GRR Reviews Breakup Boot Camp by Beth Merlin

Joanna was about to get married, and she's busy getting herself into shape to fit into the wedding gown... Until a discovery led to her canceling the entire wedding... Because her fiancee is a cheater... for MONTHS. She needs help and an escape from her friends and family... so she signed up for Breakup Boot Camp... where she can learn about self-care, spa, yoga, surfing, and a lot of talking with a therapist to get over the only person she had loved... Could the cheating be partly her own fault? Why had she abandoned her career? Did she ever accept the loss in her life? What responsibility does she have in the demise of her own relationship? And does she like Chef Todd?

More chick-lit than romance, it's a bit deeper than you'd expect, and I like it. 4/5

GRR Reviews His Runaway Bride by Lindsey Hart

Brynn refused to be a chess piece to be moved around by others. When her father promised her to some hotshot shoe company founder as conditions for a business merger, she ran. Finding love never was in her plans. Yet there's sexy stranger, Kayson, who saw her as is... desirable and her own woman... // Byron chased his fiancee across the country, but he has no idea how to bring her back. When he ran into her, he gave her a fake name, Kayson. And when she asked him is she desirable, and to prove it, he can't say no. After all, she will be his wife... right?

A very nicely done "hidden identity" romance. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews The Wrong Kind of Love by Lexi Ryan

Nicole found out she was betrayed on her wedding day... Her twin sister Veronica is having an affair with her fiancee... and is pregnant. In a fit of anger and desperation, she accidentally grabbed her twin's purse and ran off... and went way north, and met a stranger in Jackson Harbor that did make her have hope in men again... But in order to make a living, Nicole had to take the job that Veronica meant to take, by pretending to be Veronica... be a nanny for a six-year-old girl... and that's when she found out her boss, Doctor Ethan Jackson, was that stranger in the bar. And he has secrets of his own, in addition of being a workaholic and almost always on-call. As Nicole became fond of Jackson and his daughter, her assumed role started to unravel. Can she come clean before Jackson found out for himself? Or will that be the end?

Interesting twist on the "twin switch-a-roo" trope, and the reasoning for all characters are actually plausible given their state of mind and background. There are a couple other subplots, like best friend Teagan in town, Jackson's mother's secret, and so on.  4.5/5

GRR Reviews Runaway Bride by Cynthia Swan

Alex had it all once. After the death of his parents, he was a billionaire, and he had no care in the world except partying which can't assuage his grief. He just let his uncle manage his finances. Then one day, he rescued a damsel in distress, stopped a killer... but was permanently disfigured when he was thrown through a glass window by the assailant. It was the same day when he found that his uncle stole all his money and left the country, leaving him with nothing. Only a secret deed and some leftover contingency cash left him a place to stay, a cottage in Magnolia Beach, where he, ashamed of being seen, became the town recluse... // Rose was about to marry the man of her dreams when it all turned into a nightmare... Her best friend in the restroom, holding up a positive pregnancy test, being consoled by her fiancee, who is the father. In a daze, she just drove and left the city behind, and when her car died in the small town of Magnolia Beach, it's a sign... right? And it seems the town recluse needs a live-in housekeeper... // The two struck up a friendship, and eventually bared their souls. But is it love? Can either feel any love after what happened to them?

Awwww, it's like a Hallmark movie. :) Main problem is the setup was a bit long. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Honeymooner by Melanie Summers

Work-a-holic Libby was about to marry her fiancee, the steady-as-a-rock Richard, and become the perfect power couple. They even agreed to use the honeymoon trip as a part of her work in evaluating a resort for mergers and acquisitions for her job. So she was utterly shocked when Richard did a runaway groom and canceled the wedding via text... that coward! But with no choice but to go on a honeymoon trip as a single, she traveled to Paradise Bay with two goals 1) get Richard back, and 2) get the resort owner Harrison to sell. And Harrison... well, wanted to change her mind by inviting her out on various adventures. Libby now is conflicted. She can see why Harrison is failing and can find plenty of room for improvement, not necessarily be acquired. But she's also discovering a version of herself that she hadn't seen for many many years. Which version is the real she... and which one does she wanted to be?

As you may guess, Richard comes back at the worst possible time to basically force a confrontation (albeit, im a more rom-com way). But the combined self-discovery and falling in love combined with conflicted loyalties never really gets old. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Handmaid's Billionaire by Gigi Marlowe

Mattie is a handmaid in Malibu, working odd service jobs while she tries to work on her writing. She would have never met Corbin, billionaire movie producer, and older guy, until Valentina, billionaire matchmaker, brought them together. They seem perfect together, but Mattie is unsure, as she was a runaway bride... left her fiancee at the altar, not ready to take that step. Does she deserve someone as handsome and rich and wonderful as Corbin?

NOTE: 111 page short novel

Not bad, pretty sweet, but the darkest hour wasn't that dark. Basically, Mattie has to decide between another go with her first love, or Corbin, who already loved her. The choice is pretty obvious. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Have a Heart by Jodi Watters

Tessa became a runaway bride after she found her fiancee banging a chick with pink hair in the backdoor, minutes before walking down the aisle. She simply drove away, and ended up in Nowhere, California when she blew a tire. She walked into the bar, looking and feeling like a hot mess. And that's where she met Jason... // Jason had a blackened and charred soul that he channeled into a military career, becoming a Navy SEAL. His dispassionate style earned him the nickname "Tin Man"... because he doesn't have a heart. He should have walked away from this hot mess of a woman, still in her wedding gown, but he can't.

At 416 pages, this book is long, but I didn't feel there's much fat to trim. Tessa and Jason both felt complex and real, and Jason actually feels like a SEAL, where he doesn't talk about himself except in a self-deprecating way, not bragging (maybe a little bit of humblebrag). And Tessa, having been dealt a devastating blow, was struggling yet you can sort of see a bright-and-chipper self struggling to shine through. Some rough language didn't distract from the overall enjoyment. 5/5

GRR Reviews Running with a Sweet Talker by Jami Albright

Luanne thought she grew up fine... Her father was absent most of the time, but he did pay for law school and gave her startup money to start her own lawfirm. And she even agreed to date his business associate, and even accepted an engagement. But on their wedding day, she overheard something that destroyed her world view. She had to get away, and that means accepting a ride from her arch-nemesis... Jack. // Jack had always enjoyed teasing Luanne and this has been going for... decades. He thought he'll just see her get married. So for her to do a run-away bride, then was nabbed by one of her father's goons was more than he can take. So he helped her escape... But he has his own problems to deal with... Turns out his father... wasn't his biological father. And he still wasn't sure he wanted to meet his other family. Add a set of elderly sisters who robbed them of their car and phone, a child in need, and a bunch of other coincidences, and this will be road trip of a lifetime... and start of something new for Luanne and Jack...

Nice and "zany", with a lot of heart. Jack's a bit too sweet, and often, a bit too sarcastic tease. Though some of the scenes are uproariously funny. let's just say that "Open Audition Night" revealed there's a side of Jack that no one had ever suspected. 4/5

GRR Reviews The Bride's Secret by Sophia Summers

Carisa got cold feet only moments away from marrying Heath. She can see that he does not love her and will not be faithful. She ran, only to bounce off Wyatt, the best man, and a friend of Heath from long ago. Surprisingly, Wyatt agreed with Carisa that she needs to run, and he helped her... all the way to Hawaii, where she was supposed to go for Honeymoon, but she just wanted to get away from Heath. Wyatt went on the same flight, somehow sensed that she needed a little help, even as he looked for a business deal on the island. Carisa appreciated Wyatt's helpfulness, but she can't fall for Wyatt while she's still technically engaged to Heath. Wyatt wasn't exactly looking for a lover, but he may have fallen for Carisa already. Then Heath arrived on the island...

Nice, very nice, not really a triangle, but a lot of expectations and shame.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

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

GRR Reviews One Perfect Billionaire by AJ Wynter

Eliza is engaged to Ben, who's a nice guy, in a small town in South Dakota. But she got cold feet and ran for Seattle, to her best friend's place. She even kept her v-card for her wedding night. Yet somehow, she knew life in a small town is not enough for her... // Cassidy is British royalty, but he left it all behind to start life anew as the CFO of Torver Corp in the US, and even changed his name a little. Plenty of women wanted into his bed, but he's tired of the f-em and leave-em lifestyle. He wanted to woo someone, THEN make her cry out in pleasure. When Eliza was given temp work in Torver, Cassidy was intrigued by the country-girl and protected her from staff abuse (when one of the execs tried to dump his entire workload onto her so he can catch up on his Netflix queue). But she never told him she's engaged...

Eh... Not feeling much there. Opposites attract, billionaire wooing a virgin, nothing special here. I mean, really. Sure this guy is Americanized, but does a Brit, however Americanized, think of "Hallmark channel" as a stereotype of domestic tranquility? No, it's a strictly American thinking.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 3/5

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

GRR Reviews Bad Mother's Diary by Suzy K Quinn

Juliette had a baby with... a man-child who claims to be an out-of-work actor, but he does have a rich mommy. He was sweet though, and sometimes he almost said "I love you." But the baby is teething, the mother-in-law is a terror and the husband is a douchebag in addition of being a man-child... and Juliette doesn't know how to cook or bake or even put Daisy to sleep...

Written in diary form, it's absolutely hilarious to read, and yes, there's a plot. And it goes on for a couple of volumes. Let's just say the BF caused some major drama... when Juliette's best (girl) friend admitted to having an affair with the BF... and Juliette obviously had to cancel the wedding. And she's suddenly famous as the runaway bride. So she trained for a marathon as a way to psyche herself... and her old schoolmate, Alex... hotel magnate, wanted to woo her... Now that she's single, but is she going back to her baby-daddy? It's run and chick-lit too.

Category: Contemporary / Chick-lit

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

GRR Reviews Wild Irish Ride by Jennifer Saints

Wild Irish Ride is a star-crossed lovers story with a stalker threat. The ending was really lame though. Else this would have gotten a higher rating.

Alexi Jordan had lived a controlled life except for a brief fling at seventeen when she was rescued by then young Jesse Weldon, 19. But they never did the deed even when she offered. She never saw him again. Twelve years later, Alexi received damning photos of her fiancee's infidelity merely 30 minutes before their wedding. Alexi stormed off, vowing to follow her heart rather than family pressure. When she happened to run into Jesse again, she kissed him and asked him to get her away... // Jesse knew he did the right thing... he wasn't going anywhere and he can't take Alexi's gift. Except he walked out, and was knocked out, and woke up having been framed for larceny, and was shipped off to the Marines the next day. Only the Jordan family could have done that. He was sadder but wiser. Twelve years later, he is a security specialist only visiting his brother back in town helping to deliver some equipment when he ran into Alexi... and he's rescuing her... again. And this time, Jesse and Alexi will resume what they started twelve years ago... but someone is in the shadows pulling strings... as it was clear a deranged stalker is after Alexi, and it is someone close... VERY close...

VERY nice shift from serendipity to romantic suspense. I wish the ending could have been handled better, which I won't spoil.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic suspense

Primary Plot: Star-crossed lovers meet again, when he rescued her from her wedding she didn't want, but someone else is stalking her...

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews The Montana Bride (The Marvells) by Jeannie Watt

The Montana Bride sets up an interesting reunion, runaway bride, different worlds, AND secret baby romance and managed to juggle all the tropes without too many cliches.

Jacie Rose ran away from her hometown of Cherry Lake years ago. A drunken party got her pregnant, and her stepfather beat her for besmirching his name and his reputation. She was about to ask her best male friend Brett to marry her just to save her when she realized she'd be saddling him with her for life, so she ran. Ten years later, she is a certified building engineer and is happily raising her daughter... And just took a job back in Cherry Lake to rebuild the historical hotel. She never imagined she'd be next door neighbors to Brett, after all these years. // Brett was sad that Jacie had jilted him that day ten years ago, but he can understand why. Now that she's back, he's not letting her go... But Jacie refuses to take a lover, as she refuses to choose between her daughter and her love, as her daughter always comes first. But as pressure mounts on the project and her step-father as slimy as ever, will Jacie want to lean on Brett for support?

The knee in the balls for the end was okay, but somehow, the "big evil" was built up to be some boogeyman, and if that's all that's needed it didn't quite come across as satisfying. Brett just comes across a bit too passive, IMHO.

Category: Contemporary / Western

Primary Plot: Single mom went back to her hometown, now with a career and daughter, found the man she left behind 10 years ago still waiting

Overall Rating: 4/5

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

GRR Reviews Judith (Rose Creek Ranch Mail Order Brid by Ann Laurel

Judith is a historical Western mail-order bride story that has a heavy-handed Christian message that seems to teach women are weak doormats and only their husbands (even for mail order brides) can protect them. There was really no struggle per se except faith.

Judith was the daughter of a coal miner, and her parents wanted a better life for her, so they married her off to Colorado by pretending to be her and corresponded with a man in Colorado, and married her off as a mail-order bride. She went willingly, but there was no love to her husband. After months there, she didn't quite fit in, didn't find Christ, and was homesick, so she ran off toward home. On the way back, her train was robbed, and she along with another girl traveling alone, was taken off the train by robbers and forced to work in a lawless town as a saloon girl. She begged for mercy from God and deliverance from her ordeal, until one day, her husband along with US marshals came to town and rescued her. She learned her lessons and decided to stay married to her husband, who forgave her. The end.

Clean, yes. Christian, yes. Entertaining... NO! There really was no plot. Things just keep happening to the poor girl, and the ONLY decision she made was to run home and look at how that turned out. So basically the theme was "don't make any decisions for oneself", right? ARGH!

Category: Historical Western / Christian

Primary Plot: Mail order bride hates her new home, ran off for home, got kidnapped by a gang who robbed the train

Tropes: mail order bride, kidnapping, runaway bride

Overall Rating:  1/5

GRR Reviews Chasing Cassidy by D. Kelly

Chasing Cassidy is a contemporary romance / sob story about a woman so damaged she keep s running away, and a guy determined to love her no matter what.

Cassidy Pope has had a tough life, watching her alcoholic father beating (literally) into her that there is no love in the world, and her mother turned to alcohol to avoid the problem. Her only solace is her neighbor kids, Zack, and Rylee, the Stafford twins. Deeply insecure, despite Zack's love for the past twelve years, Cassidy did the runaway bride on the eve of her marriage to Zack. But Zack had made Cassidy a promise... Wherever she ran... he will follow. And on the way, family secrets will be laid bare, payoffs will be revealed, hearts will be broken... and healed. But will there be a happily ever after?

The family drama was quite good, and since body will actually say what they mean, somewhere along the way the message got twisted. It is an emotional journey and you'll come to sympathize for both characters.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Young woman with zero self-esteem did the runaway bride from the man who will follow her to the ends of the Earth...

Tropes: fated mate, scars, runaway bride, family secrets

Overall Rating:  5/5

GRR Reviews The Wedding Audition (Runaway Brides) by Catherine Mann

The Wedding Audition was a "two people hiding out (for different reasons) found each other" trope. However, a few fudged details and pretty lame suspense left the book merely average despite decent chemistry between the two and a good meet-cute and prologue.

To recap, Annamae Jessup was about to wed Atlanta's hometown favorite ballplayer as a part of her reality show life, but a last second cold feet had her calling a radio talk show giving relationship advice... and her voice was recognized, leading her to skip town and spend cash only to get away from it all, and to seek out the grandma, Hazel Mae, she never knew, all the way out in the tiny town of Beulah Alabama, in a beat-up Beetle and a stray dog she picked up. In search of a quiet place to stay, she ended up on an apple farm with a carriage house... and a somewhat hostile owner keeping a big secret. He's actually Wynn Lafferty, decorated undercover police officer, and he's in witness protection because he needs to put a gang out of business. The farm was rigged with a ton of sensors and cameras because he knew he's on a hit list. The last thing he wanted was a spoiled TV princess ruining his cover... but he saw the honesty in her eyes that she despises publicity as much as he does. And they fell for each other. Unfortunately, her mom, then her dad rolled into town, and media was not far behind. And then the assassin arrived...

In such a small town, nobody noticed a "rogue gardener"? A cop can make his own witness protection program? Who is Delailah? Is is street gang or Russian mob? The logic errors begs belief. Also, seems there were a couple changes in details and editing didn't catch all of them. The ending was also way too hurried. The book is at least, fast and easy to digest. But it's not that tasty.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: Reality Star Ruined Her Wedding when she had cold feet on air and ran, fell for a recluse with his own problems and secrets

Tropes: disguise, law enforcement, different worlds, reality show, runaway bride

Overall Rating: 3/5

GRR Reviews The Almost Wives Club: Kate by Nancy Warren

Almost Wives Club: Kate is a girl finding her place in life, and away from other's expectations, even if she had to become a "bad girl" to do it. There were a ton of emotional growth, but other than the few main characters, the "evil" (i.e. the family that keep arranging things for her) are just flat as heck.

To recap... Kate Winton-Jones was content in letting everybody else setting her course... into marrying Edward Carnarvon III, who's rich, handsome, and a proper match to her beauty and social standing. That was, until she discovered, by accident, that her fiancee had set up a honeytrap test for her by sending a private investigator to attempt to seduce her, right after she had signed a pre-up. Thoroughly humiliated and betrayed, she threw the engagement ring at Edward (drawing blood), left the estates on a bicycle, took Uber into town, swapped cars with her best friend, sent her phone to Miami, booked a vacation to Phoenix, bought a train ticket to New York, and drove her friend's horrible VW bug and ended up in Carlsbad, not too far from LA, where she lived an unexpected life... as a surfing instructor, for she was at one time, a top surfer, until the "proper" life claimed her. She was surprised when the PI showed up as one of her students... He had tracked her down, but he claimed he was just there looking for her on his own behalf and he was absolutely honest when he said "Don't marry him, Kate" back at the sting. She decided that she's tired of being the good girl... and sleeping with the PI, who was his fiancee's best friend, may be indeed the right thing to do...

Kate basically tired of being "the good girl" but just screwing around wasn't helping the situation. If one guy tracked her down, other people can too. My problem with the book is not with the morals of sleeping around, but rather, how Kate finally learned to be manipulative... By finding out her intended's secret, and basically used that to force HIM to agree to break off the engagement that neither really wanted. For a girl that got tired of the gilded cage, to see her using a gilded stick just somehow felt... "wrong" on some level.

And I must say the chemistry between her and the PI just didn't feel that warm and fuzzy. Still, it's an emotional journey.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman, after finding out she was "tested" for her fidelity by her fiancee with help of PI, ran away humiliated and chose to live her dream. PI tracked her down to make sure she's safe...

Tropes: runaway bride, Private Investigator, coming of age, triangle

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Review Adam (Farraday Country Book 1) by Chris Keniston

Adam is an almost cozy romance between Adam and Meg in a little town in West Texas.

Meg just did a runaway bride when she discovered her fiancee was NOTHING like she expected. Now she was stranded in the middle of nowhere still wearing her wedding gown when Adam Farraday came to her rescue. With no money and nowhere to go, this city girl must fit into the small town life... and maybe... fall in love... 

No sex, this is about as clean as things get. Though the Farraday boys are just a bit TOO perfect, eh? Meg did undergo a bit of transformation (not gonna spoil that) and the ending all wrapped up all nice and neat. Enjoyed this quick and satisfying read

Category: Western

Primary Plot: Runaway bride stranded in middle of nowhere rescued by sweet and kind cowboy, will she stay?

Overall Rating:  4/5