Not Another Wedding by Jennifer McKenzie
Released: October 1, 2013
Contemporary
Harlequin
Reviewed by Mandi
Event planner Poppy Sullivan is worried her best friend Jamie is rushing into marriage and that his fiancé is a gold digger, so she is determined to get Jamie’s ear and tell him her concerns. At pre-wedding festivities, she runs into Beck Lefebvre, the man whom she was in love with as a teenager. The man who took her virginity and then never called again. Not wanting to engage him, she pretends to not remember who he is. But Beck definitely remembers Poppy. That night long ago, Beck’s parents separated…again…and he was caught between a mother and a father and all their anger. He didn’t mean to not call Poppy, and when he was forced to move, he never attempted to contact her.
Beck is Jamie’s cousin and is in the wedding. As his charms and advances toward Poppy are getting him nowhere he decides to help her out – he’ll try to get Jamie alone, so Poppy can have some time to talk with him if Poppy pretends to be his date so his mother won’t set him up with some random girl.
The chemistry between Poppy and Beck worked well for me in this one. We start with a pretty grumpy Beck, who is forced to be with his parents, two people he has no patience for. They have been married and divorced twice from each other and now are getting back together for a third time. Beck really wants nothing to do with them, and he gets all angry about it. I do love an angry hero. Poppy isn’t too happy herself. She is mad at herself for being attracted to Beck, and tries her darndest to be prickly and unavailable. (she doesn’t last long)
Both of their colder attitudes worked well for me though. Underneath their angry glares is humor. They are both attracted, and it becomes more of a game of Beck pursuing Poppy and Poppy trying to play coy. When they do give in to their desires, it’s sexy. Poppy still fights the attraction, and I may have gotten a little tire of it towards the end, but overall I liked the development of their relationship.
The weakest part of the book is the fact that Poppy thinks Emmy is a gold digger, only marrying Jamie for his money. Poppy and Jamie are suppose to be best friends – yet she knows nothing about Emma or she can’t even get five minutes alone with Jamie to speak with him? Jamie comes across as kind of a doofus and we never really get to know Emma. I don’t know – that story annoyed me overall.
So, a decent romance, but an annoying side story that detracted from the main show.
Rating: C+
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Just Janga
Hmm, I can understand why Poppy holds of, but yes, you should always be able to reach your best friend.