This and other reviews can be found at: Nicole About Town 
 I've got to admit. I've been sitting on this one for a while. I mean, I've had the ARC of The Marriage Bargain for ages, but for some reason I never got around to it. Until now, that is, and I'm honestly not sure why it took so long. It was a fun, easy read, with just enough drama and heat to keep you flipping the pages. 
 Dammit, it's just like a man to put a rich, fattening meal in front of a woman and get offended when she won't eat. Then you seem shocked in the bedroom when you're looking at her hips and wondering how she put on the extra ten pounds! 
 I enjoyed the interaction between Alexa and Nick. It had just the right amount of fire, and tenderness. Their interactions with one another, and those around them, was very believable. It also didn't hurt that the characters had grown up together, so there was much more background and history shared between Alexa and Nick. I just loved that while neither Alexa or Nick were what they said they wanted in a spouse they ended up being just what the other needed. 
 He didn't think of her as a beautiful woman, more like as an annoying younger sister who grew up to be attractive. The difference was monumental, and she ignored the sharp sting of hurt. 
 As I was reading The Marriage Bargain, it really struck me that so much of the confusion and drama could be avoided if the characters would simply communicate with one another. Indeed, this seems to be a theme found throughout most romance novels today. There was lots of things going on with both characters, but as usual, they internalize their thoughts which inevitably results in heartbreak and drama. I know, I know, if the characters didn't do this, then the book would be about 2 pages long, but I would have still liked to see Nick and Alexa work through their issues together as opposed to the instant fix and epiphany at the end. 
 Final Verdict: A hot and steamy little romance that will leave you reaching for book #2 in the series. 
 Rating: 3* 
 Source: Digital ARC from Edelweiss