Meant To Be Yours

Written by Susan Mallery

Narrated by Tanya Eby

’The perfect feel-good read’Sarah Morgan on You Say It First

‘Susan Mallery is one of my favourites.’
#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

Renee can plan the perfect wedding,
but does love always go to plan?

Wedding coordinator Renee Grothen isn’t meant for marriage. Those who can, do. Those who can’t, plan. But she never could have planned on gorgeous, talented thriller writer Jasper Dembenski proposing—a fling, that is. Fun without a future. And the attraction between them is too strong for Renee to resist. Now she can have her no-wedding cake…and eat it, too.

After years in the military, Jasper is convinced he’s too damaged for relationships. So a flirtation—and more—with fiery, determined Renee is way too good to pass up…until his flame becomes his muse.

Renee is an expert at averting every crisis. But is she finally ready to leap into the one thing that can never be controlled: love?

• • •

Readers love Meant to be Yours!

Check this out if you like happy endings, rescue dogs and cats, and small town friends with benefits to more.

Susan Mallery has done another amazing job of a great plot, wonderful characters – that I care about so much and a cherishing, romantic happily ever after for Jasper and Rene.

This is my perfect kind of reading. Littered with romance. With a push and pull will they won’t they get their happily every afters. With fantastic characters. A wonderful warming and sunshine happy storyline, lots of weddings and a flattering or romance. Fabulous. – Netgalley Reviewer

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Oct 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9780263280760

Susan Mallery

#1 NYT bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming, humorous novels about the relationships that define our lives—family, friendship, romance. She's known for putting nuanced characters in emotional situations that surprise readers to laughter. Beloved by millions, her books have been translated into 28 languages.Susan lives in Washington with her husband, two cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Visit her at SusanMallery.com.

Reviews for Meant To Be Yours

[lbswiener · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Meant to be Yours is a book that is properly titled. People are unhappy and do not even know that they are searching for each other. It keeps its feel from the beginning to the end. The book has a proper ending. There are some romantic scenes that are not necessary for the plot of the story. It is a nice book and for that reason it is rated here with a solid three stars.

[scoutmomskf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Terrific book. This story is about Renee, a wedding planner at Weddings Out of the Box, and Jasper, the local author who writes mystery novels. Happily is a small town, so they've seen each other around but don't really know each other. That changes one games night at The Boardroom when their partnership in a game strikes unexpected sparks. Neither is interested in anything permanent, but what could go wrong with some commitment-free fun?Renee loves her job as a wedding planner. There is nothing she enjoys more than helping a couple plan that day they will remember forever. I loved seeing the various weddings and Renee's ability to create calm out of chaos. But as much happiness as she gets out of her work, she is convinced that there is no wedding in her future. She's been burned in the past and believes that love is not for her. She also has a rocky relationship with her mother, thanks to a very unusual situation that has left her reluctant to have anything to do with animals.Jasper is a very successful mystery writer who has made a home for himself in Happily Inc. He is a former soldier who had very bad PTSD when he left the service and considered himself broken to the point of being unable to have any kind of relationship. He is on the way home from his latest book tour (in an RV because he hates to fly) when he is adopted by an abandoned dog. Though a reluctant dog owner at first, it doesn't take long for Koda to wiggle his way into Jasper's life and heart. It quickly becomes apparent that these two are meant for each other, and I loved their scenes together.I loved the development of the relationship between Jasper and Renee. It starts as sex-only, as neither wants anything permanent. But in a strange turn of events, they spend more time together out of bed than in it and find themselves becoming friends. Jasper asks for Renee's help with the book he is currently writing. He's about to end the successful series, and Jasper and his editor believe that the hero needs to fall in love. Unfortunately for Jasper, his attempts at writing a woman for Vidar have been spectacularly unsuccessful. Things get a little tense when Jasper decides that his best option is to follow Renee in her work. She is not up for that idea at all and makes her opinion quite clear. Jasper, who has a bit of tunnel vision when working, goes above Renee's head which forces her to let him tag along. Renee is rightfully furious, and I liked the way that she told him so, explained why to the point where he saw the error of his ways and apologized. It wasn't the only time he pulls a boneheaded move, and Renee is very good at making him face his mistakes.Once they get past the anger, they end up spending a lot of time together. I loved watching their friendship grow and turn into something more. I loved Jasper's fascination with Renee's ability to help her couples find the perfect expression of their love. His enthusiasm for getting involved in the whole process, from setting up to serving drinks, was heartwarming. I also enjoyed seeing Renee's reaction to and acceptance of Jasper's tendency to get lost in his creative process. There were several times when they were together that he would totally lose track of when and where he was, but she never made a stink about it. Both of them realize that their feelings are changing, but neither believes that they are in a place to do anything about it.In the midst of all of this angst, Renee's mother, Verity, arrives for an unexpected visit. Renee has worked hard to keep her mother separate from her life in Happily Inc. because of issues that have arisen in the past. Verity has a unique talent that created problems for Renee, both when she was younger and with her most recent relationship. Renee is afraid of what will happen if her new friends find out about her mom, and she dreads the reactions. I liked Verity a lot, though I also understood Renee's feelings. I had to laugh at the reason that brought Verity to Happily Inc., and the event that came out of it was hilarious. But in the end, it's Verity, Jasper's dog Koda, and Renee's cats Fred and Lucille who help Jasper and Renee understand that they aren't nearly as broken as they think they are. I'm looking forward to seeing more of them in future books.

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have read every book in this series. I have grown to know the people in this series. So, it is special when I read the latest book in this series. There are new people to meet while also visiting with old friends. Renee is a sweetie. I liked her right away. Not to say that Jasper was not nice as well. I just took a bit longer to warm up to him. Also, when it came to these two hooking up; I would have liked for them to get to know each other better and further into the story before they hooked up. It may not have been one of my favorites in this series but still a sweet read. I still do recommend checking out this series.

[fredreeca · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jasper is an author needing to close out his famous series with a love interest for his main character. However, there is a problem. Jasper does not write women. He actually considers himself too damaged for a relationship. Enter resident wedding planner, Renee. She is determined to keep their relationship completely casual. Until it isn't...
I am not a huge fan of Renee. She is just too MUCH. She tends to be a little rude...and then some. However, Jasper was just plain HOT! These two get together as just a casual fling. And as it develops into a "big time" love interest, the story takes off. 
I have enjoyed many of Susan Mallery novels. And this one is a perfect palate cleanser. It is hugely entertaining and there is nothing like getting lost in a great romance! Grab this one today!

[bookchickdi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Author Susan Mallery takes readers to the town of Happily Inc, a destination wedding town in Southern California created in the 1950s by a banker who had seven daughters. By the time the 2000s rolled along, thousands of happy couples, from royalty to Hollywood celebrities and average Americans, have flocked there for the wedding of their dreams.The town's commerce revolves around weddings, and in her fifth book in the series, Meant To Be Yours, wedding planner Renee Grothen is so busy planning the nearly 75 weddings a year for the company she works for, Weddings Out Of The Box, that she has no time for a personal life.Renee has not been lucky in love- her first love broke up with her, and then she had a relationship with (unbeknownst to her) a married man. So when famous thriller author and former military police officer Jasper Dembreski takes her home from game night at the local bar, they agree that their hookup is strictly about sex. (You don't have to wait long for a hot explicit sex scene in this story.) Jasper decides that he wants to introduce a female love interest for his series detective, so he goes to Renee and asks her if he can shadow her for research. He has decided that the female character will be a wedding planner, and a serial killer will be stalking weddings in his next book.Renee thinks this is a bad idea, but the owner of the company likes the suggestion, as do a happy couple planning their wedding who are fans of Jasper's books. So Jasper will be learning about wedding planning from Renee, but she has strict rules that he will not interfere or insinuate himself into the process. She takes her responsibility to make couples weddings special, and will not tolerate anything that disrupts that.I so enjoyed my first trip to Happily Inc and Meant To Be Yours! Even though it is the fifth book in the series, I didn't feel lost not knowing any of the secondary characters. I was able to jump right in and follow the story. (That being said, I liked this book so much that I will read the rest of the series in order.)Having gone through my son's wedding last year, I was drawn to the wedding planner aspect of the story; I liked learning about all the details that go into the process. And the theme weddings- Scottish, Star Trek, and even an apple-themed wedding- were so intriguing.Reading about Jasper's writing process was interesting too, and the scene where he took Renee to the library because that is where he spent a great deal of time in school was so sweet.I highly recommend Meant To Be Yours for anyone who likes a good contemporary romance, it's a great way to wile away a rainy Sunday. You'll feel like you met a new group of friends, and you'll want to visit them again in other Happily Inc books.Thanks to Harlequin for inviting me to be a part of their Romance & Women's Fiction blog tour, and providing me with an egalley for an honest review.

[cathygeha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In Happily Inc, love means never having to say “I do”…Wedding coordinator Renee Grothen isn’t meant for marriage. Those who can, do. Those who can’t, plan. But she never could have planned on gorgeous, talented thriller writer Jasper Dembenski proposing—a fling, that is. Fun without a future. And the attraction between them is too strong for Renee to resist. Now she can have her no-wedding cake…and eat it, too.After years in the military, Jasper is convinced he’s too damaged for relationships. So a flirtation—and more—with fiery, determined Renee is way too good to pass up…until his flame becomes his muse.Renee is an expert at averting every crisis. But is she finally ready to leap into the one thing that can never be controlled: love?