ARC REVIEW OF The Perfect Illusion by Winter Renshaw

Winter Renshaw is my go to author for complex, emotional, and sexy romances. The Perfect Illusion has everything I look for in romance reads. The heroine Mari Collins is sassy, spunky, and beautiful. The hero Hunter Rutherford is quite arrogant, a know it all, thinks the world is his playground rich gorgeous snob. But there is more to both of these two characters. Hunter finds himself in a place where he needs a “fake fiancée” and he sees his assistant Mari as the solution to the problem. Mari doesn’t want anything to do with it or him but she has a HUGE secret and when Hunter offers her $$$$$$$$$$$$, she really has no choice but to accept. She doesn’t tell Hunter her secret but what she doesn’t know, Hunter lured her in until false pretense with this fake fiancée gig. Hunter needs this fake fiancée/ wife thing for a reason , not for the reason he told Mari. He, too, is hiding a secret. The more these two spend time together, the more they come to realize there is more to each of them, more that they have in common and they start to fall in love.
Their path to love is beautiful, angsty, complex and so awesome. This was a plot that was tight and perfect. I found myself falling in love with everyone involved EXCEPT Hunter’s ex fiancée from years before—she was and still is a total jerk. I really wanted her to fall in a deep dark hole somewhere. Mari is a character that you will totally root for. She is strong and independent yet at the same time, is a woman in distress who is trying to hold everything all together and is secretly praying for help. Hunter is a man who is so alpha , its awesome. He doesn’t want to fall in love yet he is with Mari and neither want to admit it. There are so many twists and turns that I literally couldn’t put my book down. I literally took my kindle with me until I finished this book then turned back around and re-read this book again because it was so awesome. I wished this book would never end… Their fake relationship really ended up becoming one of strength and of light after all the rough seas they encountered. I would love to read a book about Alex( hint hint) As Always, Ms. Renfrew did an outstanding job with characters and places because I felt like I connected to everything and everyone.

My Rating:5.0 stars *****
"I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***