Review: Am I the only one fangirling over this series?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 9, 2014
Four authors from Entangled Brazen collaborating to write a series of interconnected novels revolving around a bridal party on the prowl for a steamy hookup? Yes please! After reading the introductory novella to the Wedding Dare series, Dare to Resist by Laura Kaye, I was eager to see how each author would create their own individual story within an overarching narrative. Diane Alberts’s Falling for the Groomsman is the first book in the series I read and it didn’t disappoint, providing a steamy romance between two characters with plenty of emotional baggage between them. Whether the characters are experiencing moments of happiness and humor or heartache and distress, Falling for the Groomsman is a seductive and engaging new addition to the Brazen line.After years of careful avoidance following a one-time sexual encounter in their youth, protagonists Christine Forsythe and Tyler Dresco are faced with endless hours of quality time together as members of a wedding party, specifically the wedding of Tyler's sister aka Christine's best friend. The tension between the pair as a result of a past event is palpable from the start, with lingering hurt feelings and miscommunications casting an air of discomfort across the proceedings. Even with the obvious animosity Christine still feels toward Tyler, they share undeniable chemistry, exchanging acerbic barbs one moment and primed to rip each other’s clothes off the next.Falling for the Groomsman is a second chance love story, with characters that are so thoroughly fleshed out by the author that reading the narrative feels as if you’re having a conversation with them. I particular enjoyed reading the narrative through Christine's perspective because her slight awkwardness is endearing and half the time, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to laugh or cringe at her antics. She lives inside of romance novels, getting seduction tips from the bold and brazen fictional characters in these stories and wants to put her studies to good use, specifically with Tyler. This book is practically tailor made for book lovers, drawing on the fantasy of getting a second chance at love with your ideal man.Because of Christine's reliance on the advice of fictional stories, the narrative is very aware of its genre, acknowledging the commonplace happenings of a romance novel, even as it embraces these clichés. I appreciated the tongue-in-cheek humor infused into Christine’s ramblings because it was an entertaining contrast with Tyler’s pragmatism. It is these two characters that make Falling for the Groomsman a lighthearted and humorous read. With Falling for the Groomsman, Diane Alberts made me want to root for a Happily Ever After capable of satisfying the heart of a true romance novel fanatic.*complimentary copy received by publisher for an honest review