Mud River Weddings: Novella Collection by Emily Yager {A Book Review}

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own. 

Follow the Walgrave siblings as they find love on the banks of the Mud River in Grygla, Minnesota in the early 1900's.

Every Beat of My Broken Heart – Pine Walgrave believes everyone deserves a second chance. When he meets broken-hearted Della Maie Striech, he sets out to prove friendship can heal anything. Can past mistakes be overcome by a gentle gesture?

My Kind of Crazy – Balsam Walgrave lived life enjoying life as it came. Living for the enjoyment of the day was enough, until a charming neighbor, September Thrain, challenged that there could be more to life.

Love Walked In – Cedar Walgrave had a plan and knew what he wanted to do in life – Falling in love with Nurse Florentina Duerr was not one of them. Will the Influenza epidemic ruin his new plans?

Hear My Voice – Lindon Walgrave has spent her life quietly caring for her siblings, when Anton Duerr’s surprise marriage proposal with the purpose of needing a mother to help care for his young family. Can she accept a loveless marriage to feel useful again?

Stead My Heart – Oak Walgrave is haunted by dark memories and struggles to get back into normal life after the war. He doesn’t feel he deserves to find happiness; that is until February Thrain shows him kindness and that everyone has their own regrets.

Falling Slowly – Ash Walgrave has known the troublesome Danny Barr her entire life. When a misunderstanding happens, and she gets into trouble, he was the last person she ever expected to help her out of her mess.

As a farm girl who grew up in Northern Minnesota, Emily has always loved the history and even slight mystery that surrounded her; and enjoy the beautiful summers that the Land of Lakes offers. As a kid, she was always making up stories about these places in an attempt to explain what theses places really meant and explore the lives of the imaginary people that lived there. She continues to create these stories.

Don't you just love a novella? Sometimes, life can get quite busy and you just don't have the time to sit and read a full novel... novellas are perfect for those moments! This particular collection features 6 novellas--- each telling the story of one of the 6 Walgrave siblings. While it would take entirely too long to dig into what made each novella good on it's own, here's what you need to know about Mud River Weddings as a whole:

First and foremost, the Walgrave family is absolutely delightful. They are loud and perhaps a little inappropriate considering the times... but it was hard not to like them anyway. Let's be honest, we ALL know families like that, don't we? Perhaps for many, it's even your own family. From their very first introduction, I enjoyed these characters... imperfect though they may be. Each novella tells the love story...and the wedding story for each sibling. So, while each novella is separate, switching to the point of view of that particular sibling, they do all go together too. Where one finishes up, the other picks up--- yes, that means we get more time with each of the characters throughout too!

The downside to novellas of course comes in that they can often feel a little bit rushed... there's just not enough time to go into as much detail as you'd get from a full length novel. While I would have perhaps enjoyed these stories even more if they were more fully developed into their own full length novels, I still enjoyed them nonetheless.

If you enjoy historical romance and are looking for something that will be short and sweet, this is a good one to check out.