The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding...
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reviews
Feb 03, 2012
I just, I don't think I can, guys. I'm not going to rate this (it will be one star) and mark it as flounced…yet. I'll make that decision later, after I attempt to pick it up again. But it is such an unenjoyable read that I'm not sure I can make myself keep reading.
The premise of the story is so stupid. The bride of this Christmas Wedding is Gaby. She's in her fifties and lost her husband four years ago. She has decided it's time to be loved again and how serendipitous! Three, good l More...
The premise of the story is so stupid. The bride of this Christmas Wedding is Gaby. She's in her fifties and lost her husband four years ago. She has decided it's time to be loved again and how serendipitous! Three, good l More...
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Oct 17, 2011
Marquetta (LoveToReadForFun)
rated it: 
The Christmas Wedding is the first novel I've read by James Patterson. Starting the novel, I didn't know what to expect. To me, James Patterson isn't synonymous with fiction work with a romantic theme.
The Christmas Wedding is centered around Gaby and her four grown children - Claire, Liz, Emily and Seth. In the first half of the book, there are several chapters dedicated to each child. I thought that this was an interesting way for the reader to learn about Gaby's kids without being More...
The Christmas Wedding is centered around Gaby and her four grown children - Claire, Liz, Emily and Seth. In the first half of the book, there are several chapters dedicated to each child. I thought that this was an interesting way for the reader to learn about Gaby's kids without being More...
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Jan 12, 2012
Becky
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James Patterson's "Christmas Wedding" is supposed to center around Gaby, a fifty-something widower who is getting married again. She's inviting her family out to the wedding which is going to be held on Christmas. Seems like a nice little Christmas story.
By the first page, the reader is introduced to all the main characters on the playing field; all sixteen of them. For the first 5 to 10 chapters I have to flip back and forth between the list of characters and the page I'm More...
By the first page, the reader is introduced to all the main characters on the playing field; all sixteen of them. For the first 5 to 10 chapters I have to flip back and forth between the list of characters and the page I'm More...
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Nov 07, 2011
Trudy
rated it: 
OOOOOOOh! I loved this story! This was a wonderful "very feel good" adventure. I don't normally read James Patterson books because they are not my cup of tea, however it appears that this time he took a completely different turn. Many of his regular fans are not happy with this book because it is just so "sweet and gentle". However, perhaps he's attempting to attract another segment of the reading population. I hope he writes other books like this. The icing on the cake for m
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Nov 08, 2011
Mary
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THE CHRSTMAS WEDDING by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo
10/11 - Little, Brown & Company - Hardcover, 288 pages
Is it true that either you change your life or it changes for you?
Gaby is old enough to have raised her children to an age where she is now a grandmother. Having lost a husband already she knows the depth that loving one person bring to you and she wants to not replace that love but feel it again with someone else. The only hitch is there are three men that More...
10/11 - Little, Brown & Company - Hardcover, 288 pages
Is it true that either you change your life or it changes for you?
Gaby is old enough to have raised her children to an age where she is now a grandmother. Having lost a husband already she knows the depth that loving one person bring to you and she wants to not replace that love but feel it again with someone else. The only hitch is there are three men that More...
Feb 14, 2012
Beverly
rated it: 
Wish I could give it zero stars, although it might be useful for authors to read as an example of What Not To Do.
The Good - it's a very quick read. I didn't notice any typos. The cover is pretty, if you think a slender young women in a sleeveless white dress with a long train "works" to represent a 50-60ish widowed grandmother getting married in a pale purple dress and sneakers.
The Bad - The premise is that Gaby, said grandmother & widow, is getting married. She More...
The Good - it's a very quick read. I didn't notice any typos. The cover is pretty, if you think a slender young women in a sleeveless white dress with a long train "works" to represent a 50-60ish widowed grandmother getting married in a pale purple dress and sneakers.
The Bad - The premise is that Gaby, said grandmother & widow, is getting married. She More...
Jan 29, 2012
Kay
rated it:
While reading this I thought someone was yanking my chain! This is the most ridiculous plot I have ever read!!!! Even Danielle Steel on an extremely bad day could not come up with something so outlandish! And to think it was written by two men is beyond my comprehension.
The plot:
middle age widow lady is proposed to by 3 good looking nice middle age single men [now tell me where are 3 good looking nice middle age single men together?????]. That's not the most ridiculous pa More...
The plot:
middle age widow lady is proposed to by 3 good looking nice middle age single men [now tell me where are 3 good looking nice middle age single men together?????]. That's not the most ridiculous pa More...
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Jan 28, 2012
Diana
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Marty Summerfield asks his sister-in-law, who has been a widow for 3 years, to marry him. However, when they hear that he has proposed, two other men ask Gaby to marry them. Gaby decides she will marry one of them, but won't tell them until Christmas Day....the day of the wedding. (how does this work with the marriage license??) She plans a big, special wedding and invites her 4 children and their families, plus man others. The plot is a little unlikely, but the characters in the book are v
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Jan 03, 2012
Heather
rated it:
While I really appreciate having gotten this book as a gift since James Patterson is one of my favorite authors, I was a bit disappointed with the book itself. I think it could be that this is one of Patterson's collaborative efforts with another author, Richard DiLallo, and I felt that the plotline of the story was a bit far fetched and unbelievable. The main character, Gaby, sends her three children video clips inviting her three children and their families to her upcoming wedding at Christma
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Dec 26, 2011
Kristie
rated it: 
I received this book for Christmas yesterday and read it all in about an hour this afternoon. It's a nice little holiday escape. I like James Patterson b/c the chapters of all his stories are short and the stories are usually pretty fast-paced. This one wasn't an exception, other than the fact that there's no real 'action' here. It is a decent story of family dynamics, with nothing overly dramatic. The only mystery mystery is the identiy of the groom which isn't revealed until the wedding.
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Dec 18, 2011
J
rated it:
Really 1 1/2 stars ...
I can't say how much I disliked the main character "Gabby" ... I finished reading this book just to get the book point in a reading competition with my husband. Gabby is old enough to have grown children (ages 35 - 26) but incredibly immature. She is bossy, manipulative, self-righteous, inconsistent and demands to be the center of attention. I initially enjoyed reading the story lines that involved her children, but eventually the children just became More...
I can't say how much I disliked the main character "Gabby" ... I finished reading this book just to get the book point in a reading competition with my husband. Gabby is old enough to have grown children (ages 35 - 26) but incredibly immature. She is bossy, manipulative, self-righteous, inconsistent and demands to be the center of attention. I initially enjoyed reading the story lines that involved her children, but eventually the children just became More...
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Dec 13, 2011
Mary
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If there was an option of 0 stars for this book, that is what I would have given it. The main character Gaby is a self centered bitch who thinks the world revolves around her. There is nothing about Christmas in this book other than the fact that the wedding takes place on Christmas. Gaby is so self centered that she has 150 people join her for a Christmas eve dinner and even more for a Christmas day wedding so everyone can honor her and pay homage to her. None of these people wanted to shar
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Dec 08, 2011
Sandra
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Sandra’s Sentiments: I LOVED this book!Though I prefer books that have some kind of supernatural, paranormal, or alien being as the protagonist, I couldn’t get enough of the “normal” characters in The Christmas Wedding. The Summerhill’s issues are deeply personal and relatable, and the love they share is sweet. The suspense leading up to the discovery of the groom nearly killed me!I really did have to refrain from skipping to the end to see if she picked the person I suspected!
I highly More...
I highly More...
Dec 07, 2011
Shannon
rated it:
Once upon a time, I adored James Patterson's writing. I couldn't get enough of his books from about ten years ago and prior, but as the years have gone by and he has started pumping out a book or two every couple months, the quality of his stories has really plummeted. Most of Patterson's books these days are collaborations, so I am not sure how much he actually writes and how much is just his name printed prominently on the cover to boost sales. Regardless, his older novels are excellent and hi
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Nov 28, 2011
Mj
rated it:
I would have rated this book a 2 1/2 if available, but rated it a 2 when I thought about how it compared to other books that I have rated a 3.
It was a very light read, an easy read (perhaps too easy) and a very quick read. The book has just over 200 pages counting a page for each chapter heading and a blank page between the chapter heading and the actual start of each chapter. It is also double spaced.
While I enjoyed the book if I hadn't taken it out of the library and More...
It was a very light read, an easy read (perhaps too easy) and a very quick read. The book has just over 200 pages counting a page for each chapter heading and a blank page between the chapter heading and the actual start of each chapter. It is also double spaced.
While I enjoyed the book if I hadn't taken it out of the library and More...
Nov 06, 2011
Paula
rated it:
In his latest romance "The Christmas Wedding" we meet Gaby Summerhill , who hopes that this year she can get all her family to come and visit for Christmas. When her three best male friends all propose to her , it sparks an idea in Gaby's head. She will get married on Christmas Day to one of the three guys but the catch is no-one will know which one until the actual Wedding - not even the groom. In order to let her family in on the surprise, she makes a series of Videos with the help o
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Nov 03, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
This book was pretty good. The story was interesting - a mysterious wedding, a few unexpected twists and turns, and a good mix of mushy and humorous. The character development was a bit lax, but I think that added to this story a bit. There were so many important characters that had they all been well-developed, like Gaby, this book would have been horrendous to read. And the lax in development added even more to the intrigue of who is Gaby going to marry? I did like the children. Claire was pro
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Oct 17, 2011
Brenda
rated it:
Gaby Summerhill's family hasn't been together for Christmas since her husband Peter died, but that's about to change. You see Gaby has been proposed to by three men, and the thing is she is going to have a Christmas wedding, and she isn't going to to disclose who the groom will be until the wedding.So the only way her children, Emily, Claire Lizzie and Seth will know who she is marrying is to come home for Christmas.
I loved getting to know Gaby's children. Each of them were dealing with th More...
I loved getting to know Gaby's children. Each of them were dealing with th More...
Dec 13, 2011
Anne
rated it:
Once upon a time, I was stuck at the library while waiting for my car's oil to be changed. I picked up this book and started reading it and only brought it home because it was free, though I was hoping that any page now, I was going to start caring about the characters and what happened to them. I never did care, and nothing ever did happen to them. The book was trite and predictable and the best thing about it is that it was short and did not take too much time to read. Honestly, the only r
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Oct 23, 2011
Lynn
rated it:
I was a little disappointed in this book, probably because I hold James Patterson to an impossibly high standard, as he has never failed to completely captivate me before. It wasn't just because this was a departure from the type of book that he usually writes, either. Patterson has written romance before, very successfully. If you've read Sam's Letters to Jennifer, or Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, you know how very moving those books were. No, in this case, it was almost as if he gave h
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Dec 30, 2011
Mandie
rated it:
I read this book in about 2 hours and only finished it because I usually like James Patterson and kept hoping it would get better. It did not. Completely one dimensional with no insight to any of the characters. The main character Gabby would have been a hoot if she wasn't so self centered. We are suppose to believe she is this person whom has always put everyone else ahead of herself, cares for he homeless, and is abandoned by her children so they may lead much more fulfilling lives. I did not
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Nov 15, 2011
Jenn
rated it:
Around this time of year, publishers like to roll out the latest round of Christmas books and bookstores have nice selections of books you only see once a year. Sometimes you find some real gems to add to your collection and read again, but I have found in my Christmas book obsession that the stinkers outweigh the finds … and that holds true for The Christmas Wedding.
The book focuses on Gaby (the bride) and her four children and their trials and tribulations leading up to the apex of More...
The book focuses on Gaby (the bride) and her four children and their trials and tribulations leading up to the apex of More...
Dec 18, 2011
Kathleen
rated it:
Family is important to Gaby Summerhill, and since her husband Peter's death three years before, her family hasn't spent Christmas together. Christmas is the season for Believing and Family is the reason for the season ... Gaby is bound and determined to get her four adult children and their families back to the family home in Massachusetts to celebrate a good old family Christmas like they had in the past. Come step into Gaby's world and see how she gets her wayward family to come home for the h
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Dec 16, 2011
Michael
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This was such an enjoyable read and a wonderful Christmas story. The story goes of fifty four year old Gaby Summerhill who is having her family home for Christmas. But this Christmas will be different as Gaby has decided after three years its time to be remarried ater the tragic death of her first husband. Gaby has three suitors Tom, Jacob and Martin all who have proposed and all who seem perfect husband material. Gaby has vowed not to reveal the lucky guy who she will marry until the day of the
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Oct 28, 2011
Destiny
rated it:
James Patterson wrote a beautiful novel with The Christmas Wedding. Gaby Summerhill is a widow who has decided to remarry and in order to bring her four children together for the first Christmas since the death of her husband and their father, she is holding the wedding on Christmas Day. However, she isn't telling who the groom is until the wedding day. Not even the groom knows...and three men have asked for her hand in marriage!
James Patterson usually writes murder mystery novels a More...
James Patterson usually writes murder mystery novels a More...
Nov 10, 2011
LORI
rated it:
Gaby Summerhill’s husband died three years ago and her four children have slowly drifted apart dealing with their own life’s drama. They have not been together for Christmas since their father died but Gaby is determined to change that. She announces she is getting married on Christmas Day and everyone’s presence is required. She is also being very sneaky letting them know the groom will be “revealed” that day.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
When you think of James Patterson an More...
Dollycas’s Thoughts
When you think of James Patterson an More...
Nov 02, 2011
Mlpmom
rated it:
I have loved James Patterson's other contemporary romances in the past and was so excited to see that he finally came out with another one. I have been waiting two years for him to write another one so, needless to say my expectations for this book may have been a little high.
Maybe, sadly, a little too high.
I was a little disappointed with this one. Maybe it was the wait or the anticipation that made me a little disappointed with it. Maybe it was the fact that this didn't More...
Maybe, sadly, a little too high.
I was a little disappointed with this one. Maybe it was the wait or the anticipation that made me a little disappointed with it. Maybe it was the fact that this didn't More...
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Dec 14, 2011
Ruth
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Well, the last glass of champagne has been drunk, the top layer of the cake has been frozen for next year, and the band has put away their insturments.
Gabby lost her husband four years ago. Her four children have not all been back home in Sturbridge, MA since then. She is not your average bear and regularly sends them little video tapes. Just before the Christmas holidays she sends them the strangest one of all. She announces that she wants them all to come home for Christmas to More...
Gabby lost her husband four years ago. Her four children have not all been back home in Sturbridge, MA since then. She is not your average bear and regularly sends them little video tapes. Just before the Christmas holidays she sends them the strangest one of all. She announces that she wants them all to come home for Christmas to More...
Nov 25, 2011
Jeannie
rated it:
This novel was a beautiful story of love and romance. The book also dealt with pain, life's trials and hard lessons. This book was beautifully crafted and I soared through the pages.
A beloved Mother of four, Gaby Summerhill has been a widow long enough. To her surprise and delight, not one but three gentlemen ask her to marry them. Gaby decides one way to get her family to visit for Christmas is if she announces she will marry. The twist? Only Gaby knows her choice in husband. She is n More...
A beloved Mother of four, Gaby Summerhill has been a widow long enough. To her surprise and delight, not one but three gentlemen ask her to marry them. Gaby decides one way to get her family to visit for Christmas is if she announces she will marry. The twist? Only Gaby knows her choice in husband. She is n More...
Nov 24, 2011
Victoria
rated it:
Well, I was hoping that this one would be as good as Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas or Sam's Letters to Jennifer, but unfortunately, it was nowhere near as good as these. It wasn't near as enjoyable and I felt a bit let down. The summary on the book jacket sounded like it would be super interesting. I mean who wouldn't be intrigued by a wedding without knowing who the groom is?
I thought that we wouldn't have a clue at all who the groom was going to be, and I was hoping for a huge su More...
I thought that we wouldn't have a clue at all who the groom was going to be, and I was hoping for a huge su More...
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