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Always The Bridesmaid (2009)

by Nina Harrington(Favorite Author)

3.15 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0373184565 (ISBN13: 9780373184569)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Harlequin

review 1: I loved this book. I hadn't read a Harlequin Mills & Boon (except those written by friends) for a very long time when I won three books, Nina Harrington's story among them. I'm pretty sure this was Harrington's breakthrough novel to get published in this field. Such books are always great to analyse for craft as the authors have usually spent many years honing their manuscript and their skills. (Later books sometimes disappoint as the authors don't have the luxury of a single focus, and they're often working to deadlines.)Harrington's humour is what stood out for me. And her command of the romance conventions. The conventions are all there - along with the hero's name, Jared Shaw - but they are deftly handled. Harrington drew me into the story in a way that enable me to s... moreuspend my knowledge that the hero and heroine would get together in the end. The story touches on a core emotional issue that I didn't think I'd see handled in romance. No spoilers here, but I'm amazed Harrington manages to sustain sympathy for her hero, touching on more than one issue that, in real life, are crucial to many women, myself included. There's a wealth of pain in the unwritten story, the one without a happy ending.For students of romance, I'd highly recommend this book as a great example of the craft.
review 2: Okay contemporary romance. The two leads are pretty much the only characters in the story. The rest of the characters are names on the page which is kinda sad. Both lead characters are intriguing and you want to cheer for them both. But... the whole what happened to Amy (I went through a few options none of them the right one) becomes tiresome way before the reveal. Still Jared and Amy courtship is a nice twist on the love at first sight trope. The whole wedding thing is window dressing and not really interesting. I liked kind of open ended conclusion. I can imagine an ending where where they don't try and do not end up together or try and fail or try and realize they are better apart then together. less

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