanks to corporate espionage, and he's determined to expose the person responsible. With nothing to lose, he takes a flying leap at fate for the first time in his life and fate rewards him. What he doesn't count on is fate's sense of humor.

I found the characters well drawn and although the plot is improbable, it is still a fun read. I did feel the steamy parts could have been done better but that didn't distract me from enjoying the story overall. Loved Gram, almost felt sorry for the psycho Mom, and am looking forward to reading "bitchy Blair's" story.

[alsvidur · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Megan hasn't told her mother that she broke up with her fiance yet and the wedding is this week. There's nothing left to do but to fly down and tell her now. Josh is on the way to Kansas City to find out who stole his patent idea. Mix-ups ensue and Megan's family thinks that Josh is her fiance.I about died when I got to this one after trying so many other free romance books on my Nook. It's well-written, funny, and not smutty! Just what I needed. It's the first in a series, and it'll be interesting to see how she makes the characters I do not like into sympathetic heroines.

[caslater83 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

At the beginning, I loved this book. It sounded both clean and hilarious (my favorite combo). Then as the book progressed, it lost that clean vibe and felt like a dirty read. The mother of the bride is a true MOBzilla--no wonder the daughter is so scared of her. While lying to her family about her fiance isn't exactly ideal, I wouldn't completely blame someone under these kinds of circumstances. Grandma is hilarious, but I can't say the same about the nudist thing. And that one best friend is a devil....

[mmoj_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Megan is going home to tell her mother that she isn't getting married, Josh is going to Megan's hometown to try and save his family business. They meet on a plane - is it fate or just coincidence? Or has Josh planned the meeting so that he can take advantage of Megan? The path the story takes is a steamy, funny adventure to the alter . . . yes that's right, rather than tell her mom that she was canceling the wedding because she dumped her cheating, cold-as-a-fish boyfriend she and Josh decide to use Josh as a substitute.

I thought that part of the ending was completely unnecessary and didn't make a lot of sense when compared to the rest of the story which is why I gave this just 3 stars because the writing is very good.

[crmjones · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A mistaken engagement - hilarious to untangle!

Noah is on a mission to save his company from financial ruin. Someone has stolen his patent and without it, the company is out of business!. But who and how? Noah has a lead to one of the offending parties, and with only days until his financing could fall through, he boards a plane to investigate.

Megan is headed home to get married. There is only one problem - she split from her jerk of a fiance and still has not told her family! She boards a plane for home, washes down 2 Dramamine with a Mimosa, and (avoiding spoilers) passes out.

Hilarity ensues when Noah finds out that Megan is the daughter of the man he is going to investigate, and when he is mistaken for Megan's fiancee when he helps her off the plane! The book covers their "engagement" and plan to "break up" to save face, as well as Noah's undercover investigation into the family's relationship regarding the patent issue.

All ends well with some CRAZY twists and turns along the way. A wonderful read! Looking forward to reading more of the series.