Review: A September Bride by Kathryn Springer

Short and Sweet

When Police Deputy Jesse Kent pulls over Annie Price, a newcomer to their small town of Red Leaf, Wisconsin, and finds she claims to be the manager of his mother’s bookstore, he’s immediately suspicious. It wouldn’t be the first time Lorna Kent had been misled by a stranger.

Annie Price is loving her new life in Red Leaf. The small town is like the family she never had, and volunteering for the local historical society is bringing her into contact with some of the town’s more eccentric residents … and handsome Jesse Kent, who seems to take an instant dislike to her. But they are thrown together when Annie is asked to play the bride in the town re-enactment of a historic wedding, and Jesse is her groom.

A September Bride is well-written, with a good mix of conflict and attraction between Annie and Jesse, an original plot and some fascinating minor characters. It even managed to squeeze in a second romance.

I have only two minor complaints. First, I often find romance novellas move too quickly. The low word count means the couple has to get from first meet to happy ever after in a short space of time, and that was certainly the case with A September Bride. I wasn't  convinced Annie and Jesse spent enough time together to guarantee that happy ever after. In this case, I think the secondary romance took valuable word count that should have been used to show more of the developing relationship between Annie and Jesse. Second, A September Bride is published by Zondervan, a publisher of Christian fiction, yet there is no Christian content (although I’m sure some people will see this as a positive).

A September Bride is part of the Year of Weddings series of novellas, each a standalone story from a different author. Thanks to Zondervan and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Kathryn Springer at her website.