To Have and To Hold by Lauren Layne – Review, Tour & Giveaway

 

 

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Description:
Discovering her fiance is an international con man just moments before they exchange vows devastates celebrity wedding planner Brooke Baldwin’s business—and breaks her heart. Now a pariah in Los Angeles, she seeks a fresh start in New York City and thinks she’s found it with her first bridal client, a sweet—if slightly spoiled—hotel heiress. Then she meets the uptight businessman who’s holding the purse strings.

Seth Tyler wishes he could write a blank check and be done with his sister Maya’s fancy-pants wedding. Unfortunately, micromanaging the event is his only chance at proving Maya’s fiance is a liar. Standing directly in his way is the stunning blonde wedding planner whose practiced smiles and sassy comebacks both irritate and arouse him. He needs Brooke’s help. But can he persuade a wedding planner on a comeback mission to unplan a wedding? And more importantly, how will he convince her that the wedding she should be planning… is theirs?

 

 

 

Review:

To Have and to Hold by Lauren Layne is the 1^st book in her new Wedding Belles series.   When I had read the prequel novella leading to this series, I knew I had to read this book.  I am happy to say I wasn’t wrong, as I loved To Have and To Hold.

We meet Brooke Baldwin, our heroine, as she arrives in New York to begin her new job as a wedding planner for The Wedding Belles.  Brooke is also running away from the her Los Angeles life, where her fiancée was arrested at the altar of her own wedding.   It seems he wasn’t the man she thought he was, as he was a con man involved in a ponzi scheme.  Though she is will happily help women plan their weddings, Brooke will not allow herself to trust or fall for any man.

Enter Seth Tyler, a wealthy hotel magnate, who decides to join his sister and her fiancée when they meet with Brooke to begin to plan the wedding.   Seth does not trust Maya’s  (his sister) fiancée, and plans to be there every step of the way, as he feels she is his responsibility after the loss of their father months ago.   Seth was early for the meeting, and Brooke at first thinks he is the groom, and is somewhat mortified that she has an immediate attraction to him.  Of course, by the time the meeting is over, both Seth and Brooke do not like each other, as they constantly trade barbs.

What follows is a romance between two people who ignore their chemistry, and have no intentions of every getting into any serious relationships.   Brooke is independent, strong, and vulnerable; Seth is used to being totally in control and doing things his way.  They clashed early on, but neither one of them can stop thinking about each other.   Seth will get Brooke to help him keep an eye on things with his sister  and report back to him, and in doing so, will try to win her over.  They were really great together, lots of fun with their bantering, and in time, their sexual chemistry was hot.  There was also the concern if Seth be able to discover if Maya’s fiancée was true blue, and if Brooke can come to terms with the man who left her at the altar. 

I loved meeting the ladies of The Wedding Belles, and how quickly Brooke fit in.  They were also very supportive to her, making her life easier in her move to New York.  It is always fun to watch the prospective brides make decisions of gown, hall, etc.  I also loved the other secondary characters of this story, especially Maya and Grant. 

Lauren Layne has written a fabulous story, with a wonderful couple, great secondary characters and a romance that had us rooting hard for.  I loved the premise of Wedding Belles, and look forward to the other ladies finding the man of their dreams.   Lauren Layne is now being added to my list of authors that are automatic reads.  I suggest you read To Have and to Hold.  You won’t be sorry, as  I enjoyed it so much, I read it in one day, since I could not put it down.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

Lauren Layne is the USA Today bestselling author of the Sex, Love, and Stiletto contemporary romances and the all-new Pocket Books series The Wedding Belles. She lives in New York with her husband and spoiled Pomeranian. Visit laurenlayne.com, meet the author on Facebook at LaurenLayneAuthor, or follow her on Twitter @_LaurenLayne.

 

 

We are excited to do a Wedding Belles Bouquet Giveaway to celebrate the publication of the first in the series, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD. The Wedding Belles Bouquet will include To Have and to Hold (7/26), For Better or Worse (8/30), and To Love and to Cherish (10/18). You can visit all sites on the blog tour to enter to win the Wedding Belles Bouquets – but keep in mind you can only win once! U.S. only. Each winner will receive one copy of each book during the week of its publication date.

1. If you have not previously registered, please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

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3. LIKE Lauren Layne  on Facebook

4. Giveaway open US only

5. Giveaway runs from July 26 to July 30, 2016

 

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