Book Review: One and Only (Bridesmaids Behaving Badly #1) by Jenny Holiday

One and Only 

(Bridesmaids Behaving Badly #1)

by Jenny Holiday 

Goodreads

Amazon

Miss Responsibility meets Mr. Reckless

With her bridezilla friend on a DIY project rampage, bridesmaid Jane Denning will do anything to escape - even if it means babysitting the groom's troublemaker brother before the wedding. It should be a piece of cake, except the "cake" is a sarcastic former soldier who is 100% wicked hotness and absolutely off-limits.

Cameron MacKinnon is ready to let loose after returning from his deployment. But first he'll have to sweet talk the ultra-responsible Jane into taking a walk on the wild side. Turns out, riling her up is the best time he's had in years. But what happens when the fun and games start to turn into something real?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

She was talking fast and ending declarative statements with question marks— sure signs she was stressed. Elise always sounded like an auctioneer on uppers when she was upset.

The words job list practically gave Jane hives. Elise had turned into a total bridezilla… But, oh, the job list. The job list was like the Hydra, a serpentine monster you could never get on top of. You crossed off a job, and two more sprouted to take its place.

He was having trouble imagining Jane as a girl. She seemed like the kind of person who had been born thirty years old.

Gia was gorgeous. Jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Jane was used to it— it was like she’d had exposure therapy or something— but when you were meeting Gia for the first time? Well, just hope you weren’t simultaneously operating any heavy machinery.

Gia started humming the wedding march but morphed it into the theme from Jaws as Elise approached the bar.

My Review:

I greatly enjoyed this humorous and sexy tale but it wasn’t all cotton candy and marshmallow fluff as the author skillfully wove in some insightful and thoughtful observations about the military, family drama, the cruelty of gossip, self-concept, anxiety, addictions, and PTSD.  I adored her complicated and quirky characters with my favorite being the geeky yet staid and responsible Jane who was a devotee of cosplay, Comicon, and all things Xena.  The storylines were adroitly paced, consistently engaging, pleasantly entertaining, and cleverly amusing with sizzling hot licks of sensuality between the two main characters.  This was my first Jenny Holiday read, an experience I plan to habituate.  

Empress DJ

About the Author: 

Jenny Holiday is a cunning Slytherin who is constantly being told she's unduly optimistic. This year, after realizing she had accidentally put "hero makes late-night grilled cheese sandwiches for heroine/other hero" in three books, she started doing it on purpose. When she's not writing, she's probably having porch wine with her neighbors and enjoying having gardened. Follow her @JennyHoli on Twitter, @holymolyjennyholi on Instagram, and find other fun stuff at JennyHoliday.com.