Smexy Books

Romance and Urban Fantasy Reviews

  • Review Request
  • Contact
    • Smexy Reviewers Profiles
    • New Reviewer Application
    • Contact
  • Advertising
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • By Genre
      • BDSM
      • Contemporary
      • Erotic
      • Fantasy
      • F/F
      • Historical Romance
      • Historical PNR
      • LGBTQ+
      • M/M Romance
      • New Adult
      • Urban Fantasy
      • Paranormal Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Romantic Suspense
      • Young Adult
    • By Letter Grade Rating
      • A Reviews
      • B Reviews
      • C Reviews
      • D Reviews
      • DNF Reviews
  • Features
    • New Releases
    • Smexy Deals!
    • Retro Review
    • Weekly Wrap-Up
    • Blog Tour
    • Scenic Sunday
    • To Be Read
    • Guest Post
    • Top Ten/Happy Friday
    • Smex Scene Sunday
  • The Psy/Changeling Channel
You are here: Home / C Review / Review: Marry Me by Karen Stivali

Review: Marry Me by Karen Stivali

May 5, 2016 by Tori Leave a Comment

Marry MeMarry Me by Karen Stivali
Erotic Romance Contemporary
March 24, 2016
Tule Publishing

Reviewed by Tori

Ben Davis, a drummer in a famous British rock band, hasn’t been interested in anyone romantically since he lost his wife in an auto accident. His interest from that day on was in nothing but his music and random hook ups until he meets the band’s beautiful new clothing stylist.

Julia Jones gave up on men when her ex-boyfriend went from controlling to violent. A very talented clothing designer, Julia chooses to put all her focus on her career until she meets the very determined Ben Davis. Gorgeous and sweet, Julia is powerless to resist his charms.

Innocent flirting turns into hot steamy nights of passion with both parties falling hard and deep. But when an incident endangers Julia, Ben’s reaction sends Julia running away. Can Julia trust Ben will never hurt her? Or will she close her heart off to the one man who opened it back up?

Marry Me is a short, sweet, and sexy novella that brings two love shy individuals to their happily ever after. Ben is a total sweetheart-a bad boy rocker whose stage persona is nothing like the one woman man he really is. I didn’t connect with Julia as well as I did Ben. She gave off a lot of mixed singles which made it hard to see what she really wanted. Witty dialogue helps to build the connection between them; allowing readers to see their growing attraction.

The romance is pretty straightforward and to the point. It has a very strong scripted feel to it. Couple meet, hero pursues, heroine is indecisive, they finally meet in middle, sexy shenanigans commence, the requisite misunderstanding, heroine finally listens to her heart, all is forgiven, the end. I think I would have enjoyed it more had we been able to see some emotion infused scenes from their respective pasts or their memories of what happened. Instead we get some light narrative on it that doesn’t match some of the extreme reactions the characters have (especially Julia)

Nicely written sex scenes round out the story. Stivali doesn’t skimp on the details and I liked that both parties were fully invested and sexually adventurous. It’s two people making love; a steamy emotional blend of give and take. This was the strongest element in the book.

Stivali wraps it up pretty quickly with a predictable conflict which is solved with minor fanfare. Marry Me is a decent enough romance and good for a quick pick me up but nothing I would write home about.

Grade: C

Recent Reviews:
Janine’s Cool Cat Reviews
Keeper Bookshelf
Goodsreads I Author Website I Kindle I Nook

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: C Review, Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance, Karen Stivali, Tule Publishing

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Smexy! If you are reader feel free to use our search feature to find a specific book or browse through our features to find Smexy Deals, New Releases, and book news!

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,  Booksamillion, and Bookshop,org.

 

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

Angela

Melanie

Jen

Kate

Iby

Kate H.

Sign Up for Daily Emails


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • Sunday Smexy Deals!
    Sunday Smexy Deals!
  • Monday Morning Book News!
    Monday Morning Book News!
  • Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
    Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
  • Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Ali Hazelwood, Kennedy Ryan, Katherine Center, and more!
    Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Ali Hazelwood, Kennedy Ryan, Katherine Center, and more!
  • Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
    Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
  • Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
    Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
  • Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
    Review: The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
  • New Release Spotlight- Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley
    New Release Spotlight- Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley
  • New Releases- Week of June 30- July 4, 2025
    New Releases- Week of June 30- July 4, 2025
  • Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
    Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden

Disclosure

The majority of the books reviewed at this site have been provided for free by publishers, authors, or other third parties like NetGalley or Edelweiss. Acceptance of a free copy does not guarantee a review or a positive review.

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Booksamillion.

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

 

Find Our Reviewers

Angela @fv-angela.bsky.social l Goodreads

Melanie @melonreads.bsky.social l  Goodreads

Jen .@thebooknista l Goodreads

Kate  @kateminasian l Goodreads

Iby Instagram l Goodreads

Kate H. @Naranjadia l Goodreads

Copyright © 2025 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d