Thursday 3 December 2015

Book ~ "A Wedding on Primrose Street" (2015) Sheila Roberts

From Goodreads ~ There's nothing like a wedding! 

The joy, the fun, the memories - the stress. As a wedding planner, Anne Richardson has seen mothers of the bride turn into Momzillas, and she's determined not to do that when it's her daughter's turn to get married. But once Laney gets engaged, all bets are off. Anne becomes obsessed with giving Laney the perfect wedding she herself never had. And that wedding needs to be held in Icicle Falls at Primrose Haus, the perfect setting. 

Roberta Gilbert, owner of Primrose Haus, has been hosting events at her charming Victorian for thirty years. She's an expert on weddings but not on mother-daughter relations. When her daughter, Daphne, comes home and decides to help with the business, the receptions become truly memorable - and not in a good way. Then there's the added complication of Roberta's gardener, who seems more interested in Daphne than he is in planting primroses.

Tying the knot is a business that has everyone tied up in knots!

Anne is a wedding planner and has had her share of Momzillas.  When her daughter, Laney, gets engaged, Anne takes charge to ensure that Laney gets the best wedding ever ... except what she plans is what she had wanted when she got married 25 years ago but didn't have.  Laney and Drake want to elope to Las Vegas but go along with Anne's plans.  Anne wants to have Laney's wedding in Icicle Falls, which is a cute German-themed town.  There she meets with Roberta, who rents out her Victoria house for weddings.

Roberta is in her seventies and her 50ish daughter, Daphne, has just moved home from Seattle following her third divorce.  She is hoping to stay with her mom and help her with her wedding arrangement business until she figures out what she wants to do with her life.

This is the tenth I've read by this author (and the seventh in the Icicle Falls series ... it works as a standalone).  Written in third person perspective, the focus shifts among the characters and you get to know what they are thinking.  As a head's up, there is some mild swearing.  At the end, there are some recipes.

I didn't like Anne or Roberta.  They were both very critical of their daughters.  With Anne, she was embarrassed by Laney and Drake's tattoos, crazy hair colour and piercings.  In fact, when they went shopping for a wedding dress, Laney found the one she wanted but Anne wanted one that had sleeves and a high neck to cover her tattoos (even though everyone knew she had them!).  Everything that Laney wanted for her wedding, Anne shot down.  Laney sounded like a cool person and I wished she'd stood up to her mother.  Yes, Daphne had made some mistakes but Roberta was always making snippy remarks to her and had no trust in her.  I found the behavior of the mothers too overbearing and tiring.

It wasn't my favourite in the series (I found it too negative and not as light as the others) but I look forward to reading future ones.

No comments: