AMAZON BEST-SELLING AUTHOR BRINGS YOU MARRYING MR VALENTINE!Nadine Roberts smiles for everyone, but beneath it she hides a heartbreaking past that only a few know about. Throwing herself into her new career; wedding planner at The Duck & Goose, a property recently purchased by newlyweds Florence and Hugh, has helped distract her from her loneliness.When a teary bride suddenly cancels her … suddenly cancels her upcoming wedding Nadine looks to the two year waiting list. Clara Blumenkrantz and Hartley Valentine. It’ll have to be a quick turnaround, but what’s the worst that can happen, right?
This should be like every other wedding she plans, but the magnetism she feels towards Mr Valentine disrupts the orderly life she’s worked hard to carve out.
Can she ignore her intense desires and be a professional? Or will she open up her heart to the one person that has the power to break it? And in doing so endanger not just her job, but her venue’s reputation?
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Everyone wonders if a wedding planner ever falls for the groom and this story delivers just that! With flowing chapters, you are whisked away into the dilemmas in the life of a wedding planner. A delightful weekend read to escape the present!
Marrying Mr. Valentine, is a beautiful romance by Laura Barnard. It was an utterly addictive read that I read all in one sitting, desperately determined to get to the end to find out how it would all end.
Barnard’s characters are relatable, funny and utterly entertaining, and I completely adored Nadine and Hartley’s story.
Nadine is a wedding planner and a damn good one, but nothing prepares her for the bridezilla that is Clara. Clara takes diva to a whole new level, and Nadine has to swallow her pride and bite her tongue in order to ensure that she pulls off what is sure to be the wedding of the decade. But as the plans are set in motion, Nadine can’t help but realise that the groom is oddly not as excited about the impending nuptials, and the more time they spend together, the more obvious it becomes that Hartley is struggling through his own feelings.
Hartley is a handsome, prideful man who is set on continuing his career as a teacher, as well as finding a lavish over the top wedding. But he’s running himself into the ground and he’s not 100 percent certain as to why. As the wedding date approaches, the worse he feels, and the worse he feels the more he is determined to seek comfort in the company of others, particularly the beautifully intriguing Nadine.
This action-packed, drama filled book had me on my toes. There was so many good moments, and Nadine and her past had me desperately rooting for her to find happiness. Barnard writes about an incredibly difficult topic in a respectful and raw way, as well as delivering an entertaining and captivating read.
I adored everything about this book and would recommend to all those who enjoy a good ‘will they/ won’t they’ romance with lots of tension and suspense. It is a perfect cheer up read and has some hilarious moments. No one does romantic comedy quite like Barnard, and she gets me every time.
Not sure what didn’t work for me. The story, the characters or the narration. Either way I couldn’t relate to Nadine, I didn’t particularly like her, however, I did at times think she was funny. The good did not outweigh the bad though. As a wedding planner it appeared every wedding Nadine was a part of went completely wrong (personally I think she needs to change her career path), she had few morals, and wasn’t particularly nice. Then we have the groom to be, Hartley, he had no backbone, he was weak willed, and he appeared to be permanently grumpy. Add in bridezilla, Clara, and I thought the trio deserved each other. Sadly, not my cup of tea at all, which is a shame, because I have loved other books by the author.
You can feel the author puts her heart into the words she writes. Fully of humour and a whole lot of emotion. The book has us on a roller coaster. This is the perfect second book in the series. The covers are as beautiful as the writing. Highly recommend.
I love this author’s books and I certainly wasn’t disappointed with this one. I loved the story. I loved the humour that I’ve come to expect reading this author’s work and I loved how in the turn of a page my emotions changed. Another fabulous read!
What a great book! I am new to Laura Barnard, but I cannot wait to read the first book in this series! I really enjoyed this quirky Rom-Com! Great characters in a story that pulled me in from the first page!
3.5 stars
I was in the mood for a holiday themed rom-com and Marrying Mr. Valentine looked like it fit the bill.
It was surprisingly not as typical rom-com as I expected. Nadine, our Heroine, has quite the emotional baggage she is ignoring and not really dealing with.
And maybe that’s why I liked it? Because she seemed so human; making mistakes and burying away her grief. But let’s not forget the funny. Lots of low brow humor (my favorite TBH) with over-the-top scenarios.
Hartley, our Hero, felt a bit one-dimensional. I never really felt like we were able to understand his motives or wants.
Would recommend for an easy read this Valentine’s Day.
Marrying Mr. Valentine is my first book by Laura Barnard, I went in expecting one thing and got something completely different. I was expecting this story to be exactly like the J.Lo movie The Wedding Planner. (Which I love BTW) I am pleasantly surprised that this story was not a copycat cat of that at all. (But also secretly hoping it was)
Marrying Mr. Valentine is a light and fluffy, quick and fun read with some very heavy undertones. The pain our heroine Nadine felt and went through, I felt right along with her. My heart broke for her and I became jealous for her a few times. But Nadine was strong and witty and such a good character.
I really the loved the chemistry our couple had together and all the hilarious and inappropriate thoughts that came spilling out of Nadine’s mouth. I will say that the one thing I wished this book had was Hartley’s POV. I think having that would have made the book even better. BUT I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be picking up another of Laura’s Books.
Favorite Quotes:
Where the hell did she find him? He’s like a sexy Viking… He could be a model, but I doubt he is. He looks too manly to want to prance around in his underwear. What a shame for the UK population of women… he could be a lumberjack with a body like that. I’d watch him take down a tree any day.
It’s so different being in a high school compared to the old primary school I used to work in. I actually feel self-conscious. I walk past a group of boys rehearsing, when they start wolf-whistling… ‘You’re a right fitty, Miss!’ another one shouts. His mate barks out a laugh. Well, what the hell am I supposed to do in this situation? You don’t get this kind of crap with five-year-olds. I’m blushing before I can reason with myself to play it unaffected. And now I look like I’m enjoying it. They might even take it as encouragement. Think I’m a horny Mrs Robinson type…
Oh and is there any chance you could look into plastic surgery for one of my bridesmaids? … My bridesmaid, my dear friend, Jessica, has a huge nose, and she’s been thinking about getting it fixed. I’ve offered to pay as long as it would heal before the wedding. We don’t want that honker getting in the way of the photos!
Of course, Princess Clara has sensitive skin. I’m sure she only uses products made with unicorn tears and elf droppings.
My Review:
I have smirked and giggle-snorted my way through another of the madly talented Laura Barnard’s wittily written romantic comedies. Ms. Barnard’s cleverly amusing storytelling and irreverent and bawdy humor keep me eagerly awaiting each new release. Written from the first person POV of the detail-oriented and kind-hearted Nadine, wedding planner/manager extraordinaire who was prone to filthy language and comical thoughts in her inner musings. However, this story was not all giggles and cocktails as between drunken whine sessions with her friends and handling various wedding mishaps as well as dealing with the rushed planning of the worst of the worst Bridezilla in Clara who also happened to be a rich relative of her boss; snapshots of a less than idyllic and angsty backstory were glimpsed until Nadine’s life-altering tragic experience was exposed.
The oddly tasteless yet loftily wealthy Clara became increasingly demanding and bizarre in her accelerated wedding demands although she had started small with wanting an ice sculptor of the couple kissing before working up to swans, penguins, a ten-tier cake, and rushed plastic surgery for an unfortunately large snouted bridesmaid. But what of the adorable, swoon-worthy, and Viking sexy groom, Mr. Valentine? He didn’t seem in sync with Clara at all, but that was the crux of the story.
And lastly, rubbing my palms together with glee, I have a new addition to my Brit words and phrases list with “go spare,” which Mr. Google told me was to “become extremely angry or distraught.” And Clara definitely had Nadine going spare.