These are two short Romance stories. I normally love Debbie Macomber's book. I listen to the audiobook for this book. This book has characters that just do not talk to each other a lot which I really do not like. I hate when the whole book is a misunderstanding just because the two main characters are not talking about the problems. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

This title offers two books in one. Overall I gave it three stars because both novels made me cringe a bit in different ways, but they were well written and provided an entertaining listen.

Marriage of Inconvenience: Rich and Jamie are best friends, both have been cheated on by their significant others and are there for each other in the fall out. For Jamie, she decides to quit dating and take her future into her own hands, she is going to have a baby. Rich doesn't think this is a good idea, but when Jamie ask for his sperm, he can't fathom the idea of her having a child with anyone else, so he decides to help her but according to his terms, he will be involved, he will be financially responsible and the baby will have his last name through marriage. Thus starts a marriage of convenience with an exit plan that quickly turns inconvenient as they realize they have feelings for each other.

I greatly enjoyed the premise of this story but Rich's character gave me red flag vibes, he really needed anger management classes or therapy to work through better ways of handling his erratic emotions. Both characters could have save a LOT of trouble through communication. I would have rather seen them be open and honest with their feelings much sooner and worked through it all in a healthy and adult way.

Stand-in Wife: The positive's - this story was well written and made the best of a difficult situation but I could not get past the timeline of the love story considering the MMC and FMC's relationship to each other. It felt cringe on so many levels, despite good intentions. I understand this book was written decades ago and is being re-released, but even with the provisions made to make the relationship feel better, it didn't work for me. (Avoiding spoilers)

Springtime Sunshine had too great novels I enjoy them. I like that both of novel similar theme about marriage of inconvenience. I think that Rich and Jamie truly loved each other since high school but true love right in front of them for so many years. All though I like Paul and Leah 's story ,and I though that Leah just doing what sister ask to. I believe that no real true between them. Well, They were very good reads. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this are completely my own.

Two stories in one book and they intertwine as each story is about a brother and their “not so normal wedding “.

I really like the premise behind both of these stories. They were not your typical Macomber style. I liked that they were both a bit different as they were not the usual boy meets girl and falls in love. I was vested and wanted to hear the outcome, my only issue was the miscommunication trope was way overdone in both, to the point of almost being aggravating. I needed more depth f the resolve after the miscommunication.

Debbie Macomber definitely is a feel good author, but these two stories didn’t do it for me. I felt as if the characters were very self deprecating, unrealistic, and at times quite rude lol there were some cute parts but overall just wasn’t for me.

As the name states, this book is a ray of sunshine! Absolutely adorable and I loved listening to every minute of it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Typical sweet stories by this author. Nice that there are two stories friends to lovers and second chance love. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, the author did a great job with the voices of the characters. Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions expressed are my own. #SpringtimeSunshine

Springtime sunshine is a collection of 2 short stories. Both were an easy read, a story you pick up and read in one setting. Both of these were just that for me. Something relaxing and enjoyable after a rough day at work.
I did love that the characters in both stories intertwined. This keeps the story going for me. Love always wins even during those challenging times!
If you are looking for a short, easy, happy ending I would highly recommend this… 5 stars in that catagory!

Springtime Sunshine is a delightful compilation of two short novels by seasoned author Debbie Macomber. These stories revolve around the eldest and youngest Manning brothers as they stumble upon love that’s actually right before their eyes.

In Marriage of Inconvenience, good friends Jamie Warren and Rich Manning, have each had disappointing relationships in the past and have reached their early thirties. They both want children but there’s no future partner in sight. With an internal clock counting down, Jamie proposes they share the DNA for a child through artificial means, but Rich’s counter proposal is that they marry and share the experience, even if the DNA is shared artificially they will each share in the pregnancy, birth, and raising of the child, but without being a real couple. The only issues are meddling families and miscommunication.

In Stand In Wife Paul Manning is destroyed when his wife Diane succumbs to complications from childbirth and toxemia leaving behind a newborn daughter and twin sons. If it weren’t for Diane’s sister Leah and Paul’s family stepping in to help there’s no telling how the broken family would have survived the first six months after Diane’s passing. But now Leah is ready to do even more by taking leave from her teaching position at the community college. Her proposal is to care for her sister’s family like Diane had asked her to in a dream. But will the lines blur as they raise Paul’s children together?

These two dynamic tales by a consummate author are reflections of an earlier time, but there is nothing simpler about it. Filled with well drawn characters and dealing with people going through difficult circumstances, these stories will entertain the readers. I did enjoy this compilation and would recommend it!

Springtime Sunshine is 2 books in one. In the past I have enjoyed Debbie Macomber books. I really could not get past how chauvinistic Rich was in the first book. So many red flags that I was literally yelling the words Red Flag. I enjoyed the second book a little more but it was still very conservative in the message it was giving me I felt. Both books were all about the main characters having to get married. No one not even in the 90s when these books were originally written had to get married.

Debbie Macomber delivers a great love story. You feel like you are there with the characters. Remembering the insecurities of past love developing and not enough communication to keep the butterflies and anxiety of it. “Will he or she be the one” feelings?
In this special release, you get two wonderful love stories. I chose to do audio as that is my favorite way to indulge while doing driving, housework, or craft projects at the same time. This narrator, Lisa Zimmerman, was excellent in pace and character depiction. Voice changes and emotional input were very well done.
The stories are each about love right in front of you but familiarity or fear has blinded you from recognizing it. I felt the pain of fear and anxiety the women and men of the stories felt it was so well done.
I do recommend these stories for the romantic reader.
Thank you Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for this audio recommendation this book is my personal opinion. Debbie Macomber is always producing great reads. Well written, heartfelt, and insightfully done.

I love that Debbie Macomber has easy reads and keeps me coming back for more. They’re very cute and very tasteful.

Marriage of Inconvenience:
Debbie Macomber delivers a light and enjoyable read with Marriage of Inconvenience, a classic marriage-of-convenience story blended with the friends-to-lovers trope. While the premise had promise, the story didn’t completely pull me in.

Lisa Zimmerman’s narration was solid, bringing the characters to life in a way that made the book easy to listen to. The story itself was entertaining, a quick read that delivered exactly what it promised—but it didn’t leave a lasting impact. I didn’t dislike it, but I also didn’t love it. It was one of those reads that was enjoyable in the moment but didn’t linger with me afterward.

If you’re looking for a short, simple romance with a familiar and comforting trope, this is a good pick. But if you’re looking for something with more emotional depth or a story that really grabs you, this one might not fully deliver.


Stand-In Wife:
Lisa Zimmerman’s narration was great—I really enjoyed her performance, and she made the story easy to listen to. As for the book itself, it was a short, easy read, but there were a few things I struggled to get behind.

The biggest issue for me was the premise: he marries his late wife’s sister, and no one seems to care! It just didn’t feel realistic. It was both weird and somehow totally accepted by everyone in the story, which made it hard for me to buy into. The romance also moved way too fast and didn’t feel developed enough to be truly believable.

That said, it was still a good story overall, and I didn’t mind it too much—I just didn’t love it.

Debbie Macomber is known for her simple romances and two of her books wrapped up in one audiobook seems nice. I do not think it worked very well. In fact, I do not feel the audiobook format fits the two stories at all. Both books are narrated by Kim Zimmerman and in my opinion there should be separate narrators for each story. Zimmerman is stronger in her narration of the first book, MARRIAGE OF INCONVENIENCE. She establishes a nice flow in her narration and consistency in the voices of the characters. Her narrative voice for male characters is very strong and her narrative voice for female characters is solid. However, since she narrates both books, the voices lack distinction. While listening it is clear she makes a strong attempt to be distinctive. Yet again, I think use of two different narrators would have made the audiobook more enjoyable.

The books themselves lack action and movement in each story. No matter which of the stories I was listening to I felt bored and struggled to stay engaged. There is nothing physically happening to make the stories move forward. For the most part, the stories are the characters thinking everything over and over again in their heads. The thoughts of each character are very repetitive and lack in substance, Again, I struggled to stay engaged in the audiobook. Also, I did not feel an overabundance of romantic feelings. Yes, the stories are romances but the stories lack the true feel of the romance.

The books are easy to read, simply romance stories. I feel both books would be best read by the reader. I would not recommend the audiobook. In addition, I did not even enjoy the narration by Kim Zimmerman enough to recommend the audiobook. I would only recommend the books in ebook format.

Springtime Sunshine by Debbie Macomber is narrated by Lisa Zimmerman . First story massage of inconvenience where Jamie Warren asks her best friend Rich Manning to father a child for her because her time clock is ticking. He agrees under one condition, they must marry.
Second story is about Leah Baker who lost her sister in childbirth . She was married to Paul Manning. Leah decides to move in to help Paul with the 3 small children. In both of these stores so much miscommunication, misunderstandings and back in fourth I love you, do you love me, he must not love me….it has my head whipping. It was just okay for me. Thank you to #NetGalley, #harlequin audio for this arc book. These options are mine alone.

I enjoyed the first story more than the second one. Though both started to bore me towards the end. The women in these stories seemed weak.

Springtime Sunshine by Debbie Macomber offers two heartwarming and delightful romance stories that will leave listeners with a smile. Both tales explore the sweet, surprising paths to love, where couples discover that sometimes love has been right in front of them all along.

In Marriage of Inconvenience, Rich Manning and Jamie Warren have been close friends for years, but when Jamie asks Rich to father her child, their relationship takes an unexpected turn. Rich agrees on the condition that they marry, and through their arrangement, both begin to experience new, tender feelings for each other. The chemistry between the two is undeniable, and the story beautifully explores how love can blossom from an unexpected place. The charming dynamics of their growing relationship are both heartwarming and full of passion.

In Stand-In Wife, Leah Baker steps in to help her late sister’s family, caring for her widowed brother-in-law Paul Manning and his three young children. As Leah becomes a more permanent fixture in their home, her bond with Paul deepens, and they begin to navigate their feelings for each other. Their slow-burn romance, built on shared grief and newfound hope, is full of genuine emotion. Paul’s determination to show Leah that their love is real adds depth to their tender journey.

The audiobook narration brings Macomber’s characters to life with warmth and sincerity, perfectly complementing the gentle, uplifting tone of the stories. The pacing is ideal for a cozy, feel-good listen, making this collection a great choice for anyone looking to relax with two sweet, heartwarming romances.

Springtime Sunshine is a charming audiobook that blends friendship, family, and romance in a delightful way. If you're in the mood for a feel-good listen with lovable characters and heartwarming love stories, this is the perfect pick.

I’ve read other Debbie Macomber books and enjoyed them. So I was excited for these. Apparently this is just a republication of older books. I’m not sure if they weren’t on audio before but are now. I enjoyed the narrator. I honestly didn’t love either story though. The first one started out weird with the main characters deciding to have a baby together and the man said they had to get married. The other book was sad but also it was odd for a widower to fall in love with his dead wife’s sister. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an arc in exchange for my review.

Springtime Sunshine contains the first two books Those Manning Men series: Marriage of Inconvenience and Stand-in Wife. Both were originally published in 1992 and then released as a set in 2008.

Marriage of Inconvenience made me very angry - I was so angry that I couldn't even think about going back to it without getting angry all over again. I did not like the main character Rich at all. I think he was abusive - his short fuse was scary and I didn't like how he treated Jamie. I know things were different in the 90s and the whole "no means no" was just gaining prominence but Rich's attitude about sex rubbed me wrong. He also confuses lust and love but I know that is often how it goes in romance novels.
What really made me mad was that he wanted the wife and kid without the work of building a relationship. Jamie wants a baby, and because she rather not have a stranger as the father, Rich takes advantage of her desperation. He makes thin excuses about the stigma of a baby born out of wedlock (though his concern is for the baby's reputation and not Jamie's) and that the baby won't have his last name if they are married. A baby gets whatever last name that you put on the birth certificate and I think by the 1990s the stigma of a divorcee or single mother would be about the same as a baby born out of wedlock.

I'm not sure how well their relationship will stand the test of time as we know that a relationship focused on the children rarely lasts after the children leave home. We do get a glimpse of Rich and Jamie in the next book.

Stand-in Wife was better than the first book in the duet. Paul is much more mature than Rich. Even though he has an unconventional marriage with Leah, he at least makes an effort to court her.

Leah is the sister of Paul's first wife who died during childbirth. Leah moves into Paul's home to help with the children. Because the Mannings believe marriage solves everything, Paul's parents encourage Leah and Paul to get married (that way she will have health insurance - that's the reason Paul's dad gives anyways).

Paul and Leah seemed to recognize that there needed to be more to their relationship than the kids so I have higher hopes that their marriage will survive.

The audiobook was easy to listen to. The cast of characters is pretty small and is mostly focused on the main two characters. Both books are read by Lisa Zimmerman and she gave the characters their own unique voices.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Wednesday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2025/03/springtime-sunshine-by-debbie-macomber.html

This book is the connotation of two books in a series by Debbie Macomber called The Manning Grooms. In the first story, Jamie decides that her love life is t giving her the life she dreams of and so she decides to give it to herself through artificial insemination and who better to ask for the goods than her hunky childhood best friend, who is also unattached. Can you see where this is going?
The second book is about a Manning brother who was living the life of his dreams until his wife dies from postpartum complications after the birth of their daughter. With toddler twin boys already at home, a brand new baby girl, a dead wife, and a career, this Manning brother has his hands full. Then his bride's sister offers to help out. See where this is going?