Second Bride Down

November 15, 2022
In this romance sequel, a young woman must find a fiance by a deadline or else fall prey to a modern-day arranged marriage. Misty Delaney and her two sisters love living in Majestic, Maine, where they work at Bearberry Brews, the coffee shop their parents opened years earlier. Unfortunately, money has recently been tight for their parents and the shop. When their mother receives an offer to merge with another company, which will save the Delaneys from financial ruin, the young women are elated until they discover that the deal requires one of them--anyone of them--to marry Aidan Strong, the son of their parents' competitor. The siblings decide that if any sister should land a fiance within 30 days, she will be exempt from the arrangement. After one of them does just that, the race is on between Misty and her sister Charlotte to lock in true love before their window of opportunity slams shut. Meanwhile, Lucas Reyes, an employee at Bearberry Brews, has secretly adored Misty for years. When he discovers the sisters' competition, he realizes he must do everything in his power to enchant Misty before he loses his chance with her forever. Told in a third-person narration primarily from Misty's perspective, the story periodically shifts to Lucas' point of view, offering helpful insights into his motivations. As they spend more time together, Misty's feelings for Lucas become complicated and misunderstandings arise, some of which feel trite and others refreshingly original. In addition, the dialogue begins to grow delightfully flirtatious. At times, Baird's plot does stretch the bounds of believability. For example, when Charlotte pays for a billboard advertising that Misty is available for a marriage proposal, the small-town coffee shop is immediately mobbed with potential suitors ("Suddenly their hometown girl was a Highway One celebrity"). Although scenes in the middle of the book drag as Lucas and Misty repeatedly spend too long chatting about minutiae that does not advance the narrative, the tale's upbeat tone and likable characters are sure to please readers seeking a wholesome romance. With questions left unanswered at the book's end, it seems likely there will be another installment in this series. A fun friends-to-lovers story about small-town relationships and family obligations.

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October 10, 2022
In order to save their parents' coffee shop, one of the Delaney sisters must marry Aiden Strong, the son of a business rival. Now there's a race to find true love by the end of the month: the last sister standing will marry Aiden. With one sister out of the race (First Bride To Fall, 2022) the pressure is on when Misty decides to bow out and just marry Aiden. Saddened by this compromise, Charlotte sets up a matchmaking billboard that attracts large amounts of the wrong type of attention. Friend of the family Lucas Reyes comes to the rescue with a fake-dating scheme to buy Misty some time. This ridiculous premise leads to a ho-hum romance. Even with a week of forced proximity and a checklist of romantic activities to try, Misty and Lucas' friends-to-lovers journey doesn't have enough chemistry to sustain their slow burn. However, they are both likable characters, and readers will enjoy the fall coastal setting and the relationships among the Delaney sisters, as well as the descriptions of Lucas's Puerto Rican cooking. Fans of the first book will enjoy.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.