Kendall Walsh was on the path to becoming an Olympic skier, but the plan was scrapped after a career-ending injury. Now she’s pivoted to wedding planning to help bring in the business that her family’s struggling ski resort desperately needs. When her mischievous foster puppy makes a break for the five-tiered wedding cake at the first wedding she coordinated, Brody James steps in at the last second to save the day (and the cake).

Brody James: Olympic skier, her brother’s best friend, and her first crush. He’s in town for reasons she doesn’t quite believe and stirring up feelings that Kendall thought she had put to rest. As the pair work together to breathe new life into an old lodge on the resort’s property, they start to realize that, though they may not be where they want to be, they might just be exactly where (and with who) they need to be.

This return to Pine Hollow feels a little detached from the rest of the series as it takes place mostly at the resort and not within the city proper—which is not a complaint! It’s fun to be able to see characters that we know and love from the previous books in a new setting and a new light and Shane has mastered the art of the interconnected stand-alone. It’s a fun change of pace to head to the slopes in this story and escape (a little bit!) from all the gossip of the city.

Of course, our main characters get their happily ever after (this is a capital r Romance after all!), but it’s also lovely to see there are happily ever afters for other kinds of relationships in this story as well! Both Kendall and Brody have strain in their familial relationships (in very different ways) and Shane does a good job of not only portraying the struggles but the resolution as well. Not only that, but their respective relationships with skiing evolves throughout the story and can easily be translated to anything that someone is passionate about to make it super relatable.

If you’re anything like me, you have been waiting (maybe not-so-patiently!) for a certain pair to find their way to each other and it truly feels like this book needed to happen first. Shane masterfully plants Easter eggs to tease what’s to come while still staying true to the overall Pine Hollow story throughout. Not only do we get a bit of a glimpse into the future, but Shane also allows us to take a peek at where the characters from the first four books are now. 

FOUR WEDDINGS AND A PUPPY is the fifth book in Lizzie Shane’s Pine Hollow series and it’s available now. Click here to grab a copy for yourself and, if you don’t already have them, grab a copy of each of the other books in the series as well: THE TWELVE DOGS OF CHRISTMAS, ONCE UPON A PUPPY, TO ALL THE DOGS I’VE LOVED BEFORE, and PRIDE & PUPPIES. (And stayed tuned for the next installment LIKE CATS & DOGS later this year!)

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review. If you purchase a copy using my Bookshop affiliate link above, not only will I receive a small commission (which will fuel my coffee and tea addiction and help to keep me up all night reading more books to recommend to you), but you will be supporting indie bookstores as well! If you prefer Amazon, visit my Amazon storefront and click on the list titled "2024 Book Recommendations."

Karin
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