A Christmas Bride by Hope Ramsay

'Tis the season in Shenandoah Falls and the first time Willow Peterson has been home in years. But she's determined to fulfill the wishes of her recently deceased best friend and restore Eagle Hill Manor to its former glory-all in time to host the perfect holiday wedding. She just has to get the owner of the historic inn to hire her. Unfortunately, that means dealing with Scrooge himself...
 

After the death of his wife, David Lyndon has a bah-humbug approach to Christmas. But as December counts down and the wedding planning is in full swing, it's harder and harder to stay immune to the charms of Willow, especially when he sees how much joy she brings his eight-year-old daughter. After a simple kiss under the mistletoe turns into something more, David is hoping he can turn the magic of the holiday season into the love of a lifetime.

 

Series: Chapel of Love #1| Publisher: Forever | Genre:  Contemporary Romance| Source: Publisher| Rating: 4 Cups

Hope, healing, renewal, romance, and a dash of Christmas magic made this such an amazing book.

 

Here’s what’s going on. Willow’s been away from her hometown for quite a while. Returning after her world was turned upside down and branded as a ‘troublemaker’—something she never wanted to be known as—Willow’s struggling to figure out what to do with her life. Since the death of his wife, which happened to be Willow’s best friend, David Lyndon has been struggling with trying to raise his eight-year-old daughter, find some way to enjoy Christmas, figure out a way to get rid of the inn that was his wife’s project, and still run for office to appease his political family. Although when Willow starts showing interest in the inn and the goddaughter she’s more or less ignored, David starts paying attention to her.

 

Willow and David were two of my favorite characters. They’re both wounded and hurt and they have a lot of healing to do. I really wanted them to help each other heal, grow, and figure out what they wanted to do with their lives. And what made them both so interesting is the fact that their families are polar opposites. Her mother is a vegan hippie always up for a good protest and David comes from a long line of wealthy politicians always up for rubbing elbows with those who can help further their careers.

 

Children in romances can either make or break the book and, thankfully, Natalie made this book. I really enjoyed watching Willow grow close to Natalie. The little girl is in need of someone on her side. Of course, she has her maternal grandmother, but, since the death of her mother, she’s been missing someone that will sort of step into that roll. I also enjoyed watching David figure out how to be a father to Natalie. I mean, he loves his daughter, but because he was more or less raised in a family that never showed loved, he doesn’t know how to comfort or show his daughter what she means to him. So it was nice to watch him figuring it out.

 

There were so many secondary characters in this book. Most of them I enjoyed, some I wanted a house to land on them. They were just hateful things that I really wanted to see be put in their places. Sadly, it didn’t happen.

 

Overall, I really loved this one. Hope Ramsay is such a delight to read and A Christmas Bride is an amazing start to a new series.

 

What makes a Christmas romance stand out to you?