Bachelorette Number Twelve – Reading Companion
I put together a reading companion for my new novel Bachelorette Number Twelve so you can look at photos of the settings, outfits, and dishes described in the book and experience everything along with Ellie and Regina.
I hope you enjoy Bachelorette Number Twelve and this reading companion!
Chapter 2
In chapter 2, Ellie enters the historic Muehlebach Hotel, where the auction takes place. The hotel was built in 1914. You can see pictures of its beautiful lobby here.
Ellie orders a Love Potion Number Nine, a cocktail that is a perfect fit for the Valentine’s Week auction. In the photo below, the Love Potion Number Nine is pictured on the left. If you’d like to try it, here’s the recipe.
Check out the backless halter dress Regina is wearing for the auction.
Here’s a fun tidbit for you: Ellie’s sister, Vickie, makes an appearance in my novel Perfect Rhythm, which is set in Missouri too. If you have read Perfect Rhythm, did you spy her?
Chapter 5
Their first auction-mandated date takes place at the Crown Center Ice Terrace, an outdoor ice-skating rink in Kansas City.
Take a video tour of the ice terrace and the square on YouTube.
In the photo below, you can see the fountain in the foreground and the white canopy above the ice rink behind it. In the background, there’s Legoland, Sea Life, and the Hallmark headquarters. (Photo: Crown Center Square, Kansas City by Little Mountain 5, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Chapter 6
The geeky game Regina and Riley play on her phone while they are in the ER is Cell to Singularity. You start as a single-cell organism and progress through the tree of life. Check out the dinosaurs that Regina missed because Riley set off an asteroid that killed of the dinosaurs.
Chapter 7
In chapter 7, Regina drives Ellie home and gets to see her neighborhood. Ellie lives in Brookeside, a charming neighborhood in Kansas City, MO.
Here’s what some of the Tudors they pass by look like.
If you’d like to see Ellie’s house, you can check out pictures of it here.
In this chapter, we also meet Ellie’s dog, Wally. He’s a Borkie–a beagle/Yorkie (Yorkshire terrier) mix. They look like this:
Jalapeños, the restaurant Ellie and her sister are heading to, actually exists too. Their dishes look yummy!
Chapter 9
In chapter 9, we see Regina show off her disc golf skills. The goal is to complete a course in as few throws as possible. Below, you can see what the disc golf baskets look like.
If you’d like to see the disc golf pros in action, check out this YouTube video.
Chapter 10
In chapter 10, Wally thinks they are heading to his favorite shop, Three Dog Bakery. That’s not a typo, by the way. The bakery for dogs really exists, and it’s spelled “three dog” (not “three dogs”).
Regina lives in one of the Literary Apartments downtown. Here’s what the entrance to Regina’s apartment building looks like.
If you visit this website, you’ll see more photos of the Literary Apartment Buildings. Photo number 10 from the top shows Regina’s apartment building, with its Spanish-style Juliet balcony.
Nelle Peters, the architect who designed Regina’s apartment building, has quite a fascinating history too.
On the way to Fair Oaks, which is an imaginary small town that I created for my Fair Oaks series, Regina seduces a Twinkie. If you live outside of the US, you might not be familiar with it. It’s a tiny sponge cake with a vanilla cream filling.
If you have read my Fair Oaks series, you probably recognize the characters you meet in this chapter. Bakery owner Sasha and her girlfriend Ashley became a couple in Not the Marrying Kind, while famous singer Leo a.k.a. Jenna Blake and her wife Holly fell in love in Perfect Rhythm.
The rainbow layer cake Regina makes during their baking class-turned-competition looks like this, while Ellie’s looks more like the one depicted below.
Chapter 11
In chapter 11, when Ellie drives Regina home, Ellie comments how weird the Country Club Plaza looks without the holiday lights. This is what it looks like with the holiday lights. (Photo: Country Club Plaza by Moonraker0022, licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0)
And here it is without the holiday lights and in daylight:
In this chapter, Ellie finally gets to see the inside of Regina’s apartment. You can take a 3D tour of her home or check out some pictures. In photo 7, you can see the built-in shelf where Regina keeps her awards, trophies, and the framed picture of her brother.
Ellie also discovers that Regina owns a stuffed animal, a cute Scottish Highland Cow. Check out what it looks like here.
Chapter 15
In chapter 15, Regina plays a “glow round” of disc golf in the dark. The basket is illuminated with glow sticks, and the discs are charged with a UV flashlight. (Photo: Disc Golf – Glow by Simeon W, licensed under CC-BY-2.0)
Chapter 16
In chapter 16, Ellie and Regina are going on their last date.
Here’s what Regina is wearing, and this is the flannel suspender skirt Ellie has chosen as her outfit.
The puzzle that is on the table as Regina picks Ellie up is this one.
For their surprise activity, Regina takes Ellie axe-throwing at Bury the Hatchet. The axe-throwing lanes look like this:
Chapter 17
After their axe-throwing adventure, they head to The Meadow, a restaurant in the River Market neighborhood. If you read my novel Not the Marrying Kind, you might remember meeting the restaurant’s owner, Nadia (who is Sasha’s ex).
The Meadow is based on The Farmhouse, so the location is the same, just the menu is different.
Afterwards, they head to the Town of Kansas Bridge and the observation deck above the river. Below is a photo of the bridge with the observation deck at its end. (Photo: Town of Kansas Bridge by Jordan Bruening, licensed under CC-CC-BY-SA-4.0)
You can take a walking tour on YouTube. If you look closely, you can even make out the love locks on the observation deck.
Chapter 20
In chapter 20, Ellie and Regina are back at work, and Ellie helps Regina put on a sterile gown. Check out the gowning process on YouTube.
Chapter 22
In chapter 22, Ellie and Regina attend the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Kansas City. For a cute video of green-clad dogs in the parade, head over to YouTube.
Chapter 23
In chapter 23, we see Regina participate in a disc golf tournament. It takes place at the Cedar Ridge Disc Golf Course in Bonner Springs. If you are super dedicated (or interested in disc golf), you can check out the course here.
Chapter 26
In chapter 26, Ellie talks Regina into doing something romantic: taking in the water show at the Crown Center Square fountain. Here’s a video of it.
By the way, in the background, you can see the canopy of the ice-skating rink, so they are back where they started on their very first date!
Chapter 30
In chapter 30, Ellie brings Regina some cream-cheese-stuffed jalapeño poppers. Here’s what they look like:
I hope you enjoyed Bachelorette Number Twelve and this reading companion!
Stay tuned for its short story sequel, Impulse Buy, which will be out in February. Feel free to sign up to my newsletter below to get an email when it’s available.
Happy reading!
Jae