Review: To Have and to Hold


Book Review: To Have and to Hold, by Lauren Layne


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Discovering her fiancé is an international con man just moments before they exchange vows devastates celebrity wedding planner Brooke Baldwin’s business—and breaks her heart. Now a pariah in Los Angeles, she seeks a fresh start in New York City and thinks she’s found it with her first bridal client, a sweet—if slightly spoiled—hotel heiress. Then she meets the uptight businessman who’s holding the purse strings.
Seth Tyler wishes he could write a blank check and be done with his sister Maya's fancy-pants wedding. Unfortunately, micromanaging the event is his only chance at proving Maya’s fiancé is a liar. Standing directly in his way is the stunning blonde wedding planner whose practiced smiles and sassy comebacks both irritate and arouse him. He needs Brooke’s help. But can he persuade a wedding planner on a comeback mission to unplan a wedding? And more importantly, how will he convince her that the wedding she should be planning…is theirs?
Genre: contemporary romance

Publishing date: July 2016

Mature content: yes

Review: I've been a fan of Lauren Layne's books for a while but, to be honest. I was a bit disappointed with this one. To Have and to Hold seems to have all the ingredients of a great romance novel, but something is off. Mostly, the characters are inconsistent: Seth is a business man that never seems to be in a hurry to work; and Brooke, starting a new job and a new life after a disastrous almost-marriage, is a bit too eager to embark in a new relationship which, on top of everything else, has the potential to undermine the new job she wants to prove herself worthy of. In this book everyone seems to be drinking and socializing at all hours of the day, so I had to wonder how they managed to actually hold a job, much less successful businesses. And then, two crooks in the same story, two almost-marriages not taking place for almost the same reason, just seemed repetitive and lacking imagination.

Still, I think this series has potential, so I decided to give the author another chance with book two in the Wedding Belles Series, For Better or Worse. I'll post a review of that one when I finish it. 

Happy Wednesday!

the book worm, book blog

 

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