a sweet treat - Rated 
nice little fluffy book to pass an afternoon with the usual evanovich style and calamity. i would agree with other reviewer when she commented that it did run out of steam at the end with the resolution of the sub plot but we can forgive her for that because elsie hawkins (prototype for gramdma mazur) is such a riot!!! if you have com across her before you will know what i mean.
if you enjoyed this i would also recommend "the kept woman" by susan donovan and "full house" by evanovich and her writing partner charlotte hughes.
Strong Premise Leads to Keystone Kops Antics and a Weak Ending - Rated 
Wife for Hire will mainly appeal to those who want to see what kind of a writer Janet Evanovich was before she began writing about Stephanie Plum. The deftness of the Stephanie Plum numbered novels becomes more apparent when you see Ms. Evanovich struggling to find a way to conclude Wife for Hire.
Hank Mallone, a young man with a reputation for not being serious, cannot convince his family, friends, and acquaintances that he's determined to make a success of being an organic apple farmer in Vermont. His solution? Pretend to be married. How? Hire someone to act as his wife.
Maggie Toone, a Jersey product, wants to escape from her life as a teacher to write a novel about her Aunt Kitty's career as a madam. She mainly needs peace, quiet, and some low-cost living. On a whim, she takes up Mallone on his offer.
From there, the story becomes an expected romance punctuated by some funny misunderstandings. I thought the most interesting part of the book came in reading about a Grandma Mazur prototype, Elsie Hawkins, who is Mallone's housekeeper/cook.
Misunderstandings abound, and some fun arises in the process. If you decide to read the book, focus on the fun.
The book gallops along at a nice pace until near the end where it takes an inauspicious turn away from being interesting. My impression is that Ms. Evanovich ran out of ideas for making the story interesting and simply limped to the finish.
If you like lots of schmaltz and predictability mixed in with your humor, you'll probably think this is a good romance novel. I was not amused enough to feel that way.
Light but Pacey - Rated
I love Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum books so thought I would give this one a try. I am not really a romance fan but I have to say I enjoyed this one. It is a light read so don't expect anything weighty, however, the storyline moves along well. The basic premise is that a man from the country needs a wife to make him look respectable and hires one from the city following an advert in a paper. Rather predictably they love each other but neither is aware of the others feelings. I am not ruining the plot here which is actually quite funny and takes some interesting turns. As can be expected from an Evanovich novel all the characters are eccentric to the point of madness but this only makes them funnier. If you want an easy read with a some humour and bucketloads of romance then this is the book for you.
4.5 stars - Rated
Hank Malone was the town bad boy. He's returned to take up his inheritance--an apple orchard in Vermont. He has plans to turn it into a serious organic business, but in the town's eyes, he's still the same troublemaking stud he used to be, and the bank won't take him seriously for a loan. To change his image, he decides to hire a wife for six months, to give the illusion of stability and hopefull get the business loan. He hires Maggie Toone in New Jersey and brings her to his farm. She's eager to escape her small town life and job as a
teacher, and relishes the chance to fulfill her dream of writing a book based upon her aunt's diaries. One small problem--her aunt was the local madam.!! I would also recommend, if you missed reading TIN0 GEORGIOU'S masterpiece--THE FATES, go and read it. With fascinating and brilliantly created characters in `THE FATES' coupled with two intertwining plots makes for a completely enjoyable and page-turning read.
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