The Honeymoon Mix-Up by Frankie Fyre is a humorous romance set in a luxurious sapphic retreat.
Left at the altar, Basil is heartbroken, angry, and determined to use their already purchased luxury honeymoon trip even if she has to go by herself. A big business deal with the island resort’s owners is also on the chopping block. If she goes, she’ll get a promotion for landing the deal, and maybe a bit of balm for her tattered heart.
Caroline will never mix business with pleasure again. She has a mystery client who has her travel to a luxurious sapphic retreat and report on a woman on her honeymoon. In no time at all the hot one night stand who ghosted her forces her into a faux marriage so they can register at the couples only retreat.
Each of them have big secrets from the other, and neither of them is looking for love at all. But the island is a sapphic heaven, and having to share a king bed in a secluded beach house makes it hard to stick to principles.
Writing
Written in first person present tense, the narration switches between Basil and Caroline, giving the story a strong immediacy and enhances the urgency both characters feel at times, especially Basil. The reader gets a great feel of just how different the women feel about issues and shared events.
There are a lot of very different characters, some of whom I came to love nearly as much as Basil and Caroline. The setting is exotic but not intimidating, and there are many challenges for the two to overcome that tests their capabilities and their humor.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
If you’re looking for funny, and I usually am, then this book will tickle your funnybone. Both of the women are dead set against being in love with anyone ever again, but of course neither one can help themselves. Better yet, the convoluted plot creates more than a few madcap scenes that had me grinning. When the story does get serious the author gives Basil and Caroline some huge issues to overcome if they’re to be together.
Normally I’m not a fan of first person present tense, but the author does a stellar job of making the prose a breeze to read and I liked being that much in the characters’ head. I enjoyed how the truly awful antagonists give Basil really strong motivations. There are two very easy to hate people in the story, with one of their stories coming to a surprising conclusion. A couple of characters from an early novel by the author makes a quick appearance and that made me happy.
Heads Up
None.
The Conclusion
Basil is heartbroken after being left at the altar, but goes on the dream honeymoon excursion because it’s already paid for and she needs time to heal. Caroline is sent on a secretive assignment to report on a woman at a dream honeymoon destination. Once there they each find they need the other and are forced to pretend to be married to stay.
A convoluted plot creates many opportunities for humorous hijinks and a fun romance. The first person present tense prose creates intimacy with the main characters and their very different reactions to the same situations. Fun supporting characters range from lovable to insidious.
Excerpt from The Honeymoon Mix-Up by Frankie Fyre
Heart drumming against my chest and not knowing the exact moment my life transformed from an epic romance to a Tarantino film, I frantically search for the Blakemans. I halt, squeezing my sides to catch my breath, and think logically. They can’t see me like this. And what if Sunny approaches the table exigently demanding pen on paper?
I grab a pile of napkins and kickstart my prefrontal cortex, searching it for answers while I aggressively dab at my chest. Refusal to give any human the satisfaction of booting me off this island fuels me to locate a closet or long tablecloth to hide underneath. Seconds later, I spot a more suitable solution: a woman sitting facing the window. Alone. A solution that doesn’t include me being marked with scents of ginger, citrus, and shame while I hide like a child inside a coat rack.
After wiping the sweat teasing my brow, I check the stain again, which seems to have tripled in size. Nothing has gone as planned, and now, a complete stranger stands as my potential savior. I growl in frustration, flinging the pile of napkins onto the table. Look alive, Basil. With flared nostrils, I blow the frizzy flyaway hairs out of my face, smooth my ruined dress, and march toward the table.
Whisking past the woman from behind, I yank the open chair back and drop down, two hands slapping the table with a pronounced smack. “Listen. I don’t know you. You don’t know me. But I need you to be my wife—”
What the hell?
“Caroline?”
She startles, the insanely attractive Caroline that I ghosted. Her eyebrows knit together, and her decadently full lips part as she studies me with the deepest brown eyes I’ve seen since I left her that hotel room. I trail the contours of her perfectly muscular shoulders underneath a tank top that I’ve never been so jealous of. Time stills as I lose myself in a world much better than the current one. Speechless, we stare until the heat in my cheeks scorches, causing me to blink.
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Series: Saphire Isle
The Honeymoon Mix-Up
Bits and Bobs
ASIN number: B0C5S1G2YL
Publisher: Indie Author
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