Mother of the Bride

May 20, 2002
This humorous romantic comedy warms the heart with its zany yet believable characters and snappy dialogue. When Cydney Parrish's 19-year-old niece, Bebe—whom she has raised for the last 15 years while her globe-trotting sister took Pulitzer Prize–winning photos—gets engaged to the nephew of famous mystery writer and social recluse Angus Monroe, Cydney drives herself over the edge organizing the hasty nuptials and helping Angus overcome his aversion to the union. The only stable member of an eccentric family, Cydney, an aspiring mystery writer herself, has long idolized Angus, but she doesn't let her feelings stop her from putting him in his place when he implies that Bebe is a gold-digging flake. Angus considers his 21-year-old nephew too immature to marry, but in the process of trying to upset the wedding plans, he finds himself first in the hospital, and then, when the wedding party decamps to his home, injured on a regular basis. In the midst of the mayhem, Angus falls headlong in lust with Cydney, but their opposing views on the wedding keep them at odds. At times, Angus and Cydney's romance plays second fiddle to the wedding hijinks, but Michaels's (Nightwing) keen sense of comic timing and oddball characters never fail to entertain. (June)Forecast:The summer wedding season is fast approaching, and this book's timely release and cutesy cover illustration (featuring a many-tiered wedding cake) should catch the attention of bridesmaids and bride-hopefuls.

May 15, 2002
Few things will pull writer Angus Munroe out of his seclusion in Crooked Possum, MO, but when his nephew announces that he is going to marry the granddaughter of the mystery writer who snubbed Angus years earlier, he heads for Kansas City to stop the wedding. What he finds, however, in addition to a beautiful bride-to-be who puts him in the hospital with a broken nose, is her elfin, intelligent Aunt Cydney, a woman who is not about to let anyone interfere with her niece's happiness. A smart, dependable heroine amid a family of bright eccentrics, a ruggedly gorgeous hero determined to guard his nephew's interests, and an abundance of intriguing, quirky characters will keep readers entertained. Michaels (Nightwing) is the best-selling writer of a number of humorous romances and lives in Independence, MO.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2002
Cydney Parrish has lived in the shadows of her famous family--celebrated novelist father Fletcher, etiquette columnist mother Georgette, and Pulitzer Prize-winning sister Gwen--which has left her feeling like a cross between the ugly duckling and Cinderella. For more than a decade she's been caring for Gwen's daughter, Bebe, because her sister was too busy. Now 19, Bebe has announced her engagement to Aldo, nephew of the eccentrically reclusive author Angus Munroe. Cydney is stunned with the news, but Angus, who fears losing the last of his family, is downright nasty and tries every trick in the book to stall the wedding. Cydney and Angus passionately disagree and quickly become infatuated with each other. When the entire Parrish family arrives for the wedding, Cydney stops feeling sorry for herself long enough to stand up to them and admit her feelings for Angus. Tempers soar, fists fly, and the wedding is imperiled. Despite Cydney's vexing self-pity, the remaining characters bring humor and charm to Michaels' engaging romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)