Book Review: Three Little Words by Jenny Holiday

Three Little Words

Author: Jenny Holiday
Series: Bridesmaids Behaving Badly, book 3
Publisher: Forever Romance (January 29, 2019)
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Goodreads     |     Amazon

Summary
Gia Gallo is officially in bridesmaid hell. Stranded in New York with her best friend's wedding dress, Gia has six days to make it to Florida in time for the ceremony. And oh-so-charming best man Bennett Buchanan has taken the last available rental car. Looks like she's in for one long road trip with the sexiest - and most irritating - Southern gentleman she's ever met...

Bennett's pretty sure that if there was ever a woman to break his "no flings" rule, Gia would be it. Sure, she's stubborn. She's also funny, smart, and the attraction between them is getting hotter with every state line they cross. While Bennett doesn't do casual, Gia doesn't do "relationships." But if they break the rules, this unlikely pair might discover that their impromptu road trip could turn out to be the best ride of their lives.

Book Review: Always You by Denise Grover Swank

Always You

Author: Denise Grover Swank
Series: Bachelor Brotherhood, book 3
Publisher: Forever (November 28, 2017)
Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages
Amazon  Goodreads

Summary
First love is better the second time around.

Matt Osborn had no idea coaching his five-year-old nephew's soccer team would get him so much attention from the mothers-attention he doesn't want now that he's given up on love and having a family of his own. Yep, Matt's the last of his bachelor buddies, and plans on staying that way. That is, until he finds himself face-to-face with the woman who broke his heart.

Single mom Anna paused her life in England to help her father recover from an illness. She can't afford complications, and too-hot-for-his-own-good Matt Osborn-her almost former fiancé-is definitely a complication. He's a reminder of what might have been-or should have been. That irresistible pull between them isn't over. Not even close. But if she's not careful, she'll break both their hearts . . . again.

Book Review: It Takes Two by Jenny Holiday

It Takes Two

Author: Jenny Holiday
Series: Bridesmaids Behaving Badly, book 2
Publisher: Forever
Publishing Date: June 26, 2018
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Amazon  Goodreads

Summary

All's fair in love and war

Wendy Liu should be delighted to be her best friend's maid of honor. But after years spent avoiding the bride's brother - aka the boy who once broke her heart - she's now trapped with him during an endless amount of wedding festivities. Luckily she's had time to perfect her poker face, and engaging Noah Denning in a little friendly competition might just prove that she's over him for good...

Noah Denning is determined to make his little sister's wedding memorable. But it seems Wendy is trying to outdo him at every turn. Challenging each other was always something he and Wendy did right, so when she proposes they compete to see who can throw the best bachelor or bachelorette party in Sin City, Noah takes the bait - and ups the stakes. Because this time around, he wants Wendy for keeps. And when you're fighting for love, all bets are off.

Book Review: One and Only (Bridesmaids Behaving Badly #1) by Jenny Holiday

One and Only

Author: Jenny Holiday
Series: Bridesmaids Behaving Badly, Book 1
Publisher: Forever
Published: February 27th 2018
Paperback, 368 pages
Rating: 4 Stars
★★★★☆
Goodreads  Amazon
Summary: In this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday proves that when opposites attract, sparks fly.

Miss Responsibility meets Mr. Reckless
With her bridezilla friend on a DIY project rampage, bridesmaid Jane Denning will do anything to escape - even if it means babysitting the groom's troublemaker brother before the wedding. It should be a piece of cake, except the "cake" is a sarcastic former soldier who is 100% wicked hotness and absolutely off-limits.

Cameron MacKinnon is ready to let loose after returning from his deployment. But first he'll have to sweet talk the ultra-responsible Jane into taking a walk on the wild side. Turns out, riling her up is the best time he's had in years. But what happens when the fun and games start to turn into something real?

Review: OK, for starters, who doesn't love main characters who are into Xena: Warrior Princess? Especially a leading lady who is a YA fantasy author who cosplays Xena for ComicCon? Sold! I'm in.

This was a fun book that also made me tear up several times at the emotional stuff in there. Jane confused me a little bit, because she's fun and flirty and totally bad ass, but also a stick in the mud? I couldn't quite reconcile her character in my mind - which is good, because she's not some cookie cutter stereotype, but instead is a real, diverse human character. Cam is also amazing, and swoon at his white knight thing he's got going on. (I love me a bad boy with a heart of gold. So sue me.) I appreciate that they're both messed up in some ways, and totally great in so many other ways. Also, the sex scenes in this thing. To quote Jane, "OH, MY GOD."

I listened to this on audiobook, and I *mostly* enjoyed the narrator. Her voices for Cam and Jay sounded exactly the same, so in some of the spots where they both had dialogue it got confusing. Other than that, though, she's great. I especially love how many ways she was able to express Jane's tag line, which is "Oh my god!" in such varied ways. (Read it and you will see...) If you're listening to the audiobook on your headphone while at work doing data entry, prepare to blush. A lot.

Book Review: You Say It First (Happily Inc #1) by Susan Mallery

Rating: 4 Stars

Published August 22nd 2017 by HQN Books

Summary: The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fool's Gold romances invites you to visit Happily Inc., a wedding destination founded on a fairy tale

Sculptor Nick Mitchell grew up in a family of artists and learned from his volatile father that passion only leads to pain. As he waits on a new commission, he takes a day job as a humble carpenter at a theme wedding venue. The job has its perks—mainly the venue's captivating owner, Pallas Saunders. Although he won't let love consume him, for ecstasy with an expiration date, he's all in.

Pallas adores Weddings in a Box. But if she can't turn the floundering business around, she'll have no choice but cave to her domineering mother and trade taffeta for trust funds working at the family's bank. Then when a desperate bride begs Pallas for something completely out of the box, her irresistible new hire inspires her. Nick knows she doesn't belong behind a desk, and she knows in her heart that he's right—where she really belongs is in his arms.
(from Goodreads)

Review:
OK first and foremost - what the heck kind of name is Pallas? There's a little blurb in there explaining it, but I don't buy it. Her name was distracting for me through the entire book. Also, I think the town name is stupid and don't understand the relevance of the title. There, that's most of the bad stuff I have to say done with, now let's get to the good stuff!

This is the first in a series about the people in a small town called Happily Inc, which caters to weddings. What I don't get is, if the town is entirely about weddings, are there other wedding venues and wedding planners in the town? If not, then if Weddings in a Box shut down, would the entire town fold? Or if there are, why don't we hear about any of them at all?

Anyway, if you've read any of Susan Mallery's Fool's Gold novels, you have an idea what you're in for. There are a lot of side characters and I had a hard time keeping them all straight. Our leading lady, Pallas, is one of a group of six gal-pals who are all creative women than own their own businesses (for the most part). Then our main man Nick is one of five brothers (though only two of his brothers are in town, though his oldest brother is also mentioned a number of times as being engaged and I assume is the star of his own show in another series). We also have Pallas's twin brother Cade, her cousin Drew, and the mysterious and semi-reclusive bad boy famous mystery author (whose name I can't remember) to round out the number of eligible lads and ladies in town. And of course each one is super quirky in their own very special way. Which is, actually, your basic set-up for the first book in a series about a small town. There are some little hints about potential future pairings, as well as a fair amount of info dump on the pasts of several of the side characters. Again, pretty typical for your small town romance series.

I liked Pallas and Nick as characters, and they both felt fairly real and rounded out to me. Pallas has a rough relationship with her mother, and Nick has a different but also rough relationship with his father. Both characters are able to give some insight to the other, and in doing so also gain some insight into their own situations, which I liked. There is a symmetry there that really works, and is even highlighted in some witty banter between Pallas and Nick!

"I like that you're emotionally broken," she said cheerfully. "It keeps the playing field level."
"I'm not broken. I'm quirky."
"Is that what we're calling it?"

This was a fun read, with a few emotionally-charged wrenches thrown in the works to keep things interesting. I didn't laugh out loud and I didn't cry, but I did smile a lot and almost tear up a time or two, so that's a solid 4 star rating for me.

This is the first in a series, but can for sure be read as a standalone.

Challenges:

• #2018AtoZChallenge - letter Y
• 2018 Unapologetic Romance Readers Challenge - #9 Contemporary Romance

Book Review: Only You by Denise Grover Swank

Book Review: Only You (Bachelor Brotherhood #1) by Denise Grover Swank

Rating: 5 Stars

 

Published October 25th 2016 by Forever
Summary: Never say never . . .

Romance isn't an option for Holly Greenwood. With her wedding planner career on the line she needs to stay focused, and that means pleasing her demanding boss, not getting distracted by her mind-alteringly hot neighbor . . .

Ex-Marine Kevin Vandemeer craves normalcy. Instead, he has a broken-down old house in need of a match and some gasoline, a meddling family, and the uncanny ability to attract the world's craziest women. At least that last one he can fix: he and his buddies have made a pact to swear off women, and this includes his sweetly sexy new neighbor.

After one hot night that looks a whole lot like a disaster in the light of day, Kevin and Holly are about to learn that true love doesn't play by the rules...
(from Goodreads)


Review: Only You is the first book of The Bachelor Brotherhood series, but it strongly features characters from the first book in another of Denise Grover Swank’s series, The Substitute (The Wedding Pact #1). While you can definitely read Only You on its own, I strongly recommend reading The Substitute first, both because it gives the reader a better background for Kevin, Megan, and Nicole, and because Only You does have some spoilers for The Substitute.

I was feeling really wishy-washy and picked up three other books as well as starting to watch two movies before I started reading Only You, and then it was like Cinderella’s glass slipper. This was exactly the book I wanted to read, and I didn’t want to put it down. I woke up with my 1 year old at 3 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I actually sat down and read “one more chapter” of this book for an hour and a half before I just couldn’t keep my eyes open any more!

I liked Kevin a lot from The Substitute and was excited to see Megan’s protective ex-marine older brother get his own book. Holly’s character is also adorable as well as being multi-dimensional, and I love her relationship with her grandmother and the plot that revolves around that and her cousin. Nicole drives me batty, just like she did in The Substitute, but even she has her moments. While the timeline was pretty fast-paced, I feel like the leads acknowledge that and it doesn’t require a complete suspension of reality. The story was beautifully and compellingly written, as I’ve come to expect from Ms. Swank, and I’m really looking forward to reading the next two books in the series about Kevin’s buddies Matt and Tyler.