Winter Brides

Three stories of romance resulting in three winter weddings, stories written by three authors giving three points of view. The best of the lot is A January Bride by Deborah Raney.

In A December Bride, Layla needs a date to her cousin's wedding. Her usual date is sick and can't make it, so Seth Murphy steps up to volunteer. At the wedding, he can't stand it that her cousin is maligning her and tells her that he and Layla are getting married in four weeks. Layla's cousin is not one to be upstaged, so she makes the announcement of Layla and Seth's engagement to her guests.

In A January Bride, Maddie needs a place to write her novel--a deadline is looming and she must get it finished, BUT, the house where she is staying happens to be under remodel construction. Her neighbor Ginny suggests that she use the Bed and Breakfast Inn that is currently not in significant use, the owner being widowed. This sets up a situation for Maddie to be able to write in peace and quiet, but she can't stand being able to use the Inn without compensating the owner. She does a little cleaning and dusting each day, and leaves a note for the owner. He comes home and sees what she's done and he writes a note to thank her. Through these notes a friendship develops, but a case of mistaken identity also develops.

In A February Bride, Allie runs out on her wedding day, leaving Marcus at the altar. Four months later, Marcus' sister, Hannah, asks Allie to be her maid of honor. Allie is willing to do the job, but her reservations run deep. She's never really stopped loving Marcus, but really can't explain why she ran out on him--oh, she knows the reason and knows it is a good reason, but she just can't bring herself to tell Marcus. It's just too hard to reconcile it all together.

These stories are cute on the surface, but on the whole, not all that good. The plots in the December Bride and the February Bride were a bit far-fetched. On the whole I'd give the book a Four Star rating.

Zondervan provided the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.