Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Wedding Promise / Melinda Curtis


Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Contemporary Romance /Sweet Romance

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Availability    
Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“Melinda grew up on an isolated, California sheep ranch, where sightings of passing mountain lions had been recorded and yet she was allowed to roam the 50-acres un-accompanied as soon as she could walk. Being a brave and rather optimistic - clueless of the danger - sort, she took to playing ’what if‘ games. What if the mountain lion comes by while I'm picking up firewood at the edge of the forest? What if my plastic boat sinks in the sheep pond? What if it never stops raining and the road gets so muddy we're trapped? It led to her fascination with creating stories where she could answer the ’what ifs’…

Melinda writes sweet to medium heat contemporary romances as Melinda Curtis and red hot reads as Mel Curtis.  She loves writing romances about women who don't realize how strong they are until a hero comes along to show them, while capturing the wry humorous power struggle of falling in love - because, really, who lets the man have the last word?”

Learn more about Ms. Curtis and her other books on herwebsite or follow her on Facebook.

Description:

“They used to call her the Bon-Bon Heiress. As one of Bon-Bon Chocolates heiresses, Tiffany Bonander grew up in New York with a silver spoon, a heart of gold, and a lifelong supply of sweets. But now her life is falling apart. Recent changes in cocoa supply from Ecuador are threatening the quality of the family’s chocolate and sales are down. Add to that Tiff’s penchant for falling in love quickly and breaking engagements at the last minute…Now they call her the Bon-Voyage Bride.

Jackson Hardaway is trekking through the Andes in Ecuador as a tribute to a fallen comrade. This wounded warrior didn’t expect to meet a beautiful damsel in distress and her three fairy godmothers…er, trio of meddlesome nuns…on his journey. But everything in Ecuador is bigger – the trees, the snakes, the attraction. Is this love? Or just another case made to label Tiff a Runaway Bride?”

Appraisal:

Tiffany Bonander is in the middle of an Ecuadorian rainforest in her pink rain slicker to try to reestablish her grandfather’s abandoned cocoa plantation. If her daddy had made a few sound management decisions and squandered less money perhaps he wouldn’t have run the family chocolate business into the ground and she wouldn’t have had to come to Ecuador at all. Rejuvenating the family’s cocoa fields with a new strain of cocoa would save the family chocolate business and Tiff is convinced she can manage this feat despite her reputation as a spoiled heiress.  

Caught in a torrential downpour trying to get back to the convent with a wheelbarrow full of cocoa beans she runs into Jackson, while trying to evade a huge snake. Unfortunately, Jax is blinded by a PSTD flashback brought on by the thunder and lightning from the storm. Refusing to kill anything ever again he fires a warning shot to frighten the huge snake away, from that point on Tiff nicknames him Tree-Hugger and Jax gives her the name Snake Bait.

This is a light-hearted story as two damaged souls try to salvage what is left of themselves and start a new life by leaving behind old emotional baggage. They both know they have something to prove to themselves before they can successfully move forward. The plot has a serious theme and moves forward in a realistic fashion. The dialogue is fun and entertaining and the three Sister Marys added their own special touch to the mix. Ms. Curtis was able to carry off these three nuns without any confusion by their defining descriptions. I think this is a great start to a new set of stories including Tiffany and Jackson because even if Tiff is able to establish herself as a strong business woman she still has the hurtle of getting past five fiancés in four years to get over. I think fun times are ahead.

FYI:

This story is included in Sweet Christmas Kisses: Fourteen Sweet Christmas Romances bundle under the title Christmas Promise.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found no significant errors in editing or formatting.

Rating: ***** Five stars

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