Book Review: The Rejected Writers' Christmas Wedding (Southlea Bay #3) by Suzanne Kelman

The Rejected Writers' Christmas Wedding

(Southlea Bay #3)

by Suzanne Kelman 

Goodreads

Amazon

Southlea Bay's favorite sweethearts, Flora and Dan, are getting married and the members of the Rejected Writers' Book Club are excited to help. Especially the group's head honcho, Doris Newberry, who, much to Flora’s frustration, wants to control every detail, attempting to strong-arm Flora into accepting ridiculous wedding vows, wayward bongo players and into wearing a huge, old-fashioned wedding dress. But when a new resident arrives in town with information about Flora's past that threatens her chance of happiness, the overwhelmed bride-to-be disappears overnight. To find her, The Rejected Writers set off on yet another zany road trip adventure, this time to a make-believe Bavarian town. Where they meet lederhosen-clad, young men, are entertained by oompah bands, go on wild sleigh rides, and sing in a yodeling competition. But when they eventually find the bride and the bridegroom learn the truth about her, will he still want to marry her or will all the wedding plans be in vain.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

A busboy arrived at the table and gave us unsure glances. We had never really lived down the rumors that we were just a bunch of cougars after one of the young busboys, even though we’d just been looking for chorus members for our musical show. The sandy-haired boy approached the table, biting his lip.

“I love red… I’ve always wanted to be a scarlet woman.” Lottie, who was looking at lace gloves in a wooden drawer, didn’t look up when she said dryly, “What do you mean ‘wanted to be’?”

I saw how much you didn’t like the dirty white dress that posh shop put together for you, so I thought I would do you a great service and let you use the wedding dress that I got married to my husband in, God rest his soul. It’s very classy. It came out of the Sears catalog.

My Review:

I frequently grinned with glee and occasionally laughed aloud while reading this enchanting and amusing tale featuring an eccentric and eclectic group of failed yet fervently aspiring women writers living on a small island in Washington State.  The story was a quick and pleasurable read detailing the efforts of a well-meaning yet meddlesome and peculiar group that included a constant knitter; a fairy obsessed geriatric who at various times stylishly sported a feather boa, tinsel crown, red-and-white polka dot rain boots, and a Tinkerbell onesie; a dichotomous pair of wealthy identical Texan twins of indiscriminant age – somewhere over sixty; an old hippy radical with an odd manner of dressing or undressing; a bombastic and mega bossy baker and her nebbish sidekick whose face appeared locked into a constant scowl; a married librarian who was the only member approaching normalcy; and the youngest member - a timid and near albino florist who was the bride to be.  I adored the writing style, colorful descriptions, amusing premise, clever chapter titles, and sneaky wry humor, and although it was not necessary to have read the previous books, I would love to have been following this series from the beginning.  

Empress DJ

About the Author:

Suzanne Kelman writing voice has been described as a perfect blend of Janet Evanovich and Debbie Macomber.

Kelman is the author of The Rejected Writers' Book Club and is also an award-winning writer/screenwriter whose accolades include the Best Comedy Feature Screenplay award from the 2011 L.A. International Film Festival, the Gold Award from the 2012 California Film Awards, and the Van Gogh Award from the 2012 Amsterdam Film Festival. Born in the United Kingdom, she now resides in Washington State.is a detail-oriented producer/director and an award-winning/optioned screenwriter, with a passion for bringing great storytelling to life. She is also the co-author of the comedy book, Big Purple Undies.

This book was reviewed as part of a Christmas reading challenge generously sponsored by Just Another Girl and Her Books