Getting snowed with a hot guy is not a bad way to spend the holidays…Five Years Ago She Was Left at the AltarFive years later…Jessica Monroe has moved on with her life in Harper’s Corner, and her fabulously successful bridal business. She has her friends, and her comfortable life in one of America’s most beautiful small towns. What more could a girl possibly want? Matthew Larson is roguishly …
Matthew Larson is roguishly handsome and happily enlisted in the Army. He lives for two things: serving his country and Jessica Monroe. He’s loved her for years, long before she was engaged to his arrogant and self-absorbed brother Will.
When Will left her at the altar, Matt was there to comfort her, as much as an almost brother-in-law was allowed, before he deployed to Afghanistan.
They were almost family so Jessica kept in touch, but little did she know how hungrily Matt would read each email. She was his escape from the horrors of war and a reminder of a simpler life that awaited him back in Harper’s Corner.
When Matt finally returns Jessica is taken aback by a rush of emotions – suddenly faced with the reality that she nearly married the wrong brother.
Welcome to Book One in the Harper’s Corner Series.
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This is a quick, sweet story of two best friends taking a chance on love. I liked the story but, I found Jess’s emotional swing in regards to her feelings to be over dramatic. It could just be because of the length of the book and the need to get the turn of events lined up to create the drama before the happily ever after. Anyway, Matt is a great character and seems to be the perfect hero in all ways. Good read.
WEllcome to Harper’s Corner, a small town where friendship, love , happiness and Christmas’s magic work together to bring together Matt and Jessica? A wonderful and warm love’s story. I received a free copy of this book and I voluntarily reviewing it.
One of my favorite themes to read is ‘friends to lovers’. There’s just something so charming, so endearing, about two people taking that step into the unknown together. Taking the risk to turn a stable existing relationship into something that could be so much more but could also be a disaster. I loved watching Matt and Jessica venture into this risky territory. Matt is everything I’ve come to expect from a military book hero. He’s alpha without being an alpha-hole, he’s sweet, kind, loving, and supportive. In a word: he’s perfect. Jessica left me swinging wildly between wanting to shake some sense into her and desperate to cuddle her close and promise that everything would be alright. The ending to their story is simply precious.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Booksprout as part of the box set.
Jessica caught a break with one brother but the one she should have married joined the military because he could not get over the hurt she experienced by his brother. It is five years since that fateful day and Matthew is back to give the news of his brothers recent marriage. What he didn’t know was that Jessica is over his brother. Matthew and Jessica have a chance for real love but can she put aside her self doubt and insecurities? I voluntarily agreed to receive an ARC of this book for an honest review.
Christina George, ‘My One and Only’, Harper’s Corner Holiday Series, book 1.
As a Hidden Gems ARC reader I received a free copy of book 3 of these series and promised an honest review of this book. But I received also the books 1 and 2. So, first, here my review of book 1.
Rating: 3,5 stars (of 5).
In general: Engaged to the wrong brother.
The main characters are Jessica (Jess) Wade and Matt Larson. Jess is a successful designer of wedding dresses. She’s dumped at the the start of her wedding ceremony by Will Larson, a lawyer. He’s a coward and forces his brother Matt to explain to Jess that he’s leaving the wedding.
Matt was secretly in love with Jess and seeing her devastated by his brother he doesn’t want to declare Jess his love for her, but joins the army and is send to Afghanistan. Matt and Jess keep an intensive digital contact during his foreign military mission.
After the wedding disaster Jess recovers and starts her own (successful) boutique. After 5 years she meets Matt again when he’s on leave in Harper’s Corner (near NY city) to tell her that his brother William is marrying another woman.
Then the author, Christina George, in a well written story describes how Matt is chanced by his military career in a war zone and how Jess struggles to overcome her fear for – again – falling in love. The plot isn’t very original and for me Jess’s doubts were sometimes a bit overdone but the book has some exciting action descriptions, wonderful characters and sweet love scenes. So all in all a pleasure to read.
R.Huiszoon.
This is a quick, beautiful read about a woman left on the altar by one brother only to fall in love with the other brother 5 years later. Loved the chemistry between Jessica and Matt. Their love proves that when love is meant to be it will happen no matter how long it takes. Great writing, believable characters and a great HEA make this a must read.
Well, I was hoping for more. A lot more. Both main characters had immense potential and with a lot of support and encouragement from most of the people around them I was hoping for more on the build of the romance. Instead, most of the story shows just how truly frustrating Jessica is. She was so weak. Yes, I can see her vulnerability and her issues, but where they should have been something more like reasoning behind her actions, they became the complete focus of her character. There was very little fighting through and growing in strength or resolve, it was her continually breaking down and reiterating the same thing over and over not just in her inner dialogue, but to her friends and Matt as well. I don’t feel she redeemed herself by the end. I felt that Matt deserved so much more for a partner. I do feel that the proposal came from the right person, though. Aside from that, I was trying hard to like her enough to finish the story.
My One and Only is a sweet, but predictable friends to lovers romance.
When Jessica is left at the altar and her best friend Matthew, who happens to be the jilting fiancé’s brother, has to explain to her what Will has done, it damages Jessica’s psyche nearly to the point of permanent breaking. 5 years later Matthew comes home from Afghanistan and runs into his best friend again and suddenly the attraction he’s always felt seems to be affecting Jessica, too. And when they get stuck in a blizzard in a remote cabin together, they can’t resist falling into bed together. But, will Jessica be able to admit to those feelings to Matthew, or break his heart because she can’t let go of the past?
I found Jessica’s character to be extremely offputting and frustrating throughout nearly the entire story. It wasn’t until the very end when she explained what her problem was and set about getting her man back that I was able to understand her. I still didn’t like her but at least I could see where she was coming from. Matthew, on the other hand, I adored. He was
“one of those sneak-up-on-you alphas–all charm and charisma, so you barely noticed that you were doing exactly what he wanted, giving him whatever he wanted…and all because of that sexy smile.”
If he had been paired with an equally likable heroine, I would have been able to rate this 4 stars, easily. Unfortunately, I just could not get around Jessica’s annoying behavior. Aside from her, though, I mostly enjoyed this sweet holiday story.