ARC Review: Auction to Altar (Men of Mill Creek #1) by Elodie Ashwood
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Series: Men of Mill Creek #1
Author: Elodie Ashwood
Published May 29th 2025
Goodreads Synopsis
One bachelor auction. One fake marriage. One ex-wife with a grudge.
Now I’m living with the town’s grumpiest vet— and I’ve officially lost control of this dumpster fire. Send wine.
Jake Rivers.
Single dad.
Stupidly, devastatingly, ruin-your-sanity hot.
Mill Creek’s town council gave him thirty days to prove he’s “stable” and “family-focused”…
or lose his clinic.
Lucky for him—he’s got me.
My solution? Fake marriage.
The rules were no feelings. No complications. Definitely no… (ahem) touching.
Then he kissed me.
Pinned against his barn wall. Hand in my hair. Body pressed against mine.
Chemistry that would make my science classroom explode.
Now I'm wearing his grandmother's ring, living in his farmhouse, and every time he looks at me, I forget this marriage is fake… and that I have dignity.
But his conniving ex is manipulating the town council.
She wants Jake humiliated.
Wants to take it all—
his clinic.
His daughter.
If she finds out we’re faking?
He loses everything.
And I might lose the one thing I never meant to want.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via BookSirens. This in no way impacted on my view.
All Jake Rivers wants is for his daughter, Emily, to be happy, and for his veterinarian practice to flourish. So when the town council decide to introduce a new initiative showing they are family focused, they've got their eyes set on him. A divorced, single dad doesn't fit in with the Mill Creek narrative, and the council are out for blood. Luckily, Jake's best friend since college, Lexie Brown, will not let anything or anyone hurt Jake or Emily, and she agrees to marry him to prove he is a family man, and help get him through the next month. However, the council are being controlled by his ex, and they don't seem to be convinced by the whole charade, so Jake and Lexie step up the PDA - to the point that they are even wondering if it's fake any longer.
As soon as I saw this book on BookSirens, stating it had fake dating, single dad, friends-to-lovers, small town romance tropes, I knew I needed it. The minute it landed on my kindle I dove in, and devoured the whole book in 2 sittings - I only put it down to sleep. Jake and Lexie were the best of friends, and the insight we saw into how they were when they met in college was really good for understanding them more. There was one moment in college when they nearly kissed, but then Jake's now-ex got in the way, and they've been in the friend zone ever since. Once Jake's divorce was finalised, Lexie was there to help him and Emily get through it, and she is probably the second most important person in Emily's life after Jake. I loved seeing the family dynamic between them, and the fact it didn't actually change all that much after the wedding. They were already a family, Lexie just had a ring on to prove it. Jake's ex, Marissa, was such an awful character, and the way she treated everyone she came across - including her daughter - was horrific. The only good part of those interactions was seeing Lexie go all mama-bear on her to protect Emily. The drama was really well thought out, and I enjoyed the extended cast of characters all having a part of play. I really hope we get to see the story between Jenna and Travis because there's a lot of chemistry between them! I'll definitely be on the lookout for more books in this series.
Dates Read:
August 28-29, 2025
Rating
4 Stars
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