What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Georgie York was America’s sweetheart. With her unruly red curls and wide mouth, she charmed the country for eight years as the star of the family sitcom Scooter and Skip in which she played an orphan runaway hiding out in the large Scofield family mansion. Her costar, first crush, and now lifelong enemy Bramwell Shepard brought the show to an end almost a decade ago, when his addictions got the better of him, a sex tape surfaced, and their show was cancelled. From her childhood days in a revival of Annie, Georgie has always lived in the public eye, but in the year since her action movie star husband left her for a sultry dramatic actress, Georgie has been hounded by the press. When the sonogram photos of her ex-husband’s new baby surface, Georgie’s shock and dismay is photographed by the  paparazzi  for all the world to see.

Trying to escape, she ends up in Las Vegas, and through circumstances beyond her control, she ends up at a wild party with her worst enemy, Bram. Even worse, twenty four hours later, she wakes up married to him. To get an annulment wouldn’t strike the marriage from the public record, and the fallout from the tabloids would ruin any chance of her salvaging her career. Somehow they have to make the public believe their antagonistic relationship has developed overnight into a loving marriage.

Everything Bram says to Georgie is a lie and she would do well to remember that. When he starts selectively telling the truth, she is even more confused. From his rude young housekeeper to his constant talk of drinking and smoking, Bram enjoys keeping Georgie on her toes and in her place. Georgie is unhappy to be stuck in a relationship with him, even if it is completely fake. Bram and Georgie are both excellent actors, but how long can they deceive themselves and each other from the truth of their feelings?

If you like Susan Elizabeth Phillip’s novels, this one is sure to please! A few familiar characters from Glitter Baby and Natural Born Charmer make appearances as friends of Georgie. The novel is set in the world of Hollywood, but while some characters are portrayed as reflections of current media darlings—Jade Gentry is certainly similar to Angelina Jolie – the main characters are well developed with complex personalities and motivations that will keep you reading and wondering how they will resolve their dilemmas until the end of the Epilogue. If you have never read Susan Elizabeth Phillips and you like contemporary romance with great lovable characters and some humor, check out her website to learn more about her works. The library owns many of her novels in regular print, large print and audiobook.