Review (+ Tour Giveaway): A Royal Christmas Wedding

A Royal Christmas Wedding
By Rachel Hauck
Royal Wedding Series conclusion
Zondervan, 2016


Summary

Avery Truitt aches for true love—the kind she once shared with Prince Colin. Can she dare to hope for happily ever after, or is a fairy-tale ending beyond reach?

College volleyball star Avery Truitt has not seen her former flame, Prince Colin of Brighton Kingdom, since he suddenly pushed her away five years ago. But now, the sadness of losing her father and the joy of her sister Susanna’s pregnancy have brought Avery back to Brighton just in time for Cathedral City’s enchanting Christmas season.

Avery knows she can’t avoid seeing Colin—now the Kingdom’s most eligible bachelor—whether or not her heart is ready to relive the pain. But seeing him again might bring her the closure she needs after all this time.

When Colin finds himself at the center of a centuries-old Brighton tradition, he must decide whether to follow the path laid out before him or follow his heart to the only woman for whom he would ring the Pembroke Chapel Bell.

Can Colin convince Avery to meet him at the chapel on Christmas morning—as tradition dictates—or will Avery run back to her St. Simons home and pursue a coaching career as planned?

In the fourth installment of the Royal Wedding Series, New York Times bestselling novelist, Rachel Hauck, weaves a charming story of holiday romance as two broken hearts seek the love they once knew.

To purchase your copy, click here.


My thoughts

Magical. The stuff of which fairy tales are made. Captivating. And with timeless spiritual themes that speak to all of us. A Royal Christmas Wedding is a perfect blend of enchantment, charm, and reality.

This is the story of Avery, sister of Susanna from Once Upon a Prince, and Prince Colin of Brighton. Many readers, me included, have longed for their story and its telling couldn’t be a more beautiful series conclusion. This is a story of second chances, of love lost and found, of family relationships and respect.

It was so much fun to be caught up in the sights and sounds of Cathedral City, as well as the lives of these characters, especially seeing Susanna and Nathaniel again. I loved the “Earn-A-Pound-Buy-A-Gift” event, a program that taught children how to make crafts to sell and then use their earnings to purchase gifts for family and friends.

As with all the books in the Royal Wedding series, Rachel Hauck places a touch of the supernatural that reflects God’s miraculous involvement in our lives – which, indeed, is something that the world doesn’t understand and that cannot be explained. The story of the Pembroke Bell, both past and present, added such richness to the story. Reflecting on the unexpectedness in life – her sister falling for and marrying a prince turned king – “Avery knew then the impossible was only hindered by doubt and fear.”

The epilogue, only two pages in length, is one of the most touching parts of this story – a beautiful conclusion that is so very moving. A Royal Christmas Wedding a wonderful Christmas read or anytime of the year.

Recommended.

I was provided a free copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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Rachel Hauck is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and award-winning author.

A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, Rachel worked in the corporate software world before planting her backside in an uncomfortable chair to write full-time in 2004.

She serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers and leads worship at their annual conference. She is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, and conference speaker.

Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pets, and writes from her two-story tower in an exceedingly more comfy chair. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

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GIVEAWAY

To celebrate her tour, Rachel is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card plus a copy of A Royal Christmas Wedding and a copy of The Wedding Shop. Please click on this link, share my Facebook post, then enter the contest below. Be sure to comment on this post to earn 9 extra entries in the giveaway!