3 1/2 STARS

CW for eating disorder, talk about counting calories and body image, and recovering addict (alcoholic)

Who doesn't love a good roadtrip romance? Model heroine + chef hero.

I really enjoyed this book for the most part. There's some hot scenes between these two.

My biggest problem was truly a "me problem": I have a hard time reading about eating disorders and body image problems.

This was such an outstanding resolution to the Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series. I find myself describing these books to people and the characters just don't make sense when I talk about them. How do they get together? How do they even meet? But Jenny Holiday makes it feel so natural. The characters are so well-developed and multi-faceted, of course these characters are made for each other.

I also, again, think the character's struggles are very well-written. Jenny Holiday makes a habit of giving each of her characters some significant trauma, in this case, an eating disorder and a past cocaine addiction which led to him being disowned. These are serious issues for what is objectively a quite funny romance.

I'm sad this series is over, but I adored it the whole way through.

This may be one of my favorite books in this series (which has been pretty spectacular so far). I really loved how thoughtfully it handled both Gigi and Bennett's issues/backstory, and I LOVED the great friendship as always. I was very pro Gigi also being encouraged to embrace her skills yay.

Gia Gallo is on her way to Florida, not. Stuck at the airport and giving the agents what for, Bennett knows that voice though they just met at a wedding a while back. Now walking towards her he is really taking in her beauty while trying not to laugh as she continues to get nowhere with the airline. He offers her a place for the night after going to his restaurant in New York. She is taken back by the food and just by the way he handles people. That night and the following morning she feels the same. When they end up taking a train to D.C. thinking that they will be ahead of the storm they are sadly mistaken. They now must take a car and this is when the story heats up. They begin to find out about each other that neither has told anyone else. She had not told her friends the other women and he had not even told Noah everything. Now when she stops in his home town to visit his mentor, and then is with him to visit his parents who he has not seen in decades he begins to have feelings for her. What he does know is that he must go about it slowly or Gia will run. This does not happen and she does run, but it is the trouble she gets herself into and him and the women to find her to hopefully put her back together. This is a very good book for what I am thinking is the last book with the way the epilogue was. Just for that, you must read it. But Gia is some woman with many different layers and Bennett is working at helping her to feel safe. A very good book. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

I was so excited to get Jenny Holiday's Three Little Words book. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series and couldn't wait to read this one. It did not disappoint. One of my favorite reads this year.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

A sweet love story that will make you smile swoon and crave southern cooking!

He doesn’t do hook ups, she doesn’t do relationships. Love this a classic trope turned on its head. This is the third book in the Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series, but it can absolutely be read as a standalone. The books in this series are full of fun, friendship, sizzle, steam, romance, and love! I love strong female friendships in books and these three girls have one of the best I have read. A group of girls you would love to go out with, tell your secrets too, the type of girls who would bring you ice cream at two in the morning. We all need a 2 AM ice cream friend!

Gia is heading to Wendy’s wedding in Florida, caught up in a snowstorm in New York she is forced to take a road trip with Bennett all the way to Florida. These two do not exactly get off on the right foot Bennett thinks that Gia is a bit of a diva, and Gia thinks Bennett is nothing but a player. BUT soon Gia finds out that Bennett is not looking for a good time he’s looking for a long time... relationship that is. As the two of them begin to get to know each other better they begin to question what they really want. SO what are those three little words? I love you? Or... leave me alone?

Gia was an interesting character a bit blunt, a bit bitchy, a bit standoffish, but as the story progresses you really get to know her and to like her. Bennett on the other hand will instantly make you swoon a good looking nice guy who can cook... sold! The chemistry between these two was off the chart HOT and once things got cooking it was definitely steamy! A satisfying ending to a wonderful series!

An entertaining romance perfect for those who like sweet love stories filled with fabulous characters with some sizzle and steam! Recommend!

*** many thanks to Forever for my copy of this book ***

Got this as an ARC! From reading the other books I wasn't keen in Gia.

But damn her coldness and bitchiness let up A lot here! Snowball fights in NYC to beach fun in Florida.

Bennett, this man... he's got some issues and he's surprised Gia helps him deal with them.

She's struggling with eating and what to do about her modeling career. Or specifically what to do after it ends.

This road trip romance has humor, lots of character growth and sweet sexy times.

Received in exchange for a honest review.

Loved Bennett. He is the guy we all dream of having-one who doesn’t do casual and takes being a gentleman to the max. He is also caring, kind, hardworking and loyal. He comes from old money but made mistakes and has paid the price. He has worked hard to become what he is today and he has a dream that is so noble and his passion for cooking and helping others that are in a situation he once was is just swoony.

Gia is a little bit high strung. I get that she is the one with the dress but still a wee bit too high strung. You see a different Gia in this book. We see the Gia behind the mask. The one afraid of losing her career. The one who is smart but doesn’t think it. Who is insecure and fighting many battles with herself and with the perceptions of others of her. She has a big heart and it takes Bennett to get her to see that she is more than a model. Bennett is one that wants to know her and not Gia the model. He is attracted to her kindness and intelligence. He respects her as a person. This is something she isn’t used to. She is used to men wanting to be with her because she is a model and nothing else. So she protects herself and her heart. Only in this book Bennett slowly breaks down those walls.

These two are great together. Gia helps Bennett face his past and overcome it. I love the time in his hometown. Bennett really needed that. And when Gia sees the man Bennett is and how he respects and listens to her thoughts. NOt only that he implements her ideas and this to her is gold. He shows her that she is more than just a pretty face. She is valued.

their trip is one of self exploration and discovery. Bennett wants Gia but doesn’t believe in casual. He tries it but his heart falls for Gia and you can see it happening as they drive to Florida. Gia doesn’t do relationships but is conflicted in letting Bennett go. When they get to Florida after an amazing road trip where we see them learn about each other and themselves. Where we see both of them realize things about themselves and where they wish to be but also confront things and accept things as well. Where Bennett gains perspective and lets go of his past and begins a new beginning with those he loves. Where Gia sees she is valued and Bennett helps take care of her and doesn’t judge her. Where we get intimate moments in bed and out of bed that have you melt.

than Florida hits and Gia gets squirrelly. I start to not like her. She treats Bennett with distance and he wants more. I hated watching that. I hated seeing Bennett treated like he didn’t mean anything to her even though he does. I loved how Bennett was there for his friends and did what he did for them. How he showed Gia his feelings and was open. How he didn’t treat her with anything but respect and love no matter what. He didn’t shame her of make her feel less. I love how he was with her. The ending was sweet and amazing. How her friends helped her see her value and where Bennett stood in her heart. How they helped her overcome her fears and Bennett had me swoon.

The story is sweet, sexy and just swoony at times. Bennett captures your heart and entertains you. Gia at times will frustrate you but is a good character. These two complement one another and their chemistry sizzles off the pages. A great romance.

I really enjoyed this! Contemporary romance is not usually my favorite, I lean heavily towards historical romance, so when I find a contemporary author I enjoy it's exciting. I will be recommending this to the romance readers at my library and will definitely be purchasing (and reading!) the beginning of the series!

Wow. This was such a fun, sassy, and romantic wedding roller coaster. I loved meeting these two amazing characters, Bennett and Gia. Gia was a model who didn't always want to be noticed for her looks. Bennett was an amazing chef looking for love. It was beautiful to see how big their hearts were. The one thing they had in common off the bat was their need to help others. Bennett helped feed people in his community and when Gia saw this side of him she was impressed.

Three Little Words began with Gia and Bennett meeting at the airport. They were on their way to each of their best friends weddings. Then, the flight was canceled. Don't you just hate when that happens? I know I do. Together they have to find a way to get to the wedding on time without losing the rings and dress. And they have to learn to get along.

I loved the character development in this story. Jenny Holiday did an amazing job of pulling me into these somewhat broken characters. She put them in an unexpected situation and they had to work together or making it to the wedding would be impossible. They learned that together they were the perfect team in more ways than one.

I give Three Little Words 4.5 stars. It was a romantic romance filled with witty banter, lovable characters, and a great adventure. I'm so excited to read the previous books in the series. And I highly recommend this story to readers who love an unexpected, opposites attract romance and who enjoy the buildup and adventure along the way.

Three Little Words is the third book in the Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series. This story follows Gia. All three books follow a different main character, and can be read as a standalone. However; the characters do make appearances within the stories and they are fun reads so I recommend reading them in order.

This series in general has been a fun and quick series. This was probably my least favorite though, but I think it is just from wanting more from the series in general. I had a hard time getting into this one, but pushed through as I knew I wanted to finish out the series. Maybe I just was not in the mood for this type of story but I just did not find myself enjoying it as much as the others. Again, I cannot really explain why as it was just an ok read for me.

Overall, I have had a lot of fun with the whole series and even though this was not my favorite I still recommend the whole series.

I am new to Jenny Holiday books. I don't usually read a book in the middle of a series, but the description of this one was appealing. Gia Gallo is an aging model at a cross roads in her life. She is trying to hold on to her modeling career as long as possible, but also confused in trying to figure out her next move. In Three Little Words, Gia is traveling from her home in New York to Florida to meet her long time girlfriend for a wedding. Unfortunately, Gia gets stuck in New York due to a big storm and she has the wedding dress to deliver, so it's critical she get to Florida on time. Gia meets Bennett at the airport and they find out that they are both headed to the same wedding. Driving there becomes their only option. Three Little Words is a story about Gia and Bennett's travel to the wedding and relationship they spark along the way.

The story started off a bit choppy. It was hard to get engaged with the main characters as their interactions seemed a bit forced. Their time together driving from New York to Florida was the best part of the story. It was more believable and intriguing. But then once the they arrived in Florida it went back to seemingly forced interactions.

In the end, I give the book three stars. The middle third of the book is the best. Additionally, while the book was an acceptable read as a stand alone, I probably would have enjoyed it better if I knew the secondary characters better from the previous books in the Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series.

Jenny Holiday's Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series is a breath of fresh air. I've been totally enamored with each character, couple and book since the very beginning. I was excited to get to the last chapter of this series — and finally get Gia's story — and it in no way disappointed. In fact, it's probably my favorite of the series. I adored everything about it.

Man oh man, did I love Gia and Bennett. They played so well off each other and their chemistry was A+. I love a good road trip story and Gia and Bennett's was so perfect. I mean, hello, they went to South of the Border! What's a trip down (or up) I95 without a stop at South of the Border?! They made me laugh and swoon and I read nearly all of this book with a big cheesy grin on my face. It wasn't just the romance that made my heart happy, it was the friendships. Gia and her girls are goals. (And so are Bennett and his boys.) I read Three Little Words on Galentine's Day and it was the perfect time to do it.

I'm a big fan of a good epilogue and OMG did Jenny ever deliver in Three Little Words. I won't say too much because you deserve to get all the heart eyes — and a few tears — but it was EVERYTHING. It was the perfect way to close out the series. I get a little teary-eyed just thinking about it, tbh. I'm going to miss these characters, the friendships and relationships, but I love how everything wrapped up. I'll be keeping an eye out to see what Jenny gives us next. I'm here for it. She's easily one of my new favorite authors.

Favorite Quotes:
"I don't want to be anyone's girlfriend. I also don't want to mislead anyone. So I make sure I don't."

"When your whole point in life is to be good-looking, it's hard to find people who actually like you for you." 

Fuck her rules. Fuck his rules. They could call this whatever she liked that made it okay: casual, a hookup, a booty call. Because this was not over. No fucking way.

"I'm not going to try to control you. I know it's not my job to fix you. I don't even think you're broken."

Three Little Words is the the concluding novel of the Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series, one of my favorites of 2018. I was in agony waiting for this book, and I'm so glad I had the chance to read it early.

Like the previous novels in the series, Three Little Words takes place during a wedding weekend, this time it's Wendy's wedding. Everyone is flying into Florida a few days early to help the couple set up for the ceremony. Gia and Bennett, the best man, happen to be flying out of the same airport when their flight gets delayed due to a snowstorm. The two end up having to drive together down to Florida to get to the wedding on time.

I was super excited to read this concluding novel, because I knew Gia was closed off and opposed to love, and I wanted to see who and how someone would finally get her to open up. When Gia and Bennett meet at the airport it's not under the best circumstances, their flight was just delayed and Gia is not having it. After realizing they have to figure out a new way to Florida, they decide to stick together even though they don't like each other very much. I LOVED that the two characters couldn't stand each other.

Gia is a model who works hard to keep working, and is very closed off to protect herself. She's been hurt in the past by people who only want her around for her looks, and she's not dealing with that anymore. She decides the best way to make sure she isn't being used is by closing herself off. There is also a lot of discussion about aging out of the modeling industry and not being the ideal weight. These are are all things Gia is working through, even though she's still young and in shape, she's not the "right" shape. 

Bennett is a Southern man who lives and runs his own restaurant in New York. He's super into food, and describes food a lot, which left me super hungry throughout the novel. I wish I got to know Bennett more, I felt like there was something missing that didn't let me connect with him like I have with the other love interests in the series. Bennett is in recovery, and he mentions it and how it relates to his past, but I wish we had more of this. It felt more like a passing comment rather than something that was fully explored.

Both characters are dealing with a lot of tough issues and are not looking for a relationship when they begin their journey to Florida, which makes the whole story that much more exciting. I loved that even thought Gia was dealing with disordered eating, Bennett was trying to help her. This was done so well, he's not trying to fix Gia, but he's helping her fix herself.

My favorite book of the series is still It Takes Two, but Three Little Words was a solid conclusion to the series. I cannot wait to read what Jenny Holiday publishes next!

In Three Little Words, Jenny Holiday takes on one of the romance genre's most beloved tropes — the road trip romance — and totally makes it sing. Model Gia Gallo and chef Bennett Buchanan meet at the airport when they learn that their flight from New York City to Florida and their best friend's wedding has been delayed due to an epic storm. She has the bride's dress, he's got the rings; they have to get to the wedding in time. Cue a rental car and the open road.

The thing about a really good road trip romance is that the outward journey aligns with emotional journey. And oh, what a perfectly plotted emotional journey this is — Bennett is still grappling with some seriously bad behavior in his youth, and Gia struggles with food issues and her future as a model. The romance is intense, heartfelt, mature and sexy as hell — especially the night they get stranded at a hotel during a storm that knocks out the power ... And then it's back on the road the next morning, because Holiday makes these two work really work for their happy ever after.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars

Gia's character starts out in an irritating fashion by being obnoxious to the airline staff when there is a weather delay. Bennett is also at the airport and watches this first hand, before realizing that she's part of the same wedding party he is to be in.

Being the good guy he is, he saves Gia from sleeping in the airport by taking her home with him. Gia's not exactly the best company but they manage pretty well considering the only thing they have in common is getting to the wedding on time.

Gia's obsession with getting to the wedding is rather annoying at times. There is plenty of time to get to Florida from New York and I understand her urgency, but rather than find a reliable way to get there, she seems to fall apart and place blame.

Bennett is a good guy. He put up Gia's crap when he didn't have to, and ultimately comes up with a way to get to Florida (by driving). As he and Gia get to know each other, they find common ground and let the sparks ignite.

I enjoyed this book, but Gia's harpy-ness could be toned down just a bit.

So, I liked this book. I've only read one other Jenny Holiday novel (The first one in the Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series) and I really need to read the rest of her novels. I'm normally not a big fan of the I don't like you - WAIT - Maybe I'm in love with you trope, but this one worked out okay. I felt that the hero was just a TAD overdoing it, but it makes sense with the context of the book. I really hope that her future business prospects work out the way we want them to. I kind of would like to hear more about how all of that works out, beyond what was in the epilogue. I'm a sucker for people who are great at their jobs, and enjoy them.

I had an interesting relationship with the Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series. I adored book one and enjoyed book 2 a little less book one. I wasn’t really sure how I would feel about Gia’s story as I didn’t think I really knew her as much as I knew the other two. Instead I got my FAVORITE of the series. I loved, loved, loved this book. Gia and Bennett had off the charts chemistry and I found myself desperate for more words. There was showing so natural about their pairing. Two people that seemed to be 100% opposites just clicked. Did they both frustrate me at times? Absolutely, but only in the way that a perfectly told romance can. This was just the perfect end to this amazing series about friendship and finding love.

Honestly, folks, I’m scared to take a reading-breath, I’ve had SUCH a run of great books since New Year’s and Holiday’s Three Little Words gets on that list too. Not that I’m complaining, but as an introvert and pessimist, I do wonder: when will the reading ball drop?

So, Holiday’s #3 of Bridesmaids Behaving Badly: I wasn’t super-keen going in because, while I enjoyed #2, it didn’t rock my world. I liked it well enough and I especially liked Holiday’s smooth, easy-as-pie prose. There were also intriguing little moments with Gia Gallo, one of the quarto of girlfriends that make up Holiday’s series and this is Gia’s story and the intriguing Cajun chef in whose restaurant heroine Wendy and hero Noah dine in It Takes Two. Gia is gorgeous, a model, and a mess when it comes to food. She’s got a problem with it. In Three Little Words, we learn that, at days-away from 30, her body isn’t doing the skinny-model thing it used to and Gia’s having trouble coming to terms. Groomed from girlhood to compete in the pageant circuit, Gia doesn’t know what else she can be, what else she can do. She puts her existential crisis on hiatus at the novel’s start, however, because she‘s on her way to deliver her friend’s, Wendy’s, wedding dress to her Pink Palace Florida wedding. With a fitting scheduled, Gia has to get there ASAP.

When the novel opens in NYC, Gia’s arguing with an airport official as he tries to explain that a major snowstorm has halted flights. Hero Bennett Buchanan, the groom’s best friend, on his way to Florida with the rings, witnesses and internally scoffs at Gia’s entitled hissy-fit. Initial impressions aren’t good on either part, but New York City snowstorms are the mother of Gia and Bennett’s reluctant travel alliance. In the novel’s course, they spend time at Bennett’s restaurant, Boudin, the night in his loft, on a train to Baltimore, where the storm follows and deters them once more, and into a Mini-Cooper which they drive all the way into the arms of the wedding party. In between their inauspicious hardly-meet-cute and the Floridian Pink Palace, they forge a reluctant friendship, surrender to their physical attraction, and fall in love. But the course of true love and weather-fraught road romance never did run smooth …

Holiday has crafted the perfect romance: with the unifying structural principle of the shared journey. As a result, Holiday paces the give-and-take, the reluctance-and-eagerness dance of the romance in as engaging a manner as a romance can be. Moreover, she crafts two characters whose goodness, vulnerability, and weaknesses offer enough opposities-attract friction to keep it interesting and carefully-dropped instances of shining-through compatibility to keep things hopeful: tense, hopeful, and invested, that’s what the best of the genre offers and Holiday has achieved it. She infuses Gia and Bennett’s exchanges with wit and banter, with honesty and an opening-up of themselves to the other, with tenderness and pain; their physical exchanges are beautifully crass and raw, but honest, organic to who they are as individuals and what they’re coming to mean to the other. And, rarer in romance than it should be, she shows them as the helpmeets they can be to each other when they achieve their HEA.

The struggle is real because Holiday layers setting, narrative ARC, and distinct personalities with an opposites-attract icing that works to create conflict. Gia is a no-strings gal and Bennett is an all-out strings guy. This is the novel’s surface: commitment-adherent and commitment-phobe, the stuff rom-coms are made of. I think the novel is more interesting than that. That Gia and Bennett will be together is not that difficult to work out: they’ve got the “feelz”, it’ll happen. There’s a delightful blow-out fight, but the reader can tell it’s only a matter of time. What I really enjoyed about the novel is how two people at existential cross-purposes fall in love. Since his misspent youth, Bennett has been on a mission to live differently, to do better, to give rather than take and destroy. His personal survival is a victory, hard-won, well-deserved. Gia, on the other hand, feels she is purposeless. Modelling, what she’s always done, is what she knows, but it’s not a purpose she can get behind anymore. How Bennett mitigates his missionary zeal, achieves reconciliation, with Gia’s love and help, and how Gia, with Bennett’s love and help, finds a way to reevaluate her relationship with food from enemy to sustenance and to be in the world with her own defined purpose, is what makes the novel great. With Miss Austen, we agree that Holiday’s Three Little Words is evidence that there is “no charm equal to tenderness of heart,” Emma.

Jenny Holiday’s Three Little Words is published by Forever. It was released on January 29th and may be found at your preferred vendor. I received an e-ARC from Forever, via Netgalley.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Note: Some spoilers re: story-line

Three Little Words, while the third in the Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series, it is actually the 5th because there is a .5 and a 2.5 novella in the series. With that out of the way… Three Little Words is the second book written by Jenny Holiday that I have read. I must say, I am very impressed with the writing of Jenny Holiday. Just the right amount of romance, “heat” and everyday sort of challenges – oh and did I say HEAT!

Gia Gallo is a bridesmaid for one of her bestie’s Wendy. While at the airport in New York, waiting to board the plane to Tampa, Gia gets the bad news that the flight was cancelled due to bad weather. Not good as Gia is on a mission:

“Listen to me,” the bad-tempered beauty said to the gate agent as she held up a garment bag. “This is a wedding dress. It needs to get to Florida now.”

“This is my friend Wendy’s wedding dress. Actually, it’s her dead mother’s wedding dress. And Wendy? She hasn’t had the easiest time of it. So I have made it my personal mission to make sure her wedding goes off without a hitch. This dress will make it to Florida if I have to walk it there myself.”

So Gia, the firecracker of bridesmaids meets Bennett (a groomsman for the wedding who is transporting the wedding rings down to Florida). What ensues is a journey…a multifaceted journey I might add. Being grounded until the next day, they hatch a plan to make it part way flying, but then get grounded again due to weather. So…forget flying… there new plan is to rent a car and drive since they have to get the wedding dress and rings to Florida as soon as possible.

Gia is a woman who does not do relationships. In fact, she has a “one-and-done, two-and-through rule. Bennett is a man who only does relationships. So right off the bat one can surmise the tension between the two.

I really enjoyed how during the journey they really did open up to each other and, be it kismet or whatever, they each knew instinctively what the other needed to overcome obstacles in their personal paths. As one can surmise, what is a road trip without some hot, steamy sex? Well there was that for sure…. which at first was surprising since Bennett values intimacy in a “relationship”, he is not into one or two night stands. But he broke down. And the justifications that Gia gave for going beyond her “two” times intimacy limit were hilarious, especially the morning scene where Gia is being the instigator:

“…What happened to the two-times rule?” he asked, helping her get free of the tangled sheets.

She plopped onto her back and turned her head to look at him. He was adorably disheveled. And stubbly. And delicious. “Well,” she said, casting about for a loophole, “I’m counting the first time as a half, because you didn’t come. You didn’t even take any clothes off, so…”

“So that means you don’t get to come if we go at it again?” He furrowed his brow. “I don’t think I can be down with that.”

Needless to say, there are lots of steamy scenes in the book. And sweet romantic scenes as well.

The story-lines dealing with Gia’s baggage with respect to eating was very well done. It is tough being a model on the verge of aging out of her profession – lots of pressure to be perfect. So when Bennett watches Gia’s eating patterns – his solutions are very respectful.

Bennett is certainly not without baggage. He is estranged from his family. His restaurant is not the “pay-what-you-can” establishment that he wanted by this time in his life. Gia listens and provides subtle and small nudges to help Bennett realize he can have what he wants.

The evolution of these two characters during the road trip was very well done, with just the right amount of humor, sensitivity and good ole storytelling.

When the duo finally meets up with the remaining wedding party members in Florida, we see Gia retreating and Bennett floundering helplessly because Gia is retreating. What to do??? Some heart stopping moments, but you shall see when you read the book for yourself.

Three Little Words is an easy, enjoyable read. I entered this series at book 2.5 – Merrily Ever After and had no difficulty picking up the characters and how they fit in together. However, having enjoyed both book 2.5 and 3 – I am hoping to go back and read books 1 and 2 of Jenny Holiday’s Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*