THE WEDDING CHARM (Magnolias and Moonshine #4)

THE WEDDING CHARM                    SUSAN HATLER

Maid of honor Sarah Carlton hasn’t failed at anything since her high school science project was sabotaged by a relentless competitor. So, she’ll do whatever it takes to make her best friend Jill’s wedding absolutely perfect. That includes taking the next flight out of Sacramento to retrieve the panicked bride’s cherished family wedding charm from her late grandmother’s attic in Atlanta Georgia. 

Unfortunately, someone else has offered to come to the bride’s rescue—best man Ben Atkins, the same man who destroyed Sarah’s high school science project all those years ago. Now he wants to one-up her by retrieving the charm first? Sarah refuses to let that happen. The race is on. 

When Sarah and Ben arrive in Atlanta, instead of finding the wedding charm there’s a letter from the bride’s grandmother directing the bride and groom to complete a series of tasks in order to prove their commitment to each other. With the wedding only two days away, Sarah and Ben must join forces by pretending to be the bride and groom in order to earn the wedding charm. Should be a cinch. After all, how hard can it be to fake true love for forty-eight hours?

MY REVIEW:

    I love the premise of this book.  The idea of what the wedding charm represented to Jill is intense.  And with her wedding just two days away time was running out.  The guests were already arriving and it was the night of the rehearsal.  When her mom springs on her that her something old the broach that her grandmother intended for her was not going to be coming.

     You see several months ago Jill’s grandma passed away and her aunt, who was to go to the home, which is Atlanta, Georgia before coming to the wedding in Sacramento, California just could make herself going into her mother’s home for the first time alone.  She understood but was distraught.

     Not bringing it as planned was putting her into a tizzy.  You see, Jill’s grandma believed with the of divorces in their family that Jill was the last hope for their family.  She had told her the importance of the broach.  The fact, that it was not with her, to wear at the wedding her marriage was doomed.  This was a broach of hope for a long marriage like her grandparents had of fifty-two-years.

     She was beside herself so Sarah Carlton her best friend and maid-of-honor volunteered to use her frequent flier miles to go to Atlanta.  Then, Ben Atkins, he is Ryan’s best friend and best man jumps and says no I can go I have use of my company’s private jet that I can use to go get it.  Well, Sarah was going to have none of that.  Ryan had spent his whole life beating, winning, and shortchanging her out of things and this time it just wants not going to work.  She was going to be the winner if it killed her.  This time it just might because she used all her frequent flyer miles to buy the dress she was wearing to impress Ben for the rehearsal and dinner.

     Yes, alright she does have a slight love-hate relationship with the man in question but it all started on the playground in elementary school when he pulled her ponytails.  Can she help it if the man looks like a guy off a GQ shoot?  Let’s not talk about what he looks like with his shirt off.  So, she needed to do this for her friend no matter what.

     Jill’s grandma wanted to make sure that Jill and her fiancé were truly made for one another.  Therefore, they were

going to have to pass three tasks in which they must have as a couple throughout their marriage…

1.)          Love & Respect

2.)         Trust & Teamwork

3.)         Commitment

     But she had no clue this would be in the charm box when she sent her best friend to get it from her grandma’s attic.  Being that Ben was going she hitched a ride with him.  She tried being mad but he kept being charming which kind of pissed her off.  Made it had to hold on to the grudge she had been holding on ever since he messed up her science project in high school.

     While there in Atlanta they find a dog they call Moose who kinda bonds them as a team because these tasks have them working things out.  They are both instantly in love with this little dog.  Not to mention this dog keeps them on their toes.  What’s also funny is how many times Ben who is jaded and doesn’t believe in marriage cockblocks her the two times guys try to hit on her.

     So, the comedy of this book alone is worth the read.  It’s the magic of truth you find in the tasks they choose to complete, that is truly the heart of the story.  I give this: 5 stars.  Provided by netgalley.com.

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