This bachelor’s pretend girlfriend just made a shocking discovery– She’s pregnant! Although they dated for only a month, Harley O’Hannigan just agreed to be Vince Messina’s plus-one at a Harmony Valley wedding. Big mistake, given her deepening feelings for the tall, dark, unavailable bachelor. And what about Vince’s long-buried family history? Then there’s the growing secret that could … that could transform this pretend relationship into the real thing…
more
When you give everything you have and made to feel like you are nothing it can affect you no matter what age you are. This is what happens to both the main characters but in different ways. It is a story about hopes, dreams, sorrow, misunderstandings, pain, mending, filled with love, forgiveness, sometimes dreams do come true. This story touched me in so many ways the author knows how to reach in touching your heart with so many emotions come home to Harmony Valley where you will laugh, cry, cheer and say a few not so nice words as characters twist their way into your heart as they work on heartbreaking issues that have been out of their control with families that love them but might not always do it in the way they think they should.
Vince comes off as somewhat of a jerk but truly he just doesn’t know how to say things right. Harley has a secret she can’t share as to why she isn’t doing the job she was trained to do. Vince said some things that really upset her making her feel like she is a failure. One date was one to many for her and poor Vince doesn’t even know what he did wrong. Vince makes a habit of putting his foot in his mouth one big one was telling his family he was seriously dating Harley not his family expects him to bring her home to a wedding he doesn’t want to go home to. Heck he hasn’t been home in a lot of years only for holidays and only when he is made to.
A lot of things happens between these pages, a lot of issues will be worked out with a lot of pain hitting hard as misunderstanding are worked out things get very completed filled with strong feeling, passion and one baby on the way. The author gives a story of so much pain wrapped around humor, smiles and laughs taking you down a road that will twist you apart and finally bring you home to a loving family, a new life and some major issues worked out for two people to find their happy ever after. A very heartwarming clean read that really touched me in so many ways.
Harmony Hills is a very small town where they have a phone tree so everyone knows everything pretty much as soon as it happens and when all 3 Messina brothers finally re unite it is the talk of the town. Vince convinces Harley his ex and co-worker to go to his Brother Joe’s wedding so they will leave him alone and not delve into his life, a good simple plan right? wrong!
Having been the first time back home after a troubled upbringing Vince has to face his past that haunts him, as well as finally let his brothers know why he has kept his distance. Luckily for him Haley is just the person to help him whether he knows it or not, will he finally realise he has so much more to offer and can really be happy? Plenty of laughs, sadness, tears and cheers while you read this and get you addicted to Melinda’s book if you aren’t already.
5 stars
I purchased a copy of the full length novel Harlequin Heartwarming: A Harmony Valley Novel book 11: Marrying The Wedding Crasher by Melinda Curtis and this review was given freely.
Unexpected pregnancies and a family reunion are features in this story where Joe Messina invites his construction worker brother Vince back to Harmony Valley for his wedding to Brittany which places Vince in a complicated plot of secrets and a fake relationship with the woman he secretly loves,his struggling coworker Harley.
I love a book that leaves me smiling. When I started it, knew I’d like it but didn’t expect it to trigger so many emotions. Vince didn’t want to go back to his home town because of the bad memories he had growing up there. But his brother was getting married so he had to go whether he wanted to or not. He could get through this. It was only for a week. But he needed a date and didn’t have one. Harley agreed to pretend to be his girlfriend and go with him even though they weren’t seeing each other any more.
I liked Vince and Harley. It was fun to see them pretend to be in a relationship when they were around his family. I especially liked the older residents. They knew what was going on in town as soon as it happened. It was incredible how fast news travelled in Harmony Valley.
I’m happy I won Marrying The Wedding Crasher. It was simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting. It will have you tearing-up and chuckling. Romantic comedy fans will enjoy this book.
What a sweet and heartwarming book. When Harley agrees to be Vince’s plus one at the Wedding. But she’s got a secret. She doesn’t know how he will take.
Its a tear jerker to say the least. A must read.
I love Harmony Valley. The old people are so much fun. Vince and Harley tried to make a go of it before, but Vince isn’t the marrying kind. Or is he? Vince is forced to confront a lot of old family secrets when he goes home to watch his little brother get married. He brings Harley to be a buffer against his family and people of Harmony Valley who like to be match makers. Harley is dealing with her own problems, but agrees to help Vince. Is she just setting herself up for heartache?
Marrying the Wedding Crasher (2018) by Melinda Curtis is part of the Harmony Valley series, but does read as a stand-alone story. This book is set to release tomorrow, March 6, 2018, by Harlequin Heartwarming Publishers. This book will be available in all forms including eBook, and is 384 pages in length. With a full-time job and a very busy five-year old at home, this book took me two days to read. I received a copy of this novel from Harlequin Heartwarming in eBook form for review. In no way has this influenced my opinion. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. I give this novel 4.5 STARS. Marrying the Wedding Crasher is a Contemporary Clean Romance.
One day when I was seven years old, Sr. Regina, my 2nd grade teacher, gave me and my fellow classmates a brown paper bag. We were told to decorate them prettily and make sure to include our names. These bags were going to be our Valentine’s Day bags! She also told us to make/buy Valentine’s Day cards for our fellow classmates. I can remember vividly putting my whole 7-year old self into my bag, and later into the cards I made for my classmates. Valentine’s Day arrived and I excitedly hurried to class. I could not wait to pass out my cards and then enjoy the cards I got from my fellow classmates. After the craziness that is 2nd graders distributing cards and moving around the classroom, Sr. Regina asked us all to open our bags and dig into our cards and candies. I was SO excited!!! I opened my bag and saw three cards total. No candy. Just three cards. My little 2nd-grade heart dropped, but I was ok because something is better than nothing, right? Two of the cards were the store-bought kind, and one was hand written. I was excited for the hand-written card because it meant someone took time for me! I opened the note and read, “Happy Valentine’s. Nicole, you look like a clown.” I was devastated. I got up, went to the back of the classroom, and buried myself behind the coats and backpacks. I sobbed my little heart out. I was embarrassed and heartbroken.
I was seven years old when someone’s words crushed my heart and made me see myself differently. I became a very closed-off kid from that day forward, and I began to really hate the way I looked. I hated that I had to wear glasses. I hated that my prescription was so thick it looked like I was wearing coke bottles. I hated that my family was poor and I couldn’t afford cute glasses, just glasses from the cheap section in the eye doctor’s office. I then started to really look at myself in the mirror… AT SEVEN!!! I decided I hated my big nose. I hated my ugly teeth. I hated my limp hair. I hated me. It should be noted that I have a really pretty, skinny mom. The kind of pretty, skinny that the world says is perfect. I am about as opposite as you can get. Guess when I noticed that?! Yep…right after I got told I look like a clown.
I have been battling that note every day since I was seven years old.
If you are still reading this, you are probably wondering by now what this has to do with Marrying the Wedding Crasher. Marrying the Wedding Crasher is a good, solid story. It has exactly what you look for when you want a Harlequin Heartwarming-type story. The characters are well written and realistic, the plot is very engaging, and the romance is sweet. I do very much recommend it for all of these standard qualities, BUT, I really recommend this book because of what it reminded me: words are SO very important, and they can be blessings or weapons. Of all the characters in this book, I relate to Vince Messina. Vince, of course, is the perfect Harlequin Heartwarming hero — he is gorgeous, he is kind, he is all man! So, I definitely cannot relate to his gorgeousness and his manliness, but I can relate to him in regards to this “words” issue that I’ve been discussing. When Vince was a teenager someone very important to him said something in an emotionally-drained moment and it completely changed the course of his life. Vince was never going to be the person he was BEFORE THE WORDS ever again. After my Valentine’s Day card fiasco in the second grade, I was never going to be the same bright-eyed, happy, blissfully ignorant girl ever again.
We need to be SO careful with our words. This is an excellent reminder for me as a wife and mother, but also as a teacher. The words we use can have positive effects on those around us, or they can do great harm. Ephesians 4:29 states, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” God wants us to use our words to build others up, not tear them down!
Marrying the Wedding Crasher is a sweet romance. I definitely left the book smiling for the main characters, but I also left the book with a great reminder that I certainly did not expect. If you are looking for a well-written, sweet story that ends happily, and includes a great moral, then I highly recommend Marrying the Wedding Crasher. You will not be disappointed.
“Marrying the Wedding Crasher” (Harmony Valley Series Book 11) by Melinda Curtis is a great read. I loved Vince and Harley’s story. This story is a wonderful addition to this series, packed with entertaining characters, humor, romance, second chances, and more. I can’t wait to see what happens next in Harmony Valley. I loved catching up with all the residents again. Highly recommend to all fans of romance, second chances, entertaining characters, and series.
What a great book! I loved the story – the humor, the emotion, the romance. I really enjoyed being with the Messina family. I loved the banter between them. It was fun to watch Vince and Harley try to prove they were a couple to the family.
Vince and Harley had a lot of depth to them and were easy to love. They were flawed human beings, struggling with challenges life had brought them. I loved watching them work through things and come out the other side in a better place. And together. 🙂
It was great to be back in Harmony Valley! Oh, the elderly residents make me laugh! They always add to the story. I’m looking forward to going back soon!
I received a complimentary copy of the book, which I voluntarily reviewed. I have given my honest opinion.
“Marrying the Wedding Crasher” by Melinda Curtis is part of her Harmony Valley series and features Vince Messina and Harley O’Hannigan.
Vince hasn’t been back to Harmony Valley in years and is only back now to attend his brother’s wedding (Joe from “Marrying the Single Dad”). Having only phone conversations over the years, and to keep his brothers off his back, Vince pretended he has a girlfriend. Now, he needs to prove to them he actually does. The only person who comes to mind is Harley O’Hannigan – a woman he dated briefly.
Harley, still attracted to Vince despite refusing to go out with him again, is trying to rediscover her confidence after an architectural design she created failed. She’s been working with Vince on a construction site and in exchange for Vince repairing one of her tools, she agrees to go to Harmony Valley with him.
Going home is hard for Vince because there were a lot of things that happened during childhood that Vince never shared with his brothers. He’s very protective of his family and tends to keep his emotions bottled up, hiding who he truly is.
Harley makes him want to open up and share.
Ms. Curtis has created complex characters in Vince and Harley as well as creating fantastic secondary characters in the elderly residents of Harmony Valley. In each installment of this series, this reader enjoys “checking in” with them.
“Marrying the Wedding Crasher” will make you laugh out loud and blink away tears – the perfect blend of emotions to experience when reading a book by Ms. Curtis.