Kaye Dacus' Stand-In-Groom ~ Reviewed

Stand-in Groom (Brides of Bonneterre, Book 1)
by Kaye Dacus
Paperback: 299 pages
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc (January 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1602602883



Book Description:

When wedding planner Anne Hawthorne meets George Laurence, she thinks she's found the man of her dreams. But when he turns out to be a client, her "dream" quickly turns into a nightmare.

Will Anne risk her heart and career on this engaging Englishman?

George came to Louisiana to plan his employer's wedding and pose as the groom. But how can he feign affection for a supposed fiancee when he's so achingly attracted to the wedding planner?

And what will happen when Anne discovers his role has been Stand-In Groom only?

Will she ever trust George again? Can God help these two believers find a happy ending?

You can read the first chapter, here.

Review:

Stand-In Groom is a story about miscommunication magnified! Romance has never been so confusing or so complicated!

Anne Hawthorn is a very sought after professional wedding planner. Her devotion to meeting her clients’ every need and making sure that their weddings are dream-come-true events is unmatched. During an unusually busy wedding season, she meets a couple who appear very out of sync…he’s too old for her, and she seems oddly detached from her soon-to-be husband. If that wasn’t disturbing enough, Anne finds herself extremely attracted to the groom. Little does she know…he finds her attractive too.

And herein lies the problem. See, the groom isn’t really the groom. George is simply standing in for the real groom because he’s a bit too famous and busy to bother about wedding plans. A nifty little confidentiality clause in the legal contract keeps everyone hush-hush. While underneath….the lawyer handling the legalities of the wedding (also Anne’s cousin) knows who the real groom is, and doesn’t want Anne to know. Why? Well, that’s another complicated twist to things. And then the poor stand-in groom, George winds up misunderstood every time he turns around!

Anne has to go to some pretty extreme measures to get to the bottom of this mess, and you will not believe what she finds there! I’m worn out reading this story! If you enjoy romance with more twists and turns than a roller-coaster, Kaye Dacus’ Stand-In Groom is exactly what you’ve been looking for! Reviewed by: Kim Ford

Bonus Review:

Stand-in Groom is a unique story that is full of humor, angst and Southern flair.

Kaye Dacus has thrown a proper Englishman into the heart of Louisiana with a wedding planner, her large family, and her very bruised heart. Wedding details, delicious scents, and a healthy serving of Dino and Frank fill the book, too.

If you love stories that throw obstacles at the couple you know should be together, and you love the idea of weddings and details involved in weddings, or delight in Southern fiction, romance or Englishmen then check out Stand-In-Groom.

Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer

Bonus Review:

This is quite the romance. Some could call it predictable, but I would not necessarily say that because one could not foresee all the twists and turns that are to occur before the outcome. I only think people will predict how they want it to end and just assume they will get it right. As I have said dozens of times before, I am not much a fan of contemporary romances, but I liked this one. That said, I did not necessarily love it. But I think that is because my heart is just stronger in the realm of historical fiction. (Definitely recommend Kaye Dacus' historical series The Ransome Trilogy!!)

Some elements of a large family and good food were parts of this story that I am not used to reading in a book that I quite enjoyed. As well as imagining the scenes and hearing the British or Southern accents play through in the characters vernacular. This is my first contemporary experience with reading this author and it will not be my last. I do recommend this book, and look forward to reading the sequel soon in a few days.

Things happen in life to get you where you need to be, and the hardest part is dealing with a painful event and believing that you will get past it. God knows what he is doing, and the part to remember is that things are best in his time and not in our own. I feel very uplifted from this book and the characters experiences. It makes me think over things from my own past and see more of God in them than I ever would have realized at the time.

Reviewed by: Margaret Chind