Marriage on the Rebound by Motoyo Fujiwara

Greetings, fellow romance-lovers. This book is currently 99-cents in the Kindle store right now, and trust me when I say that it's worth every penny. MARRIAGE ON THE REBOUND is a manga adaptation of the romance novel of the same name by Michelle Reid, and even though the title is eye-roll worthy, the story and the artwork are both actually very cute.

Shaan is set to be married to a man named Piers, the younger son of a wealthy family. However, on the day of the marriage, he abandons her at the altar for another woman. His older Rafe arrives shortly afterwards to announce that he is in love with Shaan and will be marrying her in Piers's stead since his younger brother was kind enough to stand aside for the sake of love. Privately, he tells Shaan that this jilting is bad for business, and it's up to him as the oldest son to repair their company's image by any means necessary. How sweet.

Rafe is the polar opposite of Piers, and I do mean polar - this guy is so chilly that he poops out ice cubes. Shaan finds him incredibly intimidating, and yet is intrigued by his manly ice sculpture nature. He is also one of those classic tsundere characters who acts all tough and aloof, but gradually lets down his guard as he begins to trust others, and seeing that softer, vulnerable side of Rafe makes Shaan fall harder.

If this sounds too easy, wait - there's more. While in Hong Kong there's a good old fashioned "whoops, I misunderstand something I eavesdropped on the phone out of context" misunderstanding that creates ~tension~ between Shaan and Rafe, and when Piers makes a reappearance in the last act, the reader can't help but wonder if her new feelings for Rafe are enough to compensate for how she felt about Piers... that is, if the reader has never read a romance novel before in their life.

This is one of those romances that manages to take cliches and still be fun and charming. Rafe is a great romance hero and doesn't come across as creepy or sleazy. I like the strong, icy silent types. I also thought Shaan was a good example of a shy, quiet heroine who doesn't seem like a TSTL idiot. Also, the art in this one is beautiful (the cover doesn't really do it justice). Smashing good read.

4 out of 5 stars