Brenna Bellini will never get married again. She plans to
live out her days as a happy, successful, single woman. When she's chosen to be
a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding at the Bellini family vineyard, she's
thrilled. That is, until she realizes who else is in the wedding party.
Brenna's going to have to spend four days in the company of not only her
ex-husband, but also her high school nemesis. She just knows the fact that
she's single and alone is going to be rubbed in her face all weekend long. Well,
not if Brenna can help it. She's going to find herself a fake fiancé.
Finn Nolan is thrilled to be offered the job. He's had it
bad for Brenna ever since he came over from Ireland to live at the vineyard.
After falling for Brenna from afar for years, this Irish cowboy is determined
to show the woman of his dreams that he is her Mr. Right.
So what does a confirmed never-getting-married-again
woman do when the man of her dreams unexpectedly lands right in front of her?
Because for the first time, she might not be able to walk away. This time it
might be forever.
Fun book. After her short-lived and disastrous marriage,
Brenna Bellini has no desire to get married again. She loves her life working
at the family winery with her dad, mostly leaving the wedding side of the
business to her two sisters. She's excited to be a bridesmaid in a friend's
wedding until she discovers that her ex's new wife, who was also her high
school best friend turned worst enemy, is the maid of honor. Which means
Allison's husband will be there too. Dreading the prospect of the gloating
she'll face if she shows up alone, Brenna hatches a plot. She'll ask her friend
Finn to pose as her fake fiancé.
Finn is the son of Mrs. Bellini's best friend in Ireland.
When his mother died, Mrs. Bellini brought him over from Ireland to live at the
winery. While he always looked at Brenna's sisters Hope and Erin as his
sisters, too, his feelings for Brenna were much different. When Brenna asked
him to play the part of her fiancé, Finn jumped at the chance. Perhaps now he
can show her that they belong together.
I enjoyed watching the relationship between Finn and
Brenna grow and change from friends to so much more. Because they've known each
other for so long, Brenna and Finn are very comfortable with each other, and
their conversations show it. What Brenna didn't expect was the strength of the
attraction between them. She'd always been aware of Finn but ruthlessly suppressed
it, not wanting to make life at the winery awkward. Finn likewise buried his
feelings, but now he seizes the opportunity to let them loose. He also knows
that Brenna is skittish about relationships, so he exerts a great deal of patience
in his pursuit. I loved seeing them together as Finn uses their
"engagement" to spend quality time with her. It isn't long before the
chemistry between them burns out of control, but will Brenna see the emotion
that forms the basis for it?
I admit to wanting to shake Brenna more than once. She knows
she's falling for Finn, but she's so afraid of trusting her emotions that she
pulls back whenever they start to overwhelm her. There's one instance where the
pull-back coincides with a misunderstanding over his whiskey business. Brenna's
reaction was petty and excessive, but fortunately, she realized it. I liked
that she admitted her mistakes and apologized and that Finn has a healthy
attitude toward letting go of incidents like that. When the "need" for the fake
engagement ends, Brenna freaks when Finn wants to make their relationship real.
I felt that Brenna earned her misery and loved her sisters'
"intervention." I had to laugh when she realized that he wasn't right
there for her to go back to. I loved how his friends helped him see what he
needed to do. His decision to get away for a while was just what he needed, and
I wasn't at all surprised at where he went. The ending was great as Brenna
finally let go of the past.
I also loved the closeness of the Bellini family and
friends. Though each family member has a particular role in the family
business, they are always ready to jump in and help each other. I loved how Brenna's
sisters provide not just support but also the occasional kick in the pants when
she needs it. The friendships among the men in the story are strong enough to
weather anything from busted weddings to health issues. I loved watching them
insult each other over silly things then rally around when one of them needs
help.
I loved seeing more of both the winery and wedding
businesses. The behind-the-scenes looks are fascinating. It's always fun to see
some of the shenanigans brides get up to when planning their weddings, the
things that go wrong, and the lengths people go to fix them. One of my favorite
winery scenes was on the harvest day as Brenna got roped into grape-stomping on
television. I also liked the bits we saw of Finn's whiskey distillery. Having
visited a few in Ireland, Scotland, and the US, I have some idea of how complex
it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment