A marriage of convenience for health insurance and real estate is so appropriate for 2026. I would marry someone for good health insurance, sadly, I don’t have real estate to trade.
Married With Benefits takes on that question of who could we be if we weren’t constantly struggling to survive? Lainey is incredibly competent and a talented artist, but to eat she drives for Uber in her small Wisconsin town. Lainey suffers from debilitating migraines, which are quite treatable, but the prescription medication is expensive. Living with unpredictable migraines means Lainey is trapped in the gig economy, trying to bring in income when she’s capable of working and constantly on the edge of financial disaster. Her main stability is her grandmother’s house, which she has taken over since her grandmother moved to an assisted living apartment.
Enter Elliot. Elliot has just inherited his late uncle’s lakeside property, which he hopes to turn into passive income by renting it out. What he’s really excited about is the possibly mythical cabin designed by his architect hero that happens to be on the property he inherited. Except that, Lainey’s grandmother and then Lainey have been living there uncontested for decades. The real estate nerds get an adverse possession treat, and the architecture nerds get an illusion to Frank Lloyd Wright. I’m assuming that the cabin is based on (but substantially different from) the Seth Peterson Cottage.
After an initial bout of enmity, Elliot proposes a marriage of convenience, leading to an excellent restaurant wedding. I loved the way the two learn to work together. I wish we had gotten some point of view from Elliot, but I did enjoy how he changed in Lainey’s eyes as they got to know each other. Though it is a fade to black romance, Palmer takes care with little touches and forehead kisses to show the growing trust and intimacy between them.
Ellie Palmer writes some fantastic women. Alison, Charlie, and Lainey are engaging, messy, and fun to spend a few hours with. Her men feel a little more ephemeral. Adam in Four Weekends and a Funeral is the only one of Palmer’s love interests that feels substantial and grounded. I liked Elliot as a character, but there were times when everything else around him seemed more alive. I’m going to keep reading Palmer’s books though.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Putnam and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
