Wedding Books

I really enjoyed this book. The plot was interesting and the characters are different. Simon Brett has created two women neighbors/friends/sleuths who completely different from one another, and I enjoy reading about them.

This book is the sort that makes one think, "gosh, I could do better than that". It's a very standard, somewhat tedious mystery where the perpetrator is obvious early on. I expected better from Simon Brett.

The premise for this story is what makes it worth reading: Carole Seddon's son, Stephen, is marrying into a rather odd family. Pascale's (Gaby's) parents don't even want there to be a wedding announcement . . . and they definitely don't want to be involved in the wedding planning. Stephen has also let drop that there's a history of murder in the family.

Most authors would stop at this point by having chilled us a bit with thoughts about whom our children might marry. Simon Brett charges gleefully forward by making the wedding preparations into a murderers' playground. As a result, you'll find yourself much more emotionally involved than in the typical Fethering mystery.

The mystery itself isn't all that hard to unravel, but the book's premise will keep your attention throughout. It's a dandy way to overturn the conventions of wedding stories.

With the wedding plans taking center stage, there's less than the usual byplay and interaction between Carole and Jude. They operate pretty independently of one another in this book, in part because Jude has a depressed friend (Gita) visiting who is pressed into the investigation.

I thought that many of the wedding preparation sequences were pretty funny, especially the engagement party hosted by Gaby's parents. If you've ever felt awkward at such an event, you'll roar when you read some of these scenes.

I love this series and eagerly grabbed this book as soon as it became available.

Carole's son Stephen is getting married. Carole is surprised and a little annoyed at first (after all, she's happy being a recluse and isn't thrilled at the prospect of being the Mother of the Groom and the wedding duties that she'll inevitably have to be involved in). But once she meets Stephen's lovely girlfriend Gaby and grows closer to Stephen, she finds herself acquiring the maternal instinct she never had before. (Wow, is Carole actually thawing out??)

It's that maternal instinct that prompts her - along with trusty sidekick and New Age neighbor Jude - to find out why Gaby seems so distracted and why her family is being elusive and jumpy.

The mystery itself is interesting and well planned, and there are a few heart stopping moments towards the end.

Overall, this is a great installment in the series.

This was an odd book -- a combination of a lower quality Anita Brookner novel about the life of a lonely middle age woman with a poor mystery, with only one, obvious suspect. It has convinced me to give up on this series because, despite my best hopes, it is just not going to get better. Brett writes the same book over and over again. Emotionally constipated Carole and free spirit/prospective saint Jude team up to solve not too complex mysteries out of seeming sheer boredom. Despite the fact that one, or both, of our heroines contiually find themselves in life threatening danger, they perpetually fail to seek the intervention of the police or seek help. As a minor spoiler, at one point in the book, with a dangerous killer on the loose, one of the women fears she is being watched, but does nothing to help herself, not alerting the police or the other "detective". If she did so then, of course, there would be no supposedly exciting conclusion.

I was a fan of the Charles Paris series, which Brett seemingly wisely stopped writing after turning Charles into an increasingly pathetic, unlikeable character. I also liked the Mrs. Pargeter series, which Brett also gave up after the one-joke nature of the series turned stale. Brett took up those flaws in this series, turning Carole into an unlikeable, sad character, who the author seems to detest. By contrast, Jude is portrayed as a noble goddess, insightful, wise, witty, etc, a view probably shared only by the author, especially as Jude. aware of Carole's emotional shortcomings, seems to take every opportunity to tortue and tease her "friend" by not revealing aspects of her life about which Carole is too emotionally constrained to ask about. The first two or three books were mildly diverting, and I read on hoping for an improvement, which did not occur. Instead, the same type of story has just been churned out again and again. Perhaps Carole can now hook up with Charles Paris, where they can live unhappily ever after.

If the mystery was stronger, that would carry the book, but unfortunately Brett seems barely concerned with the whodunit aspects of the story. Indeed, to accomplish some of his more absurd elements, he makes sure that both of the heroines do not have the internet or know how to access the web, which, for example, enables them to act baffled when they seem confused as to how to find out details about a well known murder, a plot contrivance which is highly unrealistic.

Sorry for spending so much time reviewing this book, but if I can keep one propspective reader from wasting their time like I did, then I accomplished something.

"Jade" is a story about a woman named Lily Chau, who meets a man and falls in love. It's set in a modern-day setting, and like most modern-day novels, you turn the pages fast and finish the book quickly.

Lily is nearly forty, and the man she falls in love with, Doug, seems to be about ten or fifteen years her senior. Lily is a fashion designer. Doug is a missionary/doctor/fashion designer.

I don't mind love stories, but as a teenager (even a teenager who's growing up in this sex-orientated world), this book was not for me. The characters made-out about twice in every chapter, it seemed, something my childhood mind said "EWWWWWWWW" to very fast.

Lily and Doug seemed to go into kissing very quickly, without ever saying that they wanted a relationship. Their romantic relationship took me by surprise, making the whole book seem a little off-kilter.

The issues addressed in the book were also very surfacey. Though Doug and Lily made-out all the time, there was never any temptation to have sex--and because this was a romance novel, it is the right setting as Christians to address issues such as that. There was also no real "antagonist", not in the form as a person, temptation, or otherwise. There is something going on with Lily's mother, but that could hardly be accounted for the negative force in the book.

This book, and perhaps the whole series, is for the women who enjoy the romance novels at the checkout stand at the grocery store, not younger women who are looking for something to teach them a lesson about faith.

Great book. Fast reading. Real page turner. Marilynn Griffith is a great author. Her "Shades of Style" series is wonderful. Must reads.

This book was so refreshing in that it was a Christian book but dealt with REAL issues, sickness, and emotions. What blew me away was how sexy and passionate it read(I actually had to fan myself along with the characters!) without abandoning Christian principles. I haven't felt that breathless while reading in a very long time! This book is definately a keeper!

There are some cultures that sacrifice in ways, some will never understand. Then there are children that make sacrifices for their family because of a promise they made while young, even if it means their own happiness. Jade by Marilynn Griffith is book two of the Shades of Style series. Jade is the story about Lily Chau.

Lily is Chinese-American and as a young adult she made a promise to her mother to always take care of her and never leave her. Lily works for Garments of Praise, where her co-workers, her friends, see more in Lily than she sees in herself. Jean Guerra thought it would be good to enter Lily into the Next Design Diva reality show. Will she allow her promise to get in the way of her happiness in creating clothes?

Lily has been dating Ken, a doctor for two years, and she hoped and dreamed for him to one day propose, but that was her dream not his. With Lily's mother, Su, having dementia and what seem to be signs of Alzheimer's, he did not want her to live with them, but Lily would never put her mother into a home. She made a promise that she intended to keep. When he tells her that he just could not take on the struggles of her mother, Lily realizes maybe love is not for her and she is destined to be alone.

Doug LaCroix is the mentor placed with Lily for the Next Design Diva program. Doug is a doctor, a missionary and a designer that disappeared after 9/11. He renewed his faith in God and went to different places trying to help and make a difference. However, returning to his designing days was not part of what he had planned. Then he meets Lily and realizes that they have more in common than just clothing design. Can he handle the new feelings that are running through his body?

I recommend this book to a reader that does not realize in order to fulfill a promise, you sometime have to accomplish your dream in order to feel complete. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.

Jennifer Coissiere
APOOO BookClub
www.apooo.org

Super Savvy Pattern Maker/Wanna-Be Fashion Designer Chick meets Super Rough Medical Mission Doctor/Ex-Fashion Designer Dude & they make smooth like jade in each other's lives.

Lily Chau is a very real character with some very real problems that I could totally relate to (eg. still being single in her late 30s, plagued by controlling/noncommittal/nominally-Christian men, being solely responsible for the health care of her elderly mother, etc.) &, while reading this latest installment in Griffith's "Shades Of Style" series, I kept being reminded of Rene Gutteridge's "My Life As A Doormat" ...

... which I think is a perfect companion book for "Jade," because these two powerful books, when read together = THE POWER OF GOD TO CHANGE A SEEMINGLY HOPELESS SITUATION INTO SOMETHING INCREDIBLE.

Not to mention that both these books have THE MESSAGE that women these days need so desperately to hear & that is:

The difference between a selfish man who looks good & appears to have it all together & a humble man who might, or might not, look good & who might, or might not, have it all together -- but who treats us right & who is willing to lay down his life for us -- is like the interminable distance between the East & the West ...

I also thought that, of all Griffith's novels (that have been released so far), "Jade" is the smoothest of them all & really showcases her ability & her ARRIVAL as a writer -- which is why I gave it 5 stars -- & which is why I am SO looking forward to good things from her in the future & can't wait for "Tangerine" & "Turquoise" to be released (& I have them both on pre-order!) \o/

In the four years since this book was published, beading as a craft and art has made huge leaps forward. The speed of advancing talent is pushed by avid dedication of beaders and advances in bead technology (the uniformity of delicas and the variety of finishes and colors, for example.) Leaps like these left this book behind. This is a simple book that helps beaders achieve simple projects. There is almost a naive, "let's get married on the front porch" appeal to the beadwork.

If today's bride is a beader, she wants to showcase her talents with impressive pieces. The bride who is not a beader will pass over these projects as not being elegant enough for a wedding day.

Beginning beaders might want to try beading on memory wire or stringing fresh water pearls, both are projects in this book. But there are other beginning books that provide more information and a better foundation.

I just bought this book and I find it totally useless. The beading is just stringing on one line, nothing more. For bridal patterns I was expecting a lot more!

This book is not really for the advanced person... it covers a lot of basic things like stringing on bead cord and on memory wire. I was hoping for something really fancy and ornate!

When I ordered this book, I was hoping it would have lots of pictures. It has about 4 pages of color photos. The rest of the book is instructions on making the items shown on the color pages. While the items shown are lovely, this book was disappointing for me since it didn't deliver what I'd hoped it would.

My fiance and I dreamt about having a small wedding in Europe with a few close friends and family, but we didn't know where, and we had no idea what would be involved. After reading this book, we fell in love with the idea of getting married in Scotland. The book got us on the right track for researching it and made us realize that getting married there would definitely be possible and feasible.

This book gives a great overview of the logistics of getting married in various countries...it even rates the countries in terms of the difficulty of getting married there if you are a U.S. citizen. It is a great starting point if you are thinking of getting married in another country.

If you are considering eloping, I highly recommend that you get your hands on a copy of Beyond Vegas. It is the best book that is out there on the subject. Though it may be more popular if the title reflected better what it was about.

I bought both this book and Let's Elope when planning our escape from a typical wedding. Let's Elope can get you excited about the idea of eloping, but does not really provide much good information on how you would actually go about planning an event in any of the countries in which you might be interested. Beyond Vegas actually gives you the details you need to plan your wedding (elopment) in 25 countries, and we actually used this information to plan our wedding in Scotland. The authors actually got married in all of the destinations discussed in their book, and give all the pointers you need, not just what can be found on the official country registrar web sites.

I enjoyed reading Tabb and Silverstein's Beyond Vegas quite a bit. While some chapters ended up relatively untouched for personal reasons (Wyoming ski lodge elopement, too cold: New Mexico kiva ruins shindig, too weird), all the ideas were creative and well thought out. I can only think of one chapter that seemed like something anyone could have thought of (Ch. 1, wedding in a castle in Scotland).

Beyond that, the writers/partners were quite ingenous and thrifty, finding wonderful wedding sites at the drop of an incredibly inexpensive hat. In Santorini, Greece, the couple married on the balcony of their rented villa, overlooking the black volcanic cliffs and ocean-covered caldera of the Cyclades. Cliche? I think not. In Figi, the whole crew geared up in traditional skirts for a native wedding complete with National Geographic-quality melee.

A word to the wise, though-- these vacations were a lot cheaper in 2002, just after 9/11, when Tabb and Silverstein eloped those dozen times. The preface says that the couple never spent more than $5,000 on their most expensive elopement. Elopements are rated in the book on a dollar scale from "$" to "$$$$", and Satorini was given a "$$". When my beau and I looked into what that would cost in 2006 dollars (going to all the same hotels and booking the cheapest flight), we were shocked to find that the price of the same vacation would be no less than $5,000. While that's still a fraction of the cost of a white wedding, it's no "$$" on a 5K max scale. Take that into consideration as you read along.

This book is about eloping --- not gambling. Hey wait a minute, maybe it is gambling!

Seriously . . . a fun read to stir up great fantasies.

...researching on your own. I bought this book because I'm a travel agent, want to evetually get marrried away, and am always interested in what others suggest to clients.

Honestly, I found the book an "ok" source of info. Sadly, I ended up wondering where the couple involved in the book would get married next and what they would wear.

I am not opposed to destination wedding guidebooks, but this one could be a bit more interesting.

This book has nothing new, it's a bore with ideas and structure. I was looking for new games, ideas, etc. - and I found none. I would recommend you keep looking around until you find a book that can really help you be unique, anyone can throw the same old bridal shower. Save your money for something helpful.

So unless you're Martha Stewart and already know all this stuff, this book is like one-stop-shopping for people who will be throwing a wedding shower. I really appreciated the check lists, schedules, even recipes in this book. It's got a touch of humor, it's well organized and it made me throw a way more fabulous shower than I could have if I hadn't had it to reference. Very useful book. Strongly suggest you buy it.

This book covers every little detail to planning a wedding in checklist style. When you get all the checks in the box, you will have the wedding of your dreams!

At last there is a book that addresses real compatability issues. Its a great resource to use before going into marriage or any serious type relationship to help pin-point problem areas you both may have. Its a good forum for creating discussion on issues that i would have never thought may be a problem. I'm definately glad that I bought it...it certinaly has kept me from being completely blinded by love and help me find someone who is right for me.

Very well written. Accuracy not to sure. My wife and I were raised in that area and are unaware of communities talked about in the book.

Fast, easy to read style. Depicts the pioneer life true to form. If you like Laura Ingalls Wilder, you'll love Carrie Young.

There were no reviews at this site when I ordered the book. I wish there had been - as I thought the book would be set around the 1900s and the only story that was set in that time frame was the first. The first story WAS good. But I had purchased it more for research into the Victorian times in North Dakota and so I was disappointed. I was also disappointed in how little I got for my money. The rest of the stories were only so-so.

There were no reviews at this site when I ordered the book. I wish there had been - as I thought the book would be set around the 1900s and the only story that was set in that time frame was the first. The first story WAS good. But I had purchased it more for research into the Victorian times in North Dakota and so I was disappointed. I was also disappointed in how little I got for my money. The rest of the stories were only so-so.

Ironically, I share the same name as the author, although no relation. I agree with the reviewer who said that she still thinks of the characters 4 years after reading the book.

I found myself in awe of what these homesteaders accomplished. The style of writing made for a quick read, and I have found myself going back to the book to re-read it about 2 times per year. Some details I have nearly committed to memory. I can't think of very many books that I can so enjoy when re-read- ing them.