My first book by Esguerra and now I have a new backlist to enjoy!
Plot: Daphne is THE wedding planner for the rich and famous. She’s also closer to 40 than 30 and has come to accept that while she is killing it professionally, she needed to give up on the dream of finding a good partner because *gestures at men*. Enter Aaron, who just kind of fell into wedding planning last year after quitting his office job and is already killing it without even really trying and we hate him. He’d been hired to do the wedding of a sort of friend of Daphne’s and now, a few weeks out, has gotten fired because the bride is making one too many googly eyes at him. Daphne is asked to come in and midwife the wedding through to the last few weeks, and boy do shenanigans ensue.
There are so many things to love about this. First, it’s a novella – so it’s a quick and rewarding read, a very easy entry point for trying out a new author. Second, Daphne is only a handful of years older than Aaron but I love me a story that doesn’t force this idea of men having to be older, taller, more successful, etc down our throats. Third, the competence. Do you love reading about people being super good at their jobs? Because you’re going to get it here. Do you like respectful disagreement? Do you like vehement disagreement over organizational strategies? Do you like men who aren’t threatened by a partner’s greater professional success? Do you like sex scenes that are both hot and funny? Do you like the idea of stories NOT set in LA or NY or the Southern US or the UK? Do you like three dimensional characters and a lived in world, all somehow shoved into a novella that doesn’t feel rushed? All of these things and more, you can get here. Do I wish this was a full length book so I could spend more time with it? Yes. Do I also think it was the exact right length to tell the story well? Unfortunately, also yes.
If you love a good contemporary romance, you can’t go wrong with this one.
