Readers of this blog will know that I love Katie Fforde's books and grab each one eagerly as soon as it is published. Now she certainly does not need reviewing by the likes of me as as her sales are huge, but I shot off an email to her publishers and said 'Look I really love her books, I have a blog blah blah blah and I would deem it a HUGE favour if you would send me a review copy of Wedding Season blah blah blah. OK dead silence so that was that and then this week a lovely envelope arrived on my desk at work and lo and behold those delightful people at Centruy had sent me a copy. I love books about weddings. Last year I read and reviewed Made in Heaven by Adele Geras and as I was in the throes of all the arrangements for my younger daughter's wedding at that time, read it with total concentration in order to get lots of tips.
I saved Katie up for Friday evening when I knew that a lie in next day was on the cards and early to bed and propped up with pillows sat and read it straight through and, of course, adored it and of course it brought back memories of TWOTY. Fear not, gentle readers, I am not about to launch into yet another burble about TWOTY, you have had enough of that already, but reading Wedding Season brought that day slap bang into focus again.
Sarah is a wedding planner, fairly uptight about marriage for herself, having had her heart broken many years ago. Hugo, the photographer she uses for her weddings, is elegant, charming and very sexy and eager to begin a relationship with her, but she tries her best to keep her distance and keep their friendship on a professional level (HAH! fat chance...)
Bron is a hairdresser and is living with the most boring, crass man who looks down on her because of her profession. He really is an unreconstructed male, wanting his cricket whites washed and ironed to perfection, dinner on the table when he comes home, does not like her having friends...I am sure you get the picture.
Elsa is a talented dress designer, but shy and lacking in confidence and when she has to step in as a bridesmaid at a wedding at the last minute, is horrified but the situation is made much easier by a divine Best Man, Laurence.
So here we have it - three female characters with their respective male counterparts and we all want to know what happens. Sarah has to organise a wedding for a Celebrity which event takes place on the same day as her very own sister has decided to marry so we end up with a lot of hair raising dashing about, trying to get things done, working to deadlines and hope that it will all come out right in the end. Having had to take over organising the flowers for my daughter and calm her down near the wedding as panic began to set in, and also having done a few weddings in my catering days, I can clearly recall the organisation involved, the working from lists of lists, the waking up in the middle of the night wondering if the flowers will arrive safely, will somebody drop the cake etc, I could really empathise with Sarah and her team trying to get it all done on time.
Did it all work out well? Were the two weddings a huge success and did our three heroines find the man of their dreams and live happily every after?
Well, what do you think?
Loved it.
