About the Book

Book: Practically Married
Author: Karin Beery
Genre: General Market, clean fiction, women’s fiction, contemporary romance
Release Date: October 22, 2019

She moved to a new town to marry her fiancé. Instead, she’s burying him.

Ashley Johnson moved to northern Michigan to finally meet her fiancé face-to-face, but she arrived in time to attend his funeral. With no home back in Ohio, she decides to stay in what would have been their house, except his cousin Russ lives there too, and Russ has never heard of Ashley. To complicate matters, her fiancé accidentally willed her the family farm house. Eager to please everyone and desperate to disappoint no one, she proposes a marriage of convenience that could solve her and Russ’ problems, if they can get past her aunt, his sisters, and an ex-girlfriend.

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Book Review

Practically Married is your typical romance novel, filled with predictable twists and turns and an expected ending. That is not to say that I did not like the book. It was fun and quirky and I related to Ashley more than I like to admit. Ashley is not necessarily a city girl, but she definitely needs time to adapt to the farm life. Particularly, the early mornings. She likes to stay up late and wake up late. And before she can even think about talking to anyone in the morning, she needs to have her coffee.

Another aspect of Ashley that I related to was her need to please everyone around her. Ashley wants to get married only because that’s what she thinks her mom would want. This is a good message to those like Ashley that you aren’t going to please everybody around you. In the end, it’s your happiness that counts. You shouldn’t do anything just because it’s what people expect you to do.

I also liked Russ. But I think I liked his family more. There was his mom, the matchmaker. His sisters, the interrogators. And his nephews and niece, which, even though we don’t see a lot of, are important characters who bring out a sweet and caring side to Russ.

My one complaint about this book is Jess, Russ's ex-girlfriend. I understand that she is an important part to Russ’s past that drives the plot, but other than that, I think her presence is unnecessary. She just creates unneeded drama in the present that isn’t essential to the plot.

I am very glad that I got the opportunity to read and review this book! It’s not my usual cup of tea, but something I definitely would recommend if you’re looking for just a fun, light-hearted book.

I had received a copy of this book as part of the Celebrate Lit Blogging Team and was required to give an honest review.

About the Author

Karin Beery grew up in a rural Michigan town where she wrote her first novel in high school. Today, she writes contemporary stories with a healthy dose of romance. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s reading, editing, or teaching it. In her free time, she enjoys being at home with her husband and fur babies watching University of Michigan football and action-adventure movies.

More from Karin

Why would two contemporary American’s agree to a marriage of convenience? That’s what I asked myself when I sat down to write Practically Married. I love reading historical books about mail order brides and other arranged marriages, but I wanted to see if I could make that historical theme more modern (and still be believable). That’s how Ashley and Russ came to be, and—after several revisions—I think I did it! It takes two to get married, but this is really Ashley’s story—it’s her past that inspires her future, and it’s up to her to decide where that inspiration with lead her. The story couldn’t just be about their relationship, though. I’ve always thought it would be fun to have a big brother, so I gave Russ little sisters. And nieces and nephews. And a pie-baking mom who doesn’t like his beard (which may have been inspired my mother-in-law, who tried desperately to get my husband to shave his beard before our wedding). I also threw in some real buildings and places in northern Michigan (even though Boyne Falls is fictional). And it’s possible that some of my character names came directly from friends and other local inspirations. Practically Married isn’t only set in northern Michigan, it’s inspired by it.