Penny Robinson has finally found the courage to take the big leap and start her own wedding planning business called Princess on a Shoestring. After the success of her blog with the same name, Penny soon finds herself with enough brides-to-be who want her help to organise their own budget weddings. Of course this includes the occasional bridezilla and emergency moments, but Penny is so passionate about her job she is ready to deal with it all. Until a rival wedding planner named Georgina Peasbody decides there is only room for one of them and she's not going down without a dirty fight. Penny has to give it her all to keep her business going. But when another unexpected bump in the road makes things even more complicated, Penny starts to doubt whether she is really meant to be a wedding planner. There are certain book series which I can't get enough of and if it was up to me, there would be at least 36 parts of the series to keep us involved in the characters' lives. This certainly is the case for me with Anna Bell's series. Don't Tell the Brides-To-Be is a fantastic third instalment. Penny is a simply wonderful heroine; she's spontaneous, naive, funny, and incredibly passionate and I think many readers will be able to relate to her one way or another. Sometimes, a sequel or a third part of a series can feel a bit forced, but that is not the case with this book. The story flowed naturally and I honestly couldn't wait to read more about Penny's adventures. (JoH)
Anna Bell's series based around Penny continues with Don't Tell the Brides-to-be. The summary says: "Things are looking up for Penny Robinson. She's kicked her gambling addiction and even started her own business: Princess on a Shoestring, an all-inclusive service for brides-to-be looking to pinch pennies on their big day. Between family rows and wardrobe calamities, wedding planning is no piece of cake... but Penny's got it all under control. That is, until a rival planner decides to take her down - one hard-won bride at a time. Now Penny must fight to save her reputation and her livelihood before its too late. But when a romantic weekend away has some unexpected consequences, Penny's expectations for her career are brought back down to earth with a bump." Don't Tell the Brides-to-be is out in February 2015.
After planning her own wedding to a strict budget due to her gambling
debt, Penny got the wedding planning bug! Her blog, Princess-on-a-Shoestring, is getting so popular that she's now got brides-to-be asking her to be their budget wedding planner. While taking on the task of organising a fabulous wedding for highly strung Henri on a minimal budget, she's also trying to impress new boss Giles in order to get a promotion. But Giles takes a dim view of his
employees moonlighting in other jobs, so she has to ensure that her
newfound popularity as a wedding guru stays a secret. I loved Penny in the first instalment of this series, and she was equally as fun and witty in this book. She's a very likeable protagonist, and gets into some hilarious situations! I loved all
the money-saving tips and tricks that she wrote about on her blog, there are some brilliant ideas there. Unfortunately I felt the plot was a little predictable, I didn't find the big twist towards the end to be very surprising, however overall I enjoyed this and look forward to the next book.
(LO)
Don't Tell the Boss is the next instalment in Anna Bell's series about Penny from Don't Tell the Groom. The summary says: "When newlywed Penny turns her hand to some casual wedding planning, she only wants to help other women afford the big day of their dreams. But taming bridezillas turns out to be a full-time occupation, and what began as a hobby becomes a personal and professional nightmare. Soon Penny is struggling to keep her day job and prevent her own marriage from collapsing under the strain: tired, stressed and knee-deep in ivory satin, is Penny's life and livelihood hanging by a thread?" Don't Tell the Boss is out in June 2014.
Penny has been in full wedding preparation mode for ages, she's just waiting for her boyfriend Mark to decide they've moved on from step three of his six-step plan to marriage. She has all the details picked out starting with the Vera Wang dress and the Jimmy Choo shoes. When Mark surprises Penny with his proposal, her delight turns to despair when she finds that their wedding fund is now 10,000 pounds less because of her online bingo account ... but she is not (repeat NOT) addicted - all she needs is that "one" big win. However, Penny is positive she will be able to arrange the wedding of their dreams, without Mark finding out about the depleted funds. To add to that she's worried that marriage will change their relationship, suspects her best friend is dumping her for a new friend, and wonders why Mark's Nanna V is suddenly giving her the cold shoulder. Just like the reality show, Penny's going to try to pull off the perfect (and in budget) wedding, all without telling the groom - but is it possible??? Superbly written and packed with great wedding ideas, we follow Penny through each step of her wedding planning (and budgeting woes), while trying to keep her relationship, friendships, career and sanity on track. This is a real feel-good story with loads of laughs, twists, tears and miscommunications. The characters are all lovable and the story is totally addictive. Highly recommended for everyone, whether single/engaged/married, into weddings/or not. This is the first book of Anna's that I've read - but I'll be hunting for her previous two books next. (AT)
Don't Tell Penny is a short story ebook, the prequel to Anna Bell's novel Don't Tell the Groom and is written from the perspective of bride Penny's best friend Lou. The summary says: "Lou and Penny have been best friends forever, so when Penny tells Lou she's sure tonight's the night Mark will finally propose, Lou couldn't be more pleased for her. But when the moment arrives, Lou can't help but wonder if marriage might be the furthest thing from Mark's mind, and Penny hasn't noticed a thing! Could it fall on Lou to break the news gently, or will Mark bend his knee before it's just too late?"
Don't Tell the Groom, by Anna Bell, is about a bride-to-be keeping a big secret. The summary says: "Bride-to-be Penny discovers that she's lost 10,000 pounds of wedding savings playing online bingo. So that she doesn't have to reveal her gambling secret, she convinces her fiance Mark that they should have a Don't Tell the Groom themed wedding. Penny then has to plan a wedding fit for a princess on a shoestring budget. But, by the time she discovers that the true meaning of marriage isn't a Vera Wang wedding dress or Jimmy Choos, will she still have a groom to marry?" Don't Tell the Groom is out in January. Head to the author's website to read the first chapter.