Reviews

The frighteningly prolific Roberts (see also Black Hills, reviewed on page 42) kicks off a frothy series about four friends who form an all-inclusive wedding service called Vows. Mackensie "Mac" Elliot loves capturing happy and playful moments with her camera, but her own life is all about work-until she meets English teacher Carter Maguire. He's escorting his bride-to-be sister to a meeting with the Vows team and recognizes Mac as the girl he crushed out on in high school. Funny sparks fly: he's a geeky guy who quotes Shakespeare, she's a trendy workaholic who loves shoes. He's crazy about her, which makes him verbally clumsy and, to Mac, charming, though she's saddled with a needy mother, an absent father and difficulties with both that make falling in love complicated. Roberts pulls off a nice switch in making the woman afraid of saying "I do," and her gentle humor and likable cast will immediately endear this series to readers. (May) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Enthralled by weddings since childhood, best friends Mackensie, Parker, Emmaline, and Laurel get a chance to live out their dreams when Parker inherits her family's Connecticut estate and suggests they go into business as wedding planners, with each woman taking over a special aspect of the event. Passionate about collecting happy moments on film ever since she was given a camera for her eighth birthday, Mac is the photographer, happily staying in the background and focusing on her work. Marriage is not on her radar, but when brainy, surprisingly perceptive Carter Maguire accidentally barges into her life, she knows everything is about to change-if only she will let it. A conflicted heroine and a hero with hidden depths slowly work their way toward commitment (and marriage) in this tender, funny, spicy romance that is the first installment in the author's "The Bride Quartet" series. Roberts (The Pagan Stone) lives in Keedysville, MD. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.