Heartstrings and Diamond Rings

Will love lead me to my soul mate or do I have to settle for the right mate?

When you have been looking for love as long as Alison Carter has, you have kissed an excessive amount of frogs, and you start to wonder if there is just something wrong with you. Alison has been successful in every aspect of her life but one - relationships. She wants so much to build a life surrounded by children, married to a man who will share her dreams and light up the night with passion.

Brandon Scott wants none of the above; he is looking to make his next fortune not make a great match. But for Brandon the housing market has crashed and it took Brandon's home-flipping career with it. There is an opportunity for him to recoup his losses with the matchmaking business his grandmother left him in her will. Brandon has to stay in the house to keep it and run her matchmaking business instead of selling it all for a profit. Brandon figures he can live in the house and make money off the business so a matchmaker Brandon becomes. He figures it cannot be that difficult he knows about men obviously and he has dated enough women this should be a walk in the park.

As fate would have it this is how Alison the queen of bad dates is coerced into meeting Brandon the man looking to get some quick cash and put Plano, TX in his taillights. Alison has all the makings of a great date but Brandon has found that the men she is matched up with all have a secret they cannot wait to share with her which has nothing to do with long-term relationships or marriage and everything to do with gender confusion and emotional baggage, this woman is really a dating nightmare.

While Alison cannot get her dating life to work out she is doing a great job of helping Brandon perfect his business. She knows how to market him like the pro that she is and the more she does her magic the more work comes Brandon's way. This is not the plan Brandon had in mind but the more time he spends with Alison the more he realizes the best-laid plans are the ones that need the most adjustments made to them. Brandon wants to stop thinking about her and work on her match but he just cannot stop thinking that maybe he is the perfect match for Alison. How is he going to leave her behind and walk away with more questions and less answers on what he should really be doing with his life?

Jane Graves writes fun books, with great characters who embrace their imperfections and make the most of the curve balls life throws at them. Alison and Brandon have come from different places in their lives but Ms. Graves writes this story so that the two people blend so well together that once she is done you have so completely fallen in love with them you cannot wait for their new life to begin. Jane's other gift is her secondary characters add so much to the story with their sassy personalities you are ready for them to have their own story told.

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Ghostpelt

U here berrypaw (/) ghostpelt

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A fun and sexy read.

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings by Jane Graves is another charming and moving story that will tug at your heart.

Alison Carter is tired of the jerks and Mr. Wrongs she has been dating. Her solution is a having a matchmaker do the ground work for her. Alison hires Matchmaking By Rochelle but instead she finds the late owners grandson Brandon Scott. Seems Brandon has taken over his late grandmothers business and assure Alison he can find the right man for her.

Brandon Scott takes over his late grandmothers matchmaking business in order to get much needed cash to broker a high end real estate deal. He figures that a few successful matches and he will be able to get back to the life he loves. His first client throws him for a loop, she is sexy, funny and not at all a part of his plans. Alison intrigues him and makes him feel alive.

Seems no matter how hard Brandon tries he just can¿t seem to make the perfect match for Alison. Each date is worse then the last one until Brandon saves the best for last, himself. As Brandon and Alison get closer will she still trust him once she finds out the truth about his being a matchmaker?

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings is a delightful romantic romp. Its funny, witty and sexy. The bad dates will have you laughing so hard. You can imagine all the bad dates you ever had rolled into Alison dates. The chemistry between Brandon and Alison sizzles on every page. Jane Graves books always deliver a wickedly funny and sexy good time.

Pulls at your heartstrings!

Funny,compassionate,& passionate. Tugs at your heartstring. Sweet story I really enjoyed it

ane Graves has become a new author for me to read.

Reviewed by Ellen H. for Readers Favorite

Alison Carter wants what her friends have: a husband, children and a home of her own. Brandon Scott needs money fast. He has inherited his grandmother's Matchmaking business and her house, as long as he wants to live there. Alison thinks her boyfriend, Randy, is going to propose; instead, he asks her if she would consider a threesome with one of her friends. She then decides that she has lousy taste and needs help finding a man. Alison makes an appointment with Brandon and enlists his help finding her soul mate. Brandon tries to match her with four guys. They look good on paper, but none of them fit Alison's ideal man. That could be because she has fallen for Brandon, but she does not know that he is not going to stick around. Brandon is out of there as soon as he makes enough money to invest in a real estate deal with his friend, Tom.

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings is a cute storyline about an inept matchmaker trying to find a sweet girl next door her ideal man. Somehow he stumbles upon mates for several clients, all except Alison. There are several good minor characters including Alison's best friend Heather, her co-worker Lois and her father. There is also good chemistry between the main characters. There were no lags in the story at all; it flowed well from beginning to end. It has a good balance between description and dialogue. This is a real feel-good chick lit book, and I highly recommend it. Jane Graves has become a new author for me to read.

I LOVED this book!

My Review:
Okay, I am officially sold... I think that I now officially qualify as a Jane Graves fan. OMG, this book was so sweet and such a wonderful read!! This book is the personification of what I love about contemporary romance.


Brandon works at flipping properties, but with the recent economic downturn, things have been really tight. When he inherits his grandmother's matchmaking business, he sees a quick way to make the $30,000 down payment for his next flip via her $1500 charge for hooking up new clients with 5 matches. What he doesn't plan on when he takes over the business is how much these peoples' lives and their possible matches will affect him. Brandon has never had a good foundation to understand love (con-man father, no mother, and a grandmother who inherited him when he was 16 yo.) but he has been trained as a conman by his dad so he knows how to read people. Who knew that this would serve him so well as a matchmaker...and it really does. He has a talent when it comes to matchmaking except when it comes to poor Alison.


Alison has had the worst luck EVER when it comes to love and all that she really wants in life is a family. At 30, she is starting to feel a bit desperate and decides to pay the big bucks for a matchmaker service. The problem is that Alison is truly a NICE person and allows to give Brandon more and more chances as he sets her up on more and more disastrous dates. He's not doing it on purpose, but it may just be a bit of unconscious sabotage as he gets to know and like Alison more and more.


This is such a sweet book. I absolutely ADORED both of these characters. Brandon has absolutely NO FOUNDATION for understanding love, but regardless of this, he is a truly nice guy and as he gets deeper and deeper into this matchmaking business, he starts to realize how much of an affect it can have on people's lives. After the sudden death of both her mother and brother, Alison is terrified of being left alone in this world (all she has now is her dad and she is terrified of him dying.) She desperately wants a family and sees that time is running out at the age of 30 to obtain that. She is willing to accept that there may not be fireworks to achieve that goal. Settling is okay with her, but as Brandon gets to know her better and better, HE is not willing to accept that for her. She deserves more.


This is really such a sweet book. It left me feeling good and happy. There are funny moments in the book, as well as poignant ones. It's just really a fantastic read and I am so happy to discover this (new to me) author!! I am now a Jane Graves fan!!!

3.5 Stars : Nice, easy read

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings was a cute and funny romance about a Alison Carter, a lady unlucky in love having visions of a cat lady future, and Brandon Scott, a down-on-his-luck real estate flipper struggling in today's economy who takes a con in his late grandmothers match making business to earn him enough money for his next flip.

When Allison walks into 'Matchmaking by Rochelle' she expects an elderly lady, not a man that resembles her every wet fantasy. Skeptical at first about a male matchmaker Allison eventual caves and let's Brandon match her up with three different men, and the dates from hell begin. Just when Brandon's about to make the money he needs to leave town and start his new deal, and when Allison thinks she's finally found a man she can have a future with, Brandon realizes that he's the perfect match for Allison. Is it too late though? And will Allison ever be able to forgive him when she finds out about his deception?

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings had a wonderful cast of characters that were both humorous and likeable. I really liked Brandon as a main character even though he wasn't entirely truthful, his character had dept and dimension. However, Allison wasn't a favorite of mine. I didn't like how she was content with just settling out of her fear of being alone and she was written as having low self esteem but some of her actions contradicted that; her clothing choices, minor comments, ect. I did enjoy the dialogue between these two though, it was witty and entertaining.
The romance between Brandon and Allison was slow to develop and in-turn slowed the whole plot down for me, though I thought it was a fresh breath for the gengre how these two became friends first before getting romantically involved. There were several steamy scenes that I enjoyed between the pair but the story was pretty predictable.

Overall Heartstrings and Diamond Rings was a good contemporary romance that was easy to read. It's nice every now and then to take your time with a book instead of the suspense being so built up you can't take a break from it.

Funny and enjoyable-another hit for Jane Graves.

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings begins with Alison Carter on a date with her boyfriend of 8 months. She is sure he is going to pop the question and he does. Unfortunately, the question is would Alison be willing to do a threesome with some bimbo they both know. Right off the bat we know Alison has baaaad luck with men. She is looking for Mr. Forever, the white picket fence, and a pack of children.
Brandon Scott has inherited his grandmother's matchmaking business and life use of her house. He usually is a real estate developer, but the economy has wiped him out and he's laying low, trying to get enough capital together to work on another deal. He is NOT looking for a permanent relationship.
Through a variety of circumstances, Alison becomes the new businesses first client. The story starts with a bang and continues moving along to the very end. Brendon learns the matchmaking trade slowly but surely with help from Alison. The descriptions of her first few dates are hilarious and each new experience helps Brandon hone his skills. Both of them learn to see what it is that they really want in life and what they need to do to get their heart's desire. They have well-meaning buttinsky friends who help them along the way.
This book has romance, humor and some heart tugging parts to it. The dates are a little over the top but enjoyable and the book is a good read. Both of the main characters are likeable and sympathetic, even when they may be doing something not so nice. When the book is done, you feel satisfied. Ms. Graves has another winner to add to her list.

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings is another warm jocular contemporary romance

Brandon Scott watched his real estate business collapse with the burst of the housing bubble. He has no capital available except what he inherited from his late grandma in Plano, Texas. To keep her house in order to sell it, he must reside there for six months. So he decides to also run her matchmaking business for six months to obtain some income in order to return to the housing market and selling his grandmother's business, Matchmaking by Rochelle. Brandon assumes running a matchmaking firm is a deal maker like in real estate. He figures finding six matches for a client at three hundred dollars a match cannot be to difficult.

Alison Carter's BFF suggests she try Rochelle as she has gone out with a who's who of Texas losers. She tries Rochelle, but Brandon's first attempt is just like her failures on her own. His next effort is not much better, but she proves to have great acumen in finding matches for others. As Brandon reconsiders fleeing Plano, he looks in a mirror and realizes staring back at him is the perfect match for Alison, but she may not agree with his assessment.

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings is another warm jocular contemporary romance starring two likable protagonists with different goals in mind until love unites their diverse objectives. The breezy story line is fast-paced with a strong eccentric support cast, especially her dates and his clients, enhancing the entreating tale of a man changing his priorities after learning what matters and a woman finding self esteem when she modifies her priorities.

Harriet Klausner

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