To Have and to Hold

Lauren Layne

Jul 2016 · Wedding Belles Book 1 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren Layne is the “queen of witty dialogue and sexy scenes” (Rachel Van Dyken)! Now, Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles, her sizzling brand new contemporary romance series about three ambitious wedding planners who can make any bride’s dream come true…but their own.

Discovering her fiancé is an international con man just moments before they exchange vows devastates celebrity wedding planner Brooke Baldwin’s business—and breaks her heart. Now a pariah in Los Angeles, she seeks a fresh start in New York City and thinks she’s found it with her first bridal client, a sweet—if slightly spoiled—hotel heiress. Then she meets the uptight businessman who’s holding the purse strings.

Seth Tyler wishes he could write a blank check and be done with his sister Maya's fancy-pants wedding. Unfortunately, micromanaging the event is his only chance at proving Maya’s fiancé is a liar. Standing directly in his way is the stunning blonde wedding planner whose practiced smiles and sassy comebacks both irritate and arouse him. He needs Brooke’s help. But can he persuade a wedding planner on a comeback mission to unplan a wedding? And more importantly, how will he convince her that the wedding she should be planning…is theirs?

Ratings and reviews

I have never read this author before but I love wedding stories and wanted to try this one...Wow! I'm sorry I waited so long to try this author out. Lauren Layne created a wonderful story with believable characters and I just adored the ride. Brooke Baldwin was a happy, bubbly wedding planner in Los Angeles, CA. She planned the biggest and most important wedding of her career...her own. The only problem, during the ceremony the FBI storm in and arrest her groom. Embarrassed and devastated, Brooke heads to New York City to take a job with The Wedding Belles, NYC's premiere wedding planners. Brooke's first wedding is for Maya Tyler, daughter of the Tyler Hotel Group's CEO who just recently passed away. Since Maya has no living parents, her older brother Seth, who is now the CEO, decides to become involved in the planning because he is suspicious of her recent fiance. While Maya is free spirited and fun, Seth is controlled and no-nonsense. At the first meeting, Brooke is very attracted to Seth until he opens his mouth. OMG...I just loved these two. They were so different on so many things, yet so similar in other ways. I really enjoyed the road these two took to finally get together. Ms. Layne knows how to write some fun, entertaining dialog. And their happy ending was perfect and well deserved for these two! I really enjoyed all the other characters too....Alexis and Heather (the other Wedding Belles), Maya and especially Seth's best friend, Grant. I would love to see Grant's back story! Overall, I really loved the book and look forward to reading the rest of the series.

I really loved this one and it's classic Lauren Layne at her best. Lots of snark, a little angst, and the eventual HEA. This series reminds me of the Sex, Love, & Stiletto series but instead of working for a magazine, these entertaining women work as wedding planners. They are all strong, independent, and successful and able to hold their own with the men in their lives. Can't wait for more stories from these ladies. Brook Baldwin is looking for a fresh start in NY. After her own wedding spectacularly implodes on the big day, customers are leaving her successful wedding planning business in the dust. So taking this job and starting over is the right move for her. Her first client is one of the toughest she's ever had. Well, not the bride, she's great. The bride's brother not so much. He's bossy, opinionated, and oh so sexy. He thinks his sister is about to make the biggest mistake of her life and wants Brook to help make the wedding never happen. A little difficult considering she's planning the event! But Seth is determined to stop this one way or another! A fun entertaining read that I would highly recommend.

We all know the phrase...To have and to hold, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, in handcuffs and in jail?!? Definitely not the version that Brooke imagined on her wedding day, but fortunately the FBI got there before the vows and I dos. Lost in a chaotic haze, Brooke decides to leave her life, her now failing/defunct business, and her home for NYC. As a wedding planner whose own nuptials went up in flames so spectacularly and publicly, Brooke is trying to spread her wings again. Joining the Wedding Belles is either going to make or break Brooke. Especially when her first client is "him". "HIM" would be the brother of the bride, the wallet holder, and overprotective stubborn ass. Aka Seth Tyler. Fighting her feelings towards Seth, towards her ex, and fighting her need to believe in a happily ever after, Brooke is quickly finding she's losing on at least one front. I look forward to seeing more fun with the Wedding Belles. I am hoping it will include a future look at these two. But of course I need to know about the other Belles, as long as there some room for Grant's story too. If you too, are a sucker for a sweet story with some major foot in mouth action, one click now. If you need a super rich dude with an arrogant knowing attitude and a huge control issue, one click now. If you need a woman scorned but holds her head up high, hey, we have one of those too- one click now. If you want an inside look at the Wedding Belles, the premier wedding planners in NYC and even the east coast, one click now.

About the author

Lauren Layne is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than three dozen romantic comedies. Her books have sold over a million copies worldwide. Lauren’s work has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Glamour, The Wall Street Journal, and Inside Edition. She is based in New York City.