I
only discovered J.R. Ward a few years ago when a friend introduced me
to her Black Dagger Brotherhood Series. I immediately liked the
storyline and the author’s writing style. So when I found out about
her upcoming series, I was intrigued. She is starting a new
firefighter series and the first book, Consumed releases
on October 9, 2018. To wet your appetite for the upcoming release,
the author is
releasing a group of
three-part ebook prequels!!
Keep reading to find out more about part
one, The Rehearsal
Dinner (The Wedding From Hell #1).
Part
1: The Rehearsal Dinner
by
J.R. Ward
Available:
July 17, 2018
Gallery
Books | E-book Original
ISBN:
9781982105365 | Free
Don’t
miss #1 New
York Times bestselling
author J.R. Ward’s three-part ebook serialization: The
Wedding From Hell.
This exclusive prequel to her upcoming standalone suspense
Consumed(available
in Fall 2018)
takes
us back to where it all started between arson investigator Anne
Ashburn and ‘bad boy’ firefighter Danny Maguire. The
Wedding From Hell is
a sexy standalone novella that sets up Consumed’s
storyline, leaving fans hungry for more and dying to snatch it up.
About
the Book:
It’s
a classic recipe for disaster: Take one bridesmaid who thinks pink is
the root of all evil, mix with a best man who’s hotter than a
four-alarm fire, add in their explosive sexual attraction, a
nightmare bridezilla, two cat fights, and an emergency call, and you
have the wedding from hell.
Experience the sizzling start of Anne and Danny’s intense relationship. Is this the start of something good...or just an erotic one-night stand that rocks their world, but must never be repeated?
Experience the sizzling start of Anne and Danny’s intense relationship. Is this the start of something good...or just an erotic one-night stand that rocks their world, but must never be repeated?
About
the Author:
J.R.
Ward is the author of more than thirty novels, including those in her
#1 New
York Times bestselling
Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There are more than fifteen million
copies of her novels in print worldwide, and they have been published
in twenty-six different countries around the world. She lives in the
South with her family.
Buy the book:
http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Wedding-from-Hell-Part-1-The-Rehearsal-Dinner/J-R-Ward/9781982105365
http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Wedding-from-Hell-Part-1-The-Rehearsal-Dinner/J-R-Ward/9781982105365
Video
from J.R. Ward:
Excerpt:
Thursday,
October 29
T
minus 48 hours ’til blastoff
College
Row, New Brunswick, Massachusetts
Because
women are not frickin’ groomsmen! That’s why she can’t be in
the goddamn wedding!”
As
Anne Ashburn walked in the back door of the shotgun apartment, that
happy little explosion was not only what she’d expected all along,
it also offered her the out she’d been praying for. And it was
probably the one and only time she was ever going to agree with the
bride.
Not
about the role of females in bridal parties, but that Anne wasn’t
going to be in the “goddamn wedding.”
Everyone
standing in the kitchen turned and looked at her: Deandra Cox, the
impending wearer of the white dress; Robert “Moose” Miller, her
exhausted fiancé and Anne’s fellow crew member down at the 499 fi
rehouse; and...Dannyboy Maguire.
Who
was the only one she really noticed and, for that reason, the person
she refused to look at.
Too
bad Danny always made an impression. Like most firefighters, he was
in great physical shape, his big body thickly muscled and ready to
snap into motion in an instant. With his heavy arms linked over that
chest and his long legs crossed at the boots, he was leaning back
against the chipped countertop, his too-blue stare missing nothing.
He was fresh from a shower, his glossy black hair wet, and Anne tried
not to picture him naked under the spray, his tattooed torso arching
as he rinsed the shampoo out of his—
She
put her hands up to stop herself as much as the argument. “Look, I
don’t want to cause any problems. I’m happy to step aside—”
“And
now I have one too many bridesmaids.” The bride-to-be refocused on
her intended. “My count is wrong. You wait until two days before
the wedding to tell me this when you know I’m not going to like it,
and now my count is off!”
As
the groom focused on the linoleum floor, it was impossible not to
picture a wax version of the couple on a multi-tiered cake: Deandra
in skinny jeans and that tight cashmere sweater, her dark hair
streaked blond, her body cocked forward like she was going to
throat-punch the man she was going to marry; Moose in his New
Brunswick Fire Department T-shirt, all broad-shouldered and bearded
around the face, easing back like someone with the flu was about to
sneeze in his face.
Ah,
true love.
“I
didn’t think it was a big deal,” Moose muttered. “Anne’s a
member of the four-nine-nine crew, and everyone else is with me.”
“She’s
a girl.” Deandra pointed at Anne. “It throws off everything.”
“I
really don’t want to cause any problems.” Anne put her hands up
again. “So I’ll just be in the congregation. It’s perfectly
fine—”
Deandra’s
glare swung Anne’s way. “The count is still wrong. And my friends
have already paid for their dresses. They were a hundred and twenty
dollars apiece.”
And
that’s my cue to go, Anne thought. Moose may have volunteered for
this, but no one else had or needed to—
“I
think women can be whatever they want.”
As
Danny spoke up, everyone looked at him—including Anne, who suddenly
felt shades of what Deandra was throwing out.
Don’t
you dare, she mouthed at him behind the bride’s back.
Danny
just shrugged like he’d thrown on a pantsuit and was channeling
Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Hillary Clinton all at once. “I mean,
Deandra, you’re above all that sexism, aren’t you? No one’s
going to tell you what’s right and wrong for your own wedding.
You’re more secure than that.”
I
am going to kill you, Anne vowed. “I think Deandra wants things
done properly for her only wedding.”
Danny
frowned in pseudo-confusion. “So you’re saying it’s okay to
have a double standard for men and women? That’s a shocker given
how you are at the station. I thought you believed in equality.”
“I
do,” Anne snapped. “But this isn’t about equality.”
“You
sure? I don’t know how you can support traditional gender roles
when it comes to a wedding ceremony at the same time you defend the
right for women to be firefighters, cops, and on the front lines in
the military.”
“Spare
me someone who’s never been in a dress having an opinion about
women’s issues, okay?”
“I’m
just pointing out that you don’t want women out of dresses.”
“It’s
her wedding.” Anne jabbed a finger at Deandra. “She’s the
bride. She gets to say what’s right and wrong for her, and she does
not need some man telling her what to do.”
“Even
if I’m defending the rights of women?”
“Until
you grow a set of ovaries, you can shut the hell up about our
rights!”
As
Anne’s voice ricocheted around the kitchen, she realized that she’d
marched right up to Danny—and that Deandra and Moose were watching
the two of them in total stillness.
She
cleared her throat and took a step back. “Anyway, Deandra’s made
up her mind. And I support her decision.”
Deandra’s
eyes narrowed on Danny, and something about the way the woman looked
at him didn’t seem right.
“Actually,”
the bride said, “maybe she should be in the wedding party.”
Anne
prayed her expression stayed neutral. “Don’t compromise your
vision on my account.”
“I
won’t.” The woman stared at Danny. “Fine. Let’s put her in a
tuxedo like the rest of the men. She can walk my sister down the
aisle, just like a man should. Her shoulders are too big for a gown,
anyway, and that way my count stays the way it should.”
Anne
rolled her eyes. Let’s hear it for girl power.
“So
it’s settled,” Deandra said with a tight smile. “You need a
tux. Unless you already own one.”
For
a moment, Anne waited for somebody to argue with the woman. Like
Moose. But he was clearly done falling on swords over the wedding
details, and Danny had just gotten what he wanted so he wasn’t
going to say a damn thing.
And
the truth was, after how many years of fighting fires with these men,
they were her brothers in all but blood. Even though she thought
Moose had lost his ever-loving mind marrying this beautiful but sour
woman after knowing her for a matter of months, Anne was still going
to stand up for the guy if he wanted her to—and he did. He’d
asked her down at the station-house specifically.
“Where
did you guys rent your suits?” Anne said to him.
“Tuxedoes,”
Deandra corrected.
The
groom blinked like he’d forgotten how to speak English. Then again,
he’d been doing that a lot at the firehouse lately. “You’re
actually going to wear one?”
“What
the hell do I care?”
“Yes,
she is wearing one,” Deandra cut in.
Danny
spoke up. “I’ll go with you. I know where the place is.”
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