A Previous Engagement [Kindle Edition]

Stephanie Haddad (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Tessa Monroe knows how to do exactly two things: climb her way up the corporate ladder and cheer up her best friend Christian Douglas, the main man in her life since paste was a snack. With the exception of a Ring Pop proposal and a pool-side kiss in college, not much has changed between them in 25 years. Now that they’re all grown up, the two friends find themselves headed down two different paths: Tessa looking for her dream job and Christian looking for his dream girl.

Luckily for Christian, Tessa knows just the girl who’ll mend his heart after a bad breakup. But when things between Christian and his new girl Savannah start to get serious, Tessa isn’t feeling the pride and happiness she expected… In fact, there’s something weird in her heart that she can’t quite name.

With no plans for romance or marriage, Tessa isn’t prepared to confront her true feelings for Christian. After all they’ve been through together, can she risk her heart, his happiness, and their friendship by telling him the truth? OR does she run away from the romance that began in the third grade?

Friendship and romance combine with messy results, but A Previous Engagement celebrates the humor of real-life love in a story that resonates as honest from beginning to end.

About the Author

Stephanie Haddad is a full-time mom by day and a writer by naptime. She lives in the Boston area with her loving husband, precocious toddler, and cuddly dog. While her short fiction has appeared in several online publications and won a handful of contests, this is Stephanie’s first published novel. Visit her website www.stephaniehaddad.com for more information on forthcoming titles.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 354 KB
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006VYZLVC
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,579 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #96 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction

More About the Author

Stephanie Haddad's earliest works featured unicorns and talking pumpkins who overcame adversity, evil, and the threat of being baked into pies. With age, her writing has evolved to more grown-up topics, like love and the complicated relationships between people. As a life-long lover of cheerful fiction, she strives to tackle real-world issues with wit, hope, and lots of humor. Her short stories have spanned many genres, but her full-length novels stay firmly planted in happy endings, via both romance and women's fiction.

In 2009, Stephanie joined the Romance Writers of America to celebrate her addiction to perfect plot resolutions with other writers just like her. Combining a passion for the human condition with a penchant for the romantic, Stephanie strives to write every story as though it is a conversation shared between friends.

As she balances new motherhood, a freelance writing workload, and an independent publishing career, Stephanie continues her work on a planned three-book women's fiction series, a collection of romantic urban fantasy short stories, and several single-title romances. Her first novel, A Previous Engagement, was released in July 2011. She lives, loves, and writes near Boston, MA, the home of all of her novels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for Romance Genre fans, September 28, 2011

By 

Jason Halstead - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Previous Engagement: A Novel (Paperback)

Either because of my testicles or because I'm just that way, I avoid romances. They seem to only be possible when incredibly stupid people are the characters. The main character in A Previous Engagement (a clever title, by the way), fits the category perfectly. I thought the male paramour did as well until I was most of the way through the book. Then I realized he wasn't suffering from a series of major concussion, he was just overly sentimental and emotional for a man. Definitely not a man's man, but perhaps he fits with the modern metrosexual kind of guy that's become so popular. I prefer the 80's action movie hero kind of guy. Or The Duke.

One other thing bothered me ¨C the book leaves the impression that it's unfavorable for a woman to have a successful career. The main character strives to do so, but she's not complete without a partner and family in her life. I find that a flawed lesson. Why should a person be required to have a family to be complete?

That's the bad, here comes the good.

The book was very well written. The main character amused me time and again (when she wasn't aggravating me by being oblivious), thanks to the author's skill with putting words together. I faintly remember one chapter starting with a sentence that was too long and made no sense, but I was able to move past it easily and find no other flaws. Coming from another writer, that's a major success.

I read the book in a matter of hours, another feather in Stephanie's hat. I abhor the genre yet she kept me reading. I wanted to reach in and strangle the characters because they seemed to be inexplicably stupid from the very beginning, but still I read on. I say 'inexplicably stupid' but that does not mean they are without precedent. Virtually any romance movie available or even some distant relatives of mine have displayed similar or near exact levels of ignorance and dumbassery. So yes, I thought they were dumb but it's a dumb that I've seen many times before in fiction and in fact.

For someone who enjoys the genre, I recommend the book highly.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars book review of A Previous Engagement, August 27, 2011

By 

LCRicci - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Previous Engagement: A Novel (Paperback)

I heard about this book through word of mouth - and although I had not heard of the author before, I thought I would give it a try. The opening pages hooked me and I had trouble putting the book down - hoping for the happy ending I wanted, and getting every bit of that and more! The characters and their interactions with friends and family members were true to life - more so than in some other books in this genre where best friends are always supportive or the two destined lovers are perfect for each other. These characters had flaws that made them who they were and made the story jump from the page. I am looking forward to reading more by Stephanie Hadded.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great beach read!, September 13, 2011

By 

momoftwocuteboys - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Previous Engagement: A Novel (Paperback)

Purchased the book after hearing about it from a friend and loved it from the second I started reading it! Great beach read or perfect for someone looking for an easy read. Characters were great, definitely didn't want it to end! Would highly recommend the book, looking forward reading more from this author!