Review: To Have and to Hold by Lauren Layne (Wedding Belles #1)


Note: This ARC was provided by Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books in exchange for an honest review.

To Have and to Hold is the first full-length novel and the second release in the Wedding Belles series from bestselling author Lauren Layne. While the prequel novella gave a teeny, tiny peek into the company, this series starter introduces readers to the women that comprise the Wedding Belles and gives us an idea what each one does. Book one is all about Brooke Baldwin, a twenty-eight-year-old self-employed wedding planner for California who moves to New York after her ex-fiancé was taken away in handcuffs on the day they were supposed to get married and later becomes part of the Wedding Belles, and Seth Tyler, the thirty-two-year-old CEO of the Tyler Hotel Group who had a girlfriend who turned down his marriage proposal and is now fully involved in the wedding preparations for his younger sister Maya's surprise wedding to a man her brother has never met. When Brooke becomes Maya's wedding planner, she and Seth clearly have different agendas, making things tense. Brooke and Seth lock horns...and later, lock lips.

Seth is immediately wary of Maya's fiancé. He doesn't trust the man one bit, especially considering the short amount of time he and his sister have been dating. He wants to dig into the man's life in order to make sure that his sister isn't being set up for heartbreak by a con man. On the other hand, Brooke knows all about con men, but as much as she had her heart broken by the other life her ex had led, she doesn't think that Seth's plans of investigating his sister's boyfriend behind her back are a good idea. Seth has always needed to be in control, something that was already taken away from him when his father passed away a few months back. He loves his sister too much to see her get hurt. This puts him and Brooke on opposing sides, but spending time together allows them to realize that maybe their first opinions of each other weren't all that accurate. Neither one is looking for a committed relationship, but when one night makes them want more, will fears and insecurities creep up and sabotage what could be something great?

I need to get this out of the way: I LOVED SETH. I really, really did. He may have come off as cold and short-tempered at first, but there was so much more to him. He wasn't as disaffected as he wanted people to think he was and it was clear that the man cared about those he allowed to get close to him (i.e. his sister, his best friend, and his personal assistant). I could relate to him in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to the need to control things, even when it comes to other people. Seth has reasons why he is the way he is, and being with someone like Brooke brought his vulnerabilities to the forefront (making him even more endearing). While there were admittedly times I wasn't a fan of Brooke's treatment of Seth, I still think she was a great female main character. She was bouncing back and finding her footing again with a job that she loved and a life that she was calling her own. I liked the Maya Tyler and Grant Miller side story and the Alexis Morgan and Logan Harris pairing has me curious. 4.5 stars for To Have and to Hold. ♥

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Read my reviews for the Wedding Belles series:


From This Day Forward (prequel novella) - four stars - My Review

To Have and to Hold (book one) - 4.5 stars - My Review (posted above)

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Release Date: 26 July 2016

Date Read: 22 July 2016

Learn more about Lauren Layne.

Purchase To Have and to Hold on Amazon | B&N | Kobo.

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