GRR Reviews Cake A Love Story by J Bengtsson

Jake was famous for TWO reasons: he survived an unspeakable ordeal at the hands of a serial kidnapper and murderer, and he also became a famous musician in spite of his ordeal. He had turned himself off emotionally to survive the first and remained aloof for the second. He rarely forms personal connections... Until now. // Casey was just a college student who agreed to be a bridesmaid for a friend. She didn't expect to be paired with the famous performer Jake. They are polar opposites: He's a musician, she's practically tone-deaf. She talks a lot, he's mostly silent. Yet when they finally met, they seem to be a perfect complement to each other. But can their love help him heal?

A bit longer than you'd expect (600 pages!), Jake and Casey actually have FOUR MORE books about their love and ordeals (for a total of 5 books). The characters are nicely nuanced, and the opposites attract trope was used very nicely. Jake was a guy that just wanted to be treated as "normal", while Casey can't do anything except being herself. It's her slowly drawing out the details of his ordeal and bonding over those moments that'll jerk your tears. This is NOT your typical "rockstar seduces ingenue" book. 5/5

GRR Reviews Every Yesterday by Nancy Naigle

Megan used to be a pretty successful painter, until loss of her father and ending of her last relationship left her unable to continue painting. She had great memories of riding with her father in a very rare car: 1958 DeSoto Adventurer convertible. She would never sell it. In fact, she didn't even want to let her best friend to borrow it for her wedding. // Noah is a car restorer, car collector, and bachelor. He can't believe his best friend is getting married... or he'd find his dream car in the small town of Boot Creek. yes, the 1958 DeSoto Adventurer. But the owner, Megan, also the maid of honor, didn't want to sell. EVER. Noah is determined to change her mind though... so much he'd bet $1000 on it. But the more he knew Megan, the more he realized she's right, and he's more interested in her than the car. When the wager became known to Megan, will it doom their relationship?

Good internal conflict brought forward with the wedding as the catalyst / inciting incident, and good use of an iconic object as source of conflict. 5/5

GRR Reviews Heart of the Billionaire: Sam by J S Scott

Billionaire Sam has only one regret in life: breaking Maddie's heart way back when. Sam and Maddie were lovers in high school, but they never had sex. Maddie thought Sam betrayed her when she saw him kiss another woman. Now Maddie is Dr. Madeline, and her best friend Kara is marrying Sam's brother Simon. (see Billionaire's Obssession) And Sam and Maddie are best man and maid of honor respectively, and they had to be civil to each other. And Sam's protective instincts came back out... He wanted her back, and he'll do anything, including paying for the entire free clinic for Maddie to run, if she'll have him back. And if she wanted to have a child, he'll even bed her until she's pregnant. But what Maddie needed is an answer on WHY he betrayed her back then... and the answer wasn't what she expected...

Uh, problem. If they really were the key to putting some criminals away back then, nobody recognized who they are now and wanted revenge, esp. when they are all rich billionaires? Sam's alpha growling tendencies are annoying, not adorable. And Maddie was so tired, Sam was able to carry her home, into his bed, and she never woke up even once? Hmmm... Some of these scenarios are kinda absurd. At least this wasn't CREEPY like book 1 where Simon basically stalked Kara for a year and rescued her at her lowest. 2.5/5

GRR Reviews The Conflicted Maid of Honor by Sharon Sue Thorn

Sammie is supposed to be the maid of honor for a cruise ship wedding of her best friend. But after a heated argument and waking up late, she decided to shore leave alone on the island of St. Lucia... only to get robbed of nearly everything and scammed by criminals who don't think twice of taking advantage of tourists. Can she ever make it back to the ship for the wedding? Which is when she ran into Dominic... // Dominic was getting a bit tired of his life as a bar owner on St. Lucia. While meeting beautiful women and have plenty to drink and beach view is nice, it's also getting boring. Then in all the bars on St. Lucia, she walked into his... Dom found himself attracted to Sammie and will do everything to help her get back to her ship... AND catch the ones responsible. But is she the right woman to give up his life on the island for?

Hmmm... Pretty good. The reluctance is normal, but Sammie's hesitation seems to be more about "what happens in the Caribbean should stay in the Caribbean", even if the guy was nice and wanted to see where this can go. Call it 4/5

GRR Reviews Sophie by Kelsie Rae

Sophie and Nathan are mortal enemies... even when they shouldn't be. Sophie and Nathan had a one-night stand, and sex was phenomenal... Until he reminded her it's supposed to be NSA.. and walked out the door. Now they greet each other with cutting remarks and pranks. But their best friends are getting married... and they have to be civilized to each other... for several weeks... in the Maldives for a destination wedding. But as they actually got to know each other, Sophie starts to understand why Nathan is a commitment-phobe... he doesn't believe in love because he never had any... and Nathan starts to understand why love is not that kind of 4-letter word... Then a surprise discovery leads to a showdown with Sophie's big brother...

Excellent character arc for Nathan, as the author managed to convert him from a jerk to a proper lover in the length of the book. And all the characters, esp. the supporting cast, are good as well. No TSTL moment, good snarky wit when called for.  This book is a standalone, but you'd get more out of these books by reading them in order so you understand more about the other characters, who have their own books. All, in all, excellent.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews An Island Christmas Wedding by Susan Coventry

Jess and Shane, plus Hannah and Ty are off to the US Virgin Islands for their double wedding, but not all are going quite well. Jess is worried about seeing her father and sister again, from whom she was estranged from. And Hannah is worried about fitting into her wedding gown... while pregnant. And Matt, the best man and Shane/Hannah's brother, is falling for maid-of-honor, who's Jess's sister... This Christmas will be interesting indeed!

Sorta sequel to another novel, this is "the further adventures" with a bit of Christmas is for forgiveness and family theme. Good.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Accidental Bride and Groom by Iris Abbott

Emma's best friend Lynn is getting married, and Emma's the maid of honor and is heading down to their Lynn's family ranch to handle the last minute details. However, things are not entirely going well when Emma found Lynn and her fiancee Bruce flying off to Mexico as part of a search and rescue after a devastating earthquake. They will be back before the wedding, promise. Then Emma found Lynn's older brother, Landon, the boy she had a crush on, will be the guy on the ranch. Emma's heart is broken after her mother drove her away instead of standing up to her abusive husband. Landon found Emma is almost irresistible. Then the well-planned wedding started to turn into a nightmare. First flowers had to be changed. Then the wedding gown disappeared. Emma and Landon ended up spending more and more time together, trying to salvage the wedding. However, can they fall for each other, even when it seems that they will end up being the bride and groom?

Nice escalation of problems, from bad to worse to horrendous. Everything that can go wrong with this wedding did. Flowers went unavailable. The caterer had a fire. Gown went missing altogether. Moreover, the bride and groom seem to be stuck in Mexico... Add some family emergencies, nosy family (with best intentions), and it's a fun ride to "maybe we should get married instead"

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can bridesmaid keep the wedding going with disaster after disaster, while woo'ed an old flame?

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews A Secret One by Aleatha Romig

A Secret One managed to stack a LOT of plot for a 40 page short story, with sexy yet not raunchy scenes.

Shana's the maid of honor... so why did she wake up in a strange bed... with the groom's brother Trevor? It was those darn Fireball shots... OMG what happened last night? They didn't... right?

At only 42 pages, there sure were a lot of plot, even though it did have to do a bit of backward jump in time, yet it did make perfect sense. It's like a mystery unfolding. It's also a prequel, and it's a load of fun to read.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Maid of honor woke up in a strange bed with groom's brother... Did they, uh... do the nasty?

Overall Rating: 5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Kiss a Bridesmaid by Courtney Hunt

Kiss a Bridesmaid is a sweet love story between a caterer and some random girl walking through the area. You can call it serendipity, but there was basically instant sweet attraction that left the guy to do all the work...

Shortie Campbell is a caterer working for "Always a Bridesmaid" a wedding planning and professional groomsman/bridesmaid provider that always crafts the perfect experience... including a cute canine ring bearer. When the doggie decided to chase a frisbee through the park, it's up to the staff to retrieve the wayward pup. Abigail Browne was just wandering through the park when she by chance snagged the runaway puppy... and ended up covered in mud with a twisted ankle. Shortie escorted her home, and upon learning Abigail is jobless, offered her to come see Always a Bridesmaid for a position, and to Abigail's own surprise, she fitted right in. And her friendship with Shortie blossomed. But can there be more?

There really wasn't any obstacle between the two falling for each other. The romance was low-intensity sweet, but left me a little empty.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Jobless young woman saved the wedding by snagging a runaway pup; was attended and rescued by the caterer... is there more?

Tropes: bridesmaid, marriage, pet

Overall Rating:  3/5