I did not like this book.

The characters were catty beyond enjoyable, there was racism and stereotypes throughout, and it was a struggle to even get through. The drama went beyond a fun entertaining read, and instead went straight to stomach churning.

SPOILER ALERT: This ISN’T a romance, but then again, it’s not billed as one. If you’re looking for one of Liz Talley’s sweet, fun romances, stop right now. But if you’re looking for a story about life including broken friendships, marriages in trouble, finding yourself…then this is the book for you.

First, I fell in love with Liz Talley’s writing eons ago when reading her romances. She’s talented and has a knack for bringing humor to the page, along with touching moments that just send a zing straight to your heart. So, when she released her first Women’s Fiction book, Room to Breathe, I one-clicked without a moment’s hesitation. And guess what? I loved it, just like I loved THE WEDDING WARS.

Now, these women are not sweet. They’re not even remotely nice to each other and sometimes to others, but life and circumstances have shaped them into the people they are now. And that’s life. Real life. We’ve all had moments we’re not proud of, but what I loved about this book, is the author’s ability to show these horrible sides of these women and then tell a tale of redemption and forgiveness. It’s a tale of facing your own demons and recognizing that you’re not perfect, that your life is not perfect, and growing up enough to own your own faults, as well as make the steps necessary to improve.

It’s not all dark and dreary and depressing. There are humorous moments. There are touching moments between the two once-upon-a-time best friends where you can see hope. And there are moments of enlightenment where you just have to cheer for both Mel and Tennyson to open their hearts and give each other a chance again. There are also heartbreaking moments dealing with a marriage in trouble, and some sexy moments as one of them starts to find love, real love and a chance at happiness.

I found the story funny, moving, sad, and hopeful. The writing sharp, witty, and thought-provoking. And while we don’t get our typical Happily Ever After like we do with Ms. Talley’s romances, we do get to witness the true strength of women’s hearts and souls and what they are capable of dealing with and handling.

Thanks to Montlake Romance, Liz Talley, Amazon Publishing, and Netgalley for my e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This title is so perfect for this book. After years of being apart, Melanie and Tennyson meet again when their children become engaged and start to plan their wedding. Once childhood best friends, the ladies are now enemies and despise each other. Their drama begins to complicate wedding planning...and everything ensues from there.

Drama begins as soon as the kids get engaged...and there is no shortage of it. Melanie and Tennyson’s antics are hilarious, but once you learn more about the root of their problems...it quickly becomes a beautiful story of forgiveness. I was so impressed with how the theme materialized in the book, and honestly didn’t see it coming.

I read this during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was a great escape. If you are in need of a beach or a pool read this summer and loved the movie Bride Wars, you’ll enjoy this book.

𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝗪: A rounded up 3.5🌟! ⁣
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I originally had rounded my 3.5 down to a 3 when rating in Netgalley.. I slept on it and woke up really feeling like I should round up because I did genuinely find this book entertaining. ⁣
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The overarching theme of this story is about love, loss and forgiveness. Melanie and Tennyson were lifelong best friends until a falling out occurred when Melanie married Tennyson’s ex-boyfriend. Now Tennyson’s son is marrying Melanie’s daughter and they both have to learn to navigate and heal their old wounds while each of them have to take on new emotionally challenges at the same time. ⁣
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Liz Talley did a great job developing and expressing to reads the personalities and nuances of the main characters in this story. I didn’t particularly love any of the characters and found myself bored and annoyed with both of them many points during the story which caused me to not finish this book as quickly as I wanted to. That being said, it’s still an enjoyable story. It gave me ‘When Life Gives You Lululemons’ vibes, so if you enjoyed that one chances are you will enjoy this one.

“The Wedding War” by Liz Talley

I am at a loss with this train wreck of a book which I should have DNF but I am terrible at that. To the author’s credit, the pacing was fast but everything else about this book was toxic and depressing.

First off, I have to feel for anyone writing a contemporary meant to be set in 2020 since the books probably won’t accurately reflect the current turmoil of our present time. It’s going to be hard to have a wedding when people can’t work and are clearing the store shelves.

But to the story. Tennyson and Melanie were childhood friends until a big dark secret blew up their friendship. They’re forced back into each other’s lives when their children get engaged. The offspring in this story were some of the few characters I could find sympathy for as they all needed to escape from their toxic parents.

There was lots of dancing around the big dark secret, but rather than intriguing me I felt annoyed that we don’t learn what happened. The secret was incredibly random but the fallout was horrible. I didn’t get a sense that Tennyson felt any remorse and she definitely should not have been forgiven.

The story is stuffed with bad stereotypes, women hating, and plentiful racism. Tennyson also drags a Yorkie everywhere in her purse faking it to be an emotional support animal (she straight up says she’s faking this).

The file also has issues with missing pages when people would be exchanging texts.

In the description it says Tennyson falls for “the wrong guy” so I kept waiting to find out that he was a horrible human being like every other character in the book. Was he just “the wrong guy” because he wasn’t scum?

I sincerely hope there is no “Grandma Wars” sequel. Those poor kids and grandkids don’t deserve to be subjected to the toxic family dynamics in this story.

1/5 stars

This book read like a cliche I couldn’t get through it.

*** I received an ARC for my honest opinion. ********

Really enjoyed this one!
I liked the concept of it and the characters were well written!
I would recommend it!!

Once upon a time Mel and Teeny were best-friends, inseparable, always together. Until they weren't.

Both adults married well but have dragged enough baggage with them to weigh them both down. When Mel's daughter decides to marry Teeny's son, all hell breaks loose.

A close up look at what happens to two best friends who lose track of each other to hating each other to remembering why they were friends in the first place.

Well done.

Good book, but often found my mind drifting Off too other things. The story was good but some parts were a bit boring.

Some parts of this book reminded me of the movie Bride Wars but with unlikable characters. I really didn't like them at all. It had it's funny moments and the story was good but sometimes when I dont like a main character, it ruins the book for me. But it did have a good plot, just fell flat to me.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF

Honestly, the conflict between the two MCs is not working for me. It's so venomous and unlikable; I have no idea how they'll resolve their issues and I don't care enough about them to find out. YMMV.

Who doesn't love a good romance? This book really surprised me. I find this author's writing style to be clear and easy to read.

This book is about 2 women who were best friends growing up but one of their actions had lasting consequences and broke their friendship. Years later they are brought back together to plan a wedding. Can they get past what happened in the past and current life's struggles to work together? This book was funny at times and sad at times. I really enjoyed this book as I do all of Liz Talley's books.

I didn't finish this, I couldn't connect with the characters, especially the two main women. There was quite a bit of info-dumping and I lost interest quite quickly with a lot of it. Some of this was also a little over the top.
I liked the idea of the book but didn't enjoy the execution of it.
Just not for me.

The Wedding War started off ok for me. It has a fair amount of funny, drama and love. But I never really got invested in the characters or connected with the story. It had moments of good drama but it continually fell short. I like the feuding families aspect. The challenge with this book is that the level of toxicity between Tennyson and Melanie is so high for so long, and it takes too long for the potential for a forgiveness or redemption. It made the plot long and drawn out. Resolution just felt lacking. More humor might have helped move the story more or taken away the drag from their toxic relationship. This was not the fun light easy read I had been hoping for.

Fantastic story! I laughed and cried! Teeny and Melly were both great characters! Showed how we all at one time or another get stuck in a rut of our own making! This book will keep you up late both wanting to finish and wanting it to never end!

The Wedding War started off fairly good, enough funniness, drama and love, and then it didn't really lift off for me. Yes there were some parts where it started to get exciting but didn't get enough for me. Fairly anti-climatic for me, As well as the conflict between Tennyson and Mel. The conflict between them was very toxic and at times hard to believe.

I thought this was a fun romantic comedy but to be frank this was just a bit unlikable. I didn't hate it, don't get me wrong it was just very different from what I was expecting. The main characters hate each other so much it's overwhelming. Maybe the problem was in how this book was sold as your typical light read romcom.

I enjoyed this story of true friendship and love. Wedding Wars is a romantic comedy novel with all the feels.

The Wedding War is a solid book that deals with feuding families. The challenge with this book is that the level of vitriol between Tennyson and Melanie is so high for so long, and it takes too long for the potential for a forgiveness or redemption arc. There's not enough humor to offset the off-putting behavior by the mothers.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.