I haven't read any of the other Whispers Book series so I came to Gloria cold yet I still realised what a great character she was. A complicated lady, she is strugging to work through her past issues and is slowly opening up to the people around her.

I loved the 'Will they, won't they? element of the story and to watch the shadow boxing that both Gloria and Seth indulge in. What set this book apart for me was the humour. The author injects such a dry wit into the story and I loved the absolutely laugh out loud moments. I would like to read some of the earlier books just so I could appreciate how far Gloria's character has come.

Thanks to the author for a copy of the book

Yes! Yes! The happy ever after is possible for anyone even if you missed it where you thought it out to be. The journey of Gloria's self improvement alongside the romance touch gives me/us as reader (s) something more to look forward to.

I absolutely adore Gloria's character for she is one of the few styles of character who are either ill represented or given a side role in many stories. There could have been some aspects better portrayed but I am not complaining much as the whole made up for small gaps or lacks.

The story was worth every minute of my time but I won't say further as I am on the verge of spoilers. Do read for either the romance, the character or the character arc is surely bound to grip you.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
Again a very good read and one I can highly recommend to others.
I could not put this down.
Thoroughly enjoyable.

This is my first book by Eve Devon and certainly won’t be my last. I jumped at the chance to read this, mainly due to the cover, such a beauty and before even reading the synopsis I knew I wanted to be a part of it!

After reading a couple of reviews I realised that this is the third book in the ‘Whispers Wood’ series but if you are like me and haven’t picked up an Eve Devon book before I assure you it can be read as a standalone. I do however have plans to re visit Whispers Wood and re read the start of the series.

As mentioned before this can be read as a standalone, Eve has included a handy character guide at the beginning of the book to help you get to know everyone’s background. I did find it a little tough to begin with to get into the story, I think this was mainly down to all the characters, I found myself constantly flicking back to the guide to find out who was who but it didn’t take me long before I was sucked into the story of Gloria.

Gloria a single mum and a hater of weddings after her own marriage crumbled, she is now bridesmaid to best friend and boss Emma. Not only carrying out bridesmaid duties but also wedding planner for the couple along with co-planner best man Seth Knightley.

I loved the character of Gloria, she is feisty, frightening and with no filter you never know what’s going to pop out of her mouth. It was a refreshing change to read about a female character with more balls than a snooker table! Ha! Although she is a tough cookie and her advice although a little harsh, always spoke honestly and I really admired her for that but deep down Gloria came across a little insecure and I felt the hard exterior was more for protection. I really enjoyed reading the scenes between her and old man Issac who was Gloria’s confident and most probably the only person who would tell Gloria how it is.

Trying to be more positive and open she struggles to turn down best friend Emma when she reaches out for her help to arrange her wedding to Jake. Her worst nightmare, Gloria grits her teeth and gets on with the job but planning the special day brings back all those memories of Gloria’s wedding day out of a locked box she had been keeping at the back of her mind.

So.. Gorgeous Seth, Jake’s best man he too has been listed to help with the arrangements along with Gloria. Seth is probably the complete opposite to Gloria but they say opposites attract! I loved how super nice, kind and caring he always was towards Gloria, understanding why she felt a need to keep a distance and form barriers from all the wedding plans. Being recently divorced himself he totally got her but this didn’t stop him wanting to pull those barriers down. Ah I loved the scenes between Gloria and Seth a romance based on friendship, it was such a pleasure to see Gloria’s character change throughout the story and you wanted nothing but happiness for Gloria.

This story was all kinds of fun and oh so heartwarming! Full of all the nice things in life friendships, family and love. I really recommend you read Gloria's story!

Huge thanks to Eve Devon, Rachel Random Resources and Netgalley for the ARC which I have reviewed honestly.

This story was okay. It is part of a series, but is supposed to be able to be read as a stand alone, but it always seemed like that there was some inside information that I was missing.

Returning to Whispers Wood was just as delightful as I had hoped it would be, making THE WEDDING PLANNER by Eve Devon the perfect summer read for you all.

Gloria Pavey understands that she rubs people up the wrong way and says the wrong thing most of the time but she wants to change. She wants people to warm to her more and stop crossing the street to avoid her. She loves her daughter and wants to be better, for her as well as for herself. But romance and love are definitely not on her radar. In fact, it is the last thing in the world that Gloria wants to be involved with. But when her best friend, Emma, wants her to be her wedding planner, how can Gloria say no? And when she finds herself side-by-side with the groom's younger brother, Seth, how will Gloria manage to keep it all together?

Add in some drama, plenty of community spirit, and characters that will make you smile, and THE WEDDING PLANNER by Eve Devon is a cracking good read. While this is the third book in the series, it can be read as a standalone as the author kindly includes a character background section at the beginning of this book - but why have one good book when you can have three? Go on, treat yourself!

​THE WEDDING PLANNER is the kind of story that makes you feel lighter and is the perfect book to relax with by the pool or in the garden in this delightful weather.

This is the third book in the Whispers Wood series but it can be read as a standalone. You get to know a bit about the characters before you begin the book as there is a list of them from the previous books. This was a wonderful book full of friendship and romance. There were plenty of moments that had me bursting with laughter. The author instantly transported you to the small village and you felt as though you were immersed in the life. I absolutely loved this book, so much so, I'm going to be reading the other two books. The Wedding Planner was a lovely, heart warming read.

Fall in love with the charming village of Whispers Wood and best-selling author Eve Devon’s heart-warming, feel-good and simply delicious summer romance, The Wedding Planner.

Gloria Pavey is the first one to admit that she isn’t exactly the easiest person around. The single mum has got a penchant for being abrasive, brutally honest and for rubbing people up the wrong way. Gloria is doing her utmost to change and be less waspish and more kind-hearted, however, when you’ve spent your entire life saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, being a modern-day saint proves to be easier said than done! Still, Gloria refuses to be deterred, so when her best friend Emma asks her to take on the role of a wedding planner, she finds herself unable and unwilling to say no to her, so she grits her teeth and sets to organizing the wedding of the year. But there is a catch: Gloria’s co-planner, best man Seth Knightley…

Romance and relationships are Gloria’s two least favourite topics. After her husband had walked out on their marriage and set up home in Whispers Wood with his male lover, Gloria put herself on a self-imposed man ban, so spending weeks knee deep in confetti and wedding favours is not exactly something that fills her heart with joy – and Seth is certainly not making this whole thing any easier. Gloria cannot help but find him infuriating, aggravating and as handsome as sin. Thrust into close proximity together sparks soon begin to fly between the two of them and when red-hot tension gives way to an attraction that cannot be denied, Gloria finds all her resolves to stay stubbornly single flying away like a white dove at a wedding reception.

Gloria had sworn off happy ever afters, but will the bridesmaid end up walking down the aisle herself towards her own Prince Charming in the not too distant future? Or will she continue to hold herself back and be denied this unexpected second chance at a happy ending?

The Wedding Planner is romantic comedy gold and sure to go down a treat with fans of Katie Fforde and Zara Stoneley. A phenomenal read full of joy, warmth, emotion and heart, The Wedding Planner is a wonderful story about letting go of the past, starting over and finding the courage to be happy again that I simply adored. Putting this book down is an absolutely impossible feat as readers will find themselves falling madly in love with Gloria, Seth and all the people living in Whispers Wood – a village I am determined to move to!

The Wedding Planner was my first Eve Devon book, but it shall definitely not be my last. Fun, flirty, uplifting and fabulous, The Wedding Planner is a sparkling romantic comedy that is an absolute delight from beginning to end!

Favorite Quotes:

… that story was for another time she liked to call ‘Never’.

‘Go now,’ she said, her eyes flashing white-hot fire as she snatched the book out of his hands and held it threateningly. ‘Go before I Jason-Bourne-kill-you with this book.’

When you grew up poor it wasn’t that you didn’t believe money could bring you happiness. To be honest you weren’t interested in happiness, you were only interested in not being poor.

‘We need to cast the line,’ he said, his voice curling like smoke into her ear, tickling her ear canal and causing enough jolts of electricity so that by the time the line went in the water, she was sure the fishes would all come flying out.

‘I have two left feet.’ ‘That’s okay. I have two right ones.’

She looked down and when she saw the eyeful she was giving them all, inhaled with shock, which only made the picture worse… Gloria stared at how much of her bust was on display. ‘The only thing that’s going to fix this is scaffolding.’ With a moan of distress she reached down to try and pull the bodice of the dress upwards to cover her breasts… ‘I look like my chest is a shelf. People will be trying to leave their drinks on me.’


My Review:


This was my first time reading Ms. Devon’s work and I enjoyed her acerbic wit, engaging writing style, and uniquely quirky and compelling characters. Despite being the third book in a series, I had no difficulty following the story although I’m sure I would have enjoyed it even more had I read the first two installments as all the characters appear to have continued through. Regardless, The Wedding Planner provided an interesting character study with the evolution of Gloria, who was a caustic and acid-tongued prickly pear with a built-in “sarcasmometer” and could be rather thoughtless and proved quite difficult for me to warm up to as Gloria and I could have been related…

Gloria had been deeply scarred by her family and failed marriage, was beyond jaded and well past difficult and could toss off snarky insults and throw attitude like it was an Olympic sport - I will confess to greatly admiring her level of skill. She initially appeared selfish and hostile, yet she had a big heart that she kept under wraps, well and truly hidden, like deeply buried in the core of the earth. Once I understood her insecurity and the root of her issues, my heart began to thaw and felt less inclined to give her a good smack or two to disengage her cranium from her posterior region. Seth, on the other hand, was a total dreamboat and I was completely and fully besotted with him. He was the perfect foil for Gloria and appeared to have been blessed with the body of a god as well as the patience and insight of a saint - which would also make him the perfect match for me!

Within 2 pages of starting this book all I could think was “o god, I really hope people don’t see me like this!” I’m a straight talker, I don’t beat around the bush, I call things as they are, I’m the person you can trust to give you the absolute brutal truth, I’m absolutely independent and hate needing others. But I’m also fiercely loyal to those I love. And this pretty much sums up Gloria to a tee.

Granted we don’t learn about the loyalty until a bit into the book. It’s still pretty obvious that she’s uniquely her and for some reason is apologetic about it. I get not being like that to the point of driving people away. Like Gloria I’ve gone through some work to not be like that either. But I will never understand why people don’t value those traits.

When romance does creep up on her she doesn’t know what to do about it. But what I REALLY love about this romance is that he doesn’t try to change her. Seth accepts who she is and loves her BECAUSE of those traits many people don’t like.

Little things like seeing the fight come into her eyes and working out what she’s thinking, and it just makes him love her more is amazing. Romance and love to me should be about accepting the other person for who they are. Faults and all. So I love that this story really embraced that and never tried to be like “maybe you should tone this down” or “well if you had have just kept your mouth shut that wouldn’t have happened”.

I enjoyed this story all the way to the end and in a way see some of my own relationship in this story. Although in our case we were both scared to take the plunge but realised about the same time we actually did want to. It’s super weird reading a book that you feel like could almost be written about you and your life but in a way great to see people embrace and love Gloria for who she is.

What a delightful, heartwarming read this proved to be - absolutely fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

Gloria Pavey is a single Mum who has serious problems thinking before she speaks. This has got her into all kinds of bother as her comments are often not at all tactful - to put it mildly! After what happened to her, she's definitely against the institution of marriage so when her best friend, Emma, asks her to be one of her bridesmaids she is suitably shocked, but when she also sets her on as a wedding planner she's not sure she hasn't lost the plot. However, when she discovers that her co-planner is to be the best man, Seth Knightley, she's even more worried! 

As the two endeavour to work together to plan the wedding for the happy couple, there's plenty of laughs, surprises and drama in store but what Gloria really hadn't anticipated was her growing attraction to Seth. Could planning Emma's wedding actually bring these two together to find romance for themselves, too?

There are great characters, hilarious conversations, dramatic reactions and lots of romance in this delectable story. Whether you're a cynic - like Gloria was - or a romantic, this is sure to warm you heart and have you laughing out loud. I really enjoyed escaping into this lovely romance and have no hesitation in highly recommending it.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book and this is my honest opinion after choosing to read it and thoroughly enjoying doing so!

How wonderful to be back in Whispers Wood and The Clockhouse, I couldn’t wait to catch up with my favourite residents and meet some new ones. I must admit when I realised this book was going to be centred around the outspoken Gloria Pavey, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. How wrong I was, I realised straight away this was going to be one I couldn’t put down.
It was brilliant, funny, emotional and heartwarming, to get to know the real Gloria and watch her find herself and love.
Eve well and truly brought her readers into the village life and left me wishing it was a real place I could visit, a spa day in the clockhouse. Glad to see Gertrude was still turning up in the oddest of places and that moment in the lake .... hilarious. Great one to read in one sitting on a grey afternoon.

Gloria, a rather sassy and bold gal with a habit of rubbing people the wrong way is determined to change her ways and get more people to like her, well... if not like her then at least not deliberately avoid her. So when her best friend asks her to help plan her wedding, Gloria immediately agrees. The drawback is her co-planner, Seth. Gloria and Seth create a tension while planning the wedding and it is all about to boil over. But is that tension anger or simmering romantic heat?

The Wedding Planner is a light, enjoyable Rom-Com that is perfect for a summer read by the pool. While it is the third in a series of four books, the author - Eve Devon - has given us a handy character guide at the beginning so that we will know who is who, which is good because there are a lot of characters introduced and the story is told from multiple points of view.

Normally this is exactly the type of book that I enjoy as a palate cleanser between deep, dark, serious reads. However, something about the characters didn't quite resonate with me. Even now I'm unsure if it was their personality or if it was the feeling of "been there, done that" once too often but I found myself doing quite a bit of skimming through this one and far too often for this to be a book that I would recommend to you. That said, if you really like this type of book, then maybe you can and will like these characters. It simply wasn't for me.

I was slow to get into the Gloria character. She just seemed such an unhappy person. Seth seemed to bring out her better side. The book was okay but really did not grab me.

The book was enjoyable and cute.
the characters were good as well the plot.
I loved the writing style, It was rich, visual and surprising.
I would totally recommend it with the rest of the series.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I found this to be a bit difficult to follow. Gloria goes off topic a lot and her inner monologue is too prolonged. I found myself losing interest. I did like that Gloria is attempting to improve her life and channel her anger but we don't need pages explaining that. The romance did not inspire any emotions from me. Story felt slow and uninteresting.

Such a cute, fun, frothy read! Tuck this one into your beach bag. It's a treat!!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is the 3rd in the series of Whispers in the wood, i loved the first two and this one didn't disappoint.

Gloria "glorious" the wicked witch of the west from the previous 2 books turns a new leaf and becomes the fairy godmother of the story, she is funny but cutting in her remarks and the story revolves around her and with Seth becoming a wedding planner much to her better judgment and outrageous behaviour of always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. This book had me laughing out loud
I'm really glad the author put a character list at the beginning as it helped me remember who was who.
It was great to be back in the village again among "friends" who I knew and loved.
This was a feel good, funny warm book and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute, I was sad when I had finished it

Thank you so much, NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Cute, fun novel about a protagonist you don't know whether to laugh or cry about. How about laughing until you cry? That's what I did. Gloria is certainly famous for her cringe worthy comments, but is working hard to right the wrongs she has done. But who can blame her? Her husband left her for another man. She tries to ignore, then overcome, the fact, as she sees it, that she was not somebody somebody would want to love.

I had not read any previous books, so you can read this as a stand-alone. I found the writing a bit frantic and wasn't sure if that was the writer's normal style or if she were embodying Gloria's personality with the writing style

It was such a delight to be back in Whispers Wood, after what felt like a long gap between the releases of books 2 and 3.

Really didn't take long to feel back at home amongst the characters, especially with the very handy character list as the start of the book - great for those new to the series, to get to know a small bit about the key players before you start - and for a returner to the series, a nice handy reminder, with enough of a hint that had me remembering.

This time our main character is Gloria, who we saw quite a bit of in book 2 if I recall correctly, and she was rather unlikable then, however she is on a journey to stop being a complete bitch and to embrace her own happiness, which means I really started to warm to her.

Although she absolutely hates romance and weddings, can't see any more of that in her future, and the last thing she wants is to be named a bridesmaid at Emma's wedding, much less be in charge of wedding planning with Seth. That is Seth, younger brother to the groom, and man that Gloria has struck up a friendship with - but is denying her true feelings for.

It was great to catch up with Oscar, Emma, Jake, Juliet and Kate and everyone involved in the Clock Tower, and in Whispers Wood. I'm loving how this friendship group of ladies is growing, and how Gloria fitted into it.

I also loved Persephone, Gloria's daughter, and just how concerned she clearly is about her mum, and the purity of mother and daughter love that is inspiring Gloria to change for the better.

I was completely and utterly in love with Seth, he is sexy, and just wonderful, he couldn't put a foot wrong as far as I was concerned. Certainly my latest book boyfriend, long before any romance develops in the book.

Another lovely addition to this story, I just hope the next book doesn't take so long to appear, as I really want more!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Impulse for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.