You know what’s a tricky trope to write? Marriage of convenience in a contemporary setting! I mean, what makes two otherwise rational and engaging characters decide to get married in this day and age without love?
Historical settings are rife with good reasons to do this. Women needed protection back then, whether from rogue men or from society or even the church. The first marriage of convenience book I read, back in 1980, was Love Comes Softly, a historical romance by Janette Oke. Marty’s husband was killed as they made their way west just before winter. There’d be no wagon train back east until spring. Clark’s wife had passed away, leaving him with a two-year-old. Of course they needed each other. Marty might hate the idea of marrying again the day of her husband’s funeral, but what choice did she have?
But in 2019? What could possibly make two people decide they need to marry to make life easier or better?
In A Sudden Spark, Liwen Y. Ho chose a custody battle as the grounds for a marriage of convenience. He’s helping her get out of a nasty situation with her ex and, yes, they’d known each other in college but lost track.
Melanie D. Snitker’s novel Marrying Mandy includes a marriage of convenience by two old friends to fulfill a stipulation in Grandma’s will to keep the beloved bed and breakfast running. Besides, the hero had loved the heroine since they were teens.
Merrillee Whren’s take in A Baby To Call Ours is a little different. Here each character has a different reason, and they don’t have a history with each other to smooth the way.
Ginger Solomon’s Second Choice reads more like a fantasy with its royalty setting in an imagined kingdom. For Princess Anaya, it’s an arranged marriage or one of convenience, and the line between them is narrow.
Carol Moncado’s royalty-themed novels often showcase a similar theme, but Discovering Home is a true marriage of convenience romance!
The way Kimberly Rose Johnson set up her characters in The Reluctant Groom, the hero needs to wed or lose the family business due to stipulations in his grandfather’s will. A friend of the hero’s sister, a shy woman who happens to have a crush on the hero, offers to marry him.
In Leah Atwood’s Love in a Fix, the heroine is in dire financial straits, and the hero had promised her dying husband he’d take care of her. She wouldn’t marry the family friend if it weren’t for her child.
In Marrying Kate by Kimberly Rae Jordan, a couple is killed, leaving four children with the mother’s sister, but custody is challenged by the father’s brother. They compromise and marry for the children.
You may have noticed that my Montana Ranches Christian Romance series is a bit heavier on the tropes than my other series. It’s been both challenging and fun to choose a trope and then carry it through a novel in a believable way.
The Cowboy’s Christmas Reunion is big on second chances and single parents finding love.
The Cowboy’s Mixed-Up Matchmaker is a friends-to-more romance, with the added fun of her trying to matchmake him to take the pressure off herself.
The Cowboy’s Romantic Dreamer takes the opposites attract trope to a new level. I even made sure their Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was the exact opposite. (Yes, I do know my characters MB types!)
The Cowboy’s Convenient Marriage was up next. I was determined to take the marriage of convenience trope and put my own spin on it. Considering the character of Carmen Haviland already in place and the world I’d created in Saddle Springs, Montana, narrowed my options of believable circumstances. Carmen’s marriage to her deceased husband’s second cousin would clearly be for inheritance purposes… for both of them.
The rhythm and pacing of a marriage of convenience turns out to be completely different (surprise! LOL) to a “regular” romance. While I decided to have the couple engaged by the 25% mark and married by 50%, that left half a novel for the critical issues to threaten their shaky commitment. Figuring out the premise and the additional pivot points took some time.
I really enjoyed writing this novel! But I’m also not sure I’m eager to choose this trope again. It’s a tough one. The Cowboy’s Convenient Marriage has been vetted by half a dozen beta readers and is currently with my editor. It will release sometime in June, exact date to be determined, but you can pre-order it here.
When Spencer Haviland receives registered mail from his great-uncle’s attorney, he figures he’ll sell his upcoming inheritance after the old man dies. After all, he’s anything but a cowboy. But when Spencer’s life suddenly unravels, he retreats to the rundown Montana ranch only to discover his cousin’s widow and child firmly entrenched.
The Rocking H is the most secure home Carmen Haviland has ever known until Spencer arrives, claiming to be Great-Uncle Howard’s heir. But with the attorney’s revelation that his client is considering bestowing the ranch to charity instead, Carmen reluctantly agrees to Spencer’s rash plan for the sake of her daughter.
Will a marriage of convenience offer them both what they seek, or will their vows become anything but convenient?
QUESTION: What’s your favorite contemporary Christian marriage-of-convenience you’ve ever read? What did you especially like about it?
Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Her life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.
Hi Valerie, I think that Janette Oke’s Love Comes Softly is one of the first Christian fiction books I remember reading as a young teenager. My best friend’s mum had the complete set and I remember choosing one at a time from the bookshelf and reading them.
I have read and enjoyed all of the marriage of convenience books you have listed. The only other one I can think of is Sarah Monzon’s The Isaac Project, where the heroine gets married before her grandfather dies to bring him peace. I like that the forced intimacy of marriage creates some awkward situations for strangers to be in – great fodder for a story!
Blessings:)
I agree with Wemble that Love Comes Softly was the first marriage of convenience I remember reading and it is still my favorite. Have a blessed weekend.
I also believe Janette Oke books were some of the first Christian fiction I read as a teen. They started a love of historical fiction which lead to contemporary Christian fiction. I am interested in marriage of convenience stories and how authors set up the reason for the marriage. I am excited to read Spencer’s story and see what happens between Spencer and Carmen.
Hi Valerie! Interesting blog and list of books on Marriage of Convenience. Not sure I can add to the list. Definitely something to think about in our contemporary times. I do not recall reading Janette Oke’s books, but became familiar with her stories by watching the Love Comes Softly Hallmark movies. Best wishes.
Hi, Valerie! I adored Love Comes Softly and even have the DVDs. You mentioned several books I have read and just finished A Sudden Spark this week!
I think you did a wonderful job on MOC with Spencer and Carmen….a sure favorite of mine!
I forgot about The Isaac Project! I’ve read that one as well.
Your analysis of the trope is good. It really does all hinge around the awkwardness!
The story that leads the way sets expectations for those which come after it!
Janette Oke pioneered Bethany House’s fiction line. Love Comes Softly proved to the publishing houses that there was a market for fiction and truly changed the scene.
I hope you enjoy The Cowboy’s Convenient Marriage :)
The Hallmark series introduced Janette Oke’s stories to a much wider audience!
Thanks for being a beta reader :)
Thanks for the mention. I also enjoyed Love Comes Softly. I didn’t read it until just a few years ago.
A Baby To Call Ours had a unique MOC spin from what I’ve read! I enjoyed it. :)
I don’t think I’ve read much, if anything in this niche category of Christian, contemporary, marriage of convenience! As an author I can imagine how difficult it would be to make this particular plot realistic!! But as a reader, I definitely need to check out some of the great recommended books you listed! Thanks!
They’re definitely a different twist! I hope you find a few you enjoy :)
Love Comes Softly was the first Christian romance I ever read. I discovered the book while shelving books as a library aid in middle school. I was hooked on that series after that!
Thanks for mentioning my book. :)
I’ve had your book pre-ordered for quite awhile, and look forward to reading it! I agree that modern day marriages of convenience are much harder to justify :-) I’ve read some of the ones you mentioned.
I think LCS was a first Christian romance for many of us! And you’re welcome for the mention. I really enjoyed The Reluctant Groom.
Thanks for the pre-order! I hope the story hits the spot for you when it releases :)
I can honestly say the first overtly Christian marriage of convenience book I read be the same as yours, Janette Oke’s series. However, the first marriage of convenience books I read were by Betty Neels, in the Harlequins. Her books are not overtly Christian, but she does mention some of the characters going to church. Autumn MacArthur also told me that Essie Sommers, another whose books we both read, was a minister’s wife! I hadn’t known that, and Autumn said she remembers her books also talking about church. I quit reading the Harlequins when they became a lot more trashy, and found the early beginnings of Love Inspired books, and started reading only Christian fiction. I’m branching out a tad more now, with some sweet/clean books, but still do mostly Christian. Sweet/clean depends on authors.
I saw Love Comes Softly, but never read it as a book. That being said, I don’t recall ever reading a Christian Marriage of Convenience book. Looks like I don’t have an excuse any longer. LOL
You’re right that not everyone defines sweet/clean the same way, whether it’s the author’s definition, the publisher’s, or the reader’s!
C’mon in, Susan! Lots to choose from in this post :D
I remember reading a well done MOC book recently but can’t seem to find it in my “ books read” log. I agree it is very hard to pull off in a contemporary setting. I, too, read Jeannette Oke ‘s Love Comes Softly and loved it.
Thanks for the list of the ones you found.
Some of the authors I listed have more than one MOC romance! So if you’re interested, you can dig a little. Enjoy!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Strangely enough, for me, it was an easy book to write. Then my editor pushed me to make really dig deeper into the story.
It’s like part of the rhythm and plot is built in! But still with plenty of room for deviation…
Victorine Lieske Fake Marriage series comes to mind. and Toni Shiloh’s Buying Love.
Yes to Toni’s! I’ve read that one but forgot it when I was compiling my list. I got a kick out of Victorine’s stories, but they’d be classed as sweet/clean rather than Christian. :)
Janette Oke got me back to reading.
I can’t think of a favourite marriage of convenience. I have many I have loved but cant think of the name etc.
Several were from Jill Hart and Janet Tronstad and mail order brides. But one book I remember was a story about a mail order bride but the guy who ordered the bride had lied and was dangerous and the sheriff stepped in and married her to protect her.
I can thing of another reason for marriage of convenience and that would be someone marrying someone to help them stay in the country and stop them being deported. Or maybe they have children and without marrying the family will be deported to a dangerous situation.
Hi! This is my favorite trope! Woohoo! This was a fun post and I have added to my TBR list! My favorite contemporary marriage of convenience is Kimberly Rose Johnson’s The Reluctant Groom. I have many favorite historical ones and Lori Copeland and Lori Wick have written many of my favorites!
My first comment went as a reply, not a new comment, sorry! I am not sure how to fix that!
Hi! This is my favorite trope! Woohoo! This was a fun post and I have added to my TBR list! My favorite contemporary marriage of convenience is Kimberly Rose Johnson’s The Reluctant Groom. I have many favorite historical ones and Lori Copeland and Lori Wick have written many of my favorites!
There are some great MOC romances in historicals! Mail order brides are an entire niche developed around those. So much harder to find plausible reasons in contemporary times, but yes, I’m sure preventing deportation is a good one.
No worries about the comment. I’m not sure if you can delete it or not, but it really doesn’t matter. I’ll just answer here :) Yes, I really enjoyed The Reluctant Groom. I think because it was the (shy) girl doing the asking! It tipped genre expectations a bit with that tweak.
I love marriage of convenience tropes! I wonder if they actually happen in real life.
I’d love to know that, too! It seems possible, but I don’t know of anyone personally.
This is one of my favorite tropes, and you’re right that it’s so hard to pull off in a contemporary. I usually prefer a will or inheritance thing because having felt with the child welfare system, I often find holes in the custody battles.
I can’t wait to see your spin.
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it :D