Review: The Unexpected Wedding Guest by Aimee Carson

"Surprised to see me?"

Getting caught in her wedding dress by her drop-dead-gorgeous ex-husband is Reese Michael's worst nightmare. Especially when her perfect-on-paper fiancé then cancels their wedding!

Reese has spent years trying to forget how her marriage to Mason Hicks crashed and burned—yes, their chemistry was incredible, but a girl can't live on lust alone! And what's a jilted bride supposed to do when the one man she could never forget is back in her life, as irresistible as ever? Mason might be her own personal brand of Kryptonite, but surely life is meant to be lived a little dangerously…?

The Unexpected Wedding Guest is the first full-length novel in The Wedding Season miniseries.  This is the first of the series that I read, and the first book by Ms. Carson that I've read. 

As far as setting the scene for the forthcoming three books, the remaining Awesome Foursome's male partners are to be determined, though I think one could trace the paper trail and connect the couples based on the men mentioned within The Unexpected Wedding Guest.  That might make a fun game! 

Reese Michael married young -- at 19.  She had smoking chemistry with her husband, Mason Hicks, but when it came time to discuss any problems, Reese didn't (or couldn't).  She would turn to her parents for help, perhaps not realizing how that made Mason feel.  And Mason found it easier to shut Reese out, so it's no wonder they grew apart and their marriage ended.  Ten years later, Reese believes she's found her true love in Dylan, a lifelong friend who seems to be the perfect man.  What Reese doesn't realize -- until Mason shows up at the wedding site -- is that she might not be in love with Dylan.  

Reese and Mason's chemistry is off the charts.  It's easy to see why Reese was swept away by it when she was 19.  And while once Mason makes Reese question if she still has feelings for him or not, I found myself wondering if they would fall into their old patterns once they decide to give their love another try.  I hope we see glimpses of them as the miniseries progresses as I don't want them to just jump into marriage without having learned something from their past mistakes.  

(A very special thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Unexpected Wedding Guest.)

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Independence Day, America!  Too bad it's raining here, so we won't be enjoying fireworks.  Good day to catch up on some reading though!!

Review: The Sassy Belles by Beth Albright

Meet the Sassy Belles

They're strong as a mint julep, sweet as peach cobbler, and no matter what, they stick together.

There are only two seasons in Tuscaloosa—football and waiting-for-football. When Lewis Heart, football announcer and voice of the Crimson Tide, vanishes after an impromptu romp with Vivi Ann McFadden at the Fountain Mist Motel, Vivi does what any Southern woman would do: call her best friend, Blake O'Hara Heart, attorney-at-law.

With the town gossip swirling around them, Vivi and Blake are determined to find out what happened to Lewis and clear Vivi's reputation. Because after all, men may come and go, but the Sassy Belles are forever.

Not since Steel Magnolias have we fallen in love with such sexy, strong and hilarious Southern women. So grab your best girlfriends and join these Belles on the first of many joyrides through the Deep South….

Though The Sassy Belles is published by Harlequin, I don't consider it a true romance; I would label The Sassy Belles as women's fiction -- there's a declining romance, a new romance beginning, and a bit of a mystery.  

Told by narrator Blake O'Hara Heart, we are treated with life in Blake's small social circle of Tuscaloosa, Alabama: her lifelong best friend, Vivi; her husband, Henry; Henry's brother and Vivi's love interest, Lewis; Blake's mother and grandmother, Kitty and Meridee; and Blake's former stepsister, Dallas.  The crux of the story revolves around Lewis's disappearance and Blake's attempts to siphon out the mystery. 

The Sassy Belles is a fun start to what's certain to be a fun series, and I'm looking forward to Wedding Belles (July 2013) and Sleigh Belles (October 2013). 

(A very special thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Sassy Belles.)

Review: If The Shoe Fits by Megan Mulry

The only thing worse than being in the spotlight is being kept in the dark...

With paparazzi nipping at his heels, Devon Heyworth, rakish brother of the Duke of Northrop, spends his whole life hiding his intelligence and flaunting his playboy persona. Fast cars and faster women give the tabloids plenty to talk about.

American entrepreneur Sarah James is singularly unimpressed with "The Earl" when she meets him at a wedding. But she's made quite an impression on him. When he pursues her all the way across the pond, he discovers that Miss James has no intention of being won over by glitz and glamor—she's got real issues to deal with, and the last thing she needs is larger-than-life royalty mucking about her business...

The pairing of Sarah and Devon was hinted at in Ms. Mulry's first book, A Royal Pain, so I was interested to read how Sarah and Devon would conquer the Atlantic Ocean and achieve their happily ever after.  Unfortunately, If the Shoe Fits missed the mark for me.  

Sarah and Devon have great chemistry, so I wanted to see their relationship work.  Watching it unfold on the page, however, was not a pleasurable experience.  Sarah, while she is a successful businesswoman, appears to have come from money via her father and her maternal grandmother, who lives in France.  Devon, of course, is "The Earl".   It wasn't their money and the jet-setter lifestyle that bothered me, though; it was their personalities, especially once they decided to move their relationship forward.  When Devon's jealousy reared its ugly head in a moment that could have quickly turned very sour and Sarah simply closed her eyes, that's when they lost me as a couple.   

It's a shame I won't be continuing this series because I really would have liked to see how Ms. Mulry paired Devon and Max's younger sister, Abby (who has seemingly been in a lesbian relationship for ten years) with Eliot Cranbrook in R is for Rebel (November 2013).

 

(A very special thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of If the Shoe Fits.)

Eagerly Anticipating -- July 2013

                           

Review: It Had To Be You by Jill Shalvis

Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she's a thief, and now she's about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who's as sexy as he is stern....

After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke's own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

Ali's bad day goes off the rails in a hurry.  She's attempting to start over in Lucky Harbor without the shadow of her mother's misdemeanor past and her sister's questionable tastes affecting her.  So when her boyfriend dumps her via text message, she's accused of stealing, and is on the cusp of losing her rental house, she meets Luke Hanover.  

Luke agrees to let Ali continue to live in the house -- while he lives there too.   Luke feels responsible for Ali, but Ali cannot trust men just yet.  Their living situation makes for some interesting sexual tension.  Luke is a "fixer" but he also has his own issues.  I think he and Ali make a very realistic couple.  It Had to Be You is a great addition to the Lucky Harbor series.  

(A very special thank you to Forever Romance, Hachette Book Group, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of It Had to Be You.)

Review: The Wedding Dress Diaries by Aimee Carson

Get in the bridal spirit with this prequel novella to the fabulous new Harlequin KISS contemporary romance series, The Wedding Season!

Bridal shop owner Amber Davis dreaded the moment she'd run in to Parker Robinson while working on his sister's wedding. She'd spent every summer in the Hamptons with his family as a kid, fantasizing about kissing him. But she's shocked to discover that the confident boy who'd given Amber her first taste of love has become a man who mocks its very existence.

Parker can't believe the girl who used to follow him around has grown into a beautiful woman—one with some very naughty ideas when she fits him for his tux. But Amber also knows why he's shut everyone out of his life. She's not the kind of woman Parker gets involved with…even if he can't keep his hands off her.

Amber doesn't do one-night stands or casual hookups, but she's wanted Parker long enough to make him an exception—especially if she can convince him he needs love in his life, too.

A free ebook to start off this series.  Ms. Carson also wrote the first book of the series, The Unexpected Wedding Guest, as well.  

Amber Davis is a childhood friend from the wrong side of the tracks to Reese Michael.  Reese is getting married, and Amber is helping her plan and organize the wedding.  One of the jobs Reese has tasked Amber with -- though I think Amber actually has decided to take this upon herself -- is to invite Reese's half-brother, Parker, to the wedding.  Amber had a crush on Parker while growing up, so reconnecting with him won't be a hardship for her.  

There is a slight case of InstaLove, which I didn't necessarily buy, considering Amber hasn't seen Parker in ten years or so.  Parker is a brooding hero, though, a cop who seems to be the polar opposite of Reese's Park Avenue Princess.  This novella gives the backstory to the reason behind Amber's reaction when Reese mentions Parker in The Unexpected Wedding Guest.