ARC Review – Jilted (Promise Harbor Wedding #1) by Kelly Jamieson

Jilted is the perfect start to what promises to be an entertaining series. We get several hints as to what we might see in the next three books and I say, “Bring them on!” ~ Slick, Guilty Pleasures

Description:
The wedding’s off but the honeymoon is on…

Devon can do this. She can show up at her ex-boyfriend Josh’s wedding, even though he’s marrying her ex-best-friend. She can show everyone she’s happy with her fabulous life in Boston, her great career, her amazing shoes — and she can show everyone she’s over him.

Truth is, her life isn’t so fabulous. She’s just been downsized out of her job, her Jimmy Choos won’t pay her mortgage, and…she’s still heartbroken that Josh chose family over her. The real reason she’s enduring this wedding is that her next stop is nearby Greenbush Island, her last hope of finding a new job.

Josh knows marrying long-time friend Allie will make everyone happy after the rough time their families have been through, and since the woman he really wanted to marry chose her career and big city life over him — why not?

But the perfect wedding turns into a perfect disaster when Allie leaves him at the altar for another man. He never saw that coming! But hey, Devon’s there, offering to help him look for Allie on Greenbush Island, where he’d planned their honeymoon. Only, all they find are their old feelings for each other and a temptation to risk their hearts one more time…

Warning: This book contains a firefighter hot enough to ignite flames, a woman who doesn’t want to get burned again, a honeymoon suite but no honeymoon, and sex not on the beach (sorry).

I’ve been salivating about this series since I first saw it listed on the publisher’s website several months ago. I’ve read three of the four authors involved with this series extensively so I have very high hopes for an interesting and entertaining series. I waited not so patiently until I got my ARC of Jilted, the first book in the Promise Harbor Wedding series, but it was so worth the wait. Promise Harbor is destined to be one of those towns that everyone wants to either visit or live in; it’s quaint, the residents are nosey but will meaning, and life just makes sense there. I have a feeling it’s a place where hearts heal; new beginnings happen, and love conquers all even for those who think they don’t want it. While Jilted is the first book in the series, there are three more to come so make sure you check back for reviews on each of these stories as they are released!

Could you attend the wedding of the ex-love of your life to your ex-best friend? Although it might kill her, Devon plans on doing just that if nothing else to show everyone how fabulous her life is. Truth is though, her life is far from fabulous and attending the wedding is mainly a pit stop on her way to track down a lead on a possible job. When she returns home to Promise Harbor she doesn’t expect to find her father dating, the bride being carried out of the church by her former lover, and her offering to help the intended groom search for his bride. She sure as hell didn’t expect to end up spending a week on an island with her ex-boyfriend in the honeymoon suite!

Josh was already having second thoughts about marrying a long time family friend, but when she’s carried off during their ceremony he really doesn’t know what to think. When his ex-girlfriend offers to help find her, he’s equally confused. When he invites her to spend the week with him he starts to question everything he’s done over the past year and wonder if he made the biggest mistake of his life.

There is just something special about second chances as both Devon and Josh both soon realize and along the way they discover so much more about each other even after all the time they spent together before their break up. What surprised me most of all is how much baggage these two have been carrying around but never shared with each other. I hurt so much for Devon and how even as a small child she learned to just put on a brave face and pretend everything was fine. I can almost see her stubborn chin and resolute eyes. I hate that she felt so abandoned but I also admire her for her strength, dignity, and courage. Josh was equally admirable taking on far more as a teenage boy and then making a difficult choice he felt he had no choice but to make. Because he is such a “white knight,” I’m a little surprised he didn’t realize the effect his actions would have on Devon. However he was stressed, so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt because he’s just too yummy not to like.

Things that made me flat out love this book; even though Devon and Josh had a previous relationship they didn’t immediately jump back into bed together, they both did a lot of soul searching and they both realized the mistakes they made both previously and currently, Devon finally make peace with her past, Josh was willing to change his life if necessary, and they both realize they need to communicate better. It was also pretty special when they both realized that sex shouldn’t be “nice,” it should be freakin’ fabulous and you shouldn’t settle for less.

Jilted is the perfect start to what promises to be an entertaining series. We get several hints as to what we might see in the next three books and I say, “Bring them on!” It’s never easy to go first at anything, but Kelly Jamieson took on this role and showed us again that she is a gifted storyteller. Her characters are flawed but evolving, the story moves at a decent pace without feeling rushed, solutions are believable, and best of all we know there’s more to come in Promise Harbor!

4.5 Stars

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