It Happened One Wedding

Gosh it really has been a long time since I last read a book by Julie James. But as usual she did an amazing job at delivering yet another FANTASTIC installment of the FBI/US Attorney series. This is book 5 in the series and I was quickly reminded of all the things I love about her writing. There was humor, sweetness, a fantastic plot and sexy moments too. I really enjoyed Sidney as a heroine. She was a sweet, confident and beautiful. But underneath that she was a bit cynical when it comes to the topic of love and meeting Mr. Right. She has been hurt in the past and is just not willing to be hurt like that again. Vaughn was your typical bachelor. He was gorgeous and most definitely sexy. At the moment he loves being single and is in no rush to settle down. Though I loved watching the slow change in him from being all cocky to actually very sweet. Meeting Sidney puts him on a playing field that challenges him a little bit. I won’t say much about the plot as the synopsis pretty much covers it. I will say that what I loved about this story was that there was no rush in bringing these two together. It was a lot of fun watching each of them realize the feelings they were beginning to have for the other. Sidney giving in to the fact that Vaughn might actually be her Mr. Right and Vaughn realizing he might be ready to be a one woman kind of guy. Then add in some great side characters like Sidney’s sister, Vaughn’s brother and even his mom and you get a story that had me grinning from start to finish. While the sexy moments in this story may not be as sizzling hot as some of my usual reads, Vaughn and Sidney were great together. When they finally do come together things did get steamy and I LOVED every minute of it. ❤ “Something felt different between them as she led him to the bed. Instead of the impatient need to have her naked that he’d always felt before, tonight he took his time undressing her. He noticed little things he hadn’t before, like the scattering of freckles across the top of her shoulders, which he kissed as he slid the straps of her bra down her arms. Under the covers, his hands and mouth moved slowly over her. By now, he knew what she liked, knew all the things that had her moaning his name softly in the darkness, and when he finally eased into her, he kept his lower body still for several moments as they kissed, wanting to simply savor the feeling of being inside her. And in that moment, he was pretty sure that nothing else had ever felt quite so right.” **swoon moment for me :)** This is a definite “highly recommended” read for me. I loved it from start to finish!!

"Maybe some would say her approach to dating was too pragmatic, perhaps even somewhat aloof. Maybe some people would say that she should follow her heart instead of her head when it came to falling in love. She used to be done of those people." THE STORY: FBI Special Agent Vaughn Roberts and Sidney Sinclair meet in a coffee shop, have a really bad encounter and figure they will never see one another again. They are shocked to realize that their siblings are marrying one another and they are being cast as best man and maid of honor. Sidney, a professional woman, is just recovering from a bad relationship and knows that Vaughn is exactly the kind of man she doesn't want to waste her time on. Forced together by circumstances, the two slowly begin to find in one another something special, but both are holding back. OPINION: I liked this book, but it is my least favorite of the series. The story between Sidney and Vaughn takes too long to develop and they spend so much time apart that I didn't get the clear connection between them developing as naturally as others in the series. At the same time, the book is funny and the dialogue between the characters witty and clever. I absolutely adored Vaughn who starts out as such a player and so quickly falls under Sidney's spell without knowing what is happening. Sidney's past haunts her throughout the book. I honestly got tired of her dwelling on her fiance's betrayal even though I felt it realistic. I thought this book was good, but it was just not as fun and light as others in the series. WORTH MENTIONING: James does a great job of depicting professional people and their jobs. Clearly familiar with the complexity of these jobs, James gives these characters a true sense of reality. FINAL DECISION: More serious and somewhat sad than others in this series, IT HAPPENED ONE WEDDING is slower paced but still contains sparkling characters. CONNECTED BOOKS: IT HAPPENED ONE WEDDING is the fifth book in the FBI/US Attorney series. This book can be read as a standalone. For fans of the series, however, there are appearances by prior couples in the series. STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

I enjoyed reading it. The heroine is intelligent and works as an investment banker. I am tired of heroines without a high powered job (show-girls, waitresses, secretaries ) or portrayed as sweet elementary school or pre-school teachers. Not that anyone doing these jobs is stupid but there should be more novels where using your intelligence and abilities to get a Higher education is not a turn-off for the hero.

I find it hard to write a review without writing anything about the content. I don't think I point out any big secrets below, but if you want to read the book without any spoilers, it might be best to skip the rest of the review. If that is the case here a short form: I liked the book and recommend reading it. ------ Obviously this genre is romance, but still: One thing that annoys me with many of these novels is the focus that is placed on the romance storyline, sometimes to the exclusion of all else. Some stories have side-stories, but they usually flow into the main stream of the story at some point and one gets the feeling that in that world nothing happens that does not impact the main story in some way. In "It Happened One Wedding" both protagonists have a life outside the main story and we see parts of it, even if it has no bearing on the romance. This allows the reader to get a feeling of who the characters are and makes the story more realistic. The romance itself is sweet and believable. I dislike novels where the emotions seem forced or the story is unbelievable. That is not the case here. I liked both characters and wanted them to be together. They also had nice scenes with sassy and funny dialogue. I am not a fan of big misunderstandings or the multitude of protagonists in romance novels who all seem to have PTSD. As the description of this novel already points out, Sidney suffered a "humiliating end to her engagement", but by the time the novel starts she already has adapted to some degree, while there isn't really anything major for Vaughn. There are no big misunderstandings, another plus. That probably leads to one of the not so stellar points of the book: Vaughn is portrayed as the bachelor type, but there is no really convincing reason as to why he would not want to commit. It took a bit too long for him to realise he was in love with Sidney - if he had reason for not wanting to admit his emotions to himself I might have understood, but there wasn't really anything in his back-story that would make him shy away from commitment or love. If he was this determined bachelor, the one-year relationship he had in the past would make no sense - apparently he has no problem with a longer relationship. So I didn't really get what took him so long to realize/admit his feelings and act on them. Another not so stellar point is that the side stories did not get wrapped up. I guess it could imply that their lives / the side-stories go on (and have no ending as such), but in the case of Vaughn the side-story was an FBI investigation close to completion by the end of the book and it would have been nice to know how it ended. In terms of grammar and vocabulary the book was good. Overall I enjoyed the story and would recommend reading the book.

I am a great admirer of Julie James books. She makes her characters real and gives the reader some insight of their jobs, frustrations, and irritations. This is book the heroine, Sidney, has another frustrating blind date from her internet dating service. The hero, Vaughn, observes her body language and confidently moves right in when the first guy leaves. As an FBI agent, he always gets his man and believes he can get this woman. Unfortunately, Sidney, knows his type all too well and the agent is shocked when she doesn't fall for his 'line.' You can imagine when the two discover they are the Maid of Honour and Best Man in a wedding with Sidney's sister and Vaughn's brother. From then on, the sparks fly, primarily there is a definite attraction. The entire story revolves around the wedding and the couple's jobs. James description of their jobs, their witty comments and thoughts, really drew this reader in. I loved it.

Pas le meilleur de Julie James! L'histoire de la fille qui prévoit 34 questions pour filtrer mister right... Des moments drôles, captivants et sympa mais habituée a l'auteur, j'ai été un peu déçue.

The book was both entertaining and one I couldn't put down. I didn't want it to end and with such a compelling beginning that grabbed my attention immediately I was hooked by the very beginning. All main characters were each given the views and thoughts throughout the book and it was that that made it so entertaining. Absolutely loved it!