Guest Review: The Wedding Pact by Isla Gordon

August Anderson needs somewhere to live. Dumped by her boyfriend who would rather be alone than move in with her, she has almost given up on happiness. Until she notices that the beautiful Georgian townhouse she's long admired (ahem, *obsessed over*) is looking for a new tenant, and suddenly it seems like things might be looking up . . .

There's just one catch - the traditional, buttoned-up landlord is only willing to rent to a stable, married couple and August, quite frankly, is neither. Competition for the house is fierce and August knows she'll have to come up with a plan or risk losing her last shot at her happy ending.

Enter Flynn, the handsome, charming and somewhat unsuspecting gentleman who August accidentally spills her coffee over. Flynn is new to the area and is looking for somewhere to live, and August thinks she knows just the place, but only if he's willing to tell a little white lie . . .

Review: This is the second book from Lisa Dickenson writing as Isla Gordon. I really enjoyed the first novel, A Season in the Snow, and looked forward to finding out if her new story would match up to that. It certainly did, the humorous storyline grabbing my attention from page one. This book is set in Bath, a place I have visited only once, and so don’t know well; Isla paints a wonderful picture of the city, making me want to return. 

This is the story of August and Flynn, brought together by chance when they are about to view the same apartment that has become available to rent. While for August this is a building where she has longed to live practically all of her life, Flynn just needs somewhere to call home, having recently arrived in the city of Bath, and indeed the UK, from his former home in Japan. The apartment is very popular, but many of the potential tenants are rejected as the elderly landlady is adamant that she will rent only to a married couple. That is when actress August comes up with the plan that she and Flynn should pretend that they have recently married, even though they have only just met. Fortunately for them, their plan works, but then they must keep up the deception. As they get to know each other, a friendship develops, but could it be more than that?

I can highly recommend this funny, and at the same time heart-warming, story. I was on the edge of my seat wondering how August and Flynn were going to keep up the pretence of being a married couple as they got themselves into one awkward situation after another. They really hadn’t had time to consider the pitfalls of the arrangement. I loved both of these characters, even although they were very different. It sounds as if bubbly and spontaneous August was just what Flynn needed, having left a difficult relationship behind in Japan and experienced problems on his arrival in Bath, but I was surprised that he so readily agreed to the arrangement. The apartment they rent sounds wonderful. It is in a converted Georgian townhouse at the top of a hill with a gorgeous view over the city. The tenants of the other apartments in the building are all lovely neighbours - absolutely ideal, so I found myself worried that they might slip up and be asked to leave. As time went on, other potential love interests were introduced for both August and Flynn, making me unsure of how things would end.

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