Book Review: Honeymoon Hotel

Author: Hester Browne

Publication Date: September 16, 2014

Publisher: Gallery

A charming novel in the vein of The Wedding Planner featuring an ambitious and by-the-books event planner who finds herself at odds with her new assistant, who happens to be the son of her boss, on the eve of the biggest wedding of her career—from theNew York Times bestselling author of The Runaway Princessand the Little Lady Agency series.

The Bonneville Hotel is the best-kept secret in London: its elegant rooms and discreet wood-paneled cocktail lounge were the home-away-from-home for royalty and movie stars alike during the golden age of glamour. Recent years haven’t been kind, but thanks to events manager Rosie, it’s reclaiming some of its old cachet as a wish list wedding venue. While Rosie’s weddings are the ultimate in romance, Rosie herself isn’t; her focus is fixed firmly on the details, not on the dramas. She lives with a professionally furious food critic and works tirelessly toward that coveted promotion. But when the hotel owner appoints his eccentric son Joe to help run Rosie’s department, she’s suddenly butting heads with the free spirit whose predilection for the unconventional threatens to unravel her picture-perfect plans for the most elaborate—not to mention high-profile—wedding the hotel has ever seen, a wedding that could make or break not only the hotel’s reputation, but also Rosie’s career.

From the author whose books are described as “deliciously addictive” (Cosmopolitan), Honeymoon Hotel will reaffirm your belief in happily ever after.

People make a lot of assumptions about wedding planners. Either we’re hopeless romantics (I’m not). Or we’re terminal singletons (I live with my boyfriend, Dominic – he’s a food critic. We’ve been together two years).

If you chose to get married at London’s Bonneville Hotel, located down a side street off Piccadilly, you’d be joining a glittering tradition of film stars, European royals, writers, politicians, and wits, of all whom had passed through the polished brass revolving door over the years, usually in dark glasses.

On a bright May day like today, there wasn’t a more romantic place to get married in all of London than the Bonneville Hotel. In all the world, actually. It’s the only place I’d ever consider getting married, if I were in the market for a wedding, which I’m not.

The Bonneville Hotel used to be one of the most famous hotels in London, hosting some of the most well-known stars and even royalty. However, those days are long gone because now the hotel looks more run down than ever and its glory days are over. Things start looking up for the Bonneville Hotel, however, when Rosie is hired on as their event organizer. She starts hosting many lavish and luxurious events that really allow things to turn around for the Bonneville Hotel. Rosie is so busy planning other people’s weddings but she has no time for love herself that is until the hotel owner’s son, Joe steps on the scene. Joe throws a wrench in many of Rosie’s well laid out plans.

This was a delightful romance to get completely lost in. I have never read one of Hester Browne’s books before, but after finishing this one and reading everyone’s thoughts on some of her other books, I am beginning to think that I am really missing out. This book was so light and was such a breeze; I finished in less than two days and would have finished sooner had I had more time to read. The Bonneville Hotel was a marvelous setting filled with beautiful weddings that were so much fun to read about. Browne really did an excellent job of picking me up and dropping me right in the midst of Rosie’s life and the bustling life of The Bonneville Hotel.

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Gallery Books in exchange for my honest review***