First they said yes to their guys, but now it’s time for the second yes–the dress!Five of today’s Best-selling Christian Authors weave five unique, connected stories where wedding dresses come with unique adventures and touching “I do’s.”Season of Surprises by Alexa Verde:The maid-of-honor and best-man embark on a journey to recover an heirloom wedding dress that was mistakenly sold. Along the … journey to recover an heirloom wedding dress that was mistakenly sold. Along the way, the former high school sweethearts unexpectedly encounter danger, surprises, and a second chance at love.
Something Borrowed, Someone Blue by Chautona Havig:
A borrowed dress, half-completed marriage counseling, and a last-minute theft lead up to the big day. Face it. Weddings equal stress for the families involved. Preachers, however, have it easy. Or so everyone thinks.
Black Belt, White Dress by Hallee Bridgeman:
Deputy Sheriff and full time tomboy Traci Winston agrees to marry Taekwondo Master Travis Seaver, provided they exchange vows at 2000 feet while skydiving over the Grand Canyon. However, Traci’s mother has more conventional plans, and she finds herself trying on dresses and planning an elaborate ceremony in their hometown church complete with butterflies and cummerbunds. Can Traci manage to smile while walking down the aisle? Or will she collapse under the weight of girly ribbons and bows?
Sewn Together by Alana Terry:
A family torn apart. A pregnancy that’s expected to end in heartache instead of joy. Despite hardship and trial, hope abounds in this heartwarming and inspirational novella full of love, faith, and miracles.
The Second Yes by Amanda Tru:
For top fashion designer London Hutchins, life so far sums up in her closet full of wedding dresses—one for each guy she’s ever dated. Moving back home to Crossroads seems so right, especially when she finds her high school sweetheart waiting there. London soon discovers that local bridal shop owner, Rhonda Snow, isn’t as nice as everyone says. A little harmless meddling to help a few of Rhonda’s clients couldn’t possibly hurt anything, right?
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The Wedding Dress Yes
Season of Surprises by Alexa Verde
This was a very fun and exciting book to read. Sierra and Edgar have known each other since childhood and get a second chance at love. They travel to Poland in Hope’s of finding a wedding dress that was accidentally sold that had been in the family for years. This is a wonderful story from a wonderful author.
I loved how the last book brought all the stories together.
Wedding Dress Yes was such a great series. I loved Alexa Verde’s Season Of Surprises. I loved the journey of finding the Vintage wedding dress. It kept me intrigued. I love all of Alexa’s books at this one was another one of my favorites. This was definitely a great book. I also liked Black Belt White Dress by Hallee BridgemanI loved the excitment of this book. Another of my favorites was The Wedding Dress Yes by Amanda Tru. I loved that book. I was so mad at Rhonda all the way through the book and when a book gets you mad it is a great book. Sewn Together and Something Borrowed Someone Blue were not my favorites but I appreciate the effort that these authors put into there books. I realize not everybook is for everyone. I would definitelyrecommend this series.
The Second Yes by multiple authors
Like the idea of the crossroads collection. Each author writes their own story and they are connected in some way.
Going to be fun to find out what. Starts out with background of the book itself and the authors.
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Season of Surprises by Alexa Verde
There are so many fun things in this one! great settings.
This is about a wedding dress…relatives are getting married and she’s thrown together again with a very old neighbor.
When the dress is a no go they combine forces and travel to Warsaw to get another…. love the travel and how they find out that things they remembered about one another still matter.
Misunderstandings about the dress ….
Great story and glad he was able to find God again after all the years.
After all the turmoil about the wedding she realizes she needs to postpone or cancel it but she has another idea….
Didn’t see this one coming!
Something Borrowed, Someone Blue by Chautona Havig
Counseling for the big day and she realizes she might not be where she needs to be….
Black Belt, White Dress by halee Bridgeman
She’s agreed to marry him and shut down her wedding planner mother by stating they were going to skydive over Grand Canyon saying their vows.
Like conversations about karate classes. Everything goes according to plan til her mother becomes deathly sick and the bride changes her mind.
Sewn Together by Alana Terry
Story starts out from a young girls summer from a diary journal, and how their family friend who they knew in Korea can’t have children so she adopts one then becomes pregnant and the baby is unborn but there are problems..
Her parents had also fostered children. His is a pastor and the mother helps out a lot with things.
Sad about the baby to be born but love the idea of the wedding dress. Such a beautiful idea!
The Second yes by Amanda Tru
London moves back to Crossroads and runs her own design wedding shop. She never expected to see Adam at her shop, she dropped the scissors she was holding…
Like how this story brings all the others together. Lots of faith and hope and others want to disrupt everything she’s doing…
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What I like about a lot of these stories is how easy they are to read, religion and faith themes, discussion questions at the end of the story and a bit about the author and their other works.
Some even had recipes that go along with the story! Some were hilarious, some very sad.
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.
The second Yes
Five story collection about wedding dresses. I enjoyed each one. All separate stories.
The positive side of a collection is you get to read different authors. A great way to discover authors you have not read before.
The down side of a collection of books is there is so much to read.
Seasons of surprises by Alexa Verde
I loved the story of Sierra and Edgar. The adventure they had in trying to find the wedding dress was so much fun. Going to Poland on the spare of the moment.
Something borrowed, someone blue by Chautona Havig
Lara is planning to get married to Preston. Is he really the right one?
Actually someone else is interested in her. Who will she marry?
Black Belt, White Dress by Hallee Bridgeman
Travis proposes to Traci. She doesn’t want a traditional wedding. Her mother is a wedding planner. Who will win out on the type of wedding?
Sewn together by Alana Terry
A sweet story about baby Grace. A miracle of birth. A very encouraging story of a little girl that just wants to do something for baby Grace.
The Second Yes by Amanda Tru
London is a wedding dress designer. She can take older ones and restore their look. She is involved with some of the characters in the other stories. She really keeps busy with her wedding dress shop.
Then she has Adam and Mason both courting her. Who will she end up with.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write an positive review. This is my own opinion.
What I think you should know:
The Second Yes Contains five Novellas
Seasons of Surprises by Alexa Verde
Something Borrowed, Someone Blue By Chautona Havig
Black Belt, White Dress by Hallee Bridgeman
Sewn Together by Alana Terry
The Second Yes by Amanda Tru
Each story is connected to Snow White Bridal and London Hutchin in Crossroads. I would have a hard time choosing a favorite between these stories and I would love to see a follow up on many of the characters in them. In Season of Surprises I enjoyed the interaction between Sierra and Edgar, it was sweet but realistic. In Chautona Havig’s Something Borrowed Someone Blue, I was delighted to be back in Havig’s Rockland world each visit is as intriguing as the first. Ty and Lara were fun characters that I hope to see more of in some of her other works.Traci in Black Belt, White Dress is a fun character, I don’t think I have met one in a romance novel quite like her before. Sewn Together was written as letters from a young boy, giving you his view of the story, which is VERY different for a book about wedding dresses. Traci in Black Belt, White Dress is a fun character, I don’t think I have met one in a romance novel quite like her before. The Second Yes by Amanda Tru features London and I loved how it ties everything together. If I was single I would look for someone to love me like London is loved at the end of the book.
What I wish I would have known:
I wish I would have known about the Crossroads Collections before this one. Each story was unique, but tied together beautifully.
What I wish I had been warned about:
Sewn Together by Alana Terry does mention loss of a child, while I understand the reason for the story I have had too many friends lose children and the subject is not something that I willingly read about in a fiction capacity.
In Black Belt, White Dress has a terminal illness.
Who will love this book( Just to name a few):
Fans of each of the authors will love the book.
Fans of Christian Fiction
Fans of Collections of stories
I received a complimentary copy for this book from Celebrate Lit, this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own.
Different authors, different styles and unique stories make up this collection filled with hope and promise. Each author brings their style to the pages and delight readers with wonderful characters and a few laughs along the way.
I have read several books from Chautona Havig and each book has blessed me in some way. She has the ability to touch on subjects that may be painful, but gently guides readers through scripture and words to achieve a story that fills you with joy, compassion and a better understanding that God is always there.
In Something Borrowed, Someone Blue, I immediately feel in love with the characters. Lara is a hard working woman who has just gotten engaged to Preston. Oh my I could tell this was not going to be a happy wedding. They come from different backgrounds and Preston’s parents are quite snobby. Lara needs to be on top of her game if this wedding is going to happen.
One of the descriptions in the story about a wedding took my breath away. The brilliance of using a floral arch to become “the flower girl” was a work of genius. The author does such an outstanding job of detailing dresses, flowers and even furniture that I was able to visualize it perfectly. I was captivated by Lara and how hard she tried be sure she was doing the right thing in marrying Preston.
There is a lot to be said about Ty the pastor. He is charismatic and sincere at the same time. I began to wonder if he had eyes for a certain woman and was fighting off his feelings. I don’t know why but I laughed when Preston doesn’t show up for the first premarital counseling session with Lara. Really? “Take notes for us honey and we will get together and discuss them.” I loved the questions Ty asked Lara in the session and it really made me think about my marriage. Why did I marry my husband? What attracted me to him? Have you been in love before? They are such simple questions but ones that are vital to a lasting relationship. I began to realize that the story is more than just about an upcoming marriage. It is about being with the right person and sharing the same goals. Being equally yoked is important and should never be dismissed. Another important part of a marriage is trust and communication. There doesn’t seem to be much of that going on with this couple. I loved the story and the author writes with such clarity as she shares truth and wisdom through prayer and scripture. As always, I walk away from her stories with renewed hope and a deeper understanding of a loving God.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
I loved all but one of these stories. It started as a rough read for me, but from the second novel on, the storytelling, the plots and the characters made for REALLY good reading. For each of these 4, I hope there’s more to come. 5 stars on for these.
My Thoughts:
I love compilations like this. They let you get a taste for several authors at once. No need to buy a large book and then decide that the author just isn’t for you. Instead, grab a compilation with at least one other author you love and you’re bound to have a good one. I find that they tend to put authors together who write with similar styles. And of course, when they write like someone I already love I’m sure to like them too!
This book has five different authors within it. I’m familiar with one and I’m definitely in love with her books. I’ve read and reviewed several on here so just do a quick search for Chautona Havig and you’ll find some great books to add to your library.
Chautona has a style like no one that I’ve read before. It’s hard to even put into words really but I’ll try. Her books are like having a chat with your best friend. They fill you with warmth and laughter or bring you to tears. You are there. In that room with the main character, you’re holding them as they cry and you cry too. Her writing makes me never want to put the book down because I might miss out on something. It also makes me want the book to never end because I don’t want the friendship to stop!
Yeap. They’re that good. Her story within this book is excellent as always and had me trying to keep my giggles quiet as I read it while rocking my sleeping little one.
Chautona’s story in The Second Yes is called Something Borrowed, Something Blue. It’s such a sweet story with such loveable (or hateable) characters. I really wanted to insert myself in in several spots just so I could give someone a well-deserved glare or thump upside the head to make them realize how silly they were being.
Get a copy and get to reading today. You will not regret it!
I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.
Such a cute series of books!!
I always love going back to cross roads (each series is a stand alone) but they all have interconnections if that makes sense 🙂
Each of these Authors brings a unique story to the table, they all have different ways of showing emotions, character mentalities, and creative stories. I truly enjoy reading their stories and connecting with their characters.
I recommend putting this series on your To Be Read list.
I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback, the thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
This is a fantastic set of reads. By best selling Authors. The one I have read is by Hallee Bridgeman. This story is so well told. The Author has done a fantastic job. A family dealing with a crisis, that really pulls at the heart strings. Once I started reading this story I couldn’t put it down. Have a box of tissues handy. This is definitely a must read box set.
Shauna Joesten