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?

Springtime Sunshine is two books, Marriage of Inconvenience and Stand-in Wife are the two books that were included this audiobook. Debbie Macomber has given listeners to this audiobook a wonderful pair of books to enjoy. The narrator Liza Zimmerman did a magnificent job.
Marriage of Inconvenience is the story of Rich and Jamie. They have been friends for years. When Jamie decides she would like a baby she turns to Rich and asks if he is willing to go along with this idea. What a wonderful audiobook this was to listen to as I relaxed. I am a huge Debbie Macomber fan, and this gave me more of her writing talents.
Stand- in Wife was one that really tugged at my heart as I listened. The thought of Leah losing a sister and seeing the grief her brother-in-law Paul was going through made them both feel that Diane would want her family she left behind to be happy.
Thank you NetGalley, Debbie Macomber and Harlequin Audio for the copy of the audiobook Springtime Sunshine. This is my personal review.

Debbie Macomber is a new author to me, and I was thrilled to be approved for the audiobook. However,I didn't finish the book. Rich's quick temper, jealousy, and controlling behavior made me feel very uncomfortable. I have several friends who enjoy Debbie Macomber's books, so I would like to try one of her other books in the future.

Happy tears and well crafted tales, Debbie Macomber is a master storyteller. No exception with these short stories.

In true Debbie Macomber style, these sweet stories show the intricacies of the human condition and how our learning to love and trust are the backbones of good relationships. Gentle friends to lovers trope woven throughout.

For me, some of the characters were difficult at times (specifically Rich in his quick anger and jealousy in the early relationship) but overall I enjoyed all the MCs. The author took common life scenarios and wove them into rich stories that left me feeling content. The stories were warm and entertaining but a little predictable in their plotting and endings.

Overall rating 3.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this previously released novel in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

Marriage of Inconvenience: What in the major red flag chauvinist behavior BS did I just read!? I have whiplash from Rich’s aggressively juvenile mood swings. Honestly, both Rich and Jamie behaved like petulant teenagers. I understand it was originally released in 1992 (1st book in the series), but it’s just so awful, I cannot understand why it’s been re-released by Harlequin Audio in 2025.

Stand-In Wife: Book 2 in this series, published in 1995. Better than the first, but still with the overly dramatic, indecisive characters and a marriage of convenience (of sorts).

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so boring that I could not finish it. The writing was incredibly basic and the narrator’s reading style didn’t make it any better.

This is two early Debbie Macomber books put into one book. I had the enjoyment of listening to these stories on audiobook. They are somewhat dated however they are still good stories. The narrator did a great job. If you are looking for something quick and easy to listen to then you will enjoy this audiobook.

this is two stories by Debbie Macomber. as always a great story, I would perfer to read in book form, but this was a good audio version.

A two for 1 bargain. These are earlier works bundled into one book. Marriage of Inconvenience - Marriage of Inconvenience was a nice start to The Manning Sisters spin-off series, Those Manning Men. In Stand-In Wife, Leah Baker’s sister, Diane, dies. Diane leaves behind her husband, Paul, and three small children. Paul struggles to care for his family while working full-time. Leah steps in, helping whenever she can. Leah finally decides to quit her job and move in with Paul and his family. She wants to do this because she wants to care for her sister’s children. Since their mother is gone, they are struggling to adjust to their lives without their mom. Rich is a wonderful guy and a great friend to Jamie. He's known her since they worked together on the high school year book where they constantly butted heads, but once they worked through those differences, they became the best of friends. Rich has always been there for Jamie. He's the one person she knows she can call day or night if she needs someone to share her problems or help her out. Rich is very responsible and doesn't take Jamie's proposal to father her child lightly. I liked that he refused to simply be a sperm donor, but instead wanted to be involved every step of the way in the process. He also refuses to let Jamie bear the entire burden of pregnancy and raising a child alone. He wants to be a true father in every sense of the word and for that I admired him. The realization that he'd been in love with Jamie for a long time kind of sneaks up on him, but once he figures it out, he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wants to be a permanent part of her life if she'll let him. These are clean and light reads following a series of brothers. 3.5 rounded up. If you are looking for a light read these might be for you. Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity.

I absolutely loved this book!! You get 2 books in one!! How can you neat that? Debbie Macomber is one of the best writers I absolutely love everything she writes!! Pick this book up today you will not be disappointed!!

I have been a LONG time fan of Debnie Macomber. My mom read her books and introduced them to me. I have reviewed many on here, as well as tweeting a thank to her directly after reading A Girls Guide to Moving On, so it TRULY breaks my heart to say this.

In the world that we live in, the re-publishing/re-packaging of these books just feel very discouraging and damning to females. It feels absolutely nothing like the woman who wrote The Forgetful Bride and The Girls to Moving on to name a few.

In Marriage of Inconvenience Jamie claims there is something wrong Bill because he was divorced. Bill thinks similar of Jamie for her age and still being single. Rich says some very 1950s style things to Jamie like of "kids deserve two parents" and "i don't want my child born a bastard" etc. If my siblings and I had continued to "live with 2 parents" I don't think we'd still be alive. 2 parents doesn't always mean "the best". So much of this I listened to sped up because I was so uncomfortable and heart broken by the antiquaited ideals and I kept hoping for redemption to get none. Rich calling his brother Paul who gave the stellar advice of women expecting men to read their mind and if his wife tries to seduce him for another child and he ignores her advances by "not making love with her, I'm the one that suffers" VOMIT. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

I made it BARELY 2 chapters in to Paul's story (wow, someone I totally wanted to know more about after his absolutely wonderful first appearance *hard eye roll*) before I had to make the choice to stop putting myself through this. Side note, the narrator said Paul's twins were born 6 months premature and I don't know if that is correct. Seems WAY too young to me but I'm not a medical expert.

I will always LOVE and appreciate my favorite Debbie books but this is so not it for me. With the climate we are currently living in in 2025 it just perpetuates the ideals that women need men, women are too emotional and women need to apologize for all these things. I'm truly broken and discouraged after this.

Debbie Macomber does not have a bigger fan than me. I just finished listening to Springtime Sunshine. As I expected, I loved it.

This book contains two book originally published in 1992. They are sweet romances and can be read by any age reader. The stories are unsophisticated and simple to follow.

I listened to the audio version and the narrator was quite good.

Springtime Sunshine is two books in one. Both books have the same characters but each book is about a different Manning brother. Each book is told from the main characters point of view flipping between the man and the woman in each story. Both stories have some conflict as they are each dealing with different relationship issues. It is a light-hearted book. I enjoyed listening to this audio while I was driving and also while doing other activities like crocheting.

Well first off. The totally didn’t pay attention to that this book is not one but two books in one

It starts off with one couple and the aspiration that they would like to do in life. And then leads us into another couple

I thought this was quite a sweet book and would like to recommend if you would like to relax into a gentle read.

This book does deal with a death after pregnancy. But if you are ok with that I would definitely recommend this book to you