e-Audio, 08:18:42
Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
Release Date: November 7, 2023
Published by: HarperAudio
Read from: November 19-20, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cursing, Alcohol,
For Readers Interested In: Weddings, Adult, Romance, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Realistic FictionJulie Tieu, an exciting and diverse voice in contemporary romance, returns with a romantic comedy in the vein of 27 Dresses that celebrates weddings and female friendships.
Every single one of Elise Ngo’s close girlfriends—Rebecca, Jesse, and Beth—is getting married within the same few months, and every single one of them has asked her to be both bridesmaid and florist. Though it’s a lot for her to juggle, the work and exposure is a boon to her struggling flower shop.
The stakes are high at Rebecca’s high-profile wedding, where the guests are mostly political connections of Rebecca’s parents. Desperate for the event to go off without a hitch, Elise enlists the help of an outside caterer who turns out to be Ben Yu, Rebecca’s elusive younger brother.
Though Ben is prickly and aloof, he offers Elise much needed business designing flowers for his mom’s campaign fundraisers and Elise begins to see there’s more to Ben than his gruff and handsome exterior. But their romance takes off as the political campaign ramps up, complicating their relationship with unforeseen consequences. Now always-the-bridesmaid Elise must fight for what she wants to finally get her own happily ever after.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I knew this one was going to be hard for me to review just like it would be hard for me to read it. I kept thinking of how Soto’s book was because they were too close together. They were both florists who went over and beyond for their brides. And the love interest was part of the wedding and was moody or something in both. I should have read one of these next year lol
So the main difference between the two books was this one was way more funny. I was laughing out loud in real life at some parts. Like I hate to say it, but when they were at the party and they started dropping like flies?! I hate that I laughed, but I really did. Because like they deserved that lmao And the whole bachelorette party?! This book was hilarious and I found myself laughing at the worst times.
The romance was what I had a bit of an issue with. I didn’t feel like they had any real chemistry. It’s weird because normally I say I would have liked it more if they had more romance throughout the book, but this one I think had the right amount. And I could have done without them using the L word to be honest. Idk, I just think the chemistry was weird. I did enjoy the time they were just “hanging out” tho. I think had it stayed there at the end I would have been equally satisfied. Does that make sense?
I also did think the main character Elise was a little dull. She was really just basic. I don’t think there was anything about her that stood out to me at all. I think I would have liked this better if we had also gotten Ben’s POV too. (I might have liked the romance more too if that was the case.) I also think if Soto’s wasn’t so fresh on my mind I would have enjoyed this more. Because I kept wondering why the hell they didn’t like use the shop for some alone time like they did in the other one. I kept wanting her to ok it, but she just didn’t seem to be that adventurous.
The narrator did a fantastic job as always. Natalie is one of my favorites and I follow her on TikTok. I love seeing the things she’s doing and the way she prepares, etc. Her voice is easy to follow and I can speed it up with no problems whatsoever. She also has just the right amount of emotion in her voice for the characters. When they’re sad, she actually sounded sad, not like she was trying to act sad. Does that make sense? She’s just really good at what she does.
This was ok and I enjoyed it because these are all things I enjoy, but it’s nothing i would write home about. I do think if I had read this story next year my rating might have changed, but for now, it’s going to stay as this.
Overall, I give this
