Customer Reviews

The Bride's Baby (Harlequin Romance)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

The book blurb made me think this was a Secret Baby story... Well, it was but, at the same time, it really wasn't considering the fact that the baby wasn't a secret. Confusing? Yes, that's the feeling I had throughout most of the book.

Tom and Sylvie had a brief meeting when she was introduced as the wedding planner for his upcoming nuptials to her friend Candy. An unexpected attraction sparked on both sides but, considering that he was about to get married, Tom and Sylvie shoved that feeling aside and never let anyone - including themselves - realize it. But after 6 months of heavy planning and preparation, Candy ditched everything to elope with one of Sylvie's employees 3 days before the wedding. Naturally, Tom felt it was his due to unload all his "annoyance" on Sylvie - after all, she had plagued his dreams since he had met her - and, before they knew it, their mutual suppressed attraction took over and they were having unprotected sex on his bed... Since this is Romancelandia, the "worst" thing you can get from unprotected sex is a pregnancy, so that's what Sylvie got. Unfortunately, Tom was no longer in the picture when Sylvie found herself pregnant, since he had left the country the day after their one-night stand. Unable to reach him by telephone, she had no choice but to deliver him the news by letter. Obviously, he never got to receive that letter and so this Failure to Communicate story took off...

This was one of those stories that wouldn't make past the 1st chapters if the hero and the heroine sat together and spoke CLEARLY with each other. Regardless, Tom and Sylvie were very likable characters, and that kind of "saved" the book for me and prevented me from throwing it against the wall - figuratively speaking, since this was an e-book. I rooted for their HEA and was glad when the darn Big Misunderstanding was finally resolved.

As for the writing, Ms. Fielding had the distracting habit of inserting the word "then" between the lines of the characters' speech. For example:

"Is that a fact?" Then, "So? Where are they?"

"I'd come and give you a hand but I have to take delivery of a cake." Then, "Do you need a hand up?"

I have to ask, what was the purpose of the word "then" in there? To gave us pause? To help her reach the necessary word count to meet the publisher's requirements? I know I'm nitpicking but that word was used over and over again in the story, and it was annoying.

All in all, I'm glad this was a freebie because I would have been "mad" if I had paid anything for this book.

I read this in one day. It was a cute story. I'm glad it was free though since it went so quickly. I was a little annoyed with communication between the two main characters. No one I know has this much trouble getting to the point. How they can spend 50 pages avoiding direct conversations about the elephant in the room is beyond me.

Liz Fielding's THE BRIDE'S BABY is a short romance that moves the heart with smiles, laughter, tenderness and emotion. Events manager Sylvie Smith's friend Candy left her friend with one huge mess! First she roped Sylvie into doing the planning for her wedding to the rich, powerful and handsome Tom McFarlane and then she walks out on the groom, the same groom who is now going over each event detail cost, line by line, with eyes glaring. Glares turn into sparks, an electric chemistry that neither Sylvie nor Tom can resist.

Now months later, Celebrity magazine comes to her with a proposition to profile her company, as company that has planned some of the most talked about weddings. Design the wedding of dreams and let readers catch a glimpse of what she herself would choose. With a chance to promote all the local Wedding Fayre exhibitors with the benefits going to charity, Sylvie has others counting on her. Just when Sylvie thought she had put the past behind her, her worst nightmare comes true! Standing in her ancestral home, in walks the new owner --- Tom McFarlane to overlook the events.... no way will he not notice that Sylvie is pregnant! Sylvie might be able to design a perfect wedding for Celebrity magazine but what is a wedding without a groom? Can true love and serendipity provide what the best wedding planning cannot? Can broken hearts find love beyond even their wildest dreams?

THE BRIDE'S BABY hooks the reader in from the first paragraph and never lets go. Liz Fielding's characterization and dynamic descriptions place the reader right there, next to Sylvie as she goes down the failed wedding receipt check list. Sylvie is a spunky, intelligent heroine with a heart of gold. The hero Tom is a powerful successful businessman, an Alpha male with a delightful wounded soul mix. From the beginning, the reader has empathy for him. This man knows how to really move a woman, body, heart and soul.

THE BRIDE'S BABY writing sparkles with emotion and romance. Liz Fielding writes descriptions with beauty and precision. The reader easily visualizes the scenes and the emotions through the imagery itself. The decisive action of an article of clothing or a certain color reappearing make the story vibrant and alive. Liz Fielding writes memorable moments and action scenes packed with the perfect mix of concrete description and imagery that stay in the memory long after the reader places the book on a bookshelf.

The plot of THE BRIDE'S BABY moves smoothly from energetic romantic conflict to moments of powerful chemistry between the hero and heroine, from conflict to heartwarming tenderness, with several wonderful surprises along the way. Heart-warming scenes in this romance reach out beyond the hero and heroine's story to the reader's heart. THE BRIDE'S BABY is a romance that a reader will want to share with friend's and family. THE BRIDE'S BABY is a wonderful short romance that awakens both the tender heart of the young girl and the deep emotions of the woman in a reader. A keeper!

If you're really bored, this would be an okay way to pass the time, given that it won't cost you anything. That being said, if you're looking for a really good read, you should look elsewhere. There's nothing terribly horrible about it, but it is all just so very contrived and typical of this genre. There's nothing particularly interesting or captivating about it.

But, like I said, it's free. *shrug*

This had to be one of the worst Harlequin romances I have ever read. There wasn't a single aspect of it that was believable. Every character and situation fit ridiculous and outdated stereotypes. There was no depth to any of the characters. I never once felt or understand the romance between the love interests. Not a single thing felt new or fresh or fun. I kept reading only because I kept telling myself that something good must happen. But no. It never did.
Unless you're getting this free, I recommend saving the money and purchasing any other romance novel -- it's bound to be a better read.

Romance isn't the usual genre for my reading material, but since this was on the free books list, and the reviews were quite mixed, I thought I'd read it for myself.

As with most of these short romance novels, the story moves along very quickly, without a lot of superfluous descriptive prose. I liked the quick, easy read. I also liked that there weren't a bunch of sex scenes, which I skip over anyway because they don't move the story forward. I do like the themes of reconciliation, commitment to family, and honoring other people (such as Mr. & Mrs. Kennedy, who have been the house-staff for many years). You have to read it for yourself to find out what I mean by that.

I doubt that I'll bother to re-read this book. In my opinion, it is not in that class of literature. However, it is a good story, with some good themes. I recommend this book to women who might be looking for a light romance to read as a pleasant diversion from more serious literature, without being too racy.

If you've read the item description, you probably think this book will be about a man who is surprised to find a woman who is pregnant months after they were together, and that when he realizes the baby is his, the story takes off. That's not the case. In fact, the description is misleading. In this story, Sylvie is an event coordinator. She was hired to plan the wedding of a former classmate to Tom, a handsome billionaire. When his bride-to-be runs out on him mere days before the wedding, Sylvie meets with him to collect payment for her vendors. They are attracted to one another, sparks fly, and a one-night-stand follows. He runs away (literally--he hops a plane and is gone for 6 months), supposedly because he can't get her off his mind. Meanwhile, Sylvie finds out she's pregnant and sends him a letter to let him know, a letter he never receives, because he's been out of the country. While he's away, Sylvie appears on the cover of a gossip magazine, pregnant. The gossip magazine reports that the baby's father is her ex. Tom now feels that she has gotten over him and is carrying another man's child. He finally returns to find that his property is the location of a "fake" wedding planned by Sylvie. She's planning her dream wedding in exchange for the magazine's large contribution to her late mother's charity. Tom thinks the wedding is real, and that her ex will be the groom. The spark between he and Sylvie lingers and he finds himself falling harder for her with each day they spend together. Meanwhile, Sylvie is furious, believing that he wants nothing to do with her or their child. In the end, they both realize the truth and achieve their happy ending.

Aside from the fact that the story did not in any way resemble the description, it was very difficult to follow. The dialogue was confusing. Single quotes are used rather than traditional quotation marks, and when internal dialogue is used (or remembering someone else's earlier words), it is both in italics and quotes. Thrown into normal dialogue, it's very confusing. It isn't always clear who's saying what. This should be caught by editing, but honestly, it's just a very poor writing style. Dialogue should flow effortlessly, and here it's a jumbled mess.

The story was just ridiculous. There are several instances where Tom, helping Sylvie plan the "fake" wedding, asks about her ex, Jeremy. This would be the time in real life when she would ask why he's bringing up her ex. Instead, she says nothing, so he continues to believe she is marrying Jeremy. Any normal woman would have addressed it, but Sylvie does not. It makes no sense. I also found it strange that she would say anything to Tom in person about his being the baby's father. A normal pregnant woman, being around the child's father for days, would eventually have asked him about it. The only idea here is that Sylvie and Tom had a big misunderstanding and it has to be as drawn out as possible to work. It ends up being confusing and cumbersome. There should have been other issues to make the story work, but they are not present.

I don't know how this is classified as a romance, because there's nothing romantic about it. They barely know each other when they have a one-night-stand. The fact that they can't stop thinking about each other is a case of lust, not love. In the end, it's not believable in the least. If you want to read something truly romantic, I'd recommend Judith McNaught or Julia Quinn.

I thouroughly enjoyed this book. I was rather disappointed with the ending only because I was wanting to read more. But this was a wonderful love story.

This book takes you into the life of a wedding planner. I liked her and the man in her life. It was a quick read and enjoyable. Not a sexy romance novel just a nice story about a strong woman. I would like to read more books by Liz Fielding.

This held my attention for some 'light reading' and I enjoyed the story. I personally believe that most 'romance' books have pretty predictable plots... but sometmes that's what I want to read. This book is no exception to that... but I felt that it was very well written, and I'll look for other books by this author.
thanks!!!