Zondervan/Harper Collins is releasing a series of novellas this year under the title of "A Year of Weddings." One of the titles in the collection is, "A January Bride," by Deborah Raney. I had previously read, "Above All Things," which was also written by Ms. Raney. I had found that book to be quite thought provoking and was looking forward to reading this novella.
In "A January Bride," Maddie Houser is under a great deal of stress. She needs to meet an increasingly looming deadline to complete her novel; however, the house that she is living in is in dire need of repair as there are plumbing and electrical problems. These disruptive conditions are not conducive to writing a novel so Maddie's neighbour, Ginny, suggests that the thirty-something novelist use a room at a bed-and-breakfast inn that a friend, Arthur (Art) Tyler, owns. He is a university professor who keeps saying that he is going to retire but does not actually get around to doing that.
Maddie and Art begin a correspondence by leaving notes for each other; they do not actually meet for quite some time as Art is usually away at work when Maddie comes to the inn to write her novel during the day. She usually has gone to her own home by the time he returns to his home. They come to know and admire each other through their notes. However, there are still some very important things that they do not know about each other which could be cleared up if they would actually get around to meeting face to face!
I was quite satisfied with the character development and the unfolding of the plot for a shortened story. The mistaken assumptions that the heroine, Maddie, and the hero, Art, make about each other, the revelation of the truth of their situations, and how they dealt with and accepted the changes that this revelation brought about all seemed plausible to me. I really enjoyed reading this and am looking forward to reading more stories by Ms. Raney.
Disclaimer: I was given an e-book copy of "A January Bride," from NetGalley in exchange for a review. The opinions given in this blog are my own.
