FIRST LOVE

Author: Julie Kenner ISBN: 0451216296 9/2005 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: SIGNET

Just as bride-to-be Julia Spinelli is about to throw the swankiest wedding Fredericksburg, Texas, has ever seen, in roll her Jersey parents in all their tacky glory-and out rolls her hope for happily-ever-after. If she can't convince her father that her fiancé is head-over-heels for her and not her trust fund, the wedding is off.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

FIRST LOVE is the final book in the Bridesmaids Chronicles and it features the couple that instigated the need for bridesmaids and groomsmen in the first place, Julia and Roman. After a whirlwind engagement, Julia is down to the last week before her wedding, dealing with last minute details and having her parents arrive in town. As luck would have it, everything seems to snowball and go wrong. The shop where she bought her wedding dress went bankrupt and she couldn't get her dress, her future in-laws decide that she can't have the wedding at their vineyard, her dad punches a judge and ends up in jail, and her fiancé seems a bit distant and is hiding something.

FIRST LOVE has some amusing moments and I couldn't help but enjoy Julia's father-what a great comic relief. I found it a pleasurable read, but I was a bit disappointed. I think it was probably more of a personal preference, rather than the storyline. I'd much rather read about the courtship dance, than what happens after the couple gets together. I think I would have enjoyed FIRST LOVE more if I could have been with Julia and Roman through their courtship as well as the week leading up to their wedding. Instead of just hearing how they met, I think I might have connected more with them as a couple, and felt like they were main characters, if the story could have started with Julia arriving in town and what led up to her meeting Roman and falling in love. That said, I do think that fans of the other books in the series will want to pick up this one. There are plenty of humorous escapades and a satisfying conclusion, which will make FIRST LOVE worth your time to read.

Kendra Patterson