The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall

April 20, 2021

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall

Sophie Breeze is a full-time professional bridesmaid - she is a wedding planner who poses as a bride's friend to help plan the perfect day without being obvious about it. When she is hired for the society wedding of the year, it's a chance for her to really shine. The family is uber-wealthy, uber-aristocratic (these are people who refer to the Duchess of Cambridge as "Katherine").

But of course, the bride turns out to be the bridezilla from hell. She doesn't understand why she needs to work with a wedding planner or why the wedding planner is going to pose as a bridesmaid. The main problem is, the bride doesn't have any friends, so other than the groom's sister, she has no one that she can ask to be an attendant. Sophie needs all her skill and charm to pull off the wedding of a lifetime. And maybe catch the eye of the bride's older brother.

What's out for a society wedding - like I would know something about that

I'm usually not a romance or rom-com reader but this was sweet and funny. It didn't have the usual rom-com hate-to-love plot, more like "wow, he's way above my pay grade, but I really like him and he likes me." Enjoyable, perfect summer reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

November 6, 2019

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Chloe Brown is 31 years old, disabled by a variety of ailments which are hard to diagnose (e.g., fibromyalgia) and cause her to be in almost constant pain.  She has a wealthy, supportive family and a job where she can work from home.  Chloe wasn’t always this way – her disability was triggered by a severe illness when she was in her 20’s, causing her to give up most of her life outside her home (grad school, dating, sports, friends).  But after she is almost run over by a car, she realizes that her obituary would be about one sentence long, and she resolves to get a life for herself, even if it’s not the live she had before.  A constant list-maker, Chloe writes a seven-point list of things she wants to experience so that she can feel that she does indeed have a life.

Red is the superintendent/handyman at the building where Chloe lives.  Like all guys in romance novels, Red is emotionally damaged:  he was a successful artist but a disastrous relationship with a socialite caused his career to plummet.  He just needs the love of a good woman to help him find himself (yes, I’m gagging here).

This is a steamy rom-com with a familiar set-up:  the two main characters (Red and Chloe) hate each other on sight but can’t deny the strong sexual pull they feel.  This is sure to tick a lot of boxes for fans of romance fiction, and it is the first title in a new series – subsequent titles will feature Chloe’s two sisters Eve and Dani.  I am not a huge romance reader, but one of the things that I did like was Hibbert’s portrayal of Chloe:  she might have a debilitating illness but she’s smart and determined, she’s snarky and witty, and she wants love and has a lot to give back.

Romance novels are basically fantasy novels where everything works out and there is a happy ending and a lot of sex - this is the main appeal of romance fiction.  They are a little too formulaic for me, and I don’t really enjoy reading about other people having sex (and Chloe and Red spend a LOT of time thinking about sex, talking about sex, and having sex).  Also, like most of the men in romance novels, Red is just too good to be true (if there really were guys like him out there, I probably wouldn’t have stopped dating).  But romance fans are sure to love it.  I am planning on giving a copy to Sofia, my nephew Jon’s girlfriend, for Christmas.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for a review.