Saying “I do” has never been this much fun in this charming new romance from New York Times bestselling author Ginny Baird.Hope Webb can’t believe her twin sister, Jackie, is begging her to swap places and play fiancée at Jackie’s pre-wedding festivities. Sure, it’s only a business-deal sort of marriage, but Hope is a carb-loving teacher who enjoys curling up with a good book. Jackie is a … book. Jackie is a workaholic whose idea of a good time is a brisk five-mile run at the crack of dawn. The two sisters couldn’t be more opposite.
Now Hope is stuck in the middle of a warm, tight-knit family she can’t help but adore and a groom who turns out to be entirely wonderful…for her.
Hotel magnate Brent Albright knows something is off about his fiancée, but he doesn’t care. Gone is the driven woman with similar career goals, and in her place is someone warm and funny who not only charms his family but him as well. She’s doing everything she can to avoid him, but that’s probably just nerves. Two people about to wed couldn’t know each other less.
Now Brent is determined to woo his fiancée, for real this time, because the more he gets to know her, the more his sweet fiancée turns out to be entirely wonderful…for him.
And that’s when things start to get really complicated…
more
Hope and Jackie are twins.
Twin sisters switching places-yes
Marriage of convenience – yes
Wrong sister falling in love with the groom – yes
This story was wonderful, loved Hope and Brent and hated Jackie.
4 Discovering Unexpected Love Stars
* * * * Spoiler Free
We have seen movies of how twins switch and those who know them never figure it out. Now I don’t know if that is true but we who are not twins, have had a curiosity about them. I mean, there is this unique bond that is very special.
Ginny Baird took that idea as well as the marriage of convenience trope for The Duplicate Bride. Just imagine sisters who are so very different. One is career-driven, successful with it, physically active, and has an aversion to carbs. The Other is happier in her own skin, loves teaching math, is excellent at it, and never met a carb she didn’t love.
These women are complete people and have their own lives. So when Hope’s sister Jackie, the expert wedding planner for the rich and famous, begs her to pretend to be her for just one day at the week’s gatherings at her fiancée family estate, she says absolutely not. Jackie is having a huge problem with an important wedding and cannot leave on time. Jackie starts to beg.
Yes, Hope admits they did it when they were little, and yes, Jackie saved Hope’s skin back in high school but still it is a hard no. Jackie finally pulls the fiancée’s grandmother is mean card, of how she was to her making her feel like she hated her and made her feel less than.
Hope felt bad but still said nope, no can do. So Jackie finally agreed and said she would let Brent know she was not going to be there on time for the week.
Brent is nervous and kind of excited to see this wedding to take place. He crossed paths with Jackie and the two of them seemed to be on the same page at the right time of their lives. He needed to “settle down” and Jackie was as career-driven as him. In the long run, Brent felt all would fall into place.
Well as with these types of situations, nothing ever goes as planned…Hope with every intention to make it know she was Hope, not her Sister, is immediately greeted so warmly by Brent’s mother. Then the “mean Grandmother” made a very unattractive remark about Jackie actually being there.
Oh No, She Didn’t…Hope was not going to allow her to diss her sister and get away with it. Then Brent comes to the car, “sees Jackie”, and pulls her into a hug. All of the family was welcoming and the dye is cast.
Hope is stuck being Jackie for at least this day. She will be the best “Jackie” she can be to help her sister blend better and put that grandmother in the plus column and swing her to her side.
This was an engaging book with all of the inner thoughts Hope was having about Brent and Brent about Hope. We knew something was going to happen but we read fast to keep seeing what it was. Along the way, real feelings start to happen to the confusion for Hope but the thrill for Brent.
I was glued to the pages until the end wanting everything to work for the best for this unique couple. This was a little different than the usual romance and was worth my time.
A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
The Duplicate Bride is a charming contemporary romance by New York Times bestselling author Ginny Baird. One of the highlights of the story is the characters. Hope is a wonderful protagonist. Kind, sympathetic, and supportive, Hope is the opposite of her selfish, high-maintenance twin who is too busy at work to show up to her pre-wedding events.
A selfless sister, Hope swaps places the week before Jackie’s wedding to protect Jackie from in-law disapproval. This puts Hope in so many complicated situations, and though she struggles throughout the story with her deceit, her guilt, and her feelings for Brent and his family, she continually acts in the best interest of her sister.
Brent struggles with personal conflicts, as well. He deals with familial expectations and his own desires, which is why he hasn’t settled down. Brent doesn’t seem to know what he wants, especially concerning his career, and many of his choices reflect what he thinks his family wants. As he gets to know Hope (who he thinks is Jackie), he seems to become more attuned to his own needs and desires.
Brent’s family and Hope’s mother are wonderful side characters, each with defined and dynamic personalities. I love the levity that Hope’s carefree mom brings to the story and the warm, loving nature of most of Brent’s family members. Hope fits in with Brent’s family so well, unlike Jackie, and it is clear from early in the story that Hope is better suited to Brent than her sister. Plus, the chemistry between Hope and Brent is fantastic!
Hope and Brent have an instant connection, and it’s not because Hope’s pretending to be Brent’s betrothed. Brent admits he never had such strong feelings about his fiancee before. Of course, that’s not surprising considering Brent has never met Hope before, and his relationship with Jackie is more of a business transaction than a real relationship. He can tell that something is different but can pinpoint what it is. How could he guess that Jackie’s identical twin sister spent the week before the wedding pretending to be Jackie? As they spend time together, their walls come down, and their connection deepens. They are a couple that I rooted for, and I hoped that, as truths were revealed, they would find their happily ever after.
The Duplicate Bride is a quick and sweet contemporary romance that I enjoyed reading, and I look forward to reading more books by Ginny Baird in the future. Thanks so much to Entangled Publishing for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Hope Webb and her sister Jackie played the ol’ twin swap when they were kids, and they always got away with it, but this time could definitely be a true test for them. Jackie is supposed to be meeting her fiance and his family over the weekend, but her wedding planning business is having a major catastrophe that needs her attention, so she makes a call to Hope.
Hope is all for helping her sister, but this latest ask is one she is certain she does not want any part of… Jackie wants her to be a stand in for her and meet Jackie’s fiance and in-laws-to-be. They come up with a plan, one that should keep them out of trouble and give Jackie enough time to take care of her wedding planning mishap, but before the plan can really get underway it hits a little snag. One that has Hope a little closer to her new brother-in-law to be than she has ever wanted to be. It is just a matter of time before he figures things out, and when he does it is definitely not going to be be a disaster for all involved… or will it?
Duplicate Bride is a delightful romantic escape that will capture your heart and attention from the very first chapter! As soon as I read the synopsis for this one I knew I had to read it, mainly because it sounded like it would be a lot of fun to read… and boy was I right. The Webb sister’s plan was bound to hit a little snag somewhere along the line, but not where they expected it to. Hope and Jackie had the best of intentions, but suddenly unexpected attraction took hold, new feelings started to surface, and their plan didn’t go off without a hitch like Jackie thought. I loved watching this one unfold, it came with a few surprises, lots of laughs, some toe curling romance, and of course bits of drama. If you like light-hearted romances then I have no doubt you will enjoy this one, it pages are bound to have you feeling the love the whole way through! Highly recommend!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.
**I received a copy of The Duplicate Bride from Entangled Publishing and Net Galley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. My opinions stated below were not solicited in any way**
The Duplicate Bride by Ginny Baird was a quick read that I enjoyed thoroughly not so much the new found love between Brent and Hope/Jackie but the future in-laws. Grandma Margaret is very funny especially during the bachelorette party. I give the story Four solid stars it has mild romantic heat and lovely characters.
Hope Webb reluctantly agrees to switch places with her twin sister Jackie who’s have pre-wedding jitters leading up to the wedding at the end of the week. What she doesn’t know is that Brent Albright’s family thinks he’s rushing into this and of course she’s not his fiancee. What will happen when he realizes that Hope isn’t Jackie? Why does Jackie keep changing her arrival and Hope just seems to fall more each day for Brent?
A sweet warm and funny romance and I agree I’d like to see a story about Derrick and Meredith in the future.
4.5
Cute and fun
What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Twin switch
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue
I look forward to reading more from this author.
Derrick and Meredith?
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from NetGalley.
This is such a wonderful book!
I truly enjoyed reading it from the
first page to the last.
A heart-warming & moving romance with characters you cannot get enough of.
Hope’s twin sister, Jackie, is getting
married in one week. Her job is going
to delay her & asks her twin to do a
big flavor for her.
Brent, is waiting at his family’s home
in Blue Hill, Maine, for his fiance.
When Jackie (Hope) arrives, he can feel there was something different about her.
Hope tells herself it’s just a couple days.
What could go wrong!?
A DIFINITE MUST READ!!