From the back cover:
They’ve helped orchestrate the perfect day for countless couples. Now twelve new couples will find themselves in the wedding spotlight in the second Year of Weddings novella collection.
Love at Mistletoe Inn by Cindy Kirk
Sometimes the road to happiness is paved with youthful mistakes.
Ten years after what she thought was her almost-wedding, Hope Prentiss discovers that the ceremony counted—and, as fate would have it, the jilted John Burke has just ridden back into town. After spending some time with John and helping plan a Christmas wedding for a mystery couple, Hope begins to wonder if she really wants a divorce . . . or a real wedding of her own.
A Brush with Love by Rachel Hauck
Revealing the beauty in other women might be Ginger Winters’s specialty—but it will take an unexpected kind of love to help Ginger see the beauty in herself.
Ginger Winters will be the “beauty-maker” for the Alabama society wedding of the decade. But when high-school crush Tom Wells shows up looking for a haircut, Ginger’s thinly veiled insecurities threaten to keep her from love once again . . . despite Tom’s best efforts.
Serving Up a Sweetheart by Cheryl Wyatt
Meadow knows how to serve delicious food to match any wedding theme. But can she accept love when it’s served up on a silver platter?
Meadow Larson is having the mother of all Mondays when her roof caves in during a blizzard, right before the most important wedding contract of her career. Renovation contractor Colin McGrath offers to fix Meadow’s roof, even though he knows he is the last person she would accept help from.
But the more Meadow gets to know the new Colin, the more she realizes God may have something more permanent in store than a new catering kitchen.
My thoughts:
I loved this book. Loved it. From the gorgeous cover design to the amazing authors all the way to the end of each sweet story. I can't even pick a favorite of these three sweet novellas.
Let me break it down a little bit.
Love at Mistletoe Inn by Cindy Kirk -
The characters were good. Hope's bestie was the comedic relief for me. I thought she was hysterical. If John wasn't caring, sweet, charming, and hunky, he still would have been awesome because he said "darling." I'm a sucker for a man who says that, even if he is fictional. I liked Hope. She didn't draw out drama, and I could related to her.
Spiritually, Hope had to learn to be silent and trust God, and John had to learn not to run but fight for the things - and people - he loved. The biggest thing holding Hope and John back was wounds from their respective childhoods that they had never discussed or truly realized. While touching on serious things, this was still a fun story.
A Brush with Love by Rachel Hauck -
Ginger suffers from emotional and physical scars due to a trailer park fire she was caught in as a child. Due to the opinions of stupid people, Ginger has never viewed herself as beautiful, wanted, or even worthy. She feels like God abandoned her.
Tom always had feelings for Ginger, but because of his father's demons, he moves away before he can tell Ginger how he feels. Now he's back and he feels God's call to lead Ginger to Jesus and to help her understand her true beauty - even if it's only as a friend.
The spiritual plot was much more intense, but in a good way. It dealt with believing lies about ourselves. Lies that have shaped us, controlled us, and hindered us. This was a moving story with a deep, emotional ending.
Serving Up a Sweetheart by Cheryl Wyatt -
Meadow suffers from deep, emotional scars from her childhood and teen years. She came from an abusive home before she and her siblings were moved to her grandparents home where money was very tight. Unfortunately, love interest Colin played a big part in Meadow's emotional trauma. He gave into peer pressure and ignored the horrid way his friends treated Meadow. He was selfish and concerned with his social status, but also suffered from a difficult home life that was just more concealed due to his family's social standing.
Meadow has carried her scars into adulthood, and always looked for the bad in people first. When she sees Colin again, she struggles with forgiving him and letting those lies go. I liked Meadow because she was fun and sarcastic, and her struggle was realistic. Colin was endearing because he had given his life to Jesus years ago, and when he and Meadow met up again, he made it his mission to right the wrongs he had done to her.
My favorite part was when Colin sees Meadow again for the first time. There's no golden ray of sun illuminating her. Instead she's beating up a snowman. This was a fun story, with all too realistic struggles.
If you're looking for a charming, romantic, wedding related read, then pick up your copy ASAP!!!
I received a copy of A Season to Wed by Cindy Kirk, Rachel Hauck, and Cheryl Wyatt from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given.
See you guys on December 20th! God bless!
V. Joy Palmer
