A perfectly sweet holiday story to sink into, with multigenerational love stories to make this a perfect fit for almost any romance reader. I'm a huge fan of Morgan's and will continue to read anything she writes!

Okay, LISTEN. This review is about two weeks late. Why? Because of life! Because I’m not able to prioritize reading these days, even though I’d like to. Because this one was kind of difficult for me to get into, so I ended up binging some stuff on Netflix instead. All sorts of bullshit reasons, really! So my apologies to the very wonderful marketing people at Harlequin, and I will keep reading and reviewing your wonderful books… hopefully when my life is a little slower? Maybe? Anyway! You didn’t come here for my excuses, so here’s the for realsies content, mmkay?

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In A Wedding in December, three women in the same family tell the stories of their complicated lives and how they intersect and diverge from their loved ones in the span of about a month. Maggie, the matriarch, is in the middle of divorcing her husband of thirty years… but they haven’t told their daughters yet. Maggie wants to keep it from them for as long as possible, because she’s ashamed that she couldn’t make her marriage work and she only wants what’s best for her family. She’s sad, and she feels like no one truly knows her. But when she ends up spending Christmas far from her home in England on a beautiful mountain in Aspen, Colorado, she finds that maybe her marriage isn’t so doomed after all.

Rosie is twenty-two and newly in America for a PhD program in fairy tales – not literally, the program is in Celtic folklore and mythology, but that’s pretty much what she studies at Harvard. She met Dan at the gym while trying to get in better shape to control her terrible asthma, and they fell in love immediately in a whirlwind. Dan proposed at Thanksgiving, and the wedding is planned for Christmas Eve in his hometown of Aspen, Colorado, on the property that his family has owned for years. Rosie is over the moon, but also terrified that everything is moving so quickly. She reassures herself, because her parents (her mom is Maggie!) met and married in a whirlwind, and they’re the happiest they’ve ever been! She never speaks a word of her doubts to Dan… which comes back to bite her in the end when the truth starts to come out.

Katie, Rosie’s older sister, is an Emergency Room doctor who has seen a lot and never made time for herself. A traumatic experience with a patient in October left her shaken and questioning if she really wants to be a doctor for the rest of her life, and when she learns that her sister is getting married in a rush, she puts all of her energy into stopping the wedding rather than supporting her sister and trying to work through her own issues. Rather than stopping her sister’s wedding, she gets blindsided by Dan’s surly, thoughtful best man, and suddenly everything starts to fall into place for her.

I promise these storylines make a lot more sense when Sarah Morgan writes them over me!

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3 Things I Loved
Katie. Look. I’m an older sister. I totally understand Katie’s nature, and if my sister were to call me on Thanksgiving and tell me she was getting married in a foreign country on Christmas Eve, I’d probably freak out a little too. So yeah, Katie was my fave. I lived for her chapters. And I’ve also been in the place where the thing I’m good at isn’t my love, and that’s a really hard thing to reckon with. But anyway, team Katie.
Maggie. I’m listing Maggie second here because, even though I’m not a mom, I felt the depths of Maggie’s pain and confusion. I’m recently divorced. I know what it’s like to grow apart from the person who was supposed to be your life, your world. I know what that feels like, and let me tell you, it sucks. Maggie’s story has a happy ending, and I was happy to read it.
Rosie (and Dan, and the setting!). I’m putting all of this together because it’s Rosie’s wedding to Dan that brings them all to Aspen in the first place. Oh, it’s all so romantic, and Dan is a super great love interest, and Rosie is relatable and young and fun.
Basically, the main characters in this book were complex and funny and frustrating and they were lovely.

Dislikes/Problematic Content
THERE ARE ONLY WHIIIIIIIIIIIITE PEOPLE IN THIS BOOOOOOOOOK. Straight white people, to be exact. Ugh.

I think I’m just constantly surprised that so many people believe that white people only encounter other white people. I mean, the rich mountain towns in Colorado… yeah, okay, it’s probably mostly white people. But you could TRY. Authors. Come on. The default shouldn’t just be all white people. D I V E R S I F Y.

And for goodness sake, I guarantee that more people are gay that you even know, so throw some into your books. You know how they say that life imitates art?

Art should imitate life too.

As for a general dislike, even though I ended up loving the book a lot, it took me a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time to get into it. I almost gave up, actually, at around the 20% mark! I’m glad I didn’t, but it was a slow burn at the beginning that was almost too slow.

Rating
A reminder of the rating scale:

Red = DNF, I hated everything
Orange = Ugh, no thank you
Yellow = I mean, I’ve read worse, but there were problems
Green = This was good!
Blue = Oh my gosh, I loved this book!
Purple = This is the unicorn of books and I will be rereading it until the binding falls apart and EVERYONE should be reading it!
Okay, so this is a tough one to rate for me. I ended up enjoying it, like I said, but it took me a really long time to get into it. And… I’m going to make a bigger announcement about this later in the week, but 2020 is going to be the year of the romance, and I’m going to start being a little more critical of the representation found in these books that are supposed to be about happiness and love! I’m already getting into that mindset, so here we go. I’m going to give A Wedding in December a YELLOWISH-GREEN rating. More diversity would make it a better book and give it a higher rating for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. And I’M SO SORRY I’M TWO WEEKS LATE WITH THIS REVIEW. I had good intentions, I swear.

Happy reading!

Yes, I know it’s January but, seriously, when I’m sitting by the fire and drinking cafe au lait, my brain still wants to read holiday themed, cozy reads. Since it’s not quite time for Valentine’s Day yet, I’m still reading some great books from Christmas and pretending that they are “Winter” themed books instead. Won’t you join me?

I absolutely adored A Wedding in December. This is exactly the fun, sweet, warm, witty story that I like to read any time of year but especially in the dead of winter. Don’t you just feel all warm and toasty reading a good love story? Okay, yeah, I maybe stretching it a little but you know what I mean!

Rosie, an ex-pat from the UK, is marrying a yank from Aspen Colorado. Her family has flown in to celebrate the big day but not everyone is in the mood for festivities. Rosie’s parents are on the brink of divorce and her sister, Katie, who always has had a say in everything Rosie has done, is not happy about the groom, a man she has never met. When Katie meets his best friend, she is even less happy. Hi-jinks and shenanigans abound as the White family tries to keep secrets, break up the wedding, put everything back together again AND salvage their familial relationships. The writing is perfect, the characters are so realistic and the fun is abounding in this charming WINTER tale! I highly recommend it any time of the year.

Oh my goodness, this was wonderful!

A Wedding in December is told from the POV of the three White family women: mother Maggie and her two daughters Katie and Rosie. Rosie, the baby of the family who spent much of her childhood very sick and may have moved across the Atlantic partially to escape the eternal smother-style mothering Maggie and Katie tend to employ toward her, surprises everyone when she calls them in late November to say she's getting married. In Colorado. To a man they haven't yet met. On Christmas Eve. Yes, THIS Christmas Eve.

Any family would probably be a bit surprised, even concerned perhaps. Is it too soon? Will everything be ready on time? How can they help from so many miles away?

And yes, some of those concerns are what the elder White women are thinking. But this is a Sarah Morgan book, so you know it's going to be more complicated than that! Maggie hasn't yet told her children that their father moved out months ago and they're planning on divorcing. (And of course *now* isn't the time to tell them, right? Just pause a moment and consider the hoops she might start jumping through to keep them in the dark--and then multiply by at least ten, because Sarah Morgan novel.) Katie, and ER doctor who was running on empty about ten months ago, had a hellish day at work several weeks past and just got through with a different kind of on-the-job difficulty minutes before taking her sister's call, is sure Rosie is moving too fast and buys her ticket to the States with the intention of stopping the wedding altogether. (Yes, she even admits this out loud to her flatmate. And amazingly, hearing it out loud doesn't make her reconsider. Yikes.)

Throw in one of the world's best (if slightly bossy and full of her own issues) future mothers-in-law, the (hopefully) future groom, his frustratingly loyal and gorgeous best friend (who knew the hefting-great-tree-trunks workout was so effective?) and of course, Mr. White himself, and you've got the makings of one heck of a story.

Add in a curious mountain lion, a blizzard, ONLY ONE BED (of course--I mean, you knew that already, didn't you?) and somebody's midmorning delight getting interrupted by--well, almost everybody in the book--and you know this is one book you're not going to be able to put down anytime soon.

I know I wasn't! And I haven't even mentioned the text message at about 94% that nearly had me in tears...

Verdict? A Wedding in December is one holiday book I am so glad I had the chance to read! I'll be counting the days until Ms Morgan gives us her next...

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

A lovely blend of women's fiction and romance, Sarah Morgan's A Wedding in December will have you laughing, sniffling, and sighing with delight. There's such a wonderfully real, and complex, family dynamic going on here that's fully explored along with each of the three romantic relationships. Bride and groom to be, Rosie and Dan are young, in love, and I couldn't help but be in their corner. While both of them seem to be easy going and uncomplicated at first, I liked the bite Morgan puts in each of these characters and enjoyed their evolution through the book, especially Rosie's. Katie, the over-protective older sister has perhaps the greatest amount of growth throughout the story. My heart ached for her and, though I didn't care much for her at the start, she ended up being one of my favorite characters by the end of the book. But it's the parents who stole the show, at least for me. Their hilarious, complex, and poignant second chance romance, set in motion because they lied and told everyone they were on their second honeymoon, was the highlight of the book for me. I enthusiastically recommend adding A Wedding in December to your holiday reading.

*ARC received for fair and unbiased review

I ended my holiday-themed reading with this absolute gem of a romance novel. Rose White is the youngest of two daughters. She wakes her mother up with a late night call to tell her not only that she’s engaged, but also that she plans to get married over Christmas in the Aspen, Colorado—just a few short weeks away. Maggie isn’t so sure this whirlwind wedding is a good idea. Rose has not known the groom for long. Of course Maggie will go to the wedding, as will her husband. But she’s determined not to let on to anyone that she and her husband, Nick, are planning to divorce and have not been living under the same roof for months. It would ruin the happy occasion and break their daughter's hearts. They can pretend to be happily married for their short trip to the United States for the wedding, surely.

The White’s oldest daughter Katie has always been a bit skeptical about this thing called love. She knows Rose is making a mistake, and she plans to do what she can to talk Rose out of this silly impulsive wedding if it is the last thing she does; meanwhile hoping no one will notice the mess her life has become, how she doubts herself and kept hidden the trauma she recently suffered.

Perhaps you can imagine what comes next. Rose begins to doubt her decision to marry her adoring fiancé, Dan, because of her sister’s doubts. There’s the gorgeous best man who sees right through Katie—and to whom she finds herself attracted to in a way she’s never felt before. Then there are Maggie and Nick, empty-nesters who have raised two beautiful daughters and who have grown apart over the years, losing the spark they once had.

Oh my gosh, how I loved this book! Lack of communication is at the heart of the novel and the cause for so much of the characters’ frustrations. If only everyone would talk to each other about what they are thinking and feeling! The novel comes at relationships from several different angles: that of sisters, mother and daughter(s), and the more romantic ones, including that of husband and wife. You also have Katie’s story dealing with the trauma and her need to forgive herself and heal. Sarah Morgan does an excellent job of putting the reader into each of the three protagonists (Rose, Maggie, and Katie) lives, and I could relate to each of them in varying ways. While all three of the women’s stories are strong, I most connected with Maggie. I love that the author included her story—love isn’t just for the young! I thoroughly enjoyed A Wedding in December—and how I would love to stay in one of those tree houses at the resort they were all staying!

This was an enjoyable blend of second chance romance and women's fiction. It explored the relationships she had with her daughters and with others in her life. The daughters stories were not as compelling so I wished the focus had stayed on the mom.

This was such a sweet and cozy read! I was drawn to the characters right away and enjoyed watching each of them develop throughout the book. I loved the romance in this book and appreciated that it had a few funny parts as well. Overall I really enjoyed this one!

Wonderful holiday romance. The setting is inviting and the characters are very loveable. While the plot is somewhat predictable, as are most holiday romances, it in no way detracts from the enjoyment of the book. Sarah Morgan is a wonderful storyteller, especially at Christmas time.

This story was a heartwarming holiday romance!

The story followed three narratives: Maggie and her daughters, Rosie and Katie. I liked to see an older woman have her own narrative in the romance. I’ve heard complaints that contemporary romances are usually about younger girls in their 20s or 30s. Though two of the narratives were about girls of that age, one also told the story about their mother who was at a different place in life.

The story was set in December, but it wasn’t completely Christmas themed. I think it could be read throughout the winter, not just at Christmas. There were some Christmasy parts, but mostly it was about winter in Aspen. I loved reading about the snowy activities they were doing, while I was warm indoors. I liked reading about the snowball fights and sleigh rides, but I’d rather stay inside and read about it instead.

I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I can't lie: for the past few years I've generally avoided most books about weddings and/or being a bridesmaid. I've been in too many weddings recently ($$$) and was genuinely tired of thinking about them! It sucked though, frankly, because I usually would love reading about weddings and wedding/event planners! I'm glad that I have a few less weddings on my plate now... minus the planning of my own... so I was excited to dive into this holiday-centered one!

This book is centered around Rosie's wedding in Aspen, Colorado, and her family flying in from their home country of England. A lot of things could go wrong, as her parents are living separately and on the brink of divorce while her sister Katie thinks Rosie is making a mistake. Meanwhile, Rosie herself is having second thoughts about this whirlwind romance and Christmas Eve wedding. The three women were frustrating to read about at times, as they were singularly focused on specific things and it got a bit repetitive to read. Nick, the father, was my FAVORITE.

Aspen was such a perfect setting for this story! I was a little sad, like Rosie's mother was, at the beginning of the novel when she was discussing Christmas in their English cottage. Now THAT sounded like a book I wanted to read! However, like I said, Aspen is such a great snowy setting for a book like this. I've always wanted to go there and now I do even more.

I had just watched the movie Love the Coopers before I started reading this and was hoping it would have a similar ending between the parental figures. I won't spoil anything ;)

There was a lot to relate to in this book for most readers, especially because there are three lead women at three different stages of life. One is an empty nester, dealing with a possible divorce, trying to come to terms with her daughter's whirlwind wedding, AND determining the next steps in her career/life. One is a career-driven doctor whose main goal is to protect her sister at all costs. And the last is a younger woman in the midst of planning a quick wedding, living in a new country, and having second thoughts. Overall, I can imagine this book connecting with readers of all types - even just one of the women's perspectives!

In Aspen, Colorado, Rosie is eager for her upcoming Christmas wedding, but family troubles loom as her parents arrive from the United Kingdom with a huge secret- they are getting a divorced and have been separated for months. The last thing either parent wants is to be trapped in a winter wonderland that is so romantic this time of year. Then Rosie’s older sister, Kate, arrives determined to stop Rosie from making a huge mistake. She is so sure Rosie is making mistake, Kate is ready to stop the wedding before it even begins. But Kate is being stopped by the best man, Jordan. With her whole family there, Rosie is having doubts for the first time and even as she loves her fiancé to pieces, she can’t seem to stop herself from questioning if she is doing the right thing or not especially as she hears Kate’s questions about the timing and everything. For Rosie White and her family, this Christmas is sure to be one they will never forget again.

I really enjoy Sarah Morgan’s women’s fiction books and this one was charming even if it took me awhile to get into the story and characters. At first, I found the main characters were trying too hard but once we get into the story, they seem to smooth out and you can’t help but enjoy the different people that make up the White’s. The story is very well written and flows smoothly as the story heats up. I kept laughing quietly as Kate finds her plan of breaking up the wedding before it begins humorous as she butts heads with the best man, Jordan and man do sparks fly there. Rosie’s parents are a delight as well as they work through things even as they find themselves falling in love all over again under the Colorado Snow and I really got to enjoy Rosie and her upbeat and positive attitude was like a balm of fresh air after reading books with negative main characters and whatnot. All the characters were enjoyable as well as relatable.

The author does an amazing job capturing the different personalities between Rosie and her family and her fiancé’s family. It was fun to see the growth of the characters as well as meet the core of the group who made up A WEDDING IN DECEMBER. I really liked this was a holiday novel with a happy ending that you can’t help but falling love with. If you are looking for a holiday romance that is sweet and entertaining, then this book might just be perfect for you. I look forward to seeing where else this author goes next for her readers to enjoy.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

With the multiple plots brewing inside this read, I was not sure how good it would be. Fortunately for me, this book was amazing! Yes, there were several groups of characters that had issues happening. But it was easy to follow along. The pairs centered around the main couple. A family going through issues, a bride feeling cold feet, an over protective older sister are just a few of the issues.

A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan was full of heart, soul, and action. I could not turn away from this read. I loved the mother and daughter connection, as well as the older and younger sister connection. The White family is a close knitted group. Well, almost. The parents are separated on the brink of divorce and yet the mother can't bring herself to tell her youngest daughter-the one who is getting married so soon. So many vibes in this book. It was a beautiful and emotional rollercoaster. Each character got to work out his or her issues and find what they were looking for. I cried as much as I laughed. I truly loved reading this novel!

As soon as I saw the title and read the summary of this one I knew I wanted to add it to my list for this tour. (Yep I said list, I wanted to review four books for this one to be exact!) If you didn't know already I love Christmas, throw in a wedding and love story and I'm hooked. My parents were married in December, which makes reading this all the more enjoyable. So if you couldn't tell I was super siked to read this one.

While reading A Wedding in December, I was caught up in all the whirlwind of everyone's secrets and all the different ups and downs for these characters. I loved the writing style and how the words just seemed to flow on each page. I will say I was yelling at my book at one point, girl if you're having second thoughts you go with your gut feeling. (I learned that one the hard way!)

I really enjoyed reading how this whole story unfolded and it felt like I was right there with them. Which makes reading any book all the more enjoyable. I had to know what was going to happen next and every turn I wasn't really sure how it was all going to work out or if it even was.

Author Sarah Morgan did it again as she pulled me in, made me love the characters and didn't let me leave this story even after it was finished. I love that about her writing! Another fantastic book by an amazing storyteller.

If you haven't read A Wedding in December, get your copy today, you won't be dissapointed!

**I received A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan through NetGalley, in exchange of an honest review**

**I rated 'A Wedding in December' 4.5 Stars**

A Wedding in December is a fun holiday story that captures the essence of togetherness in the midst of chaos. All of the characters have an innate sense of wanting to do the right thing, while harboring a close secret of their own. Even Rosie, the woman the White family are all gathered to celebrate, has second doubts about her impending nuptials (after a very brief courtship)!

I found the book to be delightful, as it highlights the fact that family can stay united, no matter what complications can get thrown their way. Despite challenges, true love and devotion exists among family and loved ones. The holidays can bring about lots of stress, but within all the layers of tension lies the deep meaning of togetherness.

If you’re into stories that feature family bonds with a touch of tension, then this is the book for you. A Wedding in December is a holiday story you definitely want to read, even after the holidays are over!

--Cathleen (Woven From Words)
https://wovenfromwords.com

I generally don’t read read romance novels, and haven’t read a Christmas themed book in years. When the opportunity to participate in the Harlequin Holiday Blog Tour came, I jumped at the chance.

The story is told from three POV’s: Maggie, Rose and Katie. A mother and two daughters who all have come together with family for Rosie’s wedding. It wouldn’t be a cozy Christmas read without family discord, misunderstandings, redemption and tears.

Rosie’s last minute wedding to a groom no one knows prompts everyone to come together in picturesque Aspen Colorado. Everyone seems to harbor conflicting feelings and secrets, but nothing as big as the one Maggie and Nick are hiding from their Daughters. As their parents put on a brave face, Katie thinks things have moved too fast and wants to pump the breaks on the wedding, but the irresistible groomsman has her way too distracted. Rosie is starting to feel caught up in her whirlwind romance and is starting to have second thoughts. Will she go through with it or run for the hills?

I liked the way this story flowed, and I appreciated the strife that Maggie was experiencing. She was a midlife woman who’s life has been turned upside down. Throughout the story, Maggie comes to terms with her life and herself. If only it were that easy in real life! There were a few plot holes that I felt needed to be addressed. There was background information that was not expanded on. Why did Katie want to stop the wedding? Why was Maggie and Nick’s marriage on the outs??

Using Aspen as the backdrop was a nice touch. It added to the magical holiday feeling.
A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan was a fantastic quick read that I will definitely recommend to my friends.

I had read Sarah Morgan’s previous book, One Summer in Paris, and really enjoyed it so I was interested in checking out her new, festive-season novel. The story is set in a beautiful Aspen lodge resort and the descriptions allow the reader to truly feel immersed in the snowy landscape.

I felt it was interesting that even though the book is about an upcoming wedding, one of the themes that was explored was the success of a man vs a woman – in a few instances. Is one who is a travelling professional more successful than a homemaker raising kids and keeping the household in order? Does it make you less successful if you no longer want to do what you’ve worked towards for years? Amidst all the secrets and drama that was heavily eluded to throughout the set-up of this plot, it was this constant theme that really stuck out to me. I felt there was some really good dialogue that developed these ideas in the book. While I did anticipate the outcomes of some of the characters, I found others completely surprised me and the whole journey and story development to be really enjoyable.

A Wedding in December would be perfect for fans of romance fiction, holiday novels or the plentiful Christmas movies that air on TV during this month. It’s got family drama, romance, hi-jinx and the excitement and urgency of not only Christmas but an upcoming wedding as well. I really enjoyed the plot and setting of this latest novel by Sarah Morgan. It’s an entertaining snowy weekend read for the holiday season!

A Wedding in December is a fun, light Christmas read about a girl from the UK living in Aspen, Colorado. While there she meets the man of her dreams and they are to get married that Christmas. Her unapproving family, having never met the guy and knowing they are rushing things, flys from the UK to the US at Christmas. It's a story of second chances, love and snowy Christmas time days. Perfect read for this time of year!

A heartwarming story about family and relationships set during Christmastime—this is a perfect story to finish out 2019. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

I really enjoyed getting to know the White family. When we first meet Maggie and Nick—they’re living apart but haven’t told their daughters about their impending divorce. They decide to pretend to be together for the wedding and it’s definitely provides some entertaining scenes. There’s plenty of comedy with the couple trying to act like happily married but we do also learn some of the forces and actions that drove them apart. And maybe being in Winter Wonderland can help mend some tension.

The sister dynamic between Rosie and Katie is very compelling. Rosie suffers from asthma and as a result, her sister is quite protective of her. In fact, Katie went into medicine so that she could always help her sister. But she’s perhaps acting too much like a mother and less like a sister. Katie also experienced a traumatic event, which is having her question her career decisions.

Final review thoughts: With a perfect setting in Aspen during Christmastime, this is a heartfelt story that will make you laugh and possibly cry too.

If you are like me and live in a warm country you most probably have always wished for a white Christmas than this book is guaranteed to give you that real White Christmas feel. You will get to travel from England to Aspen, Colorado USA while you meet the three woman of the White family all are at different times of their lives. The book is not very Christmassy but it is a winter wonderland of activities and events that will entertain you as you get to know the White family and their loved ones.

Maggie Mum of two grown daughters and wife but recently separated from her husband lives on Oxford, she hates her job works in publishing and is unsure what her future wholes for her next. They had decided to tell the girls of their separation a Christmas, but when a phone call comes with Rosie’s exciting news they decide to change their plans. Off to Colorado, they go as a happily married couple.

Katie the older of the two sisters she is a doctor working in a very busy ER in London, but she had been keeping a secret from her family and most of all herself. She hates being a Doctor! But when she gets the news her sister is getting married she finds herself set to stop her little sister from making a big mistake.
Rosie is the baby of the family as she is ten years younger than her sister and has moved to America to a job she loves. She has also found the man of her dreams, she is about to get married in just 4 weeks times at one her favourite times of the year Christmas. But she has only been with Dan for a few months? Is she making a mistake?

I love all three of the woman but Maggie’s story was my favourite as I would relate with her and her feeling during this great story. The story will take you for a few up and down but it will be full of laughs, cringes and a bit of sadness along the way. I have not had the pleasure of reading anything by Sarah Morgan before this; I was lost many times in her writing and found the book totally enjoyable to the very end.