This was a re-read for me and the first time around I did not like Alexis and though she doesn't deserve Logan, now I still think that way except that after what I know now in the world, Logan sounds like a predator.

You're telling me that you've waited for a woman for eight whole years, never made your intentions known and when she's finally ready to date, you think that you have some claim on her, nope, nope, hell no.

I can forgive it since it's literally a romance book and I know he had the best of intentions, but the very really predatory antics of Logan hit too close to home and it took me out of the moment.

To Love and to Cherish was my first book by Lauren Layne, but the third in the Wedding Belles' series. I recommend this author and series. Happy Reading!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I requested this one back in the day as I had every intention of reading it. However, its been years and I still haven't gotten around to it and while I feel guilty at not reviewing a book I think that I need to admit to myself that I won't be reading this one anytime soon....if at all.

This was a decent story and I somewhat enjoyed both the hero and the heroine. However, nothing really stood out making it a great book.

A lackluster end to a rather lackluster series. Each one of these books held a lot of potential and each one ultimately let me down. I really, really loved Logan. And I really really did not care for Alexis. This despite her painful heartbreak where her last serious boyfriend ended up falling in love with her little sister. She was unnecessarily cruel and quite honestly, I think Logan should’ve gotten on with his life. And there should’ve been more groveling at her end. What a totally meh series.

I enjoyed this book. It pulled you right in and kept you turning the pages. This book was well written and I had no issues following the story. It tied into the other books in the series well.

I have adored this whole series. It seems like I've been waiting forever for Alexis and Logan's story. The relationship has been building from the first book. I MAY have built up my expectations a bit too high which is possibly a little bit unfair on my part. I not only had expectations, but I had decided in my maind how I wanted it to play out. It didn't go the way I wanted but it was still fun! Lauren Layne always writes a sweet, sexy, & smooth story. I am sorry to see this series come to an end.

Miss Bates was ignorant of Lauren Layne’s Wedding Belles series and ended up reading book three, To Love and To Cherish, without reading one and two. S’allright though, because Wedding Belles #3 fills in the romances of the first two heroines as they weave in and out of the heroine’s story. Alexis Morgan is the Wedding Belles’s head honcho, the guru of wedding planners, with Brooke and Heather close behind. The company was her baby, her vision and sole focus. But there’s someone behind the scenes too. While Alexis is the Wedding Belles’s face, heart, and soul, she is not its only purse. Her silent partner is hero Logan Harris, friend, accountant, and bankroll from the moment they met in a Harlem bar eight years ago. For Logan, it was love at first sight; for Alexis, it was a niggling feeling of “something,” but her focus was so strongly on her business that her awareness of Logan has been akin to a cold cup of coffee you leave on the counter. As the years roll by, she takes their bi-weekly financial meetings for granted. She takes him for granted. Her emotional and physical skittishness and Logan’s British gentleman manners have long put the kibosh on seduction. Now, with Logan and Alexis in their early thirties, things coalesce. Logan’s Alexis-torch is more-than-smouldering, especially when his father is ready to retire and hand the London-based family company to him. Logan must let Alexis know how he feels, find out if she cares for him as he does her – or, he returns to London.

Alexis’s life too is deviating from its staid, introverted route. Her business is successful; she owns the Manhattan brownstone where it and her comfortable apartment are located. But she’s restless with “something missing.” With ne’er a thought to Logan, Alexis sets out to recover from her relationship-reluctance with some online dating. We learn what has made Alexis so love-shy and it’s understandable, at least to this spinster. When Alexis was a business undergrad, she fell in love, or thought she did, with Adam. She brought Adam home to her divorced parents and sister and said sister, Roxie, and Adam fell in love. Just when Alexis is acclimatizing to combing Tinder, her mother calls with the news that Roxie is pregnant and she and Adam are marrying in Florida. Alexis has to attend and, truth be told, while Alexis’s pride is still hurt, she can’t NOT be at her baby-sister’s wedding. In the meanwhile, Logan, on his buddies’ advice, machinates to join Alexis in Florida. He has to know, before he leaves, whether the woman he’s loved for years loves him, “There’d be no leaving as long as she was here,” he thinks and boards a Florida flight.

Unlike Miss Bates’s beloved Layne romance, Cuff Me, To Love and To Cherish is more romance conventional. There are friends, a wedding planner heroine, a tad trite that, and a good friend beta-hero. Everyone does conventional things: friends talk about guys and guys talk about their women. They drink cocktails and eat pizza. There’d be a Sex and the City vibe if it weren’t for the fidelity. Nevertheless, Layne won Miss Bates over because her characterization is endearing and fresh. Logan, in particular, is charming. Miss Bates loved how he went from patient friend waiting for Alexis to notice him to something forward and seductive. Miss B. liked it that he didn’t go “alpha,” but sensed a subtle change in himself, a growly-purr instead of a ROAR: ” … something had been shifting lately. In him? In her? He wasn’t sure … sometimes he couldn’t help but see himself through her eyes, and he felt … dull.” Well, dull turns shiny because Logan doesn’t win Alexis with aggressive alpha-moves. He observes her, really knows what she likes and doesn’t, what she’s frightened of. He woos and a wooing hero is a great hero. Logan is, as Alexis queries to a friend in a what-the-hell’s-the-matter-with-Logan tone, “Cocky. Deliberate. A little cunning.”

The second half of To Love and To Cherish is better than the first. Layne’s signature combination of pathos and humour shines through. The subdued changes she elicits in her characters make them believable and attractive. Miss Bates felt for the vulnerable, introverted Alexis. Alexis is classic introvert, with a strong, controlled, disciplined exterior covering poignant vulnerabilities, stemming from her family’s implosion and Adam’s desertion: “Alexis’s careful, practical heart, even at its most vulnerable like it was now, just couldn’t handle the potential of losing everything.” Of course, with thoughts like this, the Logan-writing is on the wall. Alexis senses the change in their relationship and the acknowledgement of her years-long “feelings” for him. As Logan woos, Alexis withdraws, grows suspicious as her heart engages way before her mind admits: ” ‘You’re being odd. What’s going on?’ This time he did smile. ‘No, I’m just not saying what you think I’m going to say. I’m being unexpected, and you’ve always hated that.’ Her eyes narrowed even further. She did hate that, but she didn’t appreciate being called on it.” Logan’s cunning and love, a great and original romance-combination, works!

In the end, what Miss Bates liked the most about Layne’s To Love and To Cherish was how deserving the leads were of their HEA. One lovely snippet will tell you why:

“Don’t think,” he said, lifting a hand to her hair and tangling his fingers in it. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop, and for once in your damned life, just feel, Alexis. What do you want?”

“I want us to continue on as we’ve always been,” she whispered.

“Friends.”

“As long as you’re my friend, you’ll never leave me.”

Isn’t that a heart-wrenching passage: Logan’s desire to be loved and wanted and reach the woman he loves – and the only thing keeping her from him and he from her is fear. But what a fear. Logan is perfect to simultaneously reassure and challenge Alexis. How they reach their HEA? Same-old, same-old: passion, connection, withdrawal, betrayal, reconciliation, but even if it’s genre-familiar, it’s lovely and witty and lovingly written. In the end, Miss Austen and Miss Bates enjoyed To Love and To Cherish very much and find in it, “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.

Lauren Layne’s To Love and To Cherish is published by Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster. It was released in October 2016 and may be found at your preferred vendors. Miss Bates received an e-ARC from Pocket Books, via Netgalley.

If you have read all LL's previous Wedding Belles books...you know we have all been waiting to hear Logan's and Alexis' story! All that tension and mysterious connection between those two, makes you want to hear about their story from the start. Oh, LL gives you just the right taste from the beginning.

To Love and to Cherish was off to an amazing start! The prologue has to be one of my absolute favorite scenes in the book. If I was ever in Alexis' position...I would have snatched up Logan in a heart beat. That description makes Logan one of the most swoon-worthy characters on my LL list. I knew from the start that the tension will turn into something explosive.

The chemistry....so hot. Give me a British guy with glasses any day and I will be happy! That charming personality, good looks, and funny banter....I couldn't get enough. Alexis is totally the yin to Logan's yang. They balance each other so well that you knew they were meant to be.

I love this friends to benefits scenario. Sometimes it's the guy who is oblivious to any people who are infatuated around them. But this time, Alexis is the one who is oblivious to Logan's feelings. I just love how it is in reverse. Maybe Alexis is too busy running a kick ass business to deny any fun in her life. But, when she realizes something is good before it's gone, it may be too late. So what is the outcome of Alexis' and Logan's relationship??? You'll have to read and see ;)

Amazon 5 Star Review:
Love! I accidentally started with the last book in the series, but it still easily stood alone. I LOVED this book and went back and read books 1 and 2, and it was still my favorite. Great hero, fun heroine. A definite re-read.

This is the 3rd book in the Wedding Belles series & I loved it. Lauren Layne writes such fun & entertaining stories & her characters are real- you end up feeling like they are friends by the end of the book.

Alexis is the owner of Wedding Belles along with Logan (her silent partner) I love the back story of their relationship & I was cheering out loud as Logan finally made his move.

My only complaint about this book is that it is the last in the Wedding Belles series. I will miss the Belles & their loves.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH features the two people we've been desperate for from the beginning: Wedding Belles owner Alexis Morgan and Wedding Belles accountant Logan Harris. The excitement and the angst has been building for over 2 books, and I cannot tell you how much it really hit the gut while reading. If you're an oldie to the series, the workaholic and unaware nature of Alexis has been driven home since the very beginning. Her drive to succeed and blindness to anything aside from that is astounding. How could it not be for a guy who has been there for close to a decade, pining and waiting for her to notice him and for her to be completely out of the loop. If you're a newbie to the series, it'll be very easy for you to follow along and get the exact feel that's been building.

I really enjoyed the fleshing out of Alexis. She may seem like a cold person, but really she's protective of herself and wary to anything out of her control (plus she can be pretty oblivious). At times the urge to shake her to wake her up can get a bit strong, but I loved how LL stuck by who she is and didn't give in to weakening her. And Logan has got to be the sweetest man in history to stick by her in whatever way she has allowed, but, boy, when that man has had enough, it gets hot. HOTTTT. Hot British accountant who wears glasses...I mean, come on. LL never once makes him seem like the lovesick puppy or a weak man, but instead a patient man who knows what he wants. While it wasn't my favorite of the series, I certainly loved it and enjoyed the journey of this power couple. I'm sad the Wedding Belles is over as I really enjoyed each love story and the unique fun that LL puts into each couple.

TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH by Lauren Layne is the highly anticipated finale in her Wedding Belles series and it does not disappoint. This is a sweet ending to a fun series.

This is the story of two long term friends coming to terms with the fact that they’re actually very much in love with each other. What isn’t there to love?

Although I felt the pacing was a bit rushed, I was still quite satisfied. Layne is on point with quick dialogue and a neat & tidy happily ever after. Her books are aways enjoyable. I’ll continue to read pretty much anything she writes.

To Love and to Cherish is the final book in The Wedding Belles series by Lauren Layne. I was so excited to finally get Alexis and Logan's story, and let me tell you, they don't disappoint one bit. Their story was all consuming for me. I just couldn't put it down. Going into this book, I felt like I knew Alexis better than I knew Logan, but there was actually a whole lot more to learn about her. And Logan? I couldn't wait to see what he was like, and now he's my favorite of the guys in this series. They had undeniable chemistry, and they sure know how to turn on the steam. I've enjoyed each book in this series, and it was sad to see it end, but I'm thrilled with the overall outcomes of these characters. I'm going to miss them though. The characters of The Wedding Belles Series felt like friends, and I hate saying bye to friends.

THis was the first book by Lauren Layne that I have ever read and it will not be the last. This book was thoroughly enjoyable. It had everything I want in a romance. The tension between the two characters built as the story progressed, which felt organic. The pacing of the novel fit the story well--nothing felt rushed, missed, or undeveloped. I laughed at times. THough I haven't read the other books in the series, I didn't feel left out whenever the other characters were mentioned. Sometimes referencing characters from other books can isolate new readers, but Layne introduced the characters with enough information to help a new reader, yet not too much rehashing to irritate fans or deviate from the story at hand. Layne has a deft hand with providing enough information for us to understand the characters and their motivations. Finding a new author is always a treat and I look forward to reading more by Lauren Layne.