Kieran Kramer

The premise of this story is that if a young matchmaker that prides herself on doing a great job & the idea that there is a Match out there for everyone. Macy Frost loves her job & won't allow anything to interfere with it. Then she meets her new client. Deacon Banks doesn't want to find his match. He just wants Macy to set him up with suitable women so his aunt thinks he's looking to settle down. He didn't anticipate the chemistry he'd feel with Macy.

This book really relies on its ability show more to get the reader to connect with the characters. The buildup seems to take a while to get going & is set at a slow pace. The only "fight" is that of Macy trying to deal with her own morals & objections to falling for her client. There were some other interactions that could be a source of drama but they never really seem to get going. The character development & descriptive narrative are very good. Overall, I'd say this is a good enjoyable story worth 3.5 stars. show less

Aside from the fact the titles of this series (The Impossible Bachelors) are all fun wordplays on movie titles, I think what I liked best about this book is that it makes it clear from the get go that nothing is really quite so simple as all that.

Molly and Harry are childhood rivals, a rivalry that was strong and in place into adulthood, based upon a childish act that got blown out of hand. Molly, in all her youthful enthusiasm wrote a poem about how much she adored Harry's older show more brother--who happened to be Molly's older sister's fiancee. And in her youthful naivety didn't realize that she wasn't quite as clever as she thought she was. Harry, through youthful idiocy, defended himself instead of just letting things blow over. If I understood things correctly even though both of their older siblings forgave them in the end, it was really the parents who had made things worse.

To be completely fair Molly had as much common sense as a dirty dishrag. She runs off with her father's assistant, then when he runs off with a ladybird allows herself to be entangled in a ridiculous scheme as Harry's mistress. Harry, though he thought his motives mainly unselfish, was intolerably selfish. What man in his right mind thinks landing his brother's sister-in-law in the middle of a debauched weekend is preferable to sending her home and losing a bet?

If you ignore how the two ended up in the situation its better. Once the weekend is underway we meet the catty mistresses, the mostly decent bachelors (all except the biggest creeper this side of ever) and Molly gets to show off how clever she is. The mistresses were all kind of funny and by the end of it I appreciated their personality differences a little more. The 'tests' they had to endure were pretty much what you'd expect from a man who saw women as little more than bed partners (that would be the Prince Regent, who put together this whole thing). Sexist, offensive and honestly I was a little irritated that Molly was the only one who objected.

Interestingly the author didn't make this a plot to get Harry and Molly into bed quickly. You'd think since Molly was acting as his mistress things would progress that far eventually, but Harry is rather gentlemanly. It was a weird juxtaposition. Instead we have a book of teasing, taunting and inventive ways for them to be close, but not 'as one'. I enjoyed that very much, even if some of the antics the two get up to made my eyebrows raise.

I understand that women, especially ladybirds like the mistresses, had very little recourse when it came to how they are treated, but honestly I couldn't believe that Sir Richard could get away with what he did. Seriously the man not only assaulted Molly (at least twice if I remember rightly) he basically said he'd have her in his bed willing or not! Not only that, but the man was crass, crude and lewd to boot. At the very end, when he gets his just desserts and some hard truths are brought home, I cheered for his downfall. The slob and miscreant.

The ending was a little bit of a deus ex machina though. The problems Harry had--the scandal he faced while in the military, the rumors and such--are wrapped up and everyone is hunky-dory. Its like a magic wand was waved to make things absolutely happily ever after perfect for Harry and Molly to be together guilt free. Regardless Kramer weaved an enjoyable and entertaining tale. show less

A Wedding at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer is a 2018 St. Martin’s Press publication.

If you are looking for a love match, Greer Jones, who operates Two Love Lane, a matchmaking service, is at your service. With only one exception, she has managed to find a match for all her clients. Yet, for Greer, helping others find love leaves little time to find her own Mr. Right. However, she is sure that someday she will meet the man of her dreams, so despite having no boyfriend, or fiancé, and show more okay, she’s not even dating anyone, she still has her heart set on the wedding dress which is part of a local fundraising contest.

Enter, Ford Smith, an artist looking for his next model, who happens to be hiding out from a really awkward situation back in Britain, which is where he is from. Ford agrees to accompany Greer to the cocktail party and fundraiser and knows immediately she’s the person he wants to paint. He then finds himself entangled in her quest to win the wedding dress, when it appears her lack of a fiancé could hurt her chances of winning the contest.

As Greer and Ford begin to spend more time together they find their light, flirty relationship becoming more serious, but both are in denial. The timing couldn’t be worse for either of them.

But, love has its own timetable and for Greer it’s now or never- but does Ford feel the same way?

This is a really cute and sweet contemporary romance full of quirky characters and oddly humorous and awkward situations that added to the story’s charm. I wouldn’t have thought a droll British aristocrat would be a good match for the vivacious Greer, but somehow the British manners complimented the southern charms of Charleston. South Carolina.

This story has a lot going on, and touches on various themes, one of which is to avoid settling for comfort and companionship when you can have everlasting true love instead. I also enjoyed the artistic threads with added a extra dollop of depth to Ford’s understated stoicism.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this story. It is very light, very easy to read, but I found myself completely enchanted with it!

4 stars show less

While this novel was enjoyable, I had a hard time suspending disbelief through much if it. I'm willing to give the characters some leeway in any historical novel I read, if the author provides an entertaining enough read to distract me from the fact that what's going on would never have been allowed to happen. Kramer exceeded in this at times, but all too often I was left feeling vaguely ill, waiting for the ax to fall and the characters to be caught.

Both characters showed tremendous growth show more (especially Harry) and I truly enjoyed their journey into love. But I think the author asked too much of us with the plot, especially at the end. show less