In Mine to Cherish book three of the Southern Wedding series, Madison gives her readers a story of another wedding coming to an abrupt halt. This time around its Clarabellaโs time to walk down the aisle. However, a devastating secret will have her running on her wedding day straight into the arms of the man who owned her heart.ย
Things are supposed to go smoothly on your wedding day.Aren't they? This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
Title: Mine To Cherish
Author(s): Natasha Madison
Series: Southern Wedding #3
Also in this series: Mine To Kiss , Mine To Have , Mine To Hold , Mine To Love, Mine to Take , Mine to Promise , Mine to Honor , Mine to Keep
Published by Natasha Madison on September 13, 2022
Pages: 224
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchase
Format: eBook 
Purchase: Amazon|Audible
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ClarabellaDid I want to get married today?It's hard to say when he proposed in front of over a hundred people.Everything happened so fast, and I thought it was just nerves.It was not.The knock on the door showed me that what I was feeling was more than just cold feet.I was a runaway bride.
LukeThe whole town was busy attending her wedding.She was the one I let get away when I told her our night together was a mistake and then left town.So I planned to spend the weekend getting drunk.When she ran out of the church looking for a hideout, I opened the car door for her.My cabin has one bed, and my longing looks don't mix well.Somehow, I have to keep my heart intact and her reputation together.Maybe she was just mine to cherish.
Mine to Cherish features Clarabella and Luke. Clarabella made appearances in the previous books, so it was nice to get her story and follow her on the journey from a disastrous almost wedding to a satisfying happily ever after. Clarabella co-owns a wedding planning event company with her sisters. After the disaster that followed her brother and sisterโs initial wedding plans, she didnโt expect to marry soon. However, when her boyfriend sprung a surprise proposal at her thirtieth birthday party, she suddenly finds herself in the middle of major wedding plans. There is one problem: a massive case of pre-wedding jitters, made worse by the shocking revelation, would derail all plans.
Our hero, Luke, is a chef. Now as a chef he has done work with Clarabellaโs company. Their interactions, however, went beyond business. Then, after one mind blowing night, which he declared a mistake, he left town without a word. Now heโs back, only to discover that the woman who owned him was engaged to marry another man. It hurt to stand aside and watched the woman he loved marry someone else. So when the opportunity came for him to prove to her she was his to cherish forever, he seized it.
Luke and Clarabella complemented each other. They shared a lot of fun and sexy times. I loved how Luke treated Clarabella throughout the story. There were times, however, when her reaction to some of those moments revealed her insecurities. Her insecurities made her real and relatable. She displayed confidence in her professional life, but matters of the heart was whole different ball game. Despite it all, Luke never wavered in the way he treated her.
Luke also had his share of doubts and insecure moments. However, with the revelation of his past, one can relate to the reasoning behind his actions. It was great to see there wasnโt a lot of conflict between them. It made me happy to see them work through their issues to gain their happily ever after, which they both deserve.ย
The secondary characters added layers to the story. Clarabellaโs relationship with her siblings was a treasure. They were so open with each other. However, sometimes it felt they were a bit too open. Nothing was off limits. Now for Clarabellaโs ex, she sure dodged a bullet where he was concerned. Sad to say, men like him exist in reality. Pretend to be nice, but beneath it all a first-class jerk.
The story flowed well, and there were several laugh out loud moments. Mine to Cherish delivered all the elements I enjoy in a romance. A swoon worthy hero, a confident heroine and a sexy, heartwarming romance, which kept reading into the early morning hours.ย
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About Natasha Madison
When her nose isn’t buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she’s in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It’s a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn’t listen to her…
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
thanks for the great review Nadene I love a good runaway bride story.
You are welcome, Debbie.
This sounds like it has everything I like too. Terrific review, Nadene.
Thanks, Wendy. I think this one may be my favourite of the series.
Lucky her to figure it out before the ‘I Do’ and glad Luke got a new chance with her.
She missed it by the skin of her teeth.
Love that it includes siblings, and the well developed secondary characters.
This sounds really good. It sounds like Clarabella almost made a huge mistake.
What a lovely review you have of this one here. I am so happy that this one worked so well for you. I definitely need to try this author out. I love those endearing contemporaries. I do love those heroines that have a solid self confidence, its super attractive quality.