Rating: 
Summary: Natty, deliciously cunning and exhuberant romance
Review: Clad in boy's knickers and looking a decade younger than her twenty-five years, Lady Evelyn Cummings Whyte is a sight to behold, bleeding on a gentleman's carpet, as she is, with glass shards all around her. Perhaps she chose an unfortunate means to renew her acquaintance with Mr. Justin Powell, she grudgingly admits, the broken window causing a brief pain of guilt, but really, she had no choice but to act, regardless of the impropriety. Not that Mr. Powell is likely to remark upon her wardrobe or chastise Evelyn for her unconventional entry into his house. For starters, her appearance is unremarkable, her body overly slender, her thick black hair a revolt of curls, hidden by her kerchief.Most importantly, Mr. Powell is in her debt after a young Evelyn witnessed a scandalous incident ten years ago and kept her own counsel. Collecting on that favor is absolutely essential to the survival of her aunt's nuptial planning business, struggling after a few spectacular failures. Evelyn is aghast at her incompetence and is adamant that Mrs. Vandervoort's wedding will be her saving grace, a perfectly orchestrated event that will erase the stigma of her previous efforts. Mr. Powell's ancestral home, North Cross Abbey, is the bride's chosen venue for the happy occasion. In something of a sad state, the Abbey will need a plethora of repairs to make it a respectable setting, of course, but Mrs. Vandervoort is willing to pay a fine price for the wedding of her dreams, Evelyn adds meaningfully. Alas, Justin is an ardent ornithologist and has only recently discovered a new species of bird at the Abbey. Reneging on an old debt is out of the question, however, so he agrees to let Evelyn stage Mrs. Vandervoort's wedding there, the only catch being that he will also be present -- but scarce, my dear Evie, he reassures her. In truth, Evie's desire to throw a grand fete on his property is too good an opportunity to miss out on, as the estate will be swarming with people, crates and various other comings and goings, providing Justin with some neatly handed camouflage. You see, although he plays the part of a dilettante, Justin is really a spy for Her Majesty's government, and he's expecting a very important package -- a package that an enemy agent is doggedly in pursuit of. Two time RITA award-winning author, Connie Brockway, is in fine form indeed with this natty, deliciously cunning and exuberant romance. Bridal Favors lets readers have their cake and eat it, too, while avoiding a maudlin walk down the aisle. Justin and Evelyn are too unconventional for the trappings of tradition, after all. Their witty repartee is the focal point of their relationship, featuring a duel of words that's both wicked and wonderful. Such bantering is ever so delectable, and Ms. Brockway uses it to her advantage, pitting intellect against intellect and letting the sparks fly with happy abandon, thus creating a toasty chemistry. Her characterizations have subtle layers that are all the more provocative for their subtleties and nuances. Justin purposefully cultivates a false impression with his vagueness, jocularity and apparent lack of self-discipline. Although second nature to him, playacting has its price, however, sacrificing the respect of others for a superficiality that in reality is completely foreign to his nature. Evelyn smells a rat, something a little off-kilter, if you will, but is unsure of its source. She still believes Justin is a masher -- a womanizer -- when he's a far cry from a love 'em and leave 'em Lothario, yet her suspicions have been piqued. No doubt Evie recognizes a kindred spirit, hiding behind her own mask -- that of a dowdy spinster -- as she does. Justin is clear-sighted enough to see the beauty beneath her unprepossessing exterior, and such instinctive insight is a very rare quality in a romantic hero. To top it all off, a pair of merry matchmakers (who are as alike as night and day; that is to say, not alike at all) try their utmost to play cupid without interfering overly much in Justin and Evelyn's relationship. I truly think you'll find much to savor in this novel. Bridal Favors has an intelligent plot, likeable characters and a storybook ending. Ms. Brockway adds a few twists and turns here and there to keep things interesting. Unbeknownst to Justin, he's merely the bait in a carefully laid trap. And Evelyn? well, she's his greatest temptation: sensible, stubborn and wholly beautiful. In short, the love of his life. If you can't find favor with Ms. Brockway's prose, then to be quite blunt, you're simply impossible to please.
Rating: 
Summary: A Delightful Read
Review: Connie Brockway's talent for weaving a great story is again evident in Bridal Favors, the second in a thoroughly enjoyable Victorian romance series.
Evelyn Whyte-a confirmed young spinster with dazzling wit, intelligence and determination-persuades Justin Powell, an apparent dilettante, to allow her to put on the wedding of the season at his old family manor, North Cross Abbey. But Justin is much more dangerous than he appears to be, and suddenly Evie's life-and her heart-are in peril.
Bridal Favors is a delightful read-Brockway's characters are multidimensional and fascinatingly real while her plots are fast-paced and exciting. The witty, playful and clever banter-especially between Justin and Evie-is a lot of fun to witness. Brockway's wide-ranging and precise descriptive language is a pleasure to experience. Having read every one of her novels with relish, I can confirm that her master storytelling skills never fail to amuse, delight and move the reader. Don't miss Bridal Favors or any of her previous books.
Rating:
Summary: A Delightful Read
Review: Connie Brockway's talent for weaving a great story is again evident in Bridal Favors, the second in a thoroughly enjoyable Victorian romance series.
Evelyn Whyte-a confirmed young spinster with dazzling wit, intelligence and determination-persuades Justin Powell, an apparent dilettante, to allow her to put on the wedding of the season at his old family manor, North Cross Abbey. But Justin is much more dangerous than he appears to be, and suddenly Evie's life-and her heart-are in peril.
Bridal Favors is a delightful read-Brockway's characters are multidimensional and fascinatingly real while her plots are fast-paced and exciting. The witty, playful and clever banter-especially between Justin and Evie-is a lot of fun to witness. Brockway's wide-ranging and precise descriptive language is a pleasure to experience. Having read every one of her novels with relish, I can confirm that her master storytelling skills never fail to amuse, delight and move the reader. Don't miss Bridal Favors or any of her previous books.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine Characters! But Plot Was Weak!
Review: I loved Justin, he was witty, handsome, and had one of the best personalities in a hero ever created. Evie was lovely and wonderful as well, and a perfect match for Justin.
The problem? By about page 100, the outcome of this book was pretty well set. From the onset we know Evie and Justin will end up together, of course, but since the direction of the spy ring plot came out so early in the story, that was pretty much it for me, as that was the whole story. As great as Evie and Justin were, the story no longer held my interest.
Rating:
Summary: Excellence times two
Review: I'm delighted that Connie Brockway continues the excellence of THE BRIDAL SEASON in this second installment of the ill-fated Whyte's Wedding Planning Agency. With the same sharp, droll humor and insightful attention to social detail she exhibited in that earlier work, Brockway brings to life little over-compensating, domineering Evie and her perfect foil, Justin. The story races along involving a really decent little mystery, a wonderful cast of supporting characters, and enormous physical as well as intellectual magnetism between the leads. A fun, fun read and well worth the effort of seeking out.
Rating:
Summary: spoofs espionage historical intrigue tales
Review: In 1885 Chelsea, England, by accident Lord Justin Powell finds himself in a potentially compromising situation with an underage teenager. Though nothing happened, he cuts a deal with Evelyn Cummings Whyte that if she keeps silent about their unfortunate unplanned "rendezvous", he owes her a future favor. She agrees. Ten years later, Evelyn has taken charge of her aunt's wedding planning business, but each event that she has hosted has been a catastrophe. Desperate to succeed before she runs the business into the ground, Evelyn calls in the debt by asking Justin if she can use his estate for the next matrimonial celebration. Though a nuisance, Justin agrees not because of honoring a debt, but as an opportunity to uncover enemy spies in his role as a secret agent. No doubt he would have reconsidered if he knew how much danger the woman he loves would place herself in as somehow Evelyn is in the middle of every peril. BRIDAL FAVORS is an amusing late Victorian romantic intrigue that spoofs espionage historical intrigue tales. The story line never takes itself too seriously even as the lead couple tries to do the right thing that seems to just place them in one precarious situation after another. Connie Brockway's novel succeeds because the audience cares what happens to Evelyn and Justin at the same time enjoying a jocular farce. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A fun, light read
Review: Justin is a master spy posing as an avid birdwatcher. Evie is the niece of Agatha, (the wedding planner in "Bridal Season" who eloped with a Frenchman) and is trying to keep her aunt's business afloat while Agatha and her new husband enjoy an extended, seemingly endless honeymoom. Evie hasn't had a single thing go right in her wedding planning attempts, and when she's asked by a wealthy American lady to plan a wedding extravaganza at North Cross Abbey, owned by Justin/master spy/birdwatcher, Evie determines to make it work and convinces Justin to allow her to refurbish and use his abbey for the wedding, cashing in on a favor he owes her from a brief but memorable encounter ten years prior. It just so happens that Evie's plans coincide beautifully with Justin's latest assignment - to receive a top-secret delivery at North Cross Abbey - and Justin believes the pre-wedding activity will help avert suspicion from him as he awaits the shipment. He agrees to Evie's proposal, and the two of them pack their bags and head to the old abbey...but they are being watched. This is probably Ms. Brockway's frothiest and lightest literary creation, a witty and humorous novel that, while enjoyable, does not quite capture the essence of passionate romance that her other novels do. A pleasant and enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Pure conjugal bliss and joy
Review: Justin Powell never reneges on a favor - and this fact proved propitious to wedding planner Evelyn Cummings Whyte who stumbled upon him walking out of Mrs. Underhill's bedroom covertly a decade later. Evie who now steers the business after her aunt's elopement has a client who requested the use of Justin's ancestral abbey for her conjugal venue. She desperately needs this opportunity to prove herself to the public. Unknown to her, the sedate Justin with his guise as an ornithologist is a British spy who is instructed by his mentor Beverly to expect the arrival of a diabolical machine stolen from other countries. What both of them did not expect was a even greater hoax to make Justin the bait.... Amidst the deluge of romance novels today with similar espionage plot, Bridal Favors prominently stands out refreshingly with its well-executed twists. Yet what makes Bridal Favors such an explosion of sheer joy and bliss is Ms. Brockway's creation of a subdued and complexed hero with intellectuals and her charmingly vulnerable Evie who despite her average looks fascinates with her ingenuous mix of innocence and wits. The couple evokes tender feelings and chaste romance that has long faded away from the explicit romance nowadays we have come to expect. This frothy enchanting tale under the magnificent ensemble of secondary characters like Lady Boughton, the fashion consultant Merry and the cantankerous Beverly is whimisical with Ms. Brockway's wry humour. Though some parts of the espionage plot comes out occasionally too clever for me to hook on, it is partly because I am swept away languorously by the oddball pair to their march up the altars.
Rating:
Summary: Better than many historicals, but...
Review: Not as good as Bridal Season, the first in Brockaway's "Bridal" series. Bridal Season had one of my all-time favorite heroines, Letty. Bridal Favors has Evie, who I liked at the beginning and the end, but in the middle she was the 'spunky but insecure' heroine I detest reading about. Overall, a fun enough read, but nothing particularly memorable.
Rating:
Summary: FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!!!!
Review: Oh did I LOOOOVE this book!! The story was fun and the setting as well, but what really got me were the characters...especially Justin!! He was so unbelievably adorable, sexy as hell and appealingly rumpled!! I just wanted to eat him up!! I loved witnessing his and Evie's exhanges..all of their delightful bantering!! This book had some fantastic dialogue..Im telling you this is going on my keepers list for sure...Girls, DONT PASS THIS ONE UP!!!
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