Alice J. Wisler. A Wedding Invitation. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2011.

When Samantha Bravencourt misinterprets a wedding invitation and lands up at a stranger’s nuptials in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, she’s embarrassed and annoyed. Still, the trip gives Sam the chance to visit her eccentric Aunt Dovie, and to get away from working in her mom’s D.C. fashion boutique. What she doesn’t count on is the past returning to haunt her with a vengeance.

When Samantha last saw Lien Hong , it was nearly a decade earlier, and Lien was Sam’s student at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center near Manila. In 1985, many Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian families were trying to immigrate to the United States. The teachers at the PRPC taught them English and American culture, attempting to ease their transition. Now Lien and her family are in Winston-Salem, and she is thrilled to find Samantha. Sam isn’t sure how she feels about their reunion. Lien was a handful then, and obsessed with the man Sam had a crush on–her handsome fellow teacher, Carson Brylie, also a North Carolinian. Carson broke Sam’s heart, and she would rather not be reminded of him or this part of her past.

But she doesn’t have much choice when Carson hears about her presence, and calls. Soon he’s back in her life, and as confusing as ever. Sam doesn’t know what Carson wants, but she does know that she won’t be so fast to give away her heart a second time. Unfortunately, since Lien needs both Sam and Carson’s help badly, Sam can’t avoid him. The young Vietnamese is an Amerasian: the daughter of a Vietnamese woman and an American G.I. Ridiculed and stigmatized, Lien’s mother gave her up to relatives as a baby, and fled. Now Lien is getting married, and wants to find her birth mother more than anything. As Samantha and Carson spend more and more time together in an effort to unite a family, Sam learns that the surest path to happiness lies in learning to trust herself, others, and God once more.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

 

4 Comments

Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Forsyth, Piedmont, Religious/Inspirational, Romance/Relationship, Wisler, Alice J.

4 Responses to Alice J. Wisler. A Wedding Invitation. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2011.

  1. Thanks for adding my novel to this site! I hope you’ll read my other novels, all set in North Carolina.

  2. Elizabeth DeBold

    Hi Ms. Wisler,

    Thanks so much for your comment! I’m happy to say that we have summaries of three of your other novels already posted:

    Hatteras Girl
    How Sweet It Is
    Rain Song

    Please don’t hesitate to let us know if there are any that we’re missing. We like to keep this blog as up-to-date as possible, and rely greatly on readers and authors to let us know when they have new novels out, or to alert us of things they’ve seen that we don’t have.
    Thanks so much for the enjoyable novels!

  3. I have to admit, I do research for wedding related subject matter with a emphasis on wedding cakes; so the title threw me for a loop. However, after reading reviews on Amazon I had to take a deeper look into the introspective workings of the characters. I was completely amazed by Alice’s ability to protray the deep sense of reality and the relational value to the reader. I for one grew as a writer and gained valuable insite for an edge to effectively relate to my women audience.

  4. All wedding related material gratefully noted and reviewed at our blog. I’ll be picking up a copy of this as soon as possible. Thanks for the heads up and nice to see the author in the comments!
    Jess (Ed.) at http://getmarriedtips.com