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Sunday, October 2, 2016

The Christmas Bride by Hope Ramsay

Author: Hope Ramsay
Publisher: Forever
Date of Publication: September 2016

A season of hope . . .'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.

A Christmas Bride is the first in a new series by Hope Ramsay.   "Friends to lovers" stories are among my favorite types of romances.  I really enjoyed David and Willow's story.  Willow has moved back home after losing her job for being a whistle-blower at work.  David was married to Willow's best friend until her tragic death two years earlier.  All he wants to do is sell her Inn and move away.

This story was heartbreaking at times.  David's grief over the loss of his wife came across as very real.  Even two years later, it was hard for him to move on.  Willow was perfect for him as he was for her.  He made her see what she really wanted for herself.  One of my favorite parts of the story was how David's relationship with his daughter changed as he started realizing what was really important. The story also has a lot of great secondary characters that I look forward to reading more about in future books.

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