FGMAMTC Blog Review  Teaser Pics & Excerpt
4.5 stars

I was immediately pulled into this story. The idea of a marriage arrangement isn't new, but all the supporting details make Olivia and Cole's relationship stand out. They are almost as different as two people can be, practically archenemies, but the sexual attraction is inescapable. Sparring off ends with epic bedroom hookups which leads to a frenemies with benefits situation and a fake marriage business arrangement. Nothing will stay in the correct lines with these two. Despite having totally opposite focuses in life, they can't deny the good in each other. The storyline is superb and the cast is fantastic. Black Tie Optional is smoking hot, funny, sweet and romantic. I truly enjoyed reading it, and I definitely recommend it.


***Copy given in exchange for an honest review***

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

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He has all the sex appeal of James Bond but all the personality of a modern day Scrooge. What Olivia lacks in sex appeal, she makes up for in heart. Coleman and Olivia are about to learn an important lesson. When you dance with fire, you're bound to get burned. Black Tie Optional fuses heat, heart and humor and strikes cinematic gold. Opposites attract have been done before and quite often, but Ms. Walker manages to keep it light, sexy and full of sass. Spicing it up, while still keeping the class. ( )

Black tie Optional by Ann Marie Walker is a 2017 St. Martin’s Press publication.

This fast-paced, quick-witted romantic comedy is an ‘enemies to lovers’ themed story, with a side of opposites attracts.

Oliva is a humanitarian, hippie-ish, organic, animal lover, who is hounding the obnoxious, but very wealthy, Coleman Grant, about saving an endangered species.

The pair mixes like bleach and ammonia, sending toxic fumes into the air every time they meet. But, neither one of them are blind and secretly acknowledge, to themselves, a grudging attraction to the other.

But, when Oliva heads to Vegas for a girl’s night out, she drunkenly ends up in Coleman’s bed. The next morning, nursing a painful hangover all she wants is to make a hasty, albeit humiliating exit, but Cole surprises her with a little proposition.

Cole’s father left an odd codicil in his will, and it is apparently etched in stone. His grandmother is hoping Cole won't be able to find a bride in the allotted time frame, so that she can control his money.

Desperate to save all that he has spent his adult life working to achieve, Cole strikes a bargain with Olivia.

If she marries him, he will do whatever she asked to help her endangered species. Once the will is settled, his company is safe and securely in his hands, they can go their separate ways…. If they don’t kill each other first.

I haven’t read a romantic comedy like this one in a very long time, and after reading some serious, heavy, and dark material, I was ready for something fun.

Opposites attract, enemies to lovers, and pretend marriages have been covered six ways to Sunday, and this story doesn’t necessarily introduce anything all that unique or original to those tropes, per se, but the lightning fast pacing, the sharp wit and dialogue, the laugh out loud funny predicaments, topped off by the sizzling hot chemistry between the main characters, kept the story from falling prey to the dangers of predictability.

I did appreciate the level of intimacy, which stayed inside my comfort zone, and the character growth that developed in the midst of this zany, madcap, scheme.

At the end of the day, sometimes the most important thing is how entertained I was, how much fun I had reading the book, and if, by the last paragraph, I have come away with a smile on my face or find myself in better spirits.

That’s a pretty tall order these days, for me, but this story managed to pull it off, giving me a slight reprieve from life’s stresses, and if you can pull that off, you deserve a round of applause and have my sincere thanks.

4 stars ( )