You Say It First is a fun and entertaining book that is the first in a new series by Susan Mallery. It features Pallas Saunders, who has inherited a wedding business called Weddings in a Box. Pallas does theme weddings, and soon hires successful artist Nick Mitchell to do some carpentry. Neither Nick nor Pallas will place trust in a real relationship, but they are willing to see where their attraction takes the in the right now.

This was a really good book with interesting characters and an intriguing storyline. The backdrop of the wedding destination venue and the small town setting were great. Nick's large family and their drama added to the story. This is a good start to the series!

It's always hard to end one beloved series and begin a new one, but Susan Mallery has done that with grace and charm. I was sad to hear that we were at the end of the stories of Fool's Gold, but was open to learn what Happily, Inc. has to offer and I wasn't disappointed. With this new series, Susan has brought us to a unique town and introduced us to some new friends. It helps that the characters include a few who had previously left Fools Gold to move to Happily, Inc, so there are enough references to the past to help us maintain our connections as we branch out to a new experience. This is a sweet and charming novel, with interesting characters to enjoy, and a fun storyline that will make anyone want to plan a unique wedding. I look forward to reading the next installment in the series.

World famous sculptor Nick Mitchell has some downtime while waiting for his next commission so he interviews for a job as a carpenter for the owner of a wedding venue. Pallas Saunders is giving it everything she has to make her business a success or she will never hear the end of it from her controlling mother, who seems to enjoy making it very clear how disappointed she is with her daughter.

The first meeting between Pallas and Nick starts off very interesting when she needs an extra to fill in for one of her wedding venues. This relationship will really take off once they get to know each other. But they both have some issues to deal with due to family history.

Nick is a famous sculptor visiting the town of Happily, Inc. to spend time with his artist brothers while he waits to hear if he's being hired for a 2 year gig overseas.. Looking to keep busy, he answers an ad for a part time job and meets Pallas, the owner of Weddings in a Box. Pallas lives to put on theme weddings for her customers in spite of her mother's plan for her to join her at the bank. How to do what you want to do and still please your family is one of the themes in this great read.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I've read a ton of Susan Mallery's books from the Fool's Gold series, so it nice to see some characters from that series cross over into a new quirky town and mingle with a new cast of characters. So the characters were likable.

The story line was good, closely follow's Mallery's formula from the Fool's Gold series, but also a bit predictable. But that may be because I've read so many of her other books.

If you're looking for a fast, fun read, try this one out.

This is my first ever Susan Mallery read - yes, I can hear your gasps of shock! Heck, B has been trying to get me to read her for years!

Welcome to the town of Happily Inc and it's motley crew of residents! There is a lot of background and introductions in this first book in this series, but it is well worth it!

There are a LOT of weddings in this book, however I loved that they are not the run of the mill I Dos.

And there are plenty non-run-of-the-mill characters too. I adore Pallas and all her insecurities. Add Nick to the equation, and things start to get a little steamy!

Add in the fact that both our lovelies have commitment issues, well you just know that they are going to take us on a ride to find their HEA.

There are great secondary characters, whom I am looking forward to getting to know better as the series continues.

Light, fun , sweet and adorable, You Say It First is a great way to spend a few hours.

Ms. Mallery is doing it again. Looks like she has another winner with this series. Also tying it in with the fools gold series is brilliant. Can't wait to read more of this series as she writes them. Wondering will they be about palla's friends or nick's brothers?? If the future books are as good as this first one I will be reading them all for sure!!

I believe this is going to be a great series. A lot of characters were introduced which leads me to believe this series will run for quite a while. Happily Inc. is an unusual town focusing on weddings. I like the concept and look forward to seeing how the stories evolve.

Susan Mallery is masterful at creating characters with depth and who are totally lovable. She certainly did not disappoint with the characters in You Say It First, the first book in the Happily Inc. series.

From the very first page, I was all smiles. While waiting to hear about a possible commission to create a work of art in Dubai, Nick goes for a job interview as a carpenter and is immediately asked to remove his shirt. Hmmm.... is that how Pallas interviews all her carpenters? Actually, Pallas has inherited Weddings in a Box, where unique wedding ceremonies are created and she is short one toga-wearing Roman soldier to carry the bride in on a palanquin. . Although he certainly doesn't need the job, Nick wants to stay busy with projects that interest him and as time goes on he finds himself interested in more than just the wooden panels he plans to restore. He finds himself quite interested in Pallas.

There were so many interesting characters in this book and life in this small town is warm and friendly, except for the relationship between Pallas and her mother, Libby. That needs some work. There is also a strain between Nick and one of his brothers. But as friends come together to create some amazing weddings, an understanding of love and not taking the future for granted comes into play.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series, hoping to follow more of these fabulous characters in their life journeys.

I read the Happily, Inc books out of of order, but when I did, I knew I just had to go back and read about how Pallas and Nick came together.
And boy, I wasn't disappointed.
Pallas owns Weddings in a box and has the most hateful mother I've ever read. truly. The woman is a class A bitch and all that goes along with it, and Pallas is at her wit's end trying to be the good daughter and live up to all mommy's expectations and demands.
Nick knows a little sumthin' sumthin' about demanding parents since his father is a world famous artist and a complete asshole. Pallas and Nick share more than just their parental angst. They are both at a bit of a crossroads in their professional and personal lives and those problems make YOU SAY IT FIRST such a good read.
Pallas finally finds her voice and confronts her mother, and in so doing realizes for the first time in her life that love isn't something she needs to earn, but something that she can give freely.
Nick finally understands that not all love is consuming and soul-sucking like his parent's marriage and love affair is.
I can see why this series is such a popular one with readers. It has great, complex characters, excellent internal and external conflicts, and fun secondary characters.
5 stars for YOU SAY IT FIRST from me!

For those who are sad to say good bye to Fool's Gold, welcome to Happily Inc! Susan Mallery has created another wonderful town filled with characters that you will want to get to know.

You Say It First is the first book in the Happily Inc series by Susan Mallery. Susan is one of my favorite romance writers. She always writes a catchy and heartwarming book.

Happily Inc is a new series that is sort of a spin off from her Fools Gold series. I have read most of the Fools Gold series...great series. Happily Inc is off the a good start with You Say It First.

Susan Mallery once again proves why she is one of the top selling romance writers. You Say It First was well written and had a good story. The California desert location of Happily Inc and the focus on weddings should make this another must-read series. The characters of Pallas and Nick were believable and likeable characters as were the supporting characters.

You Say It First is the first book in what will obviously be a very successful romance series. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series!

Susan Mallery takes her readers to a new town in this book. She transports us along with three of the Mitchell boys from Fool’s Gold to Happily, Inc. Happily, Inc. is a town that revolves around weddings. It is the premier place for destination weddings and Weddings in a Box sits at the heart of the town. This story is about the new owner of this business and a man she hires to do a little work for her.
Nick Mitchell left Fool’s Gold to get way from the demands of his famous father. Although Nick used to work in glass like his father, he has since moved onto working in wood. He likes the organic nature of wood. Being in Happily, Inc., Nick finds himself with some time while he waits for a decision on an art installation in Dubai. Hearing that Weddings in a Box needs a carpenter, Nick applies for the position and finds so much more than a way to keep himself occupied.
Pallas Saunders has recently become the owner of Weddings in a Box. She inherited it when the former owner died. Pallas has lived her entire life thinking that she would step into a job at the family bank as soon as she got her finance degree. Trying to please her mother is a never ending chore and now that she owns a business, Pallas has to determine what she wants to do. Hiring Nick seems like a good idea.
I loved watching the interplay between Pallas and Nick. Susan Mallery is a master of telling romance stories with just a little bit of angst to keep things interesting and enough of a build up to the romance to keep her readers along for the ride. Pallas and Nick both have family issues which play a role in their romantic future. They have to navigate what love really means and how passion can both create and destroy. They have to decide what kind of people and what kind of couple they want to be.
Setting the story of Pallas and Nick in this wedding venue offers Ms. Mallery a number of creative options. She has set up this town to be just as unique as Fool’s Gold is. There are so many people who need to find love and so many ways that Ms. Mallery can make her books fun and interesting. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

I've been waiting all summer for the new Fool's Gold books to be released and was pleasantly surprised to find this new Happily Inc. series in its place. Nick is a character that is mentioned in Fool's Gold and several of the characters from the town are referenced through this book, but this is most definitely a new town with new quirks and new characters.

Pallas is an easy character to instantly love and as she develops through the book it is easy to see why she has so many friends who love her and want to help her. As soon as she begins to fall for Nick you want that for her just because she deserves it!

Because I was familiar with Nick's family from the previous books I was pretty much instantly rooting for him as well, but I like the fact that Mallory didn't make him 100% instantly likable and perfect. Nick grows a lot as a character throughout this book and it is fun to see it happen without his knowlege. I also really liked the way Mallory showed the complex relationship between the brothers, which may not exactly be a typical scenario, but every family can relate to at least to some extent.

This was a charming offshoot of the Fool's Gold series. I didn't have the frustration from that series that SO MANY people recurred in the stories. Don't get me wrong, there is a LOT of sequel-bait in this book but they were woven in well, and there is a nice, built-in explanation for why we'd see some of these people again.
It seems in the 1960s, our heroine's grandfather, wanting to help the town's economy, made up a story about a stagecoach breaking down and the load of women falling in love with the men in town and opting to build the town now known as Happily Inc. Pallas Saunders knows it's a load bull but she still enjoys her role in town providing weddings in a box (or, at least I think she does. All her friends tell her so but she doesn't seem convinced). She needs help though. She's just barely breaking even and she's trying to figure out how to change that. One way is to restore the exquisite wooden panels that divide some of her rooms.
That's where Nick Mitchell comes in. We saw two of his brothers get married in the Fool's Gold series but he's not going to fall into the same trap. He's seen the marriage between his father and mother and seen how much passion can lead you to pain. So, though he's interested in Pallas (and in restoring her panels), he's not going to fall in love.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out August 22

Pallas runs a specialized wedding business and she hires Nick as a carpenter to help with her business. He's a famous artist and doesn't really need the work, but is in between jobs and needs something to do. Pallas' mom wants her to work at the bank and thinks she should sell the wedding business. There is a lot of tension between Pallas and her mom, which is all revealed within the story.

I really enjoyed the different theme weddings and the art aspect. Can't wait for the next book in the series (such a cute little, quaint town).

Thank you for the ARC.

Pallas, the owner of Weddings out of the box and Nick, the wood artist meet and fall for each other in this fun, crazy
Town of Happily Inc. I enjoyed their story and the glimpse into the lives of their friends and relatives. A great new series.

A sweet love story told with a nod to artistic talent of all kinds. A new Susan Mallory title that will make readers swoon.

I keep wavering between rating this as 2 or 3 stars.

I have put as 2 because even though I read the entire thing, I am not remotely satisfied by it.
I normally enjoy this author but I just found this one incredibly lacking in a lot of areas.

I loved the premise of the story and was looking forward to it.
However, it just fell flat in the end. I didn't "get" the connection between the main characters of Nick and Pallas (also how on earth do i pronounce that name?) and I definitely didn't feel the chemistry that you normally feel with a good romance.
I found myself wanting more scenes with the other characters. They seemed more interesting than these two. They were just boring, maybe they're more interesting in the future books? who knows. The whole romance moved incredibly quickly too, there wasn't even a build up of sexual chemistry before he kisses her etc .

I hate to leave bad reviews but this was just bleugh.
I have the second one but now am very unsure whether to read it or not.

I found myself laughing as this one opened up, can't imagine turning up for a job interview and have it turn so quickly. I liked that even after the unexpectedness of the situation Nick was still interested in the job. I have to say that I didn't really like Pallas at first, she was sort of meh.... It was only as she got excited about doing crazy weddings that Pallas became more interesting. I loved how Pallas jumped in, how she turned to her friends and how they all came up with great things for both the alien wedding and the under the sea wedding. Even Nick got into things, using his artist mind to come up with fantastic things.

The romance between Nick and Pallas had a slow build, but that was part of the charm. I liked that Nick was up front with Pallas about his plans. I hated that he was going to leave, but understood that the opportunity was great for his career. When things went to crap for them, it really went to crap, Nick was so cold and harsh to Pallas. Pallas did a great job of keeping her head up when all she really wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. I was so glad that during a wedding Nick realized what was important to him and let Pallas know.

While we had the romance, there was a lot of family drama in this one. First there was Nick and his brothers, who we first saw in the Fool's Gold series. I get why things were messed up with the twins, but I also get Nick's views of who cares, get over it. The fight between the two of the brothers was harsh, leaving one to try to mediate. But even in his anger Ronan helped out Nick, loved that Nick got to see that, which probably went a long way to healing things between them.

Then there was Pallas's drama with her mother, who was evil. I didn't get why Libby was so harsh on Pallas, why she didn't see how her daughter was great and perfect in running her business. Even after Pallas's grandfather explained things it didn't make me like her better, nor did Libby's apology later. It seemed too little too late.

I loved how this one ended, loved that Nick managed to surprise Pallas, loved how their trip will end.