Put a Ring On It

by Beth Kendrick

Overview

The author of Once Upon a Wine returns to the Delaware seashore town of Black Dog Bay, where one woman learns to put passion before practicality…

Brighton Smith doesn’t do outrageous. As an insurance actuary, it’s her job to assess risk and avoid bad investments. But when her fiancé calls to confess he’s married someone else on a whim (“I looked at her and I just knew!”), she snaps...

That night, at a local bar, Jake Sorensen—hot, rich, and way out of her league—buys Brighton a cocktail. At midnight, she kisses him. And by dawn, they’re exchanging vows at a drive-through chapel.

Brighton knows Jake is a bad bet, but she doesn’t care. After a lifetime of playing it safe, she’s finally having fun. Until the whirlwind romance gives way to painful reality...and Brighton finds out the truth about why a guy like Jake married a girl like her. With her heart on the line and the odds stacked against them, Brighton must decide whether to cut her losses or take a leap of faith that this love affair is one in a million.

INCLUDES A READERS GUIDE

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451474186
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/03/2015
Series:	Black Dog Bay Novel , #3
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Beth Kendrick is the author of several women’s fiction novels, including Once Upon a Wine, Put a Ring On It, New Uses for Old Boyfriends, Cure for the Common Breakup, The Week Before the Wedding, The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service, and Nearlyweds, which was turned into a Hallmark Channel original movie. She lives in Arizona with two big rescue mutts and vacations at the Delaware beach, where she devotes a great deal of time to eating local strawberries and drinking wine. You know, for research.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Acclaim for Beth Kendrick’s Novels

“Kendrick’s impeccable sense of comic timing and flair for creating unforgettable characters make this effervescent novel a smart bet.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Light and lovely perfection!”—Roxanne St. Claire, New York Times bestselling author

“Exceptionally entertaining and wonderfully original…Kendrick writes with a wicked sense of humor and great wisdom.”—Chicago Tribune

Reading Group Guide

1. Brighton and Colin have a huge fight about a zipper merge that, you know, isn’t really about a zipper merge. What small things do people do (or not do) that ultimately turn into deal breakers?

2. Does love at first sight exist? How long should people know each other before making a major commitment such as marriage?

3. Are there friendships in your life that you can pick up right where you left off after months or years apart? What makes those relationships so resilient?

4. It’s karaoke night at the Whinery. What are you singing at the top of your lungs?

5. Brighton and Jake have very different perspectives on money, stability, and spending. Does the way we think about money say a lot about the way we view ourselves?

6. If you were Jake Sorensen–level rich, would you work? What would you do?

7. Do you have the equivalent of “twelve-​dollar strawberries” in your own life? What items or events are worth splurging on?

8. Brighton tells Jake she loves him, then flees when she hears him coming back up the stairs. What do you think he would have said to her that night if she’d stayed?

9. Will Genevieve and Javier have a successful marriage? How would they define “successful”?

10. If you could design a piece of jewelry to mark a significant event in your life, what would it look like and what kinds of materials would you use?

11. If you were going to write a follow‑up story about Kira, what would her story be?

Editorial Reviews

11/02/2015
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. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Acclaim for Beth Kendrick’s Novels

“[Kendrick] shines in portraying the subtleties of female friendships.”—Publishers Weekly

“Flawlessly written.”—Chicago Tribune

“Will make readers laugh out loud from page one and sigh from the heart at the end.”—Roxanne St. Claire, New York Times bestselling author of the Barefoot Bay Series

“Tender, touching, and very funny story.”—Ellen Meister, author of Dorothy Parker Drank Here

“The leader of the pack when it comes to fashioning cheekily clever love stories.”—Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

2015-09-23
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.

Kirkus Reviews