Saturday, June 21, 2014

Four Weddings and a Kiss by Margaret Brownley, Debra Clopton, Mary Connealy, and Robin Lee Hatcher

If you like reading anthologys or short novellas, then Four Weddings & a Kiss is a book you will want to pick up and devour. The authors offer up wonderful stories that will put a smile on any reader's face. 

The book begins with a prologue introducing Reverend Gregory Miller. He is a pastor in love and the woman he loves is someone that he feels isn't right to be a pastor's wife. When the book begins, he is at a revival meeting in Ft. Worth, Texas and the following day he will be getting on a train to head home. While he is praying to God he speaks out loud asking God how is he going to live without Elizabeth in his life. Four other pastors hear his cry and they begin to share stories of 'miss-matched' couples that found their happy endings.

The first story offered is Spitfire Sweetheart by Mary Connealy.  Maizy MacGregor was raised by her father since the age of five and she can ride and work a ranch along with the best of men. However, she has a problem of getting herself in trouble. Rylan Cartens owns the neighboring ranch to the MacGregors and he has made it clear that Maizy is to stay off his property. A black angus bull and one crazy grizzly bear set the tempo of what ensues next.  This was probably my favorite story in the entire anthology. 
                                         
The second story is A Love Letter to the Editor by Robin Lee Hatcher. This is the story of Molly Everton and Jack Ludgrove. Molly's father owns the local newspaper and decides it is time to hire someone as managing editor. When Molly finds out that her father has hired Jack instead of offering her the position she is outraged. While Molly is trying hard to deter Jack from staying at the newspaper, her heart is telling her something else. This was a cute story that I truly enjoyed.

A Cowboy for Katie, by Debra Clopton, is the third story. It is the story of Katie Pearl and Treb Rayburn. When the story begins, Katie has just suffered a devastating loss three weeks prior. Her father was killed when a tornado hit their ranch. She was pinned under debris for several days and now the people of the town thinks she's crazy because she acts different. What they don't know is she suffered a concussion and is slowing recovering from the affects of it. Treb is suffering himself, with a case of wanderlust. Three days before arriving Midway, Texas his horse dies right out from under him. When he arrives in town, he decides to get a job in order to make enough money to buy another horse. Katie overhears him asking the proprietor of the general store if he knew of any place he could get hired on. Katie proceeds to offer Treb a job with pay and the promise of a horse when the job is done. She wants him to rebuild her house that was destroyed. This was another fun story, that kept me engaged until the end. 

The last story offered is Courting Trouble by Margaret Brownley.  This is the story of Grace Davenport and Brock Daniels.  Grace is a young widow raising her son alone. The story begins with her son, Jesse Morris, asking Brock, a local lawyer, to help his mother who is currently in jail. According to Jesse, the sheriff said she killed her husband. Jesse wants Brock because the lawyer the court appointed for her has lost most of his cases and his clients have been hung. She is found innocent but only because the judge sided with her and needed to leave town. Through a discussion that Brock has with Jesse they come up with an idea on how to find out who really killed Grace's husband. This was another fun story and I loved the suspense thread.

The book concludes with an epilogue in which Reverend Gregory Miller arrives home to his Elizabeth and he tells her he wants to share with her the stories the other pastors shared with him. Stories about two people in love just like them. And yes, after reading the four stories, the epilogue ends with the kiss.

I would highly recommend Four Weddings & a Kiss to anyone who enjoys light-hearted reading. You can easily read each novella in one sitting. If I were to say anything negative about the book it is that I would love to learn more about all of these characters. All the women had spunk and the men had the willingness to tame them. An enjoyable read.

On a 5-Star Scale = 4 1/2 Stars!!!!

I would like to thank Litfuse Publicity and Thomas Nelson for my review copy. I received my copy for free in order to read and give my honest review, which I have done.


Smiles & Blessings,





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