Guest review by: Becki Bayley
In a wedding destination town, the rhythms of the residents were determined by weekend weddings. Happily Inc’s workweek started on Wednesdays as the businesses geared up for the dozens of nuptials that occurred in multiple venues. Which meant the town’s Friday night was actually on Monday.
The Boardroom, a local bar, hosted game nights on Mondays. Board games ruled and tournaments were heated and fun as friends crushed each other at everything from Candy Land to Risk.
Happily Inc sounds like a delightful little town to live in. I was surprised to find that this was the fifth book in the series about the town and its residents.
Official synopsis:
Wedding coordinator Renee Grothen isn’t meant for marriage. Those who can, do. Those who can’t, plan. But she never could have planned on gorgeous, talented thriller writer Jasper Dembenski proposing - a fling, that is. Fun without a future. And the attraction between them is too strong for Renee to resist. Now she can have her no-wedding cake ... and eat it, too.
After years in the military, Jasper is convinced he’s too damaged for relationships. So a flirtation—and more—with fiery, determined Renee is way too good to pass up ... until his flame becomes his muse.
Renee is an expert at averting every crisis. But is she finally ready to leap into the one thing that can never be controlled: love?
This was a fun read. I liked the quirky characters, especially Renee and her mother. The way the series is set up is pretty obvious – there are a few couples in the small town who of course interact with each other. A few times over the course of the story, someone references when so-and-so and their flame got together, which is surely an earlier book in the series. I like these kind of light-hearted series – you feel like a citizen of their quaint little town as you meet everyone.
I enjoy books where they present careers that lend themselves to fun daydreaming about an alternative life. Renee was a wedding coordinator, and her love-interest Jasper was an author. I don’t know how realistically either career was depicted, but they sounded like fun, and the book made them sound believably realistic.
The book also included a novella at the end. It was another pleasant read, but kind of annoying that it obviously took place sometime before the actual book. See, the characters in the novella are married and expecting their first child in the book that the novella followed. Still a fun story, but maybe they should have been presented in a different order?
Overall, I enjoyed reading Meant to Be Yours. It also kind of made me want to watch the old 2001 movie with J.Lo, The Wedding Planner. Wedding planning was the only overlap (well, that and finding love), but the movie and the book make it seem like a fun job. I’d give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for a great beach read, or for this time of year, cuddled under a blanket in front of a fireplace. Enjoy!
{click here to purchase}
Becki Bayley reads whatever she can, wherever she can. When she’s not reading, she’s feeding the children as a breakfast lady, lunch lady, or mom. Sometimes she blogs at SweetlyBSquared.com.
In a wedding destination town, the rhythms of the residents were determined by weekend weddings. Happily Inc’s workweek started on Wednesdays as the businesses geared up for the dozens of nuptials that occurred in multiple venues. Which meant the town’s Friday night was actually on Monday.
The Boardroom, a local bar, hosted game nights on Mondays. Board games ruled and tournaments were heated and fun as friends crushed each other at everything from Candy Land to Risk.
Happily Inc sounds like a delightful little town to live in. I was surprised to find that this was the fifth book in the series about the town and its residents.
Official synopsis:
After years in the military, Jasper is convinced he’s too damaged for relationships. So a flirtation—and more—with fiery, determined Renee is way too good to pass up ... until his flame becomes his muse.
Renee is an expert at averting every crisis. But is she finally ready to leap into the one thing that can never be controlled: love?
This was a fun read. I liked the quirky characters, especially Renee and her mother. The way the series is set up is pretty obvious – there are a few couples in the small town who of course interact with each other. A few times over the course of the story, someone references when so-and-so and their flame got together, which is surely an earlier book in the series. I like these kind of light-hearted series – you feel like a citizen of their quaint little town as you meet everyone.
I enjoy books where they present careers that lend themselves to fun daydreaming about an alternative life. Renee was a wedding coordinator, and her love-interest Jasper was an author. I don’t know how realistically either career was depicted, but they sounded like fun, and the book made them sound believably realistic.
The book also included a novella at the end. It was another pleasant read, but kind of annoying that it obviously took place sometime before the actual book. See, the characters in the novella are married and expecting their first child in the book that the novella followed. Still a fun story, but maybe they should have been presented in a different order?
Overall, I enjoyed reading Meant to Be Yours. It also kind of made me want to watch the old 2001 movie with J.Lo, The Wedding Planner. Wedding planning was the only overlap (well, that and finding love), but the movie and the book make it seem like a fun job. I’d give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for a great beach read, or for this time of year, cuddled under a blanket in front of a fireplace. Enjoy!
{click here to purchase}
Becki Bayley reads whatever she can, wherever she can. When she’s not reading, she’s feeding the children as a breakfast lady, lunch lady, or mom. Sometimes she blogs at SweetlyBSquared.com.
