A charming feel good romance perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Sarah Morgan Wedding bells are ringing and gossip is spiralling in Whispers Wood… Single mum Gloria Pavey has a bad habit of saying exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time. Determined to make a positive change she can’t say no when her best friend, Emma, asks her to take on the role of her wedding planner. The only problem? … planner. The only problem? Gloria’s co-planner – best man Seth Knightley.
Gloria is on a self-imposed man ban but pulling together the most beautiful wedding Whispers Wood has ever seen alongside gorgeous Seth is pushing her to her limits. As every interaction increases the tension between them Gloria finds herself wondering…could the happy ever after she never thought she’d have be in her future after all?
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A nice feel-good romance that will make you giggle. A really lovely read and one I would definitely read again.
3.5 bumped to 4 because…Gertrude! Stars. Eve Devon is a new author to me. Her writing style is great with plenty of wit and snark. Her characters come to life in gloriously flawed detail. The Wedding Planner is the third book in the Whispers Wood series. It’s sweet, quaint and quirky with a whole village full of adorable, meddling people. If you haven’t read the first two books, don’t worry. You won’t have any trouble following all that’s going on in Whispers Wood.
Seth and Gloria bonded in friendship over shared divorce experiences. Well, the experiences weren’t anywhere near the same, but they both ended in divorce. Gloria is trying to live down all the gossip and become a less bitter, angry person. Seth is trying to prove himself to his family and the village. Both are fighting an uphill battle. Now they’ve been asked to plan Jake and Emma’s wedding. Jake, Seth’s older brother, isn’t so sure his brother can handle it, but Emma is confident. Seth and Gloria both have a lot to prove. Turns out, a lot to prove not only to the village, family, and friends but to themselves.
This is a truly British story so grab your cuppa and settle in for a rollicking ride!
Favorite Quotes:
… that story was for another time she liked to call ‘Never’.
‘Go now,’ she said, her eyes flashing white-hot fire as she snatched the book out of his hands and held it threateningly. ‘Go before I Jason-Bourne-kill-you with this book.’
When you grew up poor it wasn’t that you didn’t believe money could bring you happiness. To be honest you weren’t interested in happiness, you were only interested in not being poor.
‘We need to cast the line,’ he said, his voice curling like smoke into her ear, tickling her ear canal and causing enough jolts of electricity so that by the time the line went in the water, she was sure the fishes would all come flying out.
‘I have two left feet.’ ‘That’s okay. I have two right ones.’
She looked down and when she saw the eyeful she was giving them all, inhaled with shock, which only made the picture worse… Gloria stared at how much of her bust was on display. ‘The only thing that’s going to fix this is scaffolding.’ With a moan of distress she reached down to try and pull the bodice of the dress upwards to cover her breasts… ‘I look like my chest is a shelf. People will be trying to leave their drinks on me.’
My Review:
This was my first time reading Ms. Devon’s work and I enjoyed her acerbic wit, engaging writing style, and uniquely quirky and compelling characters. Despite being the third book in a series, I had no difficulty following the story although I’m sure I would have enjoyed it even more had I read the first two installments as all the characters appear to have continued through. Regardless, The Wedding Planner provided an interesting character study with the evolution of Gloria, who was a caustic and acid-tongued prickly pear with a built-in “sarcasmometer” and could be rather thoughtless and proved quite difficult for me to warm up to as Gloria and I could have been related…
Gloria had been deeply scarred by her family and failed marriage, was beyond jaded and well past difficult and could toss off snarky insults and throw attitude like it was an Olympic sport – I will confess to greatly admiring her level of skill. She initially appeared selfish and hostile, yet she had a big heart that she kept under wraps, well and truly hidden, like deeply buried in the core of the earth. Once I understood her insecurity and the root of her issues, my heart began to thaw and felt less inclined to give her a good smack or two to disengage her cranium from her posterior region. Seth, on the other hand, was a total dreamboat and I was completely and fully besotted with him. He was the perfect foil for Gloria and appeared to have been blessed with the body of a god as well as the patience and insight of a saint – which would also make him the perfect match for me!
This is a third book in a series though it can be read as a stand alone.
We get cute characters, a good wholesome story. And a happily ever after.
I wish I had read the first two book in the series but I will be getting those soon.
We watch as Gloria and Seth plan a wedding for their friends. And Gloria tends to speak before she thinks. Which is so funny at times. We wonder if the wedding will go off as planned it will things go awry.
*I was given an advanced copy of this book by Net Galley in exchange for my voluntary and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*