January Bride by Deborah Raney {Book Review}

What will happen when novelist Madeleine Houser’s ‘pen pal’ friendship with a lonely widower takes an unexpected turn?

Who can work in a house that’s overrun by contractors and carpenters? Not Madeleine Houser, a successful novelist who gladly accepts the help of her octogenarian friend, Ginny, to arrange for a temporary office in the charming bed and breakfast owned by Ginny’s friend, Arthur. Maddie’s never met the innkeeper – but a friendship grows between them as Maddie and Arthur leave messages for each other each day. To Maddie’s alternate delight and chagrin, she seems to be falling for the inn’s owner – a man who’s likely many years her senior – and who she’s never even met.

Arthur Tyler is a college professor who lost his young wife to cancer. Together they ran the bed and breakfast where Art lives, but without his wife, the house is missing warmth and cheer. He jumps at the chance to have author Madeleine Houser use the space that was once filled with guests. He, too, begins to enjoy the daily exchanges with Maddie, but a series of misunderstandings lead him to believe she’s far from being a prospective date—even if he were ready to date again, which he’s not.

When Maddie and Art finally meet and discover one another’s identity, sparks fly. Even so, they each have obstacles to overcome in order for this winter romance to blossom.

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Review

I’ve been reading a love of short novellas lately, many of them about weddings. A January Bride is the second in a series of wedding themed novellas written by well-known authors. Maddie is a best selling novelist who agrees to help out her sister by living in her sister’s home while it is being renovated for sale. The plus side is Maddie is now closer to her mom who is living in a nursing home. The negative is the noisy contractors who don’t allow her to work in peace. Maddie happily accepts an offer to write in a currently vacant bed & breakfast owned by her neighbor Ginny’s friend. While working there Maddie and Art (the owner) begin a charming ‘pen-pal’ relationship via notes left to each other. Based on assumptions, each believed the other person is significantly older than they actually are so when Maddie and Art meet in person sparks fly.

I can’t say I enjoyed this particular novella as much as others in the series.  The two characters were too stuffy for my liking and I never had a sense of passion from either of them. The notes to each other cold have been a cute way to move the plot along but both Maddie and Art were so proper it wasn’t a real surprise that they each believed the other was older than they actually were. It was overall a very ho-hum story.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”