Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? by Melissa Senate

In exchange for a free $100,000 dream wedding, she'll be featured in a trendy magazine as "Today's Modern Bride." So what if the advertisers dictate what she wears, eats, and registers for? From the gown (it has yellow feathers) to the reception hall (vampire chic) to the rings (what metal is that?) to the prime rib (tofu!), Eloise knows that what really matters is the groom (cold feet?). All she has to do is keep a wedding-planning diary (heavily edited) and have her friends and family ooh and ahh over her leather veil in photo shoots.

Friends, Eloise has: bridesmaids Jane, Natasha, Amanda and oddball co-worker Philippa, the magazine's "traditional (ha!) Bride." Family, she doesn't have. Eloise's mother passed away, her father took off years ago, her too-cool-for-words brother is either climbing Mount Everest or scamming a rich older woman in Beverly Hills and her fiancé's family is certifiable. So between choosing rubber bridesmaid dresses and worrying about the photo shoots, Eloise finally asks the question: Hey--whose wedding is it anyway?

Hero: Noah Benjamin
Heroine:: Eloise Manfred
Grade: C

This book is the follow up to another book that I read earlier this year by Melissa Senate called, See Jane Date. This book is about Jane Gregg's best friend, Eloise Manfred.

Eloise is getting married to the man of her (and mine) dreams, Noah Benjamin. Noah is an investigative journalist who is always on the go, traveling from one place to another, covering all of the latest hot stories. And though, he's almost never around, there is no doubt that he is in utter love with Eloise.

He is a regular guy but a really good guy who loves his fiance.

And his fiance has got some serious issues and he knows about them all and loves her anyway...what more could you want in a guy, huh?

Not much.

But Eloise has got a lot of emotional baggage that she's got to deal with before she can finally settle down and be a wife to Noah, she's got to deal with the fact that her brother is a leave at the drop of a hate type of guy, the kind of guy that they (Eloise and her brother) can't stand, as it's the kind of guy that their father is and she's also got to come to grips with her father who left their family the day before her fifth birthday.

So with all the finding herself that Eloise did in this book, it was at times trying to get through because you wanted to scream at her to just hurry up and get over it and move on, but at other times you felt sorry for her and wanted to give her a hug and tell her that everything will be alright.

As soon as she comes to grips with all of her issues with her family, with her boss and with the wedding that is being planned for her that she doesnt really want, everything falls into place and the story ends happily, which I liked.

The characters in this story spilled over from See Jane Date and so it was good to see the gang back together again, Jane, Natasha, Amanda and it was nice to meet all of the new characters as well, Eloise's Grandma is a character that I really liked in this book, Eloise's brother, Emmett was one heck of a character as well, there were times, a LOT of times that I wanted to poke his eyes out and tell him to get over himself and grow the heck up but I got over it all at the end. Charla was a good character and a great friend to Eloise, Noah was also great, he had that hero thing down pat, just uber cute and super sweet and everything nice.

The book was cute and cuddly and all things nice when it wasn't driving me bloody mad with all of the stupid crap that Eloise thought and did, I wanted to slap her silly when she didn't stand up for herself and what she wanted with her stupid boss but again, I got over all of it at the end, so all in all this was a good book.

A treat.

See Jane Date by Melissa Senate

Hero: You'll have to read it to find out.
Heroine: Jane Greggs
Grade: C+
Date: 3/15/06

A Fancy Affair Bridal SalonForest Hills, Queens

"Did you know that one of your hips is higher than the other?" the seamstress asked me in a totally conversational tone.

"I didn't," I said. "I never knew that. But I'm glad you told me."
The seamstress had the decency to look embarrassed. She ducked her head back down and continued pinning.

Perhaps that had been the reason why Blind Dates One, Two and Three hadn't been interested. It wasn't the smoking, after all. It was my Hip Issue. And just my luck that Blind Date #4 was with a doctor, whose business it was to notice such deformities.

See Jane Date will speak to singles everywhere. At once warm and witty, this look into the life of 28-year-old assistant editor Jane Gregg, screams, "You are not alone!" Case in point: See Jane . . .

-- Endure two months of bridesmaid hell for her younger cousin's wedding -- Brilliantly dodge being fixed up with Grammy's next-door neighbor by fibbing that she, um, already has a boyfriend-- Date . . . like crazy to find one suitable guy to bring to said wedding

Okay, find one suitable guy to love. Was that so much to ask?

I liked this story, I really did. I thought it was funny to see Jane lie about who she was dating to that horrible nitwit Natasha Nutley, I thought it was hilarious how she was speed dating all these men to try to hurry up and get her fabulous boyfriend she lied to her family and Natasha about before Dana's wedding. I loved the friendship between Jane and Eloise, and even Amanda. There was an inherent kindness to Eloise and I thought she was the best person to have backing your corner, no matter how many lies you told and how stupid you looked after the last disastrous date you went on. Talk about unconditional love, I really like Eloise's character and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she has her own book out already and even more surprised that I already own the book, yahoo for me!

But as much as I loved the story, there were plenty things that I bugged the ever living life out of me.

1) Jane's constant smoking.

I can't stand when my brother's smoke around me because as a non smoker I hate people polluting the air around me. Second hand smoke kills, hello??? And smoking is such a turn off for me, more power to you if you smoke, I won't go on and on about how smoking is really bad for you because you're an adult, you know this already, so do what you do if you must, but I won't date a smoker because smoking is a turn off for me and nothing is unattractive to me then a guy lighting a cigarette up, and it's even more unattractive when a woman does it, but hey, that's just me. Jane's constant cigarette smoking, sitting in the cloud of cigarette smoke in her apartment was just something I found disgusting and I was more than happy that she quit.

2) Jane's more than annoying Aunt Ina.

Oh gosh, I wanted to pound this bitches face in. I mean seriously, she was always yelling at Jane for the stupidest thing, Jane is a grown ass woman, living on her own, doing her own thing, she doesn't need to be scolded because she was a bit harsh to the Maid of Honor, I mean seriously??? Who the hell has meetings to discuss the progress on the Bridal Shower Preperations? Why the hell would Jane, who's just a bridesmaid have to attend such an idiotic meeting. Jane has a job, she's working on getting a promotion, she shouldn't have to be stuck attending some lame ass meeting to please her Aunt. Aunt Ina would have took one to the chin if I was her niece. Scold me, my ass.

3) Jane's superficial flighty cousin, Dana.

Oh gosh, this daughter of a bitch is someone I seriously wanted to murder, the way she was all high and mighty because she was getting married at The Plaza, to a millionaire internet tycoon, who the flip cares? The way she was just always short with Jane made me want to bury my first in her pretty little petite face. Had I been Jane I would have said more than once for Dana to kiss my ass!

I really didn't expect to like this book, nearly as much as I did but I really did. I even cried, maybe I'm single and at one point or another have thought the same things that Jane thought, have gone on the same kind of dates that Jane went on, fell in love with the wrong kind of guy like Jane did and connected with her. This book has a happy ending, which I was glad for and I totally recommend this book to those single gals out there who want to read about someone who understands what you're going through....trust me, Jane knows how you feel! =)

The Solomon Sisters Wise Up by Melissa Senate

Grade: B+
Date: 2/19/06

Between the reality of being six weeks pregnant by a guy she's dated for two months and the fantasy of pushing a baby stroller down Columbus Avenue with a wedding ring on her finger were a lot of possibilities for twenty-nine-year old Manhattan publishing peon Sarah Solomon. Will the baby's father run screaming for the nearest subway . . . or pop the question?

"He's going to deny they ever had sex!" bets cynical sister Ally, an uptown lawyer who catches her "perfect" husband cheating . . . and happily retaliates on FindAMate.com.

"He might surprise everyone and propose," offers half sister Zoe, a celebrated relationship guru who critiques dates for a living but would have to rate her own love life a big fat zero.

"Huh?" asks their clueless father, too busy planning his society wedding to trophy wife #3 to notice what's up with his daughters. Until Sarah, Ally and Zoe find themselves suddenly sharing a bedroom in his Park Avenue penthouse . . . . "

And thanks to a little help from each other and some unexpected allies, the Solomon sisters are about to wise up in this heartwarming and hilarious novel by Melissa Senate, author of See Jane Date.

What a pleasant story about family relationships to go with the complicated romantic relationships that we read about in The Solomon Sisters Wise Up. It's about three sisters who wise up about life, love and their family.

Growing up, Abby, Sarah and Zoe didn't have much of a relationship. They all have very different personalities and those personalities always clashed whenever they found themselves in the same room. But when different incidents happen to each of them, they all find themselves under the same roof again, the roof of the father that all of them have NEVER had a relationship with.

It was great fun to read about these sisters with no kind of relationship with eachother, form a bond that cannot be broken. The bond of sisterhood heals all wounds and binds you to other women you know will share your burdens, share your secrets and keep them safe and sound. They'll shelter you from the world when you need it and they'll take care of you when you don't think you can, and most importantly, they'll hold your hand to get you through the toughest situations life hands you.

The story of Abby, Sarah and Zoe was truly great to be apart of and I'm so glad that I picked it out of the box from the office and ran off away with it. I didn't think that I would like it as much as I did, I loved it even more. It was just what I needed to get me out of my reading funk, because not only do I want to read more, I want to read more Melissa Senate.

Of all the sisters, I related more with Sarah because she was the one who struggled with her secret pregnancy and when I read about her story, it sort of struck home because a lot of what she went through, I went through when I was pregnant, but that's where the similarities stop because Sarah got her happy ending and I'm still waiting for mine.

The characters were all relatable and even though the situations each sister were in were cliche'd or typical to read about in these kinds of books, it was still a great read. The story was all over the place because each chapter was told through the eyes of one sister, but I think it worked well and added a bit of spice. It made me want to call each of my sisters and tell them how much I love them and just hug them to death. It was just an all around great read for me and I would totally recommend it!

And just so you know....

DANNYMARSHISMINEDAMMIT! *snicker*