ARC Review: A Christmas Bride (Chapel of Love) by Hope Ramsay

A shared tragedy helped to unite two broken people and one final promise, could be the beginning of something wonderful. Willow has had her share of disappointments. The biggest heartbreak brings her home to make someone's dream come true. Doing so isn't so easy when grief, Scrooge and obstacles dog her at every turn. Hope Ramsay knows how to pull the heartstrings and supply a reason to bring a smile to the face and have you whistling a happy tune. A Christmas Bride is magic.

I read this as a book club assignment. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever read, but it demonstrated all I loathe about "romance" novels. It was simple, both in writing and in plot. I can't be bothered to tell you about it simply because I don't want to spend time rehashing it. *Spoiler alert* An unlikely couple end up together. Boom. Done.

A Christmas Bride (Chapel of Love #1) by Hope Ramsay is a beautiful story about finding love again, about turning your life around and what happens when Christmas dreams and wishes come true. This is the story of Willow and David.

Willow Peterson has not been back in Shenandoah Falls in years. She left to make something of herself, but now she is back. Missing her best friend, the one that was closest to her as a sister, the one that was killed in a tragic accident. Now wanting nothing more that to see her dream for the old Eagle Hill Manor to be turned into a reality, she will have to convince her best friends widow to step up and help her.

David Lyndon has always done what he was suppose to do. He has been groomed all his life to run for office, even though this is not something that he has a passion for. When his cousin comes to him asking him to allow them to have their wedding at the Eagle Hill Manor, a wedding of their dreams, not something political or power driven, David wants to say no, but when Willow accuses him of being a Scrooge, of telling him that his wife would be disappointed in him, he changes his tone fast.

The more that David and Willow work together, the more time that they spend together with Davids daughter, the stronger the connection that they form and the hotter the feelings for they have burn. When David strikes a deal with is campaign manager and makes a decision for Willow, it could destroy the future that are trying to build.

I loved that David and Willow had a connection in the past. They were friends, they had his dead wife in common, they really knew each other. I loved that they both loved and cared about David's daughter. Through the story you can see how David truly changes, understanding what is truly important in life, his daughter and Willow. An amazing Christmas story that is both magical and wonderful.

A Christmas Bride is an adorable and sweet romance. Even though the cover and title both scream Christmas romance, I would read this story any time of year. Young children in novels are typically either a great fit or they are rather annoying. Natalie was adorable and a great fit. Now David's mother was a nightmare of a woman who I wouldn't have been able to stand in the presence of without wanting to snap.


Mrs. M and her bridge club were my favorite part of the book, as well as Willow's mother. The bridge club playing matchmaker and gossiping about David's libido was hilarious. A Christmas Bride is the perfect combination of romance and comedy.

Very good small town romance, full of love, loss, family, and friends with a healthy helping of humor thrown in. When Willow was growing up, she couldn't wait to get out of Shenandoah Falls, away from her hippie, vegan, will-protest-anything mother. She succeeded and hasn't been home in years. But now she's back, trying to rebuild her life after a personal and professional betrayal. When she discovered that her company was defrauding the government, she blew the whistle. Unfortunately for her, her CEO boyfriend was also involved and has taken the lead in trashing her reputation. When she goes to visit her deceased best friend's mother, she is dismayed to discover that Shelly's dream of restoring the inn died with her. Her encounter with Shelly's husband David shows a man determined to sell the inn and move on.

David is still grieving the loss of his wife. The inn is a reminder of her and the way that she died. He plans to sell it and move on with his plans to run for Congress. But Willow's arrival throws his well-ordered life into chaos. She wants him to fix up the inn enough to host his cousin's wedding, something his family is strongly against. They want him to concentrate on his political future. Various townspeople also have no problem voicing their opinions also.

I liked Willow a lot. She may be down, but she hasn't given up. She isn't backing down from her stance on the fraud case. However, her self-confidence has taken a little bit of a hit over what she sees as her bad judgment in boyfriends. She also feels that people look down on her because of her mother. Underneath, she is a woman with a big heart and plenty of love to give. I loved her relationship with Shelly's mom, who had been like a second mother to her. And I loved her quick connection with little Natalie, who called her a "fairy godmother."

David took a little while to grow on me. He was so stiff and cold toward Willow at the beginning. I also disliked the way that he let his mother bully Natalie. I wanted to see him stand up to her. I softened a little bit when I saw how much he was still hurting over Shelly's death. He started to win me over when he stood up to Natalie's teacher over the spelling tests. The more I saw of him, the more I saw someone who buried his own needs and wants to live up to others' expectations.

I really enjoyed the development of their relationship. Willow, Shelly, and David had been friends for a long time. There had never been any hint of attraction between David and Willow until she came home, and both were surprised by it. David spends a fair amount of time feeling guilty about desiring someone other than Shelly. Willow doesn't want to feel anything for a man she thinks is too much like her ex. But she doesn't let any of that stop her from confronting him about the inn and telling him exactly what she thinks. Once David makes the decision to cooperate about the inn, he realizes that his attraction to Willow is a large part of why he did it. As he gets sucked into helping with the inn he also gets to spend more time with her. I loved seeing the effect that they had on each other. Willow is able to help David break out of the shell of grief he'd been in and start to live again. David helps Willow to see that she is much stronger than she thinks she is. The attraction between them continues to grow until it bursts into flame. I loved that scene and the morning after, as each of them begins to believe that they could have something special. But interference from David's family has him making a really boneheaded mistake, which drives a wedge between him and Willow. I loved that she stood her ground, and ached for her heartbreak over his actions. He finally realized the truth and his speech at his cousin's wedding showed just how much he had changed. I loved his big moment at the end as he opened up his heart to Willow. The epilogue was great.

There were some awesome characters and situations throughout the book. Willow's mom is still the same hippie she was when Willow was a kid, but Willow is much more accepting of her now. I really enjoyed seeing the two of them grow closer. The part with the park protest was hilarious. There is also some mystery regarding who Willow's sister's father is, though I have my suspicions. I really liked Shelly's mom and her obvious love for David. She could have been a real obstacle in his relationship with Willow, but instead she was behind him providing the kick in the tail that he needed. I loved their conversation in the kitchen the morning after he slept with Willow. She gave him some good advice from someone who'd been in his shoes. On the other side of the coin was David's mother. I didn't like her at the beginning, and absolutely nothing changed by the end of the book. She is a snob and a bully and incredibly self-centered. I loved picturing the look on her face every time he stood up to her. My favorite secondary character was Natalie. She, too, was grieving her mother's death, which made her especially vulnerable to her grandmother's bullying. David wasn't much better at the beginning, and I ached for Natalie and her unhappiness. I loved seeing her blossom under Willow's influence. It was especially satisfying, though heartbreaking, too, to see her confront David and her grandmother over the way Willow was treated. I'm looking forward to the next book and seeing more of Dusty.

This is a good and quick read that made me laugh and it made me cry. I enjoyed the entire story and I admit I have read this book in one afternoon because I was enjoying this book so much that I just didn't want to put it down.

If you are looking for a good romance book , I highly recommend this one.

I received a paperback copy of this book via the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

What a sweet story! A Christmas Bride by Hope Ramsay is the first book in the small town romance series Chapel of Love. It tells the story of coming home again and finding love after loss. Heart-warming and uplifting A Christmas Bride is sure to put a smile on your face.

Willow Peterson left home and never really looked back. After losing her dream job, Willow returns looking to find a purpose to her life now. I instantly understood Willow. She’s driven and full of passion. Losing her best friend a few years prior affected her in ways she didn’t fully admit to herself until she’s home, seeing her friend’s inn and their old stomping grounds. Willow finds herself drawn to her friend’s daughter, seeing a bit of the friend she misses in her. And then there is the inn that is falling apart since Shelly’s death and her husband who has closed himself off to anyone that might give a care for him. Determined to make her friend proud, Willow sets out to do the impossible: resurrect the inn.

David Lyndon is Shelly’s grieving husband. Even two years later, her death is still at the forefront of his mind. When we are first introduced to David, I think he’s a bit of a jerk. Then Ramsay gives us some time from his POV, and my heart just broke for him. He works to keep the status quo. His mother wants him to run for Congress, has groomed him for that since he was a kid. So he’s making a bid for it. That means it’s time to sell the inn and everything that reminds him of Shelly. Losing her around the holidays makes him a bit of a Scrooge (rightfully so). Then Willow shows up and turns his life upside down.

While the book focuses on the budding relationship between David and Willow, it also focuses on the town and those people affected by Shelly in one way or another. I love that about small town settings. This book packs a lot of people into its pages, and yet they all felt real and relatable. I know a Gracie and Poppy, even a Pam Lyndon

I first saw this as a Hallmark movie a few weeks ago--don't ask. Watching Christmas movies at the peak of summer is inherently twisted; I get it, but I don't always have control of the remote.

This is essentially a Christmas story--a kind of Cinderella thing about a poor girl from the shabby side of the tracks who comes home after blowing the whistle against the shoddy practices of a former employer. She is dilapidated inside, just as the old historic inn is on the outside. It is the property of the local rich kid--the town prince who reluctantly would be a congressman. His dead wife was best friends with Willow, the woman who has moved home after her dustup with the former employer. At the heart of the story is eight-year-old Natalie, David's daughter and Willow's goddaughter. She works her magic to help bring the two together--the reluctant would-be congressman who would rather be George Bailey and the broken girl who, like the inn she fixes up, offers treasures not easily seen at first.

This was ok. If steamy premarital sex scenes aren't your thing, you can either skip moderate-sized sections of this or just leave the book not downloaded. I did a bit of skipping, and that's not easy with that stupid Hoopla app. they've broken it such that the screen reader can't see the chapter advance buttons. As a result, you're hopping and bopping along at 10-second intervals--not a pleasant quick way to skip through a book.

3 solid stars.

Not my usual cup of tea but I really liked this one. Sweet, angsty and wholesome though David was an asshole at times. The writing and characterization was well done and had me reading non stop.

Im putting Hope Ramsay on my tbr for sure.

3.5 stars