Customer Reviews

Always A Bridesmaid (Feature Anthology)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From the back cover:

No more catching the bouquet...
Three bridesmaids catch their man

BACKSEAT BRIDEGROOM by Jane Sullivan
Plan-it-to-death Serena Stafford believes that only her wildly impetuous sister could fall in love in three days. But Serena hasn't planned on her chemistry with best man Tom Erickson as they drive to her sister's Vegas wedding. A drive that takes three days...

LOVE IS A BEACH by Isabel Sharpe
During a friend's Caribbean wedding, Emily Wakefield and ex-fiance Loring Mackenzie are "accidentally" stranded overnight on a tiny island--with a big bottle of champagne--and Emily's warning bells go off. But by morning, all Emily hears are wedding bells...

FAIR GAME? by Julie Kistler
Andie Summerhill is instantly attracted to Jason McKinley--her sister's date for their brother's wedding. But why would her staid, conservative sister even be interested in a man like Jason? He's too fast, too sexy, too unpredictable...and perfect for Andie.

Goodbye aqua taffeta...hello wedding white

And my review:

I'll admit it, romance anthologies are a weakness of mine. They give me a chance to sample several authors at once, and provide a quick romance fix. However, I also realize that the severe page restriction can sometimes mean that an otherwise good premise doesn't get a chance to be developed as well as it should be.

At first, I really enjoyed Jane Sullivan's BACKSEAT BRIDEGROOM. I loved watching how the hero and heroine hit it off by having similar personalities and life-views, not just hormones. However, I felt the author spoiled it when she had the characters hop into bed the first night they meet. I don't care how thick the attraction is, instant sex is an instant turn-off for me.

Isabel's Sharpe's LIFE IS A BEACH was by far my favorite story in this collection. I really enjoy stories of reunited love, and this one was well done. I really liked that the reasons for the couple's breakup were real relationship issues, not just some stupid big misunderstand too often used in romance. And while the issues were important ones, they weren't insurmountable obstacles, and the author did a really good job working through them in so little space. And while the sexual tension was sizzling, there was more to the attraction between the hero and heroine than just the physical, which is just how I like it. I will be on the lookout for more books by this author.

I was unable to get through Julie Kistler's FAIR GAME? First off, I found the writing style really difficult to follow. It just didn't flow well for me, so that I found I had to keep rereading pages to understand what was happening. Plus, I found the whole concept of a woman making a move on her sister's date rather distasteful.

Romance anthologies are almost always a mixed bag, but the one good story made this collection worth my time.

Always a Bridesmaid is a cute anthology of three very talented writers. While none of the stories require heavy thinking, they are the perfect material for reading if you are in the mood for light entertainment and introduce you to a few new authors (if you haven't read any of their books before, like I hadn't). Although the first story ("Backseat Groom" by Jane Sullivan) is my personal favorite, all three have their own charm and are great fun to read. The perfect read if you're in the mood for a fluffy piece of fun!

I bought this book less than a month ago and read it soon after. Even after rereading the Amazon.com summary of each story, I can barely remember anything at all about each story. Draw your own conclusions as to how good this book of 3 stories is. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is because I did remember a few details.