Carla Luna (1966–2025)

I'm always a big fan of underdogs and Jess and Connor have it in spades. After all, you can't pick your controlling, judgmental, overbearing family members, and jeez, these two have some doozies.

Jess hadn't seen Connor in five years ever since he ghosted her and broke her heart. She's loved him since they were kids. As good friends growing up they gave into passion one beautiful summer and apparently, it meant nothing to Connor because he cut off all communication afterward. Now she will be show more seeing him again at her sister Gabi's Hawaiian wedding. But that's the least of her problems. She's lost her home, her job, her ex-boyfriend, and she's broke. Things she has to keep from her overbearing Bridezilla of a sister to keep things on an even keel before the wedding. Little did Jess know that staying away from Connor would be easier said than done.

Connor is not looking forward to seeing his father at his cousin Marc's wedding. He cowardly dropped a bomb before the wedding that he plans to leave his family's company and branch out on his own. But that isn't all. His guilt over ghosting Jess five years ago is eating him alive. He plans to apologize and try to make it up to her. He wasn't in the right place for a relationship after that summer. Perhaps he can convince her they can be friends again. Yep, that didn't go as planned.

Wow! Jess and Connor definitely set themselves up for failure while agreeing on a fling with an expiration date. First of all, they tried to keep their relationship secret from their families only to have it blow up in their faces. Not to mention Jess didn't tell Connor she was moving back to California, and they both kept their true feelings from each other. There was so much negativity and angst leading up to the wedding. No wonder there was so much anxiety. I would have been a nervous wreck. Between Gabi the freaking nasty Bridezilla who treats her sister like crap and Connor's father who degrades his son while the mother does nothing, I was ready to scream. It's amazing Jess and Connor were able to come away from that whole shitshow in one piece. I do think they made a good decision after the wedding to plan on meeting up again months later after getting their lives in order instead of jumping into a relationship right away.

Not all the family members were bad. In fact, I think the groom, Marc, was a saint after all Gabi put him through. I also liked Connor's sister, Victoria, and Connor's cousin Brody who supported both Jess and Connor when they needed it.

Overall, this is a delightful summer read filled with passion and humor, well-developed characters, and a beautiful setting in Hawaii. I can't wait to read more in the series.

Thank you to Ms. Luna for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review. show less

Refreshing! I needed this. With all the dark romance I've been reading, I missed the cozy romantic vibes of Carla Luna's complex characters and enchanting locations.

Dr. Emilia Flores is an archaeobotantist looking for a teaching job, but she'll take anything including an archaeological dig in Pompeii with her archnemesis Dr. TJ Mayor, a lithics specialist. It's the moonlighting job as tour guides in Italy that Emilia and TJ open up and learn they have much more in common than just show more archaeology.

Emilia may not be the most likeable character. Her grumpy attitude and lack of social skills make her a tough sell in job interviews. It's sad to see TJ walking on eggshells around her just to avoid provoking her. However, as the story progresses, Emilia starts to open up to new friends and especially to TJ. It's heartwarming to see her walls come down, only to be dealt another blow.

TJ may come off as a little full of himself at first. All he wants is to make his family proud of him. However, he soon realizes that there's more to life than just his career. He does the right thing by defending Emilia and risking his career to do so. His gregarious nature and love for playing the piano make him all the more charming. Nerdy guys are my jam and his honesty and respect for Emilia make him a truly admirable character.

Carla Luna's books are always filled with history lessons and interesting factoids. The beautiful scenery and archaeology references are captivating and informative. One of my favorite quotes from the book is "you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take." This is an important life lesson for young and old alike reminding us that we should never be afraid to take chances.

It's heartwarming to see how everyone rallies around Emilia and TJ. Emilia's friends are true lifesavers. When she's at her lowest, they give her a place to stay and a job to get her back on her feet. Also, TJ's and Emilia's new friends don't hesitate to help TJ avenge Emilia.

I highly recommend this book. The characters are endearing and the settings are gorgeous. So grab a copy of this book, a cup of tea, and prepare to be transported to the charming Italian countryside.

Thank you to Ms. Luna for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review. show less

I can always count on LOL chaos and family angst with Ms. Luna's delightful romantic comedies and White Wedding is rife with it all. This series has been fun as I attended weddings, drank wine, and cheered on the happy endings.

Victoria Blackwood, the Event Coordinator at Blackwood Cellars, is under her father's control due to a costly mistake she made in Paris several years ago. As payback, her father is forcing her to coordinate her nasty ex-fiance's Christmas wedding with his selfish and show more pregnant bridezilla wife-to-be. The same wedding Victoria had planned before he cheated on her. If that isn't enough, the caterer is a former hookup she had in Baja whom she never forgot. Her father would never forgive her for messing up again with another man, so she keeps their relationship a secret. But secrets are a heavy thing and bound to be discovered.

Rafael Sanchez wants to prove himself to his brothers due to his stupid mistakes in the past. So against his better judgment and his personal feelings toward Victoria Blackwood and the unforgettable time they had in Baja five years ago, he is taking on the biggest catering event of his life. And he's losing his heart in the bargain to a woman who is out of his league.

Victoria and Rafael are complete opposites. Her wealth and his modest upbringing are a contention between them though I believe Rafael will make a name for himself with his fantastic cooking skills. In addition, Rafael comes from a loving and supporting family while Victoria's family dynamics are dysfunctional at best. Her brother Connor is supportive of her, but her mom is a pushover and her father is a grade-A manipulative and toxic asshole who I had the displeasure to meet in Blue Hawaiian. There were times when I just thought Rafael deserved better after the way Victoria treated him, but she did finally put herself out there in front of his family by giving him a gutsy grand gesture. This was an okay story, but I didn't feel as invested as I did in the other two books. I think it was my disappointment in Victoria's weakness and her lack of backbone with her father. I like Rafael much more with his incredible culinary skills, his love of family, and how he was invested in the relationship much more than Victoria seemed to be.

I enjoyed Rafael's delightful cousin Araceli who has a no-nonsense attitude and a love for happy endings. It was nice to see all of the other characters in the previous books as well.

If you love messy relationships, Christmas weddings, and second chances at love, give this book a try. Please check out my reviews for the other books in the series, Blue Hawaiian and Red Velvet.

Thank you to Ms. Luna for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review. show less

I have been looking forward to reading Brody's story after meeting him in Blue Hawaiian. He was so broken and alone in that book, and he was clearly a good man with a big heart. Lucky April for having a true friend like him in her corner.

April Beckett is in a pickle. Her wedding date and friend with benefits, Chris, has bailed on her for the last time. Her brother's wedding is important to her. She wanted to prove to her family that she could find someone worthy of their approval and Chris show more was the hot, competitive, athletic type that her family would like. Enter Brody Blackwood. Her brilliant coworker and totally hot best friend offered to be fake-Chris for a week. The problem is he has to meet her two nosy and critical sisters, he has to live up to Chris's athleticism by competing against April's family, and last but not least, he is sharing a bed with April who has had a crush on him for two years.

Brody Blackwood needed a vacation and Door County, Wisconsin, sounded like a great time to regroup after his girlfriend broke up with him via text. Besides, he owes April for being there for him when he needed an ear, and her sweet nature is always comforting to him. It looks like April needs protection from her judgmental and overbearing family. He can surely be a fake boyfriend for a week...or can he?

It's the best when friends fall in love and April and Brody are so comfortable with each other. Their nerdiness is adorable and their love of eating is refreshing especially when Brody remembers every single treat April has brought to work. April comes out of her shell with Brody by her side as she finally confronts her overachieving family about the love of her job and of her life. Brody's self-esteem took a hit when his girlfriend Taylor dumped him for another man, but April boosts his ego with her honesty and compassion. He's perfect because he's not like her family. He's perfect for her. A match made in heaven.

My favorite supporting characters are Ginger, April's outgoing and hilarious cousin, and April's brother Ollie and his fiancee, Mags, who are Team Brody all the way. April's sister Drianna, "her Dreadfulness" as Ginger calls her, is very unlikeable and I was glad to see April finally stand up to her.

I recommend highly this delightful friends-to-lovers romance filled with family conflict, competitiveness, and sexy role-playing.

Thank you to Ms. Luna for giving the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review. show less