A Man's Heart: The Way to a Man's Heart / Hasty Wedding

by Debbie Macomber

www.DebbieMacomber.com

There's an old saying about the way to a man's heart 

Meghan O'Day and Grey Carlyle couldn't be more different. He's a sophisticated professor of literature; she's a waitress with a high-school education and a love of the classics. He returns time and again to the diner where she works—and it's not just for the coffee and pie! Or even for the conversation…. 

No, it has everything to do with her smile, her sincerity…and her ability to find The Way to a Man's Heart. The way to his heart! 

And another one about marrying in haste 

On the day of her closest friend's Las Vegas wedding, Clare Gilroy fears that her own walk down the aisle will never happen…until she finds herself falling for best man—and town outcast—Reed Tonasket. 

After a dizzying night in the glitter of Vegas, Clare wakes to find a ring on her finger and a husband by her side. A Hasty Wedding if there ever was one! Will she be repenting at leisure? Not if Reed has anything to say about it!

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 28, 2014

About the author

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. In her novels, Macomber brings to life compelling relationships that embrace family and enduring friendships, uplifting her readers with stories of connection and hope. Macomber’s novels have spent over 1,000 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Fifteen of these novels hit the number one spot.

In 2023, Macomber’s all-new hardcover publication includes Must Love Flowers (July). In addition to fiction, Macomber has also published three bestselling cookbooks, three adult coloring books, numerous inspirational and nonfiction works, and two acclaimed children’s books.

Celebrated as “the official storyteller of Christmas”, Macomber’s annual Christmas books are beloved and six have been crafted into original Hallmark Channel movies. Macomber is also the author of the bestselling Cedar Cove Series which the Hallmark Channel chose as the basis for its first dramatic scripted television series. Debuting in 2013, Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove was a ratings favorite for three seasons.

She serves on the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet, is a YFC National Ambassador, and is World Vision’s international spokesperson for their Knit for Kids charity initiative. A devoted grandmother, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, the town which inspired the Cedar Cove series.

Reviews

[Heather Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Debbie Macomber's romances. She is clean in her stories. I love how she has an underlined themes in her stories. In her first story, The Way To A Man's Heart sometimes people love each other and are total opposites from each other. In the second story, Hasty Wedding, Debbie is fighting prejudice.

I also like how they combined both books into one. It's great! It makes it interesting in my opinion.

The Way To A Man's Heart

This had a great story. I love the two main characters, Grey Carlyle and Meghan O'Day. They like (somewhat) the same literature books but have different options on them. I just love how Debbie makes it that if you are complete opposites you can still fall in love.

Hasty Wedding

I love how Debbie Macomber writes to fight prejudice in this love story.

Though, the one thing I did not like was how fast she feel for him. I can understand him because he has loved her for a long time but Clare really didn't notice him until later and then a few pages down the line wants to marry him. I am kind of skeptical about that. But other than that, this story is good.

All in all, it is a good read if you love those drama infested, fluffy love stories.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed both stories in this book!

Each story had unique characters and great storylines! I liked the romance in each story.

[Michelle Haugen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the stories. However, I thought that all the characters were too self-sacrificing. So they were good but not as good as the usual Debbie Macomber books I have read.

[Debbie Pierson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both were good. These are some of Debbie's early stories but they were still great to read.

[Kaitlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy the stories very much. I did not enjoy the main characters of the first story, and was struggling through it to see if it got better, until the two of them were eating Chinese food and started using fake Chinese accents while reading their fortune cookies. It immediately made me quit.

The second story stretched credibility a lot, especially how excited Clare was to be pregnant so quickly. It seemed very unrealistic to me. Additionally, I didn't like how Reed kept flip-flopping between deciding to stay with her and deciding to divorce her, and I especially didn't like that he agreed to marry her despite the fact that he thought she was acting strangely. I finished the second story, but I didn't care for it much either.

Overall, I didn't like the characters much, which made me very uninterested to read about them falling in love, and I thought the scene where they mocked Chinese people was very distasteful. I rated it 1 star, but it's more like 1 & 1/2 stars, since I'd give the first story 1 star and the second story 2 stars.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Debbie Macomber's books and found this in a church book sale. It is actually 2 short books in one. Light romance novels. Girl likes boy. Boy likes girl. Misunderstandings in the middle. Happy endings. Quick fun reads. These are older books (1990s), so a little old fashioned with the thinking, and world before cell phones, etc.

[Bonnie O'Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly what I expect from Debbie Macomber. Both stories are warm, heart-felt and satisfying.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok summer love story

[Melinda Lohr]

Wonderful book

[Mary Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It is two books in one! A very good read!

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it🥰

[Helen Gaye Brewster · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was another Goodwill paperback find, and I bought it because I'd enjoyed "74 Seaside Avenue," which is part of the author's Cedar Cove series. The author clearly states at the beginning that this book is a Valentine's Day edition of two of her early romance stories. And, her writing has improved since those days because this wasn't nearly as good as the other book that I read by her.

The two stories are easy to enjoy if you like sweet, happy-ending romances! They were a little too light for me, even though I was in the mood for a feel-good summer read. I did finish both stories, though, which says something for the author's ability to hold a reader's interest. I'd certainly say it was worth the $1.99 price tag at Goodwill, and I'll return it when I take my next load to the donation center, giving Goodwill the chance to get another $1.99.

[Tayte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all of Debbie Macomber's books, I loved this one. While some may not appreciate some of the cheesy romance Debbie may sometimes come up with, I love it. Reading her books makes believe that there are great guys out in the world waiting for their other half to find them. (Yes, I'm a romantic. Sue me.) What I loved about the first story, The Way to a Man's Heart, was that the character's age difference didn't matter to them. And no one judge them! In the second story, Hasty Wedding, the main heroine didn't care that her husband was Indian. Getting past all the prejudice and seeing him the man he is, the heroine fell in love and forgot about her awful ex. Yes, some of parts of the stories is unrealistic and cheesy, but isn't that what makes a great romance novel? I think so.

[Reen Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always wonderful to read a Macomber book. The story pulls me in immediately, the characters are so real, and I want to crawl into that book world to live there in harmony with the wonderful folks Debbie brings to life. I forget about my own problems when I read Debbie Macomber books, and I seek them out when I need an infusion of the good life. This time I especially enjoyed Hasty Wedding. Don't ever stop writing for us, Debbie :) I especially loved the waitress story. I don't have a degree in anything so I can relate to the not so rich and educated characters.

[namericanwordcat · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are lots of things I liked about this book. I love that both characters love literature. They are huge bookworms. They even bicker about writers. lol.

I love the heroine's family. I love how both characters grow.

However, the romance didn't work for me. Not because the couple didn't have chemistry, they did. None the less, every other page there was a misunderstanding. We never got any smooth time to believe they fell in love.

I ended up irrated. I hate that.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when a waitress with a love of literature falls for a literature professor at a local college. Sparks ignite in this wonderful story: A Man's Heart. Unfortunately, the second story, Hasty Wedding did not work for me. A librarian falls for the town outcast, and things heat up quickly. For me, it was a little two quickly, as this story centered on instant love with little character development.

[Lovely Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far I loved the first story of, "The Way to a Man's Heart," nothing like a good love story about two unique people with different jobs but the same love in literature. Debbie Macomber really made me fall in love with the way these two characters Meghan and Grey were meant for eachother from the start and just needed to go through what we all call life to finally realize it was meant to be in the end. ❤️

[Camandwmm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Man's Heart is a nice love story of two people with different backgrounds. She is a waitress and he is a
college professor. She feels inferior to him because of her lack of education. They have some obsticles to overcome. Basically a fun book to read.
A Hasty Wedding was a fun book too. A couple being married in Vegas with their best man and maid of honor. The maid of honor and bestman get caught up with the ceremony and hastily marry. But not happily ever after.

[Moey17 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two sappy, mindless, happily-ever-after reads! These were fine, but my issue with Macombers early works are that they don't hold after so many years. The heroine's are weak, the heroes usually romantic stereotypes. I still read them, because I've enjoyed her later romances, but my expectations aren't very high when it's a repackaged reprint. Only good for quick and easy brain-candy.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is two stories in one book. The stories were written in 1989 and 1993. I guess that explains why they are not as good as I expected. They are both good, sweet stories. Although "The Way to a Man's Heart" (89) is much better than "Hasty Wedding" (93), so maybe the timing does not hold up as an explanation. But in general the two stories are good and a nice read.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broke into two stories the first one is about a waitress who falls for her professor. The second about a women who falls for a native American and marries him in Vegas. I felt the stories were drawn out too much and was not one of my favorites of Debbie's books.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed Debbie Macomber's books and these two were no exception! :-) I had not read either of these and I greatly enjoyed both of them. It's hard to choose between a literature professor and a Native American artist, I could happily marry either one! ;-)

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed Debbie Macomber's books and these two were no exception! :-) I had not read either of these and I greatly enjoyed both of them. It's hard to choose between a literature professor and a Native American artist, I could happily marry either one! ;-)

[Jeanne (love2cook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of good little romance stories. The Way to a Man's Heart was about a waitress and a college professor. Hasty Wedding was about a librarian and a totem pole carver. Both were an easy read with predictable endings. Didn't have to think much, just enjoy the read.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: That Special Woman!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book by Debbie in her early days.

[Debbie Hoover]

Enjoyed both books

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the premise of the novel, but the characters were too goody-goody. This was one of this prolific author's earlier works and you could tell.

[Vikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

More description then story, yet thought it was pretty good.

[Judy Stasiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of typical, but a few surprises along the way.