Vivian was a huge fan of Mel, a comedian, before she met him. Let’s just say their meet cute wasn’t so cute. Unfortunately, Vivian’s roommate is getting married to Mel’s best friend, and they are both in the wedding party. As they spend more and more time together, they discover they might actually like each other.

This was a slow burn opposite attract/ enemies to lovers romance. Told through the POV’s of Vivian and Mel, both of whom were bisexual and Asian. Their romance was sweet with some open-door scenes, but there were some serious topics as well. Vivian had a lot of emotional baggage from her family – she was the eldest sibling in a large Asian family in which she was the caretaker and all the responsibilities fell onto her. Her character had a lot of growth throughout the book which I loved. I thought the book was a little slow and the ending a little rushed, but ultimately, I as happy when Vivian and Mel resolved their issues and became a couple.

Side note, this was the sequel to Donut Fall in Love (which I haven’t read), but can be read as a standalone.

Thank you to Berkley for my #gifted copy and for including me on the tour for this book.

First, Mel is hilarious and his comedy tour would be one I’d buy tickets. Come to a city near me, please!

This opposites-attract love story finds two bisexuals spending a great deal of time together as their closest friends are marrying. Even though their friends believe they don’t like each other.

Their underlying current of attraction is more than Vivian and Mel can handle, and next thing you know they are sneaking back to Mel’s hotel room to hook-up. It’s a one-night stand, YES that is what Vivian keeps telling herself. The stress of the wedding, life in general, she needs this man right now!

Only its so much more…who wouldn’t want to be gifted a hedgehog pillow she names Mellie and a giant chicken drumstick pillow she names Pete. Afraid to admit she misses Mel as he’s in NY and she in Toronto, these pillows serve as her emotional support comforts until she can see him again.

I enjoyed this journey with Mel and Vivian after reading book #1, Donut Fall in Love. The Stand-up Groomsman can be read as a stand alone in the series. It was also wonderful to have LGBTQA+ representation, as being bisexual doesn’t change based on who you are with in your love story.

Thank you Berkley for the #gifted copy of the novel to read and review.

I've had the formula for "The Type of Romance Novel Katie Would Most Enjoy" set for several years--grumpy, brooding guy initially dislikes but comes to love funny, sunshine gal who brings out his caring and emotional side and gets him out of his shell. But gender doesn't matter in this formula, and The Stand-Up Groomsman proves that.

The story starts out, well, not promisingly--Mel immediately insults Vivian and belittles her career choice--but the way Jackie Lau develops their eventual relationship feels organic. The pacing is realistic. They text a little about the bachelor/ette parties; they progress to sending each other funny pictures or comments, and eventually their chemistry culminates at the wedding.

It's a pleasure to watch these two folks (who are both queer--an added bonus, as Lau incorporates this into the story and doesn't just mention it once time for the sake of tokenism) reveal their trust, their vulnerability, and their affection for one another. There's little drama, but the conflict that exists serves to allow Mel and Vivian to deal with their trauma and realize what they want and need out of a romantic relationship. The ending is unconventional but satisfying; I read this in a day, so I felt like I had experienced a loss when the story was over.

I haven't read Donut Fall in Love, and I don't want to at this point because I'm happy with how I perceive Mel and Vivian (and I think both of them feature in the previous book). But readers who read and enjoyed that book may enjoy this one too.

I loved this book. It played out like a fav Rom Com that I rewatch happily.
I also appreciated reading Asian American representation in a romance, and not only that a m/f queer couple as they are both bi!
The comeback after a faulty first meet is always a redemption trope I admire because it is so relatable! The steam in this book was quite delectable as well!

This is the sequel to the Donut Fall in Love book and I thought this was better than the first. It's the story of Mel and Vivian, best friends of the main characters from the first book. Vivian and Mel have a bad first meeting and don't talk again until they are asked to be in their friend's wedding.

I want to talk about what I loved the most about this book - how real it was! You could really get into the minds of the main characters and feel all the things they were feeling. They didn't have a ton of miscommunications, which is common in romances, and I loved it for that. They were just real and I loved how they handled their conversations. The two main characters are also bi and I loved the representation there and how they were trying to navigate what that means for their lives. I thought this book had a lot of heart. It also had a lot of steam and it was done so perfectly with how their relationship developed! I thought the pacing of this book was so well done.

*Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

Vivian has always enjoyed stand up comedian Mel's shows but when she meets him for the first time, he says something that doesn't sit well with her. From then on, Vivian is determined to stay away from him and his shows. But when her best friend plans her wedding to Mel's friend, both find themself in the wedding party and seeing each other on a regular basis. Can they put their differences aside and get along for the sake of their friends?

I have to admit, this book started off a lot slower than I was hoping. Initially I didn't love either of the main characters but as the book moved on, I found myself warming to them both. By about the 50% mark, I was fully invested in the romance and rooting for our couple to get it right. Steamy at times and downright sweet in other parts, this book is an all round delicious read.

This is my first book by Jackie Lau. I didn’t realize this was the second book of Donut Fall in Love. I enjoyed it, it was fun and I loved the queer representation. I feel there isn’t a lot of queer representation in books. While I enjoyed it, I didn’t LOVE it. I felt there was chemistry lacking between Mel and Vivan. I loved Vivian’s point of view, the same can’t be said for Mel’s.

A slow-burn, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance with queer representation, a frank look at mental health issues, and two nuanced characters, The Stand-Up Groomsman is an all-the-feels gem.

I’ve been anticipating this book since Mel and Vivian came face-to-face in Jackie Lau’s Donut Fall in Love and gave new meaning to the saying, “Don’t meet your heroes.” As a consequence, I was extremely nervous going in that I might be in for a hefty dose of disappointment. Thankfully, I was not.

There was no disappointment to be had in this steamy slow-burn. From the unconventional hero—he’s not 6’5” with an (over)abundance of muscles—to the anxiety-ridden missteps and mistakes to the prickly hedgehog of a heroine (that’ll make sense when you read it), The Stand-Up Groomsman made a point of bringing romance into a very real and relatable sphere. Yes, even though one of the characters is a successful comedian with a Netflix special and besties with an Oscar-nominated actor.

This is a book that makes you laugh and smile and swoon even as asks you to slow down and take a step back; to think about what motivates people and how the weight of expectation can become a burden too heavy to carry. Both Mel and Vivian experience this in different ways, finding in one another a like mind, if a different personality (and tolerance for karaoke), and therein lies one of this book’s charms: the protagonists seem so very opposite and yet, Lau builds around them a love story that is so believable and funny and emotional that looking beyond their differences to see their similarities is easy.

And ultimately, rewarding. Yes, I might have appreciated a more detailed epilogue and wondered if, as both Mel and Vivian pointed out, Mel’s “bits” would have been more amusing and enjoyable had I’d seen them performed with the energy only a fictional character can produce. But that didn’t stop me from loving the way this delightfully deep romance unfolded, nor from grinning as these two found first common ground, then friendship, and finally, true love.

THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN – Jackie Lau
Berkeley
ISBN: 978-0593334324
October 25, 2022
Romantic Comedy

Toronto & New York City – Present Day

Vivian Liao’s best friend Lindsay announces her engagement to Ryan and asks Vivian to be the bridesmaid, which means that she will have to come face to face with Melvin Lee again. A year ago, Vivian was enamored with Melvin, who was a TV star alongside Ryan and even drew a picture of him, which she presented to him when they were introduced by Lindsay. But Melvin treated her with disdain by mocking her career choice of banking instead of her going into art, which doesn’t pay the bills. But with their best friends now engaged, Vivian and Mel will need to play nice with each other.

Vivian still thinks Mel is a pompous jerk, even though he tries to charm her by making her laugh. Despite her vow to avoid him except for wedding stuff, she is soon showing up at his comedy club gigs and going out to dinner with him. An agnostic relationship soon turns into a friendly one, which leads to more than just having dinner. Once the wedding responsibilities are over, will they go their separate ways? After all, her life is in Toronto, while his home is in New York City.

Mel is a funny guy. While he doesn’t have his best friend Ryan’s looks or body, he is still popular enough to be recognized from the tv show they once starred in together. Yeah, he started off on the wrong foot with Vivian, but he only wanted to encourage her to explore her dream career rather than stay stuck in a job only because it pays the bills. As he gets to know Vivian, he becomes attracted to her. If only they were living in the same city because he knows that they would be spending all their time together.

THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN opens with the fateful first meeting of Vivian and Mel. He is always looking for a laugh, which she liked at first. But when he started questioning what she did for a living, he mocked her. Her crush on him then led her to crushed feelings. Part of the prose in this tale has Mel talking to the audience as he’s doing his stand-up comedy act. He is influenced by his family and life experiences. Will he use what happens with Vivian as part of it? She is sensitive because she has low self-esteemed caused by her family never appreciating her. Cross that with a comic who makes fun of people, and it is clear why things started off rocky between Vivian and Mel. Turns out that he is a good guy, one who even stood by her while she was sick. This causes a change in their relationship, but they still have barriers to overcome.

There are plenty of laugh-out-loud scenes in THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN, but you will also find emotional ones to make you care for both Vivian and Mel. They click in the sexual chemistry department but will need to find ways to make their relationship work for the long-term. Don’t miss the fun and laughter in THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Mel and Vivian's first meeting did not go well. She had worried that meeting one of her favorite celebrities in real life could be a disappointment, and wow, it was. And now they have to spend a great deal of time together as their closest friends get married.

I was impressed with Mel's comedy sets. Writing comedy is tough, and the sets fit his character a d humor well, with a range of good and off days. I also really appreciated how the story dug into comedy as a mask for sadder emotions.

I was also thrilled by the LGBTQ representation. Both Mel and Vivian are bisexual, and there was a lot of discussion about how that doesn't change based on who they happen to be with at the time. The book tackled several heavier issues as well, as it explored their relationship and what it means to be in a relationship.

I did not enjoy the male narrator, James Sie. His vocals for Mel and all the women made it more difficult for me to like the characters. Eunice Wong did a great job narrating. I preferred reading the ebook to listening to the audiobook for this one and would even give the two different editions different ratings.

I really enjoyed reading about Mel and Vivian. I loved that I had already read Donut Fall in Love about their friends and their initial meeting. But this can also stand alone.

What a delightful story!

After a rather inauspicious meet-cute when their respective best friends got together in "Donut Fall in Love," Vivian and Mel are thrown together again when Lindsay and Ryan plan their wedding. This time around, the attraction is still there but they are definitely taking a friends-first approach.

One of the things I love best about a Jackie Lau book, besides all the delicious food recommendations that are effortlessly worked into the story, is the inclusion of the extended family, especially grandparents. Mel's grandmother is a lot of fun, the kind of grandmother everyone should meet at least once in their life.

Both Mel and Vivian are charmingly anxiety-ridden, resulting in much of the drama of their relationship focusing on working through their insecurities and past trust issues, both independently and together. These are the most authentic-feeling characters that I've ever read -- truly, they feel like people I've known for years.

This is an outstanding "ordinary, everyday" love story and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves contemporary romances. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

I can’t put my finger on it but this one was just hard to get through. I think some of it might be because I want invested in the couple themselves. I get that she liked him before she met him, but I just didn’t see enough development after their first failure of an introduction. I loved seeing her work through her family problems and just in general her need to not be reliant on anyone

Thank you PRH audio for my gifted copy! I enjoyed this one, but not as much as Donut Fall in Love. I really liked the narration for Vivian, but not so much for Mel. I really liked Vivian’s character and really appreciated the backstory of her childhood. I liked how Mel and Vivian developed a friendship and then how it blossomed into more. I really liked how this one was resolved.

What a cute love story! I loved how it was based in Toronto, with so many nods to my favourite places. I also loved how differntly this was written, with the inclusion of a character who was a standup comedian. Amazing to get bits of a standup routine in this book! I loved how this showed a different side to LGBTQ love - and explored the biases some people hold against different types of people. Overall, a fun and quick read!

Jackie Lau is my favorite contemporary romance writer, and I know I can expect a well-rounded book filled with complicated characters trying to deal with grown-up situations from her. The Stand-Up Groomsman isn’t my absolute favorite Lau, but it’s still a straight-up delight, and well worth a read.

Vivian Liao is an introvert who has learned how to hold herself with grace and cool reserve in public. When she meets her personal hero, Mel Lee – the co-lead in the popular series Just Another New York Sitcom – during a night out at a comedy club, things go disastrously when Mel sees Vivian’s fan art of his character and he interrogates her career choices in front of their friends - he wonders why she’s in corporate finance when her art skills are so refined. Vivian storms out.
Unfortunately for Vivian, she and Mel are destined to meet again. One year later, her best friend and roommate, baker Lindsay McLeod, is marrying Mel’s best friend and co-star, Ryan Kwok (hero and heroine of Donut Fall In Love). Vivian is the maid of honor and Mel is the best man, which means she and Mel are stuck spending time together doing all sorts of wedding-based activities. Vivian still isn’t pursuing her artistic career, and Mel still wants to be liked for the real him. Cake tastings, karaoke parties and other wedding events ensue, and the more time Mel and Vivian spend together, the more they start to like each other. But can the past be truly forgotten?

Romance, the hard stuff of growing up and the fun stuff of good food and good friendship – that is what a Jackie Lau romance is made of. The Stand-Up Groomsman is more of the same, even though there were a few weak points that put this one on at B-level - it's good, but not as great as her other books.

Tightly-wound Vivian and easy-breezy Mel are definitely archetypes to a degree, but they spring free of their tropes and come to life beneath Lau’s pen. The wedding preparations are a lot of fun to follow, and their career battles – Vivian has to choose between finance and art – are also compelling.

Some people are going to have issues with Mel’s introduction to Vivian, and with the notion of a fangirl finding love with her idol, but soon enough he’s vulnerable (his father left when he was a child, so he’s got residual issues) and they’re on an even playing field. It’s a good romance, a fun one, and a sharp portrayal of a lovely and growing affection between two nice people.

The Stand-Up Groomsman has weight, but also dances with the joy of finding love, finding your art, and finding your calling.

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I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGallley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

The Stand-Up Groomsman picks up shortly after where Jackie Lau’s previous Berkley title, Donut Fall in Love, left off, this time following supporting characters from that book. It can be read as a stand-alone, although I do recommend reading the first book, even with some of the issues I had with it.

I personally liked both characters in this one a lot more than its predecessor, because they both feel more nuanced and three-dimensional. Lau is a master of creating distinct characters, and that’s something I feel was missing in book one that she more than made up for here.

First off, Melvin Lee is everything. I love that he’s not the most conventionally attractive (compared to his friend and co-star Ryan), but he more than makes up for it with his personality. He’s funny and super sweet, even if he can be a bit abrasive at times. But he’s also deeply complex, and I love seeing the layers of how his image impacts his sense of self, navigating the world as a bisexual Asian comedian with depression.

Vivian is a similarly deep soul. She’s more shy and guarded, which I relate to, even if her background doesn’t entirely resemble mine. Her family dynamics provide context for her desire to maintain solitude for the most part and keep most intimate romantic connections at arm’s length. While she’s also wounded, it’s fascinating how it manifests in different ways, to the point where she doesn’t feel initially that she has anything in common with the outspoken Mel.

I really liked how the relationship arc addressed their respective personal issues, culminating in them finding happiness in a way that suits them. There’s no drama for the sake of it, and the HEA feels earned. The arc and plot this time around also felt it merited the tradpub novel-length, improving on the first book, which I feel dragged things out unnecessarily.

This was a solid read from Jackie Lau, in keeping with the quality with the majority of her work thus far. If you’re looking for a contemporary romance that has equal parts humor and heart, I recommend picking this one up!

I received a gifted galley of THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN by Jackie Lau for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, PRH Audio, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN follows Vivian and Melvin. Vivian was once a big fan of comedian Mel… then she met him. When they meet, it does not go well and they’ve vowed never to meet again. Unfortunately Vivian’s friend and roommate is now engaged to Mel’s best friend so as a bridesmaid and best man, they will need to spend quite a bit of time in each other’s company. From trying to get along for the sake of their friends to actually finding out they enjoy each other’s company, their relationship has a long ways to go.

Though this is the second book in a series and this book definitely follows on the heals of book one, this would absolutely work as a standalone. We first met Vivian and Mel in DONUT FALL IN LOVE and saw their disastrous first meeting, but we get the replay at the start of this book and that really delivers all you absolutely need to know.

To be honest, I didn’t particularly like Mel in book one. He’s a jokester which makes sense with his job as a comedian, but he comes across with a strong personality that I wasn’t sure would work with the much more introverted Vivian. He definitely would be too high energy for me in real life. That said, getting to know him better in this book did make me like him a lot more and I think the pairing worked out well.

This book also takes a look at the family and career dynamics for both characters, the good and the bad, as well as their identities as both main characters are bisexual. We see this in Mel’s comedy sets as he portrays (and edits) his life for public consumption and in their day to day discussions with each other and the people in their lives. The book deals with the way people perceive and misperceive sexual identity.

THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN comes out on Tuesday!

Mel was one of Vivian’s favorite actors and comedians; however when they met in person for the first time a year ago, things didn’t go well (Donut Fall in Love, book 1). With their friends getting married, and both in the wedding, the pair decide to be civil, but what develops is a friendship… and more.

The Stand-Up Groomsman is an unconventional romance, allowing readers to see that not everyone’s love story ends the same. I appreciate the positive message that love doesn’t cure anxiety and messes, but it can help fulfill a person.

Vivian and Mel both struggle with mental and emotional health issues. Vivian raised her younger siblings because her parents worked all the time, and this has skewed her perception of love. Vivian has had to give to those she loves without getting anything in return, so she prefers not to love. Now that she’s finally found footing on her own, she doesn’t want to share that with anyone. When Mel shows her affection and attention - takes care of her because he cares about her - it makes her uncomfortable and creates an internal conflict. Her view of relationships is so narrow, she truly struggles with the concept that there are other ways to love and be loved.

Mel, on the other hand, is free with his love and cares a lot for others. He goes from one relationship to another, but they don’t seem to last. He knows things are different with Vivian, but he struggles to get her to see what they could be together. Mel suffers from depression and anxiety, which color his thoughts and humor. The author does an excellent job using Mel’s stand up routines to get readers inside his head and heart.

Vivian’s scars are deep and it takes a lot for her to overcome the pain. I love that Mel is perfect for her… he’s patient, giving, and loving. The author does an excellent job of describing their emotions: both the joys and the fears. My heart hurt when it wasn’t working, and I was filled with joy when they would make progress.

Overall, The Stand-Up Groomsman is a delightful, emotionally-satisfying tale that allows readers to enjoy falling in love within a non-traditional romance.

My Rating: B+

Included as a top pick in bimonthly October New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

I loved The Stand Up Groomsman! As an older reader myself, I really love reading romances with protagonists that are more mature and in their 30s or older. And I cannot get enough of the enemies to lovers trope. I’d been looking forward to this after reading and enjoying Donut Fall In Love, and Jackie Lau’s steamy follow up did not disappoint.