Tara Douglas has been waiting for a chance to get revenge on the girl who made her life hell for years. Now, thanks to the popular Whose Bride Is She Anyway? reality TV show, Tara may finally get her chance. Twelve years ago, Kelsey Little was responsible for the most humiliating experience of Tara’s life, an experience Tara has never gotten over. Kelsey was head of the cheerleading squad, the most popular girl in school and the biggest bully you would hope never to get in the firing line of. Now, she is the bride on Whose Bride Is She Anyway?, and Tara is auditioning for jury foreman. Tara has the perfect revenge in mind: manipulate the jury into choosing the worst groom possible for Kelsey, who will then have to marry him and stay with him for a year if she wants to get her hands on the prize money of $1 million. Tara gets the place, but immediately her plans start to go awry. She needs to leave for a secret, remote island straight away, she is fiercely attracted to one of the contestants (August Guthrie) and she is getting a major guilt trip with the wheels of her plan barely set in motion. Kelsey is still the bitch she was in high school, she just has more cellulite and a bigger ass. Tara, on the other hand, is much better looking and unrecognisable from the overweight girl she used to be. But will Kelsey recognise her? Will her plan be found out, and Tara kicked off the island? Will Tara manage to resist her attraction to August? Failing that, is there a way they could get together with all of the cameras around and their iron clad contracts forbidding fraternisation between them?

August Guthrie has never forgotten the object of his high school lust, Kelsey Little, the girl he never had and never had the chance of getting. He was the geek who helped her pass in English; she was Miss Popular who didn’t even know he existed. Now she is the bride on Whose Bride Is She Anyway?, and his best friend Greg has triple dog dared him to try out for the show so he can find out if the Kelsey of his memory could be the woman of his dreams. It is not long into the series - nearly right off the bat, actually - that he realises that rather than being what dreams are made of, Kelsey is a blonde nightmare come to life. This realisation is aided by his intense attraction to the jury forewoman, Tara Douglas. Never before has he been drawn to a woman so strongly that he cannot resist the pull, even though giving in to the attraction would make both of them bankrupt, sued and media fodder. To just what lengths does August need to go in order to get close to Tara? Is there any way out of their predicament?

Whose Bride Is She Anyway? is a romantic comedy gem. You will be laughing at the characters antics, as well as the misfortune that befalls some of the characters. One of the things I love most about this tale is the way the author’s personality shines through. Those of you who have had contact with the author through one form or another will most definitely recognise her voice as you read this tale, and for those of you who haven’t yet…well, you’ll get an inkling of what to expect when you finally do. August and Tara are definitely in a pickle. An irresistible attraction between them, an ironclad contract forbidding them from any kind of communication, let alone of the physical, sweaty variety. As the reader, you can see no way out for the characters, and you most certainly cannot foresee where Ms. Dakota’s vivid imagination is going to take you. If you are not hooked yet, Whose Bride Is She Anyway? will ensure that before you are finished, you will be. This is a great read that I am positive you will enjoy. I sure did!


Reviewed by: Elizabeth