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A review by meezcarrie
The Wedding Dress Christmas by Rachel Hauck
4.0
First of all, can we talk about how gorgeous that cover is? It’s everything you want in a cover for a Christmas romance. That dress. That window all decked out for the season. The snow. The colors. Just perfect.
Now let’s talk about The Wedding Shop & Hearts Bend – two of my favorite places in fiction. I love small town Tennessee. I was born in small town Tennessee, so stories set there always have a special place in my reader heart. This particular setting of Hearts Bend is all the more delightful because it seems like the presence of God stirs a little stronger here. And that leaves room for Hauck to work her Christmas magic with some divine twists.
I loved reuniting on the page with Haley & Cole from The Wedding Shop and just Hearts Bend in general, as I’ve already established. But if you haven’t yet read a book in this series, you should still be able to enjoy The Wedding Dress Christmas – you’ll just enjoy it on a whole other level if you’ve at least read The Wedding Shop … and even more so if you’ve read them all. I will say that I missed the dual timeline that weaves so beautifully through the rest of the books – so often what touches me the most from this loosely-tied-together series is how the past & present parallel each other in the story. Still, a novella length means some elements have to go, so I understand why this is solely a contemporary timeline.
There are some funny moments in this story – such as JoJo and the veil – which help break up the tension between JoJo and Buck, as well as the emotional baggage each of them bring to the table. Country music star Buck will have you swooning from the get-go… and hold on to your Stetson when he falls in love & turns on his heart full force! JoJo is relatable and quick to like, her struggles and her flaws both easily relatable to a lot of women. I especially loved her friendship with Haley and their scenes together at The Wedding Shop.
Bottom Line: The Wedding Dress Christmas is a lovely return visit to a fan favorite setting – the quaint Hearts Bend, Tennessee – and (except for the dual timeline that’s such a big part of the previous books) delivers all the elements that readers love so much in The Wedding Collection novels. The hint of the divine. The sweet and swoony romance. The layered and likable characters. Add in the magic of the Christmas season & a gorgeous cover and you’ve got a must-read addition to your holiday TBR pile.
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)
first seen at Reading Is My SuperPower
Now let’s talk about The Wedding Shop & Hearts Bend – two of my favorite places in fiction. I love small town Tennessee. I was born in small town Tennessee, so stories set there always have a special place in my reader heart. This particular setting of Hearts Bend is all the more delightful because it seems like the presence of God stirs a little stronger here. And that leaves room for Hauck to work her Christmas magic with some divine twists.
I loved reuniting on the page with Haley & Cole from The Wedding Shop and just Hearts Bend in general, as I’ve already established. But if you haven’t yet read a book in this series, you should still be able to enjoy The Wedding Dress Christmas – you’ll just enjoy it on a whole other level if you’ve at least read The Wedding Shop … and even more so if you’ve read them all. I will say that I missed the dual timeline that weaves so beautifully through the rest of the books – so often what touches me the most from this loosely-tied-together series is how the past & present parallel each other in the story. Still, a novella length means some elements have to go, so I understand why this is solely a contemporary timeline.
There are some funny moments in this story – such as JoJo and the veil – which help break up the tension between JoJo and Buck, as well as the emotional baggage each of them bring to the table. Country music star Buck will have you swooning from the get-go… and hold on to your Stetson when he falls in love & turns on his heart full force! JoJo is relatable and quick to like, her struggles and her flaws both easily relatable to a lot of women. I especially loved her friendship with Haley and their scenes together at The Wedding Shop.
Bottom Line: The Wedding Dress Christmas is a lovely return visit to a fan favorite setting – the quaint Hearts Bend, Tennessee – and (except for the dual timeline that’s such a big part of the previous books) delivers all the elements that readers love so much in The Wedding Collection novels. The hint of the divine. The sweet and swoony romance. The layered and likable characters. Add in the magic of the Christmas season & a gorgeous cover and you’ve got a must-read addition to your holiday TBR pile.
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)
first seen at Reading Is My SuperPower