From #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot comes the first story in her Little Bridge Island series—which also includes an excerpt from her forthcoming new full-length novel No Judgments!
Looking for a tropical escape?
Welcome to Little Bridge, one of the smallest—and most beautiful—islands in the Florida Keys, home to sandy white beaches, salt-rimmed margaritas, stunning sunsets, and some of the quirkiest—but also kindest and most resourceful—people you’ll ever meet.
Physical trainer Roberta “Rob” James moved to Little Bridge hoping she’d found paradise, but things haven’t turned out quite as she’d hoped. The closest Rob has come to her “happily ever after” is happy hour at the Mermaid Café with her buddy Bree, the bartender slash waitress who’s got romance problems of her own.
But Rob’s situation suddenly changes when sheriff’s deputy Ryan Martinez accidentally enrolls in her bridal boot camp class. Turning mush into metal in time for the big day is Rob’s passion (because even the happiest bride could use a little toning).
But what happens when a guy who’s all mush meets a girl who’s all metal?
They discover they have a lot to learn . . . about each other, themselves, and the island paradise they’ve come to call home.
Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.
She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.
Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.
Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.
Bridal Boot Camp by Meg Cabot is a 2019 Avon Impulse publication.
This book is basically a super short teaser for Cabot’s new Little Bridge Island series, which if I have my information straight will launch in September.
The story is entirely too short, with no plot, no character development, no chemistry, or humor – or…. Well, you get the picture.
Roberta is a fitness trainer who meets Sheriff Deputy Ryan when he stumbles into her bridal camp yoga class by mistake. Lust leads to a super quick hook up, which leads to a first date, which is pretty much it.
The book did have one passage about the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow" which symbolizes hope, which was pretty insightful, but other than that, there isn’t much substance to this story.
I have been curious about this author and wanted to try out her books. However, I wasn’t keen on starting another long-running series if I could help it. This seemed like a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a new series and sample Cabot’s work at the same time.
Although I am sure the publishers mean well, I’m wondering if these teasers are such a great idea, especially as an introduction to a brand -new series. I can’t say I was terribly impressed and it did nothing to get me pumped up about the upcoming full -length series opener.
I’m going to give the new book a shot and am keeping my fingers crossed that I can move past this lukewarm first impression.
i dunno, a novella about 2 characters no one knows or cares about is risky and it didn't really pay off in this case. i mean there was nothing offensive or awful about this novella but like... 90-something pages does not make me invested in a relationship and there wasn't enough sex to make this just a fun smutty read...
This is very short, with an excerpt from the next kicking in at 76%. But it does a great job of introducing the setting and Roberta and Ryan are excellent characters and are perfect for each other and have few conflicts that need resolving. So it's about the right length. Probably.
Not perfect, though, I don't think. It cuts off a bit abruptly and before I think the romance truly culminated. And the lone sex scene intruded on that a bit. So four stars, but I'm really looking forward to the next book (technically the first in the series).
A note about Steamy: As I said, a single sex scene. And not terribly long. But with a story that short it's still approaching the higher side of my steam tolerance.
Meg Cabot has been my go to author for as long as I can remember, The princess Diaries first started my obsession with her books and since then it hasn’t stopped. I live and breathe for her new releases, as I always know they never disappoint. So, I was thrilled to get my hands on Bridal Boot Camp, to be honest I didn’t even realise that it was a novella, until I got to the cover on my Kindle and saw it on there. So, you could say I was sort of disappointed when I ended up devouring the entire book in one sitting on my way into work because it was so short! But once again Cabot delivers such a cute little book, that I was sitting there with a big goofy grin on my face and my real-life worries meant nothing to me right then. I adored the bridal boot camp class setting and the immediate tension when Ryan joined as a newbie, I also liked the misunderstandings along the way, they definitely had me convinced at times that certain things were going on. My only complaint about this book as that it was way too short, I definitely wouldn’t have minded a full length novel from Rob and Ryan, but I’m certainly looking forward to what the rest of this series has to offer!
This is an entertaining, fast paced, well-written, humorous, steamy, contemporary romance novella. This is an excellent beginning to Ms. Cabot's outstanding Little Bridge Island series, and can easily be read and enjoyed as a stand alone.
There really isn’t much to say about this novella. As soon as it starts, it's over. I’m not even kidding. I get that it was supposed to be the setup book for the series, but I got nothing out of it. This is a novella with only four chapters. What could you get from that?
While I wasn’t into this, I am interested in picking up the first official book in the series coming out later this month.
This is four short chapters. I was warned that it was short, but I didn’t realize that it was this short. Gah. I’m not happy at all. I didn’t love the subplot re: why the hero was on probation as a deputy and the “funny” reveal at the end. And the bridal boot camp stuff seemed very caricature-y.
I got the ebook from the Avon signing in RWA19.
Edited to add more explanation re: cop subplot:
So basically this cop hero panicked and pulled a taser on a civilian (he saw the civilian attempting to break the cop’s car windows to get to the cop’s dog). The civilian thought the dog was in a hot car and couldn’t hear engine running so he assumed there was no AC. It’s a hybrid engine so there was AC (and no sound). The cop freaked out and pulled his taser on him (no one was injured). The cop was put on probation and he has to go to yoga class to improve anger management.
This is all backstory to explain why he ended up in heroine’s class. It was just... written in a way that made me squirm. Especially with all the current discourse on police violence. I didn’t like it at all.
Super cute novella. Did a great job introducing the town of Little Bridge Island, which in my opinion was the whole point of this book. The series is going to follow different town residents. And knowing Meg Cabot they will all have their own witty and completely heartwarming stories.
I know the first full length book is going to be about Bree, but I really hope that we see another book from Roberta, who goes by Rob and Ryan. They are the people we get to catch a glimpse of in Bridal Boot Camp, and darnnit! I want more!!
Cute and VERY short. I was assuming it was novella length, but this is more of a short story. That said, I think it did what it needed to do in the space it had. I liked both characters and rooted for them.
A super brief but very cute story to introduce us to Meg Cabot’s new series, Little Bridge Island, there was enough humor and sparks of attraction to make Bridal Boot Camp a highly entertaining read.
I’m not kidding when I say this was quite a short story. Bridal Boot Camp was under one hundred pages, but it kept up a steady pace to pack in a lot of information–and was a great way to meet the locals on Little Bridge Island. This focused mainly on Roberta (aka Rob), a physical trainer, and Ryan, a sheriff’s deputy who had a meet-cute when he crashed her fitness class. Both were a little hesitant to start a new relationship after being burned before, but their connection was instant and couldn’t be denied. Read More
This review was originally posted on my review blog Deanna Reads Books Bridal Boot Camp is supposed to be before No Judgements (the first in this new series, which I already reviewed). It's a short novella about two side-characters in the first full-length novel, and therein is where this novella fell a little too flat for me. It was just too short! I know it's not supposed to be that long but it just felt like everything went a little too quickly for my liking.
The concept is kind of funny, and it's based on Meg's own experience of accidentally going to a Bridal Boot Camp class. So it's funny when Ryan shows up to it and is basically oogled by everyone. I liked the attraction between him and Robbie, but it just felt like it was pure lust. I've kind of stopped minding that in books, but for this one it felt way too rushed. Like it's just straight about them being attracted to each other and acting on it very quickly. I think I would have been okay with that if we got more out of this book and go to see them develop more of a relationship afterwards. But I didn't get any of that, and it was kind of a let down.
You definitely do not need to read this book if you want to start the new series by Meg Cabot. It's completely unnecessary. It you want something short and lusty, go for this book, but for me I just ended up wanting more out of it. It's only 51 pages long so it is a very short read that you can read in an afternoon. I know I did!
No. I did not like this one at all. I get that it was a novella but the characters were ridiculously flat. Also, $600 for rent in a nice apartment in the Florida Keys LOL. This really did feel phoned in though. The characters had no problems having a quickie with each other but then going on a date to a wedding was like a huge commitment. Really? I really hope that the contemporary that Meg has coming out in this series later this year is better than this. The best thing about this novella (if you can call it that) was the dog.
I am a big Princess Diaries fan, but this particular Meg Cabot series is not my cup of tea. It is clear from this novella that this series will not be for me.
Thanks, anyway, Avon and Edelweiss for making a digital ARC available.
This is the first book I have picked up from Meg Cabot. While it was a very short introduction to her new contemporary romance series - Little Bridge Island series, I enjoyed the introduction immensely. My only hope is to get my hands on the next full novel No Judgments (out September 24th, 2019) as soon as possible.
As it is a novella things do move at insta-level to satisfy our romantic needs of the sweetest couple in creation. Yoga instructor Roberta "Rob" meets sheriff's deputy Ryan in one of her classes designed for brides and entourage to get in shape for the big day. Novice Ryan simply had no idea what he signed up for when he walked into the class and certainly neither did Rob. Their connection is palpable and can not be denied even with the scars of the past.
This is so sweet and short and I cant 2ait for the next book in this series. Simply put, Roberta is a personal trainer who moves to an island to start a bridal boot camp where ladies who are getting ready to marry come to get fit, she hooks up with Ryan who is a hot hunk of a Police officer. Oh..... a Hurricane seems to be headed their way
הנובלה הקצרצרה מאוד הזו היא בעצם איזשהו "קיק-סטארט" לסדרת "ליטל ברידג' איילנד" של מג קבוט (הסופרת שכתבה את סדרת "יומני הנסיכה"), סדרת ספרים רומנטיים שמתרחשת באי קטנטן ששייך למדינת פלורידה. הנובלה הזו ממש מקסימה ומתוקה אבל נגמרת בפתאומיות, ונשארתי עם רצון לצעוק - איפה השאר???? היה חסר לי לפחות עוד חצי-שני שליש ספר. מיד עברתי לקרוא את הספר הראשון בסדרה (No Judgements), אז אם זה הייתה הכוונה - וואלה הצליח לה!
I received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I've read most of Meg Cabot's YA novels, so this is actually the first time I've read one of her adult fiction books.
This was a very short and sweet novella, with some steam. Not a HEA, more of a HFN because of how short the novella is. Bridal Boot Camp essentially sets up the tone and setting for the first full-length novel, which I can't wait to read!
I read this in hopes it would give me a peek into the new series. It did introduce some characters, but I am also kind of confused about what I read.
I've read short stories and novellas before, so I was expecting more development and a better story arc. This novella was very disjointed for me. The first chapter Ryan is extremely shy, but then by chapter three he's all friendly and open and wanting to be best friends with Roberta. And they had literally met once and the majority of their interaction he was doing yoga and she was teaching. I get that a lot has to happen in a novella, but the jumps in this one made no sense to me.
I know writers who can build a lot of tension, chemistry, and attraction within a few short pages, but that was lacking here; and this is a story where it was desperately needed. I didn't get any pull or chemistry between these two and I don't think it was because it's such a short book. Like I said before, I've read short stories before and novellas and it's possible to build chemistry between two characters in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, that didn't happen here.
This doesn't discourage me from reading the first full-length book in the series, but it does temper my expectations a little bit. If you're planning on reading the series, I probably would just skip this novella.
I was a bit wary picking this up considering I couldn't even finish the first book, No Judgement. That book was...a choice. This itty bitty novella I read on my lunch break was ridiculously better than the main series. It was very short but it featured likable characters, chemistry, steam, and tenderness under 100 pages. A personal trainer for bridal boot camp sessions and a police deputy (?) in a cute story. No Judgement was all over the place and I hated the characters. Please let the next book hold up to the novella rather than the full book. I also loved my name being used as a secondary character, this helps me with my book bingo! :p One ticket to Little Bridge Island please, but avoid Sabrina at all costs!
I love Meg Cabot and will read anything she writes but I am honestly not sure if Bridal Boot Camp is worth the read. It’s not that it is a terrible novella, it’s just that unless you are super invested in reading everything that Cabot writes, Bridal Boot Camp is probably not how you should spend your precious reading time. The only real benefit of reading this novella is that it serves as a quick intro to the town Cabot’s new series will be set in.
The thing with novellas is that sometimes, because of their length, there is no real time to get to truly know the characters and be invested in their lives. I did not particularly care for either Rob and Ryan and felt like their romance went from 0 to 100 in a matter of seconds.
So yeah, I didn’t particularly enjoy Bridal Boot Camp but the glimpse into this town made me even more excited to read No Judgements this fall!
Bridal Boot Camp is a four chapter novella that starts the Little Bridge Island series.
Little Bridge is a small island in the Florida Keys. The narrator of this novella is physical trainer Roberta “Rob” James (1st person POV). She teaches a bridal boot camp class.
The male lead is Ryan Martinez. He is the sheriff’s deputy.
This story was much sexier and much more insta-love than I was expecting. But it was a cute prequel novella. It was a nice introduction to the series. The next book has a different narrator and will focus on a different couple. But we will most likely get to see Ryan and Roberta again.
Thanks to edelweiss and Avon Impulse/Harper Collins for allowing me to read this novella. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
This was a very, very fast read and to me, it was just an excuse for a long descriptive sex scene. Girl meets boy, the girl sees the boy next evening, girl and boy have sex, boy invites her to be a plus-one. The end.