USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday’s hilarious prequel to her acclaimed Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series!Jay Smith likes to be in control. His every choice, every move, is made with his carefully planned future in mind. Sure, some people think that’s boring. But Jay knows who he is, and he makes no apologies for it. So when the lobby in his accounting firm needs a makeover, Jay takes … needs a makeover, Jay takes charge—and quickly determines he needs a designer. What he does not need is a woman who tempts him to break all his long-held rules.
Elise Maxwell needs this job. After cutting off her overbearing, old-money family, she’s determined to establish a successful design business—all on her own. Independent for the first time in her life, Elise isn’t looking for a boyfriend. She certainly doesn’t want someone telling her what to do.
Until she meets Jay…
Praise for the Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series:
“The perfect rom-com.” –Refinery29 on One and Only
“A summer read more satisfying than a poolside popsicle.” –Entertainment Weekly on It Takes Two
“Romantic comedy at its best.” –The Washington Post on It Takes Two
“Witty, sexy and wonderfully entertaining.” –USA Today, Happy Ever After on It Takes Two
The Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series:
0.5 – Once Upon a Bride
1 – One and Only
2 – It Takes Two
2.5 – Merrily Ever After
3 – Three Little Words
more
This is a novella, so not much time for story/character development, but Ms. Holiday does a great job in the time she has. The main reason I didn’t give this 5-stars was that I felt the ending was a bit too pat, and would have liked more resolution to the family-related aspects of the story. But as noted, there wasn’t much time for that. Still, a sentence or two to wrap that up would have helped.
Great to see two people get to know each other before sex even though it’s under artificial circumstances it works. Great banter
I actually really enjoyed this novella, and my first glimpse at this author’s writing. I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars.
Elise was a good character overall, and I also liked Jay a lot too. I thought they were a good match, and the progression of their relationship felt natural. We didn’t see a ton of other characters since this was so short, but I enjoyed meeting Elise’s friends, and learning about Jay’s past.
Novellas are either a love, or hate, it thing for me. For a romance to feel well-rounded/fleshed out in such a short amount of pages, it takes a lot of skill. And I thought Jenny did a great job. It took me a little bit to get used to her style of writing (I wasn’t 100% sold on it in the beginning), but I ended up liking it. It was pretty quirky, but in a good way.
I can’t wait to start on the official series now that I have the prequel done. I checked the summary for the first book right after finishing this, and I’m so ready for this pairing!
Love this book!
I loved the slow burn aspect of this novella. Jay and Elise had an instant attraction but they let that attraction simmer in favor of friendship and working relationship. This resulted in the most delicious and electric coming together between them, and I loved every minute of it. There is just something really special about the quiet nerd who really brings it in the bedroom, they are my favorite kind of heroes.
I also love that they had similar ideas of what they wanted out of a relationship and their future and how that was just the icing on the cake and not the reason they worked so well together. While their relationship developed pretty quickly, I appreciate that they really took the time to get to know each other and how each step they took getting together was well thought out and carefully navigated.
Favorite Quotes:
Most of the time when guys did not look like their picture, it went in the opposite direction. Like when a guy’s Tinder profile showed him shirtless holding up a fish and you thought, Well, maybe I can excuse the stupid fish because look at those arms! … But then you met him in person, and it turned out that those arms were from six years and two gym memberships ago.
That was another cool thing about Jay. He could shift so effortlessly between filthy and funny.
In keeping with the animal metaphor, he felt like some kind of primitive ape beating its chest, pointing at his mate and claiming her. Mine.
She suspected he could do more for her with the crook of a finger than other men could with their full arsenals.
My Review:
I am as infatuated with this cleverly amusing, smartly written, and sexy series as well as the enticing and endearing characters that inhabit it. This delightfully entertaining novella was a quick and easy read, laced with witty levity, irreverent humor, and insightful and perceptive observations. I enjoyed uncovering the beginnings of Jay and Elise, as their story provides the foundation for the rest of the series being that Elise is the bride and her friends are the badly behaving bridesmaids. Elise and Jay’s attraction was immediate, primal, and inconvenient; yet quickly developed from a working relationship into an easy friendship and although each was yearning for considerably more, Jay kept the brakes engaged until their project was complete. The holding pattern was leaning towards an extended and agonizing tease and weakening his resolve, but well worth the frustration as their sexual chemistry went nuclear once detonated.
Most of the time when guys did not look like their picture, it went in the opposite direction. Like when a guy’s Tinder profile showed him shirtless holding up a fish and you thought, Well, maybe I can excuse the stupid fish because look at those arms! … But then you met him in person, and it turned out that those arms were from six years and two gym memberships ago.
That was another cool thing about Jay. He could shift so effortlessly between filthy and funny.
In keeping with the animal metaphor, he felt like some kind of primitive ape beating its chest, pointing at his mate and claiming her. Mine.
She suspected he could do more for her with the crook of a finger than other men could with their full arsenals.
My Review:
I am as infatuated with this cleverly amusing, smartly written, and sexy series as well as the enticing and endearing characters that inhabit it. This delightfully entertaining novella was a quick and easy read, laced with witty levity, irreverent humor, and insightful and perceptive observations. I enjoyed uncovering the beginnings of Jay and Elise, as their story provides the foundation for the rest of the series being that Elise is the bride and her friends are the badly behaving bridesmaids. Elise and Jay’s attraction was immediate, primal, and inconvenient; yet quickly developed from a working relationship into an easy friendship and although each was yearning for considerably more, Jay kept the brakes engaged until their project was complete. The holding pattern was leaning towards an extended and agonizing tease and weakening his resolve, but well worth the frustration as their sexual chemistry went nuclear once detonated.