Normally, I like everything Amy Clipston writes. However, "With This Ring" did not top among my favorites...

As a second-chance romance, we meet Dakota, who has been left behind by Hudson. She stayed in their small hometown and opened a bridal shop after he left for NYC to make his dreams of success come true. The fact that they were engaged and planning a life together didn't seem to make a difference when Hudson left. And now, seven years later, he's come back to foil his little sister's plans to get married.

Of course, given that she owns the only bridal boutique in town, they're doing to run into one another, right? But Hudson is such a pig-headed, know-it-all, white cis-gendered male that he's barely likeable.

And Dakota spends so much time wrapped up in her woes that she can't accept any of the help that's she's offered because of a misguided sense that she has to succeed on her own.

I didn't connect at all with either of the main characters, and there were so many awkward situations that were a bit cringe-worthy that I found myself feeling uncomfortable more often than swoony.

I know Amy Clipston is an author I typically enjoy a lot, and I look forward to reading more of her stories. But this is one I could have done without...

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Fairytale Bridal Shop is a dream come true for Dakota. Her most treasured dream is to help brides find the perfect dress for their perfect day. She dreamed it, worked hard, achieved her dream and it's failing. The building she's in must have grudge against her. Key weddings she invested in cancelled and if that's not enough her former fiancé is back in town making it every so difficult to even think!

Hudson does not want to return to his hometown. He just sold his software company and made a big profit. He's both handsome and rich now. Why does his sister Layla need him now? Things are rocky between them but of course he has to go make sure she doesn't make the mistake of marrying so quickly. How can she even know what she wants? He can derail the situation, he knows best - no problem.

Guess where Layla found her dress? Of course, Fairytale Bridal. She needs Hudson to finish paying for it. Little did he know that Dakota owns the shop. Instant feels between both of them happen. Not all good, but also not all bad.

Things are complicated as Hudson works on his relationship with his sister and with Dakota. Can he heal the relationship with his sister. Does he want to rekindle the relationship with Dakota? Can he help Dakota keep her business?

Will they trust again? Join Dakota and Hudson as they explore their past, their present and their future?

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan fiction for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

I was so excited yet I ended up not enjoying this book. I think the actions the characters did was frustrating me, like if you don’t agree with a wedding don’t offer to pay and then she continues to do things you don’t like and you take it back. Like I get the point is he’s being an ass but also I gotta agree with him not thinking she should rush into this relationship. 3 months is not long enough in my opinion and if you can’t afford the wedding you want then don’t get married yet. What’s wrong with waiting especially when you’re young. So I just feel like my beliefs in this book were just the opposite because what they were saying was wrong is my belief. So characters and writing just frustrated me. I also felt like there was a lot more issues that wasn’t romance. For a romance book the romance really took a backseat and then they just rushed through it, it felt like. I didn’t feel like picking this book up a lot. So I wouldn’t read this again.

ARC/ ALC REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You would think the woman who owns and operates Fairytale Bridal Shop was living her own happily-ever-after. Unfortunately, Dakota Jamison has had more success helping others walk down the aisle than herself. After her high school sweetheart abandoned her for his career, she dedicated her days to building a satisfying life in the small town of Flowering Grove, NC. But when a flood threatens to destroy her business, an unexpected wedding party offers to keep her afloat. Will her second chance at business coincide with her second chance at love, or are both destined to end in disaster?

Amy Clipston’s With This Ring isn’t your average second chance romance. This sweet story tackles the miscommunication trope from a Christian perspective. Thus, its overarching themes focus on forgiveness and new beginnings.

Clipston does a terrific job painting each and every one of her characters (minor and main alike) as human. She acknowledges that they are all flawed in more ways than one and are not immune to having made mistakes. This realistic look at modern love makes this a love story rooted in reality. Readers won’t be able to help but root for love to prevail.

I had the pleasure of consuming this book via multiple medias. Not only did I read an electronic version of this, but I also had the pleasure of listening to it on audiobook. The story is narrated by Brittany Goodwin and she does a terrific job bringing Clipston’s words to life. No matter what format readers choose, they are in for a real treat.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction, Zondervan Fiction Audio, and Amy Clipston for allowing me to read and listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrator(s): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️
Tropes, etc: Second Chance, Miscommunication, Slow Burn, Small Town
POV: Dual, 3rd Person
3rd Act Breakup?: Yes

Brief Summary: After calling off her own happily-ever-after when her fiancé moved to New York, Dakota spends her days running a bridal shop in her small town. When her ex-fiancé returns to town for his younger sister’s wedding, the two start to question if ending things was the right decision.

The Praise: I liked the premise of this a lot and I enjoyed the side characters. And although it frustrated me, the main characters were flawed and realistic.

The Critique: Hudson drove me crazy! Let your sister live her own life, sir! He was so stubborn and it was frustrating to see him acknowledge his flaws but then do absolutely nothing to fix them. I also didn’t love the lack of communication. And it’s nitpicky, but it bothered me how the 3rd person narrator called him “Hud.” Say his actual name!

Final Thoughts: This was fine! I think it could’ve been a 4-star read if the angst was cranked up a bit.

Dakota is a small town girl with a goal of successfully living out her dream as a bridal shop owner. Relationships are pretty much the last thing on her mind. Especially when her dream is falling apart right in front of her eyes.

While struggling to keep her shop afloat, her ex-fiancé just happens to make an appearance back in town. To make matters worst, she’s forced to be around him again as they’re both helping his sister with parts of her wedding.

There were parts of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed and others I didn’t. I found some of the characters to be not enjoyable. Most specifically the MMC. In a way, I understand the way he was written as it does kind of help the story line, still doesn’t make him any less insufferable in my eyes though.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys small town romances and enemies to lovers.

I've read many of Amy Clipston's books, so I knew what to expect with this one: Clean romance, second chance, sweet storyline. What I didn't expect was my inability to connect with the story. I'm not sure if it was the characters, or the setting, or the narrator, or what, but it didn't suck me in like every other Clipston book I've ever read. That's not saying someone else won't love it. I just struggled with it.

When Hudson Garrity left Flowering Grove to pursue his big city dream of starting a software company, he left his small-town girlfriend, Dakota Jamison, behind. Now that he has sold his company, he's made enough to live comfortably and support his sister and the aunt who raised him, but he hasn't found anyone to share his life since Dakota broke their engagement. As he begins searching for what's next, his sister asks him to help plan her wedding. Thinking she's far too young and hasn't known her prospective groom nearly long enough, he rushes back to Flowering Grove intending to do all he can to stop the wedding. Discovering that Dakota owns the bridal shop and is re-making a dress to look like his mother's dress is a blow to his heart. They share the same friends. They share the same church. Has the love the felt for each other years ago really disappeared?

When Hudson left town, Dakota was devastated. Her dream was always to stay in her small town and open a bridal shop, married to her best friend but Hud's dream took him to NYC. His sister's wedding is the one event keeping her store solvent since her insurance company is denying coverage on damage done when the building's old pipes burst. Can she keep the business she loves if Hudson succeeds in getting his sister's wedding stopped?

Fans of Amy Clipston's writing style will enjoy this story. This is contemporary, sweet romance.

Read as an ARC

Have you ever heard the saying "always the bridesmaid, never the bride"? Well, that is in a way true for this book. She is the owner of the local wedding dress shop. He is her high school sweetheart, who moved way to start his own company, and is now own his way back home to stop his sister from getting married too soon.

Dakota Jamison has built a life in her hometown of Flowering Grove where she has bought a small fixer-upper and opened Fairytale Bridal Shop. Dakota’s own fairytale ended when she broke off her engagement with her high school sweetheart, Hudson, many years ago.

Hudson Garrity has just sold his software company but instead of celebrating the deal, he’s headed home to try to stop his sister, Layla, from making a mistake that she’ll regret later. After all, she’s too young to get married. He’s living proof that fairytales don’t exist, and young love only ends in heartbreak. Look at how his life had turned out…

Will it be possible for Dakota and Hudson to co-exist in their hometown?

I really enjoyed this novel, and that Dakota stayed true to herself and her values. It wouldn’t have been easy to have made the decision to stay and not follow Hudson.

I liked the narrator and would listen to other books narrated by the same person.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for allowing me to listen to an ALC of this novel. #NetGalley #WithThisRing

DNF @ 85%
I really liked the premise of the book. Hudson and Dakota and their second-chance/ enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope is cute and they have such tension that is to DIE for. The small town aspect was cute too. However, I couldn't get over how annoying almost every character was about telling Hudson he should support something he didn't want to. I agreed with him, maybe not all his methods, but everyone blaming him and telling him to back down when he was right was not my favorite. I got so far with this book and I really stayed for Dakota and Hudson, but in the end, I couldn't. Definitely try this book out because it has tension, little to no spice, and some moments that got you smiling at paper.

The vibes:
- second chance romance
- Bridal boutique owner + big CEO who returns home for little sister’s wedding
- Small town

I wanted to like this but it wasn’t my jam! It had potential but the conflicts between characters lacked depth and the dialogue felt unnatural and cheesy. The MMC is a successful CEO who returns to his small hometown to visit his little sister who is planning her wedding. There is a lot of conflict between him and his sister and I think the reader is supposed to feel that the MMC is in the wrong but he makes a lot of good points though handled poorly.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a standalone, however it is set in the same town as another one of Amy Clipston books i read a few months ago and therefore there is a brief mention of something from that book "starstruck".
This is a cute romance set in a small town, and it brings back Dakota and Hudson who were high school sweethearts once engaged crashing back together when Hudson decides to try and break up his younger sister's wedding. This book brings together real world problems and characters with real issues which was refreshing. it is a clean romance with very very minimal kissing only. the ending is a bit of an eye roll but we shall let it pass.

With This Ring is a heartfelt & charming romance that drew me in from the very first page. With its blend of popular tropes, including second chance romance, grumpy sunshine dynamics, & small-town charm, it delivered everything I look for in a sweet, feel-good love story. I absolutely love a second chance romance (probably because of mine & my Wife’s story) & this one right here was oh so sweet!

I feel like Amy Clipston did such a great job with the characters in this novel. They were so relatable & it felt like I knew them personally. I especially loved the growth of the main characters, & how they both came to realize they weren't without fault in their relationship. They both had serious growth within the book & I appreciated that their connection remained constant throughout!

The emotional journey of forgiveness & rediscovered love was beautifully written, with plenty of warmth, humor, & chemistry between the main characters. This is a perfect read for anyone who enjoys wholesome love stories with genuine heart & popular romantic tropes.

This book is available now & I highly recommend!

With This Ring
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a really cute heartwarming love story. It was a nice break from high intense reads. I totally enjoyed Dakota and Hudson story. You will want to cheer. It was fresh & fun!
Thank you NetGalley

Amy Clipston at her best!

With this Ring takes you on a journey of healing, growth & trust. Dakota's life changes when her engagement to Hudson is broken off. Both believing different "truths" about their breakup now find themselves back in the same town, 7 years later with both of their lives in upheaval

Can they face their past, bringing healing to their lives and those around them along with trusting in faith? This read brings so much emotion and a page-turner too.

Thanks to Netgalley for my ALC!
I was intrigued by this lovely cover! It's colorful, gorgeous and vivid! And, unfortunately, the buck stopped there.
It was hard for me to like anything else about this story. Let's start with the characters. This was likely the most petulant cast of characters I've ever read about and they were all money driven. 
I went in expecting a romance, but this was the complete opposite. It was just all over the place messy. Wasn't this supposed to be a second chance romance between Hudson and Dakota? Well, there was none. At all. They spent their time either avoiding each other, being rude to each other, or holding their past breakup against each other. I didn't feel any love between them, any spark and I didn't even care if they decided to revisit a second chance together. 
It seems as Hudson's little sister and her upcoming wedding was the central point of the story. Lacey was laced throughout - her wedding, Hudson begging to help her with her wedding, her shutting Hudson down, her wedding dress, it was just too much!
Most of the plot seemed to be based on money. Their whiney attitudes towards the money annoyed me. Here you had: "i have a lot of money, let me pay for this", "I don't care about your money, you can't control me", "i'm mad at you because you wanted money and left our small town", "don't flaunt your money in my face". Ugh, just give me the money and I'll show you how it goes!!!
There was no depth, nothing to grab my attention. It was very slow, very boring and lacking the key element - romance. 
The narration was pretty decent, but not even it could carry this story.

With This Ring is such a sweet and wholesome romance set in a quaint and charming North Carolina town, . The story follows Dakota, a struggling bridal boutique owner and her ex fiance Hudson, who left town years ago after their engagement ended. As they are forced back into each others lives for Hudsons sister Layla's wedding they get to know each other again and we see them work through issues personally and together. This is a very slow burn story with themes of second chance romance, grief, forgiveness, loss and personal growth. While this is romance, it is completely clean with no explicit scenes, while still stirring emotion and pulling you in. I did give this book 4 stars instead of 5 due to the frustration I felt for the characters lack of communication which caused most of the problems in the book. Without this fact the plot would be thin, but I wanted to smack some sense into them for it, especially Dakota. The redemption of both Dakota and Hudson personal growth in learning to open up, ask for help, and communicate their needs came through in the end.
I enjoyed the audiobook version of With This Ring and it was expertly narrated by Brittany Goodwin. Goodwin did an amazing job giving each character a unique voice and personality and I really enjoyed listening to her telling of the story. Excellent choice with Goodwin as narrator!
Shout out to Netgally, Thomas Nelson, and Zondervan Fiction Audio for an ARC of this audiobook.

With This Ring is the second book in Amy Clipston’s Funny Feelings series but it is a standalone story. Dakota Jamison, owner of Fairytale Bridal, is a very talented seamstress and designer who has achieved her dream of having her own bridal store in her small home town of Flowering Grove. But the dream could easily become a nightmare with the burst pipes her landlord insists is her responsibility as per the lease and the damaged goods her insurance company states weren’t covered. Then there is the increase in her mortgage payments.

Dakota is excited about the wedding gown she is creating for Layla Garrity, little sister of Dakota’s ex fiancé Hudson Garrity. When it became clear that Hudson’s big city entrepreneur goals and her small town business owner goals were diametrically opposed, Dakota broke off the engagement and Hudson headed to NYC. Now Hudson is home on the heels of having sold his company for a fortune, but with the express purpose of stopping his sister’s wedding.

With an interesting cast of characters and a well plotted story line, this is another very good novel from Ms. Clipston. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

I don't usually like second chance romance novels. This once was better than the norm. I thought the narrator did a well job. 4 stars

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

EXCERPT: (Dakota) loved helping brides dress for the wedding of their dreams, which was why she opened this boutique. Witnessing the pure joy glowing on her customers' faces when they found the perfect gown felt almost magical. In fact, she eventually wanted to have a place where she could not only sell gowns but also host weddings. An all-inclusive wedding venue with a boutique and a large restored building - such as a barn or an old mill where couples could have their ceremony and reception - would be perfect. Perhaps one day she'd find a farm to purchase, but first she'd need the funds to open the place . . .
Until then, she'd continue to sell gowns and help brides plan their dream weddings and their happily ever afters. After all, she believed in fairy tales for the brides-to-be who shopped with her, although she didn't believe she would ever experience her own. She'd just have to live vicariously through her customers instead.

ABOUT 'WITH THIS RING': Dakota Jamison is living her dream running Fairytale Bridal Shop in her hometown of Flowering Grove, NC. But despite helping others find their Happily Ever Afters, getting married and settling down isn't on her radar. In fact, she decided she'd never get engaged again after Hudson Garrity broke her heart and left her to pursue a career in New York City. Besides, she doesn't have time for a relationship between running her shop and giving roller skating lessons at the local rink.

Hudson Garrity made his dream a reality when he started his own software company in the big city, but now that he's sold it, he's at a crossroads. He's finally made enough money to provide a comfortable life for his younger sister and the aunt who raised them after their parents died. Hoping that a return home will help return his focus, he's instead thrown into family chaos and roped into helping his sister plan her wedding . . . bringing him once more into contact with the one who got away.

As Hudson's sister's wedding date draws closer, he starts to remember how much he loved Flowering Grove and the smalltown life. And as he and Dakota start to wonder what could have been, they reevaluate what went wrong between them.

Will Dakota and Hudson find it in their hearts to forgive each other and forge a new life together?

MY THOUGHTS: With This Ring is my first book by Amy Clipston, but it won't be my last. She really makes you work for the HEA!

There is a lot of conflict in With This Ring, and I mean A LOT! Hudson is at the centre of it all, though maybe not all of it is his fault. He manages to alienate both his sister, her fiancé and his ex-fiancé! Nice going Hud. He had good intentions, but how he expressed them was an epic fail on his part.

Honestly, Hudson and Dakota are just as stubborn as one another and not prepared to explain themselves or their decisions. There is a lot of miscommunication and long held resentment between the two over their breakup years earlier. I'm not usually a fan of the miscommunication trope, but it works well here. I found myself getting equally angry at both Hud and Dakota as the story progressed.

If you are looking for a small town second-chance romance that includes plenty of fireworks, With This Ring is an ideal place to start. It is an entertaining read, and I challenge you NOT to get caught up in the characters' lives.

I was able to read & listen to With This Ring by Amy Clipston, narrated by Brittany Goodwin and enjoyed both formats.

⭐⭐⭐.9

#WithThisRing #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: Amy Clipston is an award-winning bestselling author and has been writing for as long as she can remember. Her fiction writing “career” began in elementary school when she and a close friend wrote and shared silly stories.
Amy works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC, and lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, mother, and five spoiled rotten cats.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and Zonderfan Fiction Audio for providing both an e-ARC and audio ARC of With This Ring, written by Amy Clipston and narrated by Brittany Goodwin for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.