Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Rachel Hauck: A Royal Christmas Wedding

By Kelly Bridgewater



Avery Truitt aches for true love—the kind she once shared with Prince Colin. Can she dare to hope for happily ever after, or is a fairy-tale ending beyond reach?

College volleyball star Avery Truitt has not seen her former flame, Prince Colin of Brighton Kingdom, since he suddenly pushed her away five years ago. But now, the sadness of losing her father and the joy of her sister Susanna’s pregnancy have brought Avery back to Brighton just in time for Cathedral City’s enchanting Christmas season.

Avery knows she can’t avoid seeing Colin—now the Kingdom’s most eligible bachelor—whether or not her heart is ready to relive the pain. But seeing him again might bring her the closure she needs after all this time.

When Colin finds himself at the center of a centuries-old Brighton tradition, he must decide whether to follow the path laid out before him or follow his heart to the only woman for whom he would ring the Pembroke Chapel Bell.

Can Colin convince Avery to meet him at the chapel on Christmas morning—as tradition dictates—or will Avery run back to her St. Simons home and pursue a coaching career as planned?

A Royal Christmas Wedding
From Amazon
My Review:

I have read the first book in the Royal Wedding series, but it reminded me A LOT of the movie with Julia Stiles, The Prince and Me, so I didn't pick up the other two books to read. When they went on sale for the Kindle, I bought both, but I have never gotten around to reading them. I loved the title for A Royal Christmas Wedding, so I couldn't wait to read it. I'm glad that I did. Now, I need to read Princess Ever After and How to Catch a Prince.

First, I really enjoyed traveling to Brighton. If thought the town is fictional, it appears that Rachel Hauck took a Christmas postcard from long ago and made it come to life. Using the right amount of descriptive writing, Hauck invited me into this magical winter land, which reminded me why I love winter and Christmas. I loved that it was snowing all the time. The lights were everywhere and shining all the time. I enjoyed the little shops downtown. I loved the generosity of the royal family. The story moved at the right pace. I didn't feel rushed or find moments where the story dragged.

Speaking of the royal family, it was nice to see Suzanna and Nathaniel again. In this edition, I saw Suzanna as the loving older sister who was trying to coax and encourage her sister on the path to true love. I don't remember reading Avery and Colin's love story previously, so it was nice to see them after they have fallen apart for a couple of years. There love was still strong.  Hauck tugged at my heartstrings when she had Avery dealing with her father's recent death. My father died last Halloween, and I'm still trying to deal with it. The romantic tension between Avery and Colin sparkled off the page, just like the lights shining from the various positions in the town.

A Royal Christmas Wedding is a contemporary romance that really needed no research. This story was completely predictable and has been none in some form or another, but this didn't stop me from enjoying the story. The one thing that did bother me was the epilogue. When I first started reading the book, it has the dialogue and cell phones of today's world, but then in the Hauck wrote the dialogue as if the story was written a long time ago. Didn't quite make sense to me.

Filled with light and romance, Rachel Hauck's A Royal Christmas Wedding is a nice addition to the Christmas stories with its scenic town and romance that sizzles. I highly recommend A Royal Christmas Wedding to fans of Hauck's previous stories and other contemporary romances.

I received a complimentary copy of A Royal Christmas Wedding from Thomas Nelson publishing and the opinions stated are all my own. 
 

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

What is your favorite part of Christmas time? I really enjoy the snow with the lights! What makes you happy during December?

No comments:

Post a Comment