Monday, November 10, 2014

Unwrapping a Review of AT THE BILLIONAIRE'S WEDDING, an anthology by Miranda Neville, Caroline Linden, Katharine Ashe, and Maya Rodale

Everyone loves a wedding and when the wedding is the biggest thing to happen and stars the lovely Jane Sparks and her handsome billionaire, Duke Austen, everyone is going to want an invitation. So what happens when four of the most talented romance authors get us inside the action and a front row seat to the event of the year? We get to attend a week-long celebration where all kinds of things might happen – AT THE BILLIONAIRE’S WEDDING by Miranda Neville, Caroline Linden, Katharine Ashe, and Maya Rodale – the best wedding ever!

***eARC provided by authors in exchange for an honest and unscripted review – thank you, my darlings.  

AT THE BILLIONAIRE’S WEDDING:

A stately home in the English countryside seems the ideal place for a bad boy billionaire and his bride to tie the knot. Until the Internet fails. And the oven breaks. And paparazzi invade. And police crash the bachelorette party. And four unlikely couples discover that passion never waits for perfection, and happily ever after is just an “I do” away.
THE BEST LAID PLANNER by Miranda Neville


Arwen Kilpatrick gets her big break when she’s hired to organize the wedding of an old friend—to a billionaire. Arwen doesn’t have time for romance, not even with the sexy hotel handyman, Harry Compton. But putting on the wedding of the year means dealing with one surprise after another, including the discovery that Harry is so much more than he seems. 
*               *               *                *                *

Arwen Kilpatrick has landed the wedding of the century and all she has to do is make sure it comes off without a hitch and stays as private as possible. Of course, the English estate where it’s originally planned burns down, then when she goes to check out the private English manor procured by Duke Austen himself, she discovers it needs a lot of work and has virtually no cell signal or wi-fi, which just won’t do at all. However, it does have a very sexy handyman. Now, if she can just stay focused.

I loved THE BEST LAID PLANNER by Miranda Neville. It is a delightfully sweet and a very steamy start to this wedding anthology. Miranda writes with humor, and realism while creating a setting in which you can almost feel you’re there. Of course, Miranda has a way of doing this anyway but this time, I could almost smell the wildflowers. I love how it has a WEDDING DATE meets THE HOLIDAY feel to it while being true to itself without effort. Through Arwen and Harry, we meet a bevy of characters who we will get to know better as we progress through the anthology as we attend the wedding of Jane Sparks to her billionaire, Duke Austen. Let the fun begin...

WILL YOU BE MY WI-FI? by Caroline Linden

All Natalie Corcoran wants is peace and quiet while she writes her cookbook. The lavish wedding party at the hotel next door is driving her crazy—especially the sexy lawyer who wants her wi-fi password. But Archer Quinn is swamped with work and will do anything to convince her to take a chance on him… first with her wi-fi, then with her friendship, and then with more. But he only has a week to persuade her they'll be scrumptious together…
*               *               *                *                *

Natalie Corcoran hoped for some peace and quiet so she could think, and work on a cookbook, which is actually just an excuse to escape everything stressful back home at the restaurant and with her brother – the know it all. Borrowing a friend’s cottage in the English countryside seemed like the best plan until the noise and trucks trekking back and forth on the road become more than a distraction, they become an annoyance. As if the noise wasn't enough, now she has strangers wandering around her patio and even one couple having sex out there. What was going on next door? It seems there’s a wedding happening, and now one of the guests – albeit a very handsome one – wants to pay her to use her Wi-Fi for work. He is very handsome, and very charming – and he says he’ll stay on the patio and out of her way. Then again, maybe she doesn’t really want him to stay on the patio…

WILL YOU BE MY WI-FI? by Caroline Linden continues the wonderful feel of this exciting week in the English countryside started by Miranda in the first story. Then she pumps it up with sexual tension dipped in dabbles of chocolate, blueberry juice, and all kinds of sweet treats. The heat in Natalie’s kitchen rises major degrees when Archer treats her to some kitchen magic against a particular pantry door. Natalie and Archer are a delight and it’s a good thing he learns how talented she is in the kitchen – oh, and she can bake yummy goodies too. The wedding festivities continue…

THE DAY IT RAINED BOOKS by Katharine Ashe

Swept away by a mysterious benefactor to the wedding of the year, librarian Cali Blake is living a fairytale. The only thing missing is Prince Charming. Instead, the guests include the last man she wants to see—her archenemy, millionaire playboy Piers Prescott. Piers is determined to conquer Cali’s resistance to him, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. As long as she can remember it’s just for one week, could he be the perfect wedding fling?
*               *               *                *                *

Cali Blake has a crush, and she doesn’t even know him. She’s never even seen his face, but it’s a crush all the same. He’s hat man, and he’s there in the park every Friday when she brings her bookmobile to that corner of the park. She provides him books, and he leaves her notes. One day, she receives an envelope with a ticket to England, and enough money to buy a dress, pay for a nurse for her sister, and anything else she needs so she may attend the wedding of the year. She thought she had to pass on being a bridesmaid in her friend Jane’s wedding until a mysterious benefactor provides her the means to go. Was it her friends? Or does she actually have a fairy godmother somewhere? Thrilled she’s attending the fairytale wedding in the English countryside, the last thing she expects is to meet up with the man whose foundation turned down her proposal for the bookmobile in the first place. However, he is very sexy and he seems to follow her wherever she goes, and would a wedding fling with Philadelphia’s own bad boy millionaire be such a terrible thing?

THE DAY IT RAINED BOOKS by Katharine Ashe might be my favorite in this anthology but since I enjoyed them all so much, it’s truly hard to say for sure. There is such a modern day twist on the Cinderella story in this one that I can’t help but enjoy it all the more. The story is steeped in secrets and as each one is revealed to Cali, the budding romance between her and Piers becomes more, and more complicated. Piers wants only to win her trust, her love, and her heart but with each passing day, Cali becomes more distrustful of Piers’ true intentions. Is it just a fling or can a wedding romance become more with the man she wishes was her real Prince Charming? If books can lead her to the man she loves then perhaps, books can help her believe him as well. Back to the wedding of the year...

THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU FALL IN LOVE by Maya Rodale

Sassy reporter Roxanna Lane might be falling for her date, sexy media mogul Damien Knightly, who just happens to be her boss. But he ruins everything by asking her to report on her best friend’s wedding. Damien Knightly is definitely falling for Roxanna but thanks to an impulsive wager, he must choose between losing the crown jewel of his media empire...or the woman he loves.
*               *               *                *                *

Roxanna Lane is thrilled to be part of her best friend’s wedding, and to be spending the week with her boss, Damien Knightly. But, instead of relaxing and enjoying time together in the English countryside, he’s asked her to do the one thing which will either destroy her friendship or any chance of a relationship developing between her and the man who makes her knees weak. He wants her to betray Jane and Duke by getting first pictures for him to post online. This goes against everything Jane wants for her wedding and the deal Duke made with People magazine to have exclusive rights to the pictures. Once she discovers Damien’s real reason for wanting the pictures, she teams up with Jane to resolve both problems, but will it work or will it end in disaster? Her feelings for Damien become deeper and she suspects his are too, but will things be over even before they can get started? Why do weddings have to be so troublesome?

In THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU FALL IN LOVE, Maya Rodale brings us to the moment when Jane and Duke get their happily ever after and Roxanna and Damien learn what being in love really means. Roxanna started her friend’s romantic fairy tale love affair with her online antics, but now she’s worried she could bring her own to an end even as she begins to believe in the magic of love. Roxanna and Damien are wonderful together. They think alike, they strategize alike, and they deny their feelings for each other with the same level of stubbornness, only to succumb to what they both intend to fight – their love for each other. They are passionate together whether in bed, or putting their heads together to solve their problem. Damien proves himself a true hero even as he tries to win a wager which may ruin Jane and Duke’s plans to keep the wedding private. When he springs the ultimate romantic surprise on Roxanna, you can almost imagine him rising from the pond soaking wet like that Austen character about whom we all love to fantasize. 

I highly recommend the anthology AT THE BILLIONAIRE’S WEDDING, to everyone who loves weddings, steamy sweet romance, and laughable antics from creating the perfect wedding to drunken fun at hen and stag parties, to swoon-worthy moments in Regency-style fancy salons, to falling down libraries, delicious smelling kitchens, and surprise destinations. If you’ve read Maya Rodale’s Bad Boy Billionaire novellas, you will thrill for sure but truthfully, even if you haven’t you’ll still enjoy the most incredible wedding you’ll ever attend.

Be sure to read the thank you notes at the end. Sweet secrets are revealed. Although I'm still trying to figure out which couple was having sex on a lawn chair and in the woods. J

Happy Reading Everyone!

AT THE BILLIONAIRE’S WEDDING, an anthology featuring stories by Miranda Neville, Caroline Linden, Katharine Ashe, and Maya Rodale, The Lady Authors, available now in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble (Nook), Barnes & Noble (print), and Kobobooks.
***click on links above or cover below for purchasing information, remember even pennies per sale using my links help keep this blog alive. Thank You.

   

No comments: