"WHO WILL BE THE NEXT BRIDE?"

Anyone who has rushed to join all the single females at a wedding to catch a chance at the tossed bouquet will love this new anthology. The preamble to the stories is the wedding of Abby Edmonds and Stanley Chenkowski. Abby almost is hesitant to toss her beautiful hand made rose bouquet made for her by her dear friend and neighbor Felicity and then when she does turn her back and do the toss .... it is caught by the ceiling fan and torn and tossed into all directions.

Janet Lee Barton starts off this anthology with my favorite of the group FLOWERS BY FELICITY. Felicity Carmichael knows that after two broken engagements that it is not in God's plans for her to ever be the bride. However she spends her days creating beautiful floral arrangements for other people. She is especially proud of the gorgeous rose bouquet she created for Abby's wedding and seeing it broken and flying through the air, almost drives her to tears. Things only go downhill when the bride's brother, local newspaper owner David uses photos of the event in his Sunday newspaper column. When Felicity approaches David about her possible ruined reputation, he sets out to make things right not only professionally but personally.

Petals of Promise by Diann Hunt introduces us to widow Konnie Strong who is not paying the least bit of attention to the bouquet tossing custom when suddenly she founds herself the owner of part of it. Seconds after catching it, she is overwhelmed with unwanted memories of her own wedding and short marriage but as she tries to dash from the reception, she runs straight into the arms of Rick Hamilton, a friend of Stan's from school. Rick, unlike Konnie, has never known the joys of marriage and has convinced himself that he never will. Join them as they both take a slow and hesitant step into romance.

Another favorite from the group for me was Sandra Petit's ROSE IN BLOOM. The look on Rosey's face might have been priceless when part of the bouquet got to her but the look on the guests faces was even more priceless when she hauled off to throw the bouquet back causing a commotion with another guest which ended up destroying the beautiful cake she had spent hours preparing. Not only does the groomsman Lucas try to cushion her fall, he offers to help her bake another cake for another upcoming wedding as her dislocated shoulder will make it hard to do the job alone. Before long things are heating up in the kitchen for both of them.

Finally Gail Sattler in FLOWERS FOR A FRIEND tells the charming romance of Geoff, Clarissa and Jenni. It seems when Geoff caught a piece of the bouquet at the wedding he decided to offer it up to his tiny neighbor Jenni. Not knowing that he would only intensify the puppy love that she had for him. When Jenni's big sister Clarissa steps in, the three become fast friends. It isn't long before Jenni is discovering boys more her own age and Clarissa is left with eyes only for Geoff. However will his health condition prevent him from making his own walk down the aisle?

I'm not always a huge fan of anthologies however this particular book grabbed my heart from the beginning and I could barely put it down. You'll love seeing how God plays such an important role in each couples life and how it affects the choices they will make for their future.

Reviewed by Shelby Bagby
Posted June 1, 2005