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For Better, For Worse
Librarian note: Alternate Cover Edition of ASIN: B00RHCE6PY
Planning a happy-ever-after with the one that got away ...
Emma Case is thrilled when her brother asks her to be the “Best Woman” at his wedding – that is, until she finds out that his fiancée has chosen a “Mister of Honor,” and it’s Jake Madden, the man who broke her heart 5 years ago. Even better: it's their job to plan the wedding.
Now, with her own fiancé fuming at home, Emma's planning a wedding with the man who didn't want to marry her. Can she hold onto her sanity long enough to pull this off ... and can she hold onto her bitter memories despite the constant reminders that they might not be as accurate as she'd like to think?
Planning a happy-ever-after with the one that got away ...
Emma Case is thrilled when her brother asks her to be the “Best Woman” at his wedding – that is, until she finds out that his fiancée has chosen a “Mister of Honor,” and it’s Jake Madden, the man who broke her heart 5 years ago. Even better: it's their job to plan the wedding.
Now, with her own fiancé fuming at home, Emma's planning a wedding with the man who didn't want to marry her. Can she hold onto her sanity long enough to pull this off ... and can she hold onto her bitter memories despite the constant reminders that they might not be as accurate as she'd like to think?
203 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 31, 2015
45 people are currently reading
426 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
May 16, 2015
I loved this book. It was seriously a delight. Labrecque delivered everything I was looking for in this romantic comedy: an endearing cast, main characters dripping with chemistry, witty dialogue, and a happily ever after. The novel is a quick read, there is no unnecessary fluff to the storyline and I appreciated the authors commitment to giving her readers a well thought out plot and story arc. Loved all the wedding details, made me wanna eat a piece of cake. ;)
July 8, 2015
I read this book in two sittings, not because I couldn't put it down, but because I skimmed through the last half hoping it would get better... It never did.
The story was too simple and predictable. A lot of time was devoted to meaningless drama. There was no conflict. The characters had little to no development. The main character, Emma, was extremely self-centered and confused. I didn't find her relatable or likable. At first I thought she was betrayed and had reason for her anger but once the story began to "unfold", I realized that she was the problem- she made zero effort to reach out to Jake or give him a chance to explain himself. That's because the only person she thought about in the relationship was herself. As long as she got what she wanted, it was great. Once that stopped, she simply walked away. Yes, she gave it a few months but what did she do in those few months to find out what was going on with Jake? Nothing. She just assumed it was her because everything just has to be about her...
Now let me briefly talk about Adam and Emma. The way their relationship was portrayed was awful. The author tried so hard to make Adam look like the controlling, self-centered finance. It was clearly Emma. The way she dumped him was proof of that.
I won't even get into Brian and Angel... It's not worth spending time on. I tried very hard to understand them and like them in the end but I just couldn't do it...
Overall, there was a great idea for what could have been a great story but it lacked character development, conflict, and a meaningful resolution.
The story was too simple and predictable. A lot of time was devoted to meaningless drama. There was no conflict. The characters had little to no development. The main character, Emma, was extremely self-centered and confused. I didn't find her relatable or likable. At first I thought she was betrayed and had reason for her anger but once the story began to "unfold", I realized that she was the problem- she made zero effort to reach out to Jake or give him a chance to explain himself. That's because the only person she thought about in the relationship was herself. As long as she got what she wanted, it was great. Once that stopped, she simply walked away. Yes, she gave it a few months but what did she do in those few months to find out what was going on with Jake? Nothing. She just assumed it was her because everything just has to be about her...
Now let me briefly talk about Adam and Emma. The way their relationship was portrayed was awful. The author tried so hard to make Adam look like the controlling, self-centered finance. It was clearly Emma. The way she dumped him was proof of that.
I won't even get into Brian and Angel... It's not worth spending time on. I tried very hard to understand them and like them in the end but I just couldn't do it...
Overall, there was a great idea for what could have been a great story but it lacked character development, conflict, and a meaningful resolution.
July 2, 2015
Edit:
I really dislike Goodreads ratings system. One star is supposed to reflect that I did not like the story – for whatever reason. It might be that the characters don’t appeal to me, or the setting, or perhaps the plot was too predictable. However, there is no rating for “I hated this book” apart from that same one star. So, I am removing my ratings from books that I simply ‘did not like’ and leaving them unrated. I think it is fairer on those authors who have worked darned hard to create something special. It’s not their fault that I personally 'don’t like' their story. There will be many more readers who do.
July 24, 2015
I was so angry at myself for not being able to just stop reading this book. It was awful. Completely predictable, and the main character was just so self-indulged. From the get-go the author made it very easy to hate the main character's fiancé and want to cheer for the ex, (even though I kept hoping that wouldn't work out either). There was no real plot to the story and the characters were boring, the end.
October 4, 2016
Not much in the way of twists here but hey it's a romance novel! I found the characters easy to relate to and I know I love to imagine myself the main role in a story like this. Nothing is saccharin and
Tammi Labrecque writes characters that are easy to spend time with, without them being a cardboard cutout. I'm looking forward to reading a lot more from Tammi Labrecque.
Tammi Labrecque writes characters that are easy to spend time with, without them being a cardboard cutout. I'm looking forward to reading a lot more from Tammi Labrecque.
October 12, 2015
Great book! Loved the ending.
March 26, 2016
In this 200 page book Emma and Jake are thrown back together after years of avoidance and the result is an honest, raw account of love and growth. The characters in this book are real and flawed, the minor ones as well as Emma and Jake. This story shows how love isn’t always easy, and how we often hide the truth from ourselves.
Tammi Labrecque does a wonderful job of making you care about her characters, giving them sparkling personalities and painful epiphanies, in only 200 pages. This isn’t a straightforward romance, there are true conflicts that make it very real, while still having an overall lighthearted and often humorous tone. My one point of criticism is towards the end of the book, where the action is incongruously fast- it takes away some of the power of what the characters say. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a perfect warm, fuzzy read.
I would recommend this to readers who want their romance to be real- not too dark and not too light.
Tammi Labrecque does a wonderful job of making you care about her characters, giving them sparkling personalities and painful epiphanies, in only 200 pages. This isn’t a straightforward romance, there are true conflicts that make it very real, while still having an overall lighthearted and often humorous tone. My one point of criticism is towards the end of the book, where the action is incongruously fast- it takes away some of the power of what the characters say. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a perfect warm, fuzzy read.
I would recommend this to readers who want their romance to be real- not too dark and not too light.
June 30, 2015
A cute one
This book is a fast read. I enjoyed the premise and style of writing. Ms. Labreque's story, dialogue felt real. I wish the book had more background and character development. The story is about engaged Emma who asked (forced) to plan her best friend and brother Brian's wedding to Angel. Angel's best friend is Jake, who is also planning the wedding. Emma and Jake were formally a couple. They are now forced to spend a lot of time together. I just never felt like I got to know Jake at all. Something about the writing and the story changed for me towards the end. It was all tied up in a bow much too easily & quickly. I wanted more depth. Having said all this, I will read another by this author.
This book is a fast read. I enjoyed the premise and style of writing. Ms. Labreque's story, dialogue felt real. I wish the book had more background and character development. The story is about engaged Emma who asked (forced) to plan her best friend and brother Brian's wedding to Angel. Angel's best friend is Jake, who is also planning the wedding. Emma and Jake were formally a couple. They are now forced to spend a lot of time together. I just never felt like I got to know Jake at all. Something about the writing and the story changed for me towards the end. It was all tied up in a bow much too easily & quickly. I wanted more depth. Having said all this, I will read another by this author.
July 26, 2015
I am glad that this book was a free book from one of the emails I get daily. The main character Emma was funny at times but she did get on my nerves. She just needed to suck up the situation and try to get it done instead of trying to always do it on her own. At times this book was funny and the supporting characters all had their moments were they were good and annoying at times as well. There were moments that made me laugh but over all I was disappointed with the book. I really wanted to like it. Even though I did not really care for this book, I may give her other books a try.
There was a lot of language that I did not think needed to be in this book and some would find offensive. There was really no need for all the swearing in this book
There was a lot of language that I did not think needed to be in this book and some would find offensive. There was really no need for all the swearing in this book
July 16, 2015
Promising ... this book has, for me, a few nitpicks, but yet I enjoyed it enough to say for a free download I got my money's worth and I would try more by this author. The relationships in this book don't always work, to the point where you think a little less of the characters. Angel-Bryan - seemed almost dysfunctional and other than setting up the premise for the eventual and inevitable pairing of Jake and Emma I was left wondering why they just didn't elope to begin with.
Again, good enough to pick up another one, so cautiously optimistic.
Again, good enough to pick up another one, so cautiously optimistic.
July 6, 2015
Practicable, but still a good story
I knew from the moment I started the story what was going to happen, but the characters made me want to finish the story. They were sometimes funny and sometimes serious but they were able to get through the stuff and come out the other end happier.
I knew from the moment I started the story what was going to happen, but the characters made me want to finish the story. They were sometimes funny and sometimes serious but they were able to get through the stuff and come out the other end happier.
July 12, 2015
S.A.D.
It was a cute story and a cute idea. I don't like how weirdly standoffish the bride is in planning her own wedding. It was just way too strange. The main characters were likable and the story moved along nicely. The ending came a little to easily, but hey better than a too complicated story where the ended comes out of right field. I would recommend!
It was a cute story and a cute idea. I don't like how weirdly standoffish the bride is in planning her own wedding. It was just way too strange. The main characters were likable and the story moved along nicely. The ending came a little to easily, but hey better than a too complicated story where the ended comes out of right field. I would recommend!
August 25, 2015
Cute, fun, easy read this morning with my coffee. Loved the interactions between Jake and Emma. Reminded me of some conversations I have had in the past. The wedding they plan sounds beautiful and I LOVED the wedding planner. She's a hoot and needs her own story told. Maybe it's already been done? I will have to go look and I will be reading more from this author.
April 20, 2016
This is the book that made me discover Tammi Labrecque! Great funny read. Really enjoyed it. Very ridiculous premise/plot but sometimes you just need that. What better way to experience something that shouldn't or couldn't happen in real life?!
Tammi has a way with characters - really makes them either lovable or soooo awful you love to hate them.
Tammi has a way with characters - really makes them either lovable or soooo awful you love to hate them.
May 14, 2015
Light romance that was short enough to read in an afternoon. The characters were intriguing and the scenario they were thrown into was utterly hilarious. It’s a clean book with no sex scenes, although there are innuendos and implied intimacy.
October 10, 2015
Good read
Very entertaining and funny. The heroine has a decent life, a fiancee, a good job and an ex that is intruding on her life. The ex was the love of her life who messed up years ago but still loves her and would like her back. Can she forgive and forget? Recommend.
Very entertaining and funny. The heroine has a decent life, a fiancee, a good job and an ex that is intruding on her life. The ex was the love of her life who messed up years ago but still loves her and would like her back. Can she forgive and forget? Recommend.
February 24, 2016
It's hard to write a review that adequately sums up my feelings about this book.
The main characters are fun and what happens seems obvious from the start. It's a quick fun read, but all a bit heavily signposted.
The main characters are fun and what happens seems obvious from the start. It's a quick fun read, but all a bit heavily signposted.
April 20, 2015
Awesome
I really loved this story. It was so easy to to connect with Em and Jake. You could just feel the love for each other in the pages.
I really loved this story. It was so easy to to connect with Em and Jake. You could just feel the love for each other in the pages.
July 23, 2015
A fun, easy, quick read. I figured out what was going to happen pretty early on but it was still fun to watch it unfold.
September 29, 2015
There were many parts of this book that I found a little unbelievable, but not enough to make me not enjoy it. I still found it funny and was pulling for Emma and Jake to get together in the end.
November 1, 2015
I enjoyed this book because it was light and didn't require a lot of thinking. Good chick lit. A little predictable, but in a good way.
March 23, 2016
well written and I really liked the characters. great book! !!
July 6, 2015
Very easy, girly read.
December 7, 2015
A fun story. I'd read another book by same author.
February 25, 2016
Cute little read, Adam really got on my nerves and I loved Jake
November 5, 2018
*MAJOR SPOILERS* Just couldn’t give more than 1 star
Here goes. I love a good romcom with crazy plots/situations and funny characters BUT this book was a pile of steaming stupid! I don’t usually write these kind of reviews but this one really crawled under my skin and made me itch all over.
Let’s see, so you’ve got your ex BFGF with all their baggage and then these secondary characters who are engaged but don’t want to plan their own wedding so they ask their BFFs (the ex-lovers) to plan it for them… WTW????? Ok, so let’s say you do what I did and said “brain shut up, people could do this” and you read this senseless story. Well then you’ll go on the same unnecessary adventure that I went on where you don’t get too attached to any characters, you’ll root for no one cause they are all duds and the story will just pitter along and you’ll just keep reading because you know there is some great reason for all this. But, you will be mistaken!!!!
The author gives us these people from the engaged brother who can’t be bothered to figure out why his bride-to-be really, really wants to marry him but wants nothing to do with the wedding; a bride who we hear a ton about from the other characters but actually doesn’t show up in person in the book until like 92% (she really didn’t want to participate in this wedding I guess); the whiney h who should just talk some of her feeling out with people, a H who is neither here nor there and you really couldn’t tell if he DID indeed still have feelings for the h, and then there’s a new fiancé who is the biggest dope of all (I think the author want us to feel like the h was justified in doubting her feelings for the fiancé but I was just indifferent to him). All of the characters seriously had no depth and were flat liners on the pages.
OH and the conflict (eye roll) was really all about the h complaining about the fact that the H cheated on her and she left him and you find out she didn’t even talk to him about WHY he did it until like 80% of the book. SERIOUSLY!!!! If he cheats on you wouldn’t you maybe be like “what’s up with that dude???” and yell at him or storm out or something????? I’m just to believe she left and was like “Oh well. What bummer too cause I was madly in love with him, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.” So that they can have this all out 5 years later! And his reason was so stupid I threw (literally threw) my phone. It was SO dumb and not that well explained then it rushed off to the very predictable ending. Which honestly I was grateful for because it ended.
Listen, the author’s writing style was good and the plot, in theory, was…acceptable but poorly executed. It had a bunch of sub-plots but really they all fizzled out but it was fairly clean story (not sure how clean the other reviewers wanted this) with a few swears and some kissing. No typos and the grammar was good (as far as I could tell) but the plot was to convoluted and the characters underdeveloped I just couldn’t give more than 1 star.
Here goes. I love a good romcom with crazy plots/situations and funny characters BUT this book was a pile of steaming stupid! I don’t usually write these kind of reviews but this one really crawled under my skin and made me itch all over.
Let’s see, so you’ve got your ex BFGF with all their baggage and then these secondary characters who are engaged but don’t want to plan their own wedding so they ask their BFFs (the ex-lovers) to plan it for them… WTW????? Ok, so let’s say you do what I did and said “brain shut up, people could do this” and you read this senseless story. Well then you’ll go on the same unnecessary adventure that I went on where you don’t get too attached to any characters, you’ll root for no one cause they are all duds and the story will just pitter along and you’ll just keep reading because you know there is some great reason for all this. But, you will be mistaken!!!!
The author gives us these people from the engaged brother who can’t be bothered to figure out why his bride-to-be really, really wants to marry him but wants nothing to do with the wedding; a bride who we hear a ton about from the other characters but actually doesn’t show up in person in the book until like 92% (she really didn’t want to participate in this wedding I guess); the whiney h who should just talk some of her feeling out with people, a H who is neither here nor there and you really couldn’t tell if he DID indeed still have feelings for the h, and then there’s a new fiancé who is the biggest dope of all (I think the author want us to feel like the h was justified in doubting her feelings for the fiancé but I was just indifferent to him). All of the characters seriously had no depth and were flat liners on the pages.
OH and the conflict (eye roll) was really all about the h complaining about the fact that the H cheated on her and she left him and you find out she didn’t even talk to him about WHY he did it until like 80% of the book. SERIOUSLY!!!! If he cheats on you wouldn’t you maybe be like “what’s up with that dude???” and yell at him or storm out or something????? I’m just to believe she left and was like “Oh well. What bummer too cause I was madly in love with him, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.” So that they can have this all out 5 years later! And his reason was so stupid I threw (literally threw) my phone. It was SO dumb and not that well explained then it rushed off to the very predictable ending. Which honestly I was grateful for because it ended.
Listen, the author’s writing style was good and the plot, in theory, was…acceptable but poorly executed. It had a bunch of sub-plots but really they all fizzled out but it was fairly clean story (not sure how clean the other reviewers wanted this) with a few swears and some kissing. No typos and the grammar was good (as far as I could tell) but the plot was to convoluted and the characters underdeveloped I just couldn’t give more than 1 star.
March 26, 2019
Good book to read for a short story I read it in one day
March 7, 2017
Eh, it was ok. So much anger from misunderstandings, and the bride! I didn't understand her at all... the end was sweet though.
3 stars.
3 stars.
February 6, 2018
Yuck.
Such a bad, bad read.
Emma Case is a speech therapist who is engaged to a man named Adam. Her brother Bryan is about to get married to a women named Angel. Bryan has asked her to be his best man and Emma is beyond honored at the opportunity. And then she finds out that her ex-boyfriend is the maid of honor. The ex-boyfriend that didn't want to marry her and that slept with her best friend.
The bride-to-be is lazy af and doesn't want to plan her own wedding. Emma's own brother doesn't care either. Basically, Bryan and Angel tell Emma and Jake to plan their wedding for them and all they'll do is write the check. They want NOTHING to do with the wedding, not even the wedding dress.
Huh?
This is an idea that I've thought of before for a book, I won't lie. And I could have pulled it off better. For one thing, I wouldn't have made it an ex-boyfriend, and if I had, I would have developed the break up at LOT better. Like...he was sick? How was he sick? Oh, a Vitamin D deficiency? Hmmm. And he slept with your best friend? After you left town and broke up with him? And then you decided to just pick back up where you left off whether he was in a relationship or not? Fishy, fishy.
Some of the editing was off as well. The name Bryan changed to Brian once or twice and there's a typo at some point when they are talking to the wedding planner.
Just not a good read, but good to get off the TBR list on my Kindle.
Such a bad, bad read.
Emma Case is a speech therapist who is engaged to a man named Adam. Her brother Bryan is about to get married to a women named Angel. Bryan has asked her to be his best man and Emma is beyond honored at the opportunity. And then she finds out that her ex-boyfriend is the maid of honor. The ex-boyfriend that didn't want to marry her and that slept with her best friend.
The bride-to-be is lazy af and doesn't want to plan her own wedding. Emma's own brother doesn't care either. Basically, Bryan and Angel tell Emma and Jake to plan their wedding for them and all they'll do is write the check. They want NOTHING to do with the wedding, not even the wedding dress.
Huh?
This is an idea that I've thought of before for a book, I won't lie. And I could have pulled it off better. For one thing, I wouldn't have made it an ex-boyfriend, and if I had, I would have developed the break up at LOT better. Like...he was sick? How was he sick? Oh, a Vitamin D deficiency? Hmmm. And he slept with your best friend? After you left town and broke up with him? And then you decided to just pick back up where you left off whether he was in a relationship or not? Fishy, fishy.
Some of the editing was off as well. The name Bryan changed to Brian once or twice and there's a typo at some point when they are talking to the wedding planner.
Just not a good read, but good to get off the TBR list on my Kindle.
February 21, 2016
2.5. Nothing special
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews