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jazmin's review
3.0
brokenrecord's review
3.0
This didn’t work for me. In some ways it kind of felt like a pale imitation of her Sex, Love, & Stiletto/Oxford series, which was a series I was already getting kind of tired of. The main problem for me was that I could never really get into the romance. There was way too much instalust right off the bat, which I typically don’t like (although otherwise well-developed romances can usually get me past instalust), and I never really bought the transition from lust to love, which was also a problem with the last Lauren Layne book I read, Good Girl. Seth was mostly fine as a character (not a character I loved, but not one that I had major issues with), but Brooke kind of drove me crazy.
The main reason this is getting 3 stars and not any lower is that I really liked Maya, and I was super into the background romance between her and Grant. I was so into the set-up for that and was at first hoping they would get their own book, or at least a novella, but the end of this made it seem like that won’t be the case. Which is super frustrating, since
Anyways, I feel like I’ve definitely been less into Lauren Layne’s recent books, but I love some of her older books enough that I’ll probably keep reading whatever she comes out with. And at the very least, I’m into the set-up for Alexis/Logan from this book, and that’s apparently going to be the romance in the 3rd book in this series, so I’ll check that out at least.
Spoiler
I really did NOT understand Brooke’s reaction to finding out about the private investigator. Especially her saying that what Seth did was as bad as what Clay did, or possibly WORSE. Like, seriously??? Finding out your fiance is a conman on your WEDDING DAY via the FBI coming to ARREST him is somehow BETTER than finding out your boyfriend of like a couple weeks (and not even really boyfriend, more like the guy she had hooked up with a couple times) hired a private investigator to look into his sister’s fiance who he didn’t trust and into his girlfriend’s conman ex who was out of prison? Seriously??? I’m not saying that Seth wasn’t being overly controlling or too meddlesome or whatever, but like… he wasn’t WRONG, and surely him finding out about Ned/Neil that way was preferable to Ned/Neil conning Maya and taking all her money after they get married, right??? And it was just bizarre to me that Brooke wouldn’t let herself see it from Seth’s side considering what she went through! Like, surely she would’ve preferred someone find out about Clay and tell her BEFORE the wedding so she wouldn’t find out via the FBI crashing the ceremony. I don’t know, like, I get her being a little upset, but comparing Ned/Neil conning Maya so he can pay off his $800,000 debt to Seth being overprotective of his sister and girlfriend and using a private investigator to see if his doubts are unfounded is fairly ridiculous to me.The main reason this is getting 3 stars and not any lower is that I really liked Maya, and I was super into the background romance between her and Grant. I was so into the set-up for that and was at first hoping they would get their own book, or at least a novella, but the end of this made it seem like that won’t be the case. Which is super frustrating, since
Spoiler
WE DON’T EVEN GET TO SEE THEM GET TOGETHER!!! All we get is like a throwaway mention that they finally got together, which I almost missed it was so quick. If they couldn’t get their own book/novella, the very least we could’ve gotten was a love confession scene between them!!!Anyways, I feel like I’ve definitely been less into Lauren Layne’s recent books, but I love some of her older books enough that I’ll probably keep reading whatever she comes out with. And at the very least, I’m into the set-up for Alexis/Logan from this book, and that’s apparently going to be the romance in the 3rd book in this series, so I’ll check that out at least.
katleap's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars
I received an e-ARC copy of To Have and to Hold from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Brooke Baldwin has just moved to New York to join Wedding Belles, a premier wedding planning company. She’s eager to move on from the fiancé that was arrested on their wedding day and a fresh start is just the way to do it. Her first client is a sweet hotel heiress Maya and her tempting brother Seth Tyler, the Tyler hotel group CEO.
Seth is trying to keep it all together. After finding out that his father hid his heart condition from Seth until after his death, Seth is determined to not lose anyone else. If that means investigating his sister’s fiancé behind her back, so be it. Maya is engaged after only knowing the guy for three months and Seth finds that suspicious, also he’s never met the man. So because he holds the purse strings, he will be involved in this wedding. Now if the wedding planner would just stop distracting him with how attracted he is to her.
I liked Brooke and Seth a lot. They had great chemistry, the banter was hot and the together they felt right. There were lots of cute moments together in the book. I liked Maya and Grant and I really would have liked to see more of them.
I have slightly mixed feelings about this book. Seth and Brooke both have a lot of baggage that didn’t get addressed.
Brooke is ignoring everything to do with her former fiancé and she isn’t dealing with it at all. There were parts where Seth and Brooke were having a moment and she would make a quip that would totally break the mood for me. It just seemed off. Then she would fly off the handle about things that just didn’t make sense to me. Like the breakfast scene. Brooke did not handle that well. Then when they break up and Seth tries to contact her and she is ignoring him, eventually he stops and Brooke says that he didn’t try hard enough. Really!
Seth is a control freak and he admits that right up front. It ends up damaging his relationship with just about all the characters in the book. When he loses control he lashes out and usually it’s pretty mean. The good thing is that he is aware, but he doesn’t put much effort into trying to fix it, until the end.
I feel like Brooke and Seth should have been able to work through their problems together.
What I really wanted was for them to do that. So what I really wanted was a longer book. The ending was sweet and cute but I wanted them to work together and I don’t think I got that.
It was a good read and I enjoyed it. I am looking forward to Heather’s book.
I received an e-ARC copy of To Have and to Hold from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Brooke Baldwin has just moved to New York to join Wedding Belles, a premier wedding planning company. She’s eager to move on from the fiancé that was arrested on their wedding day and a fresh start is just the way to do it. Her first client is a sweet hotel heiress Maya and her tempting brother Seth Tyler, the Tyler hotel group CEO.
Seth is trying to keep it all together. After finding out that his father hid his heart condition from Seth until after his death, Seth is determined to not lose anyone else. If that means investigating his sister’s fiancé behind her back, so be it. Maya is engaged after only knowing the guy for three months and Seth finds that suspicious, also he’s never met the man. So because he holds the purse strings, he will be involved in this wedding. Now if the wedding planner would just stop distracting him with how attracted he is to her.
I liked Brooke and Seth a lot. They had great chemistry, the banter was hot and the together they felt right. There were lots of cute moments together in the book. I liked Maya and Grant and I really would have liked to see more of them.
I have slightly mixed feelings about this book. Seth and Brooke both have a lot of baggage that didn’t get addressed.
Brooke is ignoring everything to do with her former fiancé and she isn’t dealing with it at all. There were parts where Seth and Brooke were having a moment and she would make a quip that would totally break the mood for me. It just seemed off. Then she would fly off the handle about things that just didn’t make sense to me. Like the breakfast scene. Brooke did not handle that well. Then when they break up and Seth tries to contact her and she is ignoring him, eventually he stops and Brooke says that he didn’t try hard enough. Really!
Seth is a control freak and he admits that right up front. It ends up damaging his relationship with just about all the characters in the book. When he loses control he lashes out and usually it’s pretty mean. The good thing is that he is aware, but he doesn’t put much effort into trying to fix it, until the end.
I feel like Brooke and Seth should have been able to work through their problems together.
What I really wanted was for them to do that. So what I really wanted was a longer book. The ending was sweet and cute but I wanted them to work together and I don’t think I got that.
It was a good read and I enjoyed it. I am looking forward to Heather’s book.
sandlynn's review against another edition
3.0
Lauren Layne’s To Have and To Hold was published in 2016. This book is the first in a series of three, titled The Wedding Belles series, focusing on a group of women in New York City running a successful wedding planning business.
This first book of the series centers on wedding planner, Brooke Baldwin. Brooke had been running her own growing wedding planning business in California. She also was orchestrating her own spectacular wedding to a man who turned out to be a huge con artist who was arrested at their bridal altar. After that incredibly heartbreaking and enormously embarrassment incident, Brooke takes off to New York City to work with the Wedding Belles and start a new life. Brooke’s first assignment is to plan the wedding of Maya Tyler, a young lady from an extremely wealthy hotel family — think the Hiltons. Standing in the way of all her plans is the man paying the bills, Maya’s overbearing big brother Seth Tyler, CEO of the Tyler hotel group. Seth and Maya’s beloved father had recently passed away from an illness he had kept from his son because he knew Seth would try and move heaven and earth to save his father’s life. Still feeling bitter over being kept in the dark, Seth’s need to make things right for the people he loves leads him to get involved in the details of Maya’s wedding plans — not because he wants the wedding to be perfect but because he suspects the groom is far more interested in Maya’s inheritance than in her. Subsequently, Seth confides in Brooke and asks her to keep an eye on the groom’s behavior. Of course, considering the reasons behind Brooke’s own aborted wedding, she has complicated emotions over Seth’s demands. Still broken hearted, she wants to believe in Maya’s happily ever after, but her immediate attraction to Seth, makes it difficult for her to ignore Seth’s concerns. As for Seth, since he’s well aware of the very public ending to Brooke’s wedding, it seems like she would be sympathetic to his concerns. However, he’s surprised that Brooke continues to believe in love and doesn’t agree with his interference. Additionally, Seth is starting to feel something for Brooke and soon wants to protect her as well.
This story turned out to be kind of … average. I loved the NYC setting, but I didn’t feel the essence of the city in the story. I loved the hero because, in spite of his overbearing ways, it came from a good and understandable place. He had depth and was a more complicated, even tortured, character. Brooke, on the other hand, was a little more difficult to connect with. I wish we had an opportunity to see more of her backstory instead of being told about it because I had a hard time understanding her attitude towards love and marriage after being so burned. Everything was rather superficial with her. She was a bit of a Barbie doll, and the constant references to Sex in the City, which might have been okay three years ago, seemed a little dated. I’d give this a B-.
This first book of the series centers on wedding planner, Brooke Baldwin. Brooke had been running her own growing wedding planning business in California. She also was orchestrating her own spectacular wedding to a man who turned out to be a huge con artist who was arrested at their bridal altar. After that incredibly heartbreaking and enormously embarrassment incident, Brooke takes off to New York City to work with the Wedding Belles and start a new life. Brooke’s first assignment is to plan the wedding of Maya Tyler, a young lady from an extremely wealthy hotel family — think the Hiltons. Standing in the way of all her plans is the man paying the bills, Maya’s overbearing big brother Seth Tyler, CEO of the Tyler hotel group. Seth and Maya’s beloved father had recently passed away from an illness he had kept from his son because he knew Seth would try and move heaven and earth to save his father’s life. Still feeling bitter over being kept in the dark, Seth’s need to make things right for the people he loves leads him to get involved in the details of Maya’s wedding plans — not because he wants the wedding to be perfect but because he suspects the groom is far more interested in Maya’s inheritance than in her. Subsequently, Seth confides in Brooke and asks her to keep an eye on the groom’s behavior. Of course, considering the reasons behind Brooke’s own aborted wedding, she has complicated emotions over Seth’s demands. Still broken hearted, she wants to believe in Maya’s happily ever after, but her immediate attraction to Seth, makes it difficult for her to ignore Seth’s concerns. As for Seth, since he’s well aware of the very public ending to Brooke’s wedding, it seems like she would be sympathetic to his concerns. However, he’s surprised that Brooke continues to believe in love and doesn’t agree with his interference. Additionally, Seth is starting to feel something for Brooke and soon wants to protect her as well.
This story turned out to be kind of … average. I loved the NYC setting, but I didn’t feel the essence of the city in the story. I loved the hero because, in spite of his overbearing ways, it came from a good and understandable place. He had depth and was a more complicated, even tortured, character. Brooke, on the other hand, was a little more difficult to connect with. I wish we had an opportunity to see more of her backstory instead of being told about it because I had a hard time understanding her attitude towards love and marriage after being so burned. Everything was rather superficial with her. She was a bit of a Barbie doll, and the constant references to Sex in the City, which might have been okay three years ago, seemed a little dated. I’d give this a B-.
jcmbank's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
chroniclesofabookreader's review
4.0
**4.5 Stars**
Brooke has certainly experienced the jaded side of love, but that hasn't kept her from loving her job as a wedding planner and helping other couples to find their happily ever after. A change of scenery and signing on to work with The Wedding Belles certainly helps a girl to do that. Getting point-two seconds to acclimate to New York, Brooke is immediately thrown in to her first job and unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), the brother of this bride is very difficult to work with. Seth, for all of his charming good looks, is very skeptical, cold, and harsh thus creating a very hate-to-be-attracted-to-you banter between the two.
Brooke and Seth mirrored one another in a lot of ways, and in others were football fields away from each other. Both have difficult experiences in their pasts that have molded their current opinions and views, and the outlet for it becomes one another. LL always writes witty banter and a great push and pull, which she pulls off well with Brooke and Seth. At times both characters can be a bit hard to agree with, but that's okay because we don't have to understand every character's reaction. I thought they had a good, strong build up that created a white-hot attraction, and it allowed both characters to let go of the things holding them back.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD has humor, sexiness, and a great back and forth between stubborn, bold characters. The attraction is immediate, but it makes them work for the connection. The wedding planning plotline to this series is fully enjoyable and a great addition to each book so far. I'm greatly looking forward to more!
**Received an early copy in exchange for an honest review**
Brooke has certainly experienced the jaded side of love, but that hasn't kept her from loving her job as a wedding planner and helping other couples to find their happily ever after. A change of scenery and signing on to work with The Wedding Belles certainly helps a girl to do that. Getting point-two seconds to acclimate to New York, Brooke is immediately thrown in to her first job and unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), the brother of this bride is very difficult to work with. Seth, for all of his charming good looks, is very skeptical, cold, and harsh thus creating a very hate-to-be-attracted-to-you banter between the two.
Brooke and Seth mirrored one another in a lot of ways, and in others were football fields away from each other. Both have difficult experiences in their pasts that have molded their current opinions and views, and the outlet for it becomes one another. LL always writes witty banter and a great push and pull, which she pulls off well with Brooke and Seth. At times both characters can be a bit hard to agree with, but that's okay because we don't have to understand every character's reaction. I thought they had a good, strong build up that created a white-hot attraction, and it allowed both characters to let go of the things holding them back.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD has humor, sexiness, and a great back and forth between stubborn, bold characters. The attraction is immediate, but it makes them work for the connection. The wedding planning plotline to this series is fully enjoyable and a great addition to each book so far. I'm greatly looking forward to more!
**Received an early copy in exchange for an honest review**
nebraskanwriter's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
When a man gets angry and throws his room service, that is not hot.
This love interest was a psycho and treated and spoke to our main character, Brooke, very poorly. Was not a fan.
This love interest was a psycho and treated and spoke to our main character, Brooke, very poorly. Was not a fan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Abandonment, Trafficking, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Sexual content
elegantfantasy_blogs's review
3.0
3.5 stars for Seth & Brooke's story but I was very intrigued to know what exactly was going on between Maya & Grant though.