The Proper Way to Stop a Wedding - Victoria Alexander (HQN - Apr 2017)

Series: Lady Travelers Society (Book .5)

The family of the bride is expected to revel in the joy of the upcoming wedding. Instead, Miss Celia Bromley faces the most heartbreaking dilemma of her life: she's fallen in love with the man engaged to marry her scheming half-sister. Worse, he might love Celia in return. But handsome, bookish Henry Saunders is a man of honour. He would never break his promise to his bride-to-be, no matter how horrid she may be.

Celia’s despair hasn’t escaped the notice of keen-eyed Aunt Guinevere who, along with her crafty friends are determined to see true love triumph. Unravelling a wedding takes a delicate, subtle touch, and in the mad dash to break one engagement and encourage another, the ladies may well hear the whispers of scandal instead of the peal of wedding bells…

Fun little prequel novella to the Lady Traveler Society series. In this story, we get the story that was alluded to in the first book, about Derek's parents and the family "scandal." We also get to see the three founders of the Society in the early years of their antics.

It all starts in a London bookshop, where Henry and Celia meet and connect. They spend a lovely afternoon together, but part without exchanging names. After weeks of being unable to find each other again, both Henry and Celia decide to move on, even though they can't forget each other. Henry meets a beautiful and vivacious young woman and quickly finds himself engaged to be married - though he isn't quite sure how it happened. Imagine his dismay when he discovers that the woman he really wants is his fiancée's younger sister.

I liked Henry and Celia. They are both nice people, to whom family is important. I ached for them both during this week before the wedding, as they are so obviously in love with each other. They are also products of their time. For Henry, once he has given his word, that is it. He won't go back on it, even though he has come to realize that he is making a huge mistake. The more time he spends with Katherine, the more he realizes that he doesn't even like her. Who could blame him? It is painfully obvious that she is marrying him only for his money and his connections. Celia is a sweet young woman who has always felt like an outsider with her two half-sisters. Even so, there is no way that she will do anything to ruin her sister's wedding, even though it means losing the man she loves. But each time that she and Henry are together, they can't help what they feel.

Enter Aunt Gwen and her friends. They have come for the wedding and to help with the last minute arrangements. Being an experienced and observant woman, Gwen is quick to realize that the wedding is happening between the wrong people. She adores her niece, Celia, and is determined to solve the problem facing the two young people. They are delightfully creative and devious and zero in on Katherine's weaknesses. They also have an unexpected and talented partner in Henry's brother Edward, who is the earl. He sees how miserable Henry is, and knows his brother well enough to understand that Henry won't end the engagement. He joins forces with the ladies to come up with a plan that will make Katherine the one to call it off. Katherine is a hard nut to crack though, and it takes a brilliant move by Edward to provide the last push. Their efforts were great fun to see.

The only disappointment is that, in reading this after The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentlemen, I already knew the fates of Henry and Celia. This put a little bit of a damper on their happy ever after.