I love my meaty reads, but sometimes I’m just looking to dive into the book equivalent of a box of chocolates. In case you’re wondering, Harlequin Presents tend to be my bonbons of choice. At their best, they’re rich, satisfyingly perfect escapes. Unfortunately some, such as Marriage: For Business or Pleasure?, end up being a little too ordinary to really do it for me.

The story starts off well enough. Britt Lloyd returns to her Australian hometown determined to make a deal with a local vineyard that will secure her a promotion at work. However, she soon learns that the owner has died and his son, Nick Mancini, now owns the estate. Nick, of course happens to be her first lover from whom she parted on bad terms. Like many an HP heroine before her, Britt has never gotten over her lost love and, since she still carries the leftover hurt from the long ago breakup, it’s not surprising that the initial scenes between the two carry plenty of tension.

The mixture of attraction and anger that colors Britt and Nick’s interactions makes sense given their history, even if it feels laid on a bit thick given the time that has passed. When the shock of their initial meeting passes, the two have to deal with one another and their thoughts about what might happen if they were together feel natural. The author’s smooth style helps here as well.

However, the deepening attraction between Britt and Nick gets bogged down in way too frequent mention of his mommy issues and her daddy issues. At times I really wanted to shake these two and scream, “Grow up already!!” Not only do they have their own past history as a couple to deal with, but they also haven’t moved on from their childhood issues. It really is too much.

On top of that, the pacing of the romance felt a bit off in places. Towards the beginning, it’s very easy to buy into the gradual thaw between Nick and Britt as they interact with one another and I wanted them to act on their very obvious attraction. However, a lack of trust amongst other problems is still very evident when Nick makes his marriage of convenience proposal. The too-quick acceptance by the supposedly conflicted Britt didn’t make the situation any better either.

This novel is not awful by any stretch. The author’s style is pleasant overall and fits the high-drama mode of the category line. In addition, she manages to make her Australian setting come alive and gives readers a real sense of place for her story. Unfortunately though, the story in this instance is too much of a mixed bag to recommend.