★★★★★ 4.28 / 5
| Overall | [9.2] | Romance | [6] |
| Characters | [8.4] | Writing | [8.8] |
| Emotion | [7.6] | Heat | [7.8] |
| Ending | [6.8] | Re-read value | [6.2] |
A neurosurgeon who needs a wife by the end of the week, an ER nurse who needs $200,000 more than she needs her pride, and one marriage of convenience that starts as a business deal and slowly stops being one.
If you love marriage-of-convenience premises, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers tension, and workplace rivals who can’t stop noticing each other, Who’d Have Thought by G. Benson belongs on your list. It’s especially suited to readers who want a longer, patiently built romance with real emotional weight behind both leads.
Our take: this is a richly detailed, unhurried marriage-of-convenience romance carried by two flawed, believable leads, though its considerable length, a deliberately withheld central secret, and heavy family-conflict subplots won’t work for every reader.
Quick Facts
| Author | G. Benson |
| Publisher | Ylva Publishing |
| Publication date | October 18, 2017 |
| Pages | 362 |
| Language | English |
| Series | Standalone |
| Series order | N/A |
| Genres | Contemporary Lesbian Romance, Enemies-to-Lovers, Marriage of Convenience |
| Format | Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook |
| ISBN | 978-3955338756 |
| ASIN | 3955338746 (Paperback) / B07BDPRVN7 (Audiobook) |
Reader Match
Perfect for readers who…
- ✓ Love a marriage-of-convenience premise that slowly becomes real
- ✓ Enjoy workplace enemies-to-lovers tension between two women who start out barely tolerating each other
- ✓ Want a patient, old-fashioned slow burn rather than instant sparks
- ✓ Appreciate deeply flawed characters carrying real family baggage
- ✓ Like a supporting cast with genuine non-binary and POC representation
Avoid If
Skip this if you want…
- Instant chemistry (Sam and Hayden start out actively disliking each other at work)
- A short read (this is a long, densely plotted novel at over 360 pages / 122,000 words)
- A central mystery resolved quickly (Sam’s reason for the marriage stays hidden for much of the book)
- A story light on heavy themes (a parent’s declining health and a family’s rejection of a gay child both play major roles)
Book Synopsis
Top neurosurgeon Samantha Thomson needs to get married, fast, and won’t explain why. With over $200,000 on offer to whoever will do it with no questions asked, cash-strapped ER nurse Hayden Pérez decides the money is worth more than her dislike of the coworker she’s never gotten along with.
The arrangement is supposed to be strictly business, one year and done, but Hayden and Sam quickly discover that convincing their families, friends, and colleagues that their whirlwind marriage is the real thing takes far more effort, and far more time in each other’s company, than either of them planned for.
As the year goes on, the walls both women have built up start to crack, revealing a far more complicated, sympathetic person underneath Sam’s cold exterior, while Hayden confronts what she actually wants once the lines between pretend and real stop being so clear.
My Review
Who’d Have Thought’s greatest strength is patience. Benson refuses to rush Sam and Hayden’s relationship, letting genuine dislike curdle into grudging respect and then into something neither woman is prepared for, long before anything resembling romance appears on the page.
That patience comes at a cost of length: this is a long book, and Benson keeps the central question of why Sam needs to marry so badly deliberately vague for much of the runtime. Some readers find the eventual reveal satisfying; others feel the mystery is stretched well past the point it can pay off.
The book’s real depth comes from its family subplots. Hayden’s mother is living with Alzheimer’s, and Sam’s parents respond to her coming out with rejection and pressure toward conversion therapy, both storylines handled with more sincerity than shock value. Where the romance itself can feel more physical than emotional in places, these family threads give both women’s guardedness real weight.
The supporting cast helps too: Hayden’s non-binary best friend Luce is a warm, fully realized presence rather than a token, and Hayden herself, a Latina ER nurse juggling family stress and financial pressure, is a refreshingly grounded lead for a genre that skews heavily toward wealthy, white protagonists. It’s an imperfect, occasionally frustrating book, but a rewarding one for readers willing to settle in.
Romance Profile
| Relationship | Marriage of Convenience, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance, Opposites Attract |
| Age Gap | Yes, a notable gap between the more senior Sam and the younger Hayden |
| Slow Burn | Yes, a deliberately paced burn stretched across a year-long marriage |
| Forced Proximity | Yes (marriage and a shared home) |
| Heat | Medium-High (a handful of explicit scenes) |
| Ending | HEA |
| Representation | Lesbian/pansexual leads, non-binary supporting character, POC lead |
| Dual POV | No, primarily Hayden’s POV |
| Steam | [Add rating] |
Emotional Profile
- Angsty
- Swoony
- Hopeful
- Bittersweet
Content Warnings
Not officially published by the author or publisher.
- A parent’s rejection of a child’s sexuality, including pressure toward conversion therapy, challenged but present on the page
- A parent living with Alzheimer’s/dementia
- Past family estrangement over a sibling’s sexuality
- A handful of explicit sex scenes
Book DNA
| Main Tropes | Marriage of Convenience, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance, Opposites Attract |
| Relationship Dynamics | Reluctant fake spouses slowly lowering their guards, prickly coworker tension turning tender |
| Emotional Journey | Guarded hostility to grudging respect to earned love |
| Reader Moods | Angsty, Swoony, Hopeful, Bittersweet |
| Themes | Family acceptance versus rejection, chosen family, what makes a marriage real |
| Tone | Slow-building and emotionally rich, with real humor alongside heavy family drama |
| Heat | Medium-High |
| Ending | HEA |
| Representation | Lesbian/pansexual leads, non-binary supporting character, POC lead |
Similar Books
- Casting Lacey by Elle Spencer
- Just for Show by Jae
- Gold by E.J. Noyes
- Truth and Measure by Roslyn Sinclair
For more similar books visit: Enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance books
About the Author
G. Benson is an Australian-born author now based in Spain, known for character-driven contemporary sapphic romance. Her other novels include All the Little Moments and Flinging It, and Who’d Have Thought won the Golden Crown Literary Award for Contemporary Romance in 2018.
FAQ
Is Who’d Have Thought spicy?
It sits at a medium-to-high heat level, with a handful of explicit scenes spread across the book.
Does Who’d Have Thought have a happy ending?
Yes. The book ends with a HEA for Sam and Hayden.
Can Who’d Have Thought be read as a standalone?
Yes. It is a standalone novel and not part of a series.
Is Who’d Have Thought slow burn?
Yes, it’s a deliberately paced slow burn that unfolds over the course of a year-long marriage.
Is there an age gap in Who’d Have Thought?
Yes. Several readers note a meaningful age gap between the more senior Sam and the younger Hayden.
Who narrates the audiobook?
The audiobook is narrated by Tanya Eby.
Is Who’d Have Thought a marriage of convenience romance?
Yes. The premise centers on Sam paying Hayden to marry her for a year, no questions asked.
Does Who’d Have Thought use dual POV?
No, the story is told primarily from Hayden’s point of view.
Final Verdict
Who should read it: fans of marriage-of-convenience and enemies-to-lovers romance, patient slow burns, and character-driven stories with real emotional depth.
Who shouldn’t: readers who want a short, fast read, instant chemistry, or a story light on heavy family themes.
Final score: [Add score]
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