| Title | : | One and Only (Bridesmaids Behaving Badly, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1455542407 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781455542406 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 337 |
| Publication | : | First published February 27, 2018 |
With her bridezilla friend on a DIY project rampage, bridesmaid Jane Denning will do anything to escape - even if it means babysitting the groom's troublemaker brother before the wedding. It should be a piece of cake, except the "cake" is a sarcastic former soldier who is 100% wicked hotness and absolutely off-limits.
Cameron MacKinnon is ready to let loose after returning from his deployment. But first he'll have to sweet talk the ultra-responsible Jane into taking a walk on the wild side. Turns out, riling her up is the best time he's had in years. But what happens when the fun and games start to turn into something real?
One and Only (Bridesmaids Behaving Badly, #1) Reviews
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This is it. This is how you write a bad boy romance without making it toxic. ONE AND ONLY filled my dark and frowny heart with pure joy. I normally run in the other direction when someone says "fluff," but someone in my romance group recommended this one and the summary sounded really good and I loved the cover, so here we are. Me, sitting in my chair. About to eat my words.
Jane is basically the mom in her friends group. Elise is the high strung one. Wendy is the chill one. Gia is the gorgeous one. And Jane is the one who plays everything safe and plans out everything. That's why she's the one who's jumping through all the hoops for Elise's upcoming wedding, even though she's become a bit of a power-mad bridezilla who seems like she's working on building her own personal reign of terror, one frosted mason jar at a time.
Elise has found Mr. Right in her fiance, Jay, but he has a black sheep of a brother named Cameron who seems like the very epitome of Mr. Wrong. If the rumors about him are true, he got his high school sweetheart pregnant and then didn't take responsibility, burned down a barn, and got dishonorably discharged from the military. Elise is terrified that he's going to ruin everything, which is why she has assigned Jane to "babysit" him. Poor Jane.
At first Jane finds Cameron super frustrating-- because he's a player and seems like a flake. But the more she gets to know him, the more amusing and even likable she finds him. Especially when she ends up in a bet with him: he has to stay celibate if she does some of his post-military bucket list items with him, like going to Niagra Falls or bungee-jumping off the highest point in Toronto. The more they do together, the more they genuinely like each other, but Cameron and Jane have some real hang-ups in their pasts that might pose a serious impediment to any semblance of a relationship.
I loved this book so much. It's so rare to see a book that takes two likable people and makes them fall in love, and makes them fall in love in an interesting way. Of course it helps that Cameron is basically a grown-up version of Patrick Verona from 10 Things I Hate About You and Jane is a YA author who likes to cos-play as Xena and go to Comicons. Jane and Cameron were fun to watch, and the sex scenes in this book were surprisingly steamy and risque! I was actually shocked LOL (in a good way). The perfect blend of light-hearted humor with serious emotional issues gave this such a cinematic vibe, I could totally picture this as a movie-- replete with the last act of redemption, which managed to be sweet and over-the-top, but not so over-the-top where I was like whaaaaat.
But perhaps the sweetest moment in this story is like the first time they're ever intimate and he just gets on his knees and puts his face in her hand. That nearly undid me. I was like unnffff. Marry him now.
The PTSD element in this book was SO well done also. Way too often, you see books that seriously underplay the effects of mental illness, or else forget about it entirely as soon as the two characters fall in love. I felt like it was handled seriously and respectfully here and even though Jane helped him, she was a comfort and not a "cure." I was so happy to see that in a romance novel, because I think normalizing mental illness in romance is so important!
If you like cute romances that take mental health seriously, have fantastic nerd rep, show how both fun and annoying weddings can be, and show a likable character falling in love (hot scenes included), I think you'll really love this book. It's one of the best romantic contemporaries I've read in a while.
4.5 stars -
In the words of my 4-year old daughter, this was adorbs and seeeewww cuuuute!
Jane Denning is the super responsible friend that gets assigned to be DD 99% of the time. And in this story, Jane was tasked to "babysit" her best friend's future brother-in-law and keep him from ruining her wedding.
Cameron McKinnon was dishonorably discharged from the organization he credits for saving him. There's a good reason why he did what he did though, which is why I wish Cameron got a bit more closure and justice because what was done to him was really unfair.
Cameron came off like a real jerk at the beginning. He had a plan to get his fun whenever and wherever he can and Jane was in his way. So there was definitely tension at first.
And I don't know if other readers feel the same way but I actually liked that Jane wasn't on Cam's radar for potential sexual partner at first. She wasn't his type at all but Jenny Holiday did a fine job of showing how Cam's feelings changed slowly.
I adored Jane. Kudos to Ms. Holiday for writing a plus size heroine and not make her weight a plot point in the book. Sure, Jane was aware of her weight but this story isn't the usual "chubby girl learns to love herself (or god forbid went on a weight loss journey) in order to find love." No. Jane is sexy, confident, and accepts herself, faults and all.
The cover however doesn't show that, which is a shame. Nothing frustrates a reader more than knowing that the cover model looks nothing like the cover. I mean, Jane is curvy and definitely not a size 2 like the model on the cover. Yes, I'm nitpicking but I wish publishers would choose covers with more care. If the character is curvy and a size 14, then I want to see that on the cover. :(
Cover aside, I adored this book. It was fun and I enjoyed reading about a group of girls who couldn't be more different loving and supporting each other. If you're looking for some light and fun read, I highly recommend this book.
ARC provided by Forever -
Favorite Quotes:
She was talking fast and ending declarative statements with question marks— sure signs she was stressed. Elise always sounded like an auctioneer on uppers when she was upset.
The words job list practically gave Jane hives. Elise had turned into a total bridezilla… But, oh, the job list. The job list was like the Hydra, a serpentine monster you could never get on top of. You crossed off a job, and two more sprouted to take its place.
He was having trouble imagining Jane as a girl. She seemed like the kind of person who had been born thirty years old.
Gia was gorgeous. Jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Jane was used to it— it was like she’d had exposure therapy or something— but when you were meeting Gia for the first time? Well, just hope you weren’t simultaneously operating any heavy machinery.
Gia started humming the wedding march but morphed it into the theme from Jaws as Elise approached the bar.
My Review:
I greatly enjoyed this humorous and sexy tale but it wasn’t all cotton candy and marshmallow fluff as the author skillfully wove in some insightful and thoughtful observations about the military, family drama, the cruelty of gossip, self-concept, anxiety, addictions, and PTSD. I adored her complicated and quirky characters with my favorite being the geeky yet staid and responsible Jane who was a devotee of cosplay, Comicon, and all things Xena. The storylines were adroitly paced, consistently engaging, pleasantly entertaining, and cleverly amusing with sizzling hot licks of sensuality between the two main characters. This was my first Jenny Holiday read, an experience I plan to habituate. -
This was almost outstanding. Indeed, if it weren't for a single element, this had a very good shot at pulling down all the stars.
I fell for both protagonists, both individually and as a couple. I loved Jane's unashamed embrace of her inner nerd as much as I loved Cam's reaction and support for it. I loved Cam's kindness and willingness to behave according to his inner sense of honor and obligation as much as I loved Jane's reaction and support for it. They were practically made for each other, even as different as they were. Best of all, you can easily see them making a life together, enjoying each others' differences while embracing new opportunities and overcoming obstacles. As a team.
What killed this so very much was Cam's self-loathing. Not only was it an extreme case of the affliction, but I couldn't help thinking how poorly grounded it was. Sure, if he lived in a vacuum and never talked with other people or learned the kinds of things others value and respect, I could see holding that negative view of himself. His self-abnegation is possible only if he focuses solely on results outside of his control and completely discounts his motivations and desires—all of which are shown to be not only honorable (sorry, he's Canadian so honourable), but in many ways outright noble.
So his self-perception only works if he has never experienced the valuation of what is good and right and just from anyone else around him, including the broader culture in which he resides. So he's never watched movies or TV or talked with his fellow soldiers about right and wrong and doing the necessary thing even if the outcome is somehow botched. (And since we know he's watched Xena, Warrior Princess we know that's totally not the case because half the episodes address dynamics of doing what you believe is right even when others protest or the results go somehow astray.)
So when the self-loathing turns the corner into self-destruction, and worse, hurts Jane . . . well, let's just say that I wasn't happy. I saw it coming and was braced for it, but it sucked every bit as bad as it could have, so it completely killed my attachment to the story. Yeah, his grand gesture is extremely cool. And yeah, I'm happy they're together in the end. But that unfounded self-evaluation dropped this a whole star and a half into 3½ territory. And I'm vacillating on whether to round up or down. Probably up because so much of this was outstanding. It’s just that a lot of the damage hit near the end and I’m still smarting.
A note about Steamy: There are four-ish explicit sex scenes and they’re long and detailed and into the upper reaches of my steam tolerance (but not outside of it). I appreciated how well-integrated they were into the emotional development of the relationship, though, so at least there’s that… -
MY FIRST FIVE STAR READ OF 2018 AND MY FIRST ABSOLUTELY-I-WILL-RECOMMEND-THIS-TO-YOU SHELVED BOOK
MY RATING: 5/5 STARS
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I'm going to be honest and let you guys know that I sent out my request for this one as soon as I saw the instagram story Forever Romance (the publisher) posted simply because of how gorgeous the cover looks and how much it reminded me of a romantic movie poster. It's simply so stunning, I knew I would have to get my hands on it one way or another. Now, it seems so shallow because I knew absolutely nothing about the book but it made it so much more enjoyable to not know sometimes.
A quick run down of the plot and characters is that Jane, the 'responsible' one out of a group of her best friends, is put to the task of taming the resident 'bad boy', Cameron, who just so happens to be the groom's younger brother. Jane is this sensible character who prefers to wear comfortable jeans as opposed to short skirts. She likes order. She likes planning things and making sure things fall into place. She does not take risks unless she absolutely has to. In walks Cameron, a boy with a seriously bad reputation. He burned down a barn when he was a teenager, got a girl pregnant, dropped out of high school, and escaped the small town he grew out of and became a soldier in the Canadian army. He challenges her to open her eyes and jump. Not to worry about the future but just live life fully in the present.
I knew this was going to be a good book from the first page because I found myself actually reading every word on the page. Typically, if the writing doesn't sit well with me, I skim a lot. But Jenny Holiday was able to captivate me and pull me into this silly world filled with a DYI bride and her best friends who love her to death but also want to throttle her. Then I knew I really would LOVE this book when I read this chunk where she described how Cameron saw the beauty of Jane. This one scene where he saw that wasn't a nerdy prissy girl but a fierce goddess who was a force to be reckon with made me smile so wild. It was absolutely beautiful to read.
I also knew this was going to be a good read because of the characters themselves. Cameron had so many layers. He and his brother didn't grow up with a house and white picket fences and parents that loved and supported them. He, his brother, and mother lived in a trailer park, claiming themselves to be trailer park trash. It was rough growing up. After a couple of mishaps, Cameron was slandered by the small town. He was painted as the black sheep of the family, always causing trouble and never up to any good. And the really heartbreaking thing about this was that he wasn't anything what his reputation said he was but he BELIEVED every word they said. It broke me. It shattered my heart into a thousand pieces. It made my chest ache for this fictional character. He claimed to be a fallen angel from the skies. A fallen angel who wants to redeem himself, find the light, and reenter heaven. His story was so complex. I loved every page of it and all I want to do is crawl into his lap and tell him he's a good man.
Next, Jane. Jenny Holiday wrote a strong story for Cameron but she didn't shy away from writing one for Jane. Her life may seem boring and she may sound very orderly but there's a reason for it. I'm not going to ruin it because it's kind of a big reveal in the end for her so read the book to know it. I ached for Jane too. She holds a lot of guilt on her chest from her childhood. I also felt frustrated for her a lot of the times too. Sometimes her friends too advantage of her and teased her for her personality. And Jane, not wanting to stir trouble, wouldn't say anything about it but it just felt so wrong. I applaud her for her character development because we saw a fierce goddess in the end of the book.
I loved One and Only. It was a much more complex story than what the gorgeous cover suggests. It made me cry, smile, and laugh. One and Only delves into a world where one of the biggest things you can ever do in life is to forgive yourself for your mistakes and love without restrictions.
MY RECOMMENDATION:
READ IT. PRE-ORDER IT. READ IT. I am totally anticipating for the next book in the series coming out in June 2018. -
Guys, I could sing/shout from the rooftops all the praise that I have for this book. Maybe that's a little overkill but seriously, I LOVED this book from start to finish and I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. I thought it would be a cute and fun read but it was way more than that.
First, let's get to the part that I'm most surprised about. This is a contemporary romance set in.....SOUTHERN ONTARIO. Can we just take a minute?! I know these places and I've been to these places! Even more than that, it regularly mentions the University city (as well as the University) that I went to and trust me when I say, it's not mentioned in novels.....ever. Part of the appeal of a lot of the novels that I read is that the location is set in a place that is not common for me. However, I also don't typically find contemporary novels set in my area either. This was a different experience for me in that I knew all of these locations quite well because I visit them regularly. This experience alone has me searching for more contemporary novels set in Canada, specifically in Ontario. It was a reading experience unlike any other and it's hard to even put into words how it felt to have a story set in your "home".
Aside from the setting of the novel, the story was also incredibly well done. I fell in love with the main characters and the chemistry that they shared. The story was funny, it was realistic, and what else can I say...it was HOT. This is one of those books that I had extreme difficulty putting down because I just wanted to experience MORE of the story and the writing flowed so well that it was easy to get caught up in it.
This was my first read from Jenny Holiday and I'm ecstatically happy to know that I have more yet to experience. In fact, I borrowed this book from the library but I will be picking a copy of it up at the bookstore along with the following two novels in this series. I definitely would recommend this book to those that like contemporary romances but especially those that are in the GTA area that would like to see a modern story with a setting of home. -
Sorta tempted to round up on this one which is surprising because I wanted to DNF it at around the 15% mark. I loved that it was set in Toronto, which made me reluctant to give up on it, but was surprised by how rocky the beginning was. That said ONE AND ONLY really blossomed as it went on. We have a misunderstood bad boy who is trying to prove that he's more than his reputation, however it was earned, and yet struggling to stay on that path when the world seems to be working against him. And then we have the plain Jane who only lives through her stories, keeping to the outskirts of life, who finds herself challenged to be adventurous by the man she's charged to keep out of trouble.
Some of this was pretty typical contemporary fare, some of it was not, and I really enjoyed the emotional arcs as well as the silliness, the nerd factor, and even the bridezilla shenanigans. Looking forward to book two.
3.5 stars -
Some of the actual writing in this book is real terrible, but it was still kind of adorable and the story was a nice salve for my brain this week
See me discuss it more in my September wrap up:
https://youtu.be/_SbRecYQ9fU -
“What can I do to help?” she asked.
“Be with me. Stay with me,” he said. “Remind me that I’m here, not there.” Be with me. Stay with me.
It may have taken me two years, but … I DID IT!! I finally read One and Only. Yes, I am very proud of myself, thanks for asking. Overall, OAO was a sweet (and somewhat wholesome) romance about a bridesmaid and an estranged groom's brother.
[some random thoughts]
Cameron, my poor baby … Someone give this man a non-judgmental hug.
Janie, you are not boring and shame on everyone who made you feel that way.
Elise, honey. Take a calming breath, please.
Also, this book has me wanting to go to Niagara Falls (Canada Edition) so freaking badly.
𝟯.𝟮𝟱 𝘁𝗼 𝟯.𝟱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝟱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 -
Amazon Kindle bargain bin. Will I ever learn? DNF 32%
- He stopped suddenly, and she crashed into him. Her breasts hit his back, and they were soft and yielding as they met his torso. It was only an instant, but it was enough to remind him—to remind his dick—how much he had missed breasts.
- He sawed off a piece of steak and plopped it onto Jane’s plate. “You have to try this.”
“I can’t, I—”
“Eat it.”
“I don’t generally like my steak so rare. When I do eat steak, I—”
“Eat,” he commanded, raising his voice a little.
She ate.
- “But what if you bail and once you’re gone, I strike up a conversation with a nice young lady?” Cameron said.
It should have been a gross threat, but he was smiling as he said it. He was trying to make her feel better by making her laugh.
“I bet you’ve never picked up a girl in a haunted house before,” she said, using the banter to distract herself.
Cameron is a man of words and deep thought.
- “My shrink used to make me do this meditation exercise. I was supposed to visualize a waterfall. It was supposed to wash away pent-up…shit.”
- “Nah, the, ah…PTSD is from my first tour—from Afghanistan. So I’ve been doing this visualization shit for almost two years now.”
- The knowledge that no matter what stupid shit all the petty humans on this Earth got up to, these falls were impervious to it. It was strangely soothing. People could betray each other, disappoint each other, assault each other, even kill each other, and this water would keep rushing over this cliff. None of it mattered.
- The kiss was just like her: strong but a little tentative. Was it wrong that he found that slight hesitancy attractive? It was like she had to overcome her own doubts first, and for some reason, that made his dick as hard as the rocks these tunnels were carved into.
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See, I'm guilty of having overlooked this book months ago when I first heard about it. But a few words and a prompt by
The Racy Lit Reader and I had to read it. NOW. This book had my name all over it!
A hero with a bad reputation collides with the most responsible and task-focused heroine (alright she's a control freak).
Jane(31 yo, fantasy YA author), has landed herself the duty of babysitting her best friend's future brother in law (27 yo, freshly army discharged and set on sowing wild oats).
'Hate to love you' trope done right! The first third of the book will sure rile you up, as the hero makes its best impersonation of an asshole. Completely disregarding the heroine on principle she isn't what he fantasizes about. Yeah, I know, but we covered the fact he's truly an ass. Not for long, fortunately, Jane has a great personality and is a very likeable heroine, even Cameron will eventually get that. Plus, Cameron's bad reputation may or may not be unfounded.
I pretty much devoured this book, loved the friendship between the women and the steadily unfolding bonding between Cameron and Jane. Sure they start as complete opposites but the author did a great job at reuniting them over some thick cut sexual tension and genuine feelings. Xena cosplaying and the very hot and playful sex didn't hurt either.
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You can find me here too ☞
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Oooh, I liked this. There's something about Jenny Holiday's books that just feels a lot more "real" than your average contemporary. People seem to be living real lives. It wasn't perfect, but the good definitely outweighed the bad. And if you're going to do the trope, this is how you do it.
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OK this is shockingly more thoughtful and cute than I thought it’d be. This book has it all.
Here are some of my thoughts:
• The protagonist, Jane, is funny and relatable. I love how she’s a comic con geek and super cautious and responsible (cuz #same). Anyway, I find her backstory really sad and again, kinda relatable. I didn’t go through what she went through exactly with her dad, but I can find resemblance in that mixture of feelings of anger, disappointment, guilt, and love. It makes sense why she is so fearful of taking of risks and explains her belief in the “butterfly effect” (something she brings up lightly at the beginning of the book in relation to Cameron). Furthermore, I am so so so happy to see her character development. The scenes where she show her bravery to try new things and become more confident as a result make my heart feel warm.
• Cameron, on the other hand, is seemingly a douchebag in the beginning (and really, he does, say, and think some pretty douchebaggy things), but he turns out to be more honorable and astute than people have given him credit for. His character is well-developed in that he really is not perfect – and has made his fair share of mistakes and shown to be an asshole at times – but he’s also has proven that he TRIES to be a better guy. This is true to life because people are generally in the grey area and aren’t perfect. He has a conscience and he gets insecure at times. Sometimes, he acts out because people expect him to be a disappointment already. People are hard on him, but he is his own toughest critic. He knew he was an asshole when he was a younger, but he did something about it when he was 22 and decided to make something with his life. However, that lingering feeling of being a disappointment has made himself a lot harder in the present with his current “failures” of having no job and girlfriend. I love learning more about his backstory, and we learn that his struggles do not stem from him being a “failure,” but actually stem from him being a good guy. It just doesn’t feel like that for him because he’s so hard on himself.
• I appreciate the strong friendship theme. It’s nice seeing supportive friends, but also, it’s great to see the flaws and conflicts between them. You can tell Jane gets annoyed and insecure when her friends emphasize how responsible she is – and they expect her to be always prepared and organized. There was one moment where Jane didn’t anticipate to book something at a water park in advance, and one of her friends, Elise, was disappointed in her and trying to criticize her for not anticipating their needs. Her other friends (Gia and Wendy), however, eased the tension and made Elise realize that she was having unreasonable expectations of Jane and feeling entitled. It was great to see the other friends in the group stand up for Jane to Elise. And then, to see Elise realize she was being a bitch and apologize to Jane was refreshing. It shows that no friendship is perfect and every human is flawed. And at the end of the day, all her friends are loyal and loving. Another realistic friendship development that we see in this book is Jane interacting with Gia. Gia is that one friend who is best friend with one of your best friends (Elise), so by default, you guys hang out and are “good friends,” but never actually hang out with one-by-one and got to know one another. It’s interesting to see Jane describe this friendship, and also see how happy she is when she and Gia finally become closer and are no longer just “friends by default.” I just think this is a cool thing to see in a book because Jane describes it perfectly with that awkwardness and uncertainty when you are vague friends with someone who is best friends with one of your best friends.
• The romance is immensely adorable. I wasn’t expecting it to be that authentic and sweet. It is great to see Jane and Cameron go from bickering hostility to friends to something more. He labeled her as too prim and proper, and she labeled him as a reckless asshole, but they both eventually saw something else in the other person. One of the things I love most about this book is that we see them hanging out and going on random mini adventures together to pass time. These hangouts are so entertaining to read, but also they really develop the characters and their relationship well. I love, love, love that scene where they do the attraction where they jump off the tower thing. The description of fear and exhilaration makes me want to do it too. It is wonderful to see Jane face her fears and come out stronger from it, and I love getting Cameron’s perspective in these scenes because he’s scared for her and feel guilty when he sees she’s scared out of her mind – but he ends up feeling proud of her for facing her fears. I feel proud too reading it. Then, there are other cute, telling scenes with the haunted house, which tells more about him this time because he is so protective and kind when someone is in need. Anyway, I appreciate that Jane and Cameron bring out the best in one another (as trite as that sounds). He makes her feel braver and more willing to take risks. She makes him feel like a good, worthy guy – which he already is, but she makes him finally see it too.
• When her hair goes from “mousy brown” in one moment when he first met her and thought she looked plain to “auburn” in another moment when he starts feeling attraction – that’s a pretty big jump. Like I get that perception changes when your opinion on someone changes – but mousy brown and auburn – like how did your color perception change THAT much??
• I would have liked Cameron to talk more about his dad and mom to Jane. We were more focused about his “not being good enough” issue and what happened in his dating life and army life to address his feelings about his dad. However, I still would’ve liked more just because we did thoroughly discuss how Jane felt about her parents.
• It’s nice that Cameron tells Jane she looks beautiful just as she is – being size 12. He reiterates that a lot when she gets stressed out about eating healthier and losing weight before the wedding. However, I also truly appreciate that scene where she tells him that yeah she wants to eat French fries and she will after the wedding, but she really is concerned about fitting in her bridesmaid dress and she doesn’t want to feel humiliated for not being able to. And he felt sorry and empathized with her. He stopped telling her to just eat whatever, and took her concerns seriously. I think when people are worried about their weight, it’s nice to have both – both the compliments that we are beautiful no matter what size we are AND the expression that our feelings and concerns are valid no matter how much we wish we didn’t feel insecure about weight. It’s refreshing to see this 2nd part in books/movies/real life.
I just love how realistic and complex the characters are. It’s not like the author is being super overanalytical and psychological, but she puts in enough characterization to make them feel like real people, instead of mere shallow characters. The little details with Jane’s intense love for food, geeking out over Xena, and the big things like the reasoning why she is considered the responsible, dependable one in her group. The romance is thorough – it makes sense WHY they love each other. There are actually active developments and changing perceptions. This is refreshing because I have had read my share of simple, shallow romances (some are just fun to read, while some are disappointing). It is great to see such authentic characters, romance, and friendships. It has been a while since I’ve read a book so well-rounded. I will definitely continue to read books by this author (especially the sequels of this book!) 5 stars
Things that you might want to know (WARNING: Spoilers below)
Happy/satisfying ending?
Love triangle? Cheating? Angst level? Other things to note?
Tears-worthy?
Humor?
Favorite scenes? -
My experience reading Jenny Holiday to date has been an enjoyable one, with two of her more recent releases, Famous and Infamous, ending up on my favorites of 2017 list. This sets up pretty high expectations for anything new she puts out, and fortunately she lives up to those with the first romance in her new romantic comedy series Bridesmaids Behaving Badly. Weddings and the chaos that surrounds them provide plenty of material for a romantic comedy. In One and Only, Ms. Holiday gives us an emotional, funny, sweet and sexy romance between the ne’er-do-well brother of the groom and the bridesmaid tasked with keeping him in line.
Jane Denning loves her friend Elise, soon to be married to Jay. Jane is happy to be part of the wedding party, but let’s face it, Elise is driving them all crazy. With do-it-yourself projects ranging from hand stenciled invitations, gold spray painted tea sets for centerpieces, to inventing a tea cocktail for the reception, any excuse to escape another afternoon of crafting is welcome. Jane is the steady, responsible member of the group of friends, but she has a fun side. She loves to cosplay and is working on a Xena, Warrior Princess costume for an upcoming comic con, and she’s a writer of young adult fantasy novels, which means she works from home. In the mind of the bride (and many others) this means it’s fair game to ask her to interrupt her plans in favour of theirs. Thus, when Elise asks her to keep an eye on Jay’s somewhat estranged brother Cameron MacKinnon – who is arriving early for the wedding, and has a less than savoury reputation – Jane accepts the task without complaint.
Cam’s been having a bit of a rough patch for far more years than he’d like to count, and while some of it is his own fault, much of it isn’t. Still, no one has been interested in his side of the story for years, so he’s given up on trying to explain himself to anyone. His stint in the army was supposed to be a reset, until he was discharged under less than ideal circumstances. Arriving home to discover his girlfriend in the arms of another man (ouch), he’s out of options except to crash at his brother Jay’s using the wedding invitation as an excuse to figure out what the heck he’s going to do now. But first up – a steak, and hopefully some hot sex.
When Jane picks up Cam at the airport and makes it clear she’s going to stick to him like glue, it puts a kink in his plans, and not the good kind. Not to be deterred in his quest for a fun night on the town, he manages to elude Jane but she tracks him down and from then on it’s a battle of wills as to who can get the best of whom. Making sure Cam doesn’t cause any scandals to wreck the wedding means Jane is determined to keep him close by and succeeds by accepting a bet in return for him behaving somewhat virtuously. Yet Jane can’t help but see that Cam isn’t the man everyone thinks he is and the mutual attraction between them soon leads to a heated affair. Whoops! Now who’s behaving badly? And more importantly, when the wedding is over will they be over, too?
This story is set in Toronto and sees Jane and Cam visiting several tourist sites, such as the CN Tower, Canada’s Wonderland (the Canadian version of Disneyland), and Niagara Falls. Having visited these places myself, the author recreated some of my favorite vacation memories, a very pleasant and unexpected surprise that added to my enjoyment of the story. For those readers unfamiliar with the city and its local landmarks, they are authentically described and worth visiting. What’s fun about these settings is that Cam makes Jane explore outside of her comfort zone and try the more daring adventures on offer. In the process they get to know each other on a more intimate level, revealing their fears and hangups and becoming closer with every new experience.
Family relationships and friendships are key to the story. The women who make up the wedding party are able to come together for the bride, and joke about how she is turning into something of a bridezilla. Yet the reader is never left with the feeling that they resent all the extra work she gives them, and it’s obvious that they genuinely care about her. They might try to manage some of her more outrageous ideas, but are never mean or malicious behind her back. Still, the other bridesmaids can’t deny that Jane might have got the better deal by agreeing to ‘babysit’ Cam. Little do they suspect what’s really happening.
In contrast, Jay and Cam are not close due to a number of incidents in their childhood and Cam’s reputation for screwing things up. He also keeps his mother at a distance, not wanting to see the disappointment in her eyes with his latest failure, being discharged from the army. The truth is that many of the things Cam’s been blamed for have explanations, but they aren’t ones anyone has wanted to hear, or so he believes. He has PTSD from his time in Iraq, symptoms of which show up from time to time. No one knows about that either – until he shares it with Jane.
Each chapter of the story starts with a countdown timer to the wedding. It’s also a countdown for Cam and Jane’s burgeoning relationship. Starting out as wary adversaries, then friends, the switch to lovers happens easily, and they share some steamy scenes. Part of their ability to let loose is the knowledge that whatever they have will end when the wedding is over. As the big day comes closer, Jane starts to think maybe something more could happen between them. But Cam is so used to being the one to let everyone down that he creates his own self-fulfilling prophecy. A good guy with a giving heart, he doesn’t think he’s worthy of Jane, and just about mucks everything up. Ms. Holiday knows how to write those moments that make you gasp and wonder how everything can work out in the end. Fortunately, after rending your heart she does a good job of patching it back together, too. I love the characters and stories that Ms. Holiday creates, and this is yet another example of why she’s consistently one of my favorite authors. It’s early in the year, but One and Only is a strong contender for making my best of 2018 list.
This review also appears at All About Romance:
https://allaboutromance.com/book-revi...
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A copy of this story was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. -
"Open your eyes and jump."
One and Only is a delightful wedding romance story.
Jane Denning is one of the bridesmaids. She's known as the dependable one. Her friends know they can count on her. She's mature and behaves like a mom at times. Her friend Elise is getting married and she has been given the job of babysitting the groom's brother, Cameron, the black sheep of the family. At first, she couldn't care less about Cameron, he seems to be exactly what people believe of him but the more time she spends with him, the more she can't reconcile what he shows her with what she thinks she knows of him.
Cameron MacKinnon has been discharged from the Canadian military. He has done two tours in the Middle East and has the psychological scars to prove it. Now that he's back home he wants nothing more than to eat a nice piece of steak, enjoy the view from the tallest building and have sex with a willing woman. Much to his surprise, he finds Jane at the airport waiting for him and interfering with his plans. So in order to accomplish the items on his list, he will drag her out with him. This is when he notices that "plain Jane" is the farthest thing from the truth.
Like I said earlier, a really cute love story. Jane is a nerd, a writer of a YA fantasy. She dresses in comfort and likes to play it safe. Yet, when Cameron pushes her to do the things that scare her, she's willing to let herself go. Her character continues to bloom throughout the story. Cameron suffers from low self-esteem and what's worse, he lets his family and friends think the worst of him. Many times he could have explained past events but he believed he wasn't worth it until Jane shows him differently.
There was one scene where I cringed although I knew something similar was coming. Thankfully, the rest of the characters were there to set Cameron straight.
I can't wait to read the next Bridesmaids Behaving Badly!
"You're already a swan."
4/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Forever via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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OK I’m going to sound totally shallow, but I wanted to pick up One and Only because that cover is just absolutely adorable. It’s such a sweet and romantic cover, and I knew I had to discover all the goodness that lay on the inside. I’m happy to say that One and Only was just as delightful on the inside, and was a book that entertained me all throughout.
I have a thing for romances that are set around weddings, and I was particularly excited for that element going into One and Only. Jane is a bridesmaid for one of her best friend’s wedding, and has a lot of responsibilities to handle as a result of the bride turning into a bit of a bridezilla. One of her responsibilities? Make sure the groom’s notorious womanizing brother doesn’t get into trouble! I really enjoyed Jane’s character. I think a lot of women will see themselves in her, especially when it comes to her self-esteem issues. She’s really entertaining to read about too, with her fiery personality. I really enjoyed getting to know her as the story progressed. I wasn’t sure what to make of Cameron, initially. He had that reputation around him, and there were times at the beginning of the book when he was quite mean to Jane, in my opinion. But he wound up growing on me. He is a military man who comes back to the country only discover that his girlfriend is cheating on him. So he’s a bit prickly and cold on the outside. Over the course of the book though, we get to see him open up thanks to Jane, and turn into a better person.
I thought the romance here was really sweet! You have two people who completely start off on the wrong foot, but who are forced to spend time together – this is one of my favorite tropes! – and in the process, find themselves falling for each other. Jane and Cameron together were fantastic. Not only were they charming and totally sexy together, but they are a couple that help each other grow. I especially loved all the scenes of Cameron nudging Jane into doing things she was too afraid to do! I also loved how Jane shows Cameron kindness and teaches him a thing or two. I thought they worked so well together as a couple! My only complaint would be that there were a few scenes that I found to be cheesy that I could have done without, but they honestly weren’t bad enough for me to not enjoy the book. Besides the romance, I enjoyed the empowering depiction of female friendships. I especially liked Wendy, Jane’s best friend who is getting her book next.
This first book in the Bridesmaid Behaving Badly series was a whole lot of fun! If you’re into swoony opposites attract romances, then One and Only is just the delightful book for you! -
As a huge wedding movie fan, I was so excited to start this series. Who doesn't love a good bridesmaid story where the bridesmaid falls in love with the groom's brother?
Jane Dennings is thrilled one of her good friends is getting married and asked her to be a bridesmaid, but she'll do anything to get out of the insane DIY rampage the bride has gone on. That means when the bride begs one of her friends to babysit the groom's troublemaker brother, Jane immediately volunteers. Cameron MacKinnon is aware of his bad reputation and is too tired to do anything about it. Especially when he comes home from military on not so honorable terms. He wants to let loose and have fun now that he's back home, but a stubborn bridesmaid won't leave him alone. As they spend more time together and Jane takes her job of babysitting too seriously, Cameron is ready to play some games and have some fun.
Like I said, I love a good wedding story, so the whole atmosphere of this book was just so fun. I loved how every chapter was a countdown to the wedding and Jane was doing anything she could to get out of the crazy prep the bride was obsessed with. I enjoyed the dynamic between Jane and the other bridesmaids and how the author set up the whole world so well that, halfway through the book, I was already excited to get to book two to read about another one of the bridesmaids!
With weddings come awkward family relationships, and Cameron was definitely in an awkward situation with his brother. I really loved Cameron's character and how there were so many layers to him. We got to see those layers as Jane got to know him more and it was cute how he started to fall for Jane when he wasn't that impressed with her when they first met. Jane's determination to keep an eye on Cameron was so funny and I liked how their relationship started out on the fun side.
Overall, I really loved this book and think it's the perfect book to read during wedding season! I adored the main couple, especially how Cameron was in the military and dealing with his own trauma from what he went through, and how there was so much more to him than met the eye. For an adorable romance with a fantastic main couple, you need to pick this up! -
why isn't this book more popular?!
i know everyone has different tastes and yadi yadi yada, but if you like romance - cute, fluffy, adorable, squee inducing romance, i really think you should read this. it has a few adult scenes so if they aren't your jam, skedaddle.
i saw it on netgalley a few months back and a few goodreads friends had marked it as 'to read' but i didn't see anyone on my 'i trust this person and would add it to my TBR without knowing anything about it' list so i skipped it. sometimes real people on covers bothers me (i realise this is ridiculous, you don't need to tell me), and nothing about the synopsis jumped out at me, so i skipped it. speaking of the synopsis - and the series name - it does nothing for this book. don't judge a book by its cover, or its synopsis, or the series name. anywho, i judged it on all of those things and i figured if it were really good, i'd see recommendations and just grab it later. i try not to over request on netgalley because then i feel forced to read and i don't want to do that.
anywho. my friend who is like #1 on my 'i trust this person' list read #2 and told me i would like it, and that is currently on netgalley right now, so off i popped to request it. unfortunately i suffer from 'cannot read anything out of order-itis' and had to read this first. but of course it's not on netgalley anymore, not on any of my library avenues... blah. i really didn't want to pay for it. aren't i a jerk? here's the thing, i hate buying books and then they turn out to be bad. isn't that the worst? and i was worried that would happen. but i had a no rush credit and got $1 off so i figured, what the hey.
BEST DECISION I MADE ALL DAY.
I could NOT put this down. legit. stuck to my hands. screw being a functioning adult. i sent my friend - who recommended book #2 - a text when I was on page 5 telling her how much i was already enjoying it and then continued to update her with text squeals about how adorable it was.
BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY ADORABLE YOU GUYS.
It was funny. SO FUNNY. it was adorable. sexy AF without being over the top. i loved Jane and Cameron. Jane was fabulous, gotta love a nerdy character. Cameron, I loved him but i wish he wasn't so hard on himself. i wish he was able to get some resolution with the thing that happened in the army, but i guess that was realistic and if he's okay with it, i should be too lol.
Cameron was a teensy bit hard to like in the beginning - his thoughts definitely land in caveman land. plus he doesn't communicate well or correct people when they assume things about him or treat him poorly, which is frustrating. his thoughts start off in the .
lets see what else. when i love a book, i have a hard time talking about it. i'm not one of those people who can write intricate reviews using big words about the characters and plot. i don't really dissect the characters and their actions. when i dislike a book, sure, i'll rip it to shreds. but when i like it? i'm like 'i really liked this'. and guess what, i really liked this. i read for enjoyment and this book was SO ENJOYABLE. every single page gave me all the feels, i loved the characters, the plot, the writing - everything.
i highly recommend this. obviously.
one last thing: THE PICTURE OMG OMG SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE. that's when i super fell in love with this book. now i'm off to read the second one! -
Every group of girlfriends has one and Jane is it. Y’all know the one. The dependable one. The mother hen. The one the others rib about being so organized, but also rely on that organization. So when one of her best friends is getting married and finds out that her screw up brother-in-law Cameron has “left” the military and coming to Toronto early for the wedding, Jane steps up to babysit. How hard can it be?
Well, Cameron’s life is in transition. He’s spent a lifetime living down to people’s expectations. He’s the black sheep, the troublemaker, the opposite of dependable. When he’s released from service from the Canadian military and then finds his girlfriend hasn’t been the paragon of faithfulness, Cam is determined to do alot of things (and possibly people) to make up for lost time. When these two spend the week leading up to the wedding together, alot of perceptions are changed, adventures are had, and yes, romance happens.
The Good
Jane and Cameron are the opposite of insta-love (like there’s not even an immediate attraction), and I loved seeing their perceptions of each other change as they get to know each other. There’s some tasty tropes, for sure (opposites attract, slightly older heroine/hero, wedding themed), but it goes beyond the basic tropes. At first glance, Cameron’s a screwup, Jane’s uptight, and they are not vibing. However, peeling back their layers, Jane and Cameron’s chemistry is potent, and I adored how Cam pushed Jane’s boundaries while still being protective, sweet and falling for her with every new adventure. The frank and honest discussion they have regarding toys and the truly pleasurable uses they can have between couples was refreshing and fun. I swear, when Cameron refers to Jane as being in goddess mode, I was all in and rooting for these two to make it to their own HFN/HEA. I throw in HFN because the timeline on this story is very short and this does end on a very realistic and solid path to a HEA, which suits these two characters perfectly.
The Bad(ish)
Cameron struggles to get out of his own way. You know that moment when things are going to go sideways? Man, Cam slayed me and yet I wanted to hug him and tell him it’ll be alright once he gets his head out of his booty. Ms. Holiday definitely gives a foundation for Cam’s low self esteem, and he’s had a lifetime of never really believing in himself and allowing misperceptions to slide without defending himself because of it. His character arc is well done, so that’s why I say only bad-ish, because it’s that last act dumbassery that made me crazy. This is a personal peeve of mine, when one part of a couple unilaterally makes decisions for the other. Makes sense, but doesn’t mean it doesn’t irk me.
Everything in Between
The female friendships are something that I love to see in a book, and there’s no real stereotypical female antagonist, so kudos to Ms. Holiday for that. I liked the tiny moments of jealousy by Cam and Jane, but it never went to caveman/woman levels. If Ms. Holiday were to explore this quad of friends a bit more (there’s a little tease of Wendy and Jane’s brother maybe?), I would not be mad. At all.
I really, really enjoyed Jane and Cam’s romance, and I would recommend for fans of contemporary romances in general, who love the slightly older woman/younger man, opposites attract tropes. It was fun and I’d like to visit this ‘verse again.
**ARC provided by publisher via netgalley for review**
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I seem to be in a book slump that just won't quit so that probably didn't help this book at all. Regardless, I really didn't like this much.
It was to a solid start and I did like both main characters, but the book quickly lost quality after the beginning. It all happens way too fast (the couple falls in love in a week. A week! *facepalm*), the bridezilla is a little too over the top crazy before doing a complete turnaround at the end, it's too cheesy and the ending is really nothing but ridiculous. Who dresses up as Xena and Hercules at a wedding? Very little in this book actually seemed realistic to me.
There was also too much sex. I feel like I’ve never complained about this before (because it’s usually not an issue at all) but it often felt gratuitous here.
I am slightly tempted to check out the second book in the series, because I adore second chance romances, but seeing as how this author's writing isn't my thing, I should probably be smart and give it a pass. -
Freaking fantastic!
4.5 stars
Sweet, sexy, beautifully romantic and heartfelt but also laugh-out-loud funny and so much fun! This is the perfect guilty pleasure read, and I devoured it!
We are introduced to Jane Denning while she is trying on her Xena costume for Comic-con (I love her already). She is one of a group of four best friends, and is in the middle of bridesmaid duties for one of them, who has turned into a control-freak, DIY-mad bridezilla. Desperate to escape the ever-increasing demands placed upon her by the bride, she happily accepts the task of babysitting the groom’s new-in-town bad boy brother in the lead up to the wedding to ensure that he stays out of trouble. Simple, right?
Cameron MacKinnon has just returned from an overseas deployment and he is ready to embrace everything that he has missed - sex, alcohol, home-cooked food and wild adventures. Unfortunately he has been landed with an uptight babysitter, but he soon learns that the super-responsible Jane actually has a wild streak of her own, and as he drags her along on his reintroduction to civilian life, he realises that loosening her up is a whole lot of fun that he wasn’t expecting.“Sometimes you have to open your eyes and jump”
I LOVE this relationship! Smart and funny with fantastical banter, Jane and Cameron may appear to be an unlikely match, but the more time they spend together, the more they get to know each other, and the build-up of their attraction is fantastic!
Jane is such a fantastic character. She’s smart, sensible and relatable, and her nerdiness is absolutely charming. She’s blown away by Cameron from the first moment she sees him, and though she’s initially with him out of a sense of duty (and to escape wedding-planning hell), she actually likes his company, and the lines begin to blur as she discovers that spending time with him isn’t such a chore after all.
And Cameron may have a bad reputation, but not all is at it seems, and he is completely misunderstood by pretty much everybody in his life. But then along comes Jane who accepts him as he is and who actually wants to dig deeper and get to know him. They have so much fun together, and she is so much more than he expected, and he quickly finds himself falling hopelessly under her spell.
The chemistry is fantastic, the sexual tension sizzles and when they eventually get down to it, the sexy time is steamy hot! True feelings develop easily and naturally, and though I was wrapped up in romantic bliss, are they ready for all that it means?
This book is such a fun ride. It’s sweet, funny and seriously sexy, a delightfully charming read, but not in an OTT sugary way, just in a way that is enjoyable and will have you reading with a permanent smile on your face. There is some drama, but it’s handled just perfectly, and I loved the way it all played out.
And as fantastic as the romance is, the other highlight of the book is Jane and her girlfriends. This is a great bunch of girls, each of them strong and smart but utterly unique. There is a lot of love between them and they have great dynamics, and I can’t wait to read the books for the rest of the girls in this fabulous group.
A fantastic start to a new series, I loved it!
4.5 stars.
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4/5
This was so cute!! I loved Cam + Jane so much, both together and individually. Their romance was sweet, funny and sexy and I loved that they constantly helped each other to grow. I'm definitely excited to read the next one. -
I spent most of this book thinking it was between 2-3 stars - there was a version of this story I think I would've been into - but the last 20% or so realllllly was rough going and I am downgrading this to one star. That was terrible.
Their first meeting wasn't great for me (I'm never going to love a guy as a romantic hero whose first thoughts about the heroine are quite like that), but the overall idea of them spending time together and actually getting to know each other was nice. Now, meeting and falling in love in a week realllly stretches my ability to handwave things away in romance, but I could see a version of the story that did ultimately work for me.
The first of the big issues I had was Elise. The book kept trying to tell me that she wasn't that bad, and in normal non-wedding times she's actually a good friend, but she was Awful and telling me she isn't normally awful doesn't do anything to make me believe that. Sorry, but you cannot ask your friends to give up their lives and jobs for weeks (or in Gia's case, seemingly months) to help you DIY everything for your wedding, especially when you keep changing your mind and adding more DIY projects every hour. When you do that as a bride, you ultimately do not survive the wedding with your friendships still intact. I have no desire to read any books about Elise, because quite frankly, nothing in this book made me think I'd ever enjoy reading about her being happy. She was not a character I could ever root for. (It doesn't help that Jay also kinda sucked, and I rolled my eyes every time the book told me how much Jay and Elise loved each other because it was a lot of telling and not showing. Although since both Jay and Elise suck, I suppose they deserve each other.)
Then there was how everyone treated Cameron. I didn't even love Cameron as a character or a romantic hero all that much, but the way his brother in particular (and Elise by extension) treated him, writing him off and just assuming the worst, really grated. Followed by the one scene towards the end of the book where everyone was like "Oh, we were so wrong, and you were always just misunderstood" as though that fixed everything. Just very badly handled and did not make me think everything was fixed. Also, the line where Gia compared his discharge from the military as him "tak[ing] the fall for Becky" just like he covered/took the fall for his HS girlfriend who got pregnant by someone else. Uhhhh, no? Those two things are not comparable???? Becky was assaulted by her superior officer, so maybe can we not try to make those two things out to be the same thing???? I 100000% agree with the sentiment that this situation was very unfair, but in no way did Cam "take the fall" for Becky here. The situation was unfair to BOTH Cam and Becky. Becky first and foremost, as a matter of fact. (This is when I fully downgraded the book to one star in my head. That was unacceptable.)
Also just eternally laughing that Elise would've been okay with the amount of drama and nonsense Jane and Cameron caused at the wedding. I cannot imagine her being okay with two people dressed up as Hercules and Xena at her wedding. And honestly, even though Elise was a terrible friend and bridezilla, no one should have to deal with that at their rehearsal or wedding. Maybe it was supposed to show that she wasn't as terrible a friend after all, but tbh, that point fell super flat if it was the intention. Too little, too late, and did not fit with her character at all.
ANYWAY, no one in this book came off especially well. Gia was maybe the only character in it I didn't hate, and Sam tells me she thinks I'd be into her book, so I may read it eventually. But woof, this one was very bad. -
Bridesmaid Jane is the one who gets to babysit Jay’s brother until the wedding, keeping the bad boy out of trouble. Though his years in the Canadian Armed Forces have tamed him and taught him a lot about himself, he can’t seem to keep from acting out at Jane as she has such a prickly disposition.
Pretty standard romance. I liked Jane and Cam and that the prickly don’t like you but am attracted anyway, didn’t go on forever moving into the easy and enjoyable feel of them killing time together fairly quickly. Also, that Jane isn’t high and mighty about the rumours surrounding Cam and judged him on what she sees of his personality and not what she’s heard. That was refreshing.
The break apart moment felt a little orchestrated but it was thankfully short-lived.
I read this over the holidays and needed something light and fluffy which this mostly was. It did touch on a few themes like ptsd and alcoholism, survivor guilt etc.. On the whole though the story has some sweet, aww moments and an appropriately sappy ending.
3.5
Other notes:
- I’m pretty sure I went to this wedding last summer.
-Elise is a damned good friend. -
This is my first read from Jenny Holiday, and I was excited to pick it up as I was in the mood for something light and fun. I'm not typically into the bridesmaid and wedding theme, but I an excerpt that was floating around for One and Only and the steamy selection piqued my smutty interest.
So Jane Denning is our responsible introvert of a bridesmaid - a nerdy girl author who writes fabulous young adult fantasy novels. After a failed relationship, Jane has stuck to the solo life for the last six years... something that definitely resonated with me. Sometimes its just easier to be in your own space than it is to think of inviting someone into your life and all your "stuff." But her long bout of celibacy and tendency to wrangle her girlfriends has earned Jane the reputation of being a responsible, boring, wet blanket. This was a bit harsh because there is nothing wrong with being responsible and not sleeping with half the town. We aren't supposed to slut shame... but how about we don't single shame either, okay ladies? And besides - Jane wasn't TOTALLY an adult. She lived in fantasy worlds and dressed up for Comicon! That's not boring! So I connected with Jane a little bit with her single life and nerdy girl introvert tendencies. I also didn't like Jane sometimes though, particularly when she was judgy and willing to believe the worst of people despite evidence to the contrary.
Cameron MacKinnon has just returned home from war and is dealing with a whole lot of caca. His military career is over, as is his relationship with the girl he thought to be living with after his deployment. Escaping to Canada for his brother's wedding comes at the right time and Cameron arrives in Toronto... to find that he has a babysitter in the form of responsible Jane. I didn't start off enamored with this hero. When he meets Jane, he has some particularly unkind thoughts that made it hard to like his character. And while his opinion changes rather quickly, I still had a hard time getting over the sting of those words (even if they weren't said aloud). That being said, Cameron was a misunderstood hero and I absolutely detested how everyone treated him and didn't even think twice about not giving him the benefit of the doubt. While he did have a reputation as a teenager, not only were stories misconstrued, but no one even considered that he may have changed after joining the military and deploying to war zones. I got angry on Cameron's behalf many times in this book, enough that it was starting to make me ranty.
Once I got past Cameron's stinging thoughts and Jane's judgy behavior, I ended up liking them together as a couple. Cameron brought Jane out of her comfort zone, and Jane was really the only person who saw past Cameron's reputation to see the wounded man beneath. I also liked how open and communicative they were when it came to intimacy, and how much fun they had on dates and adventures. Overall, the romantic aspects of the story were light and fun and steamy, and were my favorite parts of the story.
This is the first book I have read in a while where I really didn't care for any of the secondary characters. Usually I like the distraction that a good secondary group will provide, but I just hated all these people for the way they treated Cameron. I did get a few good laughs at the bridezilla antics that were happening during the wedding planning though. That sounded like a total nightmare and made me extra glad that I haven't been in any weddings since the introduction of Pinterest!
I had a little pet peeve about the cover of this book as well. Our heroine is a curvy girl who is trying to lose a few pounds. She's a size 12, and her body size/type and diet were mentioned a lot in this story. As this was a focus of the story and a major aspect of our heroine, I think the cover model should have been more representative of Jane's character.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher, St. Martin's Press. -
Anyone who's ever been a bridesmaid will appreciate this fun contemporary romance! I'm thankful none of my friends have gone full bridezilla the way Jane's best friend Elise did. However, I've also done my fair share of bridesmaiding so I could still relate to the way Jane, Wendy, and Gia coped with their tasks. I only wish one of my friends had given me the task of minding a bad boy groomsman!
Jane and Cam's relationship evolved so organically. As Jane sees the man in front of her doesn't quite match all the stories she was told, she's able to appreciate who he actually is. And Cameron realizes there's a lot more to Jane than he initially thought. I loved watching these two give in to their attraction!
The story explored identity and expectations in such interesting ways. Jane and Cameron are both trapped by the way other people see them. Jane is always the responsible one, Cam the screw-up. But they're so much more and they see each other's strengths so clearly, while also encouraging each other to grow. I could not get enough of this! I also appreciated the way Holiday examined PTSD and sexism in the military with Cam and that Cam's PTSD was not magically cured by love. Rather, Jane has to figure out to support Cam and walk alongside him, which is a good example for us all.
There's one issue I could not overlook. At least three times, one of Jane’s best friends asked whether she was a lesbian just because she wasn’t interested in dating. It's such a nonsense correlation and it needs to end. Sexuality has nothing to do with whether or not someone is dating! Jane had her reasons for not dating and her friends needed to respect that. They knew her reasons and regardless of how affirming they would be if she was lesbian, that's also not the way to go about affirming someone's sexuality if they have not themselves come out to you. It was an odd misstep in an otherwise empowering story.
I'm really looking forward to the next book! I really like this group of friends and how they look out for one another. -
This is a brilliant, fun read and definitely a keeper IMHO! When Jane Denning agreed to be a bridesmaid for her friend, she didn’t anticipate her turning into a bridezilla! Now she’s been given the chance to miss out on some of the turmoil by babysitting the groom’s brother . . . should be easier, shouldn’t it? Oh no, think again! Cameron MacKinnon has recently returned from deployment and is out for fun, definitely not appreciating being baby sat! However, he finds it is so easy and such fun to wind Jane up! Initially the two are not attracted to each other, what could possibly go wrong - or right?
I loved this story, packed with laugh out loud moments, as well as some insightful looks at the impact of cruel gossip, the armed forces, PSTD and addiction. There’s no instant love in this story, in fact it is only as the two get to know each other that feelings between them developed, making this feel a more realistic romance. The dynamics between the bride and her friends are excellently portrayed, as is how Cameron acts and react with the reasons explained as the story progresses. It is a fantastic read to escape into, with great characters, plenty of twists and turns and fun - I have no hesitation in highly recommending it!
I requested and was given a copy of this book, via NetGalley. This is my honest review of the book after choosing to read it. -
I really enjoyed this romance novel. Cam and Jane are so perfect for each other and I just loved their witty back and forth. I also loved the dynamic between the four girlfriends. They are not all alike and yet still get along with each other. The steamy parts were really well done and pretty descriptive, but not too much. I can't wait to see how this series progresses!!
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I'm very new to reading romance, and the few that I've read, I've thoroughly enjoyed. But this one? Where the woman is a young adult writer and a cosplaying nerd...a XENA cosplaying nerd?!?!? Sign. Me. Up! This was a delight to read and I loved the Xena references and Jane's defense of Xena. But that aside, this was also a very HOT read, especially that first time Jane and Cam first hook up.
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*3.5 Stars!*
Books or series revolving around a wedding are always best read during the summer months and because of that, I decided to pick up the first book in Jenny Holiday's Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series. I was ready for wild bachelorette parties, wedding shenanigans and memorably moments and hoped that this series delivered all of these things!
One and Only follows our fellow bridesmaid, Jane Denning, who gets handed the responsibility of keeping the groom's younger brother out of trouble until the wedding is over. But Cameron MacKinnon has other plans and decides to have a little fun with Jane. But when harmless fun turns into something more, will Jane and Cameron takes things to the next level or will one of them end up walking away?
One and Only was such a fun read and a great start to this series. Jane and Cameron are complete opposites: one has their life together while the other is still trying to figure their shit out. But despite their differences, they somehow make a good fit for one another. I really enjoyed seeing these two fall for one another and the chemistry between them was so good! I will say that I had a hard time connecting with Jane. I felt like her character lacked a bit of depth. Majority of Jane's POV is mainly focused on her weight, as she is a curvier girl who fears not being able to fit into her bridesmaid's dress. I say this as curvy girl myself, but I'm tired of weight being the main focus in books with curvier heroines. Like there were other aspects of Jane's life that definitely deserved more attention and I wish we could've focused on those parts instead. On the other hand, I freakin' adored Cameron. Y'all know military heroes are my fave and I loved Cameron's back story. Already branded as a bad boy, Cameron doesn't really try to change people's mind about him because he believes that he will never be a good enough. But Cameron truly deserves all the things because he's actually a great guy who just has all his good deeds thrown back at him. I enjoyed seeing him realize his worth and finding someone he can be his true self around. Another great thing about this book is the strong female friendship between the four women. They are all so different, yet they manage to balance each other out and even when they are all driving each other up the wall, they still have one another's backs. These group of ladies are hilarious and probably one of my favorite things about this series so far. If you're looking for a cute summer read, I definitely recommend picking up One and Only!
