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A February Bride
A February Bride
A February Bride
Ebook115 pages1 hour

A February Bride

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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A year’s worth of novellas from twelve inspirational romance authors. Happily ever after guaranteed.


Allie left the love of her life at the altar—to save him from a lifetime of heartbreak. When a Valentine’s Day wedding brings them back together, she struggles against her family’s destructive history. Can Allie ever realize that a marriage is so much more than a wedding dress?


History repeats itself when Allie Andrews escapes the church on her wedding day—in the same dress passed down for generations and worn by all the women in her family—women with a long history of failed marriages. Allie loves Marcus but fears she’s destined to repeat her family’s mistakes. She can’t bear to hurt Marcus worse.


Marcus Hall never stopped loving Allie and can only think of one reason she left him at the altar—him. When the two are thrown together for his sister’s Valentine’s Day wedding, he discovers the truth and realizes their story might be far from over. Can Allie shuck expectation and discover who she is as a bride and in the Bride of Christ? And if she ever walks down the aisle, what dress will she wear?


“I was delighted to hear that some of my own favorite authors would be writing the stories for the Year of Weddings collection, and when I saw the gorgeous book covers, I knew the series would be a huge hit! There's just something so hopeful and heartwarming about a wedding, and I'm thrilled to have A January Wedding be a part of this fun project!” —Deborah Raney, author of A January Bride

LanguageEnglish
PublisherZondervan
Release dateJan 28, 2014
ISBN9780310338291
Author

Betsy St. Amant

Betsy St. Amant lives in Louisiana and has a heart for sharing the amazing news of God's grace through her novels. A freelance journalist, Betsy is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. When she’s not reading, writing, or singing along to a Disney soundtrack with her young daughter, Betsy enjoys inspirational speaking and teaching on the craft of writing. Visit her website at www.betsystamant.com Facebook: BetsySt.Amant Twitter: @betsystamant.

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Rating: 3.9666693333333334 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is another enticing short read that is part of the A YEAR OF WEDDINGS offered by Zondervan and NetGalley. I love that these can be read in one short setting and yet have a lot of the elements found in a full length novel. The only thing that ties these together into a series is, well, weddings, and short engagements. As such, they are stand alone novellas written by well loved authors. Well formed characters, vivid imagery, and a plot that gets you thinking. In this story it appears that an inanimate item, a wedding dress no less, has the ability to foreshadow a happy life. It takes a diligence, a trust and some soul searching to break deep imbedded expectations. I enjoyed this offering, and hope to bring reviews of the rest of the series as well.I received this ebook free from ZondervanThomas Nelson Publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. A positive critique was not required. The opinions are my own.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I received a free ARC of A February Bride via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.Good points: short read, characters were written well and the descriptions of places, things and people were great.Downside: Allie's (main character) penchant for being overly dramatic about family curses, the dress and her general, almost teenage like angst when it comes to her love life. When I find myself getting annoyed at the main character's behavior because it reminds me of how kids sometimes act, then it makes me want to not finish.I'm glad I did finish but the pacing of the story and Allie's pity party were almost too much for this reader.Would I recommend this to others? Maybe.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Originally Published on Tales to Tide You OverFamily can be difficult, especially where marriage is concerned. That’s the focus of A February Bride where Allie is so much in love with Marcus that she abandons him at the altar (or close enough to that moment since her music had started) to save him from the misery of being abandoned by her later. That’s her curse. Three generations, many women, and not a stable, long-term relationship among them.Marcus, on the other hand, comes from a loving, complete family and has every expectation of a long and happy marriage. That is until the woman who has claimed his heart runs away from the church with no explanation and avoids him after that.The story begins with her running away in the prologue, but chapter one starts four months later as Allie’s best friend Hannah, coincidentally Marcus’s little sister, finally wears Allie down. They’re to meet, but Hannah comes to get Allie instead, not trusting her to come. Hannah has a huge favor to ask, a rather ironic one as it turns out. Hannah wants Allie to help her put together a rush Valentine’s Day wedding.Forced to agree, Allie can no longer avoid Marcus. There it gets complicated because, where he should hate her, Marcus finds his feelings haven’t changed at all. Allie’s love is as strong as ever, meaning she still needs to keep them apart.Marcus restores cars for a hobby and a calling. Allie runs an antique store where she brings old things back to life through polish and repair.The twisted path these two follow to restore their love and sand away Allie’s fears about the family curse is delightful and compelling. I wanted to spend more time with Allie and Marcus than the novella length allowed because they are both complex, genuine people who got a little mixed up, mostly on Allie’s part. Ultimately, their love is too strong to give in to what their heads say is necessary, Allie because of the curse and Marcus to protect himself. Marcus’s family serves as the necessary counterbalance to Allie’s and just goes to show what can be accomplished with a strong support network, even overcoming a family tradition built on disaster.As much as Allie’s family is complicit in tearing them apart, Marcus’s family is fully involved in tricking them together often enough that love can find a way.The only flaw, and I’m guessing it’s a length issue, is that Allie’s family is never resolved. Not that I was expecting them to be “fixed,” but with all their involvement in the first wedding and the story, an afterward of their reaction to several things would have finished that off. Still, none of Allie’s family were among the characters I wanted to linger with, so this is not a big deal.A February Bride is a delightful story with fun, complicated characters. It plays on the themes of redemption, a favorite of mine, and the power of true, lasting love. Add in characters who think too much so tie themselves in knots and you have a lovely way to pass an all too short time. I would have been quite happy with a novel spent in their company, but the novella gives enough time to enjoy Allie and Marcus, and Hannah and her mother too. Honest, caring characters who get in their own way more often than not, but manage to find the way to happiness by the end. This inspirational romance only brushes on faith in the sense of God, but demonstrates the need to have faith in love and community rather than isolation.P.S. I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The novellas in The Year of Weddings novella collection keep getting better and better. A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant is my favorite novella in the collection so far. Even though the premise of this novella is predictable, sometimes reading a predictable love story is exactly what you need.Allie’s family has been cursed in love for decades. The curse goes back as far as her grandmother (from what the reader knows) and has passed down to her mother and her aunt and Allie fears it will pass on to her. Her family is cursed in love. The women get married and divorced as much as a normal person changes their underwear. Now Allie is about to continue the curse when she is about to walk down the aisle to marry the love of her life, Marcus. The novella takes place in the months after she left Marcus at the altar in an attempt to save Marcus and not hurt him, even though leaving him at the altar broke his heart. Now Allie is to be the Maid of Honor in her best friend’s wedding, who just happens to be Marcus’ sister. During the few shorts weeks leading up to the wedding, Allie and Marcus constantly are seeing each other and being reminded of what they had between them. Can Marcus forgive Allie for leaving him at the altar? Can Allie get over her fear of this “curse” that is on her family?For the short length of this novella, I think it was well written and I loved the idea of a tool shower for the groom. I would give this novella a 4 out of 5 stars, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written and quick fluff romance.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A superb second chance story! Can Marcus ever forgive Allie after she left him at the altar? This is a wonderful story that shows us how strong true love can be if given the chance. I recommend this for everyone.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Allie believes the women in her family have been "cursed" in making a marriage last, and Allie fears it will pass on to her. Allie begins to believe she is about to continue the curse when she walks down the aisle to marry the love of her life, Marcus. So she makes a run for it at the last minute. This story takes place mainly in the months after she left Marcus at the altar. Allie was attempting to save Marcus, and not hurt him, even though leaving him at the altar broke his heart. Now Allie has agreed to be the Maid of Honor in her best friend’s wedding, (who just happens to be Marcus’ sister). During the few shorts weeks leading up to the wedding, Allie and Marcus constantly are seeing each other and being reminded of what they had between them. Can Marcus forgive Allie for leaving him at the altar? Can Allie get over her fear of this “curse” that is on her family?I liked the way Allie's friend (and sister to Marcus) worked out this whole throwing these two together again. The unconditional love between these friends was precious. So was the way Marcus and his family, especially his Mom, treated Allie. They didn't scorn her or think evil of her, but loved her and accepted her and gave her very good advice. This was a very sweet and precious story about love and forgiveness and letting go of the past.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    February BrideBetsy St. AmantBook Summary: A year’s worth of novellas from twelve inspirational romance authors. Happily ever after guaranteed. Allie left the love of her life at the altar---to save him from a lifetime of heartbreak. When a Valentine’s Day wedding brings them back together, she struggles against her family’s destructive history. Can Allie ever realize that a marriage is so much more than a wedding dress? History repeats itself when Allie Andrews escapes the church on her wedding day---in the same dress passed down for generations and worn by all the women in her family---women with a long history of failed marriages. Allie loves Marcus but fears she’s destined to repeat her family’s mistakes. She can’t bear to hurt Marcus worse. Marcus Hall never stopped loving Allie and can only think of one reason she left him at the altar---him. When the two are thrown together for his sister’s Valentine’s Day wedding, he discovers the truth and realizes their story might be far from over. Can Allie shuck expectation and discover who she is as a bride and in the Bride of Christ? And if she ever walks down the aisle, what dress will she wear?Review: Loved this story!! It was so easy to read and read quickly I did. I enjoyed and empathized with Allie, Marcus was great, and Hannah was a prize! It was a book you felt like you knew these people and went by so quickly, yet I was eager to see all things resolved. It was a book that looked to the marriage not so much the things leading up to the ceremony. Saying ‘I do’ was the bridge to cross for their relationship to grow more. A refreshing look at being a couple, in a day where couples do not always identify themselves as one. I found it so refreshing that no one believed in happily ever after, but in building a relationship. These were so readily pressed into the pages of this story.I would like to thank Net Galley and Zondervan Fiction for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone.

Book preview

A February Bride - Betsy St. Amant

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Special thanks to Becky Philpott, editor extraordinaire, for her heart, vision, and friendship. And to the entire team at Zondervan Fiction, for their hard work and dedication in putting out a product that entertains and inspires. Novel writing is such a team effort!

A graceful curtsey in the general direction of my fellow bridesmaids in A Year of Weddings collection—you ladies know how to make weddings look good! I am so blessed to be in this series with all of you.

As always, thanks to my super-agent team, Tamela Hancock Murray and Steve Laube, for their support, advice, and unceasing cheerleading. Y’all rock!

Thanks also to my good friend, who offered his expertise in all things cars, to make a few scenes in this story jive. And just for the record, my Camaro can still beat your Mustang. (I’m just saying.)

I couldn’t have made this story happen without my girl Kim! Thanks for dropping everything to respond to my SOS at Barnes & Noble. I owe you a mocha, a brainstorming session, and probably a nap. You are such a gift.

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Allie Andrews couldn’t breathe, and it had nothing to do with the yards of tulle wrapped around her waist. Or the fact that the air conditioner in the crowded small-town, southern church was on the fritz again, resulting in the sporadic waving of wedding programs in front of flushed faces she’d seen when she peeked through the sanctuary window ten minutes earlier. No, her lack of breath had everything to do with the ticking clock. The literal one on the wall and the figurative one thumping an unsteady rhythm in her heart.

Married.

A bead of sweat trickled between her shoulder blades, sure to dampen the silky ivory fabric that cascaded down her back like a white-chocolate waterfall gone wrong. So wrong.

Married.

She twisted the stem of her rose bouquet and paced the faded orange carpet inside the bride’s room, her thoughts churning along with her breakfast. She slipped one heel out of her three-inch pump, anxiety tying her stomach into a knot that would make a Boy Scout proud.

Married.

It wouldn’t take much to toe off one shoe, then the other. Dig her painstakingly pedicured feet into the carpet for traction, grab the hem of this cursed dress, and just . . . bolt.

Better now than later, right?

Marcus. She couldn’t do that to Marcus.

But wasn’t marrying him doing him worse?

She strode to the window overlooking the gravel parking lot and stared at the onslaught of cars baking in the late September sun. It was a good turnout. Looked as if half of Beaux Creek had shown up. There were probably loads of gifts on the covered table in the reception hall by now—a forever-sentimental collection of floral-patterned china she’d rarely use, gift cards to home repair stores, and likely more than one toaster and blender. All gifts she’d have to return if she let her toes touch the carpet.

But would dividing them up in a divorce property settlement however many years down the road be any easier?

She started to turn away, then squinted at her reflection, seeing skin at her shoulder where there should be lace. Oh no . . . yes. She twisted for a better view. A tiny tear, right on the seam of the sleeve. Her heart stammered.

Not a sign. Just a rip. It happens.

Right?

She pushed away from the window, wringing her bouquet. Now what? She wished Hannah, her maid of honor and only attendant, was still with her, but she had taken the flower girl for one last trip to the bathroom. Besides, Hannah, while her best friend, was also Marcus’s sister. The loyalty line would be blurred if she knew Allie’s doubts, and Allie couldn’t do that to either of them. She had to figure this one out alone.

Married.

She swallowed hard and pressed one hand against her stomach. Just prewedding jitters, right? That’s all it was, surely. She loved Marcus.

Maybe too much.

The organ reached a crescendo, the opening strains building in strength and cuing her grandmother and her mom down the aisle. Soon it would be time for Hannah, followed by the flower girl, Marcus’s little cousin. The little curly-haired blonde would toss more red roses onto that awful carpet that they’d attempted to hide with a lacy runner, and then it’d be Allie’s turn, for better or for worse.

She hated roses.

What was she doing here? The flowers. The carpet. The dress. It was all wrong. None of it went together. It wasn’t . . . her. No, it was her mom. Her grandmother. Her aunt.

Not exactly the role models on which to base a marriage. That poison was in her blood, and she couldn’t escape it. Just as she hadn’t been able to avoid this dress all the women in her family had worn in generations past, or been able to choose her own wedding venue or floral arrangements or even the topper on the cake, which, ironically, featured a groom dashing away from a wide-eyed bride clutching the back of his tuxedo collar.

Marcus didn’t have a chance.

And it was all her fault.

The music faded into a key change and then struck up a slightly off-tune version of the wedding march. The unmistakable squeaking of bodies rising from time-warped pews filtered through the space leading from the bride’s room to the main entrance of the country chapel, sounding suspiciously like the creaking of gallows.

And her poor groom didn’t have a clue of the noose dangling above him in the form of a white-gold wedding band.

Allie toed off her shoes, hitched up her skirt, and dug her toes into the carpet.

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If wedding dresses could talk, Allie Andrews was fairly certain hers would have a sailor’s mouth.

Four months later—to the day, actually, after she’d shucked out of her wedding dress in the backseat of the meant-to-be honeymoon car and gunned it down the highway with nothing but a bottled Yoo-hoo and her favorite faded jeans for company—the dress hung on the inside of her closet door, the once small tear in the seam now gaping and taunting her. Every time she opened the closet, that rip reminded her how she’d severed one of the few relationships in her life actually worth keeping.

Which was precisely why she had to give it away in the first place.

Allie grabbed her favorite purple sweater, the one she often wore to work at her antiques store since the air conditioner in the quirky old building refused to shut off year round, and tugged it over her head. She could use all the cozy comfort she could get today at lunch with Hannah. She’d put it off long enough. After ditching her best friend’s brother at the altar, she’d fully expected Hannah to hold a grudge. Hannah’s unconditional love expressed through multiple phone calls and text messages had been almost worse than the cold shoulder—harder to face than a much deserved grudge—which was probably why she’d been avoiding this meeting.

Besides, Hannah looked so much like her brother.

Allie’s arm brushed against the dress as she adjusted her sweater, and the frothy number swayed on its padded hanger. The swish of the fabric only seemed to whisper more condemnation.

With a groan, she shut the closet door harder than necessary. She should just get rid of the thing, but it wouldn’t be worth the wrath of

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