Marrying Missy

by Sarah Elle Emm

MARRYING MISSY is the first novel by the very talented Sarah Elle Emm. Tate Sullivan is in a fix: her best friend, Missy Martin, is getting married. With constant criticism from Missy Martin, Buckhead heiress and bride-to-be; stress from her intense nursing job; and a short-temper on the rise from her high powered, attorney husband, Georgia-native, Tate Sullivan is engaged in the ultimate balancing act.Tate has to cope with sleep-deprived night shifts, her closet nicotine habit, her husband's apparent workaholism, her mother's meddlesome behavior, and her ongoing attempt to educate Missy about not making borderline racist remarks about everyone who doesn't have money or look like her. When a collision with a runaway Golden Retriever lands Tate in the arms of the newcomer to Atlanta, Dr. Jackson Greenfield, Tate begins to think her mother has concocted the ultimate scheme. Wedding planning has never been so nerve-racking...or dangerous. Marrying Missy reveals the complexity of those who are merely planning a wedding, preparing for a marriage, and those who aren't sure what their marriage is-or has become. Sarah Elle Emm captures the world of wedding planning for a particular Georgia princess, but sublimely reveals all that is so often forgotten in that process-love and marriage. - the Publisher

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary

292 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2011

About the author

Sarah Elle Emm is the author of ABSENCE OF YOU, LAST VACATION, the HARMONY RUN SERIES: (PRISMATIC, OPALESCENT, CHATOYANT, NACREOUS), and MARRYING MISSY. She has lived in Germany, England, Mexico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and traveled extensively beyond. Her writing cave is exactly where she wants it to be, in a century-old home near Indianapolis. When she's not leading kitchen dance parties with her daughters, she writes poetry, praise poetry, the Middle-aged Multitasker memes, and fiction.

https://www.facebook.com/SarahElleEmm...
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Official website: https://www.sarahelleemm.com
Facebook.com/HarmonyRunSeries
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahElleEmm

Reviews

[MasterSal]

Kindle Klean-up Kontinues:

I've had this book since Nov 2013 - I've even picked it up a few times and tried to read it with no luck. I think its time to admit that I won't get to this anytime before 2550.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this was supposed to be charming and whimsical, but it wound up being awkwardly heavy, and there wasn't a single character I liked. I think you are supposed to find them flawed but lovable, and I just didn't. I hate everyone except the main character.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say when this book came up in my book club… I just rolled my eyes. I thought oh great another romance. Boy was I wrong. This book had every thing. I really enjoyed it. The author did a great job with this story and telling every part. There is a lot going on but you never feel overwhelmed.

The story is about Tate trying to help her best friend Missy gets married. You get enough back-story to understand their friendship. Missy is an Buckhead heiress and bridezilla. Tate is down to earth and married to a very wealthy man. That is where the story takes a turn the two hardly seeing each other Tate as a tiny secret while her dumb hubby has a big one.


Tate is being pressured to fulfill her womanly duties and get pregnant not only by her husband but also her mother in law. While going to see her parents one weekend she gets run over by a dog and the owner is not only handsome but also nice. Tate then learns that the owner of the dog is also working with her. The two ooze sexual tension from the start and it keeps going thought the whole story we learn Tates husbands secret and man is he a ****!
Tate learns that some times when you think one person is behind it all it really someone else and not everyone is who they use to be.


Missy does make it to the wedding but it’s not with out drama.


I don’t want to give too much away. I really enjoyed this book and I think you will to. It’s not your typically romance and the drama that’s put in the story really hooks you in.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book out looking for something to read by the pool on a summer afternoon. I wanted something enjoyable and light that could keep me hooked throughout the story, and that's exactly what I got. It's not the type of book I typically go for, but I was looking for the perfect summer beach read, and I think I found it!

After the first chapter, I was absolutely convinced I wasn't going to like it. I couldn't stand the character of Missy, and Tate was a total pushover. It didn't take long for Emm to bring out the nuanced nature of these characters outside their spoiled brat and hopeless idealist archetypes.

This book is brilliantly plotted with a great story arc that kept me hooked and wanting to know what would happen next the entire time (I read it in a single day). I ended up really wanting Tate to create a new, happy life and keeping Missy on the straight tracks. While at first I couldn't explain how Tate could possibly be friends with someone as vapid and narcissistic as Missy, the author makes a point over the course of the book that true friendship, however mismatched, isn't explicable.

It's a chick power story that will keep you hooked, and is a great one to lay on the beach with!

Kelly Hitchcock
Author of The Redheaded Stepchild

[Kelly Gomez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reader gets so much more than they bargained for with this book. I was expecting typical Bridezilla horror stories from the Matron of Honor about the bride. Indeed, I got a whole lot more on that. Wedding planning lays out the timeline for this book but very little emphasis is actually placed on it. The focus is on this friendship that readers wouldn't necessarily understand at first. There is a lot of relationship conflict and characters you easily fall in love with. I read this book in like 3 hours and loved every minute. Sarah Elle Emm captured me from the very beginning.

[Ginnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I can honestly tell you is that I am so, so with this book. The story wasn't really all that bad. It had it's good parts. But I really wasn't all that into the characters. Missy was just to spoiled bratty for me most of the time. And god I kept hoping a t-rex made it over here from Jurassic Park to eat Ben. Yeah I said it. And Tate, poor Tate. All I could really do with her was just shake my head. There was a lot of eye rolling for this book. But it was actually well written. So besides the characters it wasn't all that bad. But yeah that's about all i have for this one.

[Colleen Everly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked It! This book was not what I generally would read, but I found that I enjoyed it. This book hit on some subjects that can be very controversial. Missy was raised to be a not so nice person yet she still managed to have a best friend who really cares for her. I personally would have found it hard to like Missy but they seemed to make it work.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

75% - 34 chapters and I gave up. There were parts that held me and made me want to read but in the end my dislike for Missy wouldn't allow me to turn the next page to see what comes next. I would give this author another try because she writes well, but I need less of a spoiled Missy.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in one day!

[Heidi Rothert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The secondary character, Missy drove me crazy, but it is fun to read a book by someone from back home in Indiana. Good messages about hope and recovery. Overall a good read.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

For some reason I thought this would be a wacky fun read, but there were areas that were definitely not lighthearted. At times I didn't know whether to be offended or just see the positives in the book. I definitely rolled my eyes a lot. As for the characters...I liked some of them and disliked just as many.

Meet Tate. Overall, I liked her, but there was definitely a time or two in this book where I sat there completely baffled how she could be so clueless. Tate is a nurse married to an attorney. She is a strong woman, for the most part. She is attractive, loyal, and pretty straight forward....most of the time. Her best friend is Missy. Missy on the other hand is a piece of work. Not completely irredeemable, but damn, she came close. It was amazing that two very different women could be friends. Missy and Tate met in college under extreme circumstances. Since then, they have been steadfast friends. Although Tate did not grow up on the wrong side of the tracks, she was not raised the same as Missy, who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and raised to believe that everyone is beneath her. Actually, it's amazing she met someone willing to marry her. And don't get me started with John. Through Missy, Tate met her husband, Ben. Talk about a snake in sheep's clothing. Snake, I said it. If there was anyone I disliked more than Missy, it was Ben. Liar, cheater, abusive snob that he is.

Tate is Missy's Matron of honor, and around working and trying to help Missy with planning her wedding, she doesn't realize or just doesn't care enough that she rarely sees her husband and has no clue about his extra-curricular activities. However, she does take notice of the new doctor in town who happens to be all the things her mother would approve of....as does she although she doesn't want to admit it to herself.

The book was actually written well, it is just some of the subjects and some of the characters that made it so that I couldn't love this book. We have anorexia, infidelity, abuse, alcohol issues, lying, and betrayal. When your best friend knows things that could hurt you and doesn't tell you, and actually thinks that it can be worked around, well, it makes me just want to gouge out her eyes for you. But we also have forgiveness, friendship, loyalty, and love so it helps to balance out the negative. Overall, I liked the book, but I don't think everyone will.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Won through GoodReads FirstReads! Thank you to the author for providing this copy!**

I honestly wasn't sure if this was going to be a rom-com/chick-lit book or not, but I love to read anything with a strong female lead in it so I figured this was worth a shot!

While there was a blossoming romance throughout this book, and even some amusing best friend moments, I found that Marrying Missy was much darker than I had anticipated. Tate, the main character, is in the midst of a rapidly crumbling marriage to a terrible man yet she must continue to humor her needy and rather selfish best friend during her wedding planning. At first I found myself wondering just how strong she was when she really just seemed oblivious but things changed as the plot moved along.

It was nice to see that the majority of characters evolved throughout the story, and that they all grew more comfortable with themselves as the events unfolded. I found myself hoping that Ben would wreck his car and die a drunken mess, but I guess marrying a sneaky little brat was the second worst that could happen to him...

Overall I was happy to have won this book and to have been given a chance to read it!

(Sidenote: There were several spelling errors in my copy, and it seems that all the characters repeatedly say each others names during a single conversation. This things didn't mess the story up, but just stood out to me.)

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marrying Missy was this weeks book of the week in my review group and at first I was a little hesitant to read it because it is out of my usual genre but I'm glad I did. I found this to be a quick, fun and easy read. I finished this novel in one sitting and was entertained the whole time. I did find the story to be a bit predictable but still enjoyable. I loved all the humor present and even with some of the darker parts of the story this was still a cute, fluffy read.
At the beginning of the book I really didn't like Missy. I felt like she was a spoiled brat who would walk all over anyone to get what she wanted, and I guess she did that. But she really did grow on me, especially when you could see the change in her and for the better. Tat was another great character that you could see the change in her over the course of the book, she just grew a different way than Missy did. I did feel bad for Tate for what she went through, but at the same time it moulded her as a person and she was strong enough to realize that it wasn't a healthy situation.
I really love reading books by the amazing Sarah Elle Emm. She has such a way with words that she insnares you in her work. I would absolutely recommend this novel to those looking for a romantic comedy. I can't wait to see what Sarah comes up with next.

[Paula Ratcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fun read about the relationship between Tate and Missy, and Tate and her husband Ben, and Missy and her fiancé John. Tate is helping Missy plan her wedding which Missy is all excited about of course she has Tate who she is dragging everywhere as part of her Matron of Honor duties.

Tate is one of the main characters whose dealing with alot, there is helping Missy with the wedding. Her rich husband wants her to produce kids, even though he has his own secrets. We watch Ben's anger escalate during the book he goes from zero to 10 fast. Tate tries to keep her independence but when Ben makes his intentions know she goes to measures to protect herself.

John knows what is up with Ben and wants no part of it. He likes Tate and thinks Ben is messing up a good thing with Tate. Then Tate bumps in Dr. Jackson Greenfield who seems to really care about Tate, and into the same things she is. Jackson knows about Ben and is protective of Tate and wanting to keep her safe.

This book had so much going friendships being tested to the limit. New friendships starting, romance here and there, not to mention lots of action. I would put Ms. Emm up there with Kristin Hannah, Elin Hilderbrand. She really knows what she is writing with this story. Love the characters even the witchy Missy Martin. She adds flavor to the story. Which was incredible to say the least.

[Barbara Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for my book groups book of the week. I started the book with zero expectations, as I wasn't really in the mood to read a "romance" novel. But I have to say, I'm glad this book was chosen. It made me laugh, get angry, parts made me sad and it definitely kept me in suspense. And I was NOT expecting one of the twists... like ZERO clue, which is great! I love it when a book surprises me! The only part I didn't like was how racist and shallow Missy and her family was. I'm sure there are people in the world today that still think and feel the same way, but it made me very angry. I know Missy had a heart of gold underneath all her frills and sparkles, so I didn't hate Missy as a person, but her attitude, ugh!! On the other hand, I loved all of the other characters! Especially a certain dog-chasing doctor!

[Preet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really good! It starts off with you thinking the book is going to go in one direction and then goes off in a completely different direction, leaving you guessing as to what's happening. Some of the characters you can't help but like, Tate, for example. Then there are others who fit in a gray area like Missy. And then there are those you just out right dislike. It also deals with complicated material, adding layers of depth to the book. It's not all sunshine and roses, but it's written extremely well.

[Hemmie Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wondered whether I would ever like one of the main characters when I began reading this book, as her annoying characteristics were well written. The story became more urgent to read as I progressed, and the author threw in some surprising events, which kept me interested right until the end.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has one particularly strong section, which makes the whole thing worth reading. But the beginning and the end fall flat. The author has potential, but the first 50% of this book is setup. The climactic scenes (and you know what they are if you've read the book) are done very well.

[Alison]

kindle 292

[Luisa Rivas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice easy read! Started a bit slow and picked up speed and depth as I read along, until I was passing the pages fast to find out what happens next.

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute romantic novel--a quick read. A delight way to spend an afternoon if you just want to be entertained.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A clean romance (and not christian). The heroine lack a little gumption, though.

[Misskitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's only one thing that bothers me about the story... I thought that Ben's mistress was Kate but at the end the story it's written as being Jennifer?????

[Dani Petty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I expected some fluff story, but this had twists you didn't see. I was pleasantly surprised.

[Kristin Lutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun read by a talented author!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was fun and easy to read. I did catch that there were several mispellings which dropped my rating. But I did very much enjoy the story.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some nicely placed unexpected twists helped this mystery along. I liked the setting of a wedding center since it allowed for lots of interactions and characters.

[Jacque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read with believable characters!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, easy read with a decent story.

[Nory · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit predictable.