The line between what's real and what's pretend begins to blur when a soldier with a troubled past and a struggling musician agree to a marriage of convenience for the military benefits. Then tragedy strikes, and the line between what's real and what's pretend starts to blur in this smart and unexpected romance.

Luke Morrow and Cassie Salazar are very unlike to one another. Cassie, an intelligent woman who lives in Austin, Texas, works evenings at a bar to support herself as she pursues her career as a singer-songwriter. Luke, an Army recruit who is preparing to report for duty, takes solace in the rigid discipline of the military. However, an accidental meeting at Cassie's pub alters both of their lives.

Since being given a diabetes diagnosis, Cassie has been overwhelmed by medical debt. When Cassie runs into her old friend Frankie, who has joined the Army, she offers him a deal: if he gets married, she'll get better health insurance, and they can split the increased income that comes with having a "family." However, when Frankie declines, Cassie's attractive but annoyingly intense friend Luke offers to marry her in his place. She is unaware that he has his own pressing motives for getting married. In this heartwarming love story, Cassie and Luke have to put aside their differences in order to make their union appear genuine. Unless it eventually transforms into one.

I saw this movie since I found out there was a book version; like most bookworms, I like to read the original work before seeing the movie adaptation. Having said that, I did not enjoy this book at all. I found it to be problematic, so please bear with me since I am going to RANT.

With all the god-tier tropes like the one-bed trope and marriage of convenience, it is evident that this book is being promoted as a romance novel. The blatant racism, misogyny, and its harmful stereotypes troubled me more than the tropes, even if they were entirely true to the plot.

This novel is precisely what you would expect from a republican-liberal fanfiction. Someone in the book made the statement that he intended to "hunt down Arabs" since they were marines heading to Iraq, and I can still clearly recall that. Additionally, I recalled that the male lead gave the female lead disturbing "nicknames" like "liberal nut." Let's not overlook the fact that he feels superior to others simply because he is a marine. Surprise! He is pro-gun as well! He embodies everything that Trump fans are. doing the "I love America 🤠🇺🇸💙❤️" shit. Proof? He thought Cassie's mother was an illegal immigrant. And that my friends, IS racism. Let’s also not forget how Cassie was stereotyped into, “Ew! I hate men! They can go kill themselves, women for the win!” type of feminist. However, you know what pissed me off? When she gave up her feminism for a FUCKING MAN. She completely forgot what she was fighting for, and it’s so fucking disgusting.