ARC REVIEW: Black Tie Optional by Ann Marie Walker

Black Tie Optional by Ann Marie Walker is a fun romantic comedy! It's a must read for those who enjoy an enemies to lovers, opposites attract, and fake relationship romance!
Release Date: May 30, 2017
​Rating: ★★★★

Everything about Coleman Grant III oozes power and sex. And not the perfunctory kind either, but the sheet clawing, heart stopping, gasping for air after you’ve screamed so loud you can’t breathe kind. From his dark wavy hair that stands in an artfully rumpled mess, to the blue eyes that sear your skin, to his full, sensual lips - on the surface he’s pure perfection.

Too bad he's an asshole. An arrogant, uptight corporate raider hell bent on destroying the environment one species at a time. 

Everything about Olivia Ramsey screams hippie humanitarian. From her blond hair tied in a sloppy bun, to her faded jeans with the Bonnaroo patch sewn on 

the thigh, to her combat boots still splattered with mud from the previous day’s site visit.

So it makes perfect sense that they would get married. In Vegas. Stone-cold sober.

Cole needs a wife. Olivia needs to save an endangered species. But what starts as a marriage of convenience soon turns into a battle of wills and sexual tension. Love is a game, and Olivia and Cole are ready to win.

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Read my Book Review

Release Date: May 30, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance (fake relationship)

This is a fun little romp and I enjoyed it immensely! I haven't read a book quite like it in ages so I had a lot of fun and quite frankly a lot of smiles while reading it! It's funny, romantic, and an overall blast! Now I know why so many readers rave about Ann Marie Walkers work- she clearly knows how to write a fantastic novel and engage her readers. With that, this book packs the punches and will leave readers feeling extremely satisfied. It's also quite the mix of sub-genres (i.e. it's an opposites attract, enemies to lovers, and fake relationship type novel). So you really get a little bit of everything with it. If you are a reader who hasn't had the chance to read the authors work yet then I think starting with this one is a good idea. It gives you a taste of the authors writing style and sucks you in from page 1. I am now highly anticipating the second book in the series and will certainly be jumping to read it once published. 

A bit more about the book 
Okay, so as I mentioned above, this book has quite the mix going on. It's an enemies to lovers novel rolled into a fake relationship, and opposites attract type of book. The hero is a billionaire of Grant Corporations and in order to keep said company he needs to marry by his 30th birthday (otherwise everything goes to his overbearing grandmother). In walks the sassy and environmentally friendly heroine. She needs a parcel of land to be saved and needs the arrogant hero to not build on it. All of this brings these two together and a whirlwind romance (even if it is fake) ensues. 

There is quite a bit of sex between the two (ya know, frenemies can still boink), but other than that they have nothing in common besides their mutual attraction. I will however mention that the book isn't an erotic fiction- it's not all sex but just enough to see their burning passion in the sheets- so you don't have to worry about every other page being about their sexual endevours. This made me happy as a reader because I am so over erotica. 

The only thing with this book that I felt was missing was the fact that there was nothing truly resolved with the hero's grandmother. The author made it a huge point in the story about the grandmother wanting the company in her name and stopping at nothing to make their fake relationship known, but we don't see this resolved at all. I think if we had it would have been the perfect 5 star read for me. 

Anyway, if your looking for a fun book to get lost in I would suggest giving this one a go. I truly enjoyed every minute of it and had life not been in the way I would have read it from start to finish in one sitting.