Meant to Be Yours / Susan Mallery / 464 pages (see note)

Renee is a wedding planner who has given up on a future with marriage and children. Jasper is a handsome, quirky, intelligent writer who thinks he is too damaged for a lasting relationship. But doesn’t love always find a way.   At one point, I thought the story jumped the shark with Renee’s mom’s story and I put it down but I’m glad I picked it back up.  It totally worked.  Susan Mallery’s books are so fun and heartwarming and this one is no different.
Note: This book is about 75% of the 464 pages.  The remaining pages are a bonus previously published novella, A Very Merry Princess.

Double Fudge Brownie Murder: Hannah Swensen Book 18/ Joanne Fluke/ 369 pages

The Double Fudge Brownie Murder starts and ends on a wedding note.  Joanne Fluke begins the book as the Swensen sisters join their mother and Doc for a surprise wedding in Vegas.  Their Mom, Delores,  is pleasantly surprised with Doc's plans.  Hannah finds some romance of her own when Ross Barton, her old college flame, is Doc's best man. Of course, Ross has a job prospect in Lake Eden.  Hannah returns to Lake Eden in time to go to trial for an accident in which a man was killed (two books prior).  When Hannah finds the judge who is to try the case has been murdered she's back on the hunt for a killer.  By the end of the book things are looking up for Hannah and three marriage proposals are on the table.  For the reader who is not familiar with this series, about have of the book is the recipes from Hannah's cookie store.  

Marry Me At Christmas/ Susan Mallery/ 330 pages

Marry Me At Christmas is the 21st book in Susan Mallery's Fools Gold Series.  Madeline Krug is part owner of Paper Moon, a wedding gown and clothing store.  When the local wedding planner is too busy to take on a last minute wedding, the mayor calls on Madeline to help out.  To Madeline's surprise she is planning a wedding for the sister of action star Jonny Blaze.  Ginger wants a small, simple wedding while Jonny wants to give her the grandest wedding he can.  Will Madeline be able to keep everyone happy?  This book will appeal to anyone who likes a Christmas Romance. For more information and read a likes please see the SCCCLD website.

The Dance: A Novel (The Restoration Series) / Gary Smalley and Dan Walsh/ 352 pages

The Dance is the first book in the Restoration Series by Gary Smalley and Dan Walsh.  Jim and Marilyn Anderson have been married for 27 years.  Jim cannot understand why Marilyn would move out just weeks before their daughter's wedding.  A new mutual friend who teaches dance classes also teaches Jim about himself and Marilyn.  Meanwhile, Marilyn must contend with a dance instructor who offers her private lessons and a chance to compete.  Toss in two sons and a hurricane to the mix for an interesting story about the dance that couples dance together.  For more information see the SCCCLD website.

Fairy Tale Bride/ Kelly McClymer/ 320 pages

The Fairy Tale Bride, written by Kelly McClymer is the first book in the Once Upon a Wedding Series.   Miranda Fenster had a ruined London season.  It is only due to help from the Duke of Kerstone that her reputation is not ruined as well. Five years later, still unwed, she approaches the Duke of Kerstone to salvage her brother's romance with Emily.  Due to several misadventures, Miranda finds herself married to Duke Kerstone.  Secrets create problems for them from the beginning.  Will the secrets end in heartbreak for Miranda?  Readers who like Regency Period romances will enjoy this book.  Readers may also enjoy the other books in this series as they follow the siblings of Miranda in their quest for love.  

The Bouquet List / Barbara DeLeo / 195 peages

Yasmin Katsalo is a Greek-American returning from a field study in Borneo to find her mother has left her father to return to Greece and her family's wedding hall and restaurant is struggling to make a profit.  Determined to live life on her own terms after a nearly-fatal encounter with Dengue fever, Yasmin sets out to seduce the restaurant planner her father hired to turn the business around - the restaurant planner also happens to be her brother's childhood best friend.  Will the serious and focused Lane Griffiths even notice her advances?  Can Lane ignore the vibrant Yasmin for the sake of his relationships with the rest of her family? 


This romance proves that when opposites attract - sparks will fly.  A fun read that will leave you wanting more.

Christmas Bliss/Mary Kay Andrews/294 pages/Christmas challenge

Weezie and BeBe are back in a fluffy Christmas tale. Weezie is getting married on Christmas Eve to Daniel, the chef at Guale. He is currently in New York working a guest chef at a trendy restaurant there, but he'll be back in time for the wedding. BeBe is nearly nine month's pregnant and trying to get a house ready for her and Harry to move into before the baby arrives. Weezie decides to go to New York and surprise Daniel. Will she be the one surprised? BeBe is surprised by news brought to her from a stranger. Will she be able to fix this problem before Harry finds out and the baby arrives?


I've never read MKA (as she calls herself.) I did hear her speak back last summer at the Spencer Road Branch Library. She was delightfully funny and slightly naughty. It would have been better to have more background on the two main characters, but the book was still what the doctor ordered after a hectic Christmas: mindless, happy fluff. I vaguely remember her describing her writing like a pina colada: easy to drink and leaving you wanting more.

I've Got Your Number/Sopie Kinsella/433 pages

Poppy Wyatt is having a very bad day. First, her antique engagement ring disappears during a fire drill at a hotel champagne tea. After searching and contacting the police and hotel personnel, Poppy leaves the hotel to regroup and decide how to tell her fiancé about the mishap. Before she starts dialing, her phone is grabbed by a youth on a bike. Now, even if someone finds her ring, they won't be able to contact her. She goes back into the hotel to explain her newest problem. While waiting in line, she discovers that someone has thrown away a perfectly functional phone in a nearby trash can. Finders, keepers, Poppy decides. When the man whose PA tossed the phone calls and demands that she return the phone, Poppy negotiates a deal. She'll forward all his business and personal items if she can use the phone and number to try and get her ring back and keep her wedding plans on track. What could go wrong?


A fluffy and fun romp of a story. Poppy seems quite ditsy at first, but she grows on you. There were a couple of times I was very moved by her plight. A nice change if you've been reading heavier things.

The Bride Wore Size 12/Meg Cabot/392 pages

Heather Wells is a former pop star who has reinvented herself as an assistant residential hall director at New York College. She's getting married in a month to P.I. Cooper Cartwright. Now she just needs to get through freshman orientation week so she can finish the wedding plans. But, her office is filled with parents trying to get their children transferred to her hall, Fischer Residence Hall, formerly known as Death Dorm because of a few mysterious deaths in the past. Before the day is over, one of the RAs (Resident Assistants) is found dead in her room and her future sister-in-law has invited her long-estranged mother to the wedding. Not one of her better days.

This is the fifth installment in the Heather Wells series. I haven't read the first four, but I enjoyed this enough to go back and start from the beginning. This one isn't published yet; I got the uncorrected proof, so I guess some detail might change before publication.

Beautiful Day/Elin Hilderbrand/404 pages

Jenna is planning her wedding with the help of her mother. That's not too unusual, but her mother passed away seven years before from ovarian cancer. While her mother was dying, she wrote out in a notebook what she envisioned for her youngest daughter's wedding day. She doesn't want Jenna to follow it blindly; she wanted to leave her ideas so as to be part of the day. But Jenna wants to do everything exactly as it's set forth in the notebook, and Margot, her older sister, is determined to make it happen. If only their father, still hopelessly in love with his dead wife but remarried, their siblings, the wedding party, the groom's family and Margot herself wouldn't have so many issues and drama.

Another book about weddings. It must be the season. There are some similar storylines between this and The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan, but not enough to discourage anyone from reading both. My only real complaint is the cover art is so off from how the wedding setting, the dress and mostly the flowers are described. Otherwise, this is a nice summer read.

Buried in Buttercream/G.A. McKevett/277 pages

In the last book, Savannah Reid was seriously wounded and her longtime friend and partner, Dirk, proposed to her. Fast forward to the new book and their wedding day except that it's not going to be that easy. Instead of saying "I dos", they are chasing down the arsonist who set fire to the community center right before the wedding, destroying everything including Savannah's wedding dress. When another attempt to wed gets cut short due to the murder of their wedding planner, Savannah and Dirk, along with Tammy and Savannah's brother Waycross, set out to find the murderer. With Savannah's entire family staying at her house until they get married, she has additional motivation to solve the mystery and finally get hitched. Savannah's also dealing with nightmares and fatigue due to her life-threatening injury. Gran Reid offers some good advice about forgiveness and healing.