DON’T KISS THE BRIDE
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Carian Cole
Release Date: February 1, 2020

I guess you could say I was a damsel in distress, and he was my knight in shining armor.

But more accurately, I was a girl with a lot of bad luck, and he was a guy with a lot of muscles and tattoos.

Jude “Lucky” Lucketti wasn’t just a sexy, brooding construction worker. He was my own personal hero who seemed to be in all the right places at the right times. Like when my car broke down and I needed a ride home, and when I face planted on the sidewalk right in front of him and had to be taken to the emergency room.

Those weren’t exactly my best moments, but they were his.

We became friends, and it didn’t matter that he was sixteen years older than me. We had a lot in common—like our love of old rock music and vintage fast cars, and our aversion to relationships.

When he approached me with a crazy idea to help me out, I couldn’t say no.

The arrangement was supposed to be temporary. A marriage on paper and nothing else.

It should’ve been easy, but it wasn’t.

Because here I am, eighteen years-old, still in high school, and married to a man I was never supposed to fall in love with.

We had just one rule—no kissing the bride.

But we broke that rule, and it sealed our fate forever.

AMAZON

Somehow, she’s squirmed her way under my skin, and surprisingly enough, I don’t want to dig her out.

Carian Cole is one of those authors for me that I don’t even bother to read the blurbs of her books. There’s no point because it’s an auto read for me no matter what. She’s the master of writing poignant, beautiful and emotional romance that sticks with me. As an avid romance readers, I can’t say I remember every book I read, but somehow, each Carian Cole book I’ve read, does. And this one certainly won’t be the exception.

Now if you love a good age gap romance, you won’t want to miss this one. Age gap for me can be a tricky one, because when you have a pretty young heroine, there’s a line where it can skate on the line of…well…meh. Ya know? And considering the heroine here is 18, I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about that because this author just manages to hit the mark every time.

Skylar is an 18 year old high school senior who hasn’t exactly had it easy in life. Her home life is anything but happy and her living situation even more so. She makes the best out of the crappy hand she’s been dealt, but luck has never really been on her side.

Jude is a thirty four year old, tatted up construction worker and high school drop out. His teenage years are riddled with plenty of regrets, but when he sees Skylar lose consciousness and learns of her situation, he knows he needs to help her. So he offers her a solution; marriage, but in the most nutritional sense. She gets his insurance and puts herself on her feet, and he gets to know that he helped her. Nothing more and nothing less. But the feelings between them and the chemistry is not easy to deny.

Now admittedly, I struggled a bit with the first half of this book. It was very slow paced and quite detailed in parts that I felt maybe shouldn’t have been. I found myself skimming some chapters, waiting for things to pick up. It was most definitely a SLOW burn. But then when things pick up? I couldn’t put it down. I loved the progression of Lucky and Skylar’s relationship. I love how he struggles with his feelings for her and I love how Skylar fought for him. The age gap is significant, but I never felt Skylar’s age. Outside of her being in high school (though fair to note she was held back a year so she’s a touch older senior), her age never felt like 18. She’s wise beyond her years because of the life she’s lived. She was forced to grow up fast and I loved her strength. Lucky’s past comes back to really haunt him here and my heart broke for him in so many ways.

This was such a beautiful, gripping story full of emotion and romance. I adored Lucky and Sparkles together. Theirs was one of the most satisfying slow burns I’ve read in a while and I can’t recommend it enough. And there’s a surprise cameo by a certain character that I absolutely LOVED but won’t give away because it’s the best surprise.

Carian Cole has a passion for the bad boys, those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles, and of course, the sweet girls who try to tame them and win their hearts.

Born and raised a Jersey girl, Carian now resides in beautiful New Hampshire with her husband and their multitude of furry pets. She spends most of her time writing, reading, and vacuuming.

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