It Happened One Wedding

By: Julie James

Narrated by: Karen White

Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

After a humiliating end to her engagement, investment banker Sidney Sinclair is done with commitment-phobic men. But when her sister winds up engaged after a whirlwind courtship, Sidney is thrown into close contact with exactly the kind of sexy playboy she wants to avoid - the gorgeous best man. She's stuck with him, for better or worse, until her sister walks down the aisle, but that doesn't mean she has to give in to his smooth advances, no matter how tempting they are.... Special agent Vaughn Roberts always gets his man on the job and his woman in bed. So Sidney's refusal to fall for his charms only makes him more determined to win over the cool and confident redhead. Only what starts out as a battle of wills ends up as a serious play for her heart. Because the one woman who refuses to be caught may be the only one Vaughn can't live without.

©2014 Julie James (P)2014 Tantor

Almost Perfect

I loved practically everything about this romantic tale. It's the story of two folk in their 30s coming together after disliking each other. The romance unfolds perfectly; there was no rushing nor the constant pushing and pulling against what they want. That's not to say that the coming together was without angst; it was there but appropriately so. I also liked that the h, Sidney, was the white-collar employee who made lots of money, while the H, Vaughn, was a basic, blue-collar FBI agent. And there was only one perfect family but not so much drama that you're weighed down by it and find a HEA hard to envision. To add to the great mix of romance, lil' angst, and good sex--about 2 sex scenes--there was the perfect amount of light humor.

The only reason this story is not a 5 for me is that I generally like more struggle or an element of darkness to a story. So this light romance was super smile-worthy, but I only want so much of it at a time. Still, I look forward to my next Julie James book. It was great.

5 people found this helpful

Best story yet

It's been a few months since I last listened to a Julie James novel and this one reminded me why I just love this author. Her characters are real, the dialog is laugh out loud one minute then makes your chest tighten the next, and the stories make you want to stay in the car until you finish the book. Karen White does a great job narrating, with a perfect sense of timing when delivering a witty phrase. She also does a very good job distinguishing voices, and avoids that annoying gruff whisper that some female narrators use when trying to express a male voice. If I could give this a 6 I would!

4 people found this helpful

Loved the book and really loved the audiobook!

What made the experience of listening to It Happened One Wedding the most enjoyable?

The narrator does such a great job capturing the humor in this book while keeping the romance hot, hot, hot! Her voice characterizations are perfect.

What was one of the most memorable moments of It Happened One Wedding?

One of my favorite parts is when she is describing the trip to the Robinson's house and all of the craziness associated with Izzy's pregnancy. I also really loved when Vaughn tracked down the wedding memento for Sidney.

Which character – as performed by Karen White – was your favorite?

I love how she does Vaughn-snarky but nice, throwing out the pick up lines and then being a cuddly guy. A perfect representation of the dichotomy that is Vaughn.

2 people found this helpful

This is what a contemporary romance should be!

Where does It Happened One Wedding rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book is way at the top for contemporary romances I've listened to. It felt fresh and modern, witty and relevant.

What was one of the most memorable moments of It Happened One Wedding?

The scene in the beginning when Sidney is telling Vaughn exactly the type of man he is. That girl chewed him up and spat him out in such a elegant and accurate way, you couldn't help but feel bad for him. Then Vaughn turns around and sets her down in just as classy a way you knew he could keep up with her!

What does Karen White bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She has the perfect sense of timing for the funny moments as well the serious ones. You can see the characters individual quirks when she performs them. There is never the feeling the narrator didn't get the story with White.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Love happens, even when you think you aren't looking.

Any additional comments?

I love the combo of James and White so much the audiobooks are an auto buy for me. There is no James without White!

2 people found this helpful

A Pleasant Surprise.

It Happened One Wedding by Julie James (Audio Edition)
Narrated by Karen White
FBI-US Attorney Series #5

4 Stars - I found the book started off a bit slow (but perhaps this was just me getting used to the narrator’s style) soon enough however, the story picked up I really started to enjoy it and it kept me wanting to get back to it. Vaughn and Sydney had wonderful chemistry. I loved watching them fall in love with each other. The characters were funny, sweet, sarcastic and the writing was good. This was the first time I have read this author and I was pleasantly surprised.

The only negative for me was the narrator. I found her manner of speaking quite jilted. Sometimes it was smooth and flowed other times not so much. By the middle to end of the book I assume I had just gotten used to it because I didn’t notice it as much.

I have a feeling I will check out other books by this author!

~Paragraphs and Petticoats~

1 person found this helpful

Outstandingly Well Written, Romance + FBI Action

First we have Sidney Sinclair who has been burned by her cheating ex-fiance and has moved back to Chicago from NYC after calling off their wedding. She's trying to get back into the dating world, but she was so blindsided by her then-fiance's affair, that she feels she has to get better at weeding out the bad apples - the guys who aren't really looking or ready for a long-term, committed relationship. What better way to do so than by having an incredibly long checklist? Only Mr. Perfect can get get through all those requirements.

It gets even better when Sidney totally rejects FBI Agent Vaughn Roberts during their meet cute at a coffee shop. He's cocky and openly flaunts his FBI badassness. She can instantly tell he sleeps around and isn't looking for anything serious. Her snark and ability to see right through Vaughn has him totally annoyed, but totally turned on. His dry sense of humor made me want to keep reading. I loved the opening to this book so much!!

And while the two of them thought they would never see each other again, they are forced to play nice for the next few months. As Vaughn goes undercover, we also get to catch up a bit with Huxley and Cade from the series.

The way these words are written is incredible. It's easy to follow, it flows well. James writes at a higher level of quality, but not so much that not every reader couldn't follow it or enjoy it. And the amount of detail she includes with some of the back stories, or job specific information, just awed me. I can only imagine the amount of research the author would have to do to make it such a well-rounded, believable story. Nicely done for book 5 in this series.

1 person found this helpful

Solid B Romance with Snark

What I liked best about It Happened One Wedding was Sydney, a smart woman in her early 30s. Sydney wasn't wallowing in self pity because her ex-fiancé was a jerk but taking steps to get want she wanted in life. Sydney had lost her mother as a child to cancer, her father was a self absorbed snob, and she had helped to raise her younger sister. Regardless, Sydney turned out to be kind, funny and generous, while not taking crap from anyone.

What I liked least about this book was the character of Vaughn, a hard-working FBI agent. He had many admirable traits: good son, loyal brother, brave public servant. However, at the age of 35, Vaughn had NEVER been in a serious relationship and was still picking up strangers in bars for meaningless sex. Not my idea of Prince Charming!

There were some very entertaining parts when Vaughn & Sydney first met and were forced to spend time together. Vaughn was rather bossy, but treated Sydney with respect and thoughtfulness (not violence or condescending). This well written story had lots of snarky comments, humorous situations and warm moments. If Vaughn had been less of a man whore and more emotionally mature, I would have given this book an A+.

1 person found this helpful

Lighthearted

Lighthearted and funny book. Recommend it for an easy and enjoyable afternoon of reading or beach read.

not as good as the previous ones

the previous ones were much better IMOP
this one just lacked a bit of oomph

Great ending!

We've gotten to know Special Agent Vaughn Roberts as a side character in previous books. He's a good looking FBI agent who knows the draw he has on women and he's enjoying every bit of it. Vaughn is your typical commitment phobe man who doesn't see why he would confine himself to one woman when there are so many out there to enjoy.

Investment banker Sidney Sinclair just came off a very bad breakup when she found out her fiance was cheating on her three weeks before their wedding. His excuse was he panicked about the commitment. As you can imagine, Vaughn would be the last guy she needs in her life after that. These two are constantly thrown together since Sidney's sister is marrying Vaughn's brother.

I gotta say, this is one of those books where the last half made all the difference for me. At first, I didn't think very highly of Vaughn and his way of thinking. He didn't want to be judged for not wanting to commit and yet I felt like he judged Sidney because she did want that. Between that and the bickering back and forth, I was glad to see the dynamic change between these two.

Once Sidney and Vaughn gave into their mutual attraction, the more I really enjoyed their story. By the end I was hooked. While this may not have been my favorite way for a couple to start out, I was very much entertained throughout the book.