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Wedding of the Year! #1
The Bride Said Never!
Book by Marton, Sandra
288 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1997
22 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Marton
581 books542 followersI've been a writer, one way or another, all my life. Before I could read, I made up poems and my mom wrote them down for me. In elementary school, my teachers almost always let me write poems or stories instead of requiring me to do art projects. Always, I dreamed of becoming a published writer...and that dream came true! I write novels about sexy, powerful men and independent-minded women, and what happens when they find each other and fall in love. My books are sexy and romantic, and they've very often full of romantic suspense. I write the kinds of books I love to read, and I hope that makes my readers happy.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 15, 2019
Re The Bride Said Never! - Sandra Marton gets her shot to try and bust the Exclamation in the Title rule with her first book in her Wedding of the Year! trilogy.
The theme of these three books are that a young, wealthy couple are getting married. The bride is this h's niece and the groom is former ward of this book's H. The next two couples feature the divorced parents of the bride and a close friend of this book's h.
The H is a Greek Nematode Bully Gadzillionaire that was informally adopted by a Greek islander after he caught him trying to pickpocket him as a ten year old.
The H's parent's abandoned him to the streets and the H was surviving by stealing when the Greek islander took him home, found an American couple to put the H through school and the H won a scholarship to the Ivy League.
The H soon became really rich after that and the groom's father became one of his best friends, before he died and left the H guardianship of his son. The H is standing at the altar with his former ward when the book opens.
He is a divorced 38 yr old, made a very bad choice of wives when he was young and did his best to talk his 21 yr old former ward out of marrying so young - as did the bride's parents.
However young love will have it's way and the H is waiting for the marriage ceremony to be finished, thinking highly cynical marriage and love thoughts, when the most beautiful woman the H has seen in yonks manages to enter the church with a big bang.
Everyone is riveted to the flustered supermodel walking in, particularly since she arrived at the bit where the minister asks if anyone has a reason for the couple not to be wed.
Since the lovely lady has none, is the bride's aunt and was just running late when the wind caught the church doors, she slips into a seat and the ceremony carries on.
However the former supermodel h noticed the H undressing her with his eyeballs and she recently ended a year long live in relationship when she found her wealthy partner cheating on her. The H reminds the h entirely too much of her former flame, so she is staring daggers back.
Also the H is there with his latest arm candy, a blonde blow up doll he has been shagging for six months, but the H is ready to dump her because she is starting to be really demanding. The h and H have some roofie kisses and verbal battles after the ceremony and during the reception.
Both of them are feeling the full force of the Treacherous Body Syndrome Lurve Force Mojo, but it isn't until a few days later that the unencumbered by the blonde doll H shows up at the h's NYC flat and she gets coerced into going out with him by her pimp mama BFF.
The date ends in a Purple Passion moment and true to HPlandia tradition, the h finds out about the stork visit on the same day that the H sees her in the street. The h almost faints when she sees the H and he quickly figures out from her nausea that she is preggers.
He bullies her into marriage, then takes her to his isolated on house on the Greek Island where his former mentor Greek islander lives. The two gradually get closer together, but it is a big bickerfest for a long while.
The h and h get incredibly jealous over each other's pasts and they have a fight, then the H gets a call that his former blow up doll is filing a breach of promise law suite and saying that the H's new wife is a gold digger in the tabloids.
The H rushes off to NYC without saying anything to the h and because the h thinks his leaving is her fault, she chases after him to tell him she loves him. When she gets to the H's place in New York, she walks in to find the H in a towel and his semi-dressed former mistress hanging all over him while he is trying to toss her out.
We get a jump of two months and the h's sister and her friend are all trying to pimp her out to the H again, telling her to give him a second chance in the non-cheating circumstances.
The h is too busy having her mopey moment to heed them and we learn that the H isn't fairing much better. He is on his Greek island and beating up a boulder that he wants to put a flower bed under.
(In a nice bit of alliteration, the H has been pounding on this boulder for years, like beating his head against a wall, trying to be able to move forward on planning his garden. He hasn't succeeded yet, but still he keeps on trying.)
The wise Greek islander mentor gives the H a lecture about letting the h divorce him when he loves her. The H is inspired to make one last plea to the h on his own behalf. He had already explained about the OW making a play when she unexpectedly snuck into his flat several times to the h, but she did not want to hear it.
So the H goes to NYC and gets the h's friends to give them her spare key. He walks into the h's flat, declares he loves the h and will love her forever and the h decides to declare her true love back.
We all go back to the H's island for a traditional Greek wedding. The h and H are happy and in love and waiting for the stork's arrival when the H finally manages to break up the boulder.
Love has changed his life and destroyed his brick walls, so he and the h can now move forward together for the big HP HEA.
This one was well done, but the bickering and the H's arrogance was a bit too overblown for the first 75% of the book. The H does come around believably in the end and the boulder breaking was a very nice touch.
The h was a bit too cynical for the typical HP h and she became just a bit too doormatish before the end, but overall this is a very well crafted marrying for the baby's sake relationship and worth the time spent with this HP outing.
The theme of these three books are that a young, wealthy couple are getting married. The bride is this h's niece and the groom is former ward of this book's H. The next two couples feature the divorced parents of the bride and a close friend of this book's h.
The H is a Greek Nematode Bully Gadzillionaire that was informally adopted by a Greek islander after he caught him trying to pickpocket him as a ten year old.
The H's parent's abandoned him to the streets and the H was surviving by stealing when the Greek islander took him home, found an American couple to put the H through school and the H won a scholarship to the Ivy League.
The H soon became really rich after that and the groom's father became one of his best friends, before he died and left the H guardianship of his son. The H is standing at the altar with his former ward when the book opens.
He is a divorced 38 yr old, made a very bad choice of wives when he was young and did his best to talk his 21 yr old former ward out of marrying so young - as did the bride's parents.
However young love will have it's way and the H is waiting for the marriage ceremony to be finished, thinking highly cynical marriage and love thoughts, when the most beautiful woman the H has seen in yonks manages to enter the church with a big bang.
Everyone is riveted to the flustered supermodel walking in, particularly since she arrived at the bit where the minister asks if anyone has a reason for the couple not to be wed.
Since the lovely lady has none, is the bride's aunt and was just running late when the wind caught the church doors, she slips into a seat and the ceremony carries on.
However the former supermodel h noticed the H undressing her with his eyeballs and she recently ended a year long live in relationship when she found her wealthy partner cheating on her. The H reminds the h entirely too much of her former flame, so she is staring daggers back.
Also the H is there with his latest arm candy, a blonde blow up doll he has been shagging for six months, but the H is ready to dump her because she is starting to be really demanding. The h and H have some roofie kisses and verbal battles after the ceremony and during the reception.
Both of them are feeling the full force of the Treacherous Body Syndrome Lurve Force Mojo, but it isn't until a few days later that the unencumbered by the blonde doll H shows up at the h's NYC flat and she gets coerced into going out with him by her pimp mama BFF.
The date ends in a Purple Passion moment and true to HPlandia tradition, the h finds out about the stork visit on the same day that the H sees her in the street. The h almost faints when she sees the H and he quickly figures out from her nausea that she is preggers.
He bullies her into marriage, then takes her to his isolated on house on the Greek Island where his former mentor Greek islander lives. The two gradually get closer together, but it is a big bickerfest for a long while.
The h and h get incredibly jealous over each other's pasts and they have a fight, then the H gets a call that his former blow up doll is filing a breach of promise law suite and saying that the H's new wife is a gold digger in the tabloids.
The H rushes off to NYC without saying anything to the h and because the h thinks his leaving is her fault, she chases after him to tell him she loves him. When she gets to the H's place in New York, she walks in to find the H in a towel and his semi-dressed former mistress hanging all over him while he is trying to toss her out.
We get a jump of two months and the h's sister and her friend are all trying to pimp her out to the H again, telling her to give him a second chance in the non-cheating circumstances.
The h is too busy having her mopey moment to heed them and we learn that the H isn't fairing much better. He is on his Greek island and beating up a boulder that he wants to put a flower bed under.
(In a nice bit of alliteration, the H has been pounding on this boulder for years, like beating his head against a wall, trying to be able to move forward on planning his garden. He hasn't succeeded yet, but still he keeps on trying.)
The wise Greek islander mentor gives the H a lecture about letting the h divorce him when he loves her. The H is inspired to make one last plea to the h on his own behalf. He had already explained about the OW making a play when she unexpectedly snuck into his flat several times to the h, but she did not want to hear it.
So the H goes to NYC and gets the h's friends to give them her spare key. He walks into the h's flat, declares he loves the h and will love her forever and the h decides to declare her true love back.
We all go back to the H's island for a traditional Greek wedding. The h and H are happy and in love and waiting for the stork's arrival when the H finally manages to break up the boulder.
Love has changed his life and destroyed his brick walls, so he and the h can now move forward together for the big HP HEA.
This one was well done, but the bickering and the H's arrogance was a bit too overblown for the first 75% of the book. The H does come around believably in the end and the boulder breaking was a very nice touch.
The h was a bit too cynical for the typical HP h and she became just a bit too doormatish before the end, but overall this is a very well crafted marrying for the baby's sake relationship and worth the time spent with this HP outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2019
Heroine was so bitchy and vain and hateful!
February 26, 2019
Heroine was a bit much to take in this one-night-stand-leads-to-pregnancy-and-marriage. Hero was a playboy. Heroine was hurt by an earlier betrayal - but she took it a bit far for my liking.
The OW in this one was crazy and didn't give up until the heroine caught the H with her in a compromising position. Since the heroine and OW didn't have any scenes together, and the heroine really didn't know about her, her character was a wasted angst opportunity . She was just a pain in the neck to the hero when the heroine was already being a pain in the neck.
I liked the hero's Greek island scenes where the hero took a sledgehammer to a boulder every time he was upset. Spoiler: by the end of the story, boulder had finally disintegrated. Hero worked hard for his HEA.
Boogenhagen has all the details in her excellent review.
The OW in this one was crazy and didn't give up until the heroine caught the H with her in a compromising position. Since the heroine and OW didn't have any scenes together, and the heroine really didn't know about her, her character was a wasted angst opportunity . She was just a pain in the neck to the hero when the heroine was already being a pain in the neck.
I liked the hero's Greek island scenes where the hero took a sledgehammer to a boulder every time he was upset. Spoiler: by the end of the story, boulder had finally disintegrated. Hero worked hard for his HEA.
Boogenhagen has all the details in her excellent review.
August 10, 2017
I truly felt this read was at least twenty years old. Had hoped for a bit of an update with this re-release.
The story-line is not the type that appeals to me and there was just too much time spent apart near the end. The male was super alpha and did not believe in love and or marriage. The heroine seemed to lack most all common sense and it became a drudgery to complete the book.
This was just not my cuppa tea.
The story-line is not the type that appeals to me and there was just too much time spent apart near the end. The male was super alpha and did not believe in love and or marriage. The heroine seemed to lack most all common sense and it became a drudgery to complete the book.
This was just not my cuppa tea.
January 28, 2026
read this book for nostalgia sake and it did not disappoint. a short read that reminded me of why I love Romance novels to begin with, it always works out in the end. That being said, don't go in expecting a plot, there isn't one. Still, its totally worth the read!
May 17, 2016
2008 Review: 3.5/3.75 stars This was a nice fast read. I was cleaning out my closet full of HP novels that I've accumulated thanks to library sales, or giving them out for free when I came across this book. The heroine is a bit older here 32 years old (still gorgeous though since she's a model 0_0) and I think the hero is 38 if Im not mistaken, and yeah, he's supposed to be gorgeous too haha. I'm a pretty formulaic person so I normally like the old HP novels sometimes where the heroine is a virgin, haha and all that jazz. Obviously this heroine is not buts its cool =P Anyhow, the brief synopsis is the main characters meet at a wedding, are attracted to each other and later on have a one night stand which results in a pregnancy and later an unwanted wedding on the bride's side - hence the title. That's the basic plotline. They start to fall in love after they get married, but before they can fully commit themselves, you know someone's got to throw a curveball at them first, haha! Story might sound pretty cheesy I guess but the story was fast paced and kept me entertained ~_~ I read it in one sitting so yeah... I would recommend this book. I think I will place it in my keeper shelf.
June 8, 2021
Wed for the tycoon’s baby!
Renowned bachelor Damian wasn’t looking for commitment, and Laurel didn’t date arrogant men, but when they collide as guests at the Wedding of the Year, their mutual red-hot attraction is undeniable.
Yet they are left with more than just sensual memories of their night together and, when Damian discovers Laurel is carrying his child, he demands she marry him! Laurel might have said “I do” for the sake of her baby, but it will take more than their potent passion to make this convenient marriage real…
Book one in The Wedding of the Year trilogy
Originally published in 1997 as The Bride Said Never!
Renowned bachelor Damian wasn’t looking for commitment, and Laurel didn’t date arrogant men, but when they collide as guests at the Wedding of the Year, their mutual red-hot attraction is undeniable.
Yet they are left with more than just sensual memories of their night together and, when Damian discovers Laurel is carrying his child, he demands she marry him! Laurel might have said “I do” for the sake of her baby, but it will take more than their potent passion to make this convenient marriage real…
Book one in The Wedding of the Year trilogy
Originally published in 1997 as The Bride Said Never!
July 23, 2017
I have always loved this book. A great story beautifully written. The only part that left me perplexed was Damian's blackmail when he discovers Laurel is pregnant: he truly deserves to be called a SOB there!
July 2, 2021
Meh - she was too bitchy to him for most of the book!
June 3, 2024
Hated it.
Vapid model vows never to become involved with shitty playboy men ever again - immediately spreads her legs for a shitty playboy because his kiss is masterful or something. Lots of lusting and sex looks and throbbing groins follows, she keeps insisting that she'll never do X, Y or Z and then he kisses her and she melts in her knickers and agrees to anything. Makes me rage because I LOATHE these women in romances who have zero brains, zero boundaries, zero fucking shame, zero self respect but instead is entirely an excess of wet pussy.
The hero is your typical Greek playboy zillionaire who vows never to marry because yadda yadda. This cardboard cut-out character is so overdone in romance as to be a fucking joke. I yawn in his face and say booooring.
I skipped hard, it was predictable and honestly the exact same story I've read before elsewhere.
Vapid model vows never to become involved with shitty playboy men ever again - immediately spreads her legs for a shitty playboy because his kiss is masterful or something. Lots of lusting and sex looks and throbbing groins follows, she keeps insisting that she'll never do X, Y or Z and then he kisses her and she melts in her knickers and agrees to anything. Makes me rage because I LOATHE these women in romances who have zero brains, zero boundaries, zero fucking shame, zero self respect but instead is entirely an excess of wet pussy.
The hero is your typical Greek playboy zillionaire who vows never to marry because yadda yadda. This cardboard cut-out character is so overdone in romance as to be a fucking joke. I yawn in his face and say booooring.
I skipped hard, it was predictable and honestly the exact same story I've read before elsewhere.
July 17, 2021
Lovely story with lots of emotion.
May 16, 2022
It was okay…
Nothing wrong with it - it went by the trope recipe.
But it was also not something special.
Nothing wrong with it - it went by the trope recipe.
But it was also not something special.
April 23, 2018
I'm rating this as a trashy romance novel (I mean that in a loving way, not as an insult, so please don't be offended), not compared to the other books I read, because then it would probably be 1.5 or 2 stars.
I went into this book expecting the usual cat and mouse, some misunderstandings (a little is ok, but a lot is really annoying), some resistance from the female lead and by the middle or middle end she admits that she's in love with him and gives in, skipping 9 months to when the baby is born at the end.
What I got was a female lead who should have been and was supposed to be a smart, strong, independent female lead, and she started out that way, but later on, she just seemed really annoying and stupid. I know that in romance novels it's will they won't they for part of the story, but this just took too long (she was in denial for far too long, just admit already instead of lying to yourself and to us a million times). Damian, the almost usual alpha male lead hates marriage and doesn't believe in it, but the only thing we find out is that he was married once and it didn't work out, that's not enough for me to accept why someone would hate marriage so much. The book should have ended at chapter 10 (different than what actually happened in chapter 10) and then an epilogue where they have their kid, of course the real ending is kind of disappointing, at least to me, it might not be for others though. Even though Laurel is a thirty something adult, she still behaved like an annoying teenager, getting angry over every little thing, being rude to people who were only trying to help her (although those might be mood swings from the pregnancy, but I don't think the author intended it that way). She also acts like she doesn't love him for the longest time, it doesn't make sense why she's doing it for that long. She also blames Damian for the pregnancy many times even though she was willing to have sex with him, which makes it her fault as well. I'm actually surprised that Damian didn't realize that he's in love with Laurel, I thought he already knew it and that it was pretty obvious. They keep talking about how pretty the other is, not just them, but other people describe Laurel as beautiful as Aphrodite and then Damian thinks, "How beautiful his wife was! She was wearing something long, white and filmy; he thought of what Spiro had said, that she looked like Aphrodite, but the old man was wrong, for surely the goddess had never been this lovely." Seriously? I understand that you love her so much and you think that she's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, but to say that she's probably even prettier than Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and beauty, that's very bold and egotistical. If this was in the Percy Jackson world, then Aphrodite would have been furious.
I'm not even going to touch on the fact that it's love at first sight and that they're relationship was mostly sex because that's just how most romance novels are. Plus, Damian can't control himself whenever he sees her naked, I don't think it's that hard to control yourself from ending up doing it, especially if you've already done it many times in the past few days. But again, this is a romance novels, so these things are to be expected, which is why I'm not giving this a lower rating.
That is why it took me longer than it should have to read this book, technically it shouldn't have taken more than a day to read this, but because of the problems I mentioned above, I had to keep putting this down and reading other books.
Unlike with other books I read, there will not be a full review for this book.
Blog: nazishreads.net/TravelandBookBlog
My twitter account: @NazishTVDSwift
My Instagram accounts: @nazishreads, @nrcharmed01, @nrdisney, and @nazishcosplay
I went into this book expecting the usual cat and mouse, some misunderstandings (a little is ok, but a lot is really annoying), some resistance from the female lead and by the middle or middle end she admits that she's in love with him and gives in, skipping 9 months to when the baby is born at the end.
What I got was a female lead who should have been and was supposed to be a smart, strong, independent female lead, and she started out that way, but later on, she just seemed really annoying and stupid. I know that in romance novels it's will they won't they for part of the story, but this just took too long (she was in denial for far too long, just admit already instead of lying to yourself and to us a million times). Damian, the almost usual alpha male lead hates marriage and doesn't believe in it, but the only thing we find out is that he was married once and it didn't work out, that's not enough for me to accept why someone would hate marriage so much. The book should have ended at chapter 10 (different than what actually happened in chapter 10) and then an epilogue where they have their kid, of course the real ending is kind of disappointing, at least to me, it might not be for others though. Even though Laurel is a thirty something adult, she still behaved like an annoying teenager, getting angry over every little thing, being rude to people who were only trying to help her (although those might be mood swings from the pregnancy, but I don't think the author intended it that way). She also acts like she doesn't love him for the longest time, it doesn't make sense why she's doing it for that long. She also blames Damian for the pregnancy many times even though she was willing to have sex with him, which makes it her fault as well. I'm actually surprised that Damian didn't realize that he's in love with Laurel, I thought he already knew it and that it was pretty obvious. They keep talking about how pretty the other is, not just them, but other people describe Laurel as beautiful as Aphrodite and then Damian thinks, "How beautiful his wife was! She was wearing something long, white and filmy; he thought of what Spiro had said, that she looked like Aphrodite, but the old man was wrong, for surely the goddess had never been this lovely." Seriously? I understand that you love her so much and you think that she's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, but to say that she's probably even prettier than Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and beauty, that's very bold and egotistical. If this was in the Percy Jackson world, then Aphrodite would have been furious.
I'm not even going to touch on the fact that it's love at first sight and that they're relationship was mostly sex because that's just how most romance novels are. Plus, Damian can't control himself whenever he sees her naked, I don't think it's that hard to control yourself from ending up doing it, especially if you've already done it many times in the past few days. But again, this is a romance novels, so these things are to be expected, which is why I'm not giving this a lower rating.
That is why it took me longer than it should have to read this book, technically it shouldn't have taken more than a day to read this, but because of the problems I mentioned above, I had to keep putting this down and reading other books.
Unlike with other books I read, there will not be a full review for this book.
Blog: nazishreads.net/TravelandBookBlog
My twitter account: @NazishTVDSwift
My Instagram accounts: @nazishreads, @nrcharmed01, @nrdisney, and @nazishcosplay
January 10, 2011
Three brides, three grooms -- and they cell meet at THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR
Damian Skouras thought he was allergic to marriage, and Laurel Bennett didn't make it to the church on time .... But, still, they collided as guests at the Wedding of the Year. Damian hadn't been looking for commitment, and Laurel didn't date macho Greek men .... But their mutual physical attraction was red-hot, and soon Damian was insisting that they have a wedding of their own!
Between them, Laurel mid Damian set off fireworks you'll long remember, especially when a night of wild passion leads to a marriage Laurel doesn't want--but Damian demands--in this, the first story in Sandra Marton's sizzling new trilogy!
Damian Skouras thought he was allergic to marriage, and Laurel Bennett didn't make it to the church on time .... But, still, they collided as guests at the Wedding of the Year. Damian hadn't been looking for commitment, and Laurel didn't date macho Greek men .... But their mutual physical attraction was red-hot, and soon Damian was insisting that they have a wedding of their own!
Between them, Laurel mid Damian set off fireworks you'll long remember, especially when a night of wild passion leads to a marriage Laurel doesn't want--but Damian demands--in this, the first story in Sandra Marton's sizzling new trilogy!
Read
September 1, 2016Miniseries: The Wedding of the Year
July 30, 2022
Too much negativity.
October 25, 2018
Perfect.....
September 28, 2017
its beautifully written
i loved there first night together
its kinda awesome
i loved there first night together
its kinda awesome
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews