Always A Bridesmaid (Harlequin American Romance) [Paperback]

Kistler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harlequin American Romance | Publication Date: September 1, 1988

No more catching the bouquet . . .

Three bridesmaids catch their man.

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 . . .

During a friend's Caribbean wedding, Emily Wakefield and ex-fiancé 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 . . .

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.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JANE SULLIVAN is a three-time finalist for Romance Writers of America's Rita Award, the industry's highest honor, as well as a winner of the National Readers' Choice Award, a four-time winner of the Aspen Gold and a three-time winner of the Texas Gold. In addition to writing for Harlequin, Jane writes single title contemporary romances under the name Jane Graves.

ISABEL SHARPE started reading romance in high school, back when it should have been called, "Men who plunder honeyed depths and the women who let them." After she quit work eight years ago to be with her first-born son and nearly went out of her mind with boredom, she started writing. Yes, she was the clichéd bored housewife writing romance, but it was either that cliché or seduce the mailman, and her mailman was unattractive. 14 sales later, to Duets, Temptation and Blaze as well as 3 Harlequin special projects, the mailman is still ugly and Isabel can safely say she made the better choice.

JULIE KISTLER has written around thirty books for Harlequin, as well as this novella and an on-line read. And one non-fiction book about high school basketball! She loves romantic comedy and is proud to have won the Madcap Award for excellence in that genre. She's also been a Rita and Golden Heart finalist more than once, a board member for RWA, president of Novelists Inc, and a theater critic and soap opera columnist in her spare time. In a previous life, she was a lawyer. Julie is thrilled to share the company of stars like Jane Sullivan and Isabel Sharpe on the "Always a Bridesmaid" anthology! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 253 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (September 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373162669
• ISBN-13: 978-0373162666
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,094,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed one out of three, October 20, 2008

By 

Gemma "bookworm" (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Always A Bridesmaid (Feature Anthology) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun 'n Fluffy!, April 8, 2007

By 

faeriemyst "Book Addict" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Always A Bridesmaid (Feature Anthology) (Mass Market Paperback)

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!

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Well..., May 19, 2004

By 

Samantha (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Always A Bridesmaid (Feature Anthology) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.