"the perfect arrangement" by katie ganshert

In my review of Katie Ganshert's fabulous An October Bride last year, I said, "I hope Ganshert will revisit this wonderful small town again." Happily, she's done just that in The Perfect Arrangement, an entry in Zondervan's Year of Weddings series.

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Amelia Woods is a small-town wallflower and the proud owner of Forget-Me-Nots, a quaint flower shop that once belonged to her mother. Despite her success in business, her love life has always been a bit lackluster. Until she spies on her ex-boyfriend's wedding and ends up in horrifyingly embarrassing fender-bender with handsome wedding guest, Nate Gallagher.

Meanwhile, Amelia's younger brother, William, has proposed to his girlfriend. Amelia would be excited except she has evidence that the fiancée is not who she says she is. How can she be supportive and yet be the protective big sister too? It seems Nate is the only one available for any advice-giving, and he's good at it—and pretty fun to talk to, too. Amelia and Nate strike up an online relationship, but always lingering in Amelia's mind is the fear that he'll realize she's not nearly as appealing in real life.

As Amelia works to craft the perfect flower arrangements for other people, she begins to wonder if real love is better than the dream. And if it is, will Nate still be interested when he learns who she is?

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Prior to reading The Perfect Arrangement, I'd read two Katie Ganshert novels and one novella, and I gave them all five stars (I would have given A Broken Kind of Beautiful more stars than that if I could have). Her writing has a way of gripping me emotionally, and the stories stick with me long after I've turned the final page. So when I picked up The Perfect Arrangement, I expected it to be great. What I didn't expect? Laughter and tears, but this novella produced both in abundance!

Amelia, a shy cat owner who had only ever dated one guy and had a bit of a Cinderella backstory, was such a likable and relatable character. I absolutely loved watching her relationship with Nate grow through emails (which were so witty and fun), and I adored her interaction with George, her elderly customer. George's story is the one that so touched my heart.

While Amelia and Nate do fall in love (this is a romance, after all), some aspects of the story are left unresolved, which I actually found to be refreshing. In real life, sometimes you just have to let things go and see how they play out, and that's what Amelia had to do. I would definitely love to visit this town with Ganshert again and learn what happens to Amelia and her family! 5 stars.

Buy the novella.
Read my reviews of Ganshert's An October Bride (5 stars) and Wildflowers from Winter (5 stars).
Read my reviews of the other Year of Weddings and Year of Weddings 2 novellas.

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Katie Ganshert was born and raised in the exciting state of Iowa, where she currently resides with her family. She likes to write things and consume large quantities of coffee and chocolate while she writes all the things. She's won some awards. For the writing, not the consuming. Although the latter would be fun. You can learn more about Katie and these things she writes at her website www.katieganshert.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."