Artist
Dodie Layton is in desperate need of help and she needs it fast. She has been asked to be her sister's Chief
Bridesmaid and she gets orders from her mother to lose two dress sizes before her sister's
big day. Dodie frantically calls her best
friend Gina, a gym manager and pleads with her for help.
Gina reluctantly agrees to help Dodie, promising to have one of the personal
trainer's at the gym help with her diet and workout.
Dodie is determined to prove that she is just as gorgeous and sexy as her
actress sister, to show her cheating ex-boyfriend just what he is missing. And maybe
she'll even catch the eye of the gorgeous actor who will be the best man.
Ex-pro rugby star
Brad Morgan, who is now owner of the Lake Spa gym where Dodie's best friend Gina is the
manager, is looking for a much needed vacation. While
checking on the running of Lake Spa, Brad decides to take his vacation there. He meets the voluptuous Dodie when she arrives at
the gym to begin her classes. Brad realizes
who Dodie's famous sister is, and thinking it would be great publicity for the spa he
pretends to be her personal trainer after the original trainer falls ill. After a phone conversation with Gina about Dodie's
weaknesses for "comfort" food, such as chocolate and mints, Brad decides to move
in with Dodie to keep an eye on her.....personally and professionally.
Brad immediately
becomes determined to show Dodie that she is gorgeous just the way she is. Brad tries to convince her that she has generous
curves, she has a beautiful softness about her and that he loves her dimples, but getting
Dodie to believe it is the challenge. As
Dodie works hard at losing some pounds and spending days and nights with Brad, she finds
herself wanting more "personal" time with her trainer.
I truly enjoyed
this story. The gentle humor throughout the
story as well as the intense desire of a women's needs to be thin and to prove things to
others adds a reality to this story that makes it very believable and unique. I
found what Dodie really needs to accomplish was to appreciate herself, gain some
self-respect and work on her self-esteem.
Dodie's
relationship with Brad was touching, beautiful and intense and very entertaining. Watching Brad help Dodie to shed some pounds was
humorous and very touching. Brad showed Dodie
in many ways that he cares about her and that she is gorgeous just the way she is and that
she should be living for herself, not for others. Brad even convinces Dodie, after toning
up some, to confront her ex-boyfriend, letting her know that he has confidence in her and
that the only way for her to move on is to find the closure she needs.
Dodie is a woman
like so many women in the world and that is what makes 'The Bridesmaid's Reward'
believable. Having Liz Fielding write a book
about every woman's hang-ups and to do it with style, class and sincere works is really
inspiring and brilliantly done. Brad's lie
about being a trainer is even a minor thing compared to the seriousness of Dodie's views
of herself, her self-respect and Brad's determination to show her that she has no one to
impress or live for but herself. Watching Dodie learn to discipline herself through her
eating habit's, her exercise regimen and glow under Brad's praises was touching and
heartwarming. Liz Fielding does a great job
with a heroine that learns a lot about herself and a gorgeous, sophisticated, strong hero
to love her. Beautifully written and a
charming, unique and heartwarming story.
Reviewed by Tracey West for The Road to
Romance
January 25, 2003 |
