Hope Stevens is called to Wedding Tree, LA to help her grandmother clear out her home so that she can move closer to family in an assisted living facility. Grandma Addie proceeds to tell Hope the love story of her true love during WWII and the subsequent actions that resulted.

I read this book for my ladies Book Club. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. It seemed very typical and didn't really have any great substance to the tale - just same old, same old. ( )

4.5 stars.

The Wedding Tree by Robin Wells is a captivating tale of love, loss, forgiveness and healing.

At loose ends following the collapse of her marriage and the loss of her business, Hope Stevens volunteers to help her grandmother Adelaide sort through her belongings before moving into assisted living. Needing to find answers about an incident from her past, Adelaide recounts a long ago romance with a dashing World War II pilot and the events that led to her marriage to her late husband, Charlie. In between her duties for her grandmother, Hope works on the mural she is painting for Adelaide's next door neighbor, Matt Lyons, a widowed father of two young daughters. Despite their inauspicious first meeting, she and Matt begin dating, but with Hope planning to return to Chicago once her grandmother moves, will their romance end in heartbreak?

Although Hope loved spending summers with her grandmother in Wedding Tree, LA, she and her late mother, Becky, lived permanently in Chicago. Following her mother's unexpected death three years earlier, Hope rushed into marriage only to have her heart broken when she finds out her husband is cheating on her. With her confidence shaken by her misjudgment of the man she loved, her self-esteem is also low due to her ex-husband's dismissive and derisive comments about her artwork. Spending time with her grandmother is a balm to her wounded spirit and with Adelaide's gentle encouragement, Hope is excited about her upcoming project painting a mural for Matt's daughters.

World War II afforded Adelaide the unheard of opportunity to take a job working in the dark room of a newspaper after her high school sweetheart, Charlie, goes off to war. Excited to finally get out from under her parents' watchful eye, Adelaide enjoyed volunteering for the local USO where she eventually meets and falls in love with pilot Joe Madison. Her whirlwind romance comes to an abrupt end when Joe ships out for the Pacific and when the unthinkable happens, she reluctantly marries Charlie and returns to Wedding Tree. Their marriage is tempestuous and veers wildly between seething resentment and periods of contentment. However, Adelaide is haunted by a long ago incident and with the uncertainty of what happened now weighing heavily on her mind, she is hoping that Hope will be able to help her find the answers she is searching for.

Matt is through the worst of his grief by the time he meets Hope but he is still taken off guard by his attraction to his lovely neighbor. Hope is the complete opposite of the women he usually dates and he is surprised by how easy she is to talk to. Their friendship gradually transitions to dating but with both of them aware she is only in town temporarily, they agree to keep things casual between them. Matt soon realizes he has become emotionally invested in their relationship but Hope continually deflects his efforts to discuss their future. Hope is afraid to risk her heart but will Matt convince her to change her mind?

Written from alternating points of view, The Wedding Tree by Robin Wells is a heartwarming and uplifting novel that is quite riveting. The characters are vibrantly developed and immensely appealing. With plenty of small town charm and an intriguing storyline, this powerful story of healing is sure to be a hit with readers who enjoy multi-generational family sagas. ( )

I absolutely LOVED this story!! The characters were so great. Many profound insights from Adelaide about life. The present day love story was so sweet and the long ago tale Adelaide told was heartbreaking but very interesting. I did not want to stop reading. Highly recommend. ( )

I've never read anything by Ms. Wells before, but she can weave a beautiful love story that will keep you riveted to your seat.

Adelaide is a 93 yr old widow who's fallen from a ladder and suffered a nasty bump on her head. They were worried she may not make it. But she did, but it was decided that she wouldn't be able live by herself any longer. Her son and granddaughter will need to go through her things and help clear her home out so they can sell it. She has kept almost everything she has every had because they all have memories for her. Adelaide will be going California to live near her son.

Hope her only grandchild, whose mother Rebecca was killed in a car accident a few years back is going to stay and help her grandmother get all her affairs in order. She lives in Chicago and just went through a nasty divorce and lost everything so she really doesn't have much to go back to. She's always spent her summers with her grandmother and loves Wedding Tree, LA.

Adelaide needs to get some old secrets out before she will be able to die in peace. She needs to tell mainly, Hope. So when she comes home from the hospital she starts telling Hope these secrets that she's held for so long. It's really a summary of her life's story. It's absolutely beautiful, but it changes so many things. At first, Hope's not sure about the state of her grandmother's mind because the stories are way back in the late '30s and '40s. When Adelaide is telling her these stories they are so vivid you feel like you are right with her. She's involved in a love triangle that is heartbreaking. Things start to fall together and Hope has no doubt theses things really happened.

There is a very attractive young widower, Matt who moved next door to Adelaide who has two very young daughters. He has always kept out for Adelaide to make sure she was okay. His girls like to go next door and raid Ms. Addie's cookie Jar and play with her dog. When Hope meets him and sparks fly, but due to the pain of the hurtful divorce and her knowing this is only a temporary arrangement she keeps her feelings in check. But they keep bumping into each other. Matt feels the sparks as well and he's fighting them as well because he's not felt anything for another woman since his wife passed away.

This is just a wonderful novel, it's so well written that you find yourself stealing every moment to get back to reading. I'm mainly a mystery reader, but this has a bit of mystery to it as well. It's just a well-written novel. It has something for everyone.

I would like to thank Berkley Publishers and NetGalley for providing me an e-galley of this book in exchange for my honest review. ( )