I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Christmas Bouquet by Sherryl Woods Published by Harlequin on October 1st 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Holidays, Romance
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
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When it comes to family and Christmas, #1 New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods always looks to the O'Briens for a little holiday magic For the very driven medical student Caitlyn Winters, catching the bridal bouquet at a Christmas wedding has set off a chain reaction that she's sure is more curse than blessing. Not only has she fallen in love with family medicine resident Noah McIlroy, but an unexpected pregnancy threatens her well-laid plans for the future. It doesn't help that Noah—with a whole lot of help from her O'Brien relatives—is completely on board with the prospect of marriage and happily-ever-after. It takes a whole lot of patience, love and family persuasion to help Caitlyn realize that she can still have everything she ever wanted, including a home in her beloved Chesapeake Shores and a man who understands all of her dreams.
Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. I love that people are a little bit kinder and maybe a little bit more exuberant. This love extends over into books set during the holiday season. I picked up The Christmas Bouquet by Sherryl Woods because I initially expected it to be about two people falling in love during the holiday season, as is the wont with most Christmas themed books. Or at least, with most romance books that have the word Christmas in the title. Alas, I did not completely get what I was expecting out of Woods’ Chesapeake Shores book.
Caitlyn is interning for med school and seeing a resident, Noah. The two have a relatively solid relationship. Caitlyn however is not ready to settle down for marriage. She has dreams of traveling to Africa and providing medical relief aid. Unfortunately, her plans are derailed with a positive pregnancy test. Much of The Christmas Bouquet is centered around Caitlyn questioning her future plans and living in denial about what to do regarding the baby. Meanwhile, Noah is doing his best to convince Caitlyn, with the help of the O’Brien clan, that she should marry him.
Essentially, The Christmas Bouquet is all about compromise and learning that just because your dream might have to go on hold or change, that is not a bad thing. A word of warning, if you go into this book expecting it to be totally 100% Christmas themed, it is not. In fact, the holiday season accounts for a very small percentage of the setting in the book. In fact, it seems like the majority of the book takes place from spring to fall, ending during the Christmas season. I won’t call this false advertising, but I will say I was a tiny bit disappointed. As for the writing and characterization, this is a very quick read. I would say that it’s nothing special or out of the ordinary, but an okay palate cleanser. I thought it went on a tad overlong and that it was sort of annoying how the main character, Caitlyn was living in denial for such a long time. Not to mention, her baby daddy was a bit of a pushover. I thought it was kind of messed up how she treated him. So, I suppose this is the book for you if you aren’t looking for anything life changing, just something to pass the time.
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I enjoyed reading this one. Good job April keep it up! I clicked the “about me” to know you more and I laughed after knowing that you wear your sunglasses at night.