TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH (The Wedding Belles #3)

TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH                          LAUREN LAYNE

Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles, a contemporary and witty romance series about three high-powered New York City women who can plan any wedding—but their own.

Alexis Morgan has spent the past six years devoted to turning her tiny startup into Manhattan’s premiere wedding planning company, The Wedding Belles. Now that her business is thriving, it’s time to turn towards her much neglected personal life, and Alexis approaches her relationships like she does everything else: with a plan. Not a part of that plan is Logan Harris, the silent partner in the Belles, and the one person who’s been there for her since the very beginning. But Alexis needs someone fun, and Logan’s all business, all the time—except when a late night at the office ends with an unexpected kiss that leaves the usually cool and together Alexis reeling.

Logan has lusted after Alexis since the day he walked into the tiny Harlem apartment that used to double as her office. But the ambitious wedding planner has always been untouchable...until now. Alexis has made it clear that she’s on the dating market—and equally clear that he’s not in the running. But when Alexis finds herself in need of a date for her sister’s last minute wedding in Florida, Logan knows it’s the perfect time to show Alexis that there’s more to him than numbers and spreadsheets—and beneath the pinstripes and glasses lies a hot-blooded heartthrob. As Florida’s sultry days turn into even hotter nights, Logan’s out to convince Alexis that the fling of a lifetime could just maybe turn into forever...
 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

** spoiler alert ** This is the last book in the series and it is about Alexis and Logan the two owners of Wedding Belles. The book opens up with how the two of them met and the way Logan became a silent partner in the business. The past eight years as Alexis has been building the Belles he has been building his own successful business and started one with Josh from the last book. Now he realizes that she does not see him and he is being pressured by his parents to go back home to London to take over the family's business. He must come up with a plan now. He does and it starts to throw Alexis off who is not only planning a wedding but finds out that her sister is pregnant and is getting married in a few weeks in Florida. The plan Logan has put in place takes a few hits but gets back on track when he surprises her by showing up in Florida as her date. This actually goes well and by the time they come back they are spending time together, more than just the two mornings. Then one night as she has been on the phone for hours skipping the show and dinner he finally mentions at nine pm for them to get something to eat, she can make these calls in the mornings. Well it goes bad and she says her business is more important than everything, and he takes it as even him and leaves. After a few days and she has not been able to talk to him she begins to worry and when the doorman to his apartment. She then receives a call about buying his half of the business and is thrown for a loop. Not being able to talk to him, or get to see him at his apartment she finally breaks down and asks their friends what is going on? Only to find out that he is moving back to London, shocked she thinks back to that last night and remembers that before he got up to leave he told her that he loved her and she let him walk out the door. She has a few days to decide what to do. Read the book to find out. I actually liked the ending it was a perfect place. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

FOR BETTER OR WORSE (The Wedding Belles #2)

FOR BETTER OR WORSE                              LAUREN LAYNE

Will a budding wedding planner and her bad boy neighbor stop banging heads and start hearing wedding bells in the sexy second novel in USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren Layne’s irresistible new series that marries Sex and the City with The Wedding Planner?

When small-town girl Heather Fowler finally gets promoted from assistant to actual wedding planner, she’s determined to make it as one of Manhattan’s elite Wedding Belles. Unfortunately, her first client demands an opulent black-tie affair at the Plaza…in five months’ time. Heather’s days quickly become a flurry of cake tastings, dress-fittings, RSVP cards, and bridal tantrums. But what she’s really losing sleep over is the live music blaring from her playboy neighbor’s apartment all night.

Five years ago, Josh Tanner was an up-and-comer on Wall Street, complete with the penthouse and the migraines. But a grim cancer diagnosis made him realize there is more to life than the corner office. If only he could convince his pretty, workaholic neighbor to let loose, too. As Heather lets down her guard, Josh is surprised when he starts falling for the sweet, vulnerable woman hiding beneath those power suits. Soon, it’s Heather’s turn to convince Josh to take the biggest risk of all: love.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

A story about a wedding planner Heather who is given an opportunity at a big job and not only does she have the stress of trying to pull off the wedding at the Plaza in 5 months but her neighbor cannot keep the noise down. When Heather goes next door to complain she is thrown off by his six pack, he is thrown off by her when she accepts his friends offer of coming in and having a beer, and later ends up kissing one of Josh’s friends. This makes Josh jealous but he does not understand those feelings. From there you find out about Josh and why he can play with his friends in a band at night and how his life was changed five years ago. Now though his life is being changed again by Heather and he does not know how to react. Heather wants to be noticed by Josh but also has a job to do and her client is driving her crazy, and does not feel like she needs time with Josh to add more to her complicated life. Find out if the wedding happens at the Plaza and if Josh can turn things around. There are some surprises at the end of the book that makes for a good read. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

SLOW BURN (Colorado High Country #2)

SLOW BURN                                                      PAMELA CLARE

Victoria Woodley is done with men. Fresh off a dating nightmare, she flies from her home in Chicago to Scarlet Springs to take part in her best friend’s wedding. Who picks her up at the airport? Eric Hawke. Of course. She made a fool of herself over him last time she was here. He’s cocky, charming, and sexy as sin. But the fact that she’s attracted to him is all the proof she needs that he’s bad news. She would ignore him if she could. But he’s the best man, and she’s the maid of honor. She can’t just tell him to jump in a lake—especially not when her lips are locked with his.

Eric isn’t looking for a relationship. Between running the firehouse and volunteering for the county’s search and rescue team, he has enough on his plate. He doesn’t need to get tangled up with a woman from the big city, especially one whose idea of roughing it is going without designer coffee. Yet from the moment he looks into Victoria’s big brown eyes, the attraction he feels is too strong to deny. Faster than he can imagine, the spark of desire that has smoldered between them since the first day they met will flare into full-blown passion. 

But can Eric convince Victoria to set aside her doubts and trust him with her heart before their time together runs out?

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

Slow Burn is the second book in the series, but I did not read the first one and was okay with following the story line. Victoria Woodley arrived in Colorado for the first time a year ago for a visit with her best friend and fiancĂ©. She was met at the airport by fireman Eric Hawke and they both flirted with one another not knowing that he was her ride to the small town. After the flirting turned awkward over confusion of a name you are then back at the airport one year later. Now Victoria has sworn off men in this past year and when she sees Eric she does not know if she made the right discussion. Eric is still taken back by her beauty and even though he is not looking for a relationship he feels something different with Victoria. Now since she is the maid of honor, and he is the best man they are going to be spending the next two weeks together a little more together than she thought. After being with him on the drive back for a few hours and then seeing having to leave because of an emergency she finds herself actually worried for his safety. Later when she runs into him again she can still smell a hint of smoke on him and she likes it. He is attracted to her heart and how she does little things like taking care of Bear a local homeless man when she buys him a meal. This is more than a love story, it is two people trusting each other and becoming part of something bigger. An emotional story at times and also funny. A wonderful book. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

FAN THE FLAMES (Search and Rescue #2)

FAN THE FLAMES                                         KATIE RUGGLE

In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder...

As a Motorcycle Club member and firefighter, Ian Walsh is used to riding the line between the good guys and the bad. He may owe the Club his life, but his heart rests with his fire station brothers...and with the girl he's loved since they were kids, Rory Sorenson. Ian would do anything for Rory. He'd die for her. Kill for her. Defend her to his last breath-and he may just have to.

Every con in the Rockies knows Rory is the go-to girl for less-than-legal firearms, and for the past few years, she's managed to keep the peace between dangerous factions by remaining strictly neutral. But when she defends herself against a brutal attack, Rory finds herself catapulted into the center of a Motorcycle Club war-with only Ian standing between her and a threat greater than either of them could have imagined.

Search and Rescue: 
On His Watch (novella)
Hold Your Breath
Fan the Flames
Gone too Deep
In Safe Hands

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

I really got into this story about biker and firefighter Ian Walsh, and Rory Sorenson. Rory owns the local gun store and shooting range. She also lives off the grind as much as possible. Her parents where extreme with the way they lived and even trained for the end of days. She has a fully underground living quarters and a fully functional security system. The main problem with all of this is that she really has no people skills. Being home schooled, never had a birthday party, and really did not have any friends. Ian has been in like, love with her since they were pre-teen and even gave her a cup cake from the store that he saw her looking at because her mother did not believe in buying store bought, only hand made. Even her cloths were made at home. So Ian has many, many walls to knock down to get to Rory, and to help her against the MC bike crew he rode with that has now taken on a more deadly part in the area. She is surprised by her feelings by him and hers towards him and does not know how to respond to them since she has never had a boyfriend or dated before. A very good story that goes along with the other books and some of the other characters make this book move along with some light moments. Overall a very good book. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

Shout Out: An Author’s Place: Dorothy M. Place New Book: THE HEART TO KILL


Shout Out:

An Author’s Place




The Heart to Kill, is a story of a horrible crime, an enduring friendship, and personal illumination. Sarah, a student at Northwestern University Law School, returns to her apartment to find two telephone messages. The first is that she has not been chosen for a coveted internship for which her father had arranged an interview; the second is that Sarah’s best friend in high school, JoBeth Ruland, has murdered her two children. To mislead her father about her failure to obtain the internship, Sarah decides to secure a position on JoBeth’s defense team and, against his wishes, returns to her family home in Eight Mile Junction, South Carolina. She sets out to become a vital member of her friend’s defense team and to regain favor with her father, but is not well-prepared for working in a community rife with chauvinism, malice, duplicity, and betrayal. Her efforts are met with the benevolent amusement of the senior law partner, the resentment of the expert trial attorney, the rush to judgement by the folks of Eight Mile Junction, and discovery of the role of several individuals in the degradation of JoBeth.


Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Dorothy M. Place now lives and writes in Davis, California. A principle investigator of a research group at Sacramento State College, she began creative writing, first as a hobby then as a second career, ten years ago. Since 2005, ten of her short stories have been published in literary journals and magazines, two of which were selected for prizes. At present, she is putting together her first collection of short stories, Living on the Edge, and working on her second novel, The Search for Yetta.

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