The Wedding Cake War

Forty three year old bachelor, Kellen Macready is getting on in years and allows himself to be talked into a bridal contest. He is willing to get married but not willing to engage his heart in the pursuit of a female. "Lolly" Leora Mayfield, 29 nearly 30, has uprooted herself from Kansas to answer an ad for a bride wanted. Only to show up, with cold feet, and find that there were two more contenders. Opps! Her trunk and clothes took a round trip ride leaving her to improvise her wardrobe with disturbing results. Careen Gundersen, a local young lady, that has been "in love" with the Colonel since she was four years old. Miss Fleurette LeClair, from New Orleans, a blond beauty and another youngster in pursuit of a husband. Definitely got a kick out of Miss Fleurette trying to explain the "athletic" part of man and woman encounter. The three women had to take part in a treasure hunt, a kiss-off, and a cake bake-off. Hilarious! Colonel Macready found the contest entertaining until he started to have some hormonal response to Lolly. He was not going to put himself into a situation of losing his heart and having it broken again. The heckling of Hank Morehouse was entertaining. And the slight involvement of the two gentleman, Sol Stanton and the editor of the Golden Valley Gazette, Mr. Orven Tillotsen. Thoroughly entertaining - for an older couple - [guess I like a bit more shoot-um up] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -- Well worth reading.

This quick and easy tale is fun, fun, fun! Very enjoyable, don't pass it up!

The plot of this book takes us into the fundraising scheme of the "Ladies of the Maple Falls Helpful Society"... they plan to raise the funds to build a new schoolhouse by holding a contest to win the hand of the most eligible bachelor in Maple Falls. Our heroine, Lolly, proves to be quite resourceful and entertaining throughout the contest. The events for the "brides" are quite humorous and the brides themselves are great characters, each with her own strengths and weaknesses (which are showcased nicely with out overdoing it). I do agree with the other reviewer who said that a conflict near the end is resolved much too easily. You can also see it coming from a mile away if you're halfway paying attention, so when it is suddenly resolved you feel a little unfulfilled. I like this book for it's light-hearted comedy and romance. It's a great read and is very entertaining.

This book's plot's already been reviewed, so I'll just add that it's fun without being fluffy--the characters are well-developed and the plot's full of interesting twists. The "contests" between the prospective brides are great, as is their growing friendship. I have a couple of plot complaints, including one pre-wedding tryst that goes too far, and the fact that one major conflict toward the end is basically swept under the rug, but there's a lot of good stuff here. I'm keeping it.

Mail-order bride Lolly leaves behind everyone she knows to marry a stranger. But the path to love is not easy. The town's Ladies Helpful Society is staging a contest--and Lolly must compete against two other determined brides-to-be to win the prize: the groom. I enjoyed this light-hearted fun book for its resourceful heroine and her relationships with the other two "brides." All the women are fully realized, with strengths and weaknesses and sympathetic qualities. Contrary to real life, everyone gets what she deserves in this book, so one finishes reading with a sigh of satisfaction.