To Have and to Hold
The Wedding Belles #1
by
Lauren Layne
When I pick up a Lauren Layne book I expect to love it. It's even sadder when one of your favorite authors doesn't live up to the expectations. This might not even be the author's fault, it might be a case of it's me, not you. Let me explain:
Brooke is new to New York. After a disastrous relationship breakup involving her ex-fiance being a con and being arrested at her wedding she needed a change of scenery. She has been offered a job with the well known wedding planners from The Wedding Belles. The first client she is entrusted with is Maya Tyler, sister of the hotel magnate Seth Tyler.
When Seth Tyler's sister informs him that she wants to marry her boyfriend of three months, Seth is taken aback. Being extremely distrustful of the groom's motives he wants to be involved in the planning process. After meeting Neil his alarm bells ring even louder. When he meets Brooke they start off on the wrong foot. Seth explains his suspicions to the wedding planner but she doesn't understand his distrust.
There is an intense attraction neither of them can explain. They are both set to ignore the pull but they can resist each other only for so long. Their chemistry is just too explosive.
Seth is very straightforward, he doesn't sugarcoat things. It's "What you see is what you get" with him. He is the most unromantic person on the planet, a marriage to him is a merger. He is extremely caring but also controlling and loves his sister dearly.
It is obvious that Brooke is romantic to the core, being a wedding planner and all. She is kind, cares about her friends and as long as it doesn't involve Seth she is very understanding.
I struggled with both characters for half of the book. They lashed out at each other on a really hurtful level that I thought was hard to come back from given the short time they'd known each other. There is also the issue of Brooke's reaction to Seth hiring a PI to find out if Maya's husband-to-be was who he claimed to be. Her blowing up like she did was totally out of proportion, especially given that SHE had been betrayed by a con-man.
Why would she say that? Wouldn't she have been glad if somebody had told her BEFORE she went down the aisle to the altar that the man she was going to marry was a fraud? My frustration with Brooke reached its peak when she compared Seth to her ex.
This issue and their repeated lashing out at each other were major points that brought down my rating. However, there were also very sweet moments between those two, however unlikely their pairing was. Despite being such an unromantic guy, Seth really tried to make Brooke happy. Their chemistry was great once they were on the same page. Lauren Layne's signature banter was again delightful and made this story worth reading. There is also a story arc involving Seth's best friend and Maya which I think would have deserved a separate book. The end was cute and Seth's change into a more likeable version of himself was absolutely adorable.
This wasn't a favorite of mine but please don't let my opinion keep you from reading this story. I know some of you will love this as much as Ms. Layne's other books!
The Wedding Belles #1
by
Lauren Layne
When I pick up a Lauren Layne book I expect to love it. It's even sadder when one of your favorite authors doesn't live up to the expectations. This might not even be the author's fault, it might be a case of it's me, not you. Let me explain:
Brooke is new to New York. After a disastrous relationship breakup involving her ex-fiance being a con and being arrested at her wedding she needed a change of scenery. She has been offered a job with the well known wedding planners from The Wedding Belles. The first client she is entrusted with is Maya Tyler, sister of the hotel magnate Seth Tyler.
When Seth Tyler's sister informs him that she wants to marry her boyfriend of three months, Seth is taken aback. Being extremely distrustful of the groom's motives he wants to be involved in the planning process. After meeting Neil his alarm bells ring even louder. When he meets Brooke they start off on the wrong foot. Seth explains his suspicions to the wedding planner but she doesn't understand his distrust.
There is an intense attraction neither of them can explain. They are both set to ignore the pull but they can resist each other only for so long. Their chemistry is just too explosive.
Seth is very straightforward, he doesn't sugarcoat things. It's "What you see is what you get" with him. He is the most unromantic person on the planet, a marriage to him is a merger. He is extremely caring but also controlling and loves his sister dearly.
It is obvious that Brooke is romantic to the core, being a wedding planner and all. She is kind, cares about her friends and as long as it doesn't involve Seth she is very understanding.
I struggled with both characters for half of the book. They lashed out at each other on a really hurtful level that I thought was hard to come back from given the short time they'd known each other. There is also the issue of Brooke's reaction to Seth hiring a PI to find out if Maya's husband-to-be was who he claimed to be. Her blowing up like she did was totally out of proportion, especially given that SHE had been betrayed by a con-man.
This was why you didn't go meddling in other people's business. Finding out things you weren't supposed to know, knowing secrets that weren't yours...It messed everything up.
Why would she say that? Wouldn't she have been glad if somebody had told her BEFORE she went down the aisle to the altar that the man she was going to marry was a fraud? My frustration with Brooke reached its peak when she compared Seth to her ex.
This issue and their repeated lashing out at each other were major points that brought down my rating. However, there were also very sweet moments between those two, however unlikely their pairing was. Despite being such an unromantic guy, Seth really tried to make Brooke happy. Their chemistry was great once they were on the same page. Lauren Layne's signature banter was again delightful and made this story worth reading. There is also a story arc involving Seth's best friend and Maya which I think would have deserved a separate book. The end was cute and Seth's change into a more likeable version of himself was absolutely adorable.
This wasn't a favorite of mine but please don't let my opinion keep you from reading this story. I know some of you will love this as much as Ms. Layne's other books!
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