The Christmas wedding guest

The Somerville sisters are in their Christmas-loving hometown of Wishing Tree, Washington, helping their parents prepare for a vows-renewal wedding. Dena lives in town, works as an elementary teacher, and runs a B & B where her newest guest is the super-attractive rock star Micah. Pregnant after deciding to have a child on her own, Dena didn't expect to find love. Her sister, Reggie, lives in Seattle but is in town for a few weeks. It's her first time back since she was proposed to and then dumped in the same weekend. Now she's reunited with her high-school sweetheart, Toby, who has an eight-year-old son. Mallery's latest quickly and smoothly flows between these four characters as they work through what's preventing them from embracing love. Although the overall tone is sweet and fun, there are carefully handled references to such serious topics as abuse and grief. This two-in-one romance starts a new series that Mallery's (The Stepsisters, 2021) many fans will devour like a Christmas cookie.

Mallery (Summer Days) takes readers to idyllic Wishing Tree, Wash., where two sisters find love over the holidays. Seattleite Reggie Somerville missed last year's family Christmas after being abruptly jilted by her fiancé. This year, she agrees to return to Wishing Tree to help with her parents' upcoming vow renewal ceremony and assist her schoolteacher sister, Dena, with her third graders' knitting project. Also volunteering on the project is Toby Newkirk, Reggie's high school boyfriend, who returned to town to raise his son, Harrison. Their attraction soon rekindles, but Toby isn't sure he's ready for a long-term relationship. Meanwhile, Dena, who's made the choice to be a single mother through artificial insemination, struggles with pregnancy-induced nausea, wrangles her class, and runs the Wishing Tree Bed and Breakfast on the side. Enter the B&B's new guest, musician Micah Ruiz, who's in town working on a song and healing from the death of his pregnant wife in an accident. Though Dena and Micah have an undeniable spark, she's unsure if he's open to love after his devastating loss. Mallery packs in the Christmas spirit, with friends and family coming together to celebrate. The result is alluring, well plotted, and sure to please. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Oct.)