Practice Husband

Hunter and Sam have been friends since high school. When he's released from prison and needs a place to stay and a job and she needs something that will push her outside her comfort zone, they decide to get married. Just for a year. This book had heat and humor. There was nothing fake about Hunter and Sam's marriage and watching them figure it out was so entertaining. I finished this book in one sitting. I missed the first book in this series but I'm definitely adding it to my TBR. *This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*

3.5 stars--PRACTICE HUSBAND is the second instalment in Noelle Adams’ contemporary, adult TROPHY HUSBANDS erotic, romance series. This is perpetual college student Samantha ‘Sam’ Greyson, and Hunter Ness’ storyline. PRACTICE HUSBAND can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary. Told from first person point of view (Sam) PRACTICE HUSBAND follows the marriage of convenience between former high school friends Samantha ‘Sam’ Greyson, and Hunter Ness. Years earlier Samantha Greyson was Hunter Ness’ high school tutor but along the way Hunter began to rebel against his father’s demands, and two years ago Hunter found himself in prison for committing a white collar crime. Having kept in touch while in prison Hunter seeks out Samantha in the hopes of finding a job with her grandfather’s company but finds himself on the outside looking in when the old man refuses to accept a former con with no place to live. To alleviate Hunter current predicament as well as getting her grandfather off of her back, Samantha offers up a marriage of convenience in the hopes of forcing her grandfather to accept Hunter for the man he could be. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Hunter and Sam, and the potential fall-out as issues of trust and miscommunication force our couple in different directions. Samantha Greyson is a bit of a nerd; a bookworm who has no idea about what she wants, or where she wants to go including thoughts of employment or future career. Having lived vicariously through her love of romance novels, and the love affairs between the heroes and heroines, Sam is desperate to experience everything and more but in reality Sam is frightened of it all. Comparing her newfound love life with that of a romance novel pushes Sam to overthink about the who, how, what and why of her sexual fantasies and married life. Hunter Ness struggles with issues of trust-from his father’s rejection to the probably that his wife is unhappy with his direction in life. Misinterpretation of events will force Hunter and Ness to look at their long-term goals including whether or not their marriage will become a permanent fixture. The relationship between Hunter and Sam is a marriage of convenience wherein our couple barely know one another aside from their high-school tutoring sessions, and Sam’s twice weekly letters while Hunter served his sentence. Having thrown themselves into a marriage within days of Hunter’s release, our couple struggle more so than most newlyweds as it pertains communication, love and issues of trust. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. Samantha’s colorful and equally troubled sisters play secondary and supporting roles including Melissa Greyson, and her husband Trevor Bentley (Part Time Husband), their sister Chelsea; as well as their demanding and uncompromising grandfather who pays the bills, controls the purse strings, and owns the business from which everybody works. PRACTICE HUSBAND is a story of embattled family relationships, and a struggling couple whose direction in life is part fantasy and part reality. Each chapter begins a reference or scene from a classic novel as our heroine continues to compare her life to that of fictional characters. The premise is entertaining and engaging; the romance struggles in the face of mistrust and miscommunication; the characters are intelligent, wounded and flawed.

Sam has always been the good girl, the perfect girl, the smart girl. When her grandfather continues to pressure her into marrying, and an old school friend needs help after being released from prison, she takes her first rebellious step. For one year, Sam and Hunter will be married. He will have a job with her grandfather’s company as well as a place to live and she will have a practice husband. Unfortunately, one of Hunter’s conditions is that she learn to take risks and open herself up to life. Easy, right? Poor Sam. She was just so caught up in her method of staying safe, never rocking the boat or trying new things. Hunter has quite the challenge on his hands to pull her from her sedate lifestyle but her desire to experience hot sex is an enjoyable endeavor. I hurt for her inability to step out of the world she lived in and loved Hunter for pushing her limits although never running roughshod over her in the process. Hunter was so kind and gentle and so very determined to be and do whatever was necessary to fulfill his side of the marriage bargain. I worried that he might lose himself in the process. However, it was his own past that held him captive. Without his point of view I was completely clueless regarding his true issues and emotions. Was he all in or just abiding by the outline he and Sam had set at the onset of their arrangement? This was a great read, written in clean precise prose that never gave way to repetition or unnecessary details and introspection which resulted in a fast pace. The characters were so real and their conflict completely human. Despite Sam’s love of fiction she was living a new life, not that of a fairy tale, but one that consisted of all the pain and joy that could be expected in such a relationship. I loved watching this couple as they struggled together and independently. The steam level is relatively high, the secondary characters mostly consisting of the heroine’s family, two which have their own stories. I would’ve liked to have seen what the future held for Hunter in regards to his own past issues but the epilogue was otherwise absolutely perfect. Overall, an extremely enjoyable read and one I’d especially recommend to those who like a hero who rides the line between alpha and beta. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.