Review – XENI: A Marriage of Inconvenience by Rebekah Weatherspoon
XENI: A Marriage of Inconvenience by Rebekah Weatherspoon Published by Amazon Digital Services LLC on October 4, 2019
Genres: Multicultural & Interracial
Pages: 263
Format: ARC
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She just wanted to claim her inheritance. What she got was a husband…
Xeni Everly-Wilkins has ten days to clean out her recently departed aunt’s massive colonial in Upstate New York. With the feud between her mom and her sisters still raging even in death, she knows this will be no easy task, but when the will is read Xeni quickly discovers the decades old drama between the former R&B singers is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Secrets, lies, and a crap ton of cash spilled on her lawyer’s conference room table all come with terms and conditions. Xeni must marry before she can claim the estate that will set her up for life and her aunt has just the groom in mind. The ruggedly handsome and deliciously thicc Scotsman who showed up at her aunt’s memorial, bagpipes at the ready.
When his dear friend and mentor Sable Everly passed away, Mason McInroy knew she would leave a sizable hole in his heart. He never imagined she’d leave him more than enough money to settle the debt that’s keeping him from returning home to Scotland. He also never imagined that Sable would use her dying breaths to play match-maker, trapping Mason and her beautiful niece in a marriage scheme that comes with more complications than either of them need.
With no choice but to say I do, the unlikely pair try to make the best of a messy situation. They had no plans to actually fall in love.
**This is a stand alone romance that can be read along with RAFE: A Buff Male Nanny. It features a woman sick to death of her family's sh*t and a plus-size Scotsman who just wants to make sweet, sweet music. And love.**
I’m pretty sure I mentioned this before but one of my favorite book tropes is a marriage of convenience. You mention this trope and I’ll read the book! Rebekah Weatherspoon’s XENI is more of a marriage of inconvenience and provided a great story of two strangers forced together by a loved one.
Xeni Everly-Wilkins’ favorite Aunt Sable has died and the book opens with Xeni at Sable’s memorial service. The first few pages punched me in the gut almost immediately. As we met Xeni’s friends and learned a little bit about Sable and Xeni’s relationship, the grief was palpable. I felt her pain and sympathized with the need for the release of those emotions.
At the small memorial service, she meets Mason McInroy, a talented musician and a giant of a man. She soon learns that he will serve an important role in her immediate future.
As she settles her aunt’s affairs, she learns she’s inherited quite a large sum of money. Aunt Sable leaves something special for Mason too. The stipulation to both of them getting said inheritance? They have to get married and stay married for at least 30 days. The crazy part? The marriage stipulation wasn’t really the shocker, but I’ll let you find out the rest for yourself.
These two agree and though they both initially agree that 30 days and this charade is done, but as they begin to learn more about each other, they realize Aunt Sable might have been on to something.
Xeni was a lovable character; she oozed confidence, seemed down to earth and had a great support group of friends. Mason was a big teddy bear, and like Rafe as some readers may remember, he knows his way around the kitchen. Extra points for Mason!
Both Xeni and Mason were honest, from almost the very beginning – to each other and about their feelings. I liked that a lot and it stood out to me immediately. Even in their rawest moments, they were comfortable and at ease with each other. Their interactions were both witty and sensual. They made solid friends and even better partners.
They both had some underlying family issues and I wish I had gotten a little bit more time with Mason and his dad but overall, the family dynamics and secondary characters helped me to bring this novel even more to life.
XENI was a great read and one I’d recommend. This is only my second read from Rebekah Weatherspoon and I have enjoyed them both. I’ll definitely be making my way through more of her earlier work.
Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.
You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.
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