by Tammy Thompson
Weddings from Hell
(Mass Market Paperback)
By Maggie Shayne, Jeaniene Frost,Terri Garey, Kathryn Smith
Publisher: Harper (May 27, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0061472689
ISBN-13: 978-0061472688
Buy the Book!
June is a month almost everyone traditionally associates with weddings, filled with bride’s bouquets and happily ever after. Well not always: “Weddings From Hell,” which hit book stores in June, is an anthology of four stories where happy ever after is not quite a foregone conclusion.
The first story, by Maggie Shayne, was well a bit predictable from the get go. I realize the difficulties in writing short, stand alone novellas, but in Shayne’s “Till Death” things move so fast that you’re afraid to blink for fear of missing something. A family curse has been killing unfaithful husbands for over a hundred years. When Kira falls in love, will she be the one to break the curse? Not exactly an original concept but definitely romantic and sexy.
The second story, by Jeaniene Frost, “Happily Never After” was a bit more substantial, as well as original. Isabella has agreed to marry a mafia wannabe in order to save her brother’s life, but her grandmother has other ideas. Chance is a vampire who definitely doesn’t take no for an answer. Cute, with a bit of romance in the mix, the story wraps up maybe a bit too neatly, if not quickly, at the end, but forgivable.
Next up is Terri Garey’s “Ghoul’s Night Out”, a Nikki Styx story (yay!). Nikki has been roped in as a last minute stand-in as her cousin’s maid of honor. Supposedly the girl originally fitted for the taffeta nightmare dress stalked off after a tiff with the bride. Unfortunately, Nikki finds out differently when she sees her during her fitting, quite unaware that she’s dead. With a bit of help from boyfriend Joe, Nikki solves the case just in time to lead the bride down the aisle. A cute mini-chapter to the Nikki Styx series, and most definitely my favorite of the book.
Last up is Kathryn Smith’s “The Wedding Knight.” I don’t usually read historical, which might be why I’m unfamiliar with Smith’s books. That being said, I found myself being more drawn into the story than worrying about the time period. Payen and Violet have a past; he left her because, since he is a vampire, he felt she deserved more than he could offer. Now he discovers that she is not only getting married, but to someone who is his sworn enemy and decides to stop the wedding. Can Violet convince Payen to turn her so they can be together for eternity? Maybe not completely, but an untimely turn of events definitely help. Very predictable, but an enjoyable read never the less. Violet is not the typical damsel in distress, even if Payen is very much the handsome hero.
This book is perfect summer reading: sexy, romantic with a bit of suspense and humor, easy to put down, and pick right back up anytime.
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Tammy Thompson lives on the Space Coast of Florida. An Elementary School Lunch Lady for most of the year, she keeps her eye on the Kennedy Space Center, just in case that space station gets a cafeteria and needs a Lunch Lady, and she’ll be ready to volunteer. Married with children, grandchildren, cats, rabbits and a beta fish named Dexter, and so many books they threaten to overtake every nook and cranny of our house. When she isn’t dishing out green beans, being mom, or taxi driver, she has her nose in a book.
Read Tammy’s blog 10 Forward: Confessions of an Intergalactic Lunch Lady.
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Juliana Weiss-Roessler is a writer living in Los Angeles. To read more of her writing, visit WeissRoessler.com. You can also follow her on Twitter: @jul_weiss. 
