A Kiss Is Just A Kiss by Melinda Curtis

When you need a quick shot of romance during the spring warmup, garden planting, and schedules for the new season, this is the best pick.  

Florida can be decorated for a beautiful wedding when the pockets are picked, and there aren't any second guesses.  

Here's the problem:  the second guess isn't from the bride or groom, but rather Kitty, the bride's close sister.

Kitty realizes a broken rung in the ladder of love at the door of the church wedding.  She has a few minutes to solve or ignore the issue.  Guess which avenue she picks.

Beck thinks he's got all the contracts and steps to a successful life planned and executed until Kitty gets in the way.  His wedding is in a few minutes to finalize the signature on the marriage license.

Wedding over, guests stranded, and unhappy family members depart.

Kitty is left with Grandma Dotty and no way get back to their home state.  At least G. Dotty has a way of making the worst seem funny.  Even when they take their only opportunity to ride with the (former) groom.  

Beck and Kitty start the ride home like oil and water.  Fortunately, with the right ingredients of information and knowledge the bumps in the ride smooth out.

They may even respect and like each other as the miles accumulate.  Who knows what will happen by the time they reach their destination.  There's never a set timeline for love!

Happy reading,

Dawn

Just Friends at the Doggy Spa by Elsie Woods

 Life is grand when you are a dog groomer.  Rita organizes most everything at the elite dog spa attached to the Chateau Rose where the filthy rich and not so humble vacation while dropping off their fury and loveable companions for spa days in England. 

Rita happily accepts the position of maid-of-honor in her best friend's wedding. Whenever I hear that, I know something will go wrong.  Maybe it will go right this time.

Joey, the groom's brother and best man, calls her Buddy.  That'll be a platonic evening, for sure.

Although, when chaos strikes things may work out much better.

And it begins.  A driver drops a boxer off at the entrance of the dog spa and speeds away.  Rita needs Joey to find the dog's owner and take care of the boxer while searching.  The next tragedy sets the stage.  The wedding is in two weeks.  The bride and groom have not made any plans as they claim they're busy.  No flowers, no cake, no invitations, no hall rented, and none of the rest.  

Bride and groom beg Rita and Joey to cover for them.  In other words, plan a wedding in two weeks.  

"Buddy" Rita and Joey are now inseparable.  This is when you really get to know just about everything about each other.  Take the odd with the great and figure out how well all the details fit together like a complete puzzle or one missing pieces.  

I bet all the pieces of the puzzle can somehow squeeze together an create a beautiful picture.

Happy reading,

Dawn Kunda

What The Hex by Alexis Daria

 Isla Bruja is an island hosting the two largest Latina witch families and their union through a spectacular wedding.  

Catalina Cartagena takes a big breath and brooms herself from New York back to her family's island.  She had escaped the island many moons ago because she wanted to resist being a witch, but as her sister's maid of honor it is time to return.

Catalina's nemesis from high school, Diego Paz, is the best man.  Her luck doesn't seem to be changing.  Granted, nerd to super- sexy is an okay start when she spots him on the island.

Distracting her from Diego, she notices a strange vibe on the island.  Her intuition is confirmed after meeting the groom.  The groom's eyes are distant, which definitely indicates he's possessed by a demon along with most of the witches on the island.

Except Diego.

Time to overcome her negativity toward an old grudge.  Diego and she are the only ones who can exorcise the demon.  

Diego is handsome, smart, and incredibly nice.  What happened??  Catalina is amazed at how easy they get along, yet she remains leery of his approachability.  However, she needs to get over it and make a plan with him to save the families and the island.

After Diego reveals his secret, baring his soul, Catalina is shocked.  They bare more than their souls while fighting the island demon.  

Island magic won't dare miss out on another romance and happily-ever-after as long as Diego and Catalina let their hearts be heard.

Happy reading,

Dawn

For the Love of Friends by Sara Goodman Confino

 I feel sorry for Lily.  From beginning to nearly the end.

I don't know if I could do what she did:  accept being a bridesmaid for five friends and relatives in a span of six weeks.  Crazy!

Lily is single, thirty-two, full-time writer for a science magazine, and without a boyfriend.  She should have plenty of time to organize and attend all the functions, destroy her checking account, and let's not forget the demands of the bride.

A big time saver happened immediately at her BFF's engagement party.  Lily partied, slept over, and borrowed a shirt from the mysterious guy she woke up with.  Ashamed and afraid to know who he was, she snuck out in the morning.  Not seeing his face would help her behave at the rest of the events.

Alex, fellow groomsman, is what every woman wants. Lily allows small advances in a coffee-cup-note-passing relationship, but she dares not go any further.  Besides, whenever she turns around a new engagement, purchase, outing, or meeting is taking place for the brides.  

The commitments and requests rain down with outrageous demands.  Lily has no other way to vent the expectations except start an anonymous blog.  The blog is hilarious!  With the truth coming out, Lily finds a way to remain diligent in her duties, including keeping Alex at arm's length.

And it all hurts.  When she sits down and takes a breath, the whole gamut of friendships, relatives, and one man in particular (Alex again) leaves her wondering how she will make it.  Her bride-friends are turning on her because of her excessive effort to make them happy doesn't match their plans exactly.  

What is wrong with this picture?  I'm probably not as good of a person as Lily because I would never put up with what she does.  She won't know if any of the brides forgive her delinquencies until after all the weddings.  Will Alex allow her one mistake to end the possibility of a good thing? 

I want to make it right for Lily, she deserves it, but I'm not in charge of her story!

Happy reading,

Dawn  

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

 Just what we want to talk about after the holidays is a guest list.  Although, the list for this romance is for a wedding on an exclusive island off of Ireland.

The wedding is from the perspective of several of the guests, the bride, the plus-one (an extra friend who had something to say), the best man, the wedding planner, and a bridesmaid.

Anxiety during weddings come in all forms.  The bride, Jules, wonders if the groom loves her and it's the right choice.  The plus-one,  Hannah, worries that her current boyfriend, an ex of Jules, is going to be competition.  Johnno, the best man, has always been felt to be lesser of a person than the groom.  The wedding planner, Aoife, naturally wants everything perfect even if the ghosts of the island spook her.  And Olivia, the bridesmaid, stresses about doing everything to plan in order to keep Jules happy.

They all have their personal grudges.  Some just want to leave the island married, in love, and part of someone else's beautiful day.

That's until death pops up at the most inopportune time.  Which one with a sore heart or mind will be the murderer of love?

The story boasts a full crew of characters to keep track of, but make a note to yourself as you read because it's worth the surprise ending! 

The Paid Bridesmaid by Sariah Wilson

 Being a paid bridesmaid has its perks and its secrets.  Rachel Vinson's current gig is stationed in Hawaii, and all she has to do is be Sadie's BFF.  They may have only met at the start of Sadie's wedding planning, but the form she completed gave Rachel full knowledge of what their friendship contains.

Well, there might be a few cracks in the armor.  

The best-man, Camden Lewis, meets Rachel on the first day, first hour, of the week-long wedding rendezvous.  A tiny crack splits in Rachel's planning. 

Camden has a big account being finalized in his software company.  As pretty and charming as Rachel is, he's not sure she knows Sadie enough to be the maid-of-honor, let alone her BFF.  Maybe Rachel is a business spy.

Rachel truly wants her clients to have magical and perfect weddings.  There are all kinds of reasons a bride doesn't have enough good friends to stand-up in their weddings.  Darned if she is going to let Camden reveal the disguised bridesmaids.  He's so handsome and nearly perfect, though.

Must stay away from Camden.  All work and no play. 

We'll see how well that works.  

So many goofy and funny mix-ups throughout the week.  A weekend is much easier for Rachel to deceive the party goers.  It's no help that her heart is working against her.  Camden is having a hard time between his assumption of a spy in the midst and the beautiful woman he has to stand up with.

A warm and charming mix-up and match-up making new friends and new romances!

Happy reading,

Dawn

  

Badd Motherf*cker: A Badd Brothers novel by Jasinda Wilder

 I have to start the year with a bad, bad, Badd, story to excite all readers of exceptionally naughty romance.

Dru Connolly started her wedding day happy, jittery, and beautiful.  That changed real fast before she walked down the isle.

The next thing she knew, she jumped the first outgoing plane from Seattle to a mystery location that ended up being Ketchikan, Alaska.

It's raining.  The street is wet and muddy along with her wedding dress, which is the only clothes she brought.  She stumbles into a local bar, wondering what the hell she's doing.

Sebastian Badd wonders the same as he watches a beautiful woman full of  anger, tears, and a dirty wedding dress barge into his nearly empty establishment.

Something about her makes him behave his badass self and reach out to help.  

Dru can't imagine a man being what she needs or wants at this point.  

Sebastian doesn't "do" relationships.  One night is long enough.  

So why is Dru staying and why is he holding off jumping her bones for more than an hour?

Okay, they hold off, but then the sparks flare and the grinding begins, and continues, and happens repeatedly.  And it's good.  And they have a connection each one is mystified by.  

What the hell is going on?!  

This is the story to read and take the dull out of January!

Happy reading,

Dawn