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megelizabeth's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
I was super excited for this, but it ended up just being fine for me. It's mostly fairly lighthearted and fun, with some decent character growth and important conversations too, but there are a few comments throughout that didn't sit right with me, and I never hugely connected with the characters and too much of the time found them to be (even for a rom-com) a bit too over-the-top, immature, and honestly just annoying. The romantic chemistry also didn't kick in until much too late for me - this felt much more like general fiction as opposed to a romance (which would've been fine if it had been marketed that way, but I was expecting to be more obsessed with the love story!).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
amris's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Homophobia and Alcohol
hazelgirl21's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
allingoodtime's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I know everyone has been railing about this lately, but I really need people to STOP labeling books as comedy when they are not. Just because there is a joke or two and the main character has a wry sense of humor does not make the story a comedy. Another thing I’ve run across way too much in the last year or so are books labeled as capital R “Romance” when they are actually contemporary fiction with a romantic element. Yes, there is a HEA in this story, still doesn’t make it a Romance.
That first paragraph makes it seem as though I didn’t like this book at all or that it has no redeeming qualities. That is not the case. I just wish I had gone in with different expectations. This story is told fully from the POV of Max, the main character. For a bit, I wasn’t even sure if I should like his love interest, Chasten. He seemed like he would be a good guy, but he did a few things that seemed cruel and unnecessary the first few times Max and Chasten are together. I was extremely relieved to find that Chasten is a wonderful man and anyone would be lucky to have such a person in their life.
The whole premise of this book is Max stepping up to the plate when the woman he’s been best friends with his whole life gets engaged and asks him to be her man of honor. For best friends who literally live down the street from each other, Max and Paige have woefully little interaction. Even after the wedding planning begins. For almost this whole story, Paige is a terrible friend. For that matter, so is Max in a lot of ways. At least from his end, I knew the stressful things that were going on in his life other than the wedding. But at one point I was truly trying to figure out who was the bigger AH. Even though it’s her wedding and obviously she wants things done in a certain way, I ended up deciding Paige is the winner of that title. She has known Max practically his whole life and she should know he would need guidance instead of thinking he’d suddenly be a totally different person when she announced she was getting married. Max didn’t seem to have anyone in his corner for most of this book and it was sad.
One of the good things about how this story unfolds is Max finally confronting Paige about her expectations of him. Not just for the wedding but throughout their lives. It needed to be done and some things needed to be said. This story is really the story of Max figuring out who he is instead of floating through life with no direction. Another wonderful aspect of the story is the chemistry Max has with Chasten. They don’t get much one on one time together until late in this book, but the times they do are fantastic.
I love reading Romance but I don’t think I was the target audience for this book since that is not the central theme to this story. I’m going to rate it as a contemporary fiction story and not a contemporary romance book so to be fair. The parts that were Romance as well as seeing Max find something he loves to do were the great parts of this story. The timeline from engagement to the wedding was quick and disjointed, making things seem as though they weren’t fleshed out fully. And although eventually I found some personality in Max and Chasten, it took far too long for me to really get to know them.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol
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