One Wedding, Two Brides by Heidi Betts
Book #1: Fairy Tale Bride Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 3/5 stars

Monica Blair is having none of her shady ex-fiancé getting a happily ever after! After all her planning, buying, arranging, and being totally stoked about her future with her fiancé, Monica is ready for a little retribution. For Monica Blair, a generally spirited yet not crazy photographer, her form of retribution is to have her own happily ever after, RIGHT NOW!

With a bit too much alcohol, one smoking hot wedding dress, and a half-cocked plan, Monica shows up at her ex’s wedding reception and makes a complete and utter fool of herself. To be sure, Monica’s show was quite the sight, but all it earns her is a trip out of the reception hall over the shoulder of seriously hot cowboy. It is during that moment, while trying not to puke when the rest of her crazy plan make its presences known. Why not marry the hot cowboy and make her ex crazy jealous?

Ryder Nash has 99 problems and a crazy, drunk woman is absolutely one of them! What’s more, the crazy lady has an insane plan to get married, make her ex crazy, and pay Nash a ton of money for his involvement. With a financially failing ranch, too many overdue notices to count, and a dream that is fading faster by the day, Nash sees the crazy lady’s plan as relatively insane and hard to explain to his family and friends, but an opportunity to save his ranch and all the animals he cares for. Sometimes, a little bit of crazy is exactly what a cowboy needs in his life.

Once the alcohol and the intensity of the moment has passed, both Monica and Nash wake up to the reality of their shared situation. Once she’s sober, Monica drops a bombshell on Nash: not only doesn’t she have the money she promised him, but the money has been stolen by her devious ex, the same guy now married to Nash’s sister. Between the two of them, yet another crazy plan is hatched to retrieve Monica’s money, expose her ex for the rat bastard he is, and then part ways. As far as plans go, it isn’t the craziest of the TWO they’ve had, but it does come with risks. With nothing more to do than see the crazy through to the very end, Monica and Nash pack their bags and prepare to crash a honeymoon!

The Bottom Line: One Wedding, Two Brides is a cute, light read that kept me engaged, but didn’t overwhelm me with the awesome. This is one of those books where you just accept the wild, the crazy, the totally implausible IS the premise and go with it or DNF it. I chose to go with it, in large part because I liked Monica and Nash and the interactions between them. Clearly, their situation isn’t normal, but they muddle through it with a great deal of stubbornness, sarcasm, wit, and humor. In essence, this book is the epitome of fake it until you make it and that is exactly what Nash and Monica do. While I can’t say this is an amazing read, it is a cute, mostly satisfying read that will appeal to a great number of romance readers. I wouldn’t move this one up to the top of your TBR, but I would keep it on the list and save it for a rainy day. ( )