Violet Abrams may have been a bridesmaid no less than seven times, but her wedding day was near–she could feel it. Until her longtime boyfriend left her for someone else. That’s just fine–she has her photography and a new project redesigning her sister’s bakery to keep her happy and fulfilled. Fast-forward to the day of his wedding, though, when Violet might have accidentally, totally not on … purpose, started a fire. And… Officially the worst day ever.
Firefighter Ford Maguire thought he’d seen it all. Until he’s called out because someone tried to set the local bakery on fire…with a wedding magazine? The little arsonist might be the cutest woman he’s ever seen, but he’s too career-focused to consider something serious. Still, Violet seems like a great person to help him navigate his upcoming “man of honor” duties in his best friend’s wedding.
Pretty soon, not only is Violet giving him lessons on all things weddings, she’s helping him train his latest rescue-dog recruit puppies and weaving her way seamlessly into his lone-wolf lifestyle. But forever is the last thing on Ford’s mind, and if there’s one thing a perpetual bridesmaid knows, it’s the importance of a happily ever after.
Each book in the Getting Hitched series is STANDALONE:
* Just One of the Groomsmen
* Always a Bridesmaid
more
This second story in the series, belongs to Violet Abrams and Ford Maguire.
Ford is one of the tight knit friends who’ve been together since childhood. Violet is the illegitimate daughter of the town’s major. A daughter that was not really accepted or supported by either her father or the town.
But when Violet finds her boyfriend with someone else, she comes to town to stay with her half-sister, get a chance to know her better and help her sister give the bakery a facelift.
Violet meets Ford when she almost burned down the bakery and Ford is one of the firefighters that answers the call.
Both individuals’ past, has molded their present. Each dealing with insecurities, and feelings of not being truly loved .
It’s a story about relationships between friends, lovers, family members and overcoming obstacles.
I loved book one in the series, Just One of the Groomsmen and though that one still will remains my favorite, this one was good. I would highly recommend the reader to read book one since the story of the couple in the first book is important in this book.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
This is the second book in the series and it is just full of fun, heat and cuteness. So basically all the feels. After ten years of dating Benjamin and him promising that he was going to propose when “insert any excuse you want here”, Violet discovers him cheating at her sister’s wedding. After exacting revenge, she is left with no money and no where to live, so she heads to Uncertainty, AL to stay with her half sister and help her remodel her bakery. Within hours of arriving, Violet is in need of the fire department and one very hot firefighter, Ford. When Ford encourages her to go outside of her comfort zone, Violet has more fun than she has had in a long time and finds herself hoping that this is something that develops further. Ford, who has sworn off women and commitment also feels this could be something special, until his serial groom/dater father starts planting seeds of doubt in his head and Ford heads down a path of self destruction. Great story, some very funny moments, but more importantly, you become involved in the characters and route for them to come out on top. Definite feel good story.
Always a Bridesmaid is a super cute read. I loved every moment of this one. Violet is super sweet and knows how to hold her own. I love the bound she creates with her sister as she rediscovers her passion. Ford is amazing. I love how he goes through the passes being man of honor. The chemistry between Ford and Violet is cute and hot. I love their connection and that lure of puppies. This is such a fun read. I couldn’t put it down. I fell in love with Violet and Ford.
Violet, a wedding photographer, returns home to help her half sister with a remodel in AL when her boyfriend of TEN years cheats on her at that sister’s wedding. Ford, a firefighter/search & rescue worker, has relationship issues as he’s grown up with unstable parents/siblings.
While well-written and quite humorous, I personally had two big issues with this story. First, these characters act too immature for their ages (upper 20s)…I also felt this way with the first book in this series. Second, even though I had gotten to know some of these secondary characters from the previous book, I felt less connected to them here. I simply wasn’t that invested in them as people.
While the majority of readers may enjoy this as a cute, funny rom-com, I found myself not feeling all that engaged.
Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #EntangledPublishing for providing me the ARC. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
Welcome back to Uncertainty, Alabama and the lives of childhood buddies Tucker, Shep, Easton Ford and Addie, the lone female of the group, as they take life by the scruff of the neck and live it to the full!
The dynamics of the group changed when Tucker and Addie fell in love with each other and Always a Bridesmaid, features the preparations for their wedding.
Ford has been tasked with the duty of Dude Of Honour and with his hero complex he will do exactly what needs to be done.
Violet is often the topic of the town gossips’ conversation but when she comes to town to help her sister juggle a small business and a small baby, she comes armed with her ‘I’m done with men’ shield. She didn’t think it was possible for anyone, even a local hero, to crack her shield and steal her heart!
Once again, in this Southern town, we have witty dialogue, fun loving characters and hysterical scenes of not just the funny kind! And that doesn’t even include our swoon worthy dude of honour, his dogs or his new, ADHD suffering saviour.
Although we’ve been in Uncertainty before, Always a Bridesmaid can easily be read, and enjoyed, as a standalone.
In my opinion though, you’ll want to visit this quirky town over and over again because the characters Cindi Madsen has created certainly make a visit worthwhile. I’m already looking forward to returning to experience more changes to the dynamics of this engaging group of friends and the women who steal their hearts.
This is filled with lots of sweet cuteness! There are puppies and babies involved afterall! 🙂 Him and her both have an aversion to love. Her, because of a past relationship gone bad and him because of the environment he had while growing up. They both also seem to be the ‘black sheep’ not only of their families but also of the town. The outcasts if you will. Not really due to any fault of their own. Neither are looking for anything, but after constantly being thrown together, they form a friendship of sorts and slowly let the walls crumble around them, but only one will be strong enough to sweep away the rubble completely. Both are good, kind people. Both struggle with their own personal demons. There is a lot of humor throughout the book. Lots of awwww moments. The story flows smoothly and quickly. While the characters may have lots of internal turmoil, it is a light-hearted read. And as I mentioned, sweet. There is minimal sexual content. While this is a stand alone, it follows ‘Just One of the Groomsmen’ and you’ll see many of the same characters.
*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.
I really loved this book! Ford is the perfect book boyfriend. He is hot, a paramedic, trains search and rescue puppies and is the dude of honor at his best friend Addie’s wedding. Seriously, could he be more perfect? He meets Violet when she accidentally sets her sister’s bakery oven on fire. Violet is a photographer who lost her muse when she caught her boyfriend of ten years cheating on her. She is licking her wounds and decorating her half-sister’s Bakery and trying to figure out what her next steps are. While she has sworn off men, it’s hard to say no to the hottie fireman. This is a delightful small town romance with a lot of humor and heart. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.
4.5
Cute and fun
What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
The humor
Part of a series: Getting Hitched in Dixie
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue
I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from NetGalley.
Oh my goodness! This book was hilarious! Full of laugh out loud moments, swoony moments, sweet moments and plenty of drama and romance. What more could you ask for? Ford and Violet will have you smiling and swooning as they go on one heck of a wild ride to finding their happily ever after. I honestly could not get enough of these two and this wonderful cast of characters to enjoy! So, so GOOD! Always a Bridesmaid was such a feel good read and I’m super excited to see what’s next from this spectacular author. Go grab your copy today, you definitely need this on your TBR! Happy reading everyone!!
Always a Bridesmaid by Cindi Madsen a four-star read that will blossom as you read. I enjoyed this one, but I kept getting distracted as I read it and that’s not me, so it could be that I was having a funny day or two, as overall I enjoyed the story it just didn’t grip me. I adored Pyro as he reminded me of my own Pyro, sadly mine wouldn’t be able to save me if I was in a paper bag, but I love him none the less. Much like I loved Violet and not only as we both love purple, and Ford he was just sublime he made me want to protect and care for him as well as shake him. I also adored the secondary characters and will be going to read the other standalones in the series when I am able as they all seem like great characters. I do enjoy the authors writing so I will be recommending this one, hopefully you won’t be as easily distracted as me, maybe I should change my name.
Violet – Vibrant, beautiful, resilient, impulsive at times, quick with sassy/humorous comebacks, hearts been stomped on before, photographer, complicated immediate family past, eye for fashion/style/weddings, wants the whole package – love, marriage, children, won’t be used/tricked again.
Ford – Firefighter, paramedic, rescue dog trainer, all around good guy town hero, family history baggage, knucklehead actions/words at times, afraid of marriage, falls for the heroine despite trying not to, calm in a crisis but love makes him panic.
Well, this main couple was like bread and butter, my fellow romance book loving friends. Yeah, they truly went that well together. From their at first glance, sizzling, instant attraction/chemistry to their funny, sassy, flirty, at times argumentative back and forth banter, I couldn’t get enough of them. The great posse of friends that surrounded them as side characters just added to this romantic mayhem mix. Throw in the cute, adorable puppies, and, really, what more do I need to say. I was hooked from the get go.
As a lover of relationship angst, I can handle knucklehead words/actions when I know it will ultimately lead to soul searching, hard on the heart regret, groveling, and life changing, light bulb moments of realization on what’s truly important. We definitely get that in the form of a direct punch to the heart here, folks. Here’s to hoping you’ll feel the same way and enjoy this book as much as I did.
Title: Always a Bridesmaid, Series: Getting Hitched in Dixie (Book 2), Author: Cindi Madsen, Pages: 400, stand-alone, sassy/quick with comebacks hearts been stomped on heroine, good guy but a knucklehead/afraid to love hero, relationship angst, very steamy late in book, get to know each other first, small town setting, HEA,
Book 1 – Just One of the Groomsmen
Book 2 – Always a Bridesmaid
(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review. There is no relationship or affiliation between this reviewer and the author, publisher, or NetGalley.)
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I read the previous book in this series and really enjoyed it, so I took a chance and requested this one from NetGalley. I’m very thankful that I was given the chance to read and review Ford and Violet’s story.
Violet has commitment and trust issues and decides to get away for awhile to get herself together and of course she runs into Ford everywhere she goes in town.
This can be read as a stand alone, but you really are missing out if you don’t read the other books too.
I am loving this series!!
It has been so fun to watch each of these friends fall and get their HEA.
Violet is a woman who has written off men and just trying to get by. She wants to help her sister out and because of this she has a very awkward but yet funny first meeting with Ford. Once thing that I really liked that the author did an amazing job at was the character development of Violet. I loved that at different times we got to see her have all kinds of different emotions. She was strong but yet needed someone to stand beside her in others. To me, this made her feel real. We all have these sides to us and it was nice to read about someone we could relate to. I also liked that Violet had ADD. I liked that this wasn’t the focus of the book but yet it explained it in a way that was both informative and supportive.
Ford was a harder man for me. I really liked him but yet I was a little thrown off about how he could be swayed so easily especially by people he knows and he knows their angles. Why did he let him inside his head? There were many times my heart would beat a little faster for this man. I loved the times that Ford was working with the dogs for training.
I also loved the relationship between Ford and Addie. I loved their friendship and you always knew where his loyalty was. They has some of my favorite lines! I loved that he was her dude of honor!!
Addie – Yellow Dandelions make me happy.
Ford – Then they turn white and you can blow them and make wishes and sh@t.
I loved this book. So I have been a fan of Cindi for a while and so when the first book to this series came out. the first book was entitled”Just one of the groomsmen” please read I felt that in order to read this one you need to read that and trust me you want to read that one. Now normally when there is a second book, they are not as good as the first one but that was not the case with this book, it was just as good or even dare I say it at times better. Now I love the relationship with Addie and Ford, they are hilarious together, there is a scene in the bakery that had me laughing out loud, it was so funny. So in this one we meet Violet and she was a nice addition to the group. Some times she annoyed me with the woe is me, but it was a little understandable, her ex was horrible and her father did not help. Now Ford u loved and I truly understood him Violet was obsessed with weddings and I was scared for him,but was a complete 160 from bachelor to being in a relationship, he should not have to pay for her bad experiences what saved her was that she was funny and you felt for her and her ADHD.
rcvd an ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions