The Marriage Charm is another delightfully heartwarming romance by Linda Lael Miller. This newest installment in The Brides of Bliss County is a beautifully written second chance at love story that old and new fans are sure to love.

Melody Nolan and Spence Hogan have known one another since childhood but their romance years earlier ended with broken hearts for both of them. Thrown together when their good friends Tripp and Hadleigh fall in love, it is obvious to both of them that they still harbor strong feelings for one another. Melody and Spence share one steamy night together, but Melody continues to feel the sting of Spence's long ago rejection and finds it nearly impossible to trust the kind-hearted sheriff.

Melody is content with her life in Mustang Creek until her close friend Hadleigh marries the man of her dreams. She is truly happy for Hadleigh but at the same time, she cannot help but feel a little jealous. When the opportunity arises for Melody to reconnect with Spence, she does not give much thought to what, if any, future the two might have. Melody is still in love with him, but she is not sure trusting him is the smartest move for her.

Small town gossip has painted Spence as quite the player and as far as Melody is concerned, that is another black mark against him. Her jealousy gives him hope that all is not lost for them, but his undeserved reputation comes between them more than once. Luckily for Melody, Spence not only knows what he wants, but he is also willing to do the work necessary to reassure her that he is serious about her. He patiently waits for her to sort through her complicated feelings for him and Spence refuses to become discouraged when Melody keeps him at arm's length.

Despite of Melody's doubts, she and Spence do make progress on their relationship. Both turn to their closest friends for advice and while they may not always like what they hear, they do appreciate the different perspectives. Spence gently pursues her but he does respect her wishes when she asks him to back off. Part of their issues stem from lack of communication while others are a direct result of misinformation. While some of their problems are easier to solve than others, it is the unavoidable overlapping of their lives that really helps them clear up some of Melody's misconceptions about Spence.

The Marriage Charm is a very sweet, fun and sexy addition to The Brides of Bliss County. As always, the characters are easy to like, well-developed and very charming. Linda Lael Miller adds a bit of a suspense element to the plot that helps keep both the story and the series fresh and unique. All in all, a captivating love story that is heartfelt and engaging. ( )

Sweet and humorous pet moments. He's a cop and she's an artist. He broke her heart and nine years later is determined she's his one and only.
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I received an ARC of The Marriage Charm for an honest review. After reading this book I can't wait to go back and read the first in this series. Melody and Spence have a chemistry that floats off the page. Can't wait for the next book in the series. ( )

Good book. Now that Hadleigh has found her true love and married him, it's Melody's turn. Working on Hadleigh's wedding has brought Melody and Spence back together. Nine years ago she and Spence had been a hot and heavy item, or so she thought, enough that she actually proposed to him. She was heartbroken when he turned her down and moved on to pursue other women. Since then she has avoided him whenever possible, something hard to do in a town as small as theirs. Being forced together for the wedding has made her realize that there is still something there between them.

Spence had been in love with Melody back then, but she was only twenty years old. He felt that it would not be fair to her to tie her down, and forced himself to let her go. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done, but he wasn't sure that he was ready either. He then moved on to date a lot of other women, always trying to find someone who could get Melody off his mind. This gained him the reputation of being something of a player. Spending this time with Melody has made him realize that she's the only woman he wants.

Spence is ready to see what they might still have together, and his opening move is a doozy. Melody is pretty ticked by what he does, but by the next day realizes she may have overreacted. I loved watching her screw up her courage and go apologize. What happened then was a bit unexpected, but became the motivation for them to see if they can overcome their past and have a future together.

I liked seeing them realize that they needed to get to know each other again. Melody has to see if she is able to trust Spence again. She's wary of opening her heart up to the risk of being broken again. She has a few instances of jealousy over his past behavior, but his current actions give her hope. Spence knows that it will be an uphill battle to win her trust again and he is determined to do it. He has some ideas that may be a little underhanded, but he hopes they will work.

I really enjoyed their times together, as the heat between them kept things moving along. One of the best things was getting the events from both their points of view. Melody's heart was engaged pretty early, and I enjoyed seeing the way she fell deeper the more they were together. It was especially fun to see the effect the trail ride had on her feelings for Spence. I loved Spence's protectiveness when Melody's house was robbed, and how he used that to get her to come stay with him. Seeing him deal with her cats was especially sweet, and I loved the attitude he got from his fellow cops. I liked being able to see the progression of his feelings as they moved closer to each other. I loved the ending, as Melody screws up her courage to risk it all, but still hangs on to what she really wants.

I loved the obvious friendship between the girls and also among the guys. Melody, Hadleigh and Becca have the sort of friendship that allows great support for each other, but also terrific honesty. I liked seeing Hadleigh and Becca encourage her to give Spence a chance, but also protect her if she wants it. I loved seeing them on the trail ride together. The friendship between Spence and Tripp is long standing, and they have no trouble including the new guy, Trent, into their group. I really loved the conversations between Spence and Tripp, where Tripp freely confesses that anything Spence says will be shared with his wife.

I also enjoyed the other secondary characters, especially Mrs. Arbuckle and Junie. Mrs. A was an interesting woman. I loved her kind of crusty old lady attitude, but she seemed to have a really good heart underneath. I loved her commission for the ring and the reason for it. It was also fun to see her get involved in the robbery mystery and how proud of herself she was. I liked Junie and the relationship she had with Spence. I loved her conspiracy with Melody about the robbery.

The bit of mystery in the story about the robberies that were plaguing the town was very good. At first it seemed like a small, secondary story line to show Spence in his role as police chief. But as it went on, it became an important part of the story. I did suspect the connection pretty quickly, but I didn't guess the perpetrator until the end. I loved seeing everyone get involved in trying to catch the crook. The end was quite satisfactory. ( )

Another one of the Bliss County women finds love. Fans of Linda Lael Miller looking for a light read should enjoy this one. Unfortunately the story seemed to drag and I did not enjoy this story as much as some of her others. Review based on an ARC received from NetGalley. ( )