The Marriage Masquerade Review — Is It Worth Reading?

Verdict: A breezy marriage-of-convenience beach read: personal trainer Taylor Braxton must marry and stay married for a year to inherit her late grandfather’s B&B on Maui, and her client Jayden Wheaton, recovering from a crippling car accident, jumps at a year in paradise. Readers love the Maui setting and the fauxmance premise; many found it pleasant but flat, with a rushed ending.

Best for: Readers who want a light, tropical fake-marriage romance with a heroine in recovery.

Heat level: 🌶️🌶️

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.4/5 — a 3.74 Goodreads average across 196 ratings and 4.6 stars across 167 Amazon ratings)

Tropes: Marriage of convenience, fake relationship, inheritance clause, trainer/client, forced proximity, island setting.

The Marriage Masquerade is Toni Logan’s 2021 contemporary lesbian romance from Bold Strokes Books. Taylor Braxton needs to get married, then divorced, with no strings attached: she has inherited her grandfather’s B&B on Maui, but cannot have the deed until the day after her first wedding anniversary.

It holds a 3.74 average across 196 Goodreads ratings, with 62% of them four or five stars, and 4.6 stars across 167 Amazon ratings.

What Is The Marriage Masquerade About?

Taylor would rather stick a fork in her eye than get hitched, but the B&B is a dream. All she needs is a woman willing to fake a marriage. Jayden Wheaton hired Taylor after a crippling accident, hoping to regain mobility.

When Taylor mentions her dilemma, Jayden sees a chance for warm weather to ease her chronic pain. A year in paradise for a pretend marriage, and zero chance of feelings. Right?

What Works in This Book

Maui: Readers love the setting and call it fantastic beach reading.
The premise: Fans of fake relationships enjoy rooting for the pair.
Supporting cast: Charlotte the sea turtle and the B&B’s locals are highlights.
Heart: A few readers found it moving, and one was reduced to tears.

Book Synopsis

A trainer who needs a wife for a year. A client who needs a year in the sun.

It is only a masquerade. Until it isn’t.

My Review

Logan layers the fake-marriage fun with heavier material: Taylor’s complicated relationship with a homophobic grandfather and a past she was denied, Jayden’s long recovery and chronic pain, and a breakup to recover from. Readers who enjoyed it describe a smoothly written, compelling story they read in one sitting, full of hope and endurance, with a warm island community around the leads.

The middle-of-the-road ratings reflect a book many found fine rather than memorable. Several readers struggled to connect with the characters or felt it fell flat, one felt there was so much going on that the attraction got lost, and a couple found the ending rushed. One reader noted that, despite the healing theme, not much healing happens by the end.

My honest note: A pleasant vacation read if the trope is your favourite.

Element	In The Marriage Masquerade
Central relationship	Taylor Braxton (personal trainer) & Jayden Wheaton (accident survivor with chronic pain)
Core tropes	Marriage of convenience, forced proximity
Setting	A B&B on Maui, Hawaii
Heat level	🌶️🌶️
Length	240 pages (Kindle edition)
Series	Standalone
Content notes	Car accident, chronic pain, homophobic relative, breakups

How Spicy Is The Marriage Masquerade?

Moderate. One reader felt the physical chemistry was definitely there even when the emotional connection lagged.

Readers mention Jayden’s accident and pain, and Taylor’s homophobic grandfather.

Who Should Read This Book?

You’ll likely love it if: you want a sunny fake-marriage romance with a heroine recovering from injury. It is on our disabled sapphic romance list.

You may want to skip it if: you need deep emotional payoff from a fauxmance.

In short: Aloha, arrangement, affection.

What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)

On Goodreads the split is 25% five stars, 37% four, 28% three, 7% two and 3% one.

Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Maui first. Second, the trope. Third, the side characters. Fourth, hope and healing.

What readers argue about and complain about: Flatness, above everything. Second, a rushed ending. Third, too much going on.

The comparison worth making first: Make You Mine This Christmas, another fake-relationship romance with a disabled lead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Taylor need to get married?

Her late, homophobic grandfather left her his bed and breakfast on Maui on condition that she marry and stay married for a year; readers note he added the clause before same-sex marriage was legal.

What is Jayden’s disability?

She is recovering from a serious car accident and lives with chronic pain, hoping Maui’s warmth will help. Taylor is her personal trainer.

Is it really a fake-dating book?

It is a marriage of convenience, but one reader found it closer to friends to lovers than fake dating, with the focus on both women healing from past trauma.

Does it have a happy ending?

Yes, though a couple of readers felt the ending was rushed.

Is The Marriage Masquerade on Kindle Unlimited?

Not when we checked; the Kindle edition was listed at $9.99.

If You Loved The Marriage Masquerade, Read These Next

Try Make You Mine This Christmas or Just Physical. Browse our disabled sapphic romance list or the full Book Reviews archive.

The Bottom Line

The Marriage Masquerade sets out to be a sunny marriage-of-convenience romance, and its setting and premise deliver a pleasant escape. What holds it back is a romance many found flat. A light beach read. Check The Marriage Masquerade on Amazon →