A January Bride by Deborah Raney

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.

There seems to be a growing trend for shorter, series made books. I’ve been reading quite a few different ones and I have to say that I like it. This particular series is set with a new book each month by a different author. All these books have to do with brides and the series is called “A Year of Weddings”. To me, that’s pretty much a guarantee of a happily ever after. If you are looking for fluffy, romantic, quick reads, this series might be the one for you. A head’s up that this series is Christian Fiction in case that makes or breaks things for you. I, personally, like that because I know what I’m going to get. There will be no sex or language that I might find offensive.

This series actually begins with December, but I didn’t get the chance to read that one yet. I started with January and maybe I’ll just work my way through the year and end up with December.  J

What I liked about this book was how the romance actually came about. The couple didn’t actually meet until toward the end of the book. They did, however, exchange notes back and forth. The funny thing is that each one thought the other was considerably older than themselves. Madeline thought she was borrowing a quiet space to work during the day from a retired, older man. Arthur thinks he is letting an older lady borrow his home while he is gone during the day so that she can write her romance novels.

Another thing I liked was that the characters were a bit older. They had been through love and heartache and had a sense of maturity about them. They were both well established in their careers and had a good sense of who they are. There wasn’t a lot of nonsense, just two people trying to figure things out.

This was a good start to this series for me. I have “A February Bride” waiting for me to read next and I’m sure looking forward to it!

My thanks to the publisher, Zondervan, for allowing me to read and review this book.

You can purchase this book at Amazon.