The Key to Happily Ever After was such a delightful and heart-warming read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book is about three de la Rosa sisters, who run a wedding planning business together while navigating professional disagreements, family drama, and romantic entanglements.

I liked the premise of the book and I loved de la Rosa sisters' relationship. They had their differences and they fought but their love for each other was unmistakable. There were also some very interesting romances developing for each sister that added extra zing to the story. All in all, this was a perfect summer read. The Key to Happily Ever After is my first book by Tif Marcelo but it won't be my last!

3.5/5

I’m a sucker for both books about sisters and anything wedding related, so I was pretty excited about this one! Bonus points for sisters who are wedding planners, I’ve always thought that would be an interesting job too, and then that adorable cover just screamed READ ME as well. All sorts of positive possibilities for me surrounding this one and I’m delighted to tell you that I really enjoyed it.
This follows the de la Rosa sisters right after they take over their parents wedding planning firm, so they’re all at a very transitional time of their lives. Mari is the oldest and also the new CEO, she’s a classic older sister, type A personality to the max and a natural leader. Jane is the middle sister and she’s the peacekeeper, she’s low maintenance and not interested in drama. Pearl is the youngest and was my personal favorite, I felt bad for her as she struggled to prove herself to her sisters and gain more responsibility in their business. Sisterly relationships are often rife with drama, so there was quite a bit of that here. There was also some light romance but at its heart this really a story about family relationships and the bonds between sisters.

I'm a sucker for sister stories and The Key to Happily Ever After more than lived up to all my expectations! A heart-warming story of family and love.

Tif Marcelo keeps writing amazing stories about family with a side of romance. The Key to Happily Ever After completely enchanted me with the tale of three sisters and their wedding planner business. The three of them were amazing, with their own arc and storyline. I'm happy that we got so many of them and I'm happily waiting if there is going to be a new book for the last sister!

Fans of a good old fashioned romantic comedy will love The Key To Happily Ever After. The three sisters are all lovable in their own ways and have you cheering for them all as they take over their parents wedding planning business. Bride-to-bes will also truly enjoy this book.

The Key to Happily Ever After is the story of adversarial sisters and their romantic interests. Tif Marcelo has a keen understanding of the relationship space of sisters, how birth order affects that space, and how personal and professional emotions overlap when you have to work with your relatives.

Filipino-American sisters Marisol, Janelyn, and Pearl de la Rosa are co-owners of a preeminent wedding boutique, Rings & Roses, in Old Town Alexandria near Washington DC. The shop had been their mother's baby, but upon retirement, she settled a third on each of her daughters. With the safety net of their mother’s experience and expertise whisked away, the sisters are now on their own.Mari is the CEO, Jane is in charge of the finances, and Pearl is in charge of social media and marketing, but they all pitch in to support each other during the planning stages and, especially, during the execution of the wedding day. Mari likes to be in charge, and with her formidable organizing skills, is the main planner of their top clients' weddings. As the logical, even-keeled middle sister, Jane has to always keep the peace between Mari and Pearl in their tempestuous relationship.

Pearl - a dreamy girl who goes with her gut instinct on things and doesn’t always dot all the Is and cross all the Ts - feels unappreciated and overlooked in their business partnership. She is ready to take on the role of head planner for a top client, but Mari always resists the idea, saying that it is too much of a risk, Pearl won't be able to keep up with all the details and meticulously manage them, and Pearl needs more mentoring.

Ate Mari (big sister) has a typical older sister syndrome; she’s exacting, overbearing, and controlling. However, for a brief period in her twenties, she lived an unsafe, dangerous life, and her actions caused trauma to Pearl when she was only fifteen. Mari's guilt and attempt to course-correct by expecting perfection from herself and Pearl has blighted their personal relationship and is having a deep impact on their work as well.

How badly will Mari and Pearl's adversarial relationship affect their ability to work together for the best of Rings & Roses in terms of financial success and marketing success as the wedding planner in the greater DC area? And what is in store for all three of these women individually and together?

The romances in the novel are well done. They are the perfect moments of grace in the book and stand out as a contrast from the acrimony between the sisters. The tender moments allow both sisters to show a side of their personalities that had been hitherto hidden from the reader. Marcelo deftly weaves the soft and tough complexities of both women into the narrative of the story.

There is no growth arc for Pearl or Mari for most of the book and thus, the story does not have a forward drive and seemed mired in an eddy of discontent. The two women weren't learning from their mistakes with each other, and even when their relationship was in jeopardy, rapprochement seemed antithetical to them. Even when their sisterhood could be irrevocably broken, they were adamant in their self-righteous positions, and this lack of progress in their relationship really sank my grade for the book.

While Marcelo keeps the tension of ‘can-they-would-they’ beautifully taut through the narrative, ultimately, it felt counterproductive. Relationships are built and solidified by scaffolding positive interactions and compromises, which then become resilient to setbacks. Pearl and Mari's familial bond only seemed to have setbacks with no self-reflection on their part other than to ruminate on their entrenched viewpoints. I cannot get behind a story where the characters lack the willingness to put in the hard work to right the wrongs. While there is some resolution towards the end, it was a case of too little too late and not completely believable.

Overall, while The Key to Happily Ever After did not completely work for me, the characterization is complex and the interactions between the sisters are done with finesse and a steady guiding hand. I have a qualified recommendation for the story.

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Tif Marcelo, Author Of “The Key to Happily Ever After” has written an entertaining, intriguing, captivating, witty, and emotional novel. The Genres for this Novel are Fiction, Women’s Fiction and Romance. The timeline for this story is in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her characters as compassionate and having their own problems.

The three De La Rosa sisters, Marisol, Janelyn, and Pearl have a good relationship, but find difficulties, when their parents retire from the family wedding planning business. The three sisters find that working together in such a demanding business is causing problems. Each sister has their own strengths, but the combination of their own lives and the business is difficult.

The goals of the Wedding Business is to make the Bride and Groom’s special day in every way! That is not also easy to fulfill. There seems to be a conflict between the Family and the Business.

I appreciate that the author discusses the importance of family, friends, loyalty, honesty, emotional support, balance, love and hope. This is a story of “sisterhood” and family. I would recommend this heart-warming novel.

Such a great story of love, family and forgiveness! If you are looking for a sweet story with plenty of hope and heart you need to pick this up! The relationships between the sisters is beautiful, painful and all too real! Great diverse rep in here as well! Highly recommend this beauty!

The Key to Happily Every After is a sweet and at times funny look at the three de la Rosa sisters
who take over the family's wedding planning business. I could relate to this story as I have
four sisters and have had my share of family drama. The oldest always thinks she knows better and is in charge, the middle sister is the negotiator and the youngest is the one who thinks she can do no wrong. Thru the ups and downs of wedding planning and getting the brides down the aisle, the sisters themselves find romance and realize that there is nothing better than family.

The first thing that attracted me to this book was the title and the bright cover art! I found the title intriguing and it instantly made me think about things that make my own ‘happily ever after’ so special.

I also thought the bright robin’s egg blue and yellow on the cover was so eye catching and I was instantly curious about this one and gladly agreed to read it!

The summary of the book also sounded interesting. I have been reading a lot of historical mysteries as well as some heavy women’s fiction and frankly I needed something that was going to be more along the lines of a ‘rom-com’ and that’s exactly that this book promised on the description!

Summary

A charming romantic comedy about three sisters who are struggling to keep the family wedding planning business afloat—all the while trying to write their own happily-ever-afters in the process.

All’s fair in love and business.

The de la Rosa family and their wedding planning business have been creating happily ever afters in the Washington, DC area for years, making even the most difficult bride’s day a fairytale. But when their parents announce their retirement, the sisters—Marisol, Janelyn, and Pearl—are determined to take over the business themselves.

But the sisters quickly discover that the wedding business isn’t all rings and roses. There are brides whose moods can change at the drop of a hat; grooms who want to control every part of the process; and couples who argue until their big day. As emotions run high, the de la Rosa sisters quickly realize one thing: even when disaster strikes—whether it’s a wardrobe malfunction or a snowmageddon in the middle of a spring wedding—they’ll always have each other.

Perfect for fans of the witty and engaging novels of Amy E. Reichert and Susan Mallery, The Key to Happily Ever After is a fresh romantic comedy that celebrates the crucial and profound power of sisterhood (summary from Goodreads).

Review

Right away one of the things that jumped out of this book was the concept of sisterhood. This book is about sisters who are trying to keep their wedding planning business going, but it’s so much deeper than just that and I absolutely love how that played out in the story itself!

I loved how different the sisters are. I only have one sister but I loved how birth order and the sisters’ different personalities shined through in this book. I personally identified with Jane the most (she is the eldest and so am I) and as I read her story I felt like she and I shared so many of the same traits and it was just fun to see her story come alive and watch how each of the sisters reacted to the other’s personalities. While her story was perhaps a little more limited than the other sisters, I loved it all the same.

I was actually expecting this book to be more of a romantic comedy and it had elements of both romance and comedy but for me this was much more a novel about sisterhood and family than anything else, which actually worked just fine for me.

This book definitely reminded me how hard family relationships can sometimes be, but in a light way rather than a book that was overly deep and heavy. While this book had a number of poignant moments and perspectives, it wasn’t so heavy that I felt exhausted when I was done. Rather I felt like it gently reminded me of things that were important in families with some humor and romance to break things up. I very much enjoyed reading this one as it brought out a lot to think about without being overly heavy.

I also found that this book was super fast reading. I was able to finish it in a matter of a couple of days but could easily have read it in one or two sittings. If you are looking for something to entertain you on a flight or the beach this summer then you definitely want to pick this one up!

Interesting dynamics between sisters in business together who are dealing with a past domestic violence episode and how it affects them years later. I liked the sisters and hope there will be more books in this series.

I loved this book. I have always loved to plan parties and weddings are the “be all, end all” of parties. These sisters have taken over the family business and they are struggling with separating business and family. When clearly defined siblings roles don’t translate over into the business side of things, the business will either fall apart or have to be revamped. Taking into account the cultural aspect of this Filipino- American family, I was able to gain insight into their traditions and family dynamics.

This was a fun contemporary read and I really want it to be a series (I don’t think that is the case though). I have a family member who will be marrying a Filipino-American next year and the food items and traditions mentioned were very helpful. I appreciated this book written in the author’s own voice.

Please pick this up for a great Spring or Summer read.

Set in Washington, D.C. the de la Rosa sisters, Marisol, Jane and Pearl are wedding planners and now the co-owners of the family business Rings and Roses, a well-established wedding planning service founded by their mother. Mari, as the oldest, has stepped into the role of CEO, with Jane handling the financial end of things, Pearl the social media, and all 3 working the ‘day of’ events and pitching in to service their brides as needs must. As the eldest and most organized, Mari is a bit of a martinet with her lists, lists to check lists, and obsession with the lists. She’s so afraid of making a mistake and bringing up her less than ‘perfect’ choice of a man when she was just 21, that she’s internalized all of the business’ successes, and rarely has room for the ‘things that happen’. And she’s got a great ‘smooth the waters’ person in Pearl, who is desperate to be moved up the chain to ‘actual wedding planner’ and not just an assistant or one who handles the day of events, many involving ‘family’ and friends. Jane, the middle sister spends much of her time mediating between Mari and Pearl: the two are so similar in their up and down view of themselves (one mistake means disaster, smooth sailing is euphoric) and trying to raise her little boy Pio all by herself that she’s got her hands full with clients and her sisters.

Oh this was such a fun story: from tying the girls solidly into their Filipino-American community and the rafts of “family’ that brings, to the food, the life-long friendships, their ties to tradition and a solid belief and enjoyment in the bride’s day, they have struggled with the transition to ownership and just how things will work, and constantly Mari is worried about Pearl. Desperate to protect her from the world and the hurts that come, Pearl is chafing at the micromanagement. Someone who has always marched to her own drum, Pearl isn’t one who clings to ‘time’ or schedule, finds Mari’s lists a pain in the ass, and she’s desperate to move up and get a ‘top’ (full control of the wedding planning for a bride) of her own. If not, she’s sure she’ll go elsewhere or start her own thing: she’s got the experience, the connections, and clients just love her way of managing issues and calming the waters. Of course, much of the book is going to center on Pearl’s journey and her struggles with Mari, and things take an even more startling turn when they realize that the books for the business are tragic.

From the squabbles between the sisters, the old issues raising their head for Mari, Pearl’s confusion and return of her childhood crush, Jane’s health and her worries for Pio with his wish to know his father, as well as the girls’ inability to ask (mostly fear based) their mother about the business debts and inventory discrepancies, things are pretty chaotic and being the ‘people’ for some of their clients isn’t easy. Mari’s current top is a lovely woman with a fiancé that instantly sets Mari on edge with a step-brother who happens to own the house next door, Pearl is constantly calming the frenetic arguments for ‘cousins’ planning a 40th anniversary and chasing a top, the Washington ‘It” girl has yet to announce her engagement or pick a planner. Enter the romantic elements as Pearl starts to see her best friend’s brother with the eyes she did as a teen – major crush alert. And Mari and her worries for her top’s relationship, as well as her affection for her stepbrother has her al in a twist, trying to maintain her control and finding bits slipping through the cracks like water through a hand. Marcelo has given us a family to enjoy, full of cultural references, food and plenty of heart on the way to this happy and hopeful ending and jumping into my favorite read pile!

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aph/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Three sisters (of Filipino heritage) running a wedding planning business? The Key to Happily Ever After immediately grabbed my attention when I first came across the synopsis a few months ago, and finding out that it was penned by Tif Marcelo (who is a Filipino author and one of the kindest women I’ve ever met) sealed the deal on my need to read this one. Unfortunately, perhaps it was a combination of my own expectations being a little too high and laboring under the misconception that this was going to be romance-centered (spoiler: it’s actually not, and I should have known this based on the summary if I’d remembered to check it), but this one was just fine overall. I enjoyed the de la Rosa girls, specifically because they reflected myself, my sisters and our relationships in so many ways, as well as the touches of Filipino culture (especially the food!) and the wedding planning aspect of the story. But I felt like the actual story was a touch underdeveloped, particularly when it came to developing the relationships (the romantic ones, sure, but also the ones between the sisters), and also suffered from a case of having too many things happening and not enough page time to cover them. Still, even with my reservations, I thought it was a decently entertaining women’s fiction read.

I'm loving the romcom renaissance making it's way into romance and women's fiction publishing. This story of the de la Rosa sisters is a fresh and fun read in the style reminiscent of one of my favorite women's fiction authors, Amy E. Reichert.

"They were women who bloomed with different strengths, who had varying shades of personalities and unique souls, who had thorns of imperfections. But the would always be sisters."
I absolutely loved this book! Mari, Jane and Pearl are sisters who run the family full service wedding shop, Rings and Roses. I absolutely loved these sisters. They are so realistic and I came to know each and every one personally. This is a fast paced, well crafted story from beginning to end. Filled with love and some squabbles, it will make you fall in love with these sisters. Well written and with unbelievable flow, this is a feel good book that you will love. I know that I did. Highly recommended read.

I love reading books about sisters. This one is very true to life -- three sisters working together and having frequent disagreements but they always have each other's back when they need support. These three sisters are struggling to keep the family wedding planning business successful. Their parents had started the business and when they retired, they turned the business over to their daughters - Mari, Jane and Pearl. This is a sweet romantic comedy about the power of sisterhood.

Mari is the oldest daughter and the in-charge person. She feels like she should make the rules and the other sisters should fall into line. As the oldest of 3 sisters, I totally understand that attitude. Jane is second. She isn't as invested in the business because she is raising a small son alone. She handles the accounting and inventory at the wedding shop. Pearl is the youngest. Her sisters felt that she was flighty and not able to follow directions. Pearl feels that she is being limited by her sisters and is ready to take on planning for some of the brides. As they struggle to create happy and beautiful weddings for brides and their families, they need to work through their sister problems to make the business a total success.

There is romance on the horizon for all three sisters but first they need to work through their issues with the business and learn to work together to be successful. This is a great book about sisters!

Mari, Jane, and Pearl de la Rosa have taken over the family wedding planning business. The sisters follow traditional birth order roles with the oldest, Mari, being the one in charge, the youngest, Pearl, trying to prove she is responsible and the middle sister, Jane, the mediator. The sisters must learn to work together keep the business successful. They are also trying to find happily ever after in their personal lives as well.

I loved this book! The relationship between the sisters echoes a typical family. They may not always agree but when one gets in trouble they band together to help each other. The sisters try to overcome their typical roles. Each chapter is titled after a song and I loved that. It really set the mood for the chapter. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a light, funny read.

I enjoyed this family drama even though I was expecting it to be a romantic comedy. I am not sure why I had that impression, maybe the sweet cover? Anyway, this book follows the interactions of three Filipino American sisters after they have taken over their parents wedding planning business. Weddings by their very nature are stressful, but the sisters have the added pressure of proving themselves, and breaking out of the roles they have cast for each other. In the end family is the most important thing.

Sisters Mari, Jane and Pearl recently inherited their parent's successful wedding planning company only to discover that mixing business and family isn't always so simple. The Key to Happily Ever After is the story of family dynamics, women in business and even a little romance on the side. I went into this read expecting more of a romcom but still fell in love with a family drama instead.