Thursday, April 25, 2024

Moments For You by Carrie Ann Ryan

 

Two widows. One wedding dress. And a promise of forever in the next installment of the Wilder Brothers.

Moments for You, an all-new second chance, small town romance from New York Times bestselling author Carrie Ann Ryan is now available!

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Blurb:

A wedding dress is meant to be worn only once.

When a stranger finds herself in need of a miracle at the last minute, I do the unthinkable: I offer mine to her.

The same one I wore down the aisle for my late husband.

Now I’m invited to the wedding and finding myself wondering why I shut myself away from the world for so long.

I’m only meant to be at the Wilder Retreat for a single day except I go home with not only a job offer, but the promise of something more.

Ridge Wilder is hiding secrets of his own. And the undeniable chemistry between us burns before we even contemplate taking that first step.

Only I’ve already had my happy ever after. I never planned on finding another.

And Ridge is even far more broken than I am—with a past that might come back to haunt us both.

My review:

Amazing! Another Wilder sensational story!

…every moment was precious.  Every moment meant something…You had to hold on to those moments.  Hold on to those pieces.  And then someday you could puzzle them together to figure out who you were and what you craved.

Moments for You is the seventh book in The Wilder Brothers series.  It’s the first of the cousin’s books and starts two years after the Wilder cousins moved to San Antonio and joined forces with their cousins who owned the Wilder Resort.  It’s not necessary to read the series in order but I think it helps to understand the dynamics of the Wilder family.  Besides, the books are so good that once you read one, you will want to read them all!  This is Ridge Wilder and Aurora Lee’s book, and it was a heartbreaking second-chance romance. 

Ridge Wilder was running from his past and needed a place to start over without all the reminders of what he had lost when his pregnant fiancĂ© died.  After the storm that hit and destroyed the resort during the Wilder family reunion, he and his three brothers decided to move to San Antonio and help their cousins rebuild. 

Five years prior, Aurora Lee lost her husband, William, in a car accident.  Her grief weighed heavily upon her, and she knew William would have wanted her to continue with her life.  On the anniversary of their accident, she came across a post of a bride-to-be whose family heirloom wedding dress got stolen.  She felt like helping the bride was the thing to do.  The dress had given her so many wonderful memories and she hoped it would be the same for another couple.  

“You’re going to move in with me and you’re never going to leave.  You’re going to be stitched to my side until the end of days.”

This was such a heartbreaking second-chance romance.  Aurora was such an amazing woman and had such a big heart.  She had struggled after losing her husband so seeing her slowly build her life back was amazing.  Ridge silently grieving the loss of his child and fiancĂ©.  Neither thought they would find love again, so I loved watching their relationship grow.  This was a beautiful second-chance romance of two widows brought together by a wedding dress and I absolutely loved it.

I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

Moments for You is now available on ALL retailers in eBook, Paperback, Special Edition paperback, and audio with Teddy Hamilton and Samantha Brentmoor. It's also on Kobo Plus and Libraries for those who love subscriptions! https://geni.us/MomentsYouChoice    

Keep reading for a look inside Moments For You!

Something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to see the man I met the day before, Ridge. He was on the security team, and a Wilder if I remembered correctly. And the way he had stared at me made my stomach clench. 

Not in a scary way, or perhaps that was a lie. Because something scared me. 

I hadn’t felt that rush in so long that I had forgotten what it was. 

Because that man, even with his harsh angles and growls, was beautiful. Those piercing eyes, that strong jaw. And those muscles? I hadn’t thought of muscles like that in a very long time. 

I was a single woman after all, which was a very weird thing to think. There was nothing holding me back. Except perhaps today of all days wasn’t the time to think of it. 

But when would the time be right? 

He met my gaze and nodded but didn’t smile. He just turned and went back to whatever his job was for the day, leaving me feeling slightly bereft. 

What was wrong with me? 

Music began to play, and I sat back in the bench as the ceremony began. 

A little girl with a beautiful lacy pink dress skipped down the aisle, making everyone laugh as she tossed petals into the air and twirled like she was a ballerina. Then she set the basket down and proceeded to do somersaults to the end. 

A smile broke on my face, pushing through any nerves, and I laughed along with the others, shaking my head as the harried mother came back to pick up her daughter, as well as the basket. 

The little girl waved at everyone over her mom’s shoulder, and I waved back, feeling lighter than I had in years. 

The little boy was next with his ring pillow and was very serious. Left together. Right together. Left together. Right together. 

I hadn’t even realized he was saying that aloud until people were laughing again, and I knew this wedding was going to be full of laughter. 

The bridesmaids followed, meeting up with their escorts at the end as they helped them onto the stage. When the groom’s eyes widened and a single tear fell down his cheek, I turned with the others, my breath catching. 

There was Augusta, her eyes bright and wide and a smile so radiant on her face that she looked as if she were a goddess, coming to grace us with her presence and gift us with joy and love and happiness. 

And her dress. 

It was hers now. It wasn’t mine. I still felt a kick in the gut that reminded me of the promise I had made to William. A promise we had kept but fate had broken. I would love William until my dying days, but as my dress became hers and she walked down the aisle, I knew that this was me saying goodbye to what was and what could have been. 

It was time to make new promises, it was time to breathe again. 

I let my tears freely fall as I watched a woman who, just days ago, had been consumed by panic and loss, marry the man of her dreams in a dress that reflected promises and memories. 

And as they said their I do’s, I wiped tears from my face and looked to the left again and met Ridge’s gaze. He studied my face as everyone cheered and clapped. I nodded back, telling him that I was okay. 

Because okay can mean a lot of things. 

Today wasn’t about me or my memories. Today was about the future. 

And it was time to make that happen.

For more information about Carrie Ann Ryan and her books, visit her website: 

https://carrieannryan.com

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