Part of A Year of Wedding Novella series

In A January Bride by Deborah Raney, what will happen when novelist Madeleine Houser’s “pen pal” friendship with a lonely widower takes an unexpected turn?

Who can work in a house that’s overrun by contractors and carpenters? Not Madeleine Houser, a successful novelist who gladly accepts the help of her octogenarian friend, Ginny, to arrange for a temporary office in the charming bed and breakfast owned by Ginny’s friend, Arthur. Maddie’s never met the innkeeper – but a friendship grows between them as Maddie and Arthur leave messages for each other each day. To Maddie’s alternate delight and chagrin, she seems to be falling for the inn’s owner – a man who’s likely many years her senior – and who she’s never even met.

So we’re only a couple of chapters in before it is revealed that Arthur isn’t an old man like Maddie thinks.  He’s a young widower with a unique friendship with Ginny, just like her.  But we get to be there as Maddie and Art learn more about each other thru notes left to each other every day.  It’s quaint and old-fashioned … and very warming.  I love that they take time to write heartfelt notes, even if they are short and sometimes mundane.  It’s sweet that they each develop a crush on what they think is an older person, someone who isn’t actually a romantic possibility.

Maddie hasn’t had a good history with her relationships and Art still has some feelings of guilt and uncertainty about moving on from his first wife.  So when they find out that there feelings could lead to something more, they have to decide if their timing is right and if they are willing to give romance a chance.

For a sweet, fast read that will leave you with that warm-fuzzy, A January Bride is the perfect choice.