The Christmas Wedding Guest by Susan Mallery

Hi everyone!  Each holiday season I look forward to new books by my favourite authors and Susan Mallery is one of them.  The Christmas Wedding Guest is her holiday book for 2021 and is the first in the author’s new Wishing Tree series. This book is out now.

From The Publisher:

The Somerville sisters believe in love, but they’ve lost faith it will happen for them. Reggie hasn’t been home since the end of the world’s shortest engagement. When her parents decide to renew their vows, she buffs up her twinkle to help with the Christmas wedding. Unexpectedly, Toby, her first love, is back too, and the spark between them shines as brightly as ever. In the spirit of the season, will they let go of past hurts and greet the New Year together?
Done waiting for the one, Dena is pregnant and on her own—on purpose. But then a gorgeous, sad-eyed songwriter checks into a room at her inn. Micah, unable to write since he lost his wife, finds inspiration in Dena’s determination to be a mom. One snowflake-speckled kiss and he’s a goner. But Dena is afraid to believe that a rock star could fall for a cookie-cutter small-town girl like her.
As the Christmas wedding draws closer, these two sisters just might unwrap the most treasured gift of all—love.

Book Review:

I enjoyed this book.  The characters are well developed, interesting and relatable. Reggie was engaged in the past year but her fiance called it off the day after.  Dena has made an informed decision to have a child and is in the early weeks of her pregnancy.  Like many women, love hasn’t always been kind to the sisters but sometimes it comes when you least expect it.

The romances between Reggie and Toby as well as Dena and Micah were believable and tastefully delivered.  Both of these men have complex histories of their own which made for a compelling story.

The discussion of how society treats unmarried women who decide to have a baby on their own is also discussed.  I thought the way the author writes about this was done with a lot of respect and sensitivity to women who have made this choice.

There is a lovely backstory involving the Christmas Eve vow renewal of their parents which I felt to be especially charming. The holiday spirit is felt throughout the book making it one of my favourite reads this Christmas.

Audiobook Review:

I listened to the audiobook version of The Christmas Wedding Guest which was performed by one of my favourite narrators, Tanya Eby.  I enjoy her articulate, easy to listen to voice and the witty banter of these characters was particularly well delivered.  I recommend this version of the book to those that appreciate this format.

What I Liked:

• The well developed, likeable characters
• The complexity of each of these romances
• The wedding that fulfilled a life-long desire to have a. proper celebration.

I Recommend This Book To:

Those reading who enjoy Women’s Fiction and Romance.

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Acknowledgements:

Thank you to my local library for purchasing this audiobook.

Add The Christmas Wedding Guest to your Goodreads shelf

Similar Books I’ve Reviewed:

The Stepsisters by Susan Mallery

The Vineyard at Painted Moon by Susan Mallery

Happily this Christmas by Susan Mallery

Thanks for reading and supporting my blog.  Do you enjoy Women’s Fiction?  Let me know in the comments.  As always, I hope that you have a wonderful day. ☺️