Review: Made to Last by Melissa Tagg

My rating: 4 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads.com

Miranda Woodruff, star of the homebuilding show "From the Ground Up," will do anything to keep the job she loves. Due to a painful broken engagement and a faith she's mostly forgotten, she's let her entire identity become wrapped up in the Miranda everyone sees onscreen. So when she receives news that the network might cancel her program, she must do the very thing she fears most: let the spotlight shine on her closely guarded personal life. The only problem? She's been living a lie--letting viewers believe she's married--and now she's called upon to play wife to a sweet, if a bit goofy, pretend husband to boost ratings.

Desperate to help his family and prove he's not a total failure, reporter Matthew Knox is looking for a breakout story. When he's offered the opportunity to do an online serial feature on Miranda Woodruff, he jumps at the chance, even if celebrity reporting isn't really his thing. But as soon as he meets Miranda, he knows she's keeping secrets.

When Miranda's former fiance suddenly appears on the scene again, she doubts her life could get more complicated. Juggling three guys, an on-the-rocks television show, and the potential exposure of her deception is way more than she bargained for. Can the woman who makes things look so good onscreen admit it's time to tell the truth about who she is? And if she does, will the life Miranda's built come crashing down just as she's finally found a love to last?

My Review 

The entire time I was reading this book I kept thinking, "How on earth is she going to get herself out of this?!" It's one doozy of a pickle. The dialogue throughout the book is great, as well as the developing relationship between Miranda and Matthew. The main thing that bothered me was how lightly she treated her moral decisions- living with her past boyfriend and lying about her pretend husband. She acknowledges that they are wrong, but doesn't let that stop her from doing what she wants to get what she wants. The story is well-written, and eventually Miranda faces her regrets and makes things right.

(ARC provided via Netgalley for unbiased review)