Last Year's Bride

Last Year's Bride by Anne McAllister

It's a good thing Cole McCullough has wide shoulders, because he carries the weight of his family's future on them.  After his father's second heart attack he discovered that a second mortgage had been taken out on the ranch and without a great money making venture everything will be lost.  In a last ditch bid for a great idea, his sister, Sophie, suggests their ranch as a location for a reality TV show directed by...his estranged wife.

Very few people know that Nell Corbett is married.  Not her boss, not her co-workers, and especially not her in-laws.  She accepted that Cole wanted to wait to tell his family.  She even accepted that he wanted her to take the job in LA.  But she will not accept the divorce papers she received in the mail less than a year after her wedding.  Determined to talk to her errant husband she convinces her boss to considering Marietta as a possible location for his reality show.  Now she just has to talk Cole in to staying her husband.

I connected with the hero for the very fact that any person who has nursed a parent or grandparent through a long illness can understand what he is going through.  I have watched my mother struggle to help nurse her brother, then her mother, then her father, and now her mother-in-law through cancer and other various ailments for more than two decades.  There is a feeling of helplessness that comes with knowing that even if there was someone you could ask for help, it is not "their job" to help.  This feeling is expressed many times by Cole over many different things.  He is trapped by his own sense of obligation and stubborn pride.  Many authors have written stubborn heroes before, but adding the twist of an ailing parent really gives it a new, more reachable dimension.

Another "new" dimension to an oft used trope is the fact that Nell is adopted, but does not feel "obligated" to be the best she can be.  Instead, she is tired of having everyone make decisions for her.  This is actually a feeling many people can understand when coming from large families that need to coordinate many schedules.  Decisions are made for them instead of by them.  When they finally do make it out into the world by themselves they tend to either attach themselves to a controlling person out of habit, or resent controlling people and steer clear of them completely.

Of course, I can't review a book without mentioning the supporting cast of characters.  This group was simply awesome.  Sam was a typical grumpy bear with a thorn in his paw, Sophie is a typically eager teenager wanting to help with bigger and better ideas.  The "talent" was collectively fabulous and worked great as subplots.  The true star of the supporting characters was Em.  No spoilers, but I'll just say that she was A LOT more than was expected.

Overall, this was by far my favorite book of the Great Wedding Giveaway Series.  It was longer than the others, but it really didn't feel that way.

 Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 5

Sex – 5 

Language – 4

Storyline – 5

Overall – 5