The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson & Richard Dilallo

Authors: James Patterson & Richard Dilallo
Publisher:  Little, Brown & Company (Audio By Hachette Audio)
Date of publication:October 17th 2011


The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died five years ago, Gaby's children have drifted apart, each one preoccupied by the turbulence in their own lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married-and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day—she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.
But the wedding isn't Gaby's only surprise—she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their lives forever. With deeply affecting characters and the emotional twists of a James Patterson thriller, THE CHRISTMAS WEDDING is a fresh look at family and the magic of the season.

So far, the only James Patterson books that I have read have been mysteries.  The Christmas Wedding was a nice change of pace.  Mr. Patterson and Richard DiLallo have made a great writing team and created a very sweet story involving family and love.  Gaby announces to her kids that she is getting remarried, but the catch is that they have to come home for Christmas to find out who the groom will be.  Even the groom won't find out until that day.  The entire situation was handled so well and so sweetly that I just couldn't help but smile after the reveal.  It also helped that out of the three suitors, she chose that one I liked the most.

I think the thing that really appealed to me the most is that her children's lives were not at all perfect.  They all had issues that they were wresting with and found that turning to famly was the way to help them get through the battle. I kept finding myself rooting for them all. While not everything was solved in the end, I was left with the feeling up hope for all four families.

This is a great holiday read. The audio was great, with 4 different narrators.  I thought that was a nice touch.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!