You rather expect this series to be the stereo-typical must get married to fulfill some obligation and then oops they fell in love. I expected that. But for some reason while all that is true it is a really good series. I think it has to do with the close nit family the Conte's. Granted the first book is just outside this family and yet they are included in most family get togethers. In part his is because Maggie is Nick's (Marriage Mistake) sister. So they are part of the family. 
 What I love is that Probst seems to be able to mix dominate men, strong women, and family values and love. The more I read this series the more I loved it. 
 One of my favorite aspects of the series (from book 2 and on) is Mama Conte. She's hilarious in her ability to get her children to do what she wants but at every turn she's doing it to get her children happiness. 
 Well worth the read.