"Financial and practical advantages! You make it sound about as appealing as a dentist appointment. There's got to be more of a reason than that for us to get married."

It was her grandfather's idea, the whole notion of a marriage between Janine and Zach. An arranged marriage, at that. But the two of them don't exactly plan on going along with the dear old man's old-fashioned plan in First Comes Marriage by author Debbie Macomber.

Heeheehee, just look at that 90s cover. I'll admit it was some nostalgia that drew me to it, looking like something I would've pulled off the bookshelf in my seventh grade English class, back in the day. But, hey, sometimes nostalgia makes a book even better.

I enjoyed taking a little break with this romantic comedy. It's not all fun and games, as Janine and Zach do have to work through some serious stuff in the middle, but then it brightens again, fittingly ending on a delightfully comedic note. Quite a nice story for anyone who'd find pleasure in a sweet and easy romance read. ( )

In Macomber’s romantic novel, Jasmine is an independent woman—regardless of her grandfather’s opinion. She has plans of her own that don’t go hand-in-hand with her grandfather’s plan of arranging her marriage. When Zach Thomas merges his business with the family business, he sees it as business only. But when Jasmine’s meddling grandfather starts matchmaking, Zach and Jasmine are thrown together despite their individual plans.

Arranged marriages are antiquated and no longer acceptable in today’s world, but the couple are forced to reassess that thought when passion flares between them.

What a wonderful story of two people whose lives become entwined for better or worse. ( )

First Comes Marriage is the 43rd stand-alone novel by Debbie Macomber. Janine Hartman is a well-off volunteer worker who lives with Anton, the grandfather who raised her after her parents were killed. Zach Thomas is a self-made man whose business has merged with Anton’s. When Anton tells Janine that he would like her to marry Zach, both she and Zach are shocked and surprised. This is the modern-day USA, not mid-century Europe! And anyway, they can’t stand each other! She’s rich, spoiled, illogical and stubborn (he says) and he’s arrogant, stubborn, rude, argumentative and unreasonable (she says). The marriage may look good in a practical and financial sense, but Janine wants to love (and choose) the man she will marry. And she wants grand passion. Anton says “first comes marriage, then comes love”. But somehow her interfering grandfather manages to throw Janine and Zach together a number of times, and things start to happen. This novel is filled with crossed purposes, misunderstandings and witty repartee. It is a lovely, funny and light-hearted Debbie Macomber classic. ( )