When we left Once Upon a Wedding at the end of its third chapter the plot had become fully formed, with little for Stacy Connelly left to write except the remaining forty thousand words. Kelsey Wilson had begun her career as a wedding planner and independent businesswoman. Her first client was her socialite cousin, Emily, whose ceremony to Todd Dunworthy would have to run smoothly if Kelsey would ever become a success and win the approval of her aunt, uncle and the deceased mother she hardly knew. There was only one problem, and that arrived in the masculine shape of Connor McClane, Emily's bad boy ex-boyfriend, who seemed intent on breaking up the wedding and being handsome. Aunt Charlene sensed trouble and sent Kelsey to dispel Connor back to under the rock he crawled out from. Naturally, plans went awry as Kelsey has always been a sucker for gorgeous men wearing sunglasses and comfortable jeans. Equally, Connor became smitten with Kelsey, because Connelly needed him to be, and all of a sudden the game was afoot, with mysterious pasts, hidden neuroses and life-changing secrets ready to shatter the happiness no one particularly felt.
Kelsey cannot fall in love with Connor, even though she already has, not when he continues to romantically pursue Emily, even though he isn't. Meanwhile, Connor cannot fall in love with Kelsey, even though he already has, not when she is the one coordinating Emily's wedding, even though that hardly seems important. What Connor should be concentrating on is proving Todd is unsuitable for Emily, just as Connor himself was all those years ago. Wanting to keep him within her sights, for any number of reasons, Kelsey tags along on several stake-outs, which all lead nowhere. Fortunately for the plot, Connor has sent his colleague to Florida to find out what happened to a former Dunworthy maid, and with actual plot developments taking place elsewhere, Connor and Kelsey can concentrate on staring at one another swooning. In terms of inner conflict there are a couple of contrivances for the hero and heroine to overcome, but with both problems simply solved by an honest conversation there is plenty of time for hot dinners, the wearing of hot clothes, the arranging of flowers, sex, decorating offices and sitting in cars looking at buildings while sweating.
Kelsey must accept her place alongside her two cousins, as part of the family and no longer as the ugly duckling who doesn't belong. However, this listless form of self-loathing is easily defeated once a desirable man shows an interest, empowering her to become the woman that man allows her to be. Furthermore, Kelsey must stop vilifying her Uncle for the callous way with which he treated his sister, Kelsey's mother. This inconsequential issue is resolved with one statement and a brief explanation of the statement, at which point life seems grand for the Wilson Family. Connor, meanwhile, has his own sad story to tell, and tell it he probably should. After all, in all likelihood Kelsey will never forgive him for his past sins, and their relationship will be over before it has even begun. Ingenuous as always, Connor has the sense to wait until after sex and someone else revealing the truth before he comes clean. Of course, Kelsey realises his accepting of a bribe was the honourable and selfless thing to do, because it isn't stealing if the money is for a good cause, and what's a better cause than investment?
With inner conflicts externalised as love-making and happiness just a denouement away, there remains enough time to ruin a perfectly good wedding. As Connor's fellow private detective has learned from tactically seducing a vulnerable immigrant Todd had been impregnating the help as his romance with Emily developed. There is no greater misdeed among the wealthy than fathering a child with a foreign maid, and as a result the Dunworthy clan have shunned their disgraced offspring, leaving him no choice but to marry into money to win their affection back. While Todd denies this possibly spurious accusation from a complete stranger with an axe to grind, the Wilson's accept Connor's verbal evidence, powerless to stop the hurried plot from reaching its necessary conclusion. All that is left is for two people to take the places of bride and groom in Kelsey's fairytale, picturebook wedding, and who better than Kelsey herself, alongside every woman's ideal man, Connor. Emily, meanwhile, will probably survive and maybe feature in her own spin-off, meeting Connor's best friend, Javier, at what was supposed to be her ceremony and almost immediately having The Wedding She Always Wanted, although due to the financial background and ethnic nature of her husband probably not the wedding her parents had always dreamed of.
It is difficult to predict the reactions of Connelly's characters, however, due to their malleable personalities when faced with the full force of the storyline. Surprising twists appear more incongruous reversals of opinion than unpredictable narrative turns, and the major issue at the heart of the concept, the scandalous affair between Connor and Emily and the resulting bribery, isn't so much dealt with as much as it is reduced to frivolity through a warped sense of justice. Kelsey shrugs off what appears to be betrayal as noble indiscretion and Connor strides past his mistakes with a forceful, manly gait. As Once Upon a Wedding begins Connor's unwavering instincts are in question due to his previous case almost ending in tragedy, yet this is later revealed to be a courageous act of physic prowess.
Kelsey cannot fall in love with Connor, even though she already has, not when he continues to romantically pursue Emily, even though he isn't. Meanwhile, Connor cannot fall in love with Kelsey, even though he already has, not when she is the one coordinating Emily's wedding, even though that hardly seems important. What Connor should be concentrating on is proving Todd is unsuitable for Emily, just as Connor himself was all those years ago. Wanting to keep him within her sights, for any number of reasons, Kelsey tags along on several stake-outs, which all lead nowhere. Fortunately for the plot, Connor has sent his colleague to Florida to find out what happened to a former Dunworthy maid, and with actual plot developments taking place elsewhere, Connor and Kelsey can concentrate on staring at one another swooning. In terms of inner conflict there are a couple of contrivances for the hero and heroine to overcome, but with both problems simply solved by an honest conversation there is plenty of time for hot dinners, the wearing of hot clothes, the arranging of flowers, sex, decorating offices and sitting in cars looking at buildings while sweating.
Kelsey must accept her place alongside her two cousins, as part of the family and no longer as the ugly duckling who doesn't belong. However, this listless form of self-loathing is easily defeated once a desirable man shows an interest, empowering her to become the woman that man allows her to be. Furthermore, Kelsey must stop vilifying her Uncle for the callous way with which he treated his sister, Kelsey's mother. This inconsequential issue is resolved with one statement and a brief explanation of the statement, at which point life seems grand for the Wilson Family. Connor, meanwhile, has his own sad story to tell, and tell it he probably should. After all, in all likelihood Kelsey will never forgive him for his past sins, and their relationship will be over before it has even begun. Ingenuous as always, Connor has the sense to wait until after sex and someone else revealing the truth before he comes clean. Of course, Kelsey realises his accepting of a bribe was the honourable and selfless thing to do, because it isn't stealing if the money is for a good cause, and what's a better cause than investment?
With inner conflicts externalised as love-making and happiness just a denouement away, there remains enough time to ruin a perfectly good wedding. As Connor's fellow private detective has learned from tactically seducing a vulnerable immigrant Todd had been impregnating the help as his romance with Emily developed. There is no greater misdeed among the wealthy than fathering a child with a foreign maid, and as a result the Dunworthy clan have shunned their disgraced offspring, leaving him no choice but to marry into money to win their affection back. While Todd denies this possibly spurious accusation from a complete stranger with an axe to grind, the Wilson's accept Connor's verbal evidence, powerless to stop the hurried plot from reaching its necessary conclusion. All that is left is for two people to take the places of bride and groom in Kelsey's fairytale, picturebook wedding, and who better than Kelsey herself, alongside every woman's ideal man, Connor. Emily, meanwhile, will probably survive and maybe feature in her own spin-off, meeting Connor's best friend, Javier, at what was supposed to be her ceremony and almost immediately having The Wedding She Always Wanted, although due to the financial background and ethnic nature of her husband probably not the wedding her parents had always dreamed of.
It is difficult to predict the reactions of Connelly's characters, however, due to their malleable personalities when faced with the full force of the storyline. Surprising twists appear more incongruous reversals of opinion than unpredictable narrative turns, and the major issue at the heart of the concept, the scandalous affair between Connor and Emily and the resulting bribery, isn't so much dealt with as much as it is reduced to frivolity through a warped sense of justice. Kelsey shrugs off what appears to be betrayal as noble indiscretion and Connor strides past his mistakes with a forceful, manly gait. As Once Upon a Wedding begins Connor's unwavering instincts are in question due to his previous case almost ending in tragedy, yet this is later revealed to be a courageous act of physic prowess.
Perhaps because of the constraints of Harlequin Mills & Boon Connelly consistently fails to engage the reader with anything approaching depth. She instead relies on a drip-feed of references that turn out to be a series of purposeful deceits. Connor's flaws are exposed as virtues just as Kelsey's stunning beauty, fierce independence and worldly intelligence are reappraised as positive traits. Still, even this basic failure could have been redeemed by the distraction of Connor's investigation, but the detective element lacks credibility and revelations, suggesting tthis was nothing more than a tedious excuse to keep the characters entwined, allowing emotional honesty and personal arcs to linger, stagnant and unresolved. The novel concludes not with the hero and heroine changing, but the universe around them altering to acknowledge their superiority. Thus the complete absence of worthwhile obstacles makes for a lifeless story and a unsatisfactory ending, despite the marriage and eternal bliss, and if Mills & Boon believe their followers will be satisfied with marriage and eternal bliss they have seriously under-estimated their readership.
