The Marriage Mandate by Shannon McKenna: Madelyn Moss’s grandmother Elaine blackmailed 
all her grandchildren; they have to be married before they turn 35 (30 for the women), or she will sell her controlling shares to her brother, Jerome. Knowing it would be a huge disaster if Jerome takes control of MossTech, they need to do what their grandmother wishes.
Since the word was spread, Maddie has a long list of greedy candidates behind her. To avoid them, she chooses bad boy Jack Daly to be her fake fiancée, so she could get rid off her grandmother’s marriage mandate. The catch? There are two, actually: 1) Jack was her brother Caleb’s former business partner (and their company BioSpark ended bad nine years ago and they became enemies since then) and 2)Maddie had a crush with Jack years ago. He agrees, on one condition. She have use her forensic accounting skills to dig through BioSpark’s data to discover the truth behind their fallout.
As the sexual tension between them grows, both Maddie and Jack’s feelings starts to change things and beliefs, altering their unorthodox situation. Would this fake marriage be Jack and Maddie’s solution…or will it gets things worse?
Maddie is tired of her grandmother wanting to put golden chains on her, calling the shots of her life. That’s why she feels rebellious about the Moss matriarch’s mandate to get married. She wants to break free and have her own forensic accounting company. But her idea to maker Elaine think she’s engaged to Jack bring risks. Risk of falling in love, to be exact. Also, Maddie doesn’t believe in Jack. For her—and the whole Moss family—Jack is a liar, a traitor and a criminal.
Everything is against him; even all the evidence points at him as the one who cause the BioSpark fallout. Of course, Jack took the worst part as this “proof” sent him to jail nine years ago (fortunately he was out of jail six moths later due to some technicalities that ruined the case). Only that he’s not the bad boy everybody thinks he is. In fact, he’s a man very honorable who was accused and sentenced for a crime he didn’t commit. Now, he wants to clear his name not for the money or his own reputation, but for his former best friend. Jack wants Caleb to know with strong evidence that he didn’t sold him, betraying their friendship.
“There were so many little buzzkills hidden between them. Emotional land mines, scattered around, blowing up in their faces when they least expected it. It made things so damn complicated.”
And there’s their mutual attraction. Since the first time they set their eyes to each other, sparks fly in all possible directions, making the reader understand why these two are great together. Not only their backgrounds are somewhat alike—they’re both lost their parents at a young age—but their strong determination of doing things right and their waves of chemistry in their interactions made their romance credible and viable. My only complaint is there were scenes too pink colored for my liking.
“We have to address this… this thing between us.”
“Our sexual attraction, you mean?” “
I like the fact that in this book most of the scenes are solely Maddie and Jack’s because with the BioSpark situation the focus of the book could be easily deviated. That leaves us with the secondary characters—the Moss family—doing their roles outside of Maddie and Jack’s bubble on the majority of the scenes. Although this is a standalone book and you can read it without reading book 1, I suggest to catch up book 1 of the series before reading this story to have full perspective (Caleb’s version) of the events that put Jack in jail.
Book 2 of Dynasties: Tech Tycoons has a really good story with well written dialogues, a solid argument and a great ending. Also I have to highlight Ms. McKenna’s research work and how they explains technical topics in a simple way so the reader could understand it. That said, I missed some a more consistent pace at the beginning of the book. But generally the author achieved her goal: leave the reader wanting for more of the series.
Book Info:
Publication: August 23, 2022 | Harlequin Desire | Dynasties: Tech Tycoons #2
Will her family’s worst enemy make the best fake fiancé? Find out in this new Dynasties: Tech Tycoons novel by New York Times bestselling author Shannon McKenna.
“I have a wild idea…
I just need your help.”
Tech heiress Maddie Moss must marry or lose the family company. So she chooses the last man her controlling grandmother will accept—Jack Daly. Her brother’s ex–business partner is a thief, a traitor and—most importantly—guaranteed to force Gran to relent. But Jack is also impossibly hot. And he’ll only play along on one specific condition, which has Maddie questioning everything she thought she knew about Jack…even before she lands in his bed!
From Harlequin Desire: A luxurious world of bold encounters and sizzling chemistry.
You’ll be swept away by this bold, sizzling romance, part of the Dynasties: Tech Tycoons series:
Book 1: Their Marriage Bargain
Book 2: The Marriage Mandate
Book 3: How to Marry a Bad Boy
Book 4: Married by Midnight
