The Gingerbread House by Nell Carson

Title: The Gingerbread House
Author: Nell Carson
Publisher: Montlake Romance (April 6, 2012)
Length: 192 pages
Format: Hardcover (provided by the author)


Description:

After a tumultuous past, Greta Kendall has focused mainly on her bridal shop, located on the first floor of her beloved Queen Anne Victorian near Aspen. For two years she’s fought to save her house from Stephanie Harwood of Harwood Development, who is intent on razing her home to build a new mall. But now Greta’s running out of time. The town council is about to approve the final plans for the mall.

When Gray Daniels walks into her shop, Greta is immediately attracted to his rugged good looks and midnight blue eyes, until she learns he’s Stephanie Harwood’s fiancé. She’s furious to find they’ve tricked her into a publicity stunt aimed at garnering support for the mall. So now her little war has a new front: Gray Daniels. If only she could also fight her growing attraction to him.

A knock on the door brings a return of old danger, and Greta must now put aside her anguish over the house to discover if she’s at last capable of looking the past in the eye and overcoming it—and if she’s finally free to love again.

My Thoughts:

              The Gingerbread House by Nell Carson follows the story of Greta whose beloved Gingerbread house/bridal business is being bought in her small town through imminent domain to make way for a strip mall. Not only does Greta have to fight for her family home and business, but she also has to learn to navigate having a parent with Alzheimer’s. Things get even more complicated when the handsome man that walks into her shop turns out to be the fiancé of the woman trying to ruin her life. Drama and events escalate from here and just get more messy. The Gingerbread House gives a glimpse into Greta’s complicated small town life and shows who she can count on when trouble shows up and things start going south. 

               The Gingerbread House by Nell Carson is a sweet romance story with just a little mystery/drama to keep you interested. Greta is a woman trying to save the last stable thing in her and her mother’s lives. On top of fighting the town council to keep her shop and childhood home she has to deal with her mother’s Alzheimer’s. This lady sure does know how to keep her cool. She never loses it when so many people would. Personally I would have liked to have seen an outburst or two from her. In addition I loved her mother’s character as well. She was sweet and endearing in her bouts of forgetfulness and full of spice and mischievousness when lucid. Despite liking these two characters I really wasn’t a fan of the leading man, Gray. I may just be used to the “tough” guys of other stories, but Gray was too emotional for me to really like his character. The only other thing is I wish I Stephanie’s consequences and the wrap up of her part of the story had been seen. Yes, this story is oozingly sweet and a little romantically implausible at times, but if you are looking for a sweet, wholesome, and clean romance story you should definitely pick up The Gingerbread House by Nell Carson. I give this book a 3 ½ STAR rating.