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whizzyflame's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this was cutie! i am a friends to lovers stan through and through so this really did it for me! toby was so sweet, i wish i got a little more of him bc it did feel like he was just passing through with everything else going on in the book and we just had to rely on their history together as the base for their relationship. at first i didn’t know if i liked pippin but she did grow on me! overall just a sweet, easy read.
lololovesthings's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3 stars.
"Sister of the Bride" by Lauren Morrill is a mixed bag for me. Despite this being billed as a romance, I'd say that what works best for this story is the exploration of the changing relationship between the main character, Pippin, and her twin sister Polly (vomitously nicknamed Pepperoni and Pizza... seriously, this made me roll my eyes soooo much whenever it was used in earnest). Polly is about to get married to the love of her life, Mackenzie, after returning home from London, and Pippin cannot deal. She's shocked that Polly is ready to tie the knot after only six months of dating Mackenzie. Pippin's life is also in a freefall for a myriad of other reasons. She recently found out that her mom and grandma are set to sell the building that houses both their home and their family's Italian restaurant, which she takes as a personal affront to the memory of her father, who died at the age of 51. Pippin is a total control freak, and I found it difficult to connect with her because she gets upset about every little thing! Sweat the big stuff, sure, but there's so much that she freaks out about for no reason without thinking rationally! She really needed to slow her roll! At least Mackenzie's mom attempted to put her in check about her privilege. As far as the romance goes, I just didn't feel any sort of connection between Pippin and Toby until the 70-ish% range of the book. I usually adore the friends-to-lovers trope, but this story didn't do it for me in that aspect. Honestly? I thought Toby and Pippin worked better as friends. They needed to have A LOT more open communication, in my opinion. Still, their banter is good regardless of their relationship status. The pacing is so, so off that I found it challenging to keep reading this story. Some might consider this a slow burn, but I just consider this slow. I think with some editing and tweaks, this could be an amazing book. (PS: I know we're not supposed to judge too harshly since this ARC is an uncorrected proof, but I've never read a story with quite so many spelling and grammatical errors before, and it took me out of the story trying to get what words were actually supposed to be on the page)
Thank you to NetGalley, Lauren Morrill, and Yellow House Media for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
"Sister of the Bride" by Lauren Morrill is a mixed bag for me. Despite this being billed as a romance, I'd say that what works best for this story is the exploration of the changing relationship between the main character, Pippin, and her twin sister Polly (vomitously nicknamed Pepperoni and Pizza... seriously, this made me roll my eyes soooo much whenever it was used in earnest). Polly is about to get married to the love of her life, Mackenzie, after returning home from London, and Pippin cannot deal. She's shocked that Polly is ready to tie the knot after only six months of dating Mackenzie. Pippin's life is also in a freefall for a myriad of other reasons. She recently found out that her mom and grandma are set to sell the building that houses both their home and their family's Italian restaurant, which she takes as a personal affront to the memory of her father, who died at the age of 51. Pippin is a total control freak, and I found it difficult to connect with her because she gets upset about every little thing! Sweat the big stuff, sure, but there's so much that she freaks out about for no reason without thinking rationally! She really needed to slow her roll! At least Mackenzie's mom attempted to put her in check about her privilege. As far as the romance goes, I just didn't feel any sort of connection between Pippin and Toby until the 70-ish% range of the book. I usually adore the friends-to-lovers trope, but this story didn't do it for me in that aspect. Honestly? I thought Toby and Pippin worked better as friends. They needed to have A LOT more open communication, in my opinion. Still, their banter is good regardless of their relationship status. The pacing is so, so off that I found it challenging to keep reading this story. Some might consider this a slow burn, but I just consider this slow. I think with some editing and tweaks, this could be an amazing book. (PS: I know we're not supposed to judge too harshly since this ARC is an uncorrected proof, but I've never read a story with quite so many spelling and grammatical errors before, and it took me out of the story trying to get what words were actually supposed to be on the page)
Thank you to NetGalley, Lauren Morrill, and Yellow House Media for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.
enchanted_reads26's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
Immediately I fell in love with this story. I love all the different complexities of this story. Between her sisters marriage, the downfall of her families business and a kiss between who she thought was only a friend; Pippin is thrown into a pit of emotions and whirlwinds of discovering what she wants and needs. It’s a really nice Romcom and enjoyed everything! The pacing could’ve been dealt with better but overall it was kinda what I expected of this RomCom.
doodledoo03's review
2.0
There isn’t much going right for Pippin at the moment. She recently broke up with her boyfriend. Her sister Polly returned from Europe with a fiancé no one has met, and she wants Pippin to help plan their wedding. Her mother is selling the family business that Pippin runs and is attached to where she lives, meaning she will be without a job and a place to live in a few short months. The only constant in her life is her best friend Toby, who has returned to finish his residency in their hometown. The more Pippin and Toby spend time together, the more her feelings for him develop, and she doesn’t know how to handle them. Should she remain just friends with the man she’s known her entire life, or is she willing to risk even more change for a chance at love?
I have been looking forward to reading this author’s adult romance debut since it was first announced. The cover is also by a favorite illustrator of mine, and it is perfection. Unfortunately, the writing style and overall story didn’t connect with me. I felt this wasn’t so much a romance as it was a story of two sisters, their changing relationship, and how they handled their father’s death. Admittedly, I don’t handle change well, but Pippin’s reaction to every change thrown her way was a lot. I would still recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the author’s previous YA books or if you are looking for a sweet fiends-to-lovers rom-com.
Thank you to Yellow House Media, NetGalley, and author Lauren Morrill for an eARC of Sister of the Bride in exchange for my honest opinion.
allisonisbooked's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this title. This was a laugh out loud, giggle, and swoon-worthy book, with just the right amount of spice.
The cute puns and dad jokes really help you get a feel for who the characters are. There is so much growth in our main character's relationships, not just romantic, but with her twin sister and her family, she was very well rounded.
The book is so well written, you truly feel like you are there in the moment with them. And the dialogue feels very natural.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The cute puns and dad jokes really help you get a feel for who the characters are. There is so much growth in our main character's relationships, not just romantic, but with her twin sister and her family, she was very well rounded.
The book is so well written, you truly feel like you are there in the moment with them. And the dialogue feels very natural.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
mar_reads7's review
this is astoundingly poorly written, I tried forcing myself to keep reading it but I just couldn't.
thanks to netgalley for the arc though.
thanks to netgalley for the arc though.
cozyhosie's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
In this retake on Father of the Bride, Pippin Marino is not good with change. When her twin sister returns from England with a fiancé and asks Pippin to plan the wedding and then her mom announces she wants to sell the 100 year old family restaurant that Pippin has been running since her father's death, she begins to panic. The only bright spot for Pippin is that her best friend Toby Sullivan is finally moving home to Boston, until one kiss changes everything.
I am a huge fan of the Father of the Bride movies. When I read that this book was a retake on it, I was intrigued. My hopes for the story were high and I was thrilled by the way Lauren Morrill wrote the story. The changes she made to the story both updated it and helped it feel restored. The homages she included to her source material were just enough for fans of the movies to notice, but not too much that it would take away from the story. My personal favorite was that Pippin's sister, Polly, was engaged to a woman named Mackenzie Bryan instead of a man named Bryan Mackenzie.
As a rom-com story, I loved the way Morrill took familiar and well-loved tropes and made them feel fresh again. Pippin and Toby are very clearly a friends-to-lovers relationship, but Morrill made their friendship feel so grounded in reality that when Pippin realized she was in love with Toby, it didn't feel forced. It felt like a completely natural change to their relationship. Morrill took an opportunity to use a miscommunication trope (which I absolutely hate) and made it into a way to show Pippin's character development instead.
Overall, I loved this book. I loved the retake on Father of the Bride and I really loved the way Morrill took these characters and made them feel so real. I'm looking forward to finding more of her work to read.
I am a huge fan of the Father of the Bride movies. When I read that this book was a retake on it, I was intrigued. My hopes for the story were high and I was thrilled by the way Lauren Morrill wrote the story. The changes she made to the story both updated it and helped it feel restored. The homages she included to her source material were just enough for fans of the movies to notice, but not too much that it would take away from the story. My personal favorite was that Pippin's sister, Polly, was engaged to a woman named Mackenzie Bryan instead of a man named Bryan Mackenzie.
As a rom-com story, I loved the way Morrill took familiar and well-loved tropes and made them feel fresh again. Pippin and Toby are very clearly a friends-to-lovers relationship, but Morrill made their friendship feel so grounded in reality that when Pippin realized she was in love with Toby, it didn't feel forced. It felt like a completely natural change to their relationship. Morrill took an opportunity to use a miscommunication trope (which I absolutely hate) and made it into a way to show Pippin's character development instead.
Overall, I loved this book. I loved the retake on Father of the Bride and I really loved the way Morrill took these characters and made them feel so real. I'm looking forward to finding more of her work to read.
breckencromwell's review
2.0
I finished this whole book because I got an ARC for it and I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt so I could give it a real review, but...it was rough.
I just feel like there was no storyline. I couldn't get over the main characters only calling each other "Pizza" and "Pepporoni". Maybe for fans of cliche, flat romance books (and I know there are those people out there!) this would be a fun easy read. But for someone who likes meat and storyline and relatable/understandable characters, this is not for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Yellow House Media for the ARC of this book!
I just feel like there was no storyline. I couldn't get over the main characters only calling each other "Pizza" and "Pepporoni". Maybe for fans of cliche, flat romance books (and I know there are those people out there!) this would be a fun easy read. But for someone who likes meat and storyline and relatable/understandable characters, this is not for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Yellow House Media for the ARC of this book!
dianareadingcorner's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0