Excerpt + Giveaway + Review: "Dear Future Ex-Wife" by Jillian Quinn

I am excited to participate in the release blitz celebrating tomorrow's publication of Jillian Quinn's latest novel, "Dear Future Ex-Wife." A full review of the book is included at the end of this post, but in short, I enjoyed and would recommend this fun, flirty, steamy frenemies-to-lovers romance. Main characters Harley and Nate were well-developed and likeable, and it was very easy for me to cheer them on to their HEA. Their group of friends was also a tremendous amount of fun, and I could easily see several of them starring in future books of their own.

For a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card courtesy of the author, Jillian Quinn, click here! (Giveaway closes on April 29.)

About "Dear Future Ex-Wife"

I, Harley McQueen, do not take Nathan King to be my husband…

I wish I could say no to this wedding. But to save our fathers’ company, my ex-best friend needs a fake bride to bail him out of his latest scandal.

Nate has a reputation with women.

I want the promotion my father has denied me for years.

Together, maybe we can make this fake marriage work.

As long as I don’t fall in love with him…

Again.

Read an Excerpt from "Dear Future Ex-Wife"

“Hey there, Queen,” Nate says as he approaches me with a wicked smile on his handsome face. “You look happy to see me,” he jokes, wiggling his eyebrows.

My throat closes up at the sight of him. His dark, wavy hair is gelled and styled to perfection. Tall and muscular, he fills out every inch of the navy suit that molds to his body. Women drool over him now, but I know the nerdy boy who had hair that would never stay put. His teeth were such a mess, he wore braces until our sophomore year of high school. And for a few years, I was several inches taller than Nate. But now, when he leans in to hug me, he has to dip down to meet my height.

He towers over me, his masculine scent filling my nostrils as he kisses my cheek. My skin tingles from the unexpected contact. Heat rushes to my face, which is now on fire from his delicate touch. He’s only doing this because he knows I won’t make a scene in front of our families. Nate takes every opportunity he gets to irritate me.

For as much as I hate him, I still miss him. So, when I hug him back it’s a real one. I don’t want to let him go, and the feeling seems to be mutual.

Nate clutches me, his fingers digging into my back. “You look good,” he whispers against the shell of my ear, sending chills down my arms. “I can see the Pilates paid off.”

I gasp at his comment.

Nate laughs in response.

Damn him.

I hate showing that he has any effect on me. More than anything I wish he didn’t have a single ounce of control over me. But he does.

Nate tugs on a strand of my hair, twirling it around his finger. He did this when we were kids because he thought it was funny when I slapped him. My former best friend was an oddball. And now, he’s doing it to torment me. Men like Nate can smell desire on women. He damn well knows I think he’s hot. Nate looks like a walking orgasm in his expensive, silky suit that was tailor-made for him. Everything about him screams sex and money.

“Let’s get started,” my dad says, snapping me back to reality.

I flick Nate’s finger, and he drops his hand to his side. He stares me down with his hauntingly beautiful eyes. When I turn my back to Nate, Stefan is still standing behind the chair he rolled out from the table for me.

Nate sits across from me, though no amount of space is enough because I can practically feel the heat from his gaze rolling down my arms. Our parents get comfortable at the heads of the table, my dad to my left and Richard on the right. Nate’s wingtip hits my heel under the table. I ignore him as he taps me again. A few seconds later, his silky dress sock slides up my calf. I stare across the table at him, and he challenges me with one look.

Do it, his eyes demand. Fight me, Queen.

I hold my breath when his foot grazes my inner thigh. His gaze is pointed down the table at my dad, but I don’t miss the corner of Nate’s mouth lifting slightly into a satisfied smirk. He wants to play with me.

Game on, King.

My Review

"Dear Future Ex-Wife" by Jillian Quinn was a fun, flirty, steamy frenemies-to-lovers romance that I enjoyed and would recommend. What made it extra special for me was that it was mostly set in Philadelphia, which is pretty unique in my experience so far with contemporary romance. I'm a proud Philly girl by birth, so I loved seeing my city represented and had a lot of fun imagining being back home as the characters went about their daily lives.

The main characters of this story, Nate and Harley, were both very likeable and well-developed. I really appreciated that Nate treated Harley as an equal and made such an effort to recognize her artistic talents, especially since her own father largely ignored them. Harley's wish for her father to finally see her was one of the main reasons she agreed to marry Nate, but she was also smart enough to realize that she could benefit from the arrangement as well by negotiating a well-deserved promotion into the deal.

I loved Harley and Nate's amusing banter and how they constantly teased each other, as well as the slow burn of their relationship development as Harley, especially, tried to resist her reawakening romantic feelings for Nate. It was easy to see how strong their attraction was even after so many years apart, and I couldn't wait for them to finally give in to it. When they did, I thought my Kindle might actually combust!

The book's secondary characters, mainly Nate and Harley's group of friends, were also a tremendous amount of fun, though I have to admit to wondering how some of them stayed employed given how much they all went out partying and drinking. That said, they were all quite likeable, and I could easily see several of them starring in future books of their own.

*ARC provided by the author via Xpresso Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.