3.5 stars, rounded up

I'd like to start by saying that the beginning of this book was fantastic. Nat and Archie seem like a great match, not perfect, but in love enough to make things work. There are plenty of things they don't know about each other but they have the rest of their lives together to find out. The two of them seem pretty in sync on what they want their wedding to be. Archie starts out being supportive of Nat when his family first gets involved.

As the story goes on though, he seems to fall back further and further out of the picture. Practically throwing Nat to the wolves (his mother and sister) who have taken over everything. Nat can't seem to find her voice and I found the story started to drag a bit. I couldn't understand why Nat allowed things to get so out of hand.

The author also found an organic way to tie in the current pandemic that suited things nicely. It ensures readers know the basic timeline without it feeling forced.

My favourite character has to be Nat's grandpa. He brings in so much life and freshness. Whenever things started to drag he was able to bring me back into the story before I got disinterested. The perspective and advice he gives are very relevant, I just love him.

I received an advanced copy of this story through NetGalley and am leaving a voluntary, honest review.

Occasionally I feel very differently about a book than is popular. I look at the other reviews and wonder if I'm reading the same review. This is one of those books. I adored this book! I've never read a Sophie Ranald novel before but I assure you this wont be my last.

Archie and Natalie are planning their wedding. They're both easy going and would love a simple wedding. Dress from a shop in the mall. Wedding in the register office. Reception at the pub. Only Archie's mother and sister completely take over the wedding planning. Mother in law turns into the Bridezilla and so she won't dislike her, Natalie goes along with it. Only problem is its to the detriment of her relationship with Archie. Along with the wedding, Natalie is dealing with a sick grandpa, a stressful career, and a mom whos spent her whole life putting herself last.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was an easy five star read. Sophie is a master writer of women's fiction. She crafted a story that was in turn funny and heart warming. Each situation was absolutely believable and every character had depth and added warmly to the story. Instead of a textbook ending, the ending was happy, but maybe not what you'd think it will be. This is truly a happy escape read with love and humor in equal measure. I highly recommend!

Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley, and Sophie Ranald for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy! Thanks to you, Sophie Ranald has become one of my favorite authors!

I love how the characters are all intertwined and each book takes the perspective of a different character. This time we follow Nat and Archie. Archie proposes to Nat within a year of knowing her, she says yes then her world begins to go crazy. Archie's mom and sister take over the wedding plan, to a style that doesn't match Nat and Archie, but they are too quiet to speak up and just roll with it. Causing tension amongst the couple. During this time, Nat's grandfather suffers a fall requiring surgery and rehab as well as a stroke. The strain from her family emergencies and unhappy with the wedding planning causes Nat to eventually snap. This is a fun quick read, and it all works out in the end ;)

Archie and Natalie are getting married. Except Archie’s mother and sister are taking over their wedding plans.

I really wanted to like this book, but the railroading of the mother and sister made it excruciating to read at times. I also just wanted to strangle Archie for being so passive and not standing up for Natalie. I think things got pushed too far than when everything had to ‘break’ for resolution, I didn’t feel as heartwarmed by the end. Just not enough layers to make me empathise enough.

This book had promise but I think really needed a bit more work.

2.5 stars

After a messy but cute proposal, Natalie and Archie are beginning to plan their wedding. Something small and quiet at the registry, followed by a reception at the local pub. But Archie’s mother and sister turn into bridesillas, and take over planning, and Archie seems miles away. How has the wedding gotten so out of hand, and will Natalie be able to bring it back?

I found Archie to be such a likeable character in his cameos in the two previous books I’ve read by Ranald, so I was super disappointed to finally have a book about him and find I hated him. He’s selfish and flakey, he can’t bother to plan or care about his wedding, and helps starts fights every time Natalie brings it up to him. I couldn’t stand him.

Natalie isn’t much better. She lets everyone walk all over her and plan this ridiculous wedding she doesn’t want just to make other people happy. She is in a loveless relationship, and she adds to the fighting with Archie.

Then of course Archie’s mother and sister are terrible, basically planning a wedding for the sister herself instead of Archie and his bride.

Overall I couldn’t stand the characters and it made it hard to finish, just because I didn’t care about the story. I’m sad to stay I didn’t like this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Publishers for the advance copy of this book to read and review.

Nat and Archie have been together for six months when he proposes to her. She’s a sporty physio in a hospital and he owns a craft beer shop. Their happy relationship turns in a wedding frenzy and it’s not because of either of them but rather Archie’s mom and sister Daisy.

Nat and Archie were keen on a small registry wedding followed by a meal and their favourite eatery but his family have other plans.

He doesn’t want to get involved and Nat doesn’t want them to think badly of her. As things spiral out of control, eventually Nat calls off the entire wedding and Archie moves out.

Sadly for 90% of the book she is just unhappy and too scared to say anything about it 😬

The other characters in the story, Nat’s mom Emma, Grandfather and his cat Teresa, and her friends redeem the story with their normal, level headedness.

** Spoilers ahead **

While there are some high points to this novel, ultimately it's not one that I would recommend or want to revisit.

First, the highlights. There's an authenticity to the relationship between Natalie and Archie - things aren't perfect, they've both got their flaws, but they're figuring it out. I found myself rooting for them throughout the book, and appreciated the realism in their portrayal.

I also loved Natalie's family. Her relationship with her mom warmed my heart, and I adored Robin, Natalie's grandfather. Archie's relationship with Robin, in particular, caused a sweet little "awwww" pang every time we got a glimpse of their dynamic.

My big challenge came with Archie's family, notably Yvonne and Daisy - the villains in this tale. They become increasingly unhinged in their approach to wedding planning, but then do a complete 180 - seemingly out of nowhere - and become supportive future in-laws, begging forgiveness for their actions and supporting Natalie's wishes. It honestly gave me whiplash, and while I understand that ultimately Natalie was an unreliable narrator who had made them out to be worse than they actually were, I still felt that the shift was too sudden and really detracted from the end of the book.

Finally, I feel like the whole book was longer than it needed to be. It drags on in excruciating detail, then speeds through the resolution. That, combined with throwing in the COVID lockdown at the end, left me feeling ultimately dissatisfied with the book as a whole. I liked the characters and the premise, but the execution was ultimately lacking.

** This book was provided to me as an ARC via NetGalley. **

I did really enjoy this book. it was light and funny in places with a touch of sadness at times.

Natalie and Archie have got engaged and what should be the best time of their lives, slowly turns into a bit of a nightmare for Natalie. Archie's mum and little sister Daisy completely take over the planning, Natalie wants a small wedding but they have other plans and Archie does not want to be involved in the planning of it or taking control of his family. Its frustrating that Natalie doesn't stop them and take control of the situation, however, this makes it relatable and you can see that this happens in every day life.

You are left wondering all through the book about whether or not they will make it down the aisle. The characters are strong, even the supporting characters and it has left me hoping that that the other characters stories will be told sometime to get to know them further.

Its a relatable story to anyone planning or has planned a wedding before, you can see that these situation's snowball and everyone has an opinion about what you should do, who should be invited, etc. If you want a light hearted read, this book is for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and bookouture for this arc in exchange for an honest review

Overall a light and easy read. Full of laugh out loud moments and quirky banter. An enjoyable read that will appeal to lovers of chik lit and rom coms.

The premise seems fun so I'm quite disappointed that what I felt while reading was the opposite. The plot moves really slow and just when the story is getting interesting it landed flat. There's really not much romance in this book and the comedy here is a hit and miss. I couldn't get quite into the characters as they're very inconsistent. I liked the part about family (Nat's family), but apart from that, everything just didn't do it for me.

I received an arc from publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly this book had me struggling to read it, it just didn't grab me like I had hoped it would. This is in no reflection on the author, she wrote it very well, it was completely me not feeling it

Rom-Coms are my genre but this one was just okay for me. I really enjoyed the writing style of the book so I enjoyed reading it but the plot left me a little unfulfilled. We miss the romance in this novel (though the proposal scene is adorable) because we meet this couple once they’re already together and the majority of the book is spent with Natalie and her in-laws with the fiancé barely there. The book mentions covid and lockdowns near the end which made it modern and relatable. If you enjoy bridezilla type stories or wedding planning and all the fun (and stress ha) that goes along with that, this is the book for you. In the end though, I didn’t get quite the ending I wanted. So although I wished there was a bit more romance in this one, it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this book. All opinions are my own as always.

Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
I've read a number of Sophie Ranalds books before and enjoyed them. This one, however didn't hit the spot for me at all. I couldn't be less interested in wedding stories, thought that the characters were generally dislikeable, and that Covid era references towards the end were tagged on rather than realistic inclusions. Some of the character development worked, but on the whole this wasn't a book I enjoyed at all.

A good read - light and funny. Exactly the sort of summer escapism you need. Love seeing the characters and places crop up again and again.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of He's Canceled by Sophie Ranald. This book follows Archie and Natalie with their trials and tribulations planning a wedding. Very good!

This book got me out of a reading slump! I haven’t read very much for the last couple of months despite really wanting to get back into reading again. As soon as I was approved for this book I knew I had to read it as soon as possible.

This is now my third Sophie Ranald book and I can safely say she’s now on my auto buy list for future releases. I didn’t read the book description for this - I just knew I’d enjoy it.

I really have to read Sophie’s earlier books because I’m sure they’ll be just as fun!

I know that two of her books that I’ve read have focussed more on fixing issues in existing relationships rather than the woman starting from scratch, and that’s quite a refreshing change. I love chick lit at its craziest and at its most realistic, but these types of stories really do seem more realistic.

Overall this book was great for getting me out of my slump. It was an easy, enjoyable read. Now I’m onto the agonising wait for Sophie’s next book!

This was a good read and made a change from my usually requested thriller/crime books
It was frothy , funny and really sweet . Nat & Archie are recently engaged and very happy , when they tell his parents , it's a green light for Archies Mum and Sister to take over the wedding planning with no thought for what Nat wants , I did want to shake Nat who just goes along with everything to keep the peace . There are some genuinely funny bits that had me chuckling . A great tonic on a grey old day

I do enjoy a good rom-com and He's Cancelled was brilliant. Archie and Natalie are great characters who made me laugh but also made me want to talk some sense into them! I will definitely be looking forward to reading more books by Sophie Ranald.

With 'He's Cancelled', Sophie Ranald adds to her literary universe centring around the pub The Ginger Cat. This instalment mentions our prior heroes, Alice and Zoe, but this time we are following Natalie, You might remember her boyfriend Archie playing Scrabble and seriously flirting with Alice in 'Just Saying'. So I did not go into this really rating him as he emotionally cheated on Nat already... Great start.

In this book, Archie and Nat have been together less than a year but they are engaged and planning a wedding. Despite Nat having doubts about her future with Archie, she is forced to dive into extravagant wedding planning by Archie's wealthy mother and sister. Who needs a registry office and sausage rolls when you can have a stately home and peacocks? As plans veer out of control, the reader is left wondering whether the couple will make it down the aisle.

I did not enjoy this as much as 'Thank You Next' as I felt less of an emotional connection to the characters. Nat waits far too long before standing up for herself and Archie does not feel like a particularly redeemable character. (SPOILER His behaviour when Nat is assaulted by Archie's childhood friend is disgusting. He never really apologises - this surely would be a relationship deal breaker?? END OF SPOILER).

I always enjoy Ranald's books. They are light, funny and the connections are fun to spot. This is not my favourite entry to The Ginger Cat universe but it is a pleasant read. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's such a fun and quirky story. The characters are fun yet at times very frustrating. Natalie has such a great heart that it's hard to read without getting frustrated for her. Natalie's character is very relatable and down-to-earth. Every single character changes by the end of the story except for Archie. Archie as one of the main characters doesn't seem to evolve at all. That little detail does get on my nerve somehow. One thing I did read incorrectly was the title of the book. Hence, I was confused at the ending, although I thought it made the story more interesting in my head.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.