"TO HAVE AND TO HOLD wasn't what I expected."

By: Lauren Layne

Genres: Romance Contemporary

Posted: October 25, 2016

In the first of a new series, Lauren Layne takes readers down the aisle with TO HAVE AND TO HOLD. As you can expect from the title and the cover of this book, this entire series is wedding themed. But this book isn't filled with happy faces and I-love-yous completely. In fact, the hero of this book, Seth Tyler, is quite the pessimist so this book wasn't what I expected. When his sister is about to wed a scumbag, Seth does his best to get his sister to reconsider her wedding. However, it doesn't work as well as he plans and it actually has the opposite effect of what he intended. Now, he's stuck with dealing with a celebrity wedding planner while things just seem to get worse.

Unfortunately, I had trouble getting into this book and the main reason for this was because I didn't like the hero. I thought Seth was introduced in a very negative way and for the rest of the book, I just didn't fall in love with him like I expected to. He's kind of a sour puss and to top it all off, he is a bit cocky and demanding as well. Those, for me, are traits that didn't make me enjoy his character as much as I hoped.

When the heroine is introduced, I hoped she would change him or at least show a different side of him, but again, Seth just didn't wow me. I wish he did. Because of this, the romance faltered. I wasn't a huge fan of the dialogue or the banter between the hero and heroine. I did enjoy Layne's writing style though, so I think I will be reading the next book in the series just to see if I can still get into it. I just felt that the hero could've been a lot better, especially if he's intended to be the man the heroine is going to marry.

Book Summary

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?

To Have and To Hold by Lauren Layne

To Have and To Hold

by: Lauren Layne

Wedding Belles #1

Pocket Star
August 1, 2016
On Sale: July 26, 2016
Featuring: Brooke Baldwin; Seth Tyler
362 pages
ISBN: 1501135139
EAN: 9781501135132
Kindle: B0176M1AK8
Paperback / e-Book

Available in: