Wedding Survivor

In the glittering first of a new contemporary romance series, London (Material Girl ) gives us the pleasure of a celebrity tabloid without the guilt. At the request of Eli McCain, a stuntman/adventure travel coordinator, newbie wedding planner Marnie Banks tries her hand at orchestrating the vows of self-obsessed movie stars Olivia Dagwood and Vincent Vittorio. As if organizing a million dollar–plus wedding in the remote San Juan Mountains isn't hard enough, Marnie also has to decipher whether sexy, commitment-phobic Eli appreciates her spunk—or just her curvaceous, size 10 body. London's quick dialogue and swift changes of scene are smooth, and it's impossible not to anticipate—and then savor—the bridezilla's inevitable meltdown in the face of a wedding disaster. London succeeds in painting gender without using too heavy a hand: Eli uses a kitchen towel, calling it a "rag," to wipe up spilled beer, and Marnie polls all the women in her life about whether Eli's "into" her. A few clichés slip in: Eli shies from the "complicated," and Marnie insists she truly "knows" Eli. In movie-speak, the novel is xXx meets Legally Blonde : witty and sweet with plenty of sparks. (Oct.)