Novella Review: A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant

Title: A February Bride

Series: A Year of Weddings (Novella 3)

Author: Betsy St. Amant

Publish Date: January 28, 2014

Genre: Clean Adult Romance Novella

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review of this novella.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

Happily ever after guaranteed. Allie left the love of her life at the altar—to save him from a lifetime of heartbreak. When a Valentine’s Day wedding brings them back together, she struggles against her family’s destructive history. Can Allie ever realize that a marriage is so much more than a wedding dress? History repeats itself when Allie Andrews escapes the church on her wedding day—in the same dress passed down for generations and worn by all the women in her family—women with a long history of failed marriages. Allie loves Marcus, but fears she’s destined to repeat her family’s mistakes. She can’t bear to hurt Marcus worse. Marcus Hall never stopped loving Allie and can only think of one reason she left him at the altar—him. When the two are thrown together for his sister’s Valentine’s Day wedding, he discovers the truth and realizes their story might be far from over. Can Allie shuck expectation and discover who she is as a bride and in the Bride of Christ? And if she ever walks down the aisle, what dress will she wear?

Review

A February Bride is one of those pretty much perfect clean romances that I am always looking for. The main character is flawed; she has a fear of commitment because all of the women in her family have been divorced and re-married several times and she is afraid the same will happen to her.  Although this novella is predictable, the writing style makes the journey exciting nonetheless. I read this novella in one day (practically one sitting).

I would recomend this novella to anyone looking for a clean romance story. You do not have to read the first two novella's in the series for this third installment to make sense.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 5/5

Novella Review: A January Bride by Deborah Raney

Title: A January Bride

Series: A Year of Weddings Novella

Authors: Deborah Raney

Publish Date: December 24, 2013

Genre: Clean Adult Romance Novellas

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review of this novella.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

Who can work in a house that's overrun by contractors and carpenters? Not Madeleine Houser, a successful novelist who gladly accepts the help of her octogenarian friend, Ginny, to arrange for a temporary office in the charming bed and breakfast owned by Ginny's friend, Arthur. Maddie’s never met the innkeeper––but a friendship grows between them as Maddie and Arthur leave messages for each other each day. To Maddie’s alternate delight and chagrin, she seems to be falling for the inn’s owner––a man who's likely many years her senior––and who she’s never even met.

Review

This novella series has one thing in common: all of the books are incredibly interesting. This romance story started slow, but quickly progressed and I was excited to find out what would happen by the end of the novella. The romance story was cute, sweet, and clean.  I would recommend these novellas to anyone looking for a good romance story.  Each of these novellas can be read as stand-alones or as a series.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 5/5

Children's Book Review Tuesdays: The Most Magnificent Thing

Title: The Most Magnificent Thing

Author: Ashley Spires

Publish Date: April 1, 2014

Genre: Children's Picture Books

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review of this novella.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has created a charming picture book about an unnamed girl and her very best friend, who happens to be a dog. The girl has a wonderful idea. "She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!" But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right. For the early grades' exploration of character education, this funny book offers a perfect example of the rewards of perseverance and creativity. The girl's frustration and anger are vividly depicted in the detailed art, and the story offers good options for dealing honestly with these feelings, while at the same time reassuring children that it's okay to make mistakes. The clever use of verbs in groups of threes is both fun and functional, offering opportunities for wonderful vocabulary enrichment. The girl doesn't just "make" her magnificent thing -- she "tinkers and hammers and measures," she "smoothes and wrenches and fiddles," she "twists and tweaks and fastens." These precise action words are likely to fire up the imaginations of youngsters eager to create their own inventions and is a great tie-in to learning about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Review

The main character in The Most Magnificent Thing seeks to make something amazing. She has an idea in her head, but she cannot get it to work in real life. She gets frustrated and mad, but then walks around with her dog and cools down. After she cools down, she realizes that all her past failed attempts were really great at somethings and bad at others. She combines all of the good things from her past attempts and makes something magnificent.

I believe that this picture book is great for young readers. It teaches them not to get frustrated when things do not work out as planned and that failures are ways to learn from your mistakes. I would recommend this book to any young reader.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: young readers (children)

Overall Rating: 4/5

Spoiler-Free Book Discussion: The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker

Last week, I got together (via Google Hangout) with Kate Danielle from Creative House Blog and we discussed Rachelle Dekker's debut novel, The Choosing. I reviewed this book last week on my blog. You can check out that review here. Here is the video of our discussion: