The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride: Cowboys of Chance Creek, #1

By Cora Seton

Ethan Cruz should be mending fences on his Montana ranch, but instead he's driving to the Chance Creek, Montana, airport - to pick up the bride he didn't know he had. This latest salvo in his ongoing practical joke battle with his best friend, Rob Matheson, has gone too far, and Ethan plans to send his "bride" right back home, then get busy plotting his revenge. One look at Autumn Leeds changes his mind, however. Perhaps he needs a bride, after all. A breathtakingly beautiful city bride.

 

Autumn Leeds needs a story - fast - or she's going to lose her lucrative contract with CityPretty Magazine, so when she sees the crazy video plea for a modern mail-order bride for a cowboy, it sounds like the story of the century. Making a video of her own, she casts herself as the perfect mail-order bride for a rancher, but when she finally reaches Montana, she's surprised to find Ethan's the perfect cowboy husband-to-be. Against her better judgment, her plan to keep her handsome groom at arm's length disintegrates into a night of passion spent in his arms.

 

Ethan knows he can't keep playing this game - he has to come clean with Autumn and tell her the truth; about the practical joke and about the state of his ranch. He's about to lose it all because of the debts his mother racked up before his parents' deaths. Now his sister, Claire, wants to sell the ranch and collect what little money they can. He'll be out of a home and a job, and in no shape to support the bride he desperately wants to marry, after all.

 

Autumn's in bigger trouble than ever. Not only has she fallen in love with the subject of her expose - she might be carrying his child. If she doesn't write this article and secure her contract for another year, she'll lose everything - her career, her apartment, and more importantly, her family's approval. The only alternative is to stay and marry Ethan. But how can she trust a man she's just met when she knows too well that men always let you down?

 

Can a love based on lies last?

 

The Cowboys of Chance Creek Series: 

BOOK 0: The Cowboy Inherits a Bride
BOOK 1: The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride
BOOK 2: The Cowboy Wins a Bride 
BOOK 3: The Cowboy Imports a Bride 
BOOK 4: The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire 
BOOK 5: The Sheriff Catches a Bride 
BOOK 6: The Cowboy Lassos a Bride 
BOOK 7: The Cowboy Rescues a Bride 
BOOK 8: The Cowboy Earns a Bride 
BOOK 9: The Cowboy's Christmas Bride
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Acre Press
• Release date: Oct 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781927036372

Book preview

The Cowboy’s E-Mail Order Bride is Volume 1 in the Cowboys of Chance Creek series, set in the fictional town of Chance Creek, Montana.

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Chapter One

"You did what? Ethan Cruz turned his back on the slate and glass entrance to Chance Creek, Montana’s Regional Airport, and jiggled the door handle of Rob Matheson’s battered red Chevy truck. Locked. It figured—Rob had to know he’d want to turn tail and head back to town the minute he found out what his friends had done. Open the damned door, Rob."

Not a chance. You’ve got to come in—we’re picking up your bride.

I don’t have a bride and no one getting off that plane concerns me. You’ve had your fun, now open up the door or I’m grabbing a taxi. He faced his friends. Rob, who’d lived on the ranch next door to his their entire lives. Cab Johnson, county sheriff, who was far too level-headed to be part of this mess. And Jamie Lassiter, the best horse trainer west of the Mississippi as long as you could pry him away from the ladies. The four of them had gone to school together, played football together, and spent more Saturday nights at the bar than he could count. How many times had he gotten them out of trouble, drove them home when they’d had one beer to many, listened to them bellyache about their girlfriends or lack thereof when all he really wanted to do was knock back a cold one and play a game of pool? What the hell had he ever done to deserve this?

Unfortunately, he knew exactly what he’d done. He’d played a spectacularly brilliant prank a month or so ago on Rob—a prank that still had the town buzzing—and Rob concocted this nightmare as payback. Rob got him drunk one night and egged him on about his ex-fiancee until he spilled his guts about how much it still bothered him that Lacey Taylor had given him the boot in favor of that rich sonofabitch Carl Whitfield. The name made him want to spit. Dressed like a cowboy when everyone knew he couldn’t ride to save his life.

Lacey bailed on him just as life had delivered a walloping one-two punch. First his parents died in a car accident. Then he discovered the ranch was mortgaged to the hilt. As soon as Lacey learned there would be some hard times ahead, she took off like a runaway horse. Didn’t even have the decency to break up with him face to face. Before he knew it Carl was flying Lacey all over creation in his private plane. Las Vegas. San Francisco. Houston. He never had a chance to get her back.

He should have kept his thoughts bottled up where they belonged—would have kept them bottled up if Rob hadn’t kept putting those shots into his hand—but no, after he got done swearing and railing at Lacey’s bad taste in men, he apparently decided to lecture his friends on the merits of a real woman. The kind of woman a cowboy should marry.

And Rob—good ol’ Rob—captured the whole thing with his cell phone.

When he showed it to him the following day, Ethan made short work of the asinine gadget, but it was too late. Rob had already emailed the video to Cab and Jamie, and the three of them spent the next several days making his life damn miserable over it.

If only they’d left it there.

The other two would have, but Rob was still sore about that old practical joke, so he took things even further. He decided there must be a woman out there somewhere who met all of the requirements Ethan expounded on during his drunken rant. To find her, he did what any rational man would do. He edited Ethan’s rant into a video advertisement for a damned mail order bride.

And posted it on YouTube.

Rob showed him the video on the ride over to the airport. There he was for all the world to see, sounding like a jack-ass—hell, looking like one, too. Rob’s fancy editing made his rant sound like a proposition. What I want, he heard himself say, is a traditional bride. A bride for a cowboy. 18—25 years old, willing to work hard, beautiful, quiet, sweet, good cook, ready for children. I’m willing to give her a trial. One month’ll tell me all I need to know. Then the image cut out to a screen full of text, telling women how to submit their video applications.

Unbelievable. This was low—real low—even for Rob.

Ready for children?

You all are cracked in the head. I’m not going in there.

Come on, Ethan, Cab said. The big man stood with his legs spread, his arms folded over his barrel chest, ready to stop him if he tried to run. The girl’s come all the way from New York. You’re not even going to say hello? What kind of a fiance are you?

He clenched his fists. No kind at all. And there isn’t any girl in there. You know it. I know it. So stop wasting my time. There isn’t any girl dumb enough to answer something like that!

The other men exchanged a look.

Actually, Jamie said, leaning against the Chevy and rubbing the stubble on his chin with the back of his hand. We got nearly 200 answers to that video. Took us hours to get through them all. He grinned. Who can resist a cowboy, right?

As far as Ethan was concerned, plenty of women could. Lacey certainly had resisted him. Hence his bachelor status. So you picked the ugliest, dumbest girl and tricked her into buying a plane ticket. Terrific.

Rob looked pained. No, we found one that’s both hot and smart. And we chipped in and bought the ticket—round trip, because we figured you wouldn’t know a good thing when it kicked you in the butt, so we’d have to send her back. Have a little faith in your friends. You think we’d steer you wrong?

Hell, yes. Ethan took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. The guys wouldn’t admit they were joking until he’d gone into the airport and hung around the gate looking foolish for a suitable amount of time. And if they were stupid enough to actually fly a girl out here, he couldn’t trust them to put her back on a plane home. So now instead of finishing his chores before supper, he’d lose the rest of the afternoon sorting out this mess.

Fine. Let’s get this over with, he said, striding toward the front door. Inside, he didn’t bother to look at the television screen which showed incoming and outgoing flights. Chance Creek Regional had all of four gates. He’d just follow the hall as far as homeland security allowed him and wait until some lost soul deplaned.

Look—it’s on time. Rob grabbed his arm and tried to hurry him along. Ethan dug in the heels of his well worn boots and proceeded at his own pace.

Jamie pulled a cardboard sign out from under his jacket and flashed it at Ethan before holding it up above his head. It read, Autumn Leeds. Jamie shrugged at Ethan’s expression. I know—the name’s brutal.

Want to see her? Cab pulled out a gadget and handed it over. Ethan held it gingerly. The laptop he bought on the advice of his accountant still sat untouched in his tiny office back at the ranch. He hated these miniature things that ran on swoops and swipes and taps on buttons that weren’t really there. Cab reached over and pressed something and it came to life, showing a pretty young woman in a cotton dress in a kitchen preparing what appeared to be a pot roast.

Hi, I’m Autumn, she said, looking straight at him. Autumn Leeds. As you can see, I love cooking…

Rob whooped and pointed. Look—there she is! I told you she’d come!

Ethan raised his gaze from the gadget to see the woman herself walking toward them down the carpeted hall. Long black hair, startling blue eyes, porcelain-white skin, she was thin and haunted and luminous all at the same time. She, too, held a cell phone and seemed to be consulting it, her gaze glancing down then sweeping the crowd. As their eyes met, hers widened with recognition. He groaned inwardly when he realized this pretty woman had probably watched Rob’s stupid video multiple times. She might be looking at his picture now.

As the crowd of passengers and relatives split around their party, she walked straight up to them and held out her hand. Ethan Cruz? Her voice was low and husky, her fingers cool and her handshake firm. He found himself wanting to linger over it. Instead he nodded. I’m Autumn Leeds. Your bride.

Autumn had never been more terrified in her life. In her short career as a columnist for CityPretty Magazine, she’d interviewed models, society women, CEO’s and politicians, but all of them were urbanites, and she’d never had to leave New York to get the job done. As soon as her plane departed LaGuardia she knew she’d made a mistake. As the city skyline fell away and the countryside below her emptied into farmland, she clutched the arms of her seat as if she was heading for the moon rather than Montana. Now, hours later, she felt off-kilter and fuzzy, and the four men before her looked like extras in a Western flick. Large, muscled, rough men who all exuded a distinct odor of sweat she realized probably came from an honest afternoon’s work. Entirely out of her comfort zone, she wondered for the millionth time if she’d done the right thing. It’s the only way to get my contract renewed, she reminded herself. She had to write a story different from all the other articles in CityPretty. In these tough economic times, the magazine was downsizing—again. If she didn’t want to find herself out on the street, she had to produce—fast.

And what better story to write than the tale of a Montana cowboy using YouTube to search for an email-order bride?

Ethan Cruz looked back at her, seemingly at a loss for words. Well, that was to be expected with a cowboy, right? The ones in movies said about one word every ten minutes or so. That’s why his video said she needed to be quiet. Well, she could be quiet. She didn’t trust herself to speak, anyway.

She’d never been so near a cowboy before. Her best friend, Becka, helped shoot her video response, and they’d spent a hilarious day creating a pseudo-Autumn guaranteed to warm the cockles of a cowboy’s heart. Together, they’d decided to pitch her as desperate to escape the dirty city and unleash her inner farm wife on Ethan’s Montana ranch. They hinted she loved gardening, canning, and all the domestic arts. They played up both her toughness (she played first base in high school baseball) and her femininity (she loved quilting—what an outright lie). She had six costume changes in the three minute video.

Over her vehement protests, Becka forced her to end the video with a close-up of her face while she uttered the words, I often fall asleep imagining the family I’ll someday have. Autumn’s cheeks warmed as she recalled the depth of the deception. She wasn’t a country girl pining to be a wife; she was a career girl who didn’t intend to have kids for at least another decade. Right?

Of course.

Except somehow, when she watched the final video, the life the false Autumn said she wanted sounded far more compelling than the life the real Autumn lived. Especially the part about wanting a family.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want a career. She just wanted a different one—a different life. She hated how hectic and shallow everything seemed now. She remembered her childhood, back when she had two parents—a successful investment banker father and a stay-at-home mother who made the best cookies in New York City. Back then, her mom, Teresa, loved to take Autumn and her sister, Lily, to visit museums, see movies and plays, walk in Central Park and shop in the ethnic groceries that surrounded their home. On Sundays, they cooked fabulous feasts together and her mother’s laugh rang out loud and often. Friends and relatives stopped by to eat and talk, and Autumn played with the other children while the grownups clustered around the kitchen table. All that changed when she turned nine and her father left them for a travel agent. Her parents’ divorce was horrible. The fight wasn’t over custody; her father was all too eager to leave child-rearing to her mother while he toured Brazil with his new wife. The fight was over money—over the bulk of the savings her father had transferred to offshore accounts in the weeks before the breakup, and refused to return.

Broke, single and humiliated, her mother took up the threads of the life she’d put aside to marry and raise a family. A graduate of an elite liberal arts college, with several years of medical school already under her belt, she moved them into a tiny apartment on the edge of a barely-decent neighborhood and returned to her studies. Those were lean, lonely years when everyone had to pitch in. Autumn’s older sister watched over her after school, and Teresa expected them to take on any and all chores they could possibly handle. As Autumn grew, she took over the cooking and shopping and finally the family’s accounts. Teresa had no time for cultural excursions, let alone entertaining friends, but by the time Autumn was ready to go to college herself, she ran a successful OB-GYN practice that catered to wealthy women who’d left childbearing until the last possible moment, and she didn’t even have to take out a loan to fund her education.

Determined her daughters would never face the same challenges she had, Teresa raised them with three guiding precepts:

Every woman must be self-supporting.

Marriage is a trap set by men for women.

Parenthood must be postponed until one reaches the pinnacle of her career.

Autumn’s sister, Lily, was a shining example of this guide to life. She was single, ran her own physical therapy clinic, and didn’t plan to marry or have children any time soon. Next to her, Autumn felt like a black sheep. She couldn’t seem to accept work was all there was to life. Couldn’t forget the joy of laying a table for a host of guests. She still missed those happy, crowded Sunday afternoons so much it hurt her to think about them.

She forced her thoughts back to the present. The man before her was ten times more handsome than he was in his video, and that was saying a lot. Dark hair, blue eyes, a chiseled jaw with just a trace of manly stubble. His shoulders were broad and his stance radiated a determination she found more than compelling. This was a man you could lean on, a man who could take care of the bad guys, wrangle the cattle, and still sweep you off your feet.

Ethan, aren’t you going to say hello to your fiancee? One of the other men stuck out his hand. I’m Rob Matheson. This is Cab Johnson and Jamie Lassiter. Ethan here needed some backup.

Rob was blonde, about Ethan’s size, but not nearly so serious. In fact, she bet he was a real cut-up. That shit-eating grin probably never left his face. Cab was larger than the others—six foot four maybe, powerfully built. He wore a sheriff’s uniform. Jamie was lean but muscular, with dark brown hair that fell into his eyes. They had the easy camaraderie that spoke of a long acquaintance. They probably knew each other as kids, and would take turns being best man at each other’s weddings.

Her wedding.

No—she’d be long gone before the month was up. She had three weeks to turn in the story; maybe four, if it was really juicy. She’d pitched it to the editor of CityPretty as soon as the idea occurred to her. Margaret’s uncertain approval told her she was probably allowing her one last hurrah before CityPretty let her go.

Still, just for one moment she imagined herself standing side by side Ethan at the altar of some country church, pledging her love to him. What would it be like to marry a near stranger and try to forge a life with him?

Insane, that’s what.

So why did the idea send tendrils of warmth into all the right places?

She glanced up at Ethan to find him glancing down, and the warm feeling curved around her insides again. Surely New York men couldn’t be shorter than this crew, or

Reviews for The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride

[krissiemarie-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received this book from the author.

I'm not normally a western / cowboy romance reader. But I found the story very sweet and captivating. I couldn't put it down and the next thing I know I'm on book 2.

It starts off as a joke between friends, but quickly turns into love at first sight even though they both fight it. I can't wait to read more of this series.

[carpathian1974 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a lovely sweet read basically, it's the old mail order bride story with a few twists, as in the bride and groom both had a hidden agenda and were keeping secrets, We have Ethan the Montana cowboy and Autumn the reporter from the big bad city, a bunch of well-meaning friends and a bitch of an ex. all the ingredients for a mills and boon type novel (and I don't mean that in a derogatory way I actually like Mills & boon). I found myself smiling a lot and rooting like a cheerleader for our featured twosome, yay just give them a happy ending. this was a hearts and flowers instant love kind of story AW!

[readingover50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a fun book to read. The story was a little formulaic, but I liked the characters so much, and was rooting for them to get together. I enjoyed reading this, and will read more from Cora Seton in the future.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ugh. Not nearly as good as I was expecting, having just read her The Navy SEAL's E-Mail Order Bride. Ethan is rather limp, Autumn is seriously limp, uncontrolled lust is the major thing holding them together. And then there's the secrets. Really, Autumn? Really? After the whole secrets-and-lies reveal where you ran away, you decide Ethan doesn't need to know _your_ secret? Sheesh. And then the deus ex machina of her note to...herself? Her mother? Just why did she write that? And magically everything comes right - Ethan believes her, Lacey comes straight, HEA. Ugh. I'll try the other book I have in the series - maybe this was her first? But this one really doesn't work for me. The other one of hers I've read was good, so I'm willing to try again. I will not reread this one, though.

[caslater83 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Where to begin?
When I read the synopsis: I knew it had the makings of a good book. I mean...it's a classic East meets West type of novel. City girl meets Cowboy. What's not to like?

THEN I got into the story. I'm not too comfortable with the direction the author took with this. This had so much potential, but I felt that it could have been even better. While the talent is there, I don't think I could pick up another of Cora Seton's novels because I don't want to be disappointed again.

[suzanne.marble · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was free on Amazon and I decided to give it a shot. I read this book in around 3 hours and I loved every minute of it. It was a page turning romance novel set in the wild open range of the Cruz ranch. It had amazing twists in the plots and was easily able to grab attention with its realistic characters and great imagery. I was hesitant at first with the slow beginning but it picked up quickly. I loved the varying sentence lengths and words. Overall the only thing I disliked was how many sex scenes were in this short of a book. I expected more about the dates than about there passionate sex.

[nancynova · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Cute story. Prankster Rob video's Ethan when he's on a rant about his ex-fiancé and splices together a video of Ethan's list for a wife….and posts in on youtube. Autumn answers the video - actually to Rob, and surprise to Ethan! Now he's getting married to an e-mail order bride.

[arlenadean · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Title: The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride
Author: Cora Seton
Publisher: One Acre Press
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Series: The Cowboy of Chance Creek #1
Rating: 4.5
Review:

"The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride" by Cora Seton was a well written told story of a cowboy and woman who weren't actually looking for love but did find it. The author presented the reader with such a story that will keep you turning the pages with all its twist and turns. I found myself all caught up with the characters because they were all indeed all well developed, real, believable, humorous, colorful, even some with flaws by the end the reader will gets a down right good read that I wasn't able to put down until the end. This author really did a good job and knows how to present a story that will have you on the edge of your seat only wanting more of seeing how these two people manage to find a love based on lies. This author did a wonderful job especially at the end of the read of how the reader will be able to get another feel of the ex-girlfriend. I never saw that one coming! I am not perfectly sure that I liked how 'the friends' brought this all upon their friend Ethan, with this practical joke.... only trying to help him out, however in the end when it all came out....and this is where I will say you will have to pick up "The Cowboy's E-Mail Order Bride" to see how this author will bring it all out to the reader.

I found this novel a delightful romantic erotic western read that was on a journey and in the end after everything is brought out will they find the happiness and love they both needed? Since this is a series I can't wait to get the next novel...The Cowboy Wins A Bride by this author.

[jbarr5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Cowboy’s E-Mail Order Bride by Cora Seton
Autumn Leeds has flown out to Montana to meet the cowboy's approval to wed him and live there.
She's a city girl and her friend had put together the video that won him over.
Ethan Cruz lives in Montana and his friends have played a prank on him-the ad looking for a woman to live on his ranch and have his children.
It's up to him now to confess it to her, or would he just keep it to himself.....She should tell him that she's only writing a story for her job-which she may not have much longer in the city.
But they are too 'wrapped' up with one another ...His buddies intervene to make matters worse and now his sister just wants to sell and Autumn has NO idea...
Autumn has plans of her own...everybody's plans and pranks are coming to light...
Won at a contest on FaceBook for Sweet Romance Reads Group from the author.

[noussaiba-5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The cowboy’s e-mail order bride, a book very goooooood to read, a book to become a movie and a good one if we follow the events of the book of course.
Autumn ant Ethan, even from their name, there is a beautiful rhythm in it, it’s like they suppose to be together when you hear their name, a love story from a first sight I always admire those kind of stories and never got bored with them they seem so real, it’s like the events can happen in reality.
Now for those tow they did start their relation with a lie but even then there was chemistry between both that you can’t deny.
There is also a mixed romance and drama that convince to finish this book no matter what time it is at night because when I start reading it in the afternoon I told myself that I have to finish it the same day I just couldn’t stop and had to know how Ethan will discover Autumn lie even though I suspected it with the how and had to be sure about and also vice versa how Autumn will know about Ethan kind of lie and of course were their couple solid enough to get through it all.
Anyway readers if you like this type of romance drama and “action” this is defently a book for it.

[lexiesmom-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Practical jokes are the norm among this group of cowboys. When Ethan is dumped by his fiance and goes on a drunken rant about what he wants in a bride his friend records the rant and posts it on Utube. Looking for a way to keep her job at a tabloid magazine Autumn puts together a fake response and is chosen by Ethan's friends as a likely bride. Everyone figures the joke will be over once the plane lands and everyone has a good laugh at Ethan's expense. Ethan, being a gentleman thinks that he owes the young woman dinner and an explanation. But sparks fly.
I enjoyed the book but I think I'll leave you to buy the book to figure out the ending.

[scorchingrevs · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I requested Email order bride as the premise of an updated Mail-order bride story intrigued me. Oh and it had cowboys in it. I like Cowboys. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me and I ended up marking it as DNF about 60% of the way through. I hate not finishing a book but I just couldn’t bring myself to carry on with it. The lie’s were forgiven too easily (even though they were quite large) and shrugged off with “well I did lie to you” and the plot devices used left me with a feeling that a HEA was inevitable no matter what. I wasn’t enjoying the predictability of it all and both characters left a bad taste in my mouth; I wasn’t sure I wanted them to get there HEA after the perpetual lies that they based their initial relationship on.

There are a LOT of good reviews for this one. I would never urge anyone not to try a book and this one is currently free on All Romance, The writing is very fluid and the formatting was very good; it was the story-line that wasn’t for me and, as they say, your kink is not my kink J

[tarenn_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Can a relationship be built on a practical joke? For Ethan Cruz the answer is yes! This is a charming 21st century twist on a mail order bride. The story is funny, quirky, and sweet. It begins with Ethan being hauled to the air port by his buddies to pick up his bride. Ethan refuses to believe the set up until Autumn actually steps of the plane.

Autumn’s mom has trained her to be pretty much a “man hater” so when the opportunity arises to trick one and write a story for her magazine she is all on board – that is until he meets him.

The characters in the book are awesome. Cora Seton did an excellent job forming the close relationships of Ethan and his friends. She also created a beautiful love story with some cute quirkiness. If you love cowboys you will love Ethan Cruz he is rough and tough down to his bones. He works hard and loves even harder. Autumn is trying to make her mom proud, until she realizes making her mom happy is not truly making her happy. Loved it can’t wait for book 2 in the Cowboy’s of Chance Creek series.

RATING: 4

HEAT RATING: Mild

REVIEWED BY: A. Lyn

REVIEW COURTESY OF: My Book Addiction and More

[roadway2000_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting love story, although based on untruths in the beginning and lack of complete disclosure as time went on. That said, the two main characters seemed to be basically soul mates who were destined to meet no matter what the circumstances. I enjoyed this story and all of the interaction of the two with his friends and her friend and family. I would suggest this book as a good read.

[cats57_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was a bit difficult for me to get into this novel. Don't get me wrong, the concept of updating the mail order bride of the historical novels into the 21 century by using the e-mail and Youtube was interesting and somewhat fresh. What I did not like is the fact that both of these people are perpetuating lies. I understand that the stores wouldn't have gone anywhere if it weren't for that ploy, but I think I would have been less disgruntled if perhaps only one of them were lying.

There is a bit of character growth, but not as much as I would have thought given the subject matter. For the first quarter of the book, there is a ton of inner-dialogue and very little interaction between Ethan and Autumn (unless you count the sex they had a few hours after meeting?). There is more inner-dialoguing throughout the rest of the novel, but the characters finally DO start interacting, however they still are not telling the whole truth.

Several aspects really riled me up ------------------------>SPOILERISH<--------------------------------

Autu,n pretty much took it in stride when she found out about Ethan's lies, however Ethan was so angry and down-right mean when he had to confront Autumns lie and he never even asked for an explanation. Plus, the fact that Lacey, Ethan's old flame just sashays into Ethan's house, takes Autumn's computer and plops it down on the table in the middle of a restaurant and nobody even blinks an eye?

If you can look over some of these things you may find the light, fun read that the author was intending. I did just that and finally just let myself enjoy the book for what it is.