Review: Good plot idea; stumbles a bit in the execution
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 14, 2014
I enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting.  I wanted to see how the story would unfold and how relationships would grow and change.  However, I felt it could have been a bit more developed in terms of characters as well as plot.I didn't like Lisa's character from the beginning and it really didn't change throughout the book.  She makes extremely important decisions on what seems like a whim and the barest of information.  In doing so, she changes the lives of those around her.  She doesn't even seem to care what the repercussions are for anyone else; it's all about her.The book opens with her and her fiancé, Jeff.  They've been together for three years, they're both in love and the only issue between them is her obsession with having the perfect wedding.  Instead of having a longer engagement and enjoying the process as Jeff wants, Lisa's all about the wedding.  There's only been a matter of months since the engagement and Jeff is frustrated she's more interested in the wedding than in spending time with him.  Since they've been together for years and there seems to be no rush, the reader has to wonder why Lisa is so hell-bent on a quick wedding, but oh well.I did have some major issues though with the storyline:From the Book Description you know it's about Mail Order Grooms needing Green Cards, Cancelled Weddings and Jilted Fiancés, but MINOR SPOILERS may follow*********************************************************************Issue #1:  Though the book description states that Lisa's wedding is called off when she finds her fiancé in the arms of another woman and "he struts around town with his new love" this actually is a bit misleading.Lisa goes over to Jeff's home, sees him with another woman (a coworker trying to put the moves on him) and he swears there's nothing between them, but acknowledges he was wrong.  I would have expected a confrontation more along the lines of "Hey, B***ch!  What the hell do you think you're doing!" and after having it out with her, you then have a sit-down with Jeff and see what the heck that was you just saw.Instead, Lisa goes off half-cocked and starts accusing Jeff of things he didn't do.  He gets frustrated and calls off the wedding.  This was done in the heat of the moment.  Neither answers each other's calls and both act immature.  The only "strutting" Jeff does was just to make Lisa jealous.  Jeff tries to contact Lisa and apologize.  He knows he made a mistake.  Only he learns from a friend down in City Hall that Lisa went and applied for a marriage license to someone else!Yep, that's what everyone does when they've had a fight with their fiancé of three years and the love of their life.  In an act of nothing but pure revenge you marry a complete stranger two days later.  The new groom?  A guy your single, unattached friends found surfing the Mail-Order-Grooms.com website.  WTF?  A simple phone call, a civil conversation between Lisa and Jeff and the wedding would have been back on.But Lisa, who still has her wedding to attend (you know no one has ever called off a wedding before) thinks nothing of simply switching out one groom for another and hoping all her guests will forget she was supposed to marry Jeff, the love of her life, and accept a complete stranger, no questions asked.  Heck, she even uses the engraved wedding rings she and Jeff picked out rather than get Kryzs his own ring that actually fits!  Because it's more important for Lisa to get her revenge (plus $25,000 which she plans to use for wedding bills and a new car) than consider the feelings of either Kryzs (new groom) or Jeff (old fiancé); both of whom love her.Issue #2:  Kryzs.  Poor Kryzs.  He's held a torch for Lisa for a while now, but knew she was engaged.  Exactly why he's in love with her since he's never had a single conversation with her, doesn't know anything about her, etc. is a mystery to the reader.  However, we know he needs a Green Card, so they get married.  The poor guy even has to go to a store by himself to buy his own wedding ring!Issue #3:  Had Lisa waited, I don't know, even two days to read up on the Green Card guidelines, she wouldn't have been sidelined by the rules.  But no, for Lisa it's all about the wedding (and the money).  But most importantly, about revenge.  She's appalled  she'll have to live with her new husband, actually interact with him, and have to stay married more than 24 hours.  Lisa is horrified to have Kryzs in her home and throws a hissy when he puts his clothes in her closet and drawer.  (Since he planned to go back to Poland, he no longer has his own apartment).  The poor guy is treated worse than a stray dog.  I felt so bad for Kryzs.  He stayed in the U.S. because he thought Lisa needed the money this transaction would provide.*************************************************************************************************************************************************While the plot was cute, there are lots of misunderstandings that would have been cleared up with a single conversation.  The secondary characters, particularly Kryzs' relatives brought humor to the story.  Lisa's parents were just plain annoying and a few cards short of a full deck.The story would have also been much stronger had it spanned a few months instead of just a few days.  We never really get to know Kryzs beyond his quiet, thoughtful personality and trying to do the right thing.  Seeing Lisa and Kryzs develop a real relationship over time and get to know each other would have made a potential relationship much more realistic.There was absolutely no way for any relationship to develop between Kryz and Lisa as she was fully planning to marry another man just a few days prior.  You actually end up feeling bad for both men and hope Lisa would simply go away and grow up as she doesn't seem to grasp the idea of what a healthy relationship and real love looks like or involves.