Vacation Bride

Brides of Paradise, Book 1

By: Vicky Loebel

Narrated by: Emily Beresford

Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

When Anna Williams lands a spot on the Vacation Bride reality show, she's hoping to give her sick father a break from the Milwaukee winter, not win a rich husband. Which is good, because the hunky maintenance man whose broad shoulders and clear blue eyes have caught her attention is neither rich nor part of the contest, is he?

Chris Andersen was a disinherited resort brat until his uncle's family crashed their private helicopter during an argument over money. Now Chris is a secret billionaire, determined to make the Paradise Resort a success on its own. To pay for improvements, he's hosting his cousin's Internet reality series, Vacation Bride, a show where women compete to win a rich husband. The women are silly and the show's a lot of work, but the publicity seems worth it. At least until Chris finds out he may be entering the contest himself as first prize.

©2016 Vicky Loebel (P)2016 Vicky Loebel

Enjoyable Contemporary Romance

I found this laid back romance to be a breath of fresh air. Just the right amount of drama and romance between two down to earth characters.

The narrator did a great job bringing the story to life. It was easy to tell who was talking. The story concludes with a HEA. No cliffhangers!!!

**This audiobook was provided free of charge in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion**

Vacation to remember

What is not to like? Pretty girl taking care of ailing father gets a chance to go to the tropics from Midwest to recover. Said girl meets a down to earth guy who just happens to be a secret billionaire in hiding from his inheritance. Just a short sweet little story nothing grand or horrific happens. No f bomb every other sentence. No, detailed drawn out sex scenes to steam up your reading glasses. Just a sweet story around the crazy reality show that gets her a place on the island. Narrator was good you could easily tell who was speaking and not for the different characters. Enjoyed a lazy afternoon painting while I listened.

Great Read

Any additional comments?

Vacation Bride by Vicky Loebel was a great Read. Anna finds herself on the reality show Vacation Bride. She does it to give her father a vacation, not to gain a rich husband. She meets Chris Anderson and everything changes for her. I loved this book and loved reading Anna and Chris' story.

Charming and fun contemporary romance!

What made the experience of listening to Vacation Bride the most enjoyable?

well voiced story reading, great female characters

What other book might you compare Vacation Bride to and why?

Maybe Patrice Wilton's Paradise Cove series. But Ms. Loebel has more humor and laugh out loud moments.

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

Emily Beresford breathes life into these paper people and makes them feel very multi-dimentional. I think she made the relationship between Anna and Chris and even Anna and the other women so much better

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I nearly lost it when Anna was on the boat and she thought Chris had left her. The Bridezillas were so awful and it is hard to imagine that level of torture - so pretty much everything they did made me cringe and angst my way from scene to scene.

I'm Packing My Bags

Would you consider the audio edition of Vacation Bride to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print edition so I can't compare. But I can say that after listening to the story, I probably won't read the book because I'm not sure I would enjoy it as much. Personally, I would rather listen to the book again than to read it.

What did you like best about this story?

I think what I liked best was that I felt as if I was standing in the background watching the story unfold - both the good times and bad.

What about Emily Beresford’s performance did you like?

She did a great job with the female characters (duh, I know) and in making me feel as if I was a part of the crew, maybe, standing behind the cameras watching the scenes as they reveal themselves.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

If I were to have any extreme reaction it would have to be seeing what a wimp Chris' cousin is and what a b*tch his wife is. But that's also part of the pleasure because you want to see how Chris and Anna are going to handle them. I wouldn't say that this made me cry since I wasn't really that emotionally involved. And I wouldn't say that it made me laugh but I did get a little chuckle out of it.

When I got to see how caring Anna was to her father that did get me a little emotional because I took care of my parents as they got older. I knew exactly what she was going through. I don't know that I would have wanted to be a bachelorette but like Anna I would do just about anything for my dad - even put his needs before my own.

Any additional comments?

When I first started this, I was a little on the fence because I am so not a fan of a certain reality show. Many years ago, I watched the first episode, rolled my eyes, and never watched it again. Not even the after shows. But as I listened to the story Anna had me thinking that maybe all the women aren't as superficial as they appear. I still think that a lot of them have a self-centered reason for putting themselves before the camera but Anna has me thinking that maybe, just maybe, there is one with a slightly different reason.

Chris and Anna had me ready to pack my bags and head to an island in order to experience everything that island has to offer. But if I go to the beach, I'll have to make sure that once I find a comfortable seat that I have plenty to drink and have a lunch and/or snacks available because once I get settled in I'm not moving until this story is finished - yes I would listen to this again. Would also continue to follow the series - looking forward to it.

I voluntarily reviewed an Audiobook copy of this book.

A Beautiful Vacation

Yes! I loved “Vacation Bride” and it truly felt like a vacation. A short one, but still I have spent some amazing 5 hours. Set in an exquisite environment, the reality show that should provide a billionaire with a bride turns into a beautiful story behind the scenes.

Our main characters meet without knowing much about one another and they have a beautiful first date sharing personal things. But they both avoid the most important items: she competes for another man’s heart and he is not a simple maintenance guy.

Anna Williams is only interested in offering her father a vacation at the Paradise Resort and her participation in the reality show offered her a free ticket. Meeting Chris Andersen was an amazing bonus. To her surprise, Chris is the one she has to impress (together with the internet audience) in order to stay at the resort. Chris is ambitious and hard-working. Yes, he may have a fortune but does not want to use that amount. He has created a great business from the Paradise Resort and wants to keep it profitable. He hates the cameras, he doesn’t like the attention and he’s not willing to pick just any girl as a winner. Marriage is out of the question.

I don’t want to tell you the entire story, but Anna and Chris have an honest relationship after all the misunderstandings are cleared. She is innocent and kind and wants nothing to do with the women competing in the show. He wants to help his cousin by taking his spot in “Vacation Bright”, but does not want to risk his relationship with Anna. They are beautiful and strong together.

The author has captured very well the ugly side of Media, where producers are just interested in the audience, focused on intrigue and scandal. I did not like the relationship between Bobby and Chris’s cousin. He could have taken a stand, or at least legal actions, just do something. I think this ruined a bit the story for me. The narration was great! Emily Beresford did an amazing job with all the voices and her participation had a significant contribution to the beautiful experience that was “Vacation Bride”.

So 4 stars and my congratulations to the author and narrator for this lovely audiobook J Happy Listening J

She just wanted a vacation for her dad . . .

Fun, quick read. It had a smile on my face through the read. It was sweet, refreshing and clean. The romance was settle and impactful. When Chris and Anna meet its more than just chemistry. There was a soul deep connection between the two. Neither of them trusting enough to let their guard down or to fully trust the other. Things get complicated pretty quick but like any good romance. These two find their way to each other and it was just beautiful. The mishaps along the way just made it that much more entertaining. The guise of a reality show was just so fun. The scheming behind the scenes was just too fun.

There were good primary and secondary characters. Those you dislike, you disliked with passion. There was a connection to them all from the smallest part to the primary characters. I had a great break from reality and life.

Narrator Review . . . Emily Beresford did a good job. I found a connection the characters through her. She gave distinct voices to each character. She made the words come to life for the short time we were together.

I really enjoyed this book.

Anna Williams best friend has signed up to be on The Vacation Bride reality internet show and won a spot. Problem is she broke her leg and had to have surgery to repair the break. There is no way she can go on the show. She gives her spot to Anna. Anna has no desire to go on the show but she does love the idea of an all expense paid vacation with her Father. Her father has recently had heart surgery, and she is excited to get him out of the Milwaukee winter.

Chris Andersen is a secret billionaire. He was raised as a resort Brat. Now that he is an adult he wants to make his resort the Paradise Resort. His cousin Ryan Anderson has agreed to be the bachelor on Vacation Bride, and internet reality series. Chris has agreed to host the show at Paradise Resort in order to pay for some improvements he wants. Sounds cut and dry right? Nope!! Ryan has eloped and now he cannot be the bachelor. Ryan talks Chris into taking his place.

Anna and Chris have a chance meeting. Anna plays off she is just a resort guest, and Chris plays as the Maintenance man at Paradise Resort. When they both realize they have been deceived by the other they try to be done with each other, problem is sparks have already flown.

Chris is now looking for a way out of being 1st prize in Vacation Bride. Anne and Chris come up with a plan. Where they will all win.

Vicky Loebel has done a great job with this book. I really liked th though and backstories she put into her characters. The book was sweet and clean. There were no strong sex scenes and no strong language. This is book one her new series Brides of Paradise. I will be watching for book 2.

Emily Beresford has also done a great job with the narration of the audiobook. She really brought the characters to life. You could hear the smiles and frowns in her voice. It was a pleasure to listen to her narrate this book. She kept the story flowing nicely and did not bore me with mechanical reading. If felt like she was getting into the story as much as I was.

I was gifted my copy of this book from the Author and AudioBookWorm for review purposes. The thoughts are my own.

Sweet Romance

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this book and provided a voluntary review. This was a great sweet romance. Loved this story.

Vacation Reality Story

Anna wins a spot on Vacation Bride but she really doesn't want it...she's in it for the free vacation for her and her father. When she arrives on Virgin Islands she meets a guy and it's instant chemistry.

Turns out this guy ends up becoming the "bachelor" on the show and Anna has to compete to stay on the show. There are plenty of laughs as the contestants don't hold back trying to win the money and grand prize. secondary characters added to the story without over shadowing Chris and Anna's happily ever after.

The narration on this book was well done and I would recommend this book to someone looking for a cute romance. The secondary characters added to the story without over shadowing Chris and Anna's happily ever after.


I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for my unbiased review.

Feel - good escapism

Listening to this book was fascinating. Chris and Anna met and felt an instant connection. Then the reality show got in the way of their budding relationship. Then it appeared sorted and their romance seemed to be moving along in the right direction, at the right pace. Then something upset the balance again and so on. It was alot like watching a yo-yo going up and down, only with interesting twists.

I liked the characters and found them well suited. The reality show added an element of humour and friction to the story. The HEA was quite satisfying. Overall it was a lovely bit of escapism in a tropical setting, perhaps perfect to inspire a reader to think warm thoughts on a cold winter's day.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.