Runaway Groom: An exciting romance from the author of The Prenup!

Yes, yes, yes. The last couple of books I have read by Lauren Layne didn't really do it for me. They were okay, just not the sexy, witty, charming, glamorous novels I have come to expect from her. I was starting to worry that either I had gone off her writing, or that (even worse) she had started to write books that were just too similar to her other ones. But, against my instincts I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I pre-ordered this one and - good choice. Gage Barrett is a bona fide film star. In a fit of something after finding out his brother and his ex-girlfriend have had a baby, he agrees to go on a reality TV show (a la The Bachelor) in which he choose a potential bride. He has been chosen because he has been engaged twice and both engagements were broken off ON THE DAY OF THE WEDDING. Ellie Wright is an entrepreneur, she and her friend Marjorie have set up a designer t-shirt business that caters for women's figures, they are doing well but need more exposure and Marjorie thinks that the sort of viral marketing they could get from Ellie appearing on the reality TV show. Ellie is press-ganged into appearing after Marjorie (and her mother) apply on her behalf. Her intention is just to appear once and get voted off on the first day. Despite being a rugged, handsome, action movie star Gage is pretty down to earth, all these years later he is still hurt that his girlfriend would dump him when he was on the verge of making the big-time and choose his brother over him. All the high-maintenance, "pick-me, pick-me" women on the show grate on his nerves and Ellie stands out as a beacon of normality. At their first meeting Ellie is the only contestant dressed in jeans, t-shirt (of course) and flip-flops, all the others have gone the cocktail dress route. Gage and Ellie become friends and he agrees to vote her off the show, but each time there's a reason why he chooses someone else. By day he goes on group dates with the contestants (breakfast with one group, lunch with another) but by night he and Ellie text on contraband phones and meet up in a cleaner's closet. But world famous movie stars don't fall for ordinary women in real life, do they? This was Lauren Layne at her sparkling best. The dialogue was witty, yet believable, the main characters were realistic and endearingly down-to-earth, the other contestants were, by and large, nutty as a fruit cake (which strangely often doesn't have any nuts in it). Loved it.

Original concept.