The Best Man

Second Service #3.5

by Adrienne Bell

Holly Tanner has built a career on love and danger: her popular novels are chock full of them. But the truth is, she's never come face to face with either, and she doesn't expect that to change at her cousin's gorgeous wine country wedding.

But everything changes the moment Holly meets Michael Silva. Suddenly, she's accepting dares, chasing suspicious peeping toms, and kissing under the moonlight. But even though Holly finds herself having the time of her life, she can't shake the feeling that danger is brewing behind the scenes, and that she and Michael are the only ones that can keep everyone at the wedding from becoming a target.

***

Part romantic comedy, part thriller, and filled with plenty of intrigue, The Best Man the wrap-up novella to the Second Service Trilogy, bringing back several major characters from The Wedding Trap, The Agent Next Door, and The Trouble With Temptation.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, Short Stories, Mystery Thriller, Novella

72 pages, ebook

First published December 9, 2014

Reviews

[Melody Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Best Man: A Second Service Novella by Adrienne Bell is the icing on the wedding cake for this great series. It takes place at the nuptials of Alex and Beth, the couple that met and fell in love in 'The Wedding Trap, book one of this series. We see very little of them in this book. The story focuses on Michael Silva, the ex-boyfriend of Morgan Kincaid who was the heroine in book three, 'The Trouble With Temptation' and Holly Tanner, cousin of the groom. Holly hasn't seen her cousin, Alex, in ten years but decided to attend the wedding festivities because she's an author who is in the midst of writers block. She's hoping for inspiration to strike for her new book while he spends several days at the wedding events.

It is at the welcome dinner the first night that she notices a very handsome man who is there alone and she decides she has nothing to lose...so she sits by him and they hit it off instantly. Although he is quite the eye candy, he is also shy and very tech nerdy. As we learned in book three, he and his team built robots for competition and he always came out on top. He's now working for the FBI, thanks to Ty in book 3, inventing gadgets and for security purposes and other such things for the FBI's needs. He is attending the wedding to head up security detail as there will be many FBI agents in attendance and we all know that people whom they have put away seek revenge. Michael is there to stop any such disaster from happening. Michael and Holly end of working together when she notices someone lurking outside the Honeymoon Suite.

This is a sweet conclusion to the 'Second Service' series and we were given a glimpse of the H/h from previous books. I really like Michael from book three and was so glad he found someone to love and be loved in return. I highly recommend this series and although these can be read as stand-alones, I suggest you read them in order for your reading enjoyment.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet and just plain wonderful. All I can say is I want more, lots and lots more. Adrienne Bell is one of my favorite authors. She has my perfect recipe for a book: mystery, suspense, humor and a hot romance, mix all together and what you get is absolutely perfect.

Holly Tanner is a romance writer who is having a touch of writer's block. When her cousin Alex is getting married in the wine country of California, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to relax, recharge and unblock. A real life adventure might be nice too.

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it starting with the really hot, handsome guy seated next to her at the welcome dinner, FBI Agent Michael Silva. All of a sudden Holly is having dinner in the gazebo, kissing under moonlight and contemplating a fling. When Holly sees a mysterious woman sneaking around the grounds, she can't lose the feeling that something bad is about to happen. What is worse, Michael thinks so too.

[Debbie Oxier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short novella that brings together the characters in the series and serves to tie up loose ends. Holly Tanner, cousin to Alex, CIA agent extraordinaire, is in town for his wedding to girlfriend, Beth. She meets Michael Silva, who is heading up security at the wedding, which abounds with federal law enforcement. He was also the head of the Robotics company that played a large part in the last book.

When Holly stumbles upon a strange woman dressed all in black looking in a hotel window. She and Michael end up chasing after her but she disappears. The next time she sees her, she doesn't have time to alert Michael so she goes after her alone. When the woman throws a knife at Holly, she barely escapes with her life. But the woman leaves behind bomb making material which tests positive for C-4. They decide to evacuate the hotel but before they can, the woman is caught and the threat becomes terrifyingly real.

A really good shorter story. Wish it would have been longer as I found Michael and the whole robotics storyline intriguing. He and Holly were a great couple. Also, Holly was a romance writer suffering from writer's block. Her meeting Michael and their adventure together is the stuff her books are made of. Very enjoyable.

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holly Tanner is regretting attending her cousin Alex’s wedding. (He’s marrying Beth from Book 1) But she’s more afraid of staying in her room with the blank pages of the romance novel she isn’t writing.
At the first dinner she sits next to a hunky guy up the back.
Michael is the robot geek (Morgan’s ex from book 3). Ty got him a job at the FBI after he confessed his greatest aim was to grow up to become Q. Ty is James Bond and Morgan was Wonder Woman, of course.
He’s sitting up the back as he’s head of security for the weekend when a woman sits next to him.
They flirt up a storm but then she notices a woman behaving oddly.
The wedding now becomes a security matter.
***
Holly meets everyone from the earlier books. She notices Michael watching Morgan with Ty and guesses that she was his ex.
Erin consoles her when she says she can’t believe Michael is interested in her.

Erin said. “One minute, you’re walking down the street, minding your own business, and the next—boom!”
“Boom? Like, boom, you fall in love?” Holly asked.
“Sure, you fall in love…or your house explodes. Either way, it doesn’t matter.”

Lol.
It’s cute and super short, but it was nice to have a little check-in with everyone.
3 stars

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this series. The final (I think) in the series is a novella. We met Michael the tech/robotic wizard in book three where he lost his girl to Ty. Now he has joined the FBI after aiding in bringing down the Russian mob in book three. He's working security at Alex's wedding (hero of book one). Alex's cousin Holly, a romance writer, is attending solo. She asks if an empty seat is taken and the rest is history. With a full detail of FBI security on duty, it is Holly who spots the perp who threatens the safety of the wedding party. Very enjoyable read but I wish it had been a novel not a novella as I wasn't ready for it to end so soon.

[Barbara "Cookie" Serfaty Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best Man: A Second Service Novella

The love story of Holly and Michael. Holly is an author of romances and thrillers but she has done neither. She is coming to her cousin's wedding and now she is going to have the adventure of her life. She meets Michael and with him she is trying to stop a bomber. Can they do it? Great story.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ rounded up

This was a nice short story that brought all the characters from the series together along with a new main female character.

This insta-love was not as believable for me (compared to the previous books), probably because the story was so short, but still a nice end to the series.

[Sharondblk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun way to end the series. I highly recommend reading the previous three novels first - otherwise this one won't be as much fun.

[MJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short & sweet. A cute silly series that's fun and not too expensive.

[iDreem2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 overall stars

Couple 3.75 🌟🌟🌟⭐️
Plot 3.75 🌟🌟🌟⭐️
Story 3.75 🌟🌟🌟⭐️
Sex 3.0 🌟🌟🌟
Series 3.5 🌟🌟🌟💫

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but fun!

[poppysocks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

The last book of the series and it doesn’t disappoint it brings all the characters vroom the previous books into this one plus one more

[Chanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting

I loved the story of Holly and Michael it kept me on my toes and I was happy to see the other characters from the other books have their happy ending.

[Mary L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is good, the story is good but it is way too short. Wish she could have expanded this idea and made a real book out of the idea.

[UltraMeital · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the final novella in the Second Service Series. I must say, I found this one totally by mistake as I was looking for something else by Adrienne on Amazon's website. I was surprised I didn't find it on GoodRead (and actually added it myself). I read the Second Service Series a while ago and really enjoyed it so I was happy to get the final one out and hoping it would be as good as they were (As I was a bit disappointed with the two short novellas Adrienne published).

Sadly it wasn't as good as the previous ones in the series and it's not because it was so short it was for being a unbelievable.. Holly is a romance writer attending her cousin Alex's wedding (Alex and Beth being the first couple in the series). She doesn't know anyone except for her cousin but since she is on a writer's block she wishes the beautiful background would give her some ideas. There she meets Michael a sexy FBI agent in charge of the surveillance of the wedding.

We actually met Michael before on the third installment. He is Morgan's ex-boyfriend who builds robots (and who Ty suggests join the FBI with his extremely developed electronic knowledge). I always saw him a sweet geeky type who loves action or rather a challenge... I have my problem seeing him as the sexy confident agent.. I'm not sure "enough time" had passed for him to become so sure of himself and SO direct when it came to Holly.

Holly on the other hand felt totally unbelievable, not for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or for trying her best to help (well, in the end it was totally unbelievable she was willing to risk dying just to help out...) it was the fact that without her the whole mystery wouldn't have being solved (or discovered actually..). She is a writer, yeah it means she has a good imagination and maybe sees details better, but the things she figured out, and the fact that all the other 4 agents we know as well as all the other agents DIDN'T figure out makes this one totally unbelievable.

I wish I would have liked this one since the other ones in the series were great! But sadly this was a fail for me. Both the romance and mystery part were ruined for me on account of the main characters, and also as a finishing novella there wasn't enough of the characters from the first one which isn't such a shock as this one was too short to have a building of a relationship, a mystery and revisiting main characters all in 70 pages..

More Reviews HERE

[Pontiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not much for short stories, the pacing is off for me, and this book, although it nicely ties in all the characters, still goes way too fast. Michael and Holly are both interesting people, but their romance happen a bit too quick.

The adventure is a good one, with a mystery woman being seen around the vineyards where a wedding is being held with lots of high profile people on attendance. Holly's writing comes in handy in solving some puzzles when it comes to the evil lurker.

Not a bad read, but not my taste, just too short, and this, too superficial and too quick.

[Mhollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short, sexy & sweet. Liked seeing all of the cast from the prior books. Still not sure on who Eva was referring to. Must have forgot something from the earlier books.

[Devina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've said this before, but I wish more people would read her books!!! I've loved every one and I can't wait to read more!!!

[Silke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very short, totally unbelievable, story focusses only on Holly.

[Gigi Melodias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will check out more Adrienne Bell books. ^_^

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shorter than I would like, but again, fun and likable characters. Nice to see the others again, even if it was mostly only in passing.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun short novella, I enjoyed it.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

too short, too insta-list but it was okay.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael gets a short story of his own. This is a pretty good addition to the series.

[KK · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Silverluna · Rating 5 out of 5]

:)

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is now Michael’s book which had action and humour like the others in this series. This was more of a novella but still good.

[Lynn Bremer]

Nice read

Nice conclusion to the series. It's Beth and Alex's wedding. We get to see all the main characters from the previous books. It's Michael's turn to find his one and only. Holly is a romance writer and distant cousin of Alex. Nice plot of revenge although I found the resolution weak.

[Speed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short story! This is a quick wrap up in this series and I'm glad I read it. Loved Holly and glad Michael was able to find someone as well.