The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard Dilallo

Title: The Christmas Wedding
Author: James Patterson and Riachard Dilallo
Series: Stand Alone
Published By: Little Brown and Co. (Oct. 17, 2011)
Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Goodreads Description:
The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died five years ago, Gaby's children have drifted apart, each one preoccupied by the turbulence in their own lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married-and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day—she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.
But the wedding isn't Gaby's only surprise—she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their lives forever. With deeply affecting characters and the emotional twists of a James Patterson thriller, THE CHRISTMAS WEDDING is a fresh look at family and the magic of the season.

My Review:
I have loved James Patterson's other contemporary romances in the past and was so excited to see that he finally came out with another one. I have been waiting two years for him to write another one so, needless to say my expectations for this book may have been a little high.
Maybe, sadly, a little too high.
I was a little disappointed with this one. Maybe it was the wait or the anticipation that made me a little disappointed with it. Maybe it was the fact that this didn't even really seem like a romance so much as a telling of a family. Their hardhsips and struggles and their strengths and weaknesses, their life than anything else.
Either way, I was in fact slightly disappointed with this book.
Now, don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad story, in fact it was rather good and even a little heartwarming and touching but it just.....wasn't what I hoped it would be.
Maybe I was looking for more of a Nora Roberts type story, I don't know.
The writing was good and the story itself was done well. I even loved the family but I just didn't feel that connection to any of them that I love to have with characters in the books that I read. I didn't find myself really caring who Gaby picked in the end and that just made me a little sad.
If you are a fan of Patterson's romances then I would suggest giving this one a try too, I just wouldn't put it up on a pedestal and hope it is as good as the others because, it just didn't compare.