The Christmas Wedding Guest

The Christmas Wedding Guest (Book 1 in a new series) by Susan Mallery 432 pages

I love a great cover, and this first book in a new series by Susan Mallery has one!  The white wedding dress is gorgeous, and it hanging in front of that red door really makes it pop. 

It’s Christmas all year in the tiny town of Wishing Tree, Washington. It’s a magical place most of the year, but during the Christmas season, it’s amazing. 

“The Christmas Wedding Guest” features two sisters and a dog named Belle---a 120-pound Great Dane with a nervous condition. 

The last time Reggie, short for Regina, had come home, she had the world’s shortest engagement. Jake proposed on Friday, the couple celebrated with a party on Saturday night, and on Sunday afternoon, he dumped her. Luckily he has moved away from Wishing Tree, and she won’t have to run into him while she helps plan her parent’s vow renewal.  

Reggie’s sister, Dena, is a pregnant single mom---by choice---who is tired of the dating scene and looking for Mr. Right.

 Things are about to change when Reggie’s high school sweetheart, Toby, moves back to Wishing Tree with his son. She wonders if the sparks are still there, but Toby is a much different person than he was back then. He has a lot of scars that he’s not willing to sacrifice anymore of his heart. Toby owns and operates Judy’s Hand Pies, a fleet of food trucks, that have made him a multi-millionaire.

Speaking of multi-millionaires, Dena is about to meet one too. She runs a local B&B and Micah checks in for the holidays. Micha’s a rock legend who has come to Wishing Tree to be inspired. He hasn’t written a song since his wife and unborn child were killed in an auto accident. Luckily, he goes mostly unnoticed by the people of Wishing Tree. 

What transpires is typical holiday romance, but the hilarity arises when Great Dane Belle has to maneuver around Reggie and Dena’s parent’s 22-pound dachshund, Burt. Burt is always trying to intimidate Belle, and most of the time, he succeeds. Until one day... 

I enjoyed this novel. I see it as two separate Hallmark Movies for the holiday season. They fit the mold. “The Christmas Wedding Guest” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

The Road to Paradise

The Road to Paradise by Karen Barnett      352 pages

In this first book of the Vintage National Parks series, author takes us to Mount Rainier in Washington State. Signed into law in 1899 by President William McKinley, Mount Rainier National Park is the nations’ fifth national park and the first created from a national forest.

Sit back and get ready to enjoy the beauty of the park as author Karen Barnett describes it’d splendor. The majestic beauty of the park is only accentuated by the wonderful little yarn Barnett unravels.

It’s 1927. Margaret (Margie) Lane is an avid naturalist. She has fled to the park after her former fiancé strikes her.  Margie is a senator’s daughter and has only known the lap of luxury. But she’s more than willing to give it up to settle herself in God’s beauty.

Unknown to her, Margie’s father has made a significant donation to the park in order to secure her a position for the summer. The calendar may read June, but there is still snow on the ground.

Margie reports to Chief Ranger Ford Brayden, who is extremely uncomfortable with a green-horn woman in his park.

The park has been Ford’s life. He took over his father’s job when he died attempting to scale Rainier. Ford hasn’t come to terms with that yet although it’s been two years now.

Margie manages to provide a radiance to the park that is warmer than the upcoming summer. Soon Margie’s ex-fiancé shows up, doing his best to disrupt the mountain’s peace.  Margie has other plans and will stop at nothing to thwart him, including attempting to climb to the summit.

The Road to Paradise is the perfect summer read. All the descriptions of the snow and the budding spring soon make readers forget that sweat is dripping down their spines. The interaction between the characters is honest. The plot moves along nicely and the pacing keeps readers quickly turning the page to learn what happens next.

The Road to Paradise receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.