At the Bride Hunt Ball

SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!! Loved the heroine and the hero! Couldn't put it down.

I bought this book largely based on customer reviews (despite silly cover) and was not disappointed at all. The book was fun, entertaining, and I stayed up all night reading it. The author did a great job with character devleopment and building the romance. I can't wait until she writes her next novel. Highly recommended.

I thought this book was delightful--my only real disappointment is that it is her first, and therefore I cannot go out and buy another. I won't summarize the plot [sorry that this means a lot of generalizations...], so don't worry about spoilers here! To my surprise, I found all the characters I was expected to like to be genuinely likable, and those I shouldn't, I didn't [too often in romance novels the character we're told is likable just, well, isn't really]. I enjoyed very much how Ms. Parker used the Duke's sister, in particular, to fill us in on the Duke's character, often producing small surprises that I found absolutely delightful. And I found that she a much better than average job "showing" not "telling" all the time--using dialogue and actions to show that a character is funny, or intense, instead of simply tellings us that so-and-so is so charming.... Our hero, the Duke, faces an intense reason for not wanting to marry (it seems most Duke's have some aversion to marriage!), but we, as readers, aren't forced to dwell on this on every other page while he dwells on this point. Ms. Parker simply shares his thoughts a couple times so we understand the background, and the the plot moves on. While his internal struggle does seem to be resolved rather abruptly, I actually found the surrounding details to be refreshing. The heroine is the clumsy, pretty but not beautiful type, that I happen to enjoy. I like a heroine that is not too perfect, but seems to remain true to herself (as opposed to heroines that really ARE perfect but have bad luck or something). Most importantly, the progression of their romance doesn't seem forced, awkward, or really unbelievable. There are setbacks, of course, as there always are, but they, too, seem natural to the story, rather than simply being frustrating to the reader. This is the type of romance novel that makes me wish I weren't already in love--just so I could fall in love again! Yes, we are hit over the head with some details, such as why Madelyn agrees to attend the ball. And the writing is a bit awkward in places, almost as though Ms. Parker tries too hard to be fancy. In general, I think she does a better job than most at not switching perspectives every other sentence (or mid sentence!), though, as others have mentioned, in the love scenes, things get a little confusing. [Maybe it's just me, but I actually thought that rather added to the scenes.] My biggest complaint about the writing is that little details, such as someone entering into the room, seemed somehow to appear mid-sentence so I missed them (I read too quickly....) and I would find myself a page later being shocked that so-and-so was part of a conversation, when I thought there were just two people in the room. I am completely in love with these characters, and the way their romance progresses in this book; and I'm delighted that the door has been left open for secondary characters to have a story of their own. Hi

If you are looking for a book without annoying dangling plot lines, if you like books that are stand alone and not part of a 10 book series, if you like lots of laughs and plenty of romance, then At the Bride Hunt Ball is the book for you. I picked it up by chance at the bookstore and was pleasantly surprised. I really liked it. The premise was that eligible young ladies would be invited to a ball in order for the younger brother of the duke to pick himself a bride. One young lady wants an invitation so badly and another, our heroine Madelyn, doesn't. Naturally, they both end up at the ball and it is a lovely story. This book was a great book to read on a sunny afternoon. It was filled with pleasant people I wanted to read about and didn't have a lot of minuses. It had humor, a plausible plot, and was very readable. I was pleasantly surprised by this book as I had never heard of the author. I was a little disappointed to find out this was a debut book. I am looking forward to reading more from Olivia Parker and had hoped she had a backlist. But, I can wait--hopefully, Charlotte's story is next. I know who I would like her to end up with. We'll see if that's where the author is headed.