"Fools Rush In" by Janice Thompson

As I've mentioned before, I have an insider track on weddings and I love being part of them. When this book was recommended to me because it starred a wedding planner and a quirky plot, I was very excited to read it. Honestly, weddings and books have one thing in common: you never quite know what's going to happen when you dive in!

Bella Rossi comes from a stereotypical Italian family, and she's way out of her comfort zone in planning a wedding with a Boot-Scootin' western theme. She's just inherited the wedding planning business from her parents, and this is her first solo job. Knowing nothing about country music, she decides to find a deejay who can help her select music and get a better picture of the country western scene.

I had issues with this book immediately. It states right off the bat that we're "less than two weeks" from the wedding, and yet Bella is only just starting to find vendors and shop for decorations. That's ridiculous. Even though it's said that it's a last-minute wedding, no one does it that last-minute and expects good results! I know I'm obsessive about details and having a working plan in place, but by the time you reach two weeks before the wedding, there's nothing that's not already carefully lined up and ready to go. You can't be ordering things off eBay at that date, or just starting to plan the reception. You just can't. Although Bella is understandably nervous to be doing her first wedding on her own, the level of anxiety is rather absurd when you consider she's been helping her parents for years. To be in charge of a wedding you have to have confidence. Had I been this bride, I would have fired Bella and never recommended her to anyone. It was that bad.

Bella is supposed to be 29 years old, and most of the main characters seem to be around the same age. Yet they speak and act like they're teenagers. There's a lack of maturity that drove this reader crazy. That might have been passable if they were 18, but they weren't. The emotions were very unrealistic for this group of people.

The spiritual side of the novel seemed forced. The few genuine moments involved Bella's aunt, not Bella herself. There is a crazy side-plot about a parrot that seems to indicate that animals can come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and become witnesses for Him. That's just bad theology and a waste of everyone's reading time.

The title of the book is the best commentary I can give on recommending it. These things I've mentioned here are only the most major of the problems I had with it, and I could go on if I wanted. Needless to say, I won't worry about finding a place for this book on my crowded shelves. Go watch an episode of "Cake Boss" if you want to see a more realistic portrayal of an Italian family running their own business.