Almost a Bride Paperback – January 31, 2017

Dear author: your high school principal was an idiot. This is one of those books that keep me reading when I’m in a slump. Searching for a really great read. First I stumbled across Burning Moon and now this novel which is equally as good. Thank you so much for writing this book for me! I loved it. I am giving you the five stars that you deserve!

I read ‘Burning Mood’ and I loved it so much I read this too! I love the exotic places Jo writes about. The humor and romance really help me to get lost in the storylines.

Love it

A solid 5 stars! I literally devoured this book in less than a day, with multiple laugh-out-loud moments at 3:30am. The beginning of the book was just fantastic with excellent plot development. This book is a keeper! Oh, Jo Watson I ❤️ you!

Almost a Bride played out much like a romantic comedy movie, an ode to the hero’s occupation as a screenwriter. It was a cute standalone story with an upbeat vibe. The writing was detailed with a steady pace and flowing dialogue. The setting in the second book of the Destination Love series made this a bit more unique. The main character- Annie- is originally from South Africa. Therefore, a good portion of the book takes place in that location. After a troubling break-up, Annie and her friends plan a girls’ vacation to an island resort where the bulk of the story is set. The descriptive writing made this aspect wonderful in many ways. The location came alive with sights, scents, and sounds vividly described. However, the descriptions occasionally slowed the pace of the story. These moments didn’t last long, but did keep me from getting swept away.The plotline is fun, despite it being ripe with cliché. Perhaps the plot devices and humor would strike me as less original if the author hadn’t acknowledged the silliness of the situations through the dialogue and Annie’s thoughts. As it was, Chris’s and Annie’s humor and responses to the bizarre occurrences made it truly enjoyable. While the story did stray a little too far into the far-fetched territory for me to find humorous at times, it never discouraged me from reading. The characters themselves were also interesting. Although I didn’t love her at first, Annie showed a lot of growth which seems rare in contemporary romance these days. I liked reading about her character’s progression, and was rooting for her to find her HEA by the end. I thought Chris had a good amount of depth too, and appreciated that the ending gave him a chance to develop more as a character. I wish we saw them together as a couple longer, but I understood why the author chose not to focus on that part of their relationship. Overall, I enjoyed watching their personal lives and relationship blossom. I think this is a nice read for fans of lighter romances who also want their characters to have significant transformation throughout the story.* Alpha Book Club provided with eARC. The publisher and author had no influence over this review*

4.5 StarsThis was the first book I've read by Jo Watson, and I was surprised as to how much I enjoyed it. Set in South Africa (in the beginning), it was heartbreaking to watch Annie struggle to begin with, but some of the situations she managed to get herself into were amusing! I also enjoy stories that have a fake relationship in them, so it was no surprise that I would like this one!Annie's life turned upside down from the opening chapters. She walked in on her cheating boyfriend, lost her job and was homeless in a matter of hours. With the help of her close friend Jane, she was able to find some sort of stability. When her friend Lilly suggested an all expenses paid trip to Mauritius, she was hesitant at first, but decided it was time to change her life. Her first meeting with Chris was a little rocky, but after a while they realised how much they liked being with each other. When Annie's ex turned up, Annie somehow found herself in a fake relationship that soon escalated out of control.I enjoyed this book right from the beginning, I actually devoured it within a day. I laughed at some of the situations that Annie found herself in, swooned as I watched the connection between Chris and Annie grow, and felt her loss as her heart broke. She had a strong group of friends that supported her through her loss and her crazy plan of revenge. What I loved most was how Chris and Annie's feelings grew throughout the story, considering that Chris didn't believe in love and that neither of them were looking for a relationship. Despite the short amount of time they've known one another, they were cute together and found it easy to open up to one another.Even though this was the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone. The first book was Lilly's and the next book will be Jane's, who was Annie's best friend. For my first Jo Watson book, I enjoyed the way she pulled me into the story and developed characters that I loved, and a couple that I despised. It touched on a serious topic that was handled well, but overall it was a fun, cute read, and I'm looking forward to more from this world.

I love how the author narrate this story, its heart breaking and funny at the same time.

I think Lilly and Damien are still my favourite couple but I sure do love Annie and Chris. This book is hilarious, truly. If you loved Burning Moon then you will undoubtedly love this.

Loved it

This series of books got me through such a hard time last year, they’re funny, happy, enjoyable and I devoured them all in a such a short amount of time. I love this author and have read most of her books and every time I’m not disappointed with the books and enjoy the journey she takes me on. This series and this book are worth it 💯 highly recommend and would definitely read them again!

It's another ole'JoWatson kind of story with the crazy, unconscious of her beauty,sometimes mad, ordinarily unique Annie and the dazzling eye,all-with-wit-and-humour,cool and sexy in jaw dropping way and ofcourse-in-good-way-with-money Chris ...Their story goes on I'm a predictable but in oh-so-awwww...Heart melting way with the blissful touch of love and trust in the end ..Waiting for another dose,Jo..And Oh enjoyed a lot the ever presence of humour all the way from first page...

A true love story of our times ... both heros are so close to normal people that it made me dream during the whole book.

Un libro molto carino e divertente come gli altri 4 della stessa autrice. La scrittura è scorrevole e la storia divertente consiglio a chi vuole leggere in lingua inglese di provare questa collana. Romanzi auto conclusivi che raccontano singolarmente la storia di un gruppo di amiche, le loro disavventure, il loro riscatto nel trovare l'amore della loro vita. Spigliata e ironica ogni protagonista mi ha conquistata!