Meet the people who make it all happen—the planners, the photographers, the musicians who have helped orchestrate the perfect day for countless couples—as they find their own happy endings in the second Year of Weddings novella collection.

She’s known for her delicious cakes, but there’s no recipe for dealing with the new man in her life.

Charlotte owns the best bakery in Louisiana, and clients come from near and far for her renowned wedding cakes. And while the wedding scene is Charlotte’s place to shine, her own love life is more dull than ever. After a string of failed relationships—and men who actually were too good to be true—she has decided to throw herself into her craft and leave love and marriage to her clients.

Will is a successful entrepreneur but devotes much of his spare time to caring for his ill mother. He knows he doesn't have much time left with her, so he has done everything he can to guard his heart from relationships. And what girl would understand that he needs to spend all his time with his mother? But when his best friend calls in his help for his September wedding, Will can’t refuse. He's always been there for those closest to him. And when he finds out they don’t have a wedding cake yet, he knows exactly where to go—the bakery owned by the beautiful, mysterious young woman he buys treats from.

Charlotte assumes Will is just another party boy who flirts with all the bridesmaids. But is Will hiding something that explains his behavior? And despite their reservations, will they be able to deny the chemistry between them?

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We all know that I love this series and that nine times out of ten, I simply gush over each one as I read it. Nothing new here then. I loved this one. The story is great. The characters are great. The writing is great and if the publisher doesn't do a third year of these, I'm going to be very sad. These are the perfect "guilty pleasure" for a quiet afternoon.



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They’ve helped orchestrate the perfect day for countless couples. Now twelve new couples will find themselves in the wedding spotlight in the second Year of Weddings novella collection.

April is willing to do anything for her sister’s wedding—until she comes face to face with a guy from her past.

April Quinn is thrilled to be her sister’s maid of honor, until the wedding coordinator quits and the responsibilities get dumped on her. It’s April’s worst nightmare—especially since her sister has more objections and opinions than a lawyer presenting a high-profile court case. When the wedding singer walks out at the last-minute, her sister hires a replacement. When April finds out who the replacement is, she’s ready to call it quits as well.
Because there’s only one person in April’s past that she never wanted to see again, and her sister just handed him a front row seat to the wedding.

Jack Vaughn finally has the career he’s always wanted. After playing in bars and singing in weddings as a struggling musician for half a decade, he’s just released his second album and sales are skyrocketing. But while visiting his parent’s Nashville home the weekend before his first headline tour, he runs into an old friend. When she asks him for a last-minute favor, he can’t bring himself to say no. Even though saying yes means he has to come face to face with April Quinn—the girl who hasn’t spoken to him in years.

And rightly so, since he stole something from her that he’ll never be able to repay.

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Just two weeks ago, you read about how much I love this series and now I'm back and telling you that this book was only middling for me. I felt as if the characters never truly matured. April also seemed unrealistically naive. Also, while the story was fun, it didn't feel inspiring (which is often the theme with these novellas) and it ended rather abruptly. Usually I walk away from these books with a smile, but this one I walked away just not feeling confident that Jack and April have any real chance for a forever type relationship.



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An eclectic assortment of humanity, with all their foibles and failings, lived in the house on Moody Avenue over a period of ninety years. I tell their stories.

Lisette, her unshakable faith sustaining her, is undeterred in the face of adversity; Julia, a social-climbing snob, sees her world crumble when her children marry inappropriately; Clarence, a Casper Milquetoast bank clerk, absconds with a quarter of a million dollars; Frances, a country girl, comes to the big city to marry a rich man; Sammy, a black man, passes for white.

Beatnik squatters, high on LSD, burn down the condemned ninety-year-old house, leaving it naught but a precious memory in the hearts of those who once sought its shelter.

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When I first picked up this book, I was excited because I'm one of those types who always wish "the walls could talk." I really feel as if homes have personalities and older homes have such wonderful histories. Unfortunately, this book was more the scattered stories of some of the people who lived within the house. The first story was well written, but sadly, it seemed to go downhill from there. The stories felt rushed and less and less interesting. It's not often that I pick up a book and by the time I'm done with it, I'm saddened because the idea was a great one but the reality just didn't hit the mark.



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The bridal shop business it took his mother three decades to build, the enterprise that covered his university and law degrees in full, was struggling because he might be part-genius when it came to contract law . . . But corset-style gowns with a mermaid flair? Shoot me now.

Tara Simonetti hated law school, but loved the community grant funding her presence at Temple University’s esteemed school of law. She could not fail. Would not fail. But when a notice for bridal store help appeared on the community notice board, Tara applied for the job immediately. While grants and loans helped pave her way, money for food was scarce. Legal precedence, moot court, and judicial clerking all had their place, but they were nothing compared to Alcenon lace, tucked silk skirts, and a well-placed peplum.

Greg had grabbed her help as the act of a desperate man. Within weeks, he was desperate again, this time to win her heart. But after using community funds to get her degree, how can Tara turn her back on the people who helped finance her goal?

But if she leaves Philadelphia and Greg to return to her small-town in northern Pennsylvania, she’ll be leaving her heart behind. A heart he won, fair and square by posting a help wanted notice on the coffee shop board . . . A heart that filled the missing niche in his mother’s acclaimed bridal store. A heart Greg longed to cherish forevermore.

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Does anyone remember how much I loved this series last year? Well, if you do, you won't be surprised to hear that I'm really enjoying it again this year. Novellas are a great way to get a bit of reading in without it taking up the whole day. This particular book was filled with great characters and great writing. I loved how the bridal shop staff was like a family and they brought Tara into that. Tara and Greg themselves were well written and like many novellas, it left me wanting more...




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Fritz, a young wealthy German, immigrates to America and experiences a shipboard romance on the way. His dream is to use his riches to help needy people, providing housing and hopefully developing a community of one accord. His family joins him after a big house has been built in Cincinnati, Ohio. In a variety of totally unexpected episodes, the beautiful, spacious house begins to bring together many unlikely people into a community. The transformation of lives is assisted by an elderly chaplain who is bilingual and has a great store of wisdom.

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Wow, it's been a while since I read a book that just didn't appeal to me. Unfortunately, this was such a book. While the premise was good, it just fell flat. The book moves quickly through a series of characters, but does so with such a speed that none of the characters ever become fully developed. Honestly, Katherine could have had a book all by herself. Also, the time period isn't brought to light until further in the book, which could lead to a bit of confusion. I think that Ms. Sparks has quite a bit of talent, she just needs to work more on her character structure/development and slow the pace down so that the reader gets a chance to really get to know and care about the characters.



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