About the Book

Book: Practically Married
Author: Karin Beery

Genre: General Market, clean fiction, women’s fiction, contemporary romance
Release Date: October 22, 2019

She moved to a new town to marry her fiancé. Instead, she’s burying him.

Ashley Johnson moved to northern Michigan to finally meet her fiancé face-to-face, but she arrived in time to attend his funeral. With no home back in Ohio, she decides to stay in what would have been their house, except his cousin Russ lives there too, and Russ has never heard of Ashley. To complicate matters, her fiancé accidentally willed her the family farm house. Eager to please everyone and desperate to disappoint no one, she proposes a marriage of convenience that could solve her and Russ’ problems, if they can get past her aunt, his sisters, and an ex-girlfriend.

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My Review

So, I had mixed feelings on this modern "mail order" bride story. What I loved was the backdrop and the characters. Although I'm a true southern girl, I found myself wanting to visit Wisconsin because of our author's description. Also, I really enjoyed Ashley and Russ. They were beautifully developed and you really don't see the entire emotional depth of the characters and their challenges until the end of the story making the story develop at a very intriguing, blossoming pace. While the ending was predictable (which is a strength in these type stories I feel like), I did feel that there were enough twists along the way to keep you reading. My issues just had to do with the conflicts. I found the conflict the story was centered around- this hypothetical will to be a little unbelievable. Also, I find it hard to believe someone would engage in a marriage of convenience these days, so I feel like the attempt to make that a modern thing was a little too hard to think that would really happen. Overall, I think those that enjoy a Hallmark movie type vibe, or enjoy a nice clean romance with really nice hero and heroine would enjoy this one.

I received a complimentary copy of this book, and all opinions given are entirely my own.

About the Author

Karin Beery grew up in a rural Michigan town where she wrote her first novel in high school. Today, she writes contemporary stories with a healthy dose of romance. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s reading, editing, or teaching it. In her free time, she enjoys being at home with her husband and fur babies watching University of Michigan football and action-adventure movies.

More from Karin

Why would two contemporary American’s agree to a marriage of convenience?

That’s what I asked myself when I sat down to write Practically Married. I love reading historical books about mail order brides and other arranged marriages, but I wanted to see if I could make that historical theme more modern (and still be believable). That’s how Ashley and Russ came to be, and—after several revisions—I think I did it! It takes two to get married, but this is really Ashley’s story—it’s her past that inspires her future, and it’s up to her to decide where that inspiration with lead her. The story couldn’t just be about their relationship, though. I’ve always thought it would be fun to have a big brother, so I gave Russ little sisters. And nieces and nephews. And a pie-baking mom who doesn’t like his beard (which may have been inspired my mother-in-law, who tried desperately to get my husband to shave his beard before our wedding). I also threw in some real buildings and places in northern Michigan (even though Boyne Falls is fictional). And it’s possible that some of my character names came directly from friends and other local inspirations. Practically Married isn’t only set in northern Michigan, it’s inspired by it.