The Bridesmaid's Reward

by Liz Fielding

Book Overview

This time a bridesmaid...Dodie has just been asked to be chief bridesmaid at her sister's huge celebrity wedding! She's always felt inadequate next to her slim, beautiful, famous sisterso there's only... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 037303749X
• ISBN13: 9780373037490
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Harlequin
• Length: 185 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.4" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

The Bridesmaid’s Reward

I been looking forward to reading this book. And I enjoy reading this series of What Women Want ! . And I enjoy the characters and their story they are telling me too.

Very cute

This is the very sweet story of Dodie, an overweight woman with more emotional baggage than anyone cares to handle, and Brad, a multimillionar, ex-rugby player who has his own demons to handle as well.Dodie, suddenly needs to shed two dress sizes in order to fit into the bridesmaid's dress for her sister's (a popular actress) wedding. So she enlists the help of her best friend. Problem is her best friend,Gina, is on her way to the US for business. So she appoints Dodie's case to Angie, one of the trainners in the gym Gina's a manager. Dodie accepts although reluctantly. Problem again is that Angie is sent to the hospital in an emergency. Brad owns the gyms, but is somewhat bored so he decides to wrok at Gina's particular gym in order to know how she's doing and to get "down and dirty" with regular work. So when Dodie, literally, falls on his arms, he decides to take her case without her knowing who he really is.From there the story evolves as well as their relationship. Brad is only used to date stick figures (model types) and Dodie has a serious problem with chocolate (I never thought anyone could eat too much chocolate, but this woman gives the word addiction a whole new meaning). Brad finds that his attraction for Dodie grows stronger by the minute, but can not explain it. Dodie and Brad had to fight their own battles in order to conquer their fears and be together. The main problem is Dodie and her lack of self respect, but the beauty of the story is how Brad doesn't baby her, yet he gives her her self respect back little by little. Along the way, he finds that she is just perfect the way she is, and he wouldn't have her any other way. One of the things I really liked was that she didn't become super thin overnight, as a matter of fact she wasn't even close to her goal, yet she was confident in her own skin towards the end of the book.There's no love scene here, really, however there are some very sweet and slightly warm-hot scenes.Definitely recomend the book, however be advised, the book is Australian (author) so certain things are spelled differently, and the dialogue is not in "regular" (U.S.) quotation marks.All in all, good, fast read. Very empowering, and I seriously hope to find the Brad of my life.

FABULOUS BOOK!

I've loved Liz Fielding's writing for a while now, and each one gets better than the last. The early banter-dialogue between hero and heroine (who's a real pip!) is superb. I never knew there were so many wonderful ways to describe a man's smile. I dare say this is a story without a conflict and I LOVED it--perhaps BECAUSE it didn't have something trite or misunderstood or some past hurt standing in their way of falling for each other. And with such a well-written, satisfying ending. It's a simple yet unique tale of a growing love between two great people and isn't that what romance is all about? Don't even stop writing, Liz!

Don't let the cover art fool you!

Dodie doesn't become a sleek, carbon copy of her actress sister, and she doesn't have to in order to leave Brad smitten. He's a great character and it always improves the story when we get the male perspective.

Will The Trainer Get His Reward?

Sister to world class actress Natasha Layton, Dodie has a crisis on her hands. She's been cast in the role of chief bridesmaid for her sister's celebrity wedding of the century at Melchester Castle, and she needs to lose two dress sizes before the big day.With less than six weeks to do it, Dodie runs to her best friend, a personal trainer. But when Gina has to be in LA and the substitute has a sudden attack of appendicitis, what's Dodie to do?Enter Brad Morgan, ex-rugby player, multi-millionaire owner of the spa where Gina works, and obviously part time psychologist. During the time he and Dodie are together, he fails to share his ownership of the spa, and forces her to listen to herself and to her heart. He digs into the reasons she uses chocolate as her "designated comfort food" and shows her the REAL Dodie is more special than any actress in the world.Brad also learns by teaching Dodie that his own heart, which has been locked in a self-made freezer, is melting as he falls head over heels for The Bridesmaid's Reward. Compassionate characterizations live in Ms. Fielding's books, this is one you really are obliged to read before that big wedding. Buy it now!

Don't miss this one!

Heroine: pleasingly plump/voluptuous Textile artist Dodie Layton is under orders from her mother to drop 2 dress sizes in six weeks, or risk losing the chance of being Maid of Honor at her sister's celebrity-studded wedding. Desperate for a workable weight-loss scheme, Dodie will do anything to metamorphose from a dumpy dowd into a voluptuous vixen. Even if it means living on nothing but her mother's cabbage soup, she'll do whatever it takes for her philandering ex to see her looking devastatingly gorgeous on the arm of sexy actor and best man Charles Grey in the celebrity magazine photos of the wedding. Realizing she can't pull this miracle off on her own, Dodie makes a panic-stricken call to her best friend Gina, a gym manager, and begs her to whip her into shape. The two cut a deal: artwork for the spa's reception area in exchange for a healthier body in a hurry. Pro-rugby-player-turned CEO Brad Morgan is always hungry for a challenge, whether it's developing a new sports and leisure center or just pushing his injured body to maintain its professional level of fitness. Deciding to check up on his latest and most expensive project, Lake Spa, he's prepared to finally take a well-deserved working vacation. But while there, Brad crosses paths with a frumpy artist-type who has a rush need for a personal trainer. When the health club worker assigned to her falls ill, he jumps at the chance to take on the job. Brad is supposed to be whittling Dodie down in time for the big day, but he finds he likes her generous curves, her softness. He's drawn to them, to her dimpled smile, and her deep dark eyes. Theirs is supposed to be a short-term business relationship, yet he wants so much more. How can Brad make Dodie believe that he wants her as she is, when she doesn't even know the truth about who he is? What worked for me: I really appreciated the quiet humor throughout the story, and found that Dodie and Brad were very likeable people with a terrific chemistry between them. I hated to leave them at the end of the book. Size-wise Dodie was a bit plump and thought she needed to lose some weight, but all she truly needed was to bolster her self-esteem and gain some self-respect. (In the end, she toned up some, but she didn't drop the dress sizes like she'd originally planned.)What didn't work for me: We didn't see much of them, but the mum and the ex-boyfriend were easy to hate. I know it's a petty wish on my part, but I would have loved to have had more time dedicated to Dodie's newfound happiness being rubbed in their faces!Overall: This charming, well-written story was as delicious as the chocolate Dodie craved! Anyone who delights in contemporary romances with a British flavor should enjoy this one.If you liked "The Bridesmaid's Reward" you might also enjoy "The Course of True Love", "Born to be Wild", "More to Love", "Runaway Bay", "Blushing Pink", "His Seductive Revenge", "Carried Away", "His E-mail Order Wife", "Dear Cupid", "Plum Girl", "Spellbound