A June Bride
by Marybeth Whalen
A Year of Weddings Novella, Book 7
Christian Fiction / Contemporary / Romance
Available June 2014
Zondervan
120 pages
About the Book
It takes a reality TV show for Wynne to realize love isn't just a game.
Wynne Hardy never thought she'd get engaged on a reality TV show, but when she met Andy on The Rejection Connection,
the two of them hit it off. Now he's asked her to marry him, much to
the public's delight and fascination. They're all set to wed on live TV
in a seaside ceremony at the height of the wedding season.
But just as Wynne thinks all her dreams are coming true, her
ex-boyfriend walks back into her life at the worst possible time. Steve
broke her heart years ago, and she's still sorting through her feelings
for him. Her heart isn't as clear as her head that it's past time to
move on-even though she's engaged to Andy.
At a local TV talk show appearance, Wynne meets Meredith, who won
another reality TV show-Marathon Mom-proving herself nothing short of a
superhero. As Wynne's beach wedding plans spin out of control, Meredith
offers to help, unknowingly stepping on Wynne's secret feelings . . .
and exposing some secrets Meredith has been keeping to herself. Can
these two reality stars get real about their feelings? Will Wynne go
through with her televised wedding and be the perfect June bride the
network is looking for?
My Thoughts
I've really enjoyed this series so far, but honestly, this wasn't my favorite in the series. Let's start with the good points first, though. The premise of the book was super intriguing to this reality show fan. (Anyone else want to admit they still watch The Bachelor?!) So of course, I was interested in a book that gives the story of what happens once the cameras are "off." The thought of planning a wedding to be on TV nearly caused me to break out in hives, so I definitely felt empathy for Wynne.
Unfortunately, though, I felt like something was missing. This novella seemed much shorter than the others (perhaps only my perception?), and I felt like it was more of a short story than a true novella. I even wondered if this was a follow-up to another book from the author. I felt like there was a lot of "telling" which isn't my favorite style of story-telling. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters. I understood the conflict, but I didn't truly care about it because I didn't really care about the people involved.
Personally, this seems like a great start of a novel but not really a complete novella. However, I am glad that I read it. It was a nice diversion on the way home from the beach. [3 stars]
I received a free copy of this book from Zondervan in exchange for my fair and honest review.
About the Author
Marybeth Whalen is the wife of Curt and mom of six children. She is the
cofounder of She Reads, an online book club focused on spotlighting the
best in women's fiction. Marybeth is the author of The Mailbox, She Makes It Look Easy, The Guest Book, and The Wishing Tree. Marybeth and her family live in North Carolina.
Marybeth Whalen Online
I have this series on my kindle and haven't read them yet. I need to.
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed most of this series! It's been fun to catch up with authors with these novellas while waiting on their full-length novels!
Delete