Bride Needs Groom

What would you do if you were to lose millions if you were not married by the age of thirty?

Marriage? You gotta be kidding; not for Mia! Mia Calogera, the only grand child, stands to lose millions if she does not marry before her grandfather’s birthday in October. He vows to disinherit Mia if she does not marry by age thirty. Mia is the product of a broken family who dumped her on her grandparents as a teenager. Mia’s grandfather is the single highest lottery millionaire winner in New York State. Not only does he feel that Mia needs marriage, but he is going to go to the old country to find her a groom. Being of strong Italian descent Mia is not going to let this happen to her!

Mia decides the only way to escape having an arranged marriage is to marry her internet buddy, Derrick, from Iowa. She plans to have him sign a prenuptial agreement and carry on a temporary platonic relationship until the divorce. Oh, no, she meets an oh, so sexy to die for man on the plane waiting area of JFK Airport. Dominic Chickalini, the Casanova of Queens, is sitting next to her on the flight. Mind you, earlier in the year Mia went to a psychic who predicted she would be married before the year was out to a man whose name began with a “D” and ended with a “K” sound. Who can it be that this psychic predicted: Derrick or Dominic?

When the plane lands in Vegas, Dominic gives Mia a kiss to die for, leaving Mia all dressed in her wedding attire. Mia is in a quandary, will a kiss that melts her bones persuade Mia to change her mind? Mia decides to ditch Derrick after giving him a check as she can not marry him. Derrick takes off with Mia’s carry on in his rental car leaving her stranded in Vegas without money, credit cards or clothes; just the wedding dress she has on! Dominic comes to the rescue when Mia hunts him down at the hotel he is staying at. Will Dominic and Mia end up married as the lust builds up for them, and if so, will their marriage stand the test of time? Can a marriage hold up between them when they make it home to Astoria, Queens?

Raised and surrounded by a strong Italian family, I could totally relate to the issues Mia was going through and the decisions that she made. Bride Needs Groom is a tasty morsel that tempted my reading buds into devouring page after page. Depicting Astoria, Queens in a very accurate life like setting, you could almost taste the pizza and smell the Italian food as it was cooking. The smell brought back familiar happy memories of those Sunday family meals.

The familiar saying “Marry in haste, repent later” is the saying that goes with quick marriages, and Dominic and Mia soon find out the truth of this adage. When both are tested to see if it is love or lust they feel for each other, the reader is kept wondering: will love survive the test? I really enjoyed how Dominic’s character grows from being a play boy to making a change by stepping up to accept the responsibilities and restrictions of being in a relationship. Mia, the pampered Italian princess must learn to compromise and realize that life is not just one big shopping spree.

The roller coaster of love and relationships is never easy, but in Bride Needs Groom, Wendy Markham depicts these struggles in a way that will have you cheering instead of jeering at Mia and Dominic as they come together to work on the speedy “I do not know you” relationship. While Dominic and Mia are attempting to bridge the gap of getting to know each other as hurdle after hurdle takes places going from one thing to the next, I was pleasantly surprised at how well everything was portrayed, enticing and entertaining you without making me bored. Will they be able to make it or just give up as they get to know and cohabitate with each other? I encourage you to read the book, as I was intrigued and unable to put it down.

Reviewed by: Wendi