Review: Hale Maree by Misty Provencher

Hale Maree by Misty Provencher
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication date: November 19th 2012
My rating: 4.5 stars

Hale Simmons dreams of climbing out of her impoverished life, going to college, and getting herself a titanium crash helmet, so she can eventually bust through the Plexiglas ceiling of her crappy life. But for now, she’s just a 18-year-old girl with a flimsy hope, barely getting by with her alcoholic father, Jerry.
But for Hale, ‘crappy’ suddenly takes a nosedive, when Jerry becomes the sole witness to a horrible accident. It is an event which means to effect everyone, especially Hale, who wasn’t even involved.
While the depth of the accident has just begun to unfold, Otto Maree, a prominent business man and old family friend, stands to lose everything because of it. Otto is desperate for Hale’s father to stay quiet about what occurred the night the two men met for a drink. Out of mutual moments of desperation, the two fathers forge a deal. Jerry is desperate to gain financial stability for both himself and Hale, and Otto Maree is more than willing to pay to keep his secret just that.
But deals like this need to be made of the strongest vows and bound with the most faithful of loyalties. Otto proposes a marriage between Hale and his playboy-son, Oscar, in order to assure that the secret remains ‘in the family’. The mystery surrounding the accident continues to grow and Hale struggles against her own mysterious feelings that begin to develop for Oscar, who turns out to less of a playboy, but just as fiercely loyal and dedicated as his father.
As the pressure around her continues to escalate, Hale realizes that she’s got to decide if this arranged marriage is really just a big mistake or an amazing twist of fate that has been waiting around for this particular accident to happen.

I never thought I’d fall in love with a story about an arranged marriage, but I did! This is one of those stories I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to finish. I loved it that much!

Eighteen year old Hale has plans to go to college, better her circumstances, and live a normal life. Her plans DO NOT include being forced into an arranged marriage, but her father has other ideas.  When a tragedy happens to her father and an old friend, they get together and hammer out a plan to keep each other’s secret by uniting their families with the marriage of their children.  Hale married to Oscar.  Oscar is a stranger to Hale, someone she’s never laid eyes on, so she’s beyond shocked that
her father comes up with this cockamamie plan!  Plus, hello, this is the 21^st century, not the middle ages!  As the circumstances are revealed, Hale realizes this is indeed going to happen and she can’t say no.  Panic sets in, as it would to any sane person.  That’s when she meets Oscar.

Oscar is gorgeous, rich, and sweet.  While this makes the proposition marginally better (hey, it could be a 60 year-old hairy ogre of a man!) but still, Hale feels like she is the cow being bartered away without any thought to her wants and needs.  In view of the agreement, Oscar sweeps Hale away to the family’s beach house to get better acquainted before making things official.  In the midst of all this the mystery behind the fathers’ pact is slowly revealed and things become more dangerous for all involved, especially Hale.

I’ve had my eye on this story for some time.  The synopsis immediately caught my eye, because it was so different from any other reads, but then I’d get distracted by review books and had to put this off.  Finally after a few trusted blogger friends reviewed this, (Andrea @The Bookish Babes, Heidi @Rainy Day Ramblings and then finally Maja@The Nocturnal Library) I gave in and read it! I’m sorry I waited so long!

Okay, so this may not be the most realistic set of circumstances.  I was wondering how the author was going to convince me this could be believable in any way.  I was surprised to find that Ms. Provencher pulled it off, even with Oscar being the swoony catch he is.  How lucky can a girl get?  Apparently, very!!  Oscar in all his loveliness:

“I got incredibly lucky that I don’t have to take a toad for the team. In fact, if you are half as much on the inside as you are on the outside, Hale, than I didn’t even have to dodge a bullet. What I did was hit the mother of all jackpots.”

“I think you are perfect for me, Hale, and I’m just waiting for you to realize that I’m perfect for you.”

“Will you?” Oscar asks again, removing the ring. He takes my hand, and slips the ring onto my finger. “Say yes.  Please, Hale. Not just because we’re supposed to, but because you think you might actually be able to fall in love with me.”  

This isn’t a very long book (190 pages) but I loved every delicious page! It’s a testament to Misty Provencher’s addictive writing that I stayed up until three in the morning to finish this!! She had me hook, line and sinker!!  Now I MUST pick up her other series: Cornerstone.  I already have the first book locked and loaded on the Kindle!  While putting this review together I notice Landon, Oscar's best friend has his own story: Full of Grace. There may be another late night reading in my future!

Favorite quote: 

I lean in closer to him and whisper, “But what if I said I want to marry you? What if I said I want to marry you because I love the man that you are? What if I said I love you, Oscar?” 

He finally looks back up, meeting my gaze.

“Then I’d come running,” he says.

“Then let me,” I say. “Because I love you, Oscar. I want to marry you, and be your wife, and argue about children.  I want everything about you.  I do.”