White Wedding (Blackwood Cellars #3) by Carla Luna

ABOUT THE BOOK

Take one lavish holiday wedding. Add one evil ex and his bridezilla. And toss in a smoking-hot chef from the past. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Victoria Blackwood has spent years trying to redeem herself after falling victim to a blackmail scheme that cost her father thousands. So, when he insists she coordinate a big Christmas wedding at her family’s winery, she can’t say no. Even if the groom is her ex, and the caterer just quit.

For Rafael Sanchez, a last-minute call to cater a huge society wedding is a golden opportunity. If he can prove he’s up to the challenge, his brothers might entrust him with more responsibility in the family catering business. But when he meets Victoria, he can’t believe his eyes. Five years ago, they had a passionate fling that rocked his world. Until she left him with only a fake name to remember her by.

To pull off the perfect wedding, Victoria and Rafael can’t afford to get caught up in the past. But keeping things professional won’t be easy, not when the attraction between them burns hotter than Christmas in July.

MY REVIEW

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 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.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carla Luna writes contemporary romance with a dollop of humor and a pinch of spice. A former archaeologist, she still dreams of traveling to far-off places and channels that wanderlust into the settings of her stories. When she’s not writing, she works in a spice emporium where she gets paid to discuss food and share her favorite recipes. Her passions include Broadway musicals, baking, whimsical office supplies, and pop culture podcasts. Though she has roots in Los Angeles and Victoria, B.C., she currently resides in Wisconsin with her family and her spoiled Siberian cat.