You are cordially invited to the wedding of the summer…
Do you have your plus one on speed dial?
Senator and Mrs. Ramsey’s youngest daughter is sure to be the loveliest June bride that the exclusive New England compound at Virtue Cove, Maine, has ever seen. But first, there’s a barrage of Wedding Week festivities to endure enjoy. And dogs. So many dogs.
While the bride and groom are basking in their Happily Ever After, behind the scenes are one b*tch of a wedding planner with an old flame that never burned out, a “quid pro quo” business arrangement in serious jeopardy of becoming a more personal partnership, and two best friends who might discover they’re a perfect match.
During bonfires on the beach, sunset yacht cruises, and tortuous wedding toasts, will the wedding magic rub off on the guests and turn someone’s “Mr. Plus One” into “Mr. Right”?
RSVP for three romantic novellas from USA Today Bestselling Author Ophelia London, Lindsay Emory, and Alexandra Haughton.
USA Today bestselling author Ophelia London was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas, and she’s lived in Dallas ever since. A self-proclaimed Southern Woman, she enjoys cupcakes, planking, reruns of Dawson’s Creek and obsessing over her Italian Greyhound, Peanut. Ophelia is the author of SUMMER AT MOUNT JOY, book #4 in her Sugar City series! As well as the Honey Brook series, the Perfect Kisses series, the Abby Road series, and other adult, NA and YA sweet romances. Visit her books HERE. But don't call when she's streaming The Golden Girls. #PaceyLove
The Last Plus One was a fun, sweet, funny and heartwarming read.
I really enjoyed each couple's story. The characters were fun, complex, sweet, passionate and very relatable. My attention was held from the first page until the last. Each story blended in well together and I ended up reading The Last Plus One in one afternoon, I just didn't want to put it down.
The Last Plus One was a well written contemporary romance, all three novella's were entertaining, enchanting and romantic. I highly recommend this book.
Reviewer's note: So far I've only read the Alexandra Haughton story as I got it as an eARC.
BRINGING HOME THE BOSS by Alexandra Haughton
First off I need to come clean and admit I signed up for the eARC of this novella despite no longer officially reviewing. I announced on Twitter I'd pre-ordered the anthology it is part of and thought that was that. Then I found the open tab with the sign-up form in the browser on my phone and before I knew it, I had it filled out (and was all like WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED JUST NOW?). The reason why I couldn't resist the eARC? The title! I can't resist workplace/office romances and so this title was my undoing.
So when the eARC was actually sent to me I started it right away and despite feeling some trepidation at the author's note to readers in the accompanying email ("Just a note: it’s not as sexy in heat level as some of my other titles.") I was eager to start reading this new-to-me author (this new-to me thing is THE ongoing theme of my 2016 romreading).
Then I started and I immediately knew this novella was meant for me. If only for the fact that the heroine's name is Maggie and the hero's last name is my maiden name. But aside from that next to being a workplace/office romance it was also a friends-to-lovers romance. TWO of my favorite tropes.
BRINGING HOME THE BOSS tells the story of business partners and friends Maggie Kennedy and Cruz Griffin. Together they started Sierra Delta Nine (SD9), an athletic wear company, in grad school and have built it up to a success with her as COO and him as CEO.
Alexandra Haughton is a new-to-me author and I must say this year I'm really lucking out on NTM authors. I loved Haughton's style and voice. Clean, crisp and full of subtle humor. The humor, family dynamics and sweet romance definitely made up for the fact that it was a novella without any real sexy times. To be completely honest I was so wrapped in the story I didn't even miss the sexy times.
Favorite Moments: - When Cruz fell of the treadmill because Maggie unzipped her dress to fit a sample of their new women's line > priceless and funny - The one with the broken bedframe and everything that led to it and that happened right after it > again funny and this time also sexy
Favorite Quotes: “Look. I did not push you out of the airplane. And I’m not going to push you out of a moving vehicle”—tempting though it might be—“but so help me, I will push you off a cliff at the Cove if you mess this up for me.” ~Maggie to Cruz on the way to the family-friend's wedding
“No, it’s not cool. Cruz. I like you. I probably even love you a little bit. But I don’t naked-love you. You know?”
“You give me everything.” He took a deep breath and waded in deeper. “You are my everything. And I’d never ever want you to feel empty when being with you—loving you—makes me feel so damned full inside I think I’m going to explode from it.” ~Cruz to Maggie
Maggie's voice shook. So much for buckling up those emotions. She just spilled them out. Like upending your purse in public with tampons and stray pens and that weird stress ball you picked up at a conference going everywhere, it was just as mortifying.
There was little time to ponder this change in dynamic. Soon, he kissed the thoughts right out of her brain. They were all floating up there, on the ceiling, just waiting for her to gather them back up again. But they could wait.
Tell me Ash. When you become an actual licensed therapist, will 'knocking boots' be the exact prescription you'll be giving your patients?
Hmm, what if he was flirting with some skeezy bridesmaid? Ah. Now she was jealous of an imaginary woman... with fake boobs and hair extensions who got buzzed off one whiskey sour.
'This man is evil incarnate, just look at his hair.' It had made sense before it came out of her mouth. Maybe she hit her head harder than she thought.
You don't know him like I do. He applied to be an Obamacare Death Panel administrator but they denied him for being too enthusiastic.
Claire fixed him with her queenly stare. God, she would be beautiful if it wasn't for the black hole where her heart should be.
What had he been thinking? Trying to be nice to Claire was like trying to be nice a zombie on The Walking Dead. Sooner or later your head would get torn off.
My Review:
I found this book to be such an interesting concept - three different stories from three different authors depicting the same wedding event for 3 different couples. And oddly, neither of the featured couples were the actual bride and groom. Two of the stories were of the friends to lovers trope, while the final installment - which was my favorite of the three - was a second chance romance. All the authors share a gift for banter and wit, as well as amusing inner musings. And each story was of the slow burn as well as the frequent to constant conflict variety. In sum, these tales were not my usual cup of tea, nor were they my favorite type of entertainment, and truthfully, I struggled more than a bit in trying to appreciate the female main characters as two of them were actually quite obnoxious. However, I did appreciate the talent, humor, and skill of the three authors, as well as the creative setting and plot that bound the three stories together.
What is better than one story? Three stories from different authors in one book, all connected with one wedding and 3 couples to be. We have Maggie and Cruz's story, Ashton and Hawk and Claire with Tom. It is interesting to read about this slow burning romances that will turn friends to lovers and in one case, to give a second chance. Just perfect read for this upcoming period of the year, and oh yeah, prepare yourself for reading in one sitting or laying on the beach, because it will grab you and leave you until you finish it, or if you get sunburns because you completely forgot to put some lotion
When long-time friends head to the wedding of the season as each other’s “plus one” guests, you just know that romance is in the air. The Last Plus One is an anthology of three friends-to-lovers romances. The twist is that each story is set at the same wedding extravaganza but involving different people in the wedding.
In Bring Home the Boss by Alexandra Houghton, Cruz all but forces his work partner and best friend, Maggie, to allow him to be her plus one when she returns to Virtue Cove for her best friend’s wedding. Maggie has been keeping a lot of secrets, but that doesn’t deter Cruz especially after he learns the truth.
In Always on My Mind by Ophelia London, Ashton, the groom’s sister, and Hawk, the best man, are both without dates. Consequently, they decide to go to the wedding together. The big problem is Tyler, the groom. He cannot know that the two are attracted to one another….he would blow a gasket and ruin his own wedding!
When We Were Young by Lindsay Emory, is about Claire, the bride’s friend and wedding planner, and Tom, a family friend and local veterinarian. Tom and Claire had a long-ago date but they haven’t seen eye-to-eye since. How could they end up together let alone as one another’s plus one? It’s a long story that you’ll enjoy reading about.
The title Last Plus One is a great hint that in each novella, the main characters and their plus-one dates fall head-over-heels and won’t need a “plus one” again. This anthology is a fun, romantic read for the wedding season!
I enjoyed these three stories that all take place over the course of the same few days leading up to a wedding. The couple getting married is connected in some way to at least one of the main characters in each story. The bride and groom appear here and there, but they're not really the focus here. I pretty much felt as though I'd spent about a week at the wedding of two distant acquaintances with their friends who I got to know so much better. The stories are mostly clean, only one couple has sex, and it's not described in any detail. Language is probably PG-13 at most.
The romances all had certain similarities, but were unique enough to avoid feeling monotonous. I also liked that I got the chance to see the romantic leads in each tale through the eyes of their counterparts in the other stories. And the puppies. So many puppies.
My favorite was the first one, Bringing Home the Boss, by Alexandra Haughton. Cruz and Maggie were very likeable, and the chemistry between them was great. There were also a few very funny moments. I did wish something had happened to deal with a certain very annoying (and almost menacing) character. I was also baffled by the acceptance of the subtle class distinction. They were guests, after all, but those are minor details. The ending was very satisfying.
Always On My Mind, by Ophelia London was fun. Someone really likes blueberries. Hawk was almost too perfect. I did find myself wanting to roll my eyes several times at Ashton, but she had to have somewhere from which to grow. This was one of those stories where everything could pretty much be solved by some honest conversations early on. The ending was good.
I probably became the most invested in the third book, When We Were Young, by Lindsay Emory. I'd gotten a good idea of how Claire was viewed by others from the previous books in the collection. It was really interesting to understand what made her behave the way she did. Her love interest, Tom, wasn't the nicest guy for big chunks of the story. I was in total agreement whenever he felt bad about his behavior. However, things ended just as they should, and the ending had a nice sense of closure to it.
This book was based on an interesting plot device - three different authors wrote three different storylines with each one having a different primary duo as the leads and mutual love interests; yet, all three stories were basically connected because they each involved and mentioned the same characters who are all attending and taking part in a lavish wedding set in Bal Harbor, Maine. I read and enjoyed all three of the stories; but, since author Lindsay Emory was the one who offered me the ARC copy of the book, I shall concentrate my review on her story - 'When We Were Young'. Her couple, Claire and Tom, met in college and are now a Manhattan publicist and a home-town veterinarian. Their emotional drama started while in college and has only grown over the ensuing years. Although there's always been a very strong physical and emotional attraction between the two, they constantly let pride and hurt feelings lead to serious misunderstandings of each others true intentions. Ah, finally, stupidity is replaced by honesty and --- oh, go on and read the book to find out the ending! Just remember, how could you not root for a couple that loves the movie BEST IN SHOW?!?
How three wonderful authors from Texas perfectly captured the New England elite blows my mind. This book was great. Perfect for the beach/wedding season. All three stories blended smoothly and one might have guessed that they were written by the same author if not paying attention. Excellent story and character development. I must say, I've got questions about a couple of characters - could there be a follow up in the works? (please!!)
I love the idea behind The Last Plus One--one wedding, three "couples" who aren't really, but they will be by the end of the weekend. Two are friends-to-lovers stories (one with a touch of sleeping with the boss thrown in for fun) and the last one is a second chance romance. Add to that the fact that it all takes place at one of my favorite places in the world (Maine, in and near Bar Harbor--we spent our honeymoon camping at Acadia National Park, that's how much I love it!) and there's puppies involved--a lot of puppies--and yeah, this was definitely going to be a book I was going to be signing up to read.
Bringing Home the Boss by Alexandra Haughton
The first novella was by a new-to-me-author who I'll definitely be looking for more from in the future. Maggie and Cruz's story started out strong (I loved when Maggie's getting her dress unzipped made Cruz fall off his treadmill--LOL), got a little wonky in the middle, but had a great ending. Gotta love it when friends realize that there's definitely something more there.
Rating: 4 stars / B
Always on My Mind by Ophelia London
I've read several stories by Ms. London, and enjoy her writing style. This one won't ever be my favorite, though it had some very cute parts. It's another friends-to-lovers story and it involves Maine blueberry pie(!)--two definite things in its favor. I did find it hard to believe that Ashton and Hawk would be able to spend so much time swimming in the 50-60 degree (F) water that's common to that part of the Atlantic, though (trust me, it's COLD), without ever mentioning how gosh darn cold it was once. (My husband thought I was exaggerating. He saw the error of his ways right quick, believe me. That was in July, almost a month after this story takes place.)
Rating: 3 stars / C+
When We Were Young by Lindsay Emory
Another new-to-me author who I'll be looking for more from in the future. At the story's start, I wasn't all that crazy about either Claire or Tom--and soon didn't like Tom at all (WTH was going on with that "prank" he tried pulling on her? Who does that? What vet does that??) but they spent the rest of their story making it up to me. Big time. By the end, I was a great big puddle of I-love-these-guys and was practically in tears over how they'd been thwarted in love years before.
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.