Series: Wedding Veil Wishes (Book 3)
Growing up in Valentine, Texas, can make anyone
believe in happily ever after. But newly declared recovering romantic
Rachael Henderson has decided that love stinks. After having not one but
two grooms ditch her at the altar, she announces her disenchantment in
an uncharacteristic act of rebellion. She feels liberated...until she's
arrested by Sheriff Brody Carlton.
Once upon a time, being hauled against the taut, rippling body of her
first crush would have had Rachael planning the wedding of the year. Now
it spurs her to created Romanceaholics Anonymous, a twelve-step program
for love addicts. Soon all of Valentine is divided as die-hard
romantics clash with antilove cynics. But when Rachael starts
fantasizing about a lust-filled affair with Brody, she goes against
everything the program stands for. Should she protect her fragile
heart...or find a way to have her wedding cake and eat it too?
Very good book - my favorite of the series so far. Rachael has given up on love. She was just left at the altar for the second time, so she heads for her hometown. She blames Valentine for giving her unrealistic expectations and takes it out on the town landmark - a giant set of lips which she paints black. She is promptly arrested by Sheriff Brody Carlton - the same guy she had a crush on when she was a child. She is sentenced to community service, and while she's at it starts a Romanceaholics Anonymous group for others who are fed up. This creates some dissension in town, as well as the sides people are taking over the possibility of a Valentine amusement park. Rachael also finds herself drawn to Brody, but is fighting it because of her previous troubles. Brody is also very attracted to Rachael, but has his own fears to deal with. I really liked both Rachael and Brody. Rachael finally realized that she was in love with love, and that's what had been getting her into trouble. So in spite of her attraction to Brody, she tries very hard to keep away from romanticizing things. She is also stunned by the way her RA group has taken off, but likes helping people find their way to a healthier relationship. I also liked Brody. He was back in Valentine as its sheriff, after dealing with his divorce and his war injury. Both of those have also left him cautious about love. I really liked the way that he realized that he was falling for Rachael, but knew that typical romance would drive her away. So he treated her more like a friend and they grew closer that way. I loved the way that he was so respectful of her views. I loved his vulnerability when they finally got physical and he had to expose his leg to her. I really liked his patience in waiting for Rachael to be ready. I also enjoyed the various characters in town. They really added to the story. There were a lot of funny parts, too, starting with the vandalizing of the lips.
Series: Wedding Veil Wishes (Book 2)
Legend claims this antique Irish wedding veil can grant your heart's deepest desire. But be careful what you wish for...
Wedding videographer Tish Gallagher is at the end of her rope. Her
business is about to go bust. She's just spent her last buck on
nonreturnable (but oh so fabulous) shoes. And her most sustainable
relationship is with a pint of Haagen Dazs. So she makes a wish on the
lucky wedding veil to get out of debt...and sees the man she never
stopped loving, her ex-husband, secret service agent Shane Tremont.
Sure, their chemistry was off-the-charts sizzling hot, but their clashes
were legendary, and no amount of longing will change that.
When her dream job of recording the first daughter's wedding appears out
of the blue, Tish knows it's her only shot to get out of the red. Just
one teensy glitch: Shane is the groom. From the moment they see each
other, she knows nothing's changed--the same old black magic is still
between them, as irresistible and potent as ever. But he's promised to
another and Tish has been burned before. Will she always be...ONCE
SMITTEN, TWICE SHY?
Good book. Tish is trying to figure out how to save her business. She needs to work a good wedding to get herself out of debt. After making a wish on the magic wedding veil, she gets asked to film the wedding of the president's daughter. She is thrilled and heads out to meet the bride and groom. The bride is sweet and innocent and will film like a dream. So will the groom, who is rugged and hot - and her ex-husband. She has never stopped loving him, but can't forgive him for his withdrawal when she needed him most. Shane can't believe he is going to have to deal with Tish, who always tied him in knots, but who also betrayed his trust. As they are constantly thrown together by his fiancee, their attraction becomes harder to resist. They also realize that they are not the same people that they had been during their marriage, but it's too late to do anything about it. When Tish is attacked, Shane knows there is something going on that he is missing and needs to find out. The mystery is solved in the end, and they get their happy ending. I liked Tish, though he refusal to face her pain is irritating. That is what caused her to lose herself in her shopping addiction and created some of the problems between her and Shane. Shane's refusal to show his emotions and live up to his father's unrealistic expectations also added to their issues. If they had just been able to talk to each other, things would have worked out better. But they both needed the space to grow and face their demons. The president's daughter was a bit of an airhead, and very naive. It was her throwing Shane and Tish together that helped them, but ended up showing her that she and Shane were not meant to be together. I was glad to see that she did have the maturity to end things. Overall a fun book.
Series: Wedding Veil Wishes (Book 1)
Legend claims this antique Irish wedding veil can grant your heart's deepest desire. But be careful what you wish for...
The moment Texas socialite Delaney Cartwright touches the veil, she
knows she can't go through with her wedding. And it's not just because
she envisions a stranger's dark eyes and irresistible lips the second
her fingers hit lace. But she can't simply call the whole thing off. The
nuptials to her nice, predictable childhood friend are the social event
of the season (not to mention that her mother would freak). To fan the
flames of this dying ember, Delaney abducts her fiance for a night of
passion...and grabs the wrong guy! It isn't her fault that Detective
Nick Vinetti of the oddly familiar eyes and lips has crossed her
path--and looks game for all kinds of sexy fun.
Now Delaney hatches an outrageous plan to get out of marrying: she'll
hire her own kidnapper. With an altar to avoid and a cop to dream of,
this runaway bride is hoping a little Irish magic will unveil the true
destiny of her heart.
Pretty good book. Delaney found this magical wedding veil and saw a different man than her fiance when she touched it. A few days later she met that man when she tried to kidnap her fiance for a wild weekend and got Nick instead. There are immediate sparks, but neither follows through on them. She meets Nick again when she starts renovations on his grandmother's house - who is trying to throw Delaney and Nick together because she feels that they belong together. As they spend time together, the sparks grow hotter and they get to know each other. But Nick refuses to get involved with another man's girl since he was on the wrong end of that once. The closer the wedding comes the more she realizes she doesn't want to go through with it, but she can't just call it off. So she arranges for her own kidnapping, but that goes wrong also. The last parts were pretty wild, but it all worked out in the end. I really liked Nick. He was a nice guy who was really honorable. As much as he liked Delaney, he really didn't want to be the "other man". He had his commitment issues, but overall they weren't too bad. I loved the way that he saw Delaney and who she really was under all the high society training from her mother. He was terrific at getting her to shake it up and be herself. I had a harder time liking Delaney. I really hated her lack of spine in standing up to her mother. For a lot of the book she seemed to be quite content to let her mother take over everything and nit-pick her. I kept waiting for her to just rip into her mother, but it never really happened. There was an interesting side plot with her mother and a blackmailer that ended up explaining a lot about her. I'm looking forward to reading others in the series.
Series: Wedding Veil Wishes (Book 3) 
