Excerpt + Review: "The Wedding Date Disaster" by Avery Flynn

Congratulations to Avery Flynn on the release of her latest novel, "The Wedding Date Disaster." I've become a big fan of Ms. Flynn's over the past year or so, both because she writes some of the best rom-coms I've ever read and also because she's such a genuinely nice, funny person. (Don't just take my word for it, go check out her Facebook readers group and see for yourself!) "The Wedding Date Disaster" was everything I've come to expect from one of her books: laugh-out-loud funny, charming, and sweet, with just the right amount of steam. I highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy, especially those who enjoy a good enemies-to-lovers and/or fake relationship tale.

 

The main characters of this story, Hadley and Will, were both very likeable and well-developed, and I enjoyed their snarky banter immensely. Even when they supposedly hated each other, they couldn't quite hide their strong mutual attraction. I couldn't wait for them to stop fighting and finally give into their feelings! Will and Hadley were both dealing with more emotional baggage than was immediately apparent, and the connection they formed while spending time together on Hadley's family ranch was lovely. I think it surprised them both to realize how much they understood about what the other was going through, but their relationship really brought out the best in both of them and helped them overcome a lot of what was holding them back from moving forward with their lives.

Aside from Hadley and Will, I adored the book's secondary characters, who added a tremendous amount of depth and humor to the narrative. First, there was Will's twin brother Web, who was also Hadley's best friend and played an instrumental role in bringing the two of them together. In addition, I enjoyed getting to know Hadley's family, particularly her grandfather, PawPaw, who never hesitated to say exactly what he was thinking or show off his competitive nature. Hadley's siblings were a lot of fun too, and it would be great to read stories about them (and Web!) in the future.

Overall, I absolutely loved "The Wedding Date Disaster" and can't wait to see what Avery Flynn comes up with next!

 

*Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

 

About "The Wedding Date Disaster"

I can’t believe I have to go home to Nebraska for my sister’s wedding. I’m gonna need a wingman and a whole lot of vodka for this level of family interaction. At least my bestie agreed he’d man up and help. Too bad he had to catch a different flight than me. Then his plane got delayed. And finally—because bad things always happen in threes—instead of my best friend, his evil twin strolls out of the airport.

If you looked up doesn’t-deserve-to-be-that-confident, way-too-hot-for-his-own-good billionaire in the dictionary, you’d find a picture of Will Holt. He’s awful. Horrible. The worst—even if his butt looks phenomenal in those jeans.

 

Ten times worse? My buffer was supposed to be there to keep me away from the million and one family events. But Satan’s spawn just grins and signs us up for every. Single. Thing.

Fine. “Cutthroat” Scrabble? I’m in. I can’t wait to take this guy down a notch.

But somewhere between Pictionary and the teasing glint in his eyes, our bickering starts to feel like more than just a game…

 

 

Read an Excerpt from "The Wedding Date Disaster"

"Will. It’s good to have you here for this special occasion.”

“Thanks for having me, and please let me know what I can do to help.” The polite words came out almost as a reflex, because the answer was always no when it came to big events that were always catered and planned by professionals.

“Don’t suppose you can cook?” Sharon asked.

Considering she probably didn’t want her entire family slightly poisoned by undercooked chicken, there was only one answer he could give. “No, but I can wash dishes like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Good.” She gave him a real smile this time that had the corners of her eyes crinkling. “You’ve got a job.”

As everyone started to walk inside, Hadley pulled him back half a step. “Do you even know how to wash dishes?”

“I can load a dishwasher.” Occasionally he even did it. Usually, though, the cleaning crew took care of all that at his Harbor City penthouse.

“But have you ever actually done that?” She took a step closer, looking up at him with a knowing little smirk—the one that told him she knew just how full of shit he was. “Have you ever washed dishes by hand?”

“I’m not a complete spoiled jerk,” he said, sounding exactly like one even to his own ears.

She just lifted an eyebrow.

God, she was pushy—something that should have been annoying. Really, it was annoying. Completely. Utterly. Without a doubt. That was the only reason why he couldn’t drag his attention away from that smart mouth of hers because he couldn’t believe what words came out of it.

“Okay, fine.” He closed the distance between them, using the advantage of his height to look down at her. “No. I haven’t, but I’m sure I won’t have a problem excelling at it just like I do everything else.”

“Oh really?” she asked, not giving an inch. “I suppose you can also excel at all the ranching chores, like help check the fencing and gather eggs and muck the stalls, too.”

“Of course,” he said, his mouth running without his brain because all he could think about was how badly he wanted to kiss that knowing grin off her face right now. “By the end of the week, your relatives will be thinking of me like I’m just another cowboy in the family. They’re gonna love me.”

Hadley scoffed. “No. Fucking. Way.”

“Wanna bet?”

He had no idea why he was doing this. Proving her wrong about his abilities to wash dishes or muck fences or mend stalls or be a beloved member of her family wasn’t on his agenda. He was here for one reason: to convince her to take her gold-digger hooks out of his brother. She was priming Web, softening him up for the taking. He’d seen it before—lived it—and the pattern was the same as what Mia had done to him. Start with friendship, add in some damsel-in-distress bullshit like her I-really-need-you-to-go-to-my-sister’s-wedding ploy, and then go in for the multimillion-dollar kill.

“So do we have a bet or not?” he asked.

“Bet on what?” she asked as she pantomimed pulling finger guns from a holster on each side of her round hips and shooting them into the air like a trick shot. “That you can become a rootin’ tootin’ city slicker cowboy much beloved by my family in a week? It’ll never happen.”

Oh, it was definitely happening now. Winning was his specialty. There was no way he’d lose to her. “If you lose, you leave my brother alone. If I lose—which isn’t going to happen—I’ll never mention you being a gold digger again, and I’ll get out from between you and my brother.”

Hadley released a dramatic sigh and pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. “Oh no, all my plans to marry a billionaire are in jeopardy.”

Such a smart-ass.