Put a Ring On It

November 2, 2015
Kendrick (New Uses for Old Boyfriends) opens her quirky, charming contemporary with cleverly mismatched lovers marrying each other within hours of meeting. Uptight actuary and jewelry hobbyist Brighton Smith visits a friend in Black Dog Bay, Del., a resort town with heartbreak-themed retailers,. She's grieving her very recent broken engagement, made worse by her ex-fiancé spontaneously marrying someone else, Brighton tells her troubles to the Black Dog Bay wine bar's most captivating, gorgeous seducer of the brokenhearted, "rebound guy" Jake Sorenson. Before long, Brighton and the absurdly wealthy Jake have traveled to Las Vegas in his private jet and married at a drive-in chapel. Brighton wants to play the revenge rebound game, but Jake's intentions are a mystery. When they sober up, Brighton and Jake talk divorce, but their attraction to each other is intoxicating, prompting the emotionally unavailable, low-key Jake to finally confront his past. Animated and witty characters and a highly original setting make this light, feel-good romance a winner.

October 1, 2015
When her former fiance marries someone he's just met, a woman who's used to playing it safe throws caution to the wind on a visit to Black Dog Bay, the Delaware beach town deemed the best place in America to get over a breakup. Brighton Smith has crafted the perfect, safe life. While she once dreamed of taking over her grandfather's jewelry business, those hopes were dashed when her free-spirited mother ran it into the ground. Learning early to be responsible, she became an actuary and is engaged to Colin, who'll be an attorney as soon as he passes the bar exam. When a silly argument escalates into a huge fight, Colin asks for his ring back, then heads out of town for a study session. Brighton decides to visit Kira, a college roommate who just moved to Black Dog Bay. When the two meet up at a local wine shop, Brighton is introduced to Jake Sorenson, Black Dog Bay's resident sexy, rich bachelor and "designated rebound guy for all the newly single women." Brighton feels the tug of attraction but ignores it until Kira has to take a call from a client at the same time Colin calls to tell her he's met someone else and married her. Tossing off her sensible armor, she accepts Jake's offer of a drink, which leads to a late-night flight to Vegas and a quickie marriage. Stunned by her choices, she's further astounded when Jake encourages her to enjoy the moment while it lasts. Brighton knows hopes and wishes are a bad bet, so she should nip them in the bud before they take hold. But somehow, her one night of risk seems to be leading to everything she ever wanted. Can any of it last? Kendrick brings her signature breezy style and witty charm to another poignant and romantic love story.

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Starred review from September 15, 2015
Brighton Smith is not an impulsive person by nature. When her fiance, Colin, informs her that he is breaking their engagement to marry a woman he just met, however, something behind Brighton's cool, calm, and collected facade just snaps. While drowning her sorrows with her best friend, Kira, at the Whinery, Brighton spots Black Dog Bay's designated rebound guy, Jake Sorenson. Fueled by a few too many glasses of champagne, Brighton approaches Jake and tells him she wants to do something with him that he has never done with any other womanget married. One day and one trip through a drive-in chapel in Las Vegas later, Brighton returns to Black Dog Bay as Mrs. Jake Sorenson. Brighton can't decide if she has just made the biggest mistake or the best decision in her life as she discovers that there is more to her new husband than tons of money and good bone structure. Kendrick's latest sparkling addition to the Black Dog Bay series is as meticulously crafted as a vintage Philippe Patek watch as the book's realistically quirky characters, charming small-town setting, and witty writing tick along in perfect synchrony. Put a Ring on It is another polished literary gem from one of the genre's most consistently entertaining writers. For more on Kendrick, see page 00.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)