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Destination Wedding #3
Secrets of a Wedding Crasher
When her secret agenda backfires, a power broker falls under the spell of her rival in this Destination Wedding novel by USA TODAY bestselling author Katherine Garbera.
She crashed the wedding of the season,
and collided with one very off-limits man…
Senator Darien “Dare” Bisset has something lobbyist Melody Conner wants—information. Infiltrating his family member’s upscale Nantucket wedding seems like the perfect plan to get Melody what she needs. But when their encounter unexpectedly turns intimate, she can’t resist Dare’s worldliness…or his magnetic appeal. Walking away from Dare isn't up for debate—even knowing that if news of their tryst gets out, both their careers could be over.
From Harlequin A luxurious world of bold encounters and sizzling chemistry.
Love triumphs in these uplifting romances, part of the Destination Wedding
Book 1: The Wedding Dare
Book 2: The One from the Wedding
Book 3: Secrets of a Wedding Crasher
She crashed the wedding of the season,
and collided with one very off-limits man…
Senator Darien “Dare” Bisset has something lobbyist Melody Conner wants—information. Infiltrating his family member’s upscale Nantucket wedding seems like the perfect plan to get Melody what she needs. But when their encounter unexpectedly turns intimate, she can’t resist Dare’s worldliness…or his magnetic appeal. Walking away from Dare isn't up for debate—even knowing that if news of their tryst gets out, both their careers could be over.
From Harlequin A luxurious world of bold encounters and sizzling chemistry.
Love triumphs in these uplifting romances, part of the Destination Wedding
Book 1: The Wedding Dare
Book 2: The One from the Wedding
Book 3: Secrets of a Wedding Crasher
219 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 2022
3 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Garbera
792 books659 followersKatherine Garbera is a USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 novels, which have been translated into over two dozen languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. She is the mother of two incredibly creative and snarky grown children. Katherine enjoys drinking champagne, reading, walking and traveling with her husband. She lives in Kent, UK, where she is working on her next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 30, 2022
SECRETS OF A WEDDING CRASHER by Katherine Garbera was Harlequin Desire #2874, published in May 2022. Garbera has written regularly for the Desire line since her first book in 1997. This current novel is the third and apparently final book in the author's "Destination Wedding" series. I've not read the other two books, or anything else by the writer, but I was able to follow what was going on, while being aware that there were references to characters in previous books being made (but more about that later). The heroine is the wedding crasher of the title: Melody Conner, a lobbyist gathering information for her employer who is trying to prevent Senator Dare Bisset from passing a health-care bill that they oppose. Dare realizes that she has not been invited to the wedding, but takes a liking to her and soon the two fall in love (and, not long afterwards, into bed). But when Dare later takes a meeting with the lobbying group, he is shocked to discover Melody among them. Melody and Dare realize that they are drawn to each other, and yet their conflicting careers prevent them from openly pursuing their romance. And there is always a sense of distrust between them, since they had first met due to Melody sneaking into the wedding and not telling Dare why she was really there. There are a couple points during the novel where it seems like they may break up for good, including the obligatory third-act breakup (I call it the "HEA fakeout") that occurs a mere fifteen pages from the end of the book.
I'm rating this book 3.5 stars. It would have been a 4 star book for me if not for two aspects that were occasionally annoying. First, there was Dare's siblings, who I assume are characters from the other two books in the series. If I had read the other two books, I think I would have enjoyed seeing them again, getting an update about their lives, etc. But not having read them before, whenever they entered the story it felt like an intrusion by outsiders that were slowing down the momentum of Melody and Dare's story. The emphasis on "happy families" can be a little nauseating, and everyone is supposed to be glad that they are all related to each other, such as this sentence on page 193: "It was clear that Nick wasn't feeling friendly toward Dare or Logan despite the fact that they all now knew they were related, and that Logan was actually Nick's twin." In the epilogue, there's a hint that Melody's brother Ben is attracted to Nick's sister Olivia, causing Melody to think "they'd make a good couple." As I was reading the book, I jotted down the words "soap opera" when I got to page 57 and read the following: "The other side of the coin was Juliette's revelation about Logan. That she'd swapped him in the hospital for her own stillborn child with none other than Cora Williams, who'd given birth to twins." (Cora was the woman who had an affair with Juliette's husband, i.e. Dare's father. If I'm following all of this correctly. There were a lot of names, whenever Dare's family entered the story.) I really didn't care about the drama involving the Bisset and Williams families. Luckily it was only a small part of the novel, though -- but whenever it popped up, the main storyline about Dare and Melody's romance took a backseat. The author made me like and care about Dare and Melody, but I didn't want to read about their relatives in this novel.
The second thing that kept this from getting a full 4 stars from me is that there was a bit of Dare and Melody second-guessing themselves a lot, questioning their motives, asking themselves questions about how they felt, etc. It wasn't excessive, but it was there (and, to be fair, is characteristic of the genre). But I prefer to find out how the characters feel by seeing how they act, and not have to listen to them doubting themselves all the time. Dare and Melody both seemed to be people who boldly go forth to achieve the things they want to get done, so the worrying thoughts they had seemed at odds with that personality trait. It was surprising to me when Dare was so quick to believe the tabloid headline about Melody near the end of the book, and his impulsive action made him look like a jerk since we had been led to believe by that point (from all his thoughts that we were privy to) he wanted to spend the rest of his days with her. Melody's boss Johnny also had a very direct personality that I found appealing, a straight-shooter who was fair-minded despite having his own opinions.
Although Washington, D.C. is the setting for the book, and politics its backdrop, there is nothing political about the book. I don't think I saw the words "Republican" or "Democrat" in the text, and we weren't told which party Dare belongs to -- which seems a bit unrealistic considering how party membership often determines a politican's positions, especially these days. One might assume that Dare is a Democrat, trying to get a health-care bill passed, since that issue has largely been a Democratic concern for many decades. One might assume that Melody is working for an "evil" corporation putting their own profit over the health of people, but the story presents the lobby's concerns in a sympathetic manner, trying to help deserving people that Dare's bill would unintentionally hurt. So no reader will be offended by the story despite their own political leanings. I think the author succeeded in walking that line of not offending readers who follow politics closely and not turning off readers who dislike any perceived political bias in the entertainment they consume.
All in all, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, and will keep an eye out for other novels by the author.
I'm rating this book 3.5 stars. It would have been a 4 star book for me if not for two aspects that were occasionally annoying. First, there was Dare's siblings, who I assume are characters from the other two books in the series. If I had read the other two books, I think I would have enjoyed seeing them again, getting an update about their lives, etc. But not having read them before, whenever they entered the story it felt like an intrusion by outsiders that were slowing down the momentum of Melody and Dare's story. The emphasis on "happy families" can be a little nauseating, and everyone is supposed to be glad that they are all related to each other, such as this sentence on page 193: "It was clear that Nick wasn't feeling friendly toward Dare or Logan despite the fact that they all now knew they were related, and that Logan was actually Nick's twin." In the epilogue, there's a hint that Melody's brother Ben is attracted to Nick's sister Olivia, causing Melody to think "they'd make a good couple." As I was reading the book, I jotted down the words "soap opera" when I got to page 57 and read the following: "The other side of the coin was Juliette's revelation about Logan. That she'd swapped him in the hospital for her own stillborn child with none other than Cora Williams, who'd given birth to twins." (Cora was the woman who had an affair with Juliette's husband, i.e. Dare's father. If I'm following all of this correctly. There were a lot of names, whenever Dare's family entered the story.) I really didn't care about the drama involving the Bisset and Williams families. Luckily it was only a small part of the novel, though -- but whenever it popped up, the main storyline about Dare and Melody's romance took a backseat. The author made me like and care about Dare and Melody, but I didn't want to read about their relatives in this novel.
The second thing that kept this from getting a full 4 stars from me is that there was a bit of Dare and Melody second-guessing themselves a lot, questioning their motives, asking themselves questions about how they felt, etc. It wasn't excessive, but it was there (and, to be fair, is characteristic of the genre). But I prefer to find out how the characters feel by seeing how they act, and not have to listen to them doubting themselves all the time. Dare and Melody both seemed to be people who boldly go forth to achieve the things they want to get done, so the worrying thoughts they had seemed at odds with that personality trait. It was surprising to me when Dare was so quick to believe the tabloid headline about Melody near the end of the book, and his impulsive action made him look like a jerk since we had been led to believe by that point (from all his thoughts that we were privy to) he wanted to spend the rest of his days with her. Melody's boss Johnny also had a very direct personality that I found appealing, a straight-shooter who was fair-minded despite having his own opinions.
Although Washington, D.C. is the setting for the book, and politics its backdrop, there is nothing political about the book. I don't think I saw the words "Republican" or "Democrat" in the text, and we weren't told which party Dare belongs to -- which seems a bit unrealistic considering how party membership often determines a politican's positions, especially these days. One might assume that Dare is a Democrat, trying to get a health-care bill passed, since that issue has largely been a Democratic concern for many decades. One might assume that Melody is working for an "evil" corporation putting their own profit over the health of people, but the story presents the lobby's concerns in a sympathetic manner, trying to help deserving people that Dare's bill would unintentionally hurt. So no reader will be offended by the story despite their own political leanings. I think the author succeeded in walking that line of not offending readers who follow politics closely and not turning off readers who dislike any perceived political bias in the entertainment they consume.
All in all, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, and will keep an eye out for other novels by the author.
July 25, 2022
This book was a great ending to the Destination Wedding Series! Melody and Dare were perfect for each other. These two weren't looking for love but they found it when lobbyist Melody decided to crash the Wedding in order to gain info. on Dare and farther her agenda. Upon crashing that wedding she found something else with Dare that she couldn't just walk away from, and neither could he. The Bisset Family was hot mess with secrets! Glad Dare and Melody found love and got there HEA! Great series KG!
July 20, 2022
Loved, loved this book. My favorite of the Destination Wedding. Dare is awesome and so is Melody. Dare the oldest wanting to set a good example for his siblings being a peacemaker, which he did extremely well. Melody was able to grow as a loving person. Love, love Dare!!! Sorry, had to say it one more time :)
May 13, 2022
My favorite story in the Destination Wedding series. I could relate to Dare being the oldest and wanting to set a good example for his siblings as a peacemaker. Loved watching how melody grew into a more caring individual and less focused on her needs only.
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April 1, 2022Categories
Women's Fiction, Contemporary Romance
Miniseries
Destination Wedding (Book #3)
Women's Fiction, Contemporary Romance
Miniseries
Destination Wedding (Book #3)
May 13, 2022
I absolutely adored this book. I love their relationship and banter so much! I definitely recommend this book
May 22, 2022
Love it
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews