Stealing the Bride

by Alexa Riley

Vanna is stuck in a loveless engagement and doesn’t know what to do. The day she tries on her wedding dress is the day she realizes things have to end. But little does she know someone watching her has already decided it for her.

Lawson is a normal guy with a normal life, until the day he sees Vanna trying on her wedding dress. One look and that’s all it takes for him to become the kind of man that takes what he wants and asks questions later.

Warning: Is kidnapping a love language because if so, these heroes are fluent! Pack a bag and stay a while because these guys aren’t letting you go anywhere.

Genres: Romance, Novella, Contemporary, Erotica, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit

88 pages, ebook

First published May 1, 2023

About the author

Alexa Riley is two sassy friends who got together and wrote some dirty books. They are both married moms of two who love football, donuts, and obsessed book heroes.

They specialize in insta-love, over-the-top, sweet, and cheesy love stories that don’t take all year to read. If you want something SAFE, short, and always with a happily ever after, then Alexa Riley is for you!

Feel free to follow us each on twitter @smut_sasshole & @SassNSmut

Reviews

[Celia {Hiatus until August} · Rating 4 out of 5]

•| ⊱✿⊰ |• 4,2 Stars •| ⊱✿⊰ |•

Another Alexa Riley book with the style she gets us used to.
Insta love and funny.

I liked this one particularly, it's not so stupid as some of Alexa's books.



Lawson is a private detective, he and his two brothers, get the agency after their father's retired.
But then he sees Vanna trying a weeding dress, and he's hooked.
After that, a lot of sweet and funny situations.
It's a fast reading, so if you like the style, it's an hour well spent reading it.

[Milandre Swartbooi]

This book is like 80 pages long, how do you introduce your main character's strawberry allergy in one chapter and then have her sucking on a strawberry 3 chapters later and have no allergic reaction????? What is going on??? I know that this is just smut but girl, have some consistency and remember YOUR characterization. JEEZZZ. just made me want to stop reading

[alaynasvanity]

In an earlier chapter, Nick sends her chocolate strawberries as as apology and she describes them as poisonous berries; even goes on to say how she carries an epi-pen because of how allergic she is…

Several chapters later, Lawson feeds her a strawberry lol. Did she forget that she was allergic?

She faints at the drop of a hat, cries every second paragraph or so, is just an all around bore to read. I found myself skimming her POV just to get to his because if she wasn’t boring me to death with her stupidity, she was crying and frozen in shock. Just completely fucking useless.

Out of the thousands of books I’ve read, this is the second time I’ll ever say that he deserved someone better ffs.

[Jen ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vanna is engaged and was trying on her wedding gown, but she realized that she doesn't want to get married to her fiance. Lawson saw her through the bridal shop window, and obviously, attraction came in. He stalked her for a few hours, then did a background search on everything about her. 

That same day, Vanna walked in on her fiance, Nick, having a threesome, and this cemented her decision to end their engagement. But the jerk wasn't even sorry for what he did and thought that everything would fall back into place because Vanna is a yes girl and a pushover.

Anyway, the next day, Nick harassed her, but Lawson came and punched the crap out of him. Then he eventually kidnaps Vanna, while she's still out of sorts about what just happened.
Then three days passed into their bubble, and they realized how they both fell fast and hard. It was kind of expected since this is a novella. Anyhoo, some drama happened at the end, but it was then resolved quickly.
 
This was fun, and I loved the 10 year later epilogue.


Book info:
- Novella
- No cheating, breakup
- Kidnapping-ish
- Insta-love or insta-obsession?
- HEA
- Virgin h, unsure with the H but I think he is

[Shirlei Satiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is very good and I could have given it more stars but for many problems along it. In a moment the girl in the book is allergic to strawberries, some chapters ahead she eats them without problems.
The guy kidnaps her and takes all her things from her apartment, then they need to go back there to take some clothes. Who revised this?

[Shine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I used to love Alexa Riley. Love her old books so much. She used to be 1 of my favorite author of all time. What happened to her? It's like all her books for 2 years (i think) now are written by different author. I miss the Alexa Riley who wrote the Coach, the Mechanic, River Quiver, Snow and Mistletoe, Summer Camp Captive, and all her other old books.

[cali · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn’t carry the usual AR magic. It felt super rushed; I wish it was longer.

[Scheylis ☾ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Absurdo, pero lo necesitaba para no caer en un bloqueo.

Pd: si vas escribir que uno de tus protagonistas es alérgico a algo y después lo vas a olvidarlo, para eso mejor no pongas nada. Me pones que la tipa es alérgica a las fresas y después ni a los 5 capítulos pones un escena sexualiza de ella comiendo fresa, Really????

[Lisbeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

La trama es demasiado trillada y los personajes son aburridísimos.

[Carolinababilonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmmm. Dos estrellas, por qué, no lo sé.

[Carolina]

𝑸𝒖𝒊𝒛á 𝒎𝒊 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒂 𝒏𝒐 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒛ó 𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒄í 𝒂 𝑽𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂, 𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒚 𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒍 𝒑𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒛.

[Kellyythoralabatalla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idk what to say bout this 🥴

[Kiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stealing the Bride was Book 1 of an untitled series about three brothers: Ari, Lawson, and Mack Reins. This first book was about Lawson Reins, the co-owner of the Reins Detective Agency, and Vanna Noble, a recent college graduate, and the fiance of another man.
Vanna was engaged to Nick Chambers, the son of one of the wealthiest families in town. However, neither one of them was in love with the other. While trying on her wedding dress, Vanna finally admitted to herself she couldn't go through with the engagement. As she left the bridal shop, she tried calling Nick, who wasn't answering, so she went to his place to wait for him. What she found there was the final straw, and she called off the wedding.
Lawson was on his way back to work when his oldest brother asked him to stop by the bridal shop to check on something for a client. What he saw instead was Vanna in her wedding gown, and she didn't look happy. He followed her to the subway, only to realize she was going in a different direction than he needed to go, so he returned to the shop to do a little investigating into who she was and also to follow up on what his brother had asked him to do. From the moment he first saw her, his (and her) fate was sealed. He would do anything to have her...including kidnapping her.
Upon returning home, Vanna found flowers and a box waiting at her door. Upon further investigation, she determined they were from Nick as an apology for what she had found at his place. The box contained chocolate-covered strawberries, which she threw away because she was allergic to them.
Lawson was at a family gathering not long after finally learning about who Vanna was, and he made the decision to take her (kidnap her) to his family's lake house. So he did so, only after he knocked Nick out for trying to assault Vanna. While there, things heated up between them, but before they got too hot and heavy, one of Lawson's brothers showed up and told him Nick wanted to hire them to find Vanna, except he had just done so, and Lawson set him straight on the way things truly were. Vanna was allergic to the strawberries her (now ex) fiancee sent her, so much so that she carried an EpiPen at all times...yet not long after Lawson took her to his family's lake house...he was feeding her strawberries? Come on, author! Either she is or she isn't allergic! She can't be both!
Upon returning to the city a few days later, Lawson took Vanna to her place to get some of her things. However, things didn't go as planned because Nick and his mother had a different idea of how things should go, and all hell broke loose.
This book was different than a lot of this author's other stories but in a good way. It actually had a decent plot and storyline other than just Insta-love. It had a lot of drama and angst, but it had fun, spicy scenes as well. There was a touch of suspense, a good many surprise twists and turns, and just enough heartache to get the juices flowing. There was also plenty of humor.
The characters were fun to read about. Both were mature and well-developed, with room for growth. It was nice to read a story with characters who were human to the point they weren't perfect, they weren't money-hungry, and they weren't arrogant. They acted like real people. Because of that, I gave this a five-star rating, and I plan to add it to my Keeper for the Shelves collection. I just hope the other two books in the trilogy are as good as this first one.

[MerReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's get a few things out of the way before my little complaint,
This book is
Safe
No cheating between our hero and heroine
No OW
OM/cheating drama (h walked in on her fiancé cheating on her with two women, and she did not feel jealous. She was more embarrassed to walk in on people having sex, so that shows she does not feel anything for him. He never turned her on, she never felt love for him and she actually dreaded the marriage so I am glad for that. She just gave into the peer pressure of having a boyfriend and things snowballed from there.)
long time celibate H, so long he said he is practically a monk, alpha, OTT (somewhat), he does kidnap her and had several back up plans, he really fell hard in love with her when he saw her in that wedding dress.
h virgin, but felt her first sexual awakening with him.
HEA
*sigh*
I don't know what is going on with the Alexa Riley duo in this one. It could have been really good, but I could not stop thinking about those damn strawberries, and it was distracting! Listen, is she or isn't she allergic to strawberries?
Quote from the book, " I open the box and inside are twelve chocolate-covered strawberries. Nick might not love me the way he should, but on some level, I thought we had a friendship. Seeing the twelve poisonous berries is a punch to my stomach. Grabbing the box, I toss it into the trash and shake my head in disgust. How does he not remember I’m allergic to them? I keep an EpiPen on me at all times, for God’s sake." End quote.
But when Lawson feeds her a strawberry....Quote,
"I take a strawberry and hold it up to her lips. She keeps her eyes on me as she licks the tip, and my eyes widen when she sucks it. All I can picture is her doing the same to my cock, and I feel my jaw flex. 'Careful, babe. Teasing me isn’t wise.' She finishes the rest of the berry, and I hold out another for her. This time, she holds my wrist as she pushes it past her lips, and I grunt as her teeth sink into the juicy flesh." End quote.
A reread of the book before publishing is necessary and for good reason, mistakes like this are too blatant and too distracting. The strawberry feeding scene could have been so erotic otherwise. It's a shame.
This one was all right, I did enjoy it, I did like Lawson and Vanna, but those damn strawberries....come on!!!!
4 stars, because I did like the couple, and the story. I am looking forward to Mack and Ari's love stories (they are Lawson's brothers). If they are not womanizers, and madly in love Alexa Riley style with their heroine, then I am in for reading their story. As long as Alexa Riley writes safe books, with no man whore heroes, MMCs in love, faithful, devoted with only each other and have eyes for no other, then I will keep reading them.
Happy reading everyone.

[Darling · Rating 2 out of 5]

¿TIENE VANNA SÚPER PODERES?
Esta bien..., porque veo que muchos lo mencionan pero aún así no puedo quedarme sin criticar; ¿No se supone que Vanna es alérgica a las fresas y unos capítulos después se come dos de ellas sin tener ningún efecto mortal en su salud?
Creo que la historia iba bien (ya saben, una lectura relajada de insta-love sin ninguna expectativa demasiado grande porque sé que iba a terminar happy ending), pero ese gran detalle me desánimo.
Incluso pensé que la crisis alérgica sería de efecto retardado, pero jamás la mencionaron. Ella jamás enfermó, cuando ella mismo mencionó que era mortalmente alérgica.
Hasta el final, jamás se vuelve a ser mención. Lo cual es ilógico totalmente, pero en fin...
Como todas las novelas de Alexa Riley, te dan un respiro de pensar demasiado y tener algo seguro de insta-love sin desarrollo lógico pero con un final predecible, "caliente" y ¿dulce?
Últimamente todas sus novelas terminan exactamente igual, lo cual espero varíen de una vez los resultados predecibles.
No me desagrada saber que pasó con ellos 10 o 20 años después, pero es la misma escena de ellos teniendo coito y diciendo que tienen un montón de hijos; escena final que parecen copiar y pegarse en cada final de libro.
¡De verdad!
Ambas amigas (Alexa Riley), tienen mucho talento para la escritura romántica rápida, pero creo que deberían trabajar urgentemente en sus finales tan pésimos.
Por otro lado, no es que esperara demasiado de esta historia... y aún así, solo por esos detalles (el de las fresas y el final tan plano), me han decepcionado.

[I'm Fine, Just Tired · Rating 3 out of 5]

STEALING THE BRIDE


HERO /HEROINE:

Vanna just graduated college and can no longer hold off her boyfriend's want for marriage. Now she's planning a wedding with a man she doesn't love and his family who doesn't like her.


Lawson and his two brothers took over their father's detective agency. 


REPRESENTATION: 


OVERALL THOUGHTS:

“Kidnapping is definitely against the law, but what’s a little felony for love?”


Lawson saw Vanna and knew he had to steal her away and lock her down. What's the  best way to lock down a woman you love? Breed her.


WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: 



FAVORITE QUOTES:

“I hope that when you die and go to hell that Satan sticks his pitchfork right up your—”

“Nah, we’re old friends, he likes to bottom for me.”


SAFETY


AGE:

I think both are in their twenties.


SEXUAL HISTORY:

Vanna is a virgin.


CONDOMS:

No


TUMMY BUTTERFLIES: 

🦋 3 /5 nice and dirty, but the smut scenes were too short!


PUSH/PULL:

No


SEPARATION:

Maybe a few hours during their kidnapping.


CHEATING: 

Yes, but not by the main characters. Chapter 1 FMC walks in on her fiance having sex with twins.


OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama:

OM- FMC's ex fiance kidnapped her and is blackmailing her into marriage 


SEX SCENE WITH OW/OM:

No


POSSIBLE PET PEEVES/TRIGGERS:

Body Shaming, kidnapped (positively), kidnapped (negatively), Taser, Gun Violence


HEA/HFN:

HEA 10 years later, married with five kids.

[PeaceOfGod · Rating 3 out of 5]

💃TALK ABOUT THAT COVERRR.


I love high heels bro. 👠


Even though I hate wearing them. 🥴

💗VANNA AND LAWSON💗







I'll be honest with you.


In a long looooong time, Alexa Riley has given a good book.


🔹Vanna(orphan) is engaged to a man she 'thinks' she loves. A man who she finds sleeping with two women few days before their wedding.

🔹The backstory of that guy is just so disgusting. Nick's (OM) mom wanted Vanna to marry Nick so that she could show off to her rich friends that she is charitable towards the poor and needy.🤢😡

🔹The H is.... 💗🎀😍😎😘🥵



🌈Virgin h.
🌈Celibate h.
🌈No-cheating.
🌈OM kidnaps her... but she is saved by the H.
🌈Epilogue-Married with kids.
🌈HEA.

[Alba M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vanna está probándose un vestido de novia que no le gusta, para casarse con un hombre que no ama. Puede haber una novia más miserable? Cuando encuentra a su prometido con no una, si no dos mujeres sabe que si antes ya estaba acabado; ahora definitivamente lo está. Si solo el idiota pudiese entenderlo...
Cuando un desconocido la rescate de una situación incómoda, Vanna puede haber encontrado un hombre que si merezca la pena. Sólo que Lawson no apareció de casualidad... Ni eso fue verdaderamente un rescate.

Awwwww que bonito, me ha gustado mucho pero hubo una pequeña contradicción en este libro. Al principio se dice que Vanna es alérgica a las fresas y después en un capítulo tenemos a Lawson dandoselas de comer... Pequeño error, no pasa nada se lo perdonamos a las autoras jajajaja. Por lo demas ya sabes, libro +18, macho alfa, amor a ultra primera vista, un poco de drama dramático 🤣 y final muuuuuuy feliz. Cortito y para pasar el rato como siempre!!!!

[Itzel Castillo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Al ser tan corto no pensé que tendría mucho que decir, pero, me equivoque.

Empecemos con el maldito insta-love, no se si porque lo odio más lecturas encuentro. Es absurdo como con solo ver a la person por unos segundos ya puedes saber que quieres pasar toda tu vida con esa persona, simplemente absurdo.

La protagonista tenía potencial para dar a conocer los problemas de las personas que son huérfanas pero simplemente lo menciono una vez y fue para justificar el porqué se enamoro tan de repente de su (literal) secuestrador. Y ojo, yo no odio a personajes con moral gris, porque soy lectora de Dark romance, he leído personajes más interesante que este, nos mencionan de que tiene un lado oscuro pero solo resulta que golpea a un tipo, secuestra a la prota por amor y ya, ese es su gran lado oscuro.

Fue demasiado rapido, tenia potencial para alargarlo y hacer una buena historia con más profundidad en los personajes.

[Sarah Cupitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick's family is a piece of work (I hope they die), and Lawson was excellent (obviously), but I wish the story was longer - the obvious plot mistakes led me to give it three instead of 4 stars.

Initially, the female character exhibits an allergy to strawberries, but later in the book, she consumes them without any adverse reactions. Also, the male character who abducts her and confiscates all her belongings from her apartment finds themselves compelled to return to her residence to retrieve more items; who reviewed this book?

Favourite quote:
“I hope that when you die and go to hell that Satan sticks his pitchfork right up your—”
“Nah, we’re old friends; he likes to bottom for me.” (lmao)

[Jamsu · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It has been awhile since I reviewed a Alexa Riley book but Stealing the Bride was in my 24 books in 2024 list and this was a good read.

Vanna didn't really want to get engaged but before she knew it she was dieting and taking the finals at the same time as trying out a wedding dress. Her fiance, Nick was horrible and didn't care about her or even know her at all.

Lawson and his brothers took over their dad's detective agency after he retired few years ago. He goes to the bridal shop as a favor and the minute he sees Vanna, he's obsessed and planning to kidnap her. He could only think about seeing her again and finding out every small detail about her.

Stealing the Bride is a sweet novella where hero kidnaps the heroine (but can you really call it kidnapping when the heroine went willingly?) and shows her that she deserves to be loved and cared for. I loved how Lawson and Vanna talked for hours and had this connection. He wanted to give her everything she wanted. I didn't rate it five stars because it was so short and the action part of the books could've been used for the two connecting more.

[Ꭿຖᥲ·♡ ྀི · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seriously, what happened to AR? their old books were 100x better than this shit, it's frustrating reading these newer books bc we know the potential they have (or had, I should say), there's no swoon factor and the sex scenes are so fucking bland and uninspiring, I feel like they've complete lost their inspiration, I can't believe they used to be one of my favorite authors...

3✯

°Virgin heroine
°Celibate hero
°Switching POVs
°Insta love/lust
°Dumb weak heroine
°Possessive jealous OTT alpha hero
°No separation
°No OW drama
°OM drama (h's ex)
°No cheating or scenes with OP
°Epilogue: 10 years later -married with 5 kids

[Laetitia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was ok I guess, Vanna isn't in love with her fiancé and when she catches him cheating she's even more determined to not marry him. Lawson is a private investigator and while out on a case, he stops Vanna and he knows he has to have her. Lawson kind of kidnaps Vanna and they spend days getting to know one another and falling in love. There was some drama with the ex-fiancé, but it was all resolved. The story was just blah, same old, same old.

[Kendaly_cal · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐ 3.4 / 5
Lawson jefe investigador y abogado
Vanna, mujer que quiere encontré una familia y alguien que la quiera

Es una linda corta historia
Aunque hubo muchos huecos en la historia me entretuvo mucho ✨❤️

Ella prometida de Nick un idiota y estúpido hijo de mami. Ella va a su apartamento y lo encuentra siendole infiel con dos mujeres
Asi que en uno de sus enfrentamientos llega a su vida Lawson y la secuestra ✨🔥
Para tener su momento con ella...

[Flo₂₂ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This h was stupid TBH and annoyed me.
I disliked her, and her reasons for being in an engagement to the OM.
I did love Lawson tho. I guess, if she was forced in her engagement i wouldn't mind much but nah, she chose that shit.
It ended to shortly
Also the epilogue was also short and without any good info about their life.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lawson and Vanna

It's actually a 3.5*
It was sweet how Lawson fell in love when he first saw her. And wasted no time at kidnapping her.
Vanna was sweet with emotional scars from been in Foster care. A bit weepy, fainting at the drop of a hat, and fizzing in place when overwhelmed.
It ws an OK read

[Danny · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐️
La historia es “insta love” (literal, ve a la chica una vez y la “secuestra” porque ella le dice que si a todo y porque nunca había sentido eso por nadie). Pero la realidad es que leímos este libro por el spicy y no por la historia, así que estuvo bien.
Lo leí en 2 horas o algo así porque es muy cortito así que sirve para pasar el rato!

[Cami Gaete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cumple lo que promete. Maravilloso, de esos libros spicy y cortitos. Un ML posesivo y por fin, la protagonista le pone cualquier ganas y no es sumisa 😭😭
TE AMO LAWSON, me encanta cuando tienen mucho autocontrol, onda me muero por tocarte, ando por dentro pero prefiero morir antes que presionarte🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️
Ignoremos que la "rapto" eso si 👩🏻‍🦯

[Larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of Alexa Riley. However, in some books I really struggle with inconsistencies. In this one for example, the FMC has an allergy to strawberries and carries and EpiPen... then later in the book is fed a strawberry by the MMC. She has not reaction whatsoever, nor is the allergy mentioned again. Then at the point where the MMC 'kidnaps' her, it's mentioned that he went to her apartment and packed up her stuff. Yet, later in the story they talk about making a trip into the city to get her stuff... Inconsistencies aside, the story is classic Alexa Riley. Insta-love. Virgin. HEA.

[*CJ* · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Stealing the Bride" is the story of Vanna and Lawson.

A sweet insta love romance between a heroine trapped in a toxic engagement, and our hero who saves her. There's some drama from her ex and insane future MIL, but all is resolved soon.

Safe
2.5/5