Kissing The Bride (A Small Town Wedding Romance): Stewart Island Book 7.5

Tracey Alvarez

Jun 2016 · Icon Publishing Limited

About this ebook

WARNING: If you’re new to the Stewart Island world, this fun and sexy short story of Del & Shaye’s wedding isn’t the book to start with. Lots of favorite characters join in the wedding craziness—and if you haven’t read the earlier Stewart Island books it’ll just be crazy-confusing.

The countdown is on to the Wedding of the Year, New Zealand!

It’s seven days until Shaye Harland and Del Westlake finally tie the knot—and it’ll be the most awesomesauce wedding Stewart Island has ever seen if Shaye has anything to do with it. Her All Things Nuptial journal has the big day planned to perfection, but not everything runs like clockwork. While marrying the man of her dreams beats chocolate as an Easter treat, a few mini-catastrophes like Boris the obstinate sea lion threaten to ruin their special day.

 

Download your copy of KISSING THE BRIDE and dive into the Stewart Island world!
Intended for mature 18+ aged readers.


Praise for the Stewart Island series!
"It’s official…I’m hooked on this series! I want to jump on a plane and fly to this island, because apparently they grow them big and HOT in New Zealand…men that is!!!" ~ Swept Away By Romance

"Perfection comes in many shapes and forms, and Ms Alvarez delivers in her contemporary voice and quirky character traits that make a distinctive difference between average and stellar storytelling." ~ InD’Tale Magazine

"Just as the must-read series of Donna Kauffman (The Bachelors of Blueberry Cove), Jill Shalvis (Lucky Harbor), Terri Osburn (Anchor Island), Marie Force (The McCarthys of Gansett Island), Sherryl Woods (Chesapeake Shores) have entranced me with their seaside settings and caring communities - so has Tracey Alvarez - and I'm adding her series to my must-read shelf too." ~ Fab Fantasy Fiction

Don’t miss any of the Stewart Island books!
Book 1: In Too Deep. Featuring Piper and West.
Book 2: Melting Into You. Featuring Kezia and Ben. 
Book 3: Ready To Burn. Featuring Shaye and Del. 
Book 4: Christmas With You. Featuring Carly and Kip. 
Book 5: My Forever Valentine. Due South Short Stories. 
Book 6: Playing For Fun. Featuring Holly and Ford. 
Book 7: Drawing Me In. Featuring Bree and Harley.  
Book 7.5: Kissing The Bride. A Due South short story. 
Book 8: Saying I Do. Featuring MacKenna and Joe.
Book 9: Home For Christmas. 
Book 10: Bending The Rules. Featuring Tilly and Noah.

Keywords: small town romance, romance series, heartwarming romance, island romance series, New Zealand romance, contemporary romance, sexy romance, romantic short stories, short story, beach romance, coastal romance, island romance, family saga, boy next door, heart-warming, sensual, escape down under, relationships, friendship, friends with benefits, wedding, sweet and sexy romance, exotic foreign romance, vacation romance, beach reads, summer reads

Ratings and reviews

A short, sweet feel good romance that is a must read for all fans of the Due South series! Kissing the Bride is a short, sweet feel good romance that is a must read for all fans of the Due South series. Getting Shaye and Del’s wedding was a bonus extra HEA I am so glad we get to read and makes a brilliant short book with all the craziness in the run up to the wedding. As Tracey Alvarez states, you do need to have read the previous books to fully appreciate and understand this book, or I would at least recommend having read ‘Ready to Burn’ which is Shaye and Del’s story. Shaye and Del still have such a great chemistry and the roles of the other characters from this series really did make it feel like catching up with old friends. The characters, even in this short story, are well developed and felt true to previous books. Whilst the book is mostly told from Shaye’s perspective, we do also get a few scenes from Del’s too, adding to the whole story being well rounded. I loved Shaye’s journal of ‘All Things Nuptial’ as we all know Shaye loves being organised and planned, having heard about it in Ready to Burn. Also, the book includes some nod backs to previous books' incidences which only those who have read the full series will be able to appreciate and enjoy. Kissing the Bride had a good flow and was written in a very beautiful way with a witty undertone that was just perfect for those who know Shaye's and Del’s personalities and relationship. It was unpredictable at times and a little crazy but yet still very realistic in the beautiful setting of Stewart Island. Tracey Alvarez really knows how to write a great contemporary romance that leaves you with a big smile on your face. Plus, some moments in the book actually had me laughing out loud (won’t say which so I don’t give any spoilers but they will be glaringly obvious moments). If you haven't read any of the Due South series, you are missing out on a wonderful set of contemporary romance books that are well worth it. Kissing the Bride will definitely go down as one of my favourite books this year and highly recommend it for anyone who has read the Due South series or Ready to Burn. *I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

This is a sweet short story, that at times runs spicy hot! It is a followup to the third book of the series, "Ready to Burn" where Head Cook Del and Sous Chef Shaye decide to intermingle their seasonings. The Due South Series follows a large group of friends who live on an island just off the southern end of New Zealand. It follows Book 7 of the series, so a lot has happened among the group since Del and Shaye first got together. This is a book where it really makes a difference that you have read all the previous Due South Books, so you can understand who everybody is and how they are inter-related and paired. I would not recommend trying to read this book as a stand-alone. It would be way too confusing. I suppose it shouldn't have been a surprise to me, but Shaye is a bit of a bridezilla in this book. I guess someone who is an excellent chef would want to make sure every detail is perfect for her wedding! In fact, Shaye has an "All Things Nuptial" journal in which she has every single fine point of her wedding planned out, and exactly when it has to be done. There are scaredy-cat moments with some cold feet, sizzling hot moments, and of course a lot of crazy and fun moments. All in all it makes for a really great, fun story! I wish I could move there and be friends with all these people! (...and maybe even find me a hot New Zealander!) Great series, great story. I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

There are seven days until Del and Shaye's wedding. As the book blurb says, if you haven't read the series before this is NOT the place to start. As a recap, Del Westlake was the wunderkind chef from LA who came back to Oban for his older brother's wedding and takes over as head chef at Due South (the local bar/restaurant) when his father Bill is taken ill. Shaye Harland is the incumbent sous-chef whose nose was put out of joint when Bill asked Del to take over instead of her. Del and Shaye's story is told in Ready to Burn. In this novella we get a day-by-day countdown to the wedding including the Bridezilla-esque wedding planner book, the strippers at the stag night, the surprises Del and Shaye spring on each other and of course the involvement of the grumpy sea lion Boris. Despite Del and Shaye not being one of my favourite couples in the series I loved this novella. It was funny, romantic and poignant. Recommended for fans of the series, it brought together all the couples from the previous books in a very memorable wedding. I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

About the author

Tracey Alvarez is a USA Today Bestselling Author living in the Coolest Little Capital in the World (a.k.a Wellington, New Zealand). Married to a wonderfully supportive IT guy, she has two teens who would love to be surgically linked to their electronic devices.

Fuelled by copious amounts of coffee, she’s the author of contemporary romantic fiction set predominantly in New Zealand. Small-towns, close communities, and families are a big part of the heart-warming stories she writes. Oh, and hot, down-to-earth heroes—Kiwi men, in other words.

When she’s not writing, thinking about writing, or procrastinating about writing, Tracey can be found with her nose in her e-reader, nibbling on smuggled chocolate bars, or bribing her kids to take over the housework.

Follow Tracey on Twitter as @TraceyAlvrezNZ or Facebook as http://www.facebook.com/TraceyAlvarezAuthor 

Her website is http://www.traceyalvarez.com and don't forget to sign up to her newsletter here: http://bit.ly/JR3Asu