I’m actually going to start this review by starting about reading diversely, and how we all should be doing it. And by that, I mean that you don’t necessarily have to read out of your comfort zone. If you read light and fluffy romance and you get the cold shakes at reading something deep and painful and meaningful, you don’t have to go read The Color Purple or The Hate U Give just to read books by diverse authors. It’s okay. Trust me. You’re still covered.

And if contemporary romance featuring real characters with exactly the same kind of personality flaws and personal life challenges as you and people just like you face is your jam, but those people just happen to be Black, then you should absolutely be reading Therese Beharrie.

Angie hasn’t dealt with the death of her father three years ago. Taking off immediately for a job teaching English in Korea, she’s delayed her return to Cape Town and her dependent, needy mother and younger sisters long enough. Taking that last step is proving a difficult one, though, so making one last stop in the town where she has a great many memories is just another way to put off the inevitable. Stumbling into the middle of a wedding and immediately being mistaken for one of the bridal party? Not something she’s ready to deal with.

Enter Ezra, apparently the only man in town NOT there for the wedding. He’s gentleman enough to answer Angie’s hopeful plea for a rescue from wedding hell, but he’s got his own demons… and his own reasons for being in Caledon on that precise day.

The two of them strike sparks straight away. Angie challenges Ezra, doesn’t let him get away with any assumptions, and in return refuses to let her continue to hide from what she’s been avoiding facing for too long. Together, they have a fun, incredible day, ranging from taking part in a Christmas parade to a hilarious ad-lib Nativity play, ending with some passionate but not quite complete encounters, and a morning after where both of them have to look deep into their own hearts and find the courage to take the next step.

There was only one thing that set my teeth on edge in this book - well, two, but they were part of the same issue. Ezra is a lecturer in Women’s Studies, and though I freely admit I know nothing about the field, a man in that job seems like the literal pinnacle of mansplaining, and considering Angie called him on mansplaining other things, I was a bit surprised she didn’t make that jab. It seemed it would have been in character for her to do that. At least she tore him a new one on the other issue I had, his contempt for those who read and write romance novels, and surely if any man should know better, it’s one who’s a lecturer in Women’s Studies!

Even so, that minor issue certainly didn’t inhibit my enjoyment of this fun, charming, poignant story of two people falling deeply and genuinely in love, which is what is at the core of this story. The fact that they don’t share my skin color? Completely irrelevant. Their love story is what shone through, and the reason why I’m happy to give this charming book five stars.

Title: A Wedding One Christmas
Author: Therese Beharrie
Publisher: Carina Press
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:

"A Wedding One Christmas" by Therese Beharrie

My Thoughts.....

This was a good read of how a hero and heroine who had their own demons came together to over come them while helping one another heal. The author really gives the reader quite a interesting story that deals with a good 'dialogue banter, humor, beautiful couple and a wonderful holiday...Christmas.' 'A Wedding One Christmas' will really get the reader ready for this holiday. I loved how this story starts "with Angie continuously being mistaken for a bridesmaid, because she's wearing a dress similar to what the bridesmaid are wearing." What will happen when "Angie seeks Ezra's help to flee the wedding party since they are under the misconception that she is a bridesmaid?"

It was wonderful how these two Angie and Ezra were able to converse so well together in this romantic read. In the end one can see how well Angie and Ezra were perfect for each other. So, what will happen as "Angie is returning home for the first time in years since her father’s death and Ezra is teacher, returning after a failed 7-year relations?" Well, to found out how this story will turn out you will have to pick up this well written sweet romance read to see how well this author brings it out so well to the readers. It will be a beautiful story of 'personal growth that will be surrounded by humor and some hot chemistry' and definitely by the end of this story one will be left with that 'warm and fuzzy feeling.'

Thank you to NetGallery and Carina Press for the read.

I really enjoyed this Christmas romance! It takes place all in one 24 hour period (except for the epilogue) and is very much a book where the characters talk, talk, talk their way to love. Angie pulls over at a place she visited as a child with her family and is surprised and then dismayed to find a wedding going on. The dress she's wearing is very much like the one the bridesmaids are wearing and everyone there wants her to join in. It's awkward and uncomfortable, so she escapes into a nearby cafe and meets Ezra. He's also trying to avoid the wedding for personal reasons, but they strike up a friendship and then romance. THere's a lot of funny scenes, including one where Angie gets dragged into playing the role of Mary in a Christmas pageant. Very sweet, warm story. Kisses only!

It’s as if someone doesn’t want Angie to get home for Christmas with all the delays she had already underwent in the four hours out of five she had already driven.weddings were one of Angie’s least favorite things yet here she was in the middle of one and her dress matches the color of the bridesmaids. Angie knew the trip back to Cape town would be hard. She hadn’t been back for three years since her father’s death. She had left for “ a better job”. She hadn’t seen her sisters Sophia and Zoey since she had left. Angie had a quota for the amount of memories and nostalgia for a day. She had reached hers for that day. Sticking to the quota was important to Angie’s mental health. Eventually Angie managed to get away from the wedding and to the Cafe that was also full of wedding guests. She asked a hot guy if they could share a booth together and explained why. Then Angie felt she should go far away from this stranger that oddly makes her feel comfortable. The man was a lecturer for Women’s Studies whose name was Ezra. Ezra thought of the wedding he thought he would have with Liesel after a seven year relationship.
I had mixed feelings about this book. I loved how Ezra and Angie helped each other through baggage. I felt this dragged at times including the conversations. I also felt my attention stray at times but I did finish this book but I wouldn’t read it a second time. I did enjoy the book for the most part. I choked up at times and chuckled at times while reading this book. I felt they went into a relationship too quickly after avoiding that for quite a while and they were complete strangers. So as I said I had mixed feelings about this book.

A Wedding One Christmas is like a Hallmark (or Netflix, because it's better) Christmas movie in novel form. If that's your thing? You'll really enjoy it.

I recently described Beharrie's books as "fluff with heart," but this one is more on the side of heart than fluff. The two protagonists, Angie and Ezra, meet by chance in a small town outside of Cape Town, South Africa. They're both there stalling a trip home, the details of which are slowly revealed both to the reader and to the other main character as the story progresses. Beharrie balances the heavier aspects of the book - grief, obligation, feelings of inadequacy - with some top-notch banter.

The entire book takes place over the course of 24 hours, with Angie showing up in Caledon and heading into a cafe she has a sentimental attachment to. She's wearing a pretty dress as a confidence booster so she can face her family after running away from her grief three years before, but it's unfortunately very similar to the bridesmaids dresses at a wedding just outside. She's immediately mistaken for part of the wedding party.

She just hoped the 'if you talk to me, I'm going to punch you in the face' expression she'd perfected at a young age would deter--

Of course, nothing deters the well-meaning wedding guests from pressuring her to go to the appropriate place for photos. Angie ends up hiding in a hedge, before she eventually sneaks into the cafe and sits down at a table across from a stranger.

What were the chances she'd slide into a booth opposite a man who looked like he'd jumped straight out of her fantasies?

Ezra has recently left his position as a women's studies professor and the wedding is that of two of his former students. He declined to RSVP to the wedding, however, so he's sort of undecided as to whether he wants to go in or not. Angie begs him to pretend to be her boyfriend so she can avoid having to talk to the wedding guests, but then they discover that they quite enjoy each other's company.

The rest of the day and night are spent in a series of random, small-town, Hallmark-movie-like activities. They stumble upon a Christmas parade and take the parts of Mr. and Mrs. Claus to help out a very pregnant military wife. They join an ad-lib nativity play. They go skinny dipping and alllmost have sex in a river. (There is no sex in the book, just some making out.) They share truths with each other that they haven't shared with their families, and help each other realize some truths they haven't shared with themselves yet.

'Have you seen them since the breakup?'

'No.'

She winced. 'So this isn't exactly the homecoming you imagined.'

He pulled a face. 'It had to happen sometime.'

'But Christmas is a bit steep. People always try to make you feel bad about your life at Christmas.'

The book is a mix of heartache and hope, with sweetness and grief and humor and dread all swirled together. It's Christmassy but not in the ways you might expect. And it does have a happy ending, but the epilogue is necessary to turn it from a happy-for-now to a happily-ever-after, since the main part of the book is quite literally just one day and night. If you want a quick punch of happy Christmas feels, this may not be the book for you, but if you want an emotional ride with a bond forged through conversation and forced proximity rather than sex? This could be the book you need.



Content Warnings: Grief (death of a parent)



Disclosure: Suzanne is Twitter friends with Therese Beharrie.

This is was a really good book. It is centered around two characters, Angie Roux, a writer who abandoned her family after her father’s death, and Ezra Johnson, a college professor in women studies, who abandoned his family for a job and to be with Liesel (his ex-girl friend/fiancé) who declined his proposal of marriage after being in a 7 year relationship. The two meet by surprise. Angie and Ezra are both traveling back home but staying at the same lodge. While walking one evening, Angie has an encounter with a guest to a wedding who mistakenly connects her to the wedding party (because of her dress). She then has a second encounter with the same guest and this time, she's in the café at the lodge. Ezra is sitting alone during the exact moment that Angie is speaking to the guest. He is unaware of the events around him because of his prior relationship, his dreading of reconnecting with his family, and his uncertainty of attending two of his former students, Jenny and Dave’s wedding. When Angie approaches and propositions Ezra to pretend to be her boyfriend/date in hopes of her avoiding contact with the persistent wedding guest, the story becomes beautiful and magical.

I fell in love with every part of this book because of the characters and the realistic problems they presented throughout. The setting was epic and good for any time, especially during the holidays. If you are looking for a good read, this one is must! You will not be disappointed.

Therese Beharrie is so talented at creating characters who are dimensional and extraordinary in the most ordinary ways. I quite enjoyed the one-day I got to spend with Ezra and Angie as they unpacked so much of their own problems together. It is a bit on the heavy side but I truly believe A Wedding One Christmas has so much for romance readers who love emotionally fluent heroes and heroines.

First and foremost. I had an inkling that there was something off about this book.

“What were the chances she’d slide into a booth opposite a man who looks like he’d jumped straight out of her fantasies?

Smooth brown skin stretched over the angular features of his face.”

So why am I seeing a white man on the cover? I’m not even being offensive but the male character read like a white man, so it makes sense if it hadn’t been stated that he had smooth brown skin.

In my most honest opinion, it’s as if the book was first written in a non-African nation before the author decided, why not change it to South-Africa, it’s Africa but we can work it, because basically a few names of places where mentioned but nothing substantial enough to give me that feeling that it was South-Africa, and then I mean come on, not a single South-African name was in this book, all the names where English, where’s the authenticity there? *Disclaimer I have never been to South-Africa so I don’t know if I’m just being prickly.*

I was interested in this novel because I am a romance junkie. But this novel is such a slow burn and I felt it dragging in a lot of instances, a lot of instances that I felt were unnecessary because the pacing became too slow and the conversations dragging because a great amount of time was spent on detailing scenes that didn’t have to be that long.

Despite all these issues, I found myself laughing at the female main character Angie’s antics and all the cute moments but she and Ezra the main male character shared. I saw and felt the genuine feelings they shared for each other. Which was what made this book enjoyable, but honestly, this book still needs some serious adjustments.

What a refreshing romance that perfectly balanced maturity and budding love. Perfect for readers looking for fictional relationships without all the fuss and childishness.

Imagine dreading going home for the holidays to the very family that you've spent the last couple of years running from--and running into the arms of a man you barely knew--to escape a never-ending wedding party, whose bridal party's clothing oddly matches your own.

The beginning of this novel gave me major Serendipity nostalgia. If you haven't seen that movie, do yourself a favor and watch.

I am a huge favor of happenstance, and destiny when it comes to romance. I absolutely adore the idea of characters having chance meetings and the author fully delving into that.

This novel was my perfect balance--dialogue, banter, humor, an attractive couple, and the holidays. I LOVE the holidays. I'm the type that strings lights, bakes cookies, all the while twirling alone to music classics like 'Rocking Around The Christmas Tree.'

If you're not ready for the holidays, you will be.

Angie is witty and clever. She's going through a lot but she manages not to tamper her own light. Ezra is intelligent and mature. He's open-minded and damaged but healing--but none of their issues interfere with the romance that grows between them.

This book is heavy on the dialogue--and though it might sound strange, all you want to do is hear them talk. When I realized how heavy the dialogue was, I was nervous it would do something bad to the story. But you won't get enough of Ezra and Angie. Everything that happens outside of them won't be as important as getting to know these two.

Expertly-written and thoroughly developed this is one of the better reads I've read this year, as it pertains to structure and the development of the characters.

Gosh, it's just a really great read with everything it needed to have, and nothing that it didn't.

It's amusing and romantic with a building spark that set the pages ablaze towards the end. Although I think mature readers will love this one, it's perfect for any romance lover, with an HEA that will warm your heart.

I can't wait to see what else this author has to offer.

A quick, page turning read!

I expected to enjoy this book, but not as much as I currently do. Instalove usually wrecks my nerves, but with this I don't mind. With Ezra and Angie they argued and try rationalize why they shouldn't be together, etc. It wasn't just lovey dovey, it was real and raw, with so many emotions that it becomes overwhelming, with them being back to back.

Ezra, to me, is such a cinnamon roll that I want to protect. I feel like him and I are alike on not wanting to disappoint our family, especially when it comes to relationships. His sense of humor is cute and endearing in some ways.

Angie. I admit I'm on the fence about her, and I'm pretty sure it's because we are like. From our sense of humor (the dry kind were you can't tell if you're joking or being serious.) She and I are more a like and I guess that's why I don't care for her.

Both Angie and Ezra have their own problems and watching them overcome them and helping each other with said problems were so cute to see. They are perfect for each other and I can't imagine them being with someone else.

I highly recommend this book to those who likes a girl who knows what she wants, a cute and funny romance, and a great take on instalove.

A Wedding One Christmas is a quirky series of outrageously funny events thrust upon Angie and Ezra both heading home with baggage in tow.

Angie is returning home for the first time in years and since her father’s death.

Ezra is teacher, returning after a failed 7-year relations.

Their chance meeting ignites deep self-reflection the subsequent realization that both have carried emotional scars for years without truly dealing with the circumstances and facing life.

It’s a story of person growth surrounded by humor and chemistry that just can’t be denied.

A Wedding One Christmas was 3.5 star read for me. I appreciated the strong balance of humor while dealing with the emotions. For me, I appreciate less internal and verbal dialog that leans toward sitting in with a counselor and more of the personality and wit that truly creates the emotional bond.

I received this copy of A Wedding One Christmas from HARLEQUIN - Carina Press. This is my honest and voluntary review.

My Rating: 3.5 stars
written by: Therese Beharrie
Print Length: 223 pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: November 19, 2018
Sold by: Harlequin Digital Sales Corp.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wedding-One-Ch...
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-we...
4 likes

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

a great read packed with so much emotion and feeeels. Something Therese excels at! truly. Her exploration of her characters' internal conflicts feel so real and well fleshed out. I really liked this premise too!

Ezra and Angie had great banter and the backdrop for them meeting and forming this relationship was so fun! It all starts with Angie continuously being mistaken for a bridesmaid, because she's wearing a dress similar to what the bridesmaid are wearing, was a great starting point for all the wedding and Christmasy shenanigans that follow.

Really enjoyed this from beginning to end :)

Utterly charming! A Wedding One Christmas is only my second book penned by Therese Beharrie, but she is fast becoming an auto-read author for me. I adored reading this book as it was one that had me cheering for the couple to find their happily-ever-afters.

The strongest element in A Wedding One Christmas was undeniably the characterization of both Angie and Ezra. They were both beautifully fleshed-out characters who popped to life throughout the book. Angie is on her way back home for the first time since her beloved father passed away and Ezra is doing the same after breaking off a long-term relationship. On their way home, they stop at a wedding location where they encounter each other when Angie seeks Ezra's help to flee the wedding party since they are under the misconception that she is a bridesmaid. I really enjoyed getting to know both Angie and Ezra. They were such lovely people who were dealing with a little bit of baggage. What really stood out to me throughout this book was how genuine and raw every emotion of theirs felt. A lot of the self-doubt that they felt rang true to me. If I'm being honest, I saw a lot of myself in parts of Angie and Ezra.

I knew the moment that these two met each other that they were meant to be. Therese Beharrie solidified that feeling for me as the two engaged in deep conversations. This book is 90% of the couple actually talking and I can't tell you guys how much that meant to me. I love it when couples talk their ears off because it's a way to grow a comfort level and to get to know each other. With a book like this, where the relationship develops over 24 hours, it made sense that they would talk so much. The conversations they had gave them the nudge to start healing. It wasn't always all serious. There was some excellent banter between Angie and Ezra that only made the chemistry between them sizzle more. I was just impressed by how the romance never even felt like insta-love despite the short timeline of it. I also really loved the wedding setting. It provided humor and lightness to this story.

A Wedding One Christmas was a special read that gave me warm and fuzzy feelings. Who doesn't love a book like that? Be sure to give this one a try this Christmas!

I picked this book because I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks in Cape Town and South Africa a few years ago and it was a truly amazing experience. Plus, I love romances with out of the usual settings. And there is a lot to like here, including our leads Angie and Ezra. They’re mature adults who (mostly) communicate with each other and help each other to heal. Their banter and the situations they find themselves in are adorable. Ultimately, though, this felt like a very long, very depressing therapy session. 3.5 stars rounded up because I loved the leads and the setting so much.