Holidays...and the countdown begins. #wedding

Sunday, July 6th.  In four weeks' time, Jonny and Adele's wedding will be over and they will be married.

So much to do, so little time.

But actually, all is well in hand. The church is booked; the music and service and all those helping; the venue: a marquee in a country field; the dresses: sorted. Even mine: I whizzed into town yesterday and, with the decisive help of Hero Husband, found two dresses (in the summer sale: bonus) after trying on six in three different shops, all in fifty minutes from start to finish. Result.

Now it is tying up the details. A friend and I have dried rose petals and poppy seed heads. Adele, my beautiful lovely daughter-in-law-to-be, has created and collected all kinds of artistic decorations. Her mum, Judy, and I have had The Hat conversation. (Yes, we will.) And Hero Husband is busy investigating all the electrical needs....

A May Bride - book review

Starting to catch up on book reviews. Phew. Takes a while.


A May Bride by Meg Moseley is another light romance in the series 'A Year of Weddings'.  Fun, as Ellie (Ellison) Martin meets the man of her dreams, Gray Whitby, embarks on a whirlwind romance and becomes engaged - quite quickly, it seems to me, as this happens before we have even reached halfway through the  book.

But all is not plain sailing. Throw in some doubts and divided loyalties, as Ellie seeks to placate her controlling mother and keep her younger sister, Alexa, happy. Alexa's wedding looms, but then, when her mother discovers that Alexa and her fiance have put 'bed before the wed', her mother refuses to pay for the wedding and all the plans are thrown in turmoil. Ellie, who has saved for her wedding since she left high school, generously gives her wedding fund to Alexa: without asking Gray first.

He is, understandably, upset that she has made such a major decision - which impacts hugely on their own wedding plans - without asking him. So the road to a happy ever after ending becomes rocky and uneven.

There are quirky details in the book. Ellie meets Gray when he is guest at a 'guerrilla wedding'.  Ellie, a country girl who lives in the city of Atlanta, is secretly 'guerrilla gardening' in a churchyard, pulling up weeds and enjoying the peace when a wedding party arrives. Avoiding fees, the couple are married, unbeknownst to the resident minister, in the churchyard. Gray notices Elllie hiding in the bushes and....so Boy meets Girl.

Ellie's relationship with her mother is one which many girls - particularly eldest daughters - will recognise. Feeling an undue sense of responsibility to keep her single mother happy, Ellie does not always put her relationship with Gray first, causing tension between the couple.  Ellie is also at risk of jeopardising her own happiness while also sacrificing her future plans to her self-centred younger sister.

All works out well in the end: Ellie is married, her mother makes compromises and the story ends with hope for the future. Not just the young married couples, but also for the older generation as Ellie's mom is brought to a different realisation about her daughters' lives.

An interesting, albeit very light, read. My thanks to BookLook Bloggers and Zondervan for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book: I am enjoying this 'Year of Weddings' series and am looking forward to the next one.

First barbecue of the summer... Yay!

Nashville Sweetheart by Rachel Hauck: a book review

In this intriguing romance set in Nashville, Aubrey James has been a country music star for a decade. She had performed on stage since she was a small child, but rocketed to fame after her parents, who had pioneered gospel music, were killed. A private person, Aubrey is forced to enter the public eye after a former close friend and associate betrays her. Yet the reporter interviewing her for the country music magazine 'Inside NashVegas' digs up someone from her past she would rather forget. As her world seems to collapse around her (Aubrey breaks off her engagement to a rich businessman and fights with her label over the sort of music she wants to produce), Aubrey finds herself falling in love with the reporter and at the same time rediscovers her faith in God.

I love Rachel Hauck's books and take every opportunity to read her writing and have, in fact, read this book twice (I obtained it free of charge from Booksneeze in exchange for an unbiased review). Yet I found the language difficult. Not only is much of it written in the first person, but also the points of view change as each of the two main characters speak in turn. This is not a writing style I enjoy and I found it distracting. Nevertheless, I was drawn into the story and started caring about the characters.  By halfway through the book I had become involved and found that I really did want to know the ending.

I'm not sure I'd read another book in the Nashville series, but can recommend Rachel Hauck as a writer.

An April Bride: book review

It is a month before the wedding and Stella Carson's childhood sweetheart is returning home to marry her. But Marshall Henderson has suffered a head wound while serving his country in the military. He has post traumatic stress disorder and a faulty memory: he doesn't remember Stella and he doesn't remember that they have planned to marry.

When her childhood dreams seem doomed, Stella hangs on with determination as Marshall commits to going through with the wedding in the hope that his memory will return. He knows he does love Stella, but he can't remember. While wedding preparations are finalised, Stella gently and lovingly nurses their relationship as they rediscover their shared past and, in doing so, each other.

This is a gentle, typically sweet American, girl meets boy story, in a romantically old-fashioned setting near the Mississippi river in Louisisana. Stella's family are affluent, the house and gardens elegant, dress and furnishings quietly fashionable... all is picture perfect. The storyline of lost memory regained is intriguing and Lenora Worth does indeed manage to draw the reader in with her carefully crafted writing, holding attention to the inevitably satisfactory ending.

However, I found it all too sugary sweet for my taste. Yes, there were elements of suspense designed to make the reader wonder whether Marshall would ever regain his health and love for Stella, but the ending was inevitable. I have enjoyed the 'Year of Weddings' series, which I obtain free of charge from Booklook Bloggers (formerly Booksneeze), but I found this one the most disappointing so far. Since the story dragged a little, in my opinion it would have worked better as a short story. Sorry, but this was not a keeper!

Beach picnics and dog walks!

Book review: 'Dancing with Fireflies' – a Chapel Springs romance by Denise Hunter

Dancing with Fireflies is the story of Jade, a free-spirited, blues playing girl who has fled from her home town only to return years later, nursing a sad secret. It is the story of Daniel, a man who has loved faithfully in secret for years and has lost the courage to declare his love. It is the story of two people whose close relationship must – should – end with them realising their love for and attraction to each other: but will they make the wise choice to be together?

I have read other stories by Denise Hunter, finding her an entertaining writer: enough detail to flesh out the plot, neither too much nor too little. She shows  the characters’ thoughts and feelings without too much angst, subtly driving the plot forward.  We meet Jade’s warm family and Daniel’s cool one, mixed together with peripheral friends who are romantic and suitable distractions. We read of family rediscovered, lives rebuilt and love reclaimed.

Daniel’s earliest memory of Jade was of her spinning alone in the at twilight, dancing along with the fireflies. Will she learn to dance with fireflies again?  

Denise Hunter writes enjoyable romantic novels which deal with difficult subjects: death – both actual physical death and the death of hopes and dreams; loss and bereavement; unwanted pregnancy; rape. The setting may include dark times but Denise Hunter treats them carefully and thoughtfully without leaving the reader downcast or despondent. You, too, as I did, will finish this book with a smile on your face.