I was so excited to get my hands on, A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan. I started unsure of whether or not the three main characters would clash and create a mediocre attempt at a Christmas drama but I am so glad to report that that is definitely not the case here. I was immediately impressed by Morgan’s writing and she has now become another favourite author of mine because of this book! This marks my third post in a blog tour with HARLEQUIN and I am so excited for more!
This book was broken down into three different perspectives and each one worked flawlessly and overlapped just right, providing a complete story with no loose ends. I connected most with “prickly” and practical Katie but you didn’t have to relate to any of the characters to understand and feel for Maggie, Katie and Rosie. Readers were privy to all of their thoughts and at least for me I found that I wasn’t thrown for a curveball when they acted out of character because it didn’t happen. Their actions clearly reflected each of their personalities and each had to deal with and overcome their own weaknesses when it came to love. This was a tale tracing three women of different ages and covers a range of relationship woes that were forced to be handled in time for a Christmas wedding.
I am so happy that the publishers at Harlequin and Netgalley gave me this opportunity to read A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan because I loved everything about it. The romance was filled with substance and emotion. It wasn’t immediate (apart from Rosie’s decision to marry so quickly) Each relationship proved to have issues no matter how long you’ve known the person or what state you, yourself are in. All characters’ experience struggles and most importantly resolve them on their own.
I was impressed by how genuine Maggie was with her daughters. It was as if it was me, my sister and my mom in this book. It just felt so real and it was incredibly easy to relate to despite my age (at just 23) especially for Maggie’s chapters. I didn’t feel lost in her perspective despite her age and experience and I give all that credit to Morgan’s writing. She clearly planned out every minute detail and crafted such tight character profiles that gave the story an easy flow. She reminded me a lot of my own family and that created a strong bond from the beginning. From then on I knew that I was going to love this book! I also loved how real Maggie’s and Katie’s reactions were to Rosie’s upcoming nupitals because it was exactly what I would think too! Bravo!
“Her sister’s capacity to forgive human frailty was both her strength and her weakness. It made her vulnerable to every loser and user that crossed her path. Was Dan one of those?”
Despite being the younger sister myself, this quote resonated with me. This is exactly what a sister would think. Her fierce need to protect Rosie was immediate and everlasting. She never wavered from acting in her sister’s best interest and I simply adored Morgan’s portrayal of these two. Very genuine! I also appreciated Dan’s reaction to Katie’s overbearingly obvious questions to test his worthiness. He never blamed or punished her for looking out for her sister and not once did he try to tell her to butt out and get a life (which could have easily been done) no he respected her love for her sister and even told Rosie that she was lucky to have a sister like her. It was adorable and gave his character a huge boost. Well done for not overstepping Dan! He chose not to be a jerk and that I respect immensely. I didn’t have to eye roll once when he was in scenes which was great because that could have been a very easy route to go in this story and I’m super glad that that’s not where it went! Great choice!
“Twenty-two.’ He spooned sugar into his coffee. ‘If this were ancient Egypt, she would have been married a decade ago.” Comments like that, Maggie thought, were why a woman needed girlfriends.”
Nick and Maggie were the hilarious couple in here. From history lessons about marriage like this tidbit above to the awkward attempts at faking their relationship, every stumble and every fall just made them love each other more. Morgan’s incorporation of witty banter and balanced humour conveyed the perfect amount of familiarity achieved through 35 years of marriage. Simply put, she nailed it! Maggie and Nick were so cute in their flustered sham of a second honeymoon I almost died of laughter. The humour here made them come to life and I loved it. And Nick is very likable! He is definitely a keeper!
“I happen to think that being easy to read is a quality, not a flaw. Generally, I’m not big on advice, but I’m going to give you some anyway because Dan’s like a brother to me and I don’t want to see him hurt, I don’t want to see either of you hurt.” Jordan stared straight ahead of him. “Don’t compare your relationship to anyone else’s. The only people who know what goes on inside a marriage are the two people involved.”
And this is why I loved Jordan. Not only is this man swoon-worthy (which he truly is!) but he’s also wise and incredibly humble. Good humble. Most of the story had Maggie and Katie believing that marriage was too much for Rosie. She had just met the man and they saw it as a peer-pressured Christmas wedding by Dan’s mother. This probably took longer than it should to be addressed but his point still stands. I’m not going to lie this was one of my only issues with this book because I myself couldn’t believe the amount of times Rosie would basically chant as a reassurance that her marriage with Dan will work because her parents’ marriage did. It’s like you aren’t your parents, times change. Nick isn’t Dan and you aren’t Maggie. She told herself this a little too much and it never really made much sense to me. But I am so glad that Morgan used Jordan’s character, a complete outsider not yet entangled in this family’s drama to point out this fundamental concept. From then on his character just got better and better.
Morgan made a story so relatable that I can’t help but recommend this to absolutely everyone. It is THE perfect Christmas romance/drama and it’s based around a very relatable and completely dysfunctional family. Who doesn’t have one of those?
This book was real and I loved it!
“It sounds like the plot of a romance novel.” He gave a tired smile. “Perhaps that’s where I went wrong. I never read a romance novel. Maybe if I had, I might have learned a thing or two. Maybe my marriage wouldn’t have crashed.”
I loved this quote so much I had to include it somewhere. I just started getting into this genre and I’ve really come to appreciate all the lessons and stories that are hidden within plots. I see more of the characters and their struggles and I feel like this genre is a master class at this. I love it !
And please if you’re looking for a well written Christmas drama with steamy dashes of romance please take a chance on A Wedding in December because it truly is worth all the stars!