Title: Bouquet Toss
Author: Melissa Brown
Genre/Audience: Women’s fiction, romance, adult
Publication: 2012
Source: For review, CLP Tours
Summary: Daphne Harper catches the bouquet at every single wedding she attends, even when she isn’t trying. She’s starting to view it as a curse, instead of a gift, since she still hasn’t found the right man, as most of her friends have. Her first love, Mayson, continues to occupy her heart and mind, despite the heartbreak he has caused her over the years. She can’t stop thinking about him, even when circumstances tell her she must. Her obsession with Mayson has held her back and prevented her from finding true love with any other man. Can she let go of the past to find real happiness and love at last?
My Thoughts: I liked this book, and actually flew through it in just a couple of sittings, which is normally difficult for me to do. The story moved along at a quick pace though, and I found myself becoming very interested in Daphne’s love life and various dilemmas. I will say I was quite surprised when I realized this book was more serious than I expected. I was expecting light, fluffy chick-lit (which I love), but got more of a serious, sometimes sad, women’s fiction novel (which I also love), so I would not necessarily classify this as chick-lit, for those who are wondering. I really liked Daphne, and felt she was the “every woman” in some respects. I think that many women could relate to her reminiscing, wondering, and “what if” questions about the past. I also think most women can relate to wanting to find their true love… I certainly know that was me before I met mine!
As relatable as Daphne was, I did find her to sometimes be too perfect/sweet/kind. Don’t get me wrong, I love people as kind as she is, but I sometimes felt that she was too good to be true in that regard and found it hard to believe someone could be as kind and sweet as she was all the time, especially when she is put in some difficult circumstances. I do hope there are people like that in the world, though! My one other small complaint would be that the writing was sometimes a bit clunky and formal, particularly the dialogue. A lot of “I am” instead of “I’m,” for example, and very formal, stiff conversations. All in all though, I really did enjoy the book and seeing Daphne on her own personal journey to finding love and dealing with the past. It was a good story. If you’re into romance and women’s fiction, I’d recommend this one. I was happy to discover that Melissa has written a sequel, Champagne Toast, involving another one of the characters, and I’m looking forward to reading it!
My Rating: 4/5
Thanks for being in the tour!
I think you could really NOT catch a bouquet if you tried. Seriously. Don’t lift up your hands. Go to the bathroom. Go to the back of the room. It could be done!!