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Dec 27, 2011

Beth rated it:

I reread this book immediately after my reread of Icing on the Cake. Laughed out loud at the "Flesh Ripper" part again, even though I knew it was coming. This read is just plain fun!

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I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of this book ever since its predecessor, The Icing on the Cake, came out. I read Icing because I knew and loved the author (Elodia Strain was in my ward at BYU) — but Engaged I read because I knew and loved Annabelle.

Fictiona More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 28, 2010

Ashley rated it:

Hmm, ditto.
292 pages; 2010 total: 15872

Oh, what a cute book! The sequel to Icing on the Cake, which I have to say I can't really remember too much about. I remember it was cute and I liked it, but as far as the rest goes... anyway. From what I do remember, I like this one better. There are some seriously funny things in here, and quite a few times I caught myself laughing out loud. Once Adalyn came up to me and looked at the page I was reading and said, "I don't More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 24, 2009

Tristi rated it:

When I reviewed Elodia Strain's breakout novel "The Icing on the Cake," I was highly entertained. But now, with the sequel "Previously Engaged," I'm absolutely delighted. Strain has taken her talent, which was considerable before, and honed it, creating a story that had me smiling all the way through.

Annabelle Pleasanton has been happily dating hunky Isaac since the end of the first book, and now it appears that he's getting ready to propose. He's been dropping More...

1 comment like

Feb 04, 2012

Laura rated it:

I am a fan of LDS "Chick Lit" to which this novel is a definite example. This book has been on my "to read" list at my local library for about three years. Finally got my hands on it.

Annabelle Pleasanton is a twenty-five year old single, LDS gal who suffered a traumatic (for her) heart break at the hands of her then boyfriend and has not really gotten past that experience to move on in her life. That said, she does have a current boyfriend who has been hinting More...

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May 04, 2010

Shelah rated it:

Previously Engaged is another Shopaholic wannabe, right down to the obsession with designer clothes and shoes. Or maybe it's Bridget Jones, with the job in publishing and the two guys-- one her boss and the other one a little less polished, but perfect for her. Whatever it is, it's not original.

Previously Engaged just has SO many little things that bugged me. Maybe it was Strain's mixing up of "your" and "you're" or her use of "I" when she should h More...

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Nov 11, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

I have been looking forward to the release of Elodia Strain's new book Previously Engaged. I really enjoyed her first book The Icing on the Cake, to which Previously is a sequel. Strain's uncle's cousin's wife's (something or other relative) lives in my ward and chose Icing as a book for our RS book club. And when I heard from the self-same relative that a sequel was on the way I knew I would be buying it.

The story line of these two books follows character Annabelle Pleasanton, a mag More...

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Apr 15, 2009

Marcia rated it:

I've been so excited to read Previously Engaged by Elodia Strain. I read Strain's debut novel, The Icing on the Cake, and have been anticipating this sequel.

I love Annabelle Pleasanton, the hilarious, quirky, always-getting-out of scrapes main character. She is dating Isaac Matthews, and she gets the feeling that he's going to propose. He asks her ring size and hints that she should get a short lease on an apartment, but Annabelle keeps waiting for it to happen. In the meantime, she More...

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Oct 11, 2009

Kathryn rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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May 03, 2010

Emily rated it:

Cute, fluffy comedy of errors, quick read. Perfect for a long cross-country flight with three young children...it could be read with very little mental exertion in small chunks without losing the thread of the storyline. Annabelle is fairly annoying sometimes, but mostly in a roll-your-eyes-and-move-on kind of way. Some of the situations she gets herself in to are just unbelievable - real people just don't act that way! - but I guess that's the "charm" the author was going for. Non More...

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Mar 20, 2009

Casey rated it:

I was disappointed with this one. It started of really good and then I don't know what happened. I got really annoyed with the main character because she kept doing things that people just don't do! The story started off funny and shocking and then part way through the book I began to feel like the author was just creating awkward situations in the story to cause more drama and make it seem funnier. The only problem was, instead of making me laugh it made me roll my eyes because again, people ju More...

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Aug 23, 2011

B rated it:

I laughed out loud at times. The main character, Annabelle sometimes reminded me of the main character from the book

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #1)

. Even though these books are vastly different genres the main characters are similar when they are trying so hard to be cool and confident for boys they make a total fool of themselves and disaster ensues.

I dislike the plot idea where a boy will not trust the love of his life when she tells him some other girl is sabotaging their relationship and because said home-wre More...

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Aug 03, 2009

Darla rated it:

(Genre: LDS romance) I probably shouldn't write a review since I had to speed read (i.e. cheating by skim reading) the last half of this book in order to return it on time to the library. I have been really busy and just couldn't get through it fast enough. :) I really enjoyed Strain's first book, "The Icing on the Cake" and this is a sequel to that story. Annabelle is back and "almost" engaged when things start to get crazy in her life with the return of her former boyfriend More...

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Jan 12, 2012

Lori rated it:

I can't decided if I like the sequel better than the first "Icing on the Cake." I think I laughed out loud on this one more if that is even possible. The story of Isaac and Annabelle continues as her best friend Carrie gets married and who should Annabelle run into at the wedding? Her first true love Alex. Yes the one that she had nightmare flashbacks about in the first book, the one that left her standing on Prom night, alone playing crochet with her parents. You get the full sto More...

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Jul 06, 2009

Margo rated it:

What a cute and funny book! The author's style of writing was VERY different than what I am used to - but it was a great book.

It was about a girl who desperately wanted to be engaged and then she "accidentally" won a $50,000 wedding. YAY - but she didn't have a fiance. Oops. Then, as fate would have it, she had TWO guys who wanted to marry her. Who does she choose? Who is the right one? And will she have the perfect wedding?

Totally fun read. My daughter read it More...

3 comments like

Mar 16, 2009

Michelle rated it:

Sequel to Icing on the Cake , Previously Engaged picks up Annabelle's story a few months later, expecting a proposal. She wins a "dream wedding" before she has a chance to say yes, but many things and people get in the way.
As with many sequels this book doesn't quite compare to the first, it is a little cheesy (even more than the first book) and slow in a few parts, but it holds your attention and has a good message. I couldn't put it down or stop cringing at the crazy situa More...

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Aug 05, 2009

Kimberly rated it:

The word that comes to mind after reading this book is "delight." I don't know when I was last so thoroughly entertained, though I'm sure my family would complain given the chance due to my many load bursts of laughter and/or cackling. Though light-hearted and humorous this book has some surprising elements of depth that I found thought-provoking. And while the main character seemed chronically prone to embarrassing situations, I found myself wanting to be like her in certain respec More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 19, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I LOVED Elodia Strain's first book, The Icing on the Cake and went so far as to be inspired to write my own pink notes in a journal I won when her book was released. When I saw this one sitting on the shelf at the local LDS bookstore, I had to have it!

I admit, it's an LDS novel, but it's not quite the same old character. Annabelle is, dare I say, a complete dork, accident-prone but so much fun to read about, like an LDS version of Stephanie Plum. A lot of the things she says or does More...

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Jun 25, 2011

Danielle rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Apr 19, 2010

Kathy rated it:

As soon as I finished Icing on the Cake last week I jumped on the internet and ordered Previously Engaged. I was so excited when it arrived today and quickly curled up in my favorite reading spot eager to see what happens with Annabelle and Isaac in this installment. Annabelle is just the same: smart, caring, hardworking girl who tends to get in embarrassing situations. There were a few times I caught myself laughing and I admit I loved reading about Annabelle and her misadventures. I do really More...

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Mar 19, 2009

Shanda rated it:

Funny & a bit "quippy," I really enjoyed Previously Engaged. I liked both the hero & heroine, as well as the path the story took. I put the book down when I had to but couldn't wait to pick it back up again. My only gripe was that, while mostly entertaining, after a while the "I did this... well, actually this.... ok, really this" honesty became a bit repetitive, but I got past it and it wasn't enough to greatly affect how much I enjoyed the book. I definitely recommend Previ

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Feb 27, 2010

Kelsy rated it:

A good, clean romance. Not a lot of depth, but a very fun read. The protagonist is likeable and really quirky at the same time, often doing absolutely rediculous things that the average person only breifly thinks about doing--which made me like her even more. I always wondered what life would be like if I just acted on all my instincts without thinking first. Now, I can sort of vizualize it. This is a good book to read when you need to smile and laugh at human nature.

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Jun 26, 2009

Brenda rated it:

A sweet, touching love story filled with humor and sentiment throughout. Annabelle had me laughing (with her, not at her) and reminded me to have a little more kindness for others, and Isaac made me remember that feeling of completely falling head over heels in love. Again I love the way the author interacts with her audience, and answers our questions just as we begin asking them ourselves. I think I'll start my own purple notes with Elodia Strain being #1!

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Apr 13, 2009

Harmony rated it:

This is the sequel to "The Icing on the Cake" - after reading her first book, I got used to her writing style and actually enjoyed the second book alot more than the first. Very cute young-adult fiction. FYI - I read these books b/c the author is the daugher-in-law of a lady in my ward at church. She asked that I read and then recommend the books to the Young Women in my ward. I thought they were an easy, entertaining read.

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Mar 03, 2010

Teresa rated it:

This book is about a girl with two love interests. She ends up with the better of the two, but really both relationships have major problems. I think the author should have been more persuasive in her explanations as to why the main character (Annabelle) chose the guy she did. And while the bad guy was bad, he wasn't really bad enough. Overall, it was a cute story but not very believable.

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Apr 12, 2010

Inspired Kathy rated it:

Food loving, bargain shopping, quirky Annabelle made this book a delightful read. This is a sequel to The Icing On The Cake. One of my children woke up at 1:00 am and I found myself wide awake so I opted to read a little more in this book in an attempt to get back to bed. At 4:00 am, still wide awake, I had finished the book. This is a fun LDS romance book I would recommend to those enjoy the LDS romance genre.

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Mar 01, 2009

Krista rated it:

I work at the publishing house of this book, and the editors recommended it to me. The sequel of Icing on the Cake, though I hadn't read it, I really enjoyed it.

Elodia Strain has such a humor about her writing. Something I normally wouldn't read - gag inducing wedding anticts - became really entertaining. I found myself chuckling a lot.

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Apr 07, 2009

Jenny rated it:

This is a sequel to her first book The Icing on the Cake. A sweet romantic story with endearing characters and twists and turns. The author is very witty and down to earth. I find myself laughing out loud throughout the book. I hated for the book to end and I hope she writes many more to keep me entertained!

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Dec 24, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

I saw this at the library and chose it because my cousin's daughter-in-law wrote it. If you liked her first book, you'll like this one. It's clean and a quick read and...that's about it. I gave it 3 stars because it's not really my kind of book, but I think it is good for what it is.

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Jul 23, 2010

Cheryl rated it:

This one is just okay for me. The girl was so materialistic she drove me crazy. She did finally turn it around for a happy ending that made a good point. I just struggled reading it to get to the last few pages that I did like. Even then, she hardly seemed to be the same girl.

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Jul 19, 2011

Katherine rated it:

This was pretty good. The plot was interesting, if not realistic. Somewhere along the way, though, I had a hard time figuring out which guy I was supposed to be rooting for. This wasn't supposed to be a mystery. I guess it wasn't my favorite, but was clean and funny.

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