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The Marriage Trap

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"I'm a guide, not a nanny, "

Aidan Sawyer was the quintessential jungle guide, and being in his company was akin to cornering a panther. Courtney realized quickly that jaguars and river bandits were not the only dangers on the Amazon.

Since day one of their river trek, to find her missionary parents, Aidan had tested and teased Courtney with every manipulative macho trick in the book.

Her only hope for temporary relief from Aidan's relentless mischief was to find the mission--and fast. Surely there her parents' presence would protect her from this too-talented rogue!

189 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1987

109 people want to read

About the author

Anne McAllister

341 books124 followers
Anne McAllister has written nearly 70 romance novels for Tule Publishing and Harlequin Books.

She has won two RITA awards from the Romance Writers of America — for COWBOY PRIDE and THE STARDUST COWBOY — and has had nine other books which were RITA finalists.

Her books have also been finalists for the National Readers’ Choice Award. She was named Midwest Fiction Writers “Writer of the Year” and also received Romantic Times’ Career Achievement Award as “Series Author of the Year.”

But while the awards and sales are wonderful, Anne thinks the best part of writing is telling the story. With every new book she writes, she meets new characters – or gets to know old ones even better – and discovers what makes them and their relationships tick.

It’s the relationships that interest her most and the question about “where do you get your ideas?” has always astonished her as she has more ideas than she knows what to do with!

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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Profile Image for boogenhagen.
1,994 reviews898 followers
October 13, 2016
Re The Marriage Trap - AMcA brings us a road trip via the Amazon River Jungle experience with a children's author h - "Don't dismiss the power of angry fluffy bunnies" and a Boston Brahmin self exile who loves the Jungle Adventurer life - " She may look like Bo Peep but she has the mind of Lucrezia Borgia, I just wanna run the river and earn enough to buy some boat parts and beer." Needless to say it is a match made in HPlandia Heaven - or rather it will be once the river is run, missionaries are found, jaguars and amorous tribesmen are evaded and a wedding takes place. Put on your life preservers everybody, we are going on a jungle boat trip.

The story starts with our sweet little blonde h confronting her wicked uncle. It seems her vague, do-gooder missionary parents, who used to make the h go into potentially hostile native Amazonian villages all by herself as a young child as a sort of shield against possible aggression, have failed to do the yearly check in with the managers of the family trust fund. The wicked uncle wants that cash badly, so he has his lawyers working on way for him to abscond with the money in the family trust. The h doesn't really care about the money, her fluffy bunnies are selling well enough to afford a decent condo and a social life, but she knows her world saving, take no prisoners and arrange EVERYTHING parents are getting older and will need to retire soon. If there is nothing left in the family coffers for them to afford their own home, they will be moving in with her and before she knows it she will be organized and domineered and bullied into 2.4 kids and married to a religious zealot irregardless of her own idears on anything. It is purely a matter of self preservation that she hie herself to the Amazon basin and find her parents and get a letter for proof of life.

The h arrives at the start point and is looking for a guide and a boat up the river. She meets the H who takes one look at her and all her petite blonde cuteness and not only says NO, but NO WAY IN HADES NO, the H doesn't do Bo Peep look alikes in ANY SUBJECT. There is another potential guide, but he is very disreputable and drinks a lot, so prudence dictates that the H should take her, his reputation is respectable in the way of Jungle Adventurers respectability at least. Unfortunately there is also a group of manly biologists who need a guide up the River too, and if they get the H, they will be gone a month or more and the h doesn't have that kind of time to waste. So she pulls on the cogitating power of multiple fluffy bunnies and messes with the H's boat motor, the manly biologists take the other guide on their trip and the H now needs money to repair his motor. Unfortunately the h can't think of how Miss Manner's would gracefully return parts that she herself had stolen, but a local lad quick on the uptake pretends that he 'found' the parts that supposedly the other guide hid in effort to win the biology group fare.

The H has his suspicions, but impressed with the h's chutzpah and warning there will BE NO WHINING, the H agrees to take the h to find her parents. After H attempts to share a hammock, fending off amorous tribesmen who want the h to be a lurve club holder (with or without her consent,) and the h shooting a stalking jaguar intent upon dining on the H, they finally track down the h's parents.

By this time, the H and h have both shared that while they love their families, it is a love that is best from a looong distance. The h shares that she really loves the jungle, but since her parent's consistently used her to further their own ends - such as sending her in to hostile villages like a canary in a coal mine- she got as far away from them as she could as soon as she was able. Her parents want to save the world it seems, they just don't care that their child might want something different or have needs of her own.

The H shares that he was a Boston Brahmin with a Harvard degree, but he got conned by a gold digger who lied to his parents that she was preggers, so his family demanded the H marry her. Since the woman fit into the mold of successful Boston Lawyer Wife, the H did and then when the woman really got preggers, she terminated the baby and sued for a large divorce settlement - which she got and told the H that she had no intention of having kids, she just wanted to be able to afford the lifestyle she soon became accustomed to. The H chucked it all in cynicism and rage and came to the Amazon to have Jungle Adventure, where there are villains to be sure, but at least they are honest about it.

It seems that the h's parents aren't done arranging the h's life yet either. As soon as the h arrives and asks for a letter stating they are still alive, the parents tell her she is getting married to another missionary and going to dedicate her life to serving the tribes of the Amazon. The h is frantically trying to find a way out when the H pops up and announces she can't marry the missionary, she is engaged to him. The H's dad demands that the h marry the missionary, but when the h firmly refuses, he demands that the H and h marry right then. It seems the natives need to see a wedding ceremony performed by the h's father t in order to perceive his munificence and power of his faith. So the h and H are married and the parents throw them together for the lurving it up honeymoon. Since there is already a big attraction that both are resisting, the family honeymoon is full of hidden tension. Finally the h gets her proof of life letter and the H and she decide to leave and seek out an annulment later. ( I sorta wondered at that, because while they went through a ceremony, there was no paperwork or license, so legally there was no marriage.)

The H and h start back up the river and this time they run into bandits and the H gets stabbed while recovering the h's stolen wedding ring. There is also an enchanting night of jungle love and the inevitable distancing between the H and h who don't want to confess to their feelings and are afraid the other isn't really interested in boating the River of Love. The H sends the h back to Los Angeles where the wicked uncle tries to burn the letter and continue plans to snag the cash, but the h had the foresight to only give him a copy of the letter and turn the original into the family trust manager.

The h is having a truly mopey moment, cause she is hopelessly in love with a Jungle Adventurer who doesn't love her back. Not only that, but he probably hates her for trapping him in marriage once again too. But the sun soon spills forth when the H shows up with a bouquet of flowers in hand and intent on stopping the divorce the h never quite around to filing and doing a little trapping of his own.

The H avows true lurve on his part forever and states his intention to start wooing the h, cause he just can't live without her. The h is ready to get the courtship over with and rush straight ahead to the boudoir bouncing, cause she is desperately in love with the H back. Both the h and H, finding themselves lost in mutual love and devotion, proceed full steam ahead and demme the torpedoes for the HP approved luvred up HEA.

This one was funny and well done, I quite liked the banter and the way the h and H gradually came together and I really liked that the h did as much jumping in to save the H as he did for her. I thought it was quite interesting that while the romance was witty and funny, the underlying family tensions and distances were not resolved in any way at all, they were just managed and eventually set aside as the H and h develop a unit of their own. If you like a road trip adventure romance, this is definitely one to read - it has the classic road trip comedy vibe and yet there is a deeper undertone of dealing maturely with darker family problems. Look this one up when you want a different kind of HP outing, the story is very entertaining and the HEA is a totally believable and satisfying venture into HPLandia.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for LLC.
252 reviews35 followers
July 1, 2012
I love jungle romance. Courtney, the h, is trying to find her missionary parents. She's pretty resourceful but she finds she's going to need a guide. She's told that Aiden Sawyer is the best for the job but unfortunately he's unwilling. They just don't like each other but Courtney doesn't see why that should be a problem. Eventually she's desperate. Aidens about to take another group up the amazon on a trip that will take months and she needs to find her parents within the next 3 weeks. So she sneaks out in the middle of the night and sabatages his boat motor so he can't take the other group as planned at daybreak. They go with the other guide in town and everyone thinks he sabataged the boat as he's a real scum bucket. Aiden then finally agrees to take her. They have plenty of adventures some life threatening and come to a kind of truce. They find her parents and as usual they are totally unconcerned about their daughter except that they are determined to marry her off to a fellow missionary to meet their own needs.
Aiden declares himself her fiance to save her and then finds himself going thru with the marriage as her parents feel this will impress the natives.
Aiden is totally cold and detached. He is very cynical about life and women in particular. He tells her they will anull the marriage. Unfortunately they succumb to the attraction that has been simmering so the anullment is off. From that point he totally detaches and when she leaves town he tells her to get a divorce when she gets back to L.A
Courtney had fallen love with him before the marriage and had hoped that he would fall in love with her. How could she not fall in love. Aiden was very attractive in a gritty, tough, unshaven way and had a gorgeous bostonian/harvard accent.
It seems that this just isn't going to work out. However, wonders never cease all obstacles are overcome and the HEA occurs. Fun, jungle fever read.
Profile Image for StMargarets.
3,241 reviews637 followers
September 23, 2018
This was adorable. The heroine, daughter of missionaries, has to return to the remote village of her birth to have her father sign an affidavit that proves he's still alive. Seems he has a brother who wants to get his hands on the father's share of the family trust. Heroine is a children's book illustrator and has no need of any money, but she knows her unworldly parents will need it when they eventually retire.

Heroine tries to hire the hero as a guide, but he wants nothing to do with the "white dolly." Heroine gets her way with a bit of engine destruction. The H/h go up river bickering and return down river - married - but still bickering. Seems dear old dad had a minister all picked out for the heroine to marry, so hero offered to play fiance, then bridegroom with the idea they would get the marriage annulled.

The H/h have great sexual tension and they share turns rescuing each other. This is a fun adventure as well as a believable romance.

Profile Image for *CJ*.
5,149 reviews639 followers
August 16, 2020
"The Marriage Trap" is the story of Courtney and Aiden.

Nice, clean romance.

Our heroine is the daughter to two absent minded missionaries, who have been absconding for an year. Born in the jungles of Amazon, she is forced to travel back and trace her parents to prevent her greedy uncle from claiming their ancestral property. It is there she meets super manly guide, our hero, who is reluctant to take her on the journey. But our heroine is adamant, and after some not-so-subtle manipulations, they embark on the ride. Ofcourse, they have adventures! From a hungry jaguar, hammock tricks, wild native men, eventual discovery, a surprise wedding, sizzling attraction, some pushing away- and it all ends in a HEA.

Enjoyed it!

Safe
3/5
Profile Image for Saly.
3,437 reviews581 followers
January 2, 2013
Rating 3.25 stars
I liked the heroine at first she was resourceful and dead-set on finding her parents and using the hero Aidan as a guide, even if he was not agreeable, she made it so that she was his only customer left and even on the tough ride she doesn't complain.
The hero is a cynical guy, hiding from his family and his ex-wife who used him. Things were good till then, the things started annoying me, like the heroine acting stupid about her safety plus when they get fake engaged to make sure her parents don't marry her off, nothing happens in the book. Both of them brood separately and the same after marriage, that got annoying for me. The book just became tiring where you kept waiting for something to happen and it doesn't.
Profile Image for EeeJay.
480 reviews
March 8, 2013
Amaaaaaaaaaazing book. Amazing adventure, amazing chemistry! A 5 stars read not only for how much I was impressed by the wit of Ms. Anne McAllister =)
Profile Image for Annarose.
474 reviews13 followers
February 25, 2020
Courtney had to find her parents in the jungles of the Amazon and verify they are alive in order to prevent her mean uncle, Leanders, from taken over their inheritance. In order to find them, she had to have an experienced guide and she was told no one was better as a guide than Aiden Sawyers. To her chagrin, he refused to help her in her quest point blank so she had reverted to cheating to coerce him a little. Her plan worked and she was heading towards the tribe where her parents were.
Everything was according to plan, but one thing wasn't! Her guide was playing havoc with her life!

I liked reading this book. Enjoyable, but I would have liked it more if the writer gave more space to the hero's life so that the heroine knows more about him as much as he knew about her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Dalia.
481 reviews74 followers
June 23, 2013
A great jungle romance full of adventures, humor and a chemistry as hot as the Amazon weather. A grumpy hero and a feisty heroine. Aiden is the best jungle guide but he refuses Courtney's request to take her to her missionary parents.
But Courtney is one resourceful woman and she ll do anything to change Aiden's mind. Even sabotage his boat ?
But soon she discovers that the indians, bandits and wild animals are not the only dangers they can find in a jungle. They get trapped into marriage.
Aiden is a wonderful hero. I really missed his POV. He appears angry all the time but its his way to hide his growing attraction to Courtney. And his feelings too. He even risks his own life to bring her ring back from the bandits. Then he asks Courtney to get a divorce when she gets back to USA . Talk about mixed signals !! Or is it his way to give her the freedom he thinks she wants ?
527 reviews
April 17, 2013
This was quite good, and I have to say that normally I'm not a huge fan of jungle romances. Likable characters, interesting plot that kept moving -- it was very good.
Profile Image for RomLibrary.
5,789 reviews
June 7, 2021
I'm a guide, not a nanny, sweetheart:"

Aidan Sawyer was the quintessential jungle guide, and being in his company was akin to cornering a panther. Courtney realized quickly that jaguars and river bandits were not the only dangers on the Amazon.

Since day one of their river trek, to find her missionary parents, Aidan had tested and teased Courtney with every manipulative macho trick in the book.

Her only hope for temporary relief from Aidan's relentless mischief was to find the mission--and fast. Surely there her parents' presence would protect her from this too-talented rogue!
527 reviews
March 13, 2013
This was a great read. Not as angsty as some of my absolute favorite HPs, but still plenty of emotional tension. The romance proceeded a little slowly, but I was definitely sucked into the story after they got married. Very likable characters and enjoyable story!
Profile Image for More Books Than Time  .
2,552 reviews18 followers
December 12, 2020
I liked this book quite a bit except I kept rooting for her to grow a spine and tell her parents NO. Her missionary folks have directed her life for years - as she says they would move in with her, pick out a husband, rearrange the furniture and raise the kid - and she never learned to say NO.

Her new hubby hasn't the same problem with the magic word, but he went along with her parents' insistence on them marrying, yet somehow our heroine never twigged that he might have wanted to marry her.
375 reviews2 followers
July 5, 2022
DNF. It is utterly ridiculous how the spineless MFC lets her parents walk all over her. Liked the MMC but poor man gets a doormat for a wife and crazy zealots for in-laws.
Profile Image for Taliskesh.
20 reviews4 followers
March 16, 2025
A rollicking jungle adventure with a strong heroine and a hero who falls hard despite himself. I really enjoyed the banter in this one.
Profile Image for Jan.
486 reviews60 followers
August 14, 2011
Mayhem in the jungle, featuring jaguars, crazy natives, and missionaries. The hero used to be a big thing, but something bad happened, so he ended up avoiding everything and everyone and hide in the jungle where he works as a guide. Heroine needs to save parents from themselves (they are crazy missionaries, with no regard for themselves or their daughter, but only their mission) and thus needs help finding them in the jungle.

They hate each other on sight, but get to like each other (mostly because they are the only normal people around really) as they get to know each other (and save their asses a lot), and then there is a surprise fake wedding.

It's all very much over the top, but the romance feels genuine, and they really made each other better people. And I loved it as a teen :)
798 reviews3 followers
November 28, 2015
Marriage in the middle of a jungle with the natives, her parents, and one other Caucasian present. I think I missed something... would that be a legal marriage since there was no license? Read this on openlibrary.com They have a lot of old harleys over there that you can check out if you don't mind reading digital versions.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews

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