Whether it’s the forced proximity, the question of who sleeps in the bed, or the unexpected love that blooms from these tantalizing scenarios, stories centering marriages of convenience make us enamored in ways we could have never anticipated. Here are 10 fiction books on marriage of convenience (and one bonus nonfiction marriage of convenience story) that will have you falling in love!
Wild Side by Elsie Silver
Tabitha never imagined marrying the man she despises, but when her nephew’s future is at stake, she agrees to a marriage of convenience with the brooding and mysterious Rhys Dupris. As they navigate life under the same roof, their simmering tension turns into something far more dangerous—desire. The more Tabitha sees Rhys for who he truly is—protective, patient, and quietly devoted—the harder it becomes to hate him, and the easier it is to fall for her husband.
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Save the Date by Allison Raskin
Emma Moskowitz is a proud couples therapist, aspiring author, content creator, and expert on all things romance. But when her would-be-fiancé dumps her six months from the altar, her life’s work is thrown upside-down. With her audience, patients, and book deal on the line, Emma must come up with a plan to Save the Date! Searching for her second-chance man, Emma shares her story online and attracts the attention of two equally prospective suitors.
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Ride with Me by Simone Soltani
After being left at the altar, Stella Baldwin finds herself heartbroken and newly single in Las Vegas. Having to celebrate her cousin’s upcoming wedding just rubs salt in the wound. So she makes the most of the bachelorette party, drinking, dancing, and meeting a handsome stranger. Only problem is, when she comes to the morning after the party, she’s newly married–to the same man from the party. Formula 1 driver Thomas Maxwell-Brown sees this accidental marriage as an opportunity to bolster his career, and it might be just what Stella needs to leave her problems in the dust.
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The Broposal by Sonora Reyes
Han’s love life is practically non-existent. He’s never been able to figure out why he can’t meet his family’s expectations for settling down with a girl, until he starts to wonder if maybe there are no girls in his future at all. But questioning his sexuality is far from the top of his priority list. As an undocumented immigrant, the threat of losing his job means he’ll lose his work visa too. All of this stress, not to mention his best friend and roommate’s toxic girlfriend. Said roommate, Kenny, is offered an ultimatum. The soon-to-be ex says it’s her or Han. Throwing caution to the wind, Kenny proposes a plan to him: they should get married to get him a green card and make the ex jealous all at once. What they didn’t plan was for the very real feelings they would develop…
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Who’d Have Thought by G. Benson
Hayden Perez, a dedicated ER nurse who’s desperate for cash, finds an ad for 200 thousand dollars to become a mystery woman’s wife. She jumps right in. Living in NYC is expensive enough, but with a family in Miami to take care of too, she needs every cent she can get. As it would turn out, her coworker and ice queen-neurosurgeon, Samantha Thompson, is the mystery woman she’s agreed to get hitched to. Tense as their relationship is, pretending to be madly in love isn’t exactly brain surgery, right?
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The Fiancée Farce by Alexandra Bellafleur
Bookshop owner Tansy Adams’ lives romance in everything but her actual love life. With her stepfamily pestering her about settling down, she invents a fake girlfriend based off the cover model of a book in her store. She never expects that she would run into the very woman she claimed to be dating. Model and heir to the Van Dalen Publishing company, Gemma, is in a pinch herself. Though she’s set to inherit the billion dollar company, it’s on the condition that she gets married. Luckily, she runs into a beautiful woman who’s been claiming to be her girlfriend anyway and Gemma takes the ruse further, announcing that she and Tansy are getting engaged. In need of help with her struggling bookstore, Tansy jumps at the chance, but neither are ready for the romantic consequences of their intimate lie. With money and heartbreak on the line, Tansy and Gemma must fight for their careers and their newfound love.
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King of Wrath by Ana Huang
Dashing and dangerous Dante Russo has it all. A multi-billion dollar company, a life of power and prestige. But it all threatens to come crashing down when his commercial rival begins blackmailing him. The only way to settle things is for Dante to begrudgingly accept an engagement with the blackmailer’s heiress, Vivian Lau. Initially, he wants nothing more than to be rid of her, and her only duty is to her family and their social ascent. Over time, however, feelings blossom in the garden of their arranged marriage and a love they could have never imagined springs forth out of the confines of expectation.
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The Co-op by Tarah Dewitt
LaRynn and Deacon were sweethearts once, but their love-hate relationship came to an end nearly a decade ago. They never thought they would be reunited, especially not after the tragic passing of both of their grandmothers. In LaRynn’s Grandmother’s will, she’s been left a house. The condition for LaRynn to inherit a valuable Santa Cruz property is to get married and who is a better choice than the contentious construction expert Deacon? With an old house left in both their names, they must learn both how to rebuild their foundations and renovate their relationship.
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In a Jam by Kate Canterbury
After a breakup with her fiance and the loss of her beloved step-grandmother, Shay Zucconi is left heartbroken and with no home to go back to. But when her grandmother’s will reveals she’s inherited the old tulip farm, things have the opportunity to turn around. There is a catch, though. She has to get married in one year. To save her home, she’ll do anything, and luckily for her there’s a willing candidate in old highschool friend, Noah Barden. Single dad to his neurodivergent niece, Noah’s got a lot on his plate, but he’ll do it to help out Shay, the woman he fell in love with all those years ago.
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One and Only by Karla Sorenson
People pleaser Greer Wilder is in need of a husband. She’s not looking for love, but wants to fulfill her terminally ill dad’s dream of walking her down the aisle. Luckily for her, a candidate arises, one who needs her help as well. Enter Beckett Coleman, divorced dad fighting for custody of his daughter. Authentic and heartwarming, One and Only tackles what it really means to enter into a marriage of convenience, mourning family, and finding a new one in places you didn’t expect.
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Marriage and Masti by Nisha Sharma
A Desi take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Marriage and Masti finds Veera Mathur out of luck in all sorts of ways. The man she loves got engaged to another woman. She was fired from her own family’s company. And now, the cruise she took to get away from her problems literally shipwrecks. Deepak Ditta is mourning a lost business venture. He was set to enter a marriage with popular influencer, Olivia Gupta. But when she dumps him, his image is in need of immediate repair. Stuck on a tropical island, Veera and Deepak meet, get drinks, and wind up drunkenly eloping. Though it was by accident, the wedding might have been their saving grace and the two agree to play up their love for the camera. But with growing feelings and all eyes on the newlyweds, love might ruin their plans and save their lives at the same time.
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Bonus Pick
Sorry for the Inconvenience by Farah Naz Rishi
Lovers of the “Marriage of Convenience” trope will absolutely fall head over heels for this True Story MOC.
From the author of I Hope You Get This Message and It All Comes Back to You, comes the story of Farah Naz Rishi’s real life marriage of convenience. Daughter of Pakistani Muslim immigrants, Farah struggles to meet her mother’s expectations of her. She becomes best friends with Stephen, a man she met in class that soon is there for her in every aspect of her life. They game, discuss her faith, and co-parent a cat. But to her, Stephen was always a friend and nothing more, until her mother gets sick. Her dying wish is to see her daughter get married and Stephen is willing to step up like no one else will. Only thing is, he’s been in love with her for the last ten years and he hopes that won’t mess up the arrangement. Though they become partners by contract, Farah and Stephen grow together in ways that neither of them could have expected.
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