As some of you know I’m a school librarian in Africa, and over
Christmas break I got to go home to the States. Before leaving I requested a
bunch of books through NetGalley to read on the plane rides (it takes three
flights, two of which are between 6 and 8 hours long). Well, I certainly
enjoyed the books but then was lazy over break (and so busy with Christmas and
seeing people) that I never got the reviews written.
So here is the first of books I read over the 24 hour trip:
A December Bride by
Denise Hunter. Zondervan, 2013. 120p. (9780310338741) Series: A Year of
Weddings, #1
A fun quick read that I think I started while waiting at the gate
and had finished before we took off.
Goodreads
Summary:
What started
as a whim turned into an accidental - and very public - engagement. Can Layla
and Seth keep up the facade in Chapel Springs this holiday season - for the
sake of her career . . . and his heart?
Under normal
circumstances, Seth Murphy, the best friend of Layla O'Reilly's ex-fiance would
be the last person she'd marry. But the news of their upcoming (and phony)
nuptials convinces a big client that Layla may be high-society enough to work
for his agency, a coup that would put her fledgling home-staging business on
the map. Seth has secretly loved Layla for years, even when she was dating his
best friend. Maybe she'll never forgive him for the way he hurt her back then,
but he has to try. And Layla is willing to keep up their engagement farce until
she's landed her client. For Layla, it's the chance to save her career. But for
Seth, it's his last chance to win her heart.
My Review:
This was a
sweet, quick read and I want to read more stories set in Chapel Springs. At the
end is an excerpt of Barefoot Summer
and it reminded me that Perfect Match
was by the same author. The characters are all connected somehow – friends,
sisters, I don’t really remember now.
Seth and
Layla were very well portrayed given the length of the book and it was very
easy to sympathize with their reasons for getting into the mess of a fake
engagement and choosing to keep it up. I don’t like romance stories where
everything happens in a short frame of time, it’s not realistic and in real
life those strong feelings likely aren’t sustainable. December Bride takes place over two weeks time, but they had met
two years prior and there had been some interest way back then, so it was easy
to believe the way events unfolded.
A cute,
Christmas romance with very nicely written kissing scenes. Not overly
described, just enough to let you know it was a perfect, sweet kiss. While thinking
how to word that I was reminded of The
Princess Bride’s “most passionate, the most pure” kiss and I think Seth and
Layla’s first kiss could rank up there. :-)
Not that
that is very realistic either, I’ve been told (by newlyweds who ought to know)
that kissing is awkward at first and nowhere near as picture perfect as the
movies make it out to be. And actually I don't really like Wesley and Buttercup's kiss all that much - too much jaw movement. When we were little my sister made up a word for that, "humjumming" (at least I think that's how you'd spell it).
If you need a quick Christmas romance then this is a great choice!
If you need a quick Christmas romance then this is a great choice!
It’s very easy to reread it
Disclosure:
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not
required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission.
~~~
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