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…
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What a fun and sweet story! A charming romance.
Totally unbelievable–couldn’t finish the book–no one could be that gullible
Just finished reading this at the beach. Such a fun book!
A cute funny story about two twins that change places. This a perfect ad on my vacation.
Enjoyed this even though at times the circumstances seemed improbable.
A story about a twin trying to help her sister out. Only to get drawn further can the rabbit hole Each day a little deeper. How can this end without people getting hurt? Brent doesn’t deserve this. Nor does his family
Loved the characters! Although there are many versions of this plot, the author brings such wonderful characters and events it was a wonderful read.
I’m delighted Hope got her happily ever after. That Brent realized she truly loved him. It was an inspirational story.
I hate to leave bad reviews, but this just wasn’t something I could get behind. I knew going in that it was going to be a twin swap story, what I didn’t realize was it was going to be not funny, but a whole lot of cringe inducing. Hope trades places with her self absorbed sister who doesn’t have time to do the “family stuff” leading up to her wedding. I thought okay, this will last for a day, 2 tops, then all will be revealed and it won’t be so bad. Nope, not even close! It’s bad enough that this goes on all the way THROUGH THE WEDDING and wedding night, but it only stops when Jackie is getting ready to go on her honeymoon! I can’t root for a couple like this. Brent has no idea that he’s developing feelings for his future sister-in-law, but Hope KNOWS it’s her sister’s fiancé, and falls head over heels anyway. Although I wasn’t a fan of this story, I would be willing to read this author again.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
THE DUPLICATE BRIDE by Ginny Baird is the story of Hope and Jackie Webb, identical twins and the upcoming wedding of Jackie to Brent Albright.
The twins are so alike that only a very few can tell them apart. Even their mother has to study the size of their eyes to tell them apart. So when Jackie, a very well sought after wedding planner, has multiply fires to put out in a big upcoming wedding, she turns to her sister to stand in for her for her own pre-wedding events the last few days before her big day making it possible for her to be in two places at once.
Hope, a school teacher out for the summer, at first was shocked by her sister’s request, but eventually agrees to go in her place. However, only if she can be honest with the further in-laws about who she is and why she’s there. On arrival, she’s met by a family that welcomes her with open arms – all except for Grandmother Margaret. Before she can explain that she’s not Jackie and why she’s there and after getting the “look” and attitude from Brent’s grandmother, she comes to the conclusion that she might do better to help her sister by letting them think she is Jackie and try to smooth the way for her sister into her soon to be new family. After all, it’s just for a day or two.
After trying hard not to make eye contact with her mother, whose also at the festivities, it’s not long before the gig is up. When confronted by her mother, Hope explains about Grandmother Margaret and why she’s doing the switch to help her sister. After witnessing the “look” and attitude herself, she agrees not to blow the whistle on who Hope really is all the while warning about the bomb that will explode if she is found out.
Problems continue to arise in Jackie’s planning of the client’s wedding lengthening the time frame of Hope pretending to be Jackie. What started out to be just a day or two, ends up being much, much more.
Shockingly, Hope finds out from Brent that the marriage is more one of convenience than love. How could her sister not have told her this and why in the world would her sister marry if not for love?
While spending time with Brent and his caring family, Hope starts to wish it really was her joining their family. She begins to have feelings for Brent. Since he is her sister’s fiancé, those feeling are VERY wrong. When those feelings continue to grow, she knows she must place her feeling to the side and wish the couple much happiness. However, a girl can dream can’t she?
Can Hope carry out the switch deception without being caught? When Brent really falls for his “fiancé”, how will Hope handle knowing he cares for her as she does him? Will Jackie, the wedding planner, actually miss her own wedding? Who will actually marry Brent? Will the truth come out? If so, when? Will it affect the sister’s love for each other? Can love see its way through deceit? Will true love triumph?
Ginny Baird writes a wonderful romance story with many stumbling block placed in the way of the happily ever after. These blocks are sometimes touching, often seeming impossible to cross and even at times comical. She takes you down the marriage aisle in a very different way while making it all seem to make perfect sense.
THE DUPLICATE BRIDE was a delightful romance to read. It reminds me of the saying “Love will find a way”. The journey to that love was a story that kept my interest up while wishing for a happily ever after for everyone. I wasn’t disappointed! Along the way I enjoyed the twists and turns to the walk down the aisle and even after, making it a most wonderful read. I recommend this book to anyone that loves reading a well-written romance that’s different and exciting.
The trope is twins swap but in this case, the exchange is very dangerous. Jackie Webb is a wedding planner and at the moment is involved in the wedding from hell. To such an extent that she can’t get away to attend the week-long activities of her own wedding! So she convinces her identical twin sister to swap places with her in the events leading to her wedding.
Poor Hope tries to get out of her sister’s scheme but fails. Then she gets to the groom’s family summer estate in Blue Hill, Maine. There Hope is brought into the family and falls in love with all of them. Coming from an unstable childhood, she enjoys the warmth of a big family, she’s enchanted with Brett’s family and eventually, she’s enchanted with the groom himself.
As things get complicated and Jackie keeps postponing her arrival, everything gets more and more complicated because her feelings start to get involved, with Brett and his family, and the deceit starts to weigh heavily on her.
Likewise, Brent is initially confused by this “new version” of Jackie. This fiancée loves carbs, hates mornings, is warm and laid back. The Jackie he knew was driven, a morning person, athletic and had a no carbs diet. Even so, he enjoyed and kept getting increasingly attached to this version of Jackie.
Initially, the book was a little humorous as Hope kept getting into scrapes, trying to fit in as Jackie. Then we get into angsty space as Hope gets more conflicted and Brent tries to get “cozy” with his fiancée.
The book was entertaining and the characters charming. I kept cringing every time Jackie called and postponed her arrival and eventually I started being irritated by her. I found Jackie selfish and uncaring about her twin’s ordeal; Hope is soft and kind, unable to say no to her sister. Jackie and Brent were planning a convenience marriage but Hope didn’t know and was blindsided with the information. I saw Jackie as a social climber and using her twin sister without compunction.
Their mother is a little zany and best friend Meredith colorful enough to be interesting. Brent’s family is just lovely, all that a loving family should be. I loved the family times and poor Hope’s turmoil. In spite of all the angst, it was a lovely romantic book, even though I had problems with how fast the deception was fixed and everyone was so lovey-lovey again, especially Jackie and Hope.
I was really looking forward to reading this book, but unfortunately, it ended up being a pretty big disappointment for me. Based on the synopsis, I was expecting a lighthearted rom-com; instead, there was so much unnecessary and unrealistic drama and angst that I almost couldn’t finish it.
I think my biggest problem was with the book’s female lead character, Hope. At first, I kind of felt bad for her because it seemed as if her twin sister, Jackie, was taking advantage of her good nature and protective instincts to push her to deceive Jackie’s fiance, Brent, and his family. As the story progressed, however, I became more and more frustrated with Hope’s refusal to put an end to all of the lies. Brent and his family came across as good people, and Hope didn’t seem to feel very guilty about lying to them until she got caught. That said, I found the character development in this book to be very lacking. Perhaps if I had gotten to know Hope better, I would have found it easier to like her and understand her motivations for going along with Jackie’s scheme.
My other big problem with the book was that the charade of Hope pretending to be Jackie went on for far too long, and Brent forgave Hope much too easily for everything that had happened. By the time the truth was revealed, there were only about two chapters left in the book to resolve everything, so the ending felt incredibly rushed and unsatisfying.
Finally, I have to point out one other thing because it bothered me so much while I was reading: a couple is NOT legally married just because they apply for and receive a marriage license!
Bottom line: I did not enjoy and cannot personally recommend “The Duplicate Bride,” but it may well appeal to fans of clean (kissing only) romances that feature twin switches/mistaken identity and/or marriage of convenience plots.
*Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss. All opinions expressed are my own.
A marriage of convenience; a fiancee with a sister who was her exact copy; a fiance who falls in love with the wrong sister. How much more confusing can this story get?
Hope Webb is a teacher, in Summer break, who likes to read and dream about her prince charming.
Jackie, her twin, is a workaholic wedding planner who doesn’t stop working even when her own wedding is approaching. And when the last event she prepares on the eve of her wedding starts to go wrong and she needs to stay to resolve it, she turns to her sister to do what they did in their childhood: persona change.
Hope doesn’t want to do that at all, after all, the two are already 28 years old and anything like that involves other people, and their feelings.
But as soon as Hope arrives at the fiance’s family estate, a great deal of confusion begins and it is impossible to fix the misunderstanding.
Brent Albright, the fiance, rich bachelor who proposed to Jackie for purely business reasons. His grandfather had said that he would pass the direction of Albright Enterprises if the grandson was a married man and thus responsible. Brent embraces the perfect plan, because Jackie would be perfect for him, right?
But throughout the week, with some wedding preparations still to be made, both Hope and Brent were not prepared to feel a huge connection.
However… he was engaged to Jackie and would be married in less than a week.
Until the day of the ceremony comes and…
Discover this hilarious and romantic story, with the right ingredients to fall in love.
5 stars
I have mixed emotions about this story.
While bride swapping and marriage of convenience are some of my favorite tropes, this one left a bad taste for me. The fact that Hope’s lies kept growing and growing did not endear me to her. Nor to her sister, Jackie, since she was the twin who instigated this situation. Poor Brent was so confused and understandably hurt when learning of their deception but I wished he had pushed more for an explanation when he kept finding idiosyncrasies with Hope/Jackie.
While there is a romance brewing between Hope and Brent, most of the story was taken up with Hope’s anxiety about her lies. There wasn’t even any steam to look forward to!
I received a free copy from Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.
I got this beauty in the mail and obviously spent the afternoon reading it, I mean, do you see that cover?
Twins swapping places with the hopes that no one notices? YES.
This is one of those reads that could absolutely be a hallmark movie. IT has the laughs and the swoon and I truly loved every minute of it. I loved who the HEA ended up being and I loved the high jinx of switching places. This book was entertaining and just all around a fun adventure to read.
Cute rom-com with hints of the movie “While You Were Sleeping” and with a twist
I truly enjoyed this cute and sweet romance. Not a lot of steam but it made up for that by being well-written with great characters who I wanted to meet;-) Except for maybe Jackie…
Identical twins Hope and Jackie have played the game of pretending to be one another to see if they could actually fool people. This time they are playing a much more serious game. Jackie is very involved in her own career as a Wedding Planner. Too busy to take care of her own? What happens when the pretend Jackie starts to fall for the very real Jackie’s fiancé, Brent? What happens when Brent’s family who has begun to actually like the pretend Jackie, finds out? The reader can see the train wreck coming, but will Hope and Brent reconcile this badly played game?
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book through Entangled/NetGalley and it is highly recommended for readers who love low-steam, well-written romantic comedies. Looking forward to future books about Ava and Gavin or Derrick and Meredith…hint, hint, hint! I give it a HEARTy 4.5 Stars.
The Duplicate Bride by Ginny Baird was a sweet and fun read about finding what you need when you least expect it. Hope’s twin sister, Jackie, wants her to take her place during their pre-wedding festivities. Can Hope pull it off? They are so different. Where Hope is more easy-going, Jackie is a workaholic. What she never expected was to love the family of her fiancé and now Brent notices something different about his fiancé. Something he likes. How will it all end? This was a fun and charming read.
Happy reading!
Oh boy talk about twins being mischevious yet in a funny and romantic way. We have Hope Webb, average and beautiful teacher on a break from her school kids. All she wanted was to spend her summer relaxing then comes in a hurricane her twin sister, Jackie. Boy these two and Ben was a hoot to read seeing Hope with all her lies and stopping her heart from falling for Ben was wow. Ginny Baird not only shows us two twins that are alike but man so different in every way from their personalities to well even their careers. I loved seeing how Ginny not only shows us Hope find love but also afraid because of what she has done so far. We see Hope’s artistic and crazy mother to Ben’s somewhat rich family felt like a modern day Sweet Home Alabama family wedding complete with craziness and love. Jackie, however seemed too into her business it was easy to see why she was perfect for Ben’s plans. This was a great treat to read and even though it was more of Hope we see Ben feelings things he has closed for a while now. Loved it and beautifully written by Ginny.
“I received an eBook copy from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own.”
Hope Webb has not had good luck with her love life. She is a teacher who has just finished the school year and is looking forward to a summer of rest. Her twin sister, Jackie, a wedding planner, is marrying the wealthy Brent Albright at his grandparents home in Maine. Hope will be leaving soon to attend the wedding.
Jackie calls her in a panic saying that there has been a glitch in the wedding she is handling for clients which means she will be a few days late getting to Brent’s grandparents home. She asks Hope to pretend to be her just as they did a few times when they were young. Hope does not like it but when she arrives in Maine, it is assumed that she is Jackie, even by Brent, so she decides to go along with it until her sister arrives. She is surprised to find some family members treat her with disdain and even Brent doesn’t show affection like a fiancé would. She soon learns that Brent and Jackie have planned a marriage of convenience. Who does that? As the days pass closer to the wedding, Jackie continues to have delays, but Hope and Brent get to know one another better and realize a true attraction. Hope also gains the trust and friendship of Brent’s family. Can Hope now stand aside while Jackie marries the man she has fallen in love with?
I’m conflicted about my feelings on this book. Twin swapping is a trope that has been around for awhile. Sometimes, it’s quite harmless and lasts for a very limited period of time. In this case, I felt that the more the days passed and the bigger the lies became, the more I cringed and the less I liked the twins, especially Jackie. For me, covering for a family member definitely has its limits. When a large family like the Albright family welcomes an unknown person into their lives, the last thing you want to do is hurt them. The lie lasted way too long and was stupid to begin with. Shame on a lot of people here.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This is my first book from Ginny and definitely won’t be my last. Hope and Jackie are twins and live a very different lives, she is a teacher and Jackie is a wedding planner for the riches and famous. But on Jackie’s own wedding week with Brent, she is too busy to attend the gatherings with his family in Blue Hill, Maine.
That’s when Jackie beg for Hope to pretend to be her for one day, like they used to do when younger. Although Hope firmly says no, when she gets to the state only to almost run over Brent’s mom and his a run in with his “evil” grandmother. But what was shocking for Hope was that Brent, her sister’s fiancé, thought she was the soon to be bride. Shocked she decides to pass as her sister so she can fix things for her.
What goes down from there is a lot of fun, romance and mind I say, a lot of angst. Because as Hope finds out that what her sister and Brent have is a marriage of convenience, she also finds out that she has a lot of attraction to him. So they get to know each other better and at some point I couldn’t help but cheer for them to really be together, they were so good with one another.
However, within every page Hope gets attached not only to Brent but his family as well, but although her feelings are very real, all of the time she spends with them are lies! I honestly couldn’t understand how the author would turn things around so Brent and Hope could be together, because damn, the farce was too big! And his family was sooo amazing that I was sad that all that happened.
At times I screamed a lot with the book, things like: don’t do this, tell him the truth, omg this is not going to end well!!!! I said this last one too many times to count.
But Ginny managed to work things through, with a lot of pain mind I say, but Brent and Hope had their happy ending. I hoped that we get more scenes with them finally together and their dynamics, specially with their future. This was an unusual romance, but it was worth the reading!