Neverending Beginnings

A promising premise and a cast of entertaining, albeit somewhat underdeveloped, characters make for a light, happy contemporary romance with a chick-lit feel. When bridesmaid Kate Crenshaw botches the toast to the happy couple, she wishes she could get a do-over of the whole thing. Luckily for her, she gets to rewrite the whole week à la Groundhog Day—not just once, but six more times before everything goes just right. Though Kate’s reactions can be a bit overwhelming and melodramatic, she’s a vulnerable, likable protagonist. She endearingly fumbles her way through admitting her attraction to best man Ben while dealing with her grief over the recent death of her mother. There are more than a few clichéd descriptions and redundancies, and stilted, superficial dialogue interrupts a lively flow. Though Escobar tends to hammer her points home, she also creates several extremely effective lump-in-your-throat moments, such as Kate eating dessert for breakfast as a tribute to her mother, that bring depth to the characters and add sweet sentimentality to the story. [em](BookLife) [/em]