My best friend’s little sister has been getting under my skin for decades. She’s my lifelong nemesis and now—apparently—my wife.
When Willa Jameson stumbled into my bar drunk, heartbroken, and desperate to save her family farm, I offered to marry her. For “convenience.” Which is hilarious, because nothing about my attraction to this hurricane with hips has ever been convenient.
Now we’re sharing a roof, a bed, and a potential felony thanks to our fake marriage. It’s supposed to be a favor between not-quite-friends-but-not-quite-enemies. Then our late-night arguments turn into practice make out sessions.
But according to her, that changes absolutely nothing between us. No matter how many lines we draw, we keep crossing them—in the kitchen, on the porch, in the tiny bed that’s become both heaven and hell. And the woman who swears she hates me starts looking at me like I might be exactly what she needs.
She calls me her temporary husband. I call her my daily torture, because every day we play house, it feels less like pretending and more like home. When this ends, I don’t know how I’m going to forget what it felt like to call her mine. So either I walk away with her, or I don’t walk away at all.
(ARC Review)
Brighton Walsh can do no wrong in my eyes. Truly. She’s an auto-buy author for me, and The Mr. & Mrs. Mistake just solidified that even more. This book was sharp, funny, emotional in all the right places, and way deeper than I expected going in.
At the center of this story are Willa Jameson and Lincoln Steele—lifelong nemeses, brother’s best friend, and now, married for convenience. Willa is drowning under the weight of her family farm, buried in debt, and determined to do everything on her own. She’s stubborn, guarded, and fiercely independent—not because she wants to be, but because every time she’s let someone in, they’ve walked away. When Lincoln offers her a temporary marriage to help her qualify for a grant that could save the farm, it makes sense on paper. No feelings. No complications. Just a favor.
Except nothing about these two is ever simple.
“Married,” he enunciated. “You need a family? I’m a family. One whole legally eligible husband, right here.”
Forced to share a house, a bed, and a very thin line between fake and real, all that long-standing tension comes roaring to life. Willa is pure black cat energy. She’s sharp, defensive, and allergic to asking for help, while Lincoln is golden retriever perfection: sarcastic, attentive, loyal, and so unbelievably down bad for her. He’s always loved her, and even when he’s teasing or pretending not to care, he sees her. When she’s in pain. When she’s pushing herself too hard. When she’s trying to hide it.
“Just relax, hellcat,” he murmured against my lips. “Let me take care of you.” I was so tired of fighting—of holding everything up—that for once, I just…didn’t. I didn’t put up a fight. Didn’t add any friction solely for the sake of being contrary. I needed to be swept away—to forget about the shitshow that was my life. And I was going to let Lincoln do just that.
What I loved most was how naturally everything came together. Their marriage of convenience actually felt believable, the black cat and golden retriever dynamic was perfection, and the chronic pain representation was handled with so much care. The forced proximity, especially the only one bed situation (a small bed), was done exactly right, with banter that doubled as foreplay and kept the tension sky-high. And at the heart of it all was a hero who shows up every single time, in ways that matter, without hesitation.
“You’re not a fucking hassle. You’re my wife. You come to me when you’re hurting. You come to me when you need something. You come to me when you’re hungry or cold or pissed off or horny. Got it? Me.”
And listen… the caretaking? Elite. The feeding her. The calling her out when she overdoes it. The way he straight-up yells at her to rest because he knows she won’t ask for help? As someone who hates feeling like a burden and pushes through even when rest is clearly needed, that hit hard in the best way.
The banter between Willa and Lincoln was beyond my expectations. It was witty, sharp, and loaded with years of tension. Their late-night arguments turning into “practice” make-out sessions had me grinning like an idiot. The forced proximity in that tiny house made every moment feel intimate and lived-in. And Lincoln calling her his “daily torture” while being completely obsessed with her? Sir. Please. Give me more.
“And yet you worship daily at the altar of annoying the ever-loving fuck out of me.”
AND
“Yeah. I practice insulting you every morning. Helps lower my blood pressure.”
The family banter and group texts will absolutely have you cackling, and the Steele brothers continue to be one of my favorite fictional families. Watching Willa slowly get folded into that family, where she is supported, chosen, and protected, was incredibly emotional.
This book has everything Brighton Walsh does so well. It was funny, swoony, sexy, emotional, and quietly powerful. It’s about letting someone stay, learning that support doesn’t make you weak, and realizing that the love you’re scared to want might be exactly what you need. Lincoln and Willa are messy, stubborn, deeply emotional, and absolutely perfect together.
Release Date: January 1st, 2026
Thank you to Brighton Walsh for the ARC read!