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Here Comes The Groom (2011)

by Karina Bliss(Favorite Author)

3.52 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0373716826 (ISBN13: 9780373716821)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Harlequin

series

Special Forces

review 1: Love the first two thirds, then it felt like the author jumped the shark. Otherwise, the book might have achieved 5 stars (on my 5 star romance scale). That said, I really hope to read more books by Ms. Bliss soon. The first Karina Bliss book I’ve read, but it won’t be the last. One night while drunk, Jocelyn agrees on the back of a beer coaster to marry her friend Dan. Three years later after returning from a tough deployment with special forces, he tries to take her up on the offer. And he goes full force to make it happen - setting up the minister, reception, etc. Jocelyn keeps trying to talk him out of it, but that just makes him work harder. It’s clear they both want to be with each other, but both Dan and Jo have suffered through emotional traumas that are ... moreinfluencing their attitudes towards the impending nuptials. Jo developed breast cancer and had a mastectomy, but never told her family and friends. She feels that Dan couldn’t desire her imperfect self. She’s also taking care of her grandmother who’s developed dementia. Dan is still suffering from the trauma of losing several members of his group on a combat mission when he wasn’t there when their truck hit an explosive (or something, I can’t remember details). Even though I’ve not faced these trauamas, the conflict felt very real and contemporary which is why I found the last 25% of the book disappointing. {SPOILER ALERT}Jo realizes that Dan still needs to address his emotions with respect to the loss of his friends and his fealing that he should have done more or helped them or whatever . So she and his best man drug him and drop him in the middle of nowhere on his wedding day with a back pack, his wedding suit and minimal supplies. Can we say “jumped the shark” boys and girls? Everything else felt so real about this book, that this was just too over the top for me. There were so many other aspects of the book that I liked that I could look past it and I do want to read more of her books. A few other things I liked: Dan’s mom wasn’t crazy about the marriage but she wasn’t nightmarish about it either. So often in romance the immediately family is at an extreme toward the bride. Snappy dialogueGood character development.
review 2: One of my very favorite romance themes is the best friends to lovers one. Here Comes the Groom puts a delightful twist on the storyline, making it a unique entry into this well worn trope.Jo and Dan have known each other and been best friends almost their entire lives. Jo runs a successful newspaper, and Dan is a soldier. Just before Dan is to be deployed to Afghanistan, Jo, drunk as a lord, makes a pass at him. He's shocked and angry with her for changing the playing field between them, especially just as he's leaving for war. Jo is completely humiliated by the failed pass and wishes that they'd never speak of it again.But now Dan is back from war, and strangely, people keep congratulating Jo on her impending marriage to him. At first she thinks it's a joke, and laughs it off. But as she finds out that Dan has booked the reception location, is picking out tuxes, and has sent out the invitations, she begins to wonder what the heck is going on. When she confronts Dan about it, she is shocked to be reminded that indeed, on another night, in another drunken haze of heartbreak, they'd agreed (on a bar coaster, no less) to marry each other if they didn't find anyone else. Jo is appalled. She wasn't serious. And clearly, neither was Dan, as he rejected her advances before he left of Afghanistan. She doesn't love him as more than a friend, and frankly, has very good reasons for not marrying him. She cannot for the life of her understand why it is that he's pushing so hard. This is going to ruin everything.This is a book of secrets and baggage. Dan is back from the horrors of war, much worse for the wear. He's experienced trauma and horror, and is determined to move on with him civilian life. This means marrying Jo, even if she doesn't love him. For her part, Jo is also a changed person since she made that pass. She has secrets too awful to tell Dan. And will absolutely not be marrying him for any reason whatsoever.Once again Karina Bliss has created two interesting, flawed, headstrong characters in Here Comes the Groom. The book, set in New Zealand features nuanced characters who make interesting decisions. Not always good ones, but they learn and grow as they make them. There are a host of compelling secondary characters, including Jo's grandmother, and Dan's parents, themselves going through a terribly rough patch. But it is Jo and Dan who anchor the story. What I found interesting is, as I was reading, I started off really not liking Jo. I thought she was abrasive and combative. But as the reader begins to understand what she's been through, we soften towards her, and the light dawns. She has good reasons for not wanting to marry Dan, just as he has good and serious reasons for wanting to marry her. It's a fascinating tension that is beautifully portrayed by Karina Bliss. The book misses an A grade with me because there is a section with Dan in the outback that I thought was somewhat meandering and could have been tightened up. That being said, if you are looking for a strongly written book with realistic characters with very real issues, Here Comes the Groom is the book for you.Final grade: B+ less

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