Springtime Sunshine by Debbie Macomber encapsulates two previously released books: Marriage of Inconvenience and Stand-In Wife. I listened to an ARC of Springtime Sunshine and enjoyed both books quite a bit. In a world full of spicy books, the queen of closed door romance is able to convey the angst between both couples. What was difficult for me was both books leaned heavily into the miscommunication trope, as well as the marriage of convenience trope. For me, those two trope never go hand in hand and rarely work themselves out. But Macomber works her romance magic and by the end you believe that the couple will make it. I don’t know if Marriage of Inconvenience and Stand-In Wife were part of a series, but the books are about two of the Manning brothers. That interconnected relationship made the two novels even more interesting, but neither one was dependent upon the other.

This ARC was narrated by Lisa Zimmerman and she did a fantastic job.

Thank you to #debbiemacomber #harlequinaudio and #netgalley for an ARC of #springtimeshine in lieu of my honest review of the book.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I listened to these in their individual audio books.

Stand-In Wife:
I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. Overall an ok listen but not something I would read again.

Marriage of Inconvenience:
I tried, hoping for a lighthearted romance. Hated the male MC and couldn't get past the first few chapters.

TV-14 for spice fade to black but steamy build up
Did not appreciate how the character interacted with each other. Honestly I think they are better off without each other. Love this author but not this book!

Usually I really enjoy Debbie Macomber's books, but these were the exception. I didn't find anything likeable about the characters. Phrases that were used were shocking and dated to the point of being offensive..The odd submissiveness of the female characters after male characters literally raged at them was pathetic. I would never let impressionable teens in my life read these because they set a terrible example of what should and shouldn't be acceptable in a healthy relationship.
Both stories were just yuck.

Springtime Sunshine consists of two Debbie Macomber novels, Marriage of Inconvenience and Stand-In Wife. I was not a fan of Marriage of Inconvenience and thought it was very outdated. I didn’t like Rich at all and wasn’t a huge fan of Jamie. This story may have been good back when it was first released, but it doesn’t stand the rest of time.

Stand-In Wife was better, but there were still some antiquated thoughts that I didn’t like. It was a quick read and flowed nicely. I still wasn’t a huge fan of the characters, but I could connect with this story a little more than the first.

This is a two book re-release of two older books, the first two in the Those Manning Brothers series. The first one, a Marriage of Inconvenience and second is the Stand-In Wife.

These books are cute but are a little dated, especially in a particular scene where they were awaiting each other's call on the land line - and miscommunications as a result of missed calls (with no caller ID). Luckily, I'm old enough to have lived with a land line and the issue made perfect sense to me - but a younger reader may be really confused by all of that.

The first story is a friends-to-lovers scenario where Jamie feels like she wants to be a mother but has no prospects of having a family. She approaches her best friend Rich to be the sperm donor. Rich has one major condition - he wants to be married first!

The second story is a marriage of convenience scenario where recent widower Paul is struggling to figure out his life with three young children. His sister-in-law Leah becomes a big help and eventually moves in to help him with the children. As time goes on and their grief fades, is there a possibility of a future together?

I enjoyed both of these stories and would read a book about the third brother,Jason, as I'm assuming that there will be another novel featuring him, as another Manning brother.

The narrator did a good job of narration and I did enjoy these light romances.

Springtime Sunshine by Debbie Macomber

Two novels in one – “ Marriage of Convenience” and “Stand-In wife”

These were sweet stories of finding love where you least expect it, right in front of your face.

Marriage of Convenience –

Rich and Jamie have been friends forever. Jamie wants a baby and decides her best friend, Rich, would be a good father. His only condition is marriage.

They tie the knot under the pretense of a temporary situation but they find so much more.

I really enjoyed this sweet story. The elements of miscommunication were frustrating to say the least but realistically probably the biggest cause of chaos in a relationship.

Stand-In Wife –

Lea Baker is devastated when she loses her sister. Her brother-in-law, Paul, is overwhelmed with life, grief, and three small children. Lea moves in to help. As they move forward thigns get complicated with their feelings. Paul has ti figure out how to fit this new puzzle of his family together.

I enjoyed this fast read. Again, lack of communication causes chaos.

The narration was wonderful. 3.5/5⭐

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review an ARC of the audiobook.

Springtime Sunshine offers two interconnected love stories—Rich and Jamie, then Paul and Leah—centered around themes like marriage of convenience, grief, and second chances. On paper, it has all the elements I usually enjoy: friends-to-lovers, emotional depth, family bonds. But in practice, I struggled to stay engaged.

Rich and Jamie’s story was full of tension and constant miscommunication, which made it hard to root for them at times. Their back-and-forth arguing felt more exhausting than romantic, and while I appreciated the premise—Jamie asking her long-time friend to help her start a family—it didn’t quite land emotionally for me.

Paul and Leah’s story had potential with its quiet, grief-filled slow burn. Paul, a widower with three kids, and Leah, his late wife’s sister, had a sweet foundation. But even with such heartfelt stakes, their storyline didn’t fully capture my attention. It moved slowly, and I found myself drifting more than connecting.

The narration was solid, and I can see why these tropes work for others—but for me, the pacing and emotional payoff just didn’t hit the mark.

I have read a lot of her books over the years and enjoyed how a lot of the the characters are connected. I felt like this one moved kind of slow and I wonder if it is because her books are kind of similar and I know the outcome.

These are two short Romance stories. huge fan Debbie Macomber's book. I listen to the audiobook for this book. This book has characters that just do not talk to each other a lot which I really do not like. I hate when the whole book is a misunderstanding just because the two main characters are not talking about the problems. I received an ARC of this book. These are two short romance stories. I am a huge fan of Debbie Macomber's work and enjoyed listening to the audiobook of this particular book. However, I found that the characters did not communicate much, which I really didn’t like. I can't stand it when the entire plot revolves around misunderstandings simply because the two main characters fail to discuss their problems. I also received an ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio for the ARC.

Both of these stories were short and sweet, but their shortness left little room for meaningful character development or time to truly connect with the characters. That said, the moments we did get felt lacking—particularly with Rick, who came across as revolting and outdated in his attitudes.

I appreciated the use of classic romantic tropes like friends-to-lovers and second-chance romance, which added charm and familiarity. However, I couldn't help but feel like the stories needed more depth and emotional build-up to really resonate.

On a positive note, the narrator delivered a solid performance, bringing what life they could to the material.

These two stories were good, but so glaringly obvious they were first written in the 90s. There are some very old school values depicted and many gave me the ick. Overall good stories, just a old school way of thinking. Ex: I can’t even remember the last time I heard/read the word “bastard” in relation to a child born out of wedlock… ick…

Overall okay book. The first book has a female lead that was hard to like. She changed her mind all the time, very hot and cold behavior towards her partner. I did not like her. Even though I like pregnancy romance books, this one was hard to enjoy.

Two well written romances by Debbie Macomber. I enjoyed the plots, characters and the narrator. Recommend this book.

I’m a huge fan of this author, but this has got to be my favorite. If ever a romance novel has tugged at my heart. It was so realistic and relatable. I was chuckling and crying and every other emotion. The gripping feelings I had for the characters was crazy good. The narrator was one of the best I’ve heard. I highly recommend!

I enjoyed the audio book. The person reading put heart and definition in the reading of the story. It kept your attention. The voice was not dull.
I was given the ARC by NetGalley and the Publisher and leaving a review by my own choice.

These are two short Romance stories. I normally love Debbie Macomber's book. I listen to the audiobook for this book. This book has characters that just do not talk to each other a lot which I really do not like. I hate when the whole book is a misunderstanding just because the two main characters are not talking about the problems. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

This title offers two books in one. Overall I gave it three stars because both novels made me cringe a bit in different ways, but they were well written and provided an entertaining listen.

Marriage of Inconvenience: Rich and Jamie are best friends, both have been cheated on by their significant others and are there for each other in the fall out. For Jamie, she decides to quit dating and take her future into her own hands, she is going to have a baby. Rich doesn't think this is a good idea, but when Jamie ask for his sperm, he can't fathom the idea of her having a child with anyone else, so he decides to help her but according to his terms, he will be involved, he will be financially responsible and the baby will have his last name through marriage. Thus starts a marriage of convenience with an exit plan that quickly turns inconvenient as they realize they have feelings for each other.

I greatly enjoyed the premise of this story but Rich's character gave me red flag vibes, he really needed anger management classes or therapy to work through better ways of handling his erratic emotions. Both characters could have save a LOT of trouble through communication. I would have rather seen them be open and honest with their feelings much sooner and worked through it all in a healthy and adult way.

Stand-in Wife: The positive's - this story was well written and made the best of a difficult situation but I could not get past the timeline of the love story considering the MMC and FMC's relationship to each other. It felt cringe on so many levels, despite good intentions. I understand this book was written decades ago and is being re-released, but even with the provisions made to make the relationship feel better, it didn't work for me. (Avoiding spoilers)

Springtime Sunshine had too great novels I enjoy them. I like that both of novel similar theme about marriage of inconvenience. I think that Rich and Jamie truly loved each other since high school but true love right in front of them for so many years. All though I like Paul and Leah 's story ,and I though that Leah just doing what sister ask to. I believe that no real true between them. Well, They were very good reads. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this are completely my own.

Two stories in one book and they intertwine as each story is about a brother and their “not so normal wedding “.

I really like the premise behind both of these stories. They were not your typical Macomber style. I liked that they were both a bit different as they were not the usual boy meets girl and falls in love. I was vested and wanted to hear the outcome, my only issue was the miscommunication trope was way overdone in both, to the point of almost being aggravating. I needed more depth f the resolve after the miscommunication.