Review: Fun read that made me smile
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 26, 2014
A Bride's Guide to Getting Married was such a light, fun read.  I couldn't help but smile as I read this story.  The subject matter and general feel of the book reminded me of the Shopaholic series---which is not a bad thing.  I love the Shopaholic books and loved A Bride's Guide to Getting Married too!Emily's situation is so easy to relate to.  Who hasn't been dumped?  Who hasn't felt "behind" her peers in some way---whether it's about marriage, having a baby, or your career path.  I completely understood why she reacted the way she did and even why she entered the contest, knowing she wasn't engaged or even in a relationship.Once Emily started reaping the benefits of winning the contest, the story became even more fun to read.  It was neat to live vicariously through her, with the attention, clothes, jewelry, and hair and make-up team at her beck and call.  A Bride's Guide to Getting Married was very glam in that way, and very girly.Despite the superficial aspects to the story, there was a surprising amount of character growth throughout the storyline.  I loved that and was happy that Clara made this book a little deeper by having her characters adapt to their circumstances and come out as stronger, more self-aware people.The one thing that I wasn't sure about with this story is that the book appeared to be set in England (for the life of me I can't remember if Clara named the city the book's set it), using some terms unique to the UK, but then all of the currency was listed as American dollars, not pounds.  I was a little confused, because with the exception of the currency I was sure that A Bride's Guide to Getting Married was set in the UK.With that said, I loved the ending and finished this book with a smile.  I had a good time reading A Bride's Guide to Getting Married and look forward to reading more from Jasmine Clara.