Book Review: Wedding Date For Hire

Author: Jennifer Shirk

Title: Wedding Date For Hire

Publisher: Entangled: Bliss

Publish Date: Oct 12, 2015

Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: The author in exchange for an honest review
Book Blurb:

Maddie McCarthy is single, between jobs, and (oh, the shame) lives with her mother. To make matters worse, she's the maid of honor for her sister's wedding, and desperately needs a date. Then she sees her salvation—Match Made Easy, a service for women in Maddie’s exact position. If she can't find a boyfriend, she'll do the next best thing...

Hire one.

Trent Montgomery isn't actually part of Match Made Easy. He's just doing a favor for his cousin, but one look at the blonde who hired him, and he's totally hooked. Now Maddie thinks that the attraction sizzling between them is just “part of the package.” And Trent is running out of time to prove to her that her date-for-hire might just be her happily-ever-after...

Review: Sometimes you need a short fun romance to clear you head and make things enjoyable. This book was just what the doctor ordered.

I love stories where the couple is not really a couple, but then ends up a couple.

Wooo that almost doesn't make sense, but it does make for a sweet story.

Maddie and Trent are a great couple and it helps that they have a past history. Though I had a hard time figuring out how Maddie's mom, who she lived with,  couldn't figure out that her boyfriend isn't really her boyfriend, and while I'm at it what good sister would let her soon to be hubby pick a best man who dumped her sister and got her fired from her job?

Hmm. 

That was one thing I couldn't wrap my brain around, but this is romantic fiction and strange things happen here. That's what makes for fun reading, and that's what this is.

But let's talk about Maddie and Trent's back story.  Think Monica and Chandler from Friends. Maddie is a former fat girl who has some serious issues with trust and getting involved. A lot of people feel that there is a curse on the first born women in her family. Maddie seems to use that as a crutch to not get to involved, but when she needs a date for her sister's wedding and her nasty cousin Veronica starts needling her, she takes matters into her own hands, and that's how she ends up at Match Made Easy with Trent as her date for hire. And the cost for his services is pretty steep considering she's an out of work pastry chef. Trent was a high school football player with a huge ego and some nasty friends, that could have stood to learn a thing or two about bullying. Maddie was a victim.

Of course things start to unravel just when they both realize that they have feelings for each other as the week goes on. But not to worry, there's a happy ending here.

Rating 4 Flowers

Tasty Book Tours Book Blast & Review: Kissing The Maid Of Honor

Kissing the Maid of Honor

A Secret Wishes Novel

By: Robin Bielman

Sale Price of $.99 for a Limited Time

Blurb

Sela Sullivan is resolved to be the best maid of honor ever, even if it means tolerating the best man. Insufferable, too-handsome Luke Watters is not only the guy who humiliated her at a kissing booth in high school, but he also happens to be her best friend’s older brother. Positive he’s the same arrogant jock, Sela vows to focus on her duties and steer clear of the frustrating—and frustratingly tempting—Luke.

As a world-renowned extreme-sports photographer, Luke is used to undertaking life-risking adventures. But risking his heart for the beautiful Sela Sullivan, who clearly still hates him for his rejection all those years ago? He didn’t see that coming. Sela inspires a passion he’s never known, and the more time they spend together, the more he craves her. But can he prove to the maid of honor he’s become a man of honor?

Link to Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2014/02/now-booking-tasty-book-blast-for.html

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CK52XB2/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00CK52XB2&linkCode=as2&tag=ramfrothichi-20

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kissing-the-maid-of-honor-robin-bielman/1115290477?ean=9781622660889&isbn=9781622660889

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/kissing-the-maid-of-honor/id642292859?mt=11

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/Kissing-the-Maid-of-Honor/dBsoxX6hkEyRAI7YiUlztQ

Review: This book was so cute. Sela and Luke have a not so good past. Well, Sela has a not so good past with him. They both, though more Sela than Luke, focus on something that happened in their high school days. (I have to admit I'm always a little wary of heroines that carry and torch and a grudge for guys that hurt them in some way...but in Luke's case it was just some thoughtless thing he said as a kid)

Still it made for some friction between the two, besides the chemistry that is so obviously there from the start. And there are some scenes that will leave the air in the room sizzling, like when they are at the cake tasting and the bachelorette party.

Sela and Luke are two very different people. She's a nurturing type, a nurse at a hospital's pediatric ward and Luke is a dare devil photographer. He's come home for the wedding after a accident that could have killed him.  Opposites?  Maybe, but these are two people that need each other.

The only thing I wasn't keen on was the whole thing that kept them apart and caused the stupid comment that both characters carried with them since school, the whole being friends with the other's sibling.

This is the second book of Robin's that I've read, and I really like her writing style. If you haven't read from the Bliss line, it is similar to Harlequin's Romance line. The stories are sweet and not too spicy. Robin leaves it to your imagination, but still manages to light up the pages with some heat.

It is a sweet contemporary romance that is perfect for a sunny afternoon of reading.

Rating:  4 flowers

Author Info

Robin Bielman lives in Southern California with her high school sweetheart husband, two sons, and crazy-cute mini Labradoodle, Harry (named after Harry Dresden from Jim Butcher's Dresden Files books). When not attached to her laptop, she can almost always be found with her nose in a book. She also likes to run, hike, and dip her toes in the ocean. Filled with wanderlust, she longs to visit many different places and fulfill her curiosity. She wouldn’t mind indulging her sweet tooth in every location either. She’s a lover of sticky notes, cable television shows and café mochas. Writing is a dream come true, and she still pinches herself to be sure it’s real.

She writes contemporary and paranormal romance and loves to connect with readers. Learn more and sign up for her newsletter on her website at http://robinbielman.com. She can also be found online here:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/RobinBielmanWriter

Twitter: http://twitter.com/RobinBielman

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/robinbielman

Reading Addiction Book Tours Book Review: Playing The Maestro

Author: Aubrie Dionne
Title: Playing The Maestro
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 2/11/13
Blurb: She’ll have to play her boss to come out on a high note…

Melody Mires has sworn off dating musicians, but when the sexy European conductor Wolf Braun takes over her struggling symphony, her hesitation almost flies out the window with the notes of her flute—until he opens his mouth. Wolf is arrogant, haughty, and seems to have a personal vendetta against Melody. Oh, and he’s her boss. If she wants to keep her job as principal flutist, she’ll have to impress Wolf while simultaneously keeping her undeniable attraction to herself.

Wolf came to America to get as far away from his past as possible, and to recover some of the swagger he had as one of the world’s best maestros. He never imagined being forced to reassess the entire orchestra’s talent—and potentially fire anyone who doesn't make his cut. Dating the attractive flutist is out of the question, but as their feelings reach a fever pitch, can they risk both their careers for a chance at love?

Review: This is a sweet romance and it was exceptionally good. It isn't often that you get a romance novel where the lead characters have such unique careers. Melody is a flutist in a symphony orchestra and Wolf is a German conductor.

I have to say that even in Wolf's worst moments toward the beginning of the book, when he comes off the most arrogant, I loved him. I could actually hear his German accent when I read his dialogue. Not the sexiest of European accents but still very sexy. And you had to feel bad for him once you realized what an evil witch his ex-girlfriend was.

Melody was a fun heroine too. She was real and down to earth and her character really helped show that though you might think being a key member of a symphony might be glamorous, it really isn't, especially it isn't in a huge city.

I loved her passion for the music.

The other thing that was fantastic about this book were the two characters interactions with children, Melody with her niece Violet and Wolf with the children at the hospital where he performed as Mozart. I have to say that part of the story was what really won me over with him. Wolf was perfect!

Melody's ex was the only downside to this great read. From the opening scene, you know that Blake's a baddie, and you have a clue that he's out to sabotage Melody, you just have to wait to see what it is, and that left me anxious as I read on. I mean this guy was a total jerk and when he's confronted with his jerkyness, the outcome isn't satisfying.

This was a great book that had some really good subplots that kept you interested, especially since the romance in this book is very light. It could pretty much be read by teens on up.

Playing the Maestro was a wonderfully musical read.

Rating: 4 flowers

Author Info: Aubrie grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over until she could recite and reenact every single scene in her backyard. She also loved The Goonies, Star Trek the Next Generation--favorite character was Data by far--and Indiana Jones. But, her all time favorite movie was The Last Unicorn. She still wonders why the unicorn decided to change back to a unicorn in the end.

Aubrie wrote in her junior high yearbook that she wanted to be "a concert flutist" when she grew up. She majored in flute performance at the University of New Hampshire on a full scholarship, then secured two teaching jobs at a University and a local community music school. While playing in orchestras and teaching, stories popped into her head, and she used them to make the music come alive for her flute students. Her students said they were so good, she had to write them down! Maybe they were right, who knows? Two careers seems to keep her busy. For now. She is represented by Dawn Dowdle and writes sweet and adventurous fantasy, science fiction, and contemporary romance.

www.authoraubrie.net
http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com
@authoraubrie

BUY LINKS

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Entangled Publishing