Mr. Mayfair by Louise Bay
Series: The Mister Series #1
Narrator: Shane East, Saskia Maarleveld
Published by Self on October 1, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Pages: 296
Length: 8 hours and 19 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
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It should be the most shocking news I’d ever gotten—My boyfriend is getting married.

Okay, technically he’s my ex-boyfriend. Two months ago he decided he wanted a break. I still thought he was my happily ever after.

On any other day, knowing he was gone for good would be the worst thing that could possibly happen.

But not today.

Because not only is my boyfriend getting married—his bride is my best friend.

And they’ve sent me an invitation.

There’s no way I’m going to attend. I don’t care if it’s in beautiful Scotland.

Nothing and no one could convince me.

Not even when a deliciously handsome stranger tells me he needs to go as my plus one.

Not even when he shoots me a wickedly, sexy smile.

But then he offers me the opportunity of a lifetime—a dream come true. How can I say no?

But I have one condition. He has to be my new boyfriend. I mean, my pretend new boyfriend.

I'm about to find out that faking it can be a whole lot of fun.

Mr. Mayfair is the first book I’ve ever read by Louise Bay, and I must admit that I was initially drawn to this one because it’s narrated by my beloved Shane East. I love finding new authors, but my loyalties lie with Mr. East, it would seem. Then I discovered that it’s a fake dating romance, which is my absolute favorite trope, and I was sold! Overall, this was a very fun story but… our heroine leaves much to be desired. As always, my main points are bolded.

1. The audio was enjoyable for the most part. Saskia was great! I have another narrator on my list of favorites now! I also love Shane East’s voice, but I really wish that he would read the female dialogue in his normal voice instead of raising it up an octave and using a wispy tone. It made me cringe, especially during the sexytime scenes.

2. Stella is probably the most pathetic and frustrating heroine I’ve ever read about. She’s a complete and total doormat, and that never changes. She sacrificed everything she wanted for her ex, Matt, and gave up every dream and opportunity she was given in order to cater to his every need and whim. For 7 years, she put up with his selfishness. And then when he gets engaged to her best friend while they are supposedly on a break and not actually broken up (Ross and Rachel, is that you?), she blames herself. She decides to attend the wedding even though these two most likely snuck around behind her back for a very long time. Cheating and betrayal by two of the most important people in her life, and she spends the time and the money to go watch them get married. She never stands up to them and never asks for an explanation. She goes and smiles to their faces and lets them be so unbelievably rude to her without protest. She has major trust issues, obviously, and spends most of the book cowering and running away. I was looking for a strong, powerful moment where she would tell them off and feel amazing after, but that never happens. If this book were not an audiobook read by two great narrators, I would have DNFed it because of Stella. I suppose I was also waiting for Stella to stand up for herself. I kept thinking she would!!

3. Beck is a dream and Stella does not deserve him. He’s sexy and has a great career. He’s so sweet and caring and thoughtful. He’s incredibly loyal and protective. I also enjoyed his back story, and learning more about why he so badly wants to attend this wedding that he strikes a deal with a complete stranger so he can be her plus one. He had a rough childhood and has been a player for his entire dating life, never getting attached to anyone, but the right girl (who is Stella grrr…) has him feeling deep things and thinking of settling down. His growth and evolution were so refreshing to read about.

4. I didn’t feel the chemistry between Stella and Beck. I couldn’t figure out why he fell for her so hard, so fast.

5. There are some great secondary characters in this story. Stella has a close friend (…whose name I can’t remember), who pushes her to stand up for herself and is so kind. Beck also has a group of close guys friends he gets together with for drinks. They’re all really funny and care a lot about Beck, and I love friend groups like that. Dex was my favorite of the bunch, and I’ve just discovered that the second book in this series is his love story! Exciting!

5. Scotland! The entire wedding week (yes, a week… wow) takes place in Scotland and there’s castles and fun activities the guests get to participate in. There’s also some downtime and Stella takes Beck shopping. I liked that scene.

6. The writing was great, but I could have done with fewer f-words.

All in all, this was fun! Stella drove me insane and made me want to give up a few times, but my love of Beck and my interest in his story kept me going. I’m glad I finished it! And I’m interested to see what’s in store for Dex!