A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant Series: A Year of Weddings #3
Published by Zondervan Fiction on 28 January 2014
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 120
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
In A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant, history repeats itself when this bride runs out of the church on her wedding day---in the same dress that had been passed down for generations and worn by her mom, grandma and great-grandmother who also ran out of their weddings. The heroine struggles to break destructive cycles of the past. Can this bride shuck expectation and discover who SHE is as a bride and in the Bride of Christ? And if she finally walks down the aisle, what dress will she be wearing? Readers will enjoy this novel of redemption centered on a winter wedding.
*I received a free ARC of A February Bride from Zondervan Fiction via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
A February Bride is the story of Allie, and how and why she ran away from church in her wedding dress, even if all she ever wanted was to finally marry Marcus. Her reasons for running are pretty shallow in my opinion – she loves him, and he loves her, but she’s got this idea in her head that her family is cursed. That all the women in her family are bound to hurt the men in their lives, and throw them out just so they can marry a new and improved version.
So Allie thinks the best thing to do is to run away and never marry Marcus at all – better to hurt him now than later, and she’ll just stay single so she won’t end up like her crazy family. A February Bride didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I don’t believe in curses like this in real life, and since this story is a contemporary romance without any actual paranormal elements in it, I just felt like Betsy was making up excuses for her behavior, and that she was afraid to actually be happy and feel loved.
Pretty naive, the whole story of A February Bride felt like it needed much more suspension of disbelief than I was able to give it. The characters weren’t developed enough, and the romance really didn’t do it for me either. Allie seemed to think more about what Marcus could do for her than how he made her feel, and her strange view of feminism grated on my nerves.
But nothing could compete with the sight of Marcus standing by the outside soda bar. Dressed in tailored beige pants and an un-tucked navy blue button-down, sleeves rolled to his forearms, collar opened at the neck, he was the very expression of attractive.
It was one of the things that had attracted her to him – his confidence and ability to take charge in a situation made her feel safe and protected. It was the perfect balance – she could take care of herself, but with Marcus, she never had to. To think she’d thrown that away for a lifetime of triple A and tow trucks.
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
This series seems to be inconsistent with the quality of the stories. Are they written by the same author?
It is inconsistent, and actually, each installment is written by a different author.
Thanks for stopping by, Pamela.
I’m sorry this one didn’t work for you, Lexxie. I have to agree with your issues though. I understand it’s fiction, but a story has to fit within the confines of its genre. And Allie sounds pretty ridiculous. I hope this series picks up and is more impressive.
Happy Monday, my friend! Have a marvelous day! *HUGS*
Yeah, the story has to fit, and really, I want to find something in the characters I can understand. Allie was both ridiculous and flimsy, and I didn’t get her reasonings at all. Oh well.
Thanks for stopping by, have a great Monday yourself. Happy reading. *BIG HUGS*
It always sucks when the MC is irritating and especially when they make excuses for their bad decisions. I know characters make mistakes, but they still need to be believable. Hopefully the rest of the series is better 🙂
Each book in the seires is written by a different author, so I guess it’s kind of difficult to know in advance, if I don’t already know the author. I loved A January Bride, but didn’t care too much for A December Bride, so I’m not sure if I’m going to continue with this or not…
Thanks for stopping by Amy.
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
I have been curious about this series, it is sad it wasn’t developed enough to make you believe. Thanks for sharing Lexxie 🙂
It really depends on each individual book, though. And as they are written by different authors, I’m sure people who read these are looking for different things.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Twitter: bmreviewsohmy
To bad, I have heard of this author but I haven’t actual read her books to know how her others might be. It does sound sort of messed up. 🙁 Great review though. 🙂
I think I’d like to try one of her other books, though. Sometimes, novellas just don’t do it for me – there’s not enough time to build a connection to the characters.
Thanks for stopping by Stormi 🙂
Sorry it didn’t work out well, but I totally see the disappointment with the lack of development. Plus, not reading about believing characters it’s always kinda frustrating, isn’t it? 🙁
Yes, it definitely is! Thanks for stopping by Silvia.
Twitter: talksupeblog
I’m surprised you didn’t DNF this. Even fictional stories has to be believable esp if it’s contemporary. I’ve met superstitious people in my life and though I believe in signs and omens, I have to be convinced first before I buy it.
I am kind of superstitious, too, but Allie was just too much – it sounded a lot more as if she was making excuses and was afraid to love…
And it was only 120 pages, so it didn’t take a long time to read – that’s why it’s not a DNF.
Thanks for stopping by, Braine 🙂
Sorry to hear it needed more disbelief but good to hear she could take care of herself but didn’t need to with Marcus
Thanks for stopping by, Brandi 🙂
Yeah, it is hard to read a book that doesn’t really make sense to you. Great honest review Lexxie!
Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace
Hi there! Thank you for the honest review. I’m sorry you didn’t really enjoy the novella, but I was glad to see you were open to considering some of my full length novels. (and glad to see you did enjoy January Bride! Deb Raney is fabulous) I’ll be the first to admit – novellas are a lot harder (for me) to write! 🙂 I’d be happy to send you a copy of one of my full length novels if you’re open to reviewing a different story. Please let me know, no obligation. My list of titles are at http://www.betsystamant.com and you can reach me at (betsystamant@yahoo.com) Just wanted to offer since you made that comment. Thanks again for taking the time to read my story and write an honest review. Blessings!