~ Blog Blitz: It’s My Party – Review ~

Welcome to my post for the It’s My Party (Seven Brides for Seven Mothers #3) Book Blitz by Whitney Dineen!

High off her success of playing matchmaker for both of her sons, lodge owner Ruby Cavanaugh decides to try her hand pairing other eligible singles–starting with her executive chef and her new event coordinator.

Party planner Claire Choate has a cheating boyfriend who also happens to be her boss. After visiting Oregon for her brother’s wedding–which didn’t even happen–Claire is offered a job that gets her out of LA for good. How can she pass up an opportunity like that?

Even though he has little time for a social life, executive chef Geoffrey Bere loves his job. After a past complication left him gun shy about workplace entanglements, he lives by a strict, “no dating co-workers” policy. But when Claire Choate arrives on the scene, he finds himself ready to break his own rule.

Will Ruby cement her reputation as matchmaker extraordinaire or will Claire and Geoffrey prove too much of a challenge for even her?

Find out in this deliciously fun third installment of Seven Brides for Seven Mothers!

You Can Purchase the Book: Amazon(US) / Amazon (UK)

---

---

After the success of lodge owner, Ruby Cavanaugh, setting up her sons, Brogan with Addison (Book #1) and James with Tara (Book #2), she has her sights set on continuing to use her matchmaking skills. It’s My Party now focuses on Ruby’s newest employee and the lodge’s chef. Similar to the other novels, this one can technically be read as a standalone. The series features a new potential couple each time as their mothers or bosses set them up.  The characters are always a joy to read about and the stories are extremely sweet. They are excellent escapist novels that make you want to move to a nice cozy small town.

Claire is a 29-year-old who is fresh off her break-up with her boyfriend in Los Angeles after he cheated on her. She has accepted a job as the event coordinator at Willamette Valley Lodge in Spartan, Oregon. She is ready for this change from the bustling city to the quiet rural life away from her previous life. In addition to her love life being in shambles, she has an identity crisis trying to separate herself from her music royalty family. Her family are either famous singers or songwriters and Claire has no interest in the music industry. She wants people to like her for her and not for her connections to her family.

Geoffrey is the head chef at the lodge and he has a secret that he can no longer hide as he is two months away from his 30^th birthday. He made an agreement years ago, that ends on his 30^th birthday and time is now ticking away. No one at the lodge knows his true self and he would like to keep it that way for as long as possible. To the reader, this “secret” is stated extremely early in the novel, but to the characters, Geoffrey prefers to keep them in the dark for as long as he can. The story features his inner turmoil about this once he meets Claire, after an initial meeting in Book 2. Now that Ruby and Claire’s mom, Sharon, have their sights set on setting up Geoffrey and Claire, Geoffrey now has to struggle with his want of Claire and the secret he is trying to hide.

The story is fairly fast-paced as the two characters work together on various events at the lodge. They also end up living close to each other, meaning that there are more opportunities for the “mothers” to meddle in their love lives. The two characters have great banter and chemistry and it is a roller coaster experiencing their will-they-won’t-they as there are reasons for each of them why pursing a relationship would not work. Instead, they try to be friends to satisfy those that tried to set them up and the fact that they like being around each other. The reader can feel Claire’s frustration as Geoffrey keeps his main secret from her yet he wants them to be together. It also does not help that some members of his family is pushing him to go for it while others are telling him not to.

The two characters guess early on that everyone is trying to set them up, so it was nice to see that they worked on a plan together to satisfy all parties involved, as much as possible. The only problem is that they both have many of their own issues that they are working with on top of their attraction to each other. It can get frustrating why these two characters cannot just open up to each other and openly discuss everything. This way they can make an informed decision together rather than speculate what the other will think. It is common in stories of this genre, so I do not think of this as a negative trait and instead enjoy that it was done well as you can read about the inner thoughts of both characters.

I cannot wait to read the fourth featuring Claire’s sister, Lu, and her potential love match in Geoffrey’s brother, Allister. Not only do these two seem like they will be a fun couple to feature, but also I hope to learn more about Malquar. This series has a lot of humor and heart mixed together to make enjoyable tales. The characters all interact in a natural way as almost all of them work together at the same lodge. I greatly enjoy reading this novel and I cannot wait to read more from this author!

**I give a special thank you to Giselle with Xpresso Book Tours for the opportunity to participate in the book blitz with this excellent novel with author, Whitney Dineen. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**

Enter the Giveaway for a 2x $25 Amazon gift cards: [Ends March 25th]