This was a collection of four short stories, tied together as they all have something to do with weddings. In order of preference:

Heaven Can't Wait, by Pamela Clare (4 stars)
This is #1.5 in the I-Team series, and it's interesting to read a non-romantic-suspense story involving those characters. (Although, I do have to be honest that I was wondering how it was going to work to have each of those reporters, investigative though they may be, become a part of a believable life-in-jeopardy story without too much repetition. I love that Pamela Clare handled Lissy's story in this way. I just wish I had read it in order so that I could appropriately appreciate Lissy and Will in I-Team #2.) It was also refreshing to read about a committed couple in a healthy and realistic relationship. Yes, there is the conceit that Lissy comes up with, but I loved how Will understood what she was going through, even if she didn't. O.k., full disclosure, I just loved Will.

Brides Gone Wild, Cathie Linz (3.75 stars)
This story seemed a little old-school, but it was enjoyable. There were some laugh out loud moments, and I liked how Pam and Michael related to each other. It wasn't my most favorite short story I've ever read, but I liked it enough to look up other books from this author.

So Caught Up In You, Beverly Brandt (3.5 stars)
This story gave me whiplash. It started out lighthearted but was then about... human trafficking? And Tasha goes to the wedding to look after her sister and immediately senses what is going on and what she needs to do to help save people? By exchanging meaningful looks with the wedding planner/[alleged] human trafficker/ hero-in-disguise ? Oh, and I still don't get how the monkey did it. Despite all of this plus the Weekend at Bernie's flashbacks (that doesn't do much for the whole romance aspect of the story, I have to say), I was entertained. In reading one of the reviews I got the sense that the author threw in a whole lot of things that are done more exclusively in longer books. And I think that I might be o.k. with the romantic suspense if it didn't come along with the slapstick humor. So it's only 3.5 stars, but I do think I'll look this author up again.

The Wedding Party, Whitney Lyles
This one just didn't speak to me. As my daughter said back in her toddler days, "I can't like this." The secondary characters were pretty appalling, although for no good reason I could see. More importantly, however, I just couldn't relate to Meg at all. ( )

***½ "Brides Gone Wild" by Cathie Linz.

This is a cute story, set in the same town as Good Girls Do. The heroine is a wedding floral designer in a small town, and her ex returns to town for one of the five weddings on one weekend, and everything's going wrong. I had trouble believing a small town could support a florist that only does weddings, and it didn't have the depth of her full-length book, but it was still fun to read.

***½ "Heaven Can't Wait" by Pamela Clare.

Whew. This one starts in the middle of a sex scene. It actually fits, since the fact that sex is good and easy (too good? too easy?) between them is what prompts the heroine to proclaim a moratorium on sex for the two weeks before the wedding. Which is what made this a less-than-4-star read for me. I've never understood the concept of not having sex when you both want to and there's no legal or moral reason not to. (I realize this makes me sound like a slut. But hey, it worked for me--nearly 22 years of wedded bliss here.) By the end, they do work through some real issues, though, and it was entertaining watching them try to seduce the other into giving in first, even if I didn't like the reason why.

****½ "So Caught up in You" by Beverly Brandt.

I had to double-check the name of the author on this. (Beverly Brandt = Jacey Ford) The story is w/a Beverly Brandt, but it has the adventure and excitement of a Jacey Ford story, not to mention the Rules of Engagement company from Dead Heat. Which is perfectly fine with me. I enjoy this author's writing whichever name she's using. Tasha's sister is getting married in the jungle and she finds out some disturbing information about the wedding coordinator, so she decides to investigate... and finds herself in the middle of human traficking and trying to conceal a dead body. It's fast-paced, fun, and sexy. A lot of story packed into a short novella.

**** "The Wedding Party" by Whitney Lyles.

Call this chick lit instead of romance, and change the last line, and I'll give it an extra half a star. This is a very ambitious story for a novella: Meg's looking forward to her friend's wedding because her ex will be there, and she's decided she made a big mistake in breaking up with him, and he's The One. So she has to deal with her feelings for him, and the difference between her fantasies and reality, as well as dealing with not fitting in with the other bridesmaids and falling in love with someone else. Alternatively, it would be nice to see it expanded into a full-length novel. There's enough material here for it. ( )