One Eager Bride to Go

The Wedding Ring #3

by Pamela Burford

When four high school friends promise to find husbands for one another if any of them are still single at age thirty, they have no idea how complicated the pact will make their lives twelve years later! Book 3 of the Wedding Ring matchmaker series is One Eager Bride to Go.

The Prospective Bride: Sunny Bleecker, who’s been waiting tables at Wafflemania for twelve years… and waiting just as long for her knight in shining armor to come rescue her. She can’t wait for her matchmaking friends to find him!

The Prospective Groom: Kirk Larsen, who’s a college professor, a widowed single dad, and Sunny’s high school sweetheart. Between teaching and raising a toddler, Kirk isn’t looking for romance, but his unexpected reunion with Sunny feels so perfect.

The Hitch: Sunny is dubious when her blind date turns out to be her old boyfriend, but her doubts quickly evaporate. Soon she’s walking on air, dreaming of a white picket fence and a passel of kids... until a devastating secret threatens their second chance at happiness.

Genres: Romance, Harlequin

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published February 1, 2001

About the author

Pamela Burford comes from a funny family. You may take that any way you want. She was raised in a household that valued laughter above all, so of course the first thing she looked for in a husband was a sense of humor. Is it any wonder their grown kids are into stand-up comedy and improv? Oh, and here's another fun family fact: Pamela's identical twin sister, Patricia Ryan, aka P.B. Ryan, is also a published novelist. Patricia is the Good Twin, and yeah, Pamela knows what that makes her. But hey, Evil Twins have more fun.

It should come as no surprise that everything Pamela writes is infused with her own quirky brand of humor, from her feel-good contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels to her popular Jane Delaney mystery series, featuring snarky “Death Diva” Jane, her canine sidekick Sexy Beast, and a fun love triangle. Pamela's own beloved poodle, Murray, wants you to know that any similarities between himself and neurotic, high-strung Sexy Beast are purely coincidental.

Pamela is the proud founder and past president of Long Island Romance Writers. Her books have won awards and sold millions of copies, but what excites her most is hearing from readers. So swing by her website and say hi. And while you're there, don't forget to sign up for her newsletter. Not only will you learn about new releases and other fun stuff, but you'll receive a free ebook as her special thank-you.

Reviews

[brightredglow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book when it came out as a Harlequin Temptation back in the early 2000s. I think I got it when Borders was still around. I think I decided to re-read to see if it wasn't as bad as my memory served.

My memory was fine. It is as bad as I remember. I get that it is a category romance so the expectations are lower and blah-blah but nah, I've read plenty of category romances that pushed the envelope and raised quality and expectations.

Not so mild spoilers ahead.

It is a weird read though for me. I like the main female character. Sunny has a dream that is underappreciated. In fact, it is the kind of dream that inspires snickers. All she wanted was to get married and have a family. That was her occupational dream. At the age that I first read it, I didn't have that kind of dream and that is kind of why she fascinated me as a reader. Then there was the fact that she was a waitress for over a decade. I did know what it was like to stay at something longer than expected. I knew what a rut felt like. So I found Sunny a unique main character because for all intents and purposes, she was in a rut. One that she is ashamed to be in and can't quite figure out how to get out of.

But this is a romance novel so there's got to be some romance. The quirk of the 4-book series is that she and her 3 friends have a wedding pact thing where, at 30, the others pick a potential mate and whoever turn it was had to give it 3-month try if the guy was interested. This is book 3 so 2 are now married and it is Sunny's turn. The 3 other friends settle on Kirk, who was Sunny's high school sweetheart. Her first love. The guy who went off to college in California and then stayed there and married another woman but he is now back in town, conveniently widowed and with a toddler.

It is bizarre that they choose him for Sunny. Why bizarre? Because there is history. She's clearly distressed at the choice. Then there is his wife who hasn't even been gone for a year. But no, they think they know better. Even the new freaking husbands are all in agreement. They're all, "Hey, you loved him once and he's widowed, so he's available. He's the best one for you. Go for it."

Never mind that he might have a ton of baggage. Never mind she might have mixed feelings about it all. He's the guy and she has to go along with it because of the wedding pact.

I hated Kirk and on re-read, I hate his pompous, lying ass even more. It seems Kirk has had been hiding a secret from "dreams-of-a-big-family Sunny". He'll tell her after she's completely in love with him and has no other choice but to accept it. What is the secret? He's had vasectomy. He and his wife decided the precious Ian was enough for them.

Sunny is left reeling. Yes, Sunny shouldn't be so rigid and that's part of the growth she needs to undergo as a character, but Kirk isn't the dude to make that change for because she's absolutely right that he didn't give her a choice before the relationship deepened. He even wears condoms when they have sex to keep up the pretense. He knew about her feelings about having a family and he deliberately kept that information from her.

Then, at no point is Kirk held accountable for LYING to Sunny. Her friends even tell her that she should feel lucky that he loves her so much. Kirk gets the support of friends while Sunny gets the judgment. It is Sunny who must adjust and figure out that she's being pigheaded and realize that Kirk lied to her because he just loves her so much and that's what is truly important.

Kirk is an ASS, but more than that, her friends and two of the gals's new husbands are twice as bad than I remember. With a group of friends like this, who needs unaware strangers? In fact, unaware strangers would be more thoughtful. She literally gets zero support from her friends.

Bleh x 1000. Sunny is literally the only reason to read this story. And she deserved better. A better dude. A better plot hook. And a better group of friends. She's a character who is ripe for possibilities because she is in a rut and ready to break free of it. She deserved an epiphany moment that kicks her out of her rut. Instead, she gets used-goods-Kirk who pretty much goes on a date not long after he breaks up with Sunny. That break up should have been in the 1st quarter of the book and the failure of the 3-month wedding pact choice should have been impetus for her to go "Yeah, I loved you and your son is cute, but you suck and I'm out of here to get away from you and my manipulative friends" and cue her escape to Tuscany (or some other sun-kissed, archaeological rich part of the world) where she finds a new dream, an actual soul mate who doesn't lie and manipulate her, and she can still incorporate her old dream. On her terms.

But alas, that is not this book which is why it gets 2-stars.

[Margo · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, but it’s still getting 1 star because I hated the hero with a passion from the second he opened his mouth.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

While book three doesn’t have as many issues as the first 2 of this series, it still suffers from the problems that go with the general premise of the whole series. First of all, it is ridiculous that 4 successful women would hold themselves and each other to a high school pact requiring marriage by age 30. Additionally, the author insists on wrapping up each romance in successive three month storylines from first date to matrimony.

At least, Sunny, our heroine, has a history with hero, Kirk. So their instant attraction isn’t actually instant. In fact, he’s the high school sweetheart that just happens to move back to town the day before it is Sunny’s turn to start her 3 month journey to the altar. While that alone requires a healthy suspension of disbelief, it is par for the romance novel course. Adding in that he tragically became a widow only six months earlier and HE’S the one that is first ready to declare his undying love and get married again, well, I struggled with that. It’s just too soon. On top of that, Sunny came across as whiny and immature. Honestly, almost as unlikable as I found the heroes in the first 2 books. It wasn’t believable that Kirk would want to be with her so badly. She was just the easy rebound for his broken heart, having been pining for him for 12 yrs. only to tell him that his love for her wasn’t enough because he no longer matched the dream of him she’d been carrying for so long.

One of the things I liked about this one is the development of the husbands/boyfriends coming together as friends in their own right. Hunter and Grant, as much as I didn’t particularly like them in their own stories, add an additional perspective in their scene with Kirk.

Look, I like Pamela Burford’s writing style, and I’ve read way worse romance novels. Her characters do have chemistry and there are plenty of moments with snappy banter between lovers as well as friends and family. She creates a world filled with (eventually) likable characters. However, she has a bad habit of rushing the plot. Not just in this series, but other romance novels of hers as well. Add to that the fact that presumably contemporary, educated women seem to make choices or think about their lives in ways that seem more suited to 50 yrs ago or more.... It just makes something about these stories seem off.

[Rae_of_sunshine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kirk is a huge piece of shit, and I still can’t believe he was supposed to be the love interest. I wish Sunny also had been married or had a serious relationship outside of her relationships with Kirk. Lowkey I also wish she had cut her losses and moved on to a nice guy who doesn’t…you know…deceive her. Overall, Kirk was awful but hey at least Sunny was happy at the end.
I did like the relationship between Ian and Sunny so that gave the book an extra star.

[Lynnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This description is not the correct one.

[Gretchen · Rating 2 out of 5]

"waiting for her soul mate, whoever he might be, to stroll through the doors of Wafflemania and order the He-Man Special with one eager bride to go."

Another Cinderella style romance. Kirk and Sunny are so sweet and I found myself rooting for Kirk, even if he had a secret.

Happily Ever After in a wonderful setting with strong, fun characters.

[Diah Didi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lumayan. Cukup bisa mengerti perasaannya Sunny for having the same feeling for twelve years. I hope I don't have to wait that long, cukup sembilan tahun dan berharap penantian itu berakhir di tahun 2010 ini. Amin ...

Agak sebel juga sih ama Sunny dan Kirk. Nggak tau kenapa, geregetan aja ama mereka. Terutama ama Sunny yang kayaknya terlalu naif dan saklek. Tapi jadi mikir juga, jangan-jangan gue kayak Sunny, stuck on him, on this life because of that 'stupid' dreams. Guess I have to move on then. Apa ini berarti aku harus S2? :D

Anyway, mulai dapet ikatan karena seperti kebanyakan seri lainnya, tokoh-tokoh di seri sebelumnya juga muncul dan berpartisipasi. Pengen juga nanti suamiku bisa deket dengan saudara/sepupu/temanku berikut pasangan mereka.

Dan hey, baru tau kalo vasektomi bisa dikembalikan. :D

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of One Eager Bride to Go by Pamela Burford in exchange for an honest review.
Note: this review contains spoilers!
All Sunny ever wanted was to get married and have a big family. She took a job at Wallfemania in high school and hasn't left. Kirk Larsen was the man of her dreams in high school, but he moved away to go to college. Now he's back with an 18 month old son. He and his deceased wife only wanted one child, so he took the necessary steps to make sure that would be what happened. The fire between Kirk and Sunny is still there. Will Sunny's desire for a child of her own keep her from the love of her life? Does Kirk love her enough to go under the knife again no matter the cost just so they can have a child? This is a sweet love story about family and what really matters in life. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

[Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Eager Bride to Go is the third story in The Wedding Ring series and is about Sunny Bleecker and Kirk Larsen. These two knew each other long ago and the three matchmaking friends (of Sunny’s) are at it again! This time they have set up Kirk, a widowed single dad, with Sunny, who dated Kirk in high school. What a story! Sunny has had much disappointment in her life, according to her memories, and needs to work through some of those issues in her past in order to get an HEA with Kirk in her future. Again, it’s a standalone story but I love reading about these four friends and couldn’t wait to read it. I liked Sunny, even if she did wear Pepto pink every day (you‘ll have to read the story to figure that one out!) and loved Kirk. Great story and I recommend!

[Ronaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #3 of the Wedding Ring series by Pamela Burford. Four women make a pact to help each other find husbands at 30 if they are not married by then. You can hardly wait to find out if the other women's choice is Mr. Right for the heroine and this one is no exception.One Eager Bride to Go

[Nicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this book and found myself sneaking time to read it. But towards the end there it just pissed me off and Im not sure why. I wish these epilogues were true epilogues and not lead-ups to the next book in the series.. I don't think I like Amanda enough to read through and see what happens to the couples in Books 2 and 3..

[Bev Walkling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had been hanging around the house for years so I decided to read and part with it. It was book 3 of 4 but was fine as a stand alone read. It had a humourous premise of 4 young women who would find a potential husband for each other once they reached their 30th birthday.

[Hanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oops

Too much reliance on sex and not enough on other aspects of the main relationship made this book a grave disappointment. Also I was bored by clothing descriptions that read like the newspaper social pages of the early years of the last century. Not Burford's best work.

[Sharon Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sonny and Kirk

I loved this storyline just like the first two. This love from the past worked out for Sonny . He had a child which she wanted and a deceased wife. And their loved finally blossomed again.

[K.J. Sweeney · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://crazykalm.blogspot.co.nz/2017...

[Carol Tietsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third book in the Wedding Ring series

And just as wonderful as the others. Realistic situations, and human reactions. Great! I thoroughly enjoyed this as well as the first two.

[Mandi Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was everything you've come to expect from the Wedding Ring Series. There's laughter and sadness, as well as, steamy hunks. A very entertaining read.

[Carolyn Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three down - One to go. These girls will break your heart. Great book series.

[Jennell Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book but Sunny drove me crazy, her whole attitude and frame of mind.