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Don't Kiss the Bride: An Age Gap, Marriage of Convenience Romance by [Carian Cole]

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Carian Cole

Don't Kiss the Bride: An Age Gap, Marriage of Convenience Romance Kindle Edition

by Carian Cole (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Carian Cole delivers a sweet but sexy slow burn, age gap, marriage of convenience romance with major swoony feels!

I guess you could say I was a damsel in distress, and he was my knight in shining armor. But more accurately, I was a girl with a lot of bad luck, and he was a guy with a lot of muscles and tattoos.

Jude “Lucky” Lucketti wasn’t just a sexy, brooding construction worker. He was my own personal hero who seemed to be in all the right places at the right times. Like when my car broke down and I needed a ride home, and when I face planted on the sidewalk right in front of him and had to be taken to the emergency room.

Those weren’t exactly my best moments, but they were his.

We became friends, and it didn’t matter that he was sixteen years older than me. We had a lot in common—like our love of old rock music and vintage fast cars, and our aversion to relationships. When he approached me with a crazy idea to help me out, I couldn’t say no.

The arrangement was supposed to be temporary. A marriage on paper and nothing else.

It should’ve been easy, but it wasn’t. Because here I am, eighteen years old, still in high school, and married to a man I was never supposed to fall in love with.

We had just one rule—no kissing the bride. But we broke that rule, and it sealed our fate forever.

Print length

516 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

January 31, 2021
File size

4560 KB
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Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

Connecting with someone doesn’t always have to be pretty and beautiful. It can be raw and ugly and infected with need. I want all of him—the good and the bad.
Highlighted by 985 Kindle readers
I need to be strong today, because that’s what marriage is sometimes. You take turns being the strong one.
Highlighted by 734 Kindle readers
Smiling, he pulls me into his arms and whispers, “I think you’re my favorite place now.”
Highlighted by 732 Kindle readers

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

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Carian Cole has once again taken us on a ride filled with so much emotion that once you've finished, you have to take a moment to just sit and go back over the pages you've just read. ~ Kadie, Romance Reader

I'm going to end this with saying that if you're like me and have waited for this book with bated breath, you will not be disappointed in the slightest. Don't Kiss The Bride really is everything that you could've wished for, and more. ~ Dana Hoffman

No one does age-gap romance like Carian Cole! It's simply amazing how she can make the age difference work without anything becoming icky or uncomfortable. ~ KN, Romance Reader

Those new to Carian Cole's work, as well as her fans, will adore Don't Kiss the Bride! ~ Annie Sessions

Don't Kiss The Bride is an exceptionally written and beautiful story that took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. Jude and Skylar are a special couple and the depth of their love was powerful, magical and utterly romantic.~ Lisa, Romance Reader

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08VH1C4Q5
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 31, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4560 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 516 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B0B3KDV22C

Best Sellers Rank: #3,915 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #477 in New Adult & College Romance (Books)
- #1,095 in Romance (Kindle Store)
- #1,120 in Contemporary Romance (Kindle Store)

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Carian Cole

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Carian Cole has a passion for the bad boys, those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles and of course, the sweet girls who try to tame them and win their hearts.

Born and raised a Jersey girl, Carian now resides in beautiful New Hampshire with her husband and their multitude of furry pets. She spends most of her time writing, reading, and vacuuming.

Carian loves to hear from readers and interacts daily on her social media accounts. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram, and check out her web site at www.cariancolewrites.com

Sign up for Carian's newsletter: http://bookl.ink/cariancolenews

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cariancoleauthor

Carian's Facebook fan/reader group: http://bookl.ink/carian-cole-group

Merchandise: http://salel.ink/cariancoleshop

Signed paperbacks: www.cariancolewrites.com

Web site: www.cariancolewrites.com

Email: carrie@cariancole.com

Text alerts: text COLE to 31996

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

6,728 global ratings

5 star		64%
4 star		24%
3 star		9%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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BamaLynn715

tiktok made me read it and wowww 😭😍🥺👏🏼🥰😩💕

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 24, 2023

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I’m a visualizer. Everything I read I see it play out like a movie right in front of me as I read and some books don’t have enough details or the storyline jumps around too much and it makes me skip filler chapters. But THIS?? frikin incredible! Hats off to the author this was AMAZING. I saw it so vividly and I would totally watch this if someone wanted to make it into a movie or a tv series. This book made me feel ALL the things. ALL the emotions. I was on a rollercoaster of anxiety through majority of it but I’m glad I found this! I actually wanna buy this. And read it again for sure. I was so enthralled in this I literally couldn’t put it down except for when I had to cause work lol

I’ll be honest I was on tiktok or actually book tok specifically searching for smü+ cause I’m not afraid to admit I’m a big p3rv and I dig smüttÿ stories to pass the time lol but someone recommended this book and I can’t be happier with reading it. It’s a slow burn but that’s what kept me on my toes. It felt real and raw and almost like a piece of something fathomable in real time. Following the author cause I plan to read more from them. If you are wondering if you should read this? Absolutely. If you are looking for smut you should still read it cause it isn’t smut but the 🌶 scenes are 🌶 enough. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ isn’t enough to rate this masterpiece.

One person found this helpful

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BookWorm

A good read! Just a few things I would change ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 7, 2021

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If I were a beta reader for this author, I would have had a few suggestions for her. I thought the h accepting the H's proposal happened too fast. I felt the h should have needed to think it over a little bit, because it did come out of the blue and she was shocked by the proposal. I also feel that she should have had a 'moment' where the decision was made for her - such as her mom doing or saying something that made the h have to make the decision. Mom could have managed to break into her room and put some stuff in there, invade the h's private space. Force the h's hand to accept the H's proposal. I would have felt more satisfaction if the h had then just moved out without saying anything to Mom, and be done with her.

I was not a fan of the dad coming back on the scene, out of nowhere. He should have stayed gone, but since he didn't, the h should have told him to take a leap off a short pier. He was gone like 12 years, and then when the h goes to stay with him for a month, he lectures her and I never felt his true remorse at leaving his child in a hell house. This man didn't deserve a second chance IMO. He could have tracked her down at school, gotten in touch with her years ago, gotten her out of there years ago, and he didn't. To me, this dad plot part felt like drama without logic.

The scene where the H flirts with the woman at the bar - I thought that could have gone on to something (3rd base possibly) which could have provided a little angst. Although, I really think that it would have been really interesting if the H had a casual booty call woman that he met up with semi-regularly, and then continued to meet up with after the wedding, seeing as how the marriage was fake. Have the BCW aware of the fake marriage, and then have the H decide to end it for good when he develops feelings for the h. The h would become jealous of the BCW, creating some good tension between the h and H. As part of the fake marriage agreement, the H and h should have discussed sex with other people, and the H could have then told the h about his BCW.

I thought the missing sister coming back after being gone for years was a plot twist that I didn't love. To me, it would have been better if she'd been back a few more times, always disappearing again. Have her be more of a presence, take away the 'disappearance' and make her a semi-random thorn in the H's side. The scene where she comes back and has the altercation with the h could still happen, but have it happen with the h not knowing who she is - take out the scene where she comes back and they meet in the kitchen. Have them 'meet' during the break in.

As for the lottery - if the amount she won had been a lot less, I would have liked it more. It would have felt less 'perfect', less unrealistic.

For the most part, I really liked this book. It might not sound like I did, but I did. I love this author. I love her long books - I have no problem with 500 pages from her. I know most readers don't need more than 300 pages and need to have hot sex right away, but not me. I don't need more sex than story. I need well developed characters and this author always delivers.

I truly adored Jude - my only issue was that he was a little too perfect. Again, had he had a BCW on the side, that would have made him more human. It wouldn't have made him a 'player', just ... a normal single guy and would have given a little layer of complication to their fake marriage down the road.

I don't know if this author reads all of her reviews, but if she does, I want her to know this book was really great. I loved the banter. I loved the age gap, marriage of convenience storyline. My suggestions are based on when I'm reading, I'm always thinking if there's something that could make it stronger - what would I have done differently.

9 people found this helpful

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Nicole Tate

Frustrating and yet and I couldn’t put it down

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 1, 2023

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This book made me lose a night of sleep. I wanted to crawl through the pages and shake Jude and Skylar. But the angst made me keep turning the pages. I love that this book didn’t have the safe cheesy age gap romance. They dealt with real life anxieties and problems as a real couple. Such a good book!

One person found this helpful

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Casey

Riveting, twisting, loving

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 13, 2022

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I absolutely loved the story line. Sometimes people don’t realize that not everyone has a great childhood or teen years. And we can’t control who we love. I spent a day reading this book and while I married my hs sweetheart and we will celebrate our 23rd anniversary tomorrow I had a crappy home life. I didn’t marry to get out but it sure seemed like it. We heard some of the same things most young people when they marry young. I love reading about age gap marriages because they’re just as hard to over come some of the crazy things people think! Humans were designed to love no matter who it is, and nobody else’s business, just do you!

2 people found this helpful

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An avid reader.

Hard to put down and a good read... but

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 11, 2022

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I actually really loved this book, Carian was a goto author for me and actually still is. It's just I don't read romance anymore, it bores me tears too much now. But I had to buy this and I'm glad I did.

Don't Kiss the Bride was a six star read for me, I couldn't put it down, until the 50% marker, then boom we're hit with the gratuitous smutty sex scenes that honestly I wish 'romance' writers would just dump. They brought nothing to the forward momentum, yes they're written well enough (well the 1st one was, I didn't really read the rest, just skimmed) Honestly, I wish author's would stop thinking smut brings anything to romance, it really doesn't for a lot of us. I'm honestly no prude, I just find them boring and word fillers. So when at 50% the 1st one happens, we're then hit with multiple not needed scenes for the next 10% then it settles down again (thank heavens). But the whole book tone lowered. Then boom we're hit with another one near the end because that's what they think we all want as part of the HEA - nah. Give me the feels and emotions, that's what I want - riding off into the sunset not riding a ........

So why the 5 stars? Because this was honestly beyond a five star read otherwise. Then the fillers dropped it down to a decent enough 4.5 star read.

Would I recommend this? Yes absolutely.

2 people found this helpful

MW

Starts off well but goes downhill

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 4, 2022

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This started off as a 4 star read, but went downhill around the halfway mark. The premise was good. Our hero, a 34-year old construction worker, meets an 18-year old high school student while he renovates a house next door to her school. After helping her get a tow truck when her car breaks down, a friendship of sorts develops between them. This leads him to discover the dire straits the girl is in, and as a way out of her desperate situation, he offers her a marriage of convenience.

They marry, the girl moves in, and from there, the author could have built a passionate romance out of their forced proximity and married state. Instead, we got the "will they won't they misery show" for the next half of the story. The occasional sex scenes and dramatic events are thrown in to keep the tension going, but these do very little to bring the story forward or to resolve issues in their relationship. The book was over a hundred pages too long, and by the end, I was no longer invested in this couple, just tired with the endless seesaw of up and down between them. It takes skill to develop and resolve a romance once the initial dramatic points have been set up - skills this author evidently does not have.

2 people found this helpful

Wonderwoman 55

another great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 11, 2021

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This is and well worth 5 star rating. I have and read all the books by this author and I have never been disappointed. This book has it all the age gap, the feeling of should you be doing this even tho it feels right. Jude and Sparkles (love the nickname) may have started off with a marriage of convenience it was obvious that this was not going to happen. Carian covered this story so well that I read this in one day, I couldn't put it down. So if you want to sit back and lo yourself for a few hours in a good feel/heart warning book that has you pulling your hair out one minute the next has you swooning, the bath scene , wow........ Anyway well done just press click then sit back and enjoy the ride. Just one little question maybe a short story on these two in the future pretty please 😘

2 people found this helpful

Cheshire

A beautiful love story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 10, 2021

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A beautiful example of an age gap love story that pretty much had me gripped from the first page. The slow burn built up the anticipation of the hot and steamy chemistry between Jude and Skylar who were both brilliant characters in their own right. Carian Cole is one of the most skilled writers I have ever read and I soak up everything she produces. Age gap romance is a taboo for some people but never once do you feel like Skylar has been manipulated or that Jude is preying on her, it is so sympathetically written. Each and every interaction between the two made my heart clench with joy and my belly swoop with the beauty of it. I would thoroughly recommend this book and anything at all that Carian Cole writes.

2 people found this helpful

Natt

New to me author

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 23, 2022

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I honestly wanted to give at least four stars because it did have what I want on the surface but the story started frustrating with the back and forth and endless everything- for me this book felt so much longer than it needed to be but I can defo see the appeal.

Each character came with their own baggage and over time - a long time- overcame those and just did what they prob should have done a lot earlier. They worked through it and had their HEA, pets and all.

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