Leah
Written on Oct 28, 2010
Earlier this year I read The Seven Secrets of Happiness by Sharon Owens and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the first of Sharon’s novels that I’d read and I was pleased to discover a new author I liked. So when I was browsing on Sharon’s website to note down the titles of her other novels I saw she was working on her seventh novel A Winter’s Wedding. I made a note of it and when I saw it on Amazon I thought it sounded brilliant, a perfect book to curl up with during Winter, despite the fact Tenerife doesn’t have a Winter season. You just know Christmas is coming when the Winter-y titles begin coming out and when I received my copy of A Winter’s Wedding I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.
A Winter’s Wedding is a bit different to most Chick Lit novels, as instead of the main female and male characters hating each other, then loving each other then fighting before declaring undying love at the end, Emily and Dylan have a solid relationship. And A Winter’s Wedding charts their relationship from the beginning when they meet at a charity shop. And that is basically the plot in a nutshell. Yes, Emily has some issues to get over, but there are no plot twists or unexpected issues throughout the book. It’s purely a love story. I liked that, sometimes I get a bit bored with books that don’t have twists and turns but A Winter’s Wedding was nicely done and I enjoyed just how simple Emily and Dylan’s relationship was.
There are a few other things going on in the book, Emily’s relationship (if you can call it that) with her parents as well as her friendship with boss Arabella. There’s nothing note-worthy, though, so if you’re expecting a fast paced and frenetic read then this one isn’t for you. However for Chick Lit fans who like a change of pace once in a while and want to read about two people who genuinely love each other from the word go then this is absolutely for you.
I really liked both Emily and Dylan. They seemed so perfect for each other and they both seemed like lovely people. Emily is a bit guarded for a while, after she was left stood at the altar, but she really comes into her own when she realises Dylan is nothing like Alex, her ex. And Dylan is just the perfect guy. Seriously, this is the type of man everyone would like to meet and there’s basically nothing wrong with him. No wife, no deranged ex, no skeletons in his closet, no sirree. I found it hard to warm to Emily’s parents, as they were never really there for Emily, however they go eventually get a bit of a wake up call which made me like them a bit better. As for Arabella, I found her fascinating, if a little crazy. She has her spiteful moments but on the whole I think she was a nice person.
I really enjoyed reading A Winter’s Wedding. The change of pace really worked for me especially after the fast paced read I just finished before reading this one (Getting Away With It by Julie Cohen, if you’re wondering). It’s not a book that will appeal to all and some will find it very slow, but I enjoyed it. It comes in at just under 300 pages which makes it a very quick read. It’s the perfect read to curl up with during Christmas, and the tale of Emily and Dylan’s relationship is really sweet and it’s the kind of good-feeling story that will leave a smile on everyone’s faces after they finish reading the book!