My edition: Paperback, published on 11 September 2014 by Quercus, 471 pages.Description: The Bonneville Hotel is the best kept secret in Mayfair: its art deco suites and glittering ballrooms a former home-away-from-home for royalty and film stars alike. Recent years haven’t been kind, but thanks to Events Manager Rosie, the Bonneville is reclaiming some of its old cachet as a chic retro-glam wedding venue.
While Rosie’s weddings are the ultimate in romance, Rosie herself isn’t; she’s focused on the details, not the dramas. But when the hotel owner appoints his eccentric son Joe to the Bonneville staff, Rosie finds herself up against an unprecedented challenge: a rival whose predilection for the unconventional could derail not only Rosie’s own career, but the most elaborate, high-profile wedding the Bonneville has ever seen.
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Rosie is an events organiser for the elegant Bonneville Hotel in London. Her speciality is weddings and you'd think that spending so many hours in the company of blissfully happy brides-to-be to create that perfect day they'd been dreaming of since they were little girls, would have Rosie eager to tie the knot herself, so she can sit back and enjoy such a magical event from the other side. Not so. She's so focused on her job and the possibility of the promotion she'd been working incredibly hard for that there is no space in her already busy life for a distraction of the romantic variety.
And matters get even more complicated when the hotel owner's son Joe makes an appearance. From the moment Rosie lays her eyes on his half-naked body splayed on the bed of a suite she's about to show potential customers, he is in her way and not only does she worry that with him disrupting her on a daily basis she will not be able to hit the target set out for her to secure the promotion, but what if Joe only came back to take that very same job away from her?
I'm a big fan of the delightful romantic escapism books by British author Hester Browne. Her previous one, The Vintage Girl, was a particular favourite of mine, so ever since I heard about The Honeymoon Hotel I was excited to get my hands on a copy and it didn't disappoint. In fact, this is my favourite novel of hers yet; with a wonderfully relatable main character, beautiful weddings and some hilarious sequences with wholly unsuitable boyfriends, it has all the ingredients (and then some) for a great chick lit.
From the moment we meet main character Rosie I liked her even though I could not for the life of me figure out why she was dating such as tosser as food critique Dominic. Perhaps if her choice was solely based on the amount of free meals at high-end restaurants she got out of it I could sort of understand, but she was forced to try the dishes that Dominic didn't want to taste and he stole her best commentaries for his reviews too, which is just not done.
Having said that, I did understand and sympathise with Rosie's in all other aspects of the story, particularly her hard work at the hotel that for the longest of time didn't seem to get noticed or rewarded and so I really felt for her when Joe came along and messed up her carefully planned career schedule. He may be swoon-worthy to look at, but girl was on a mission to earn herself a much-deserved promotion and nobody should mess with that!
Filled with lush descriptions of the charming setting, a wide array of romantic and 'interesting' weddings, not to mention a gorgeous man to boot, The Honeymoon Hotel is the epitome of romance and the perfect read to cosy up with and pick up some inspirational ideas for your own wedding along the way - no matter how many years that may still be away, it is never too early to start booking a coveted location such as the Bonneville after all.
You can purchase the novel from Waterstones, Amazon.co.uk or your own preferred retailer.
Would you like to know more about the author? You can connect with her online at:
Website: www.hesterbrowne.com
Twitter: @hesterbrowne
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HesterBrowneWriter
Many thanks to the publisher for an advance copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
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