Smalltown romance vibes, a wedding meet-cute, and some spice. All in all, everything I love in a romance novel and more.

Great small town romance book. Good family dynamic and the book was an easy read. I loved Hazel and Wyatt.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
Years ago Wyatt left home to escape his family's legacy, but after receiving an invite to his brother Winston's wedding, Wyatt finds himself returning. Well, at least Winston will be happy to see him. Wyatt and his father haven't seen eye to eye in a while, causing him to avoid the family altogether. The Ford's are an affluent family in Cold Springs and Wyatt would be as well, but he chose to forge his own way and has never regretted his decision. He does miss his family though. Upon his return, he soon realizes that not everyone is a Ford fan, especially the woman who has caught and continues to keep his eye. Hazel and her family have a long running feud with the Ford's, which includes Wyatt by default. Hazel has noticed Wyatt and even though he's off limits, he's quickly becoming a temptation she can't resist. While falling fast for Hazel and trying to prove himself worthy, Wyatt sees the growing tensions within his family mount. Some caused by him and some not. Wyatt left because he didn't agree with the way things were being handled within his family, or rather how he was being handled by his family. He proved he could make it on his own without the support of his family. What he comes to realize is that they need his support to make them whole again.
GREAT READ WITH MAIN CHARACTERS THAT DREW ME IN FROM THE START AND SECONDARY CHARACTERS THAT HELD THEIR OWN SUPPORTING THE STORY! IT WAS VERY EASY TO GET SWEPT UP INTO! THIS STORY IS AMAZING AND IT WILL DEFINITELY KEEP YOU TURNING THE PAGES!!!

3.25⭐
Genre ~ contemporary romance
Series ~ Cold Springs #1
Others in the series ~ The Wrong Guy
Setting ~ Cold Springs (not sure what state we're in, but I think it's on the East Coast and there's a y'all thrown in once in a while)
Publication date ~ October 25, 2022
Est page Count ~ 296 (26 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 28 minutes
Narrators ~ CJ Bloom, Teddy Hamilton
POV ~ dual 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ best man/maid of honor, small town, opposites attract, slow burn, minimal steamage, no 3rd act breakup

Wyatt & Hazel
Wyatt is back in the hometown that he left years ago to be the best man in his brothers wedding. He'll be in and out in a matter of days, or will he? Hazel is a hometown girl and best friends with the bride.

What bugged me the most about this one was that everyone judged Wyatt based on his family. I hate that. Just because his family is awful doesn't automatically mean he is. His Uncle Jed is trying to redevelop the small town. I liked that the whole town came together against this, but there was a bit too much emphasis on this as the plot and not on the budding relationship between the MC's, which is what I would have liked more. I liked Wyatt as a person. Once he decided he wasn't leaving town he was all in.

Hazel is a sassy one. She's wants nothing to do with a Ford, but doesn't seem to be able to deny her attraction to him. I liked her relationship with her family. And I'd really like to be able to taste a bacon and candied pecan topped cupcake.

Most lovable side characters:
~ the bride and groom, Avery & Winston, were so adorable. I kinda wish they had their own book, but it's too late now.
~ Avery's grandpa, Joe, was a feisty fella
~ Lester, the foul mouthed bird, was a hoot

Most in-between love and hate side characters and things:
~ Charlene was crass, but still somewhat funny
~ the name of the burgers (more towards hate with this)
~ the whole reasoning Hazel's family hates Jed is fine for a couple of years, but still 30 years later is a bit too long for me
~ pretty slow burn for most of it, then wham with the feelings

Most hateable side characters:
~ Jed
~ Rachel, the other bridemaid, was a little too aggressive for me
~ Cara, the wedding planner, was annoying and rude

Overall, this is middle of the road for me. But can I get a whoop whoop for no 3rd act breakup.

Narration notes:
I did not listen to this one, but am just giving the info above for reference.

Sort of boring! Instalove just didn’t ring true given how much Hazel hated the Ford family (for good reason). The whole Ford family dynamic made very little sense. Even though Jed had money, why did he think paying for his nephews’ college education or wedding was a way to own them? Why, after so many years of public service, did Wyatt’s father Bill get caught up in Jed’s schemes?

Most characters were not well-developed, the passion between Wyatt and Hazel was tepid, and the only comic relief came from the parrot. Forgettable!

I just loved this book so much. I was hooked from the very beginning.
Lauren Landish is new to me author and I think I will be reading so other books by her soon .

I do recommend .

THE WRONG BRIDESMAID - LAUREN LANDISH

This was my first reading encounter with the author. I did not connect with the writing and the story as I should've liked, which could be on some level my fault, too.
I usually like small town romances, especially when the 'long lost' family member returns home, only to see turmoil!

I wanted to like the Romeo and Juliet-type of love story between Wyatt and, but even Shakespeare couldn't sell me the idea of this type of forbidden love story, so that's why I think I just chose the wrong book for me.

I stopped reading contemporary romance novels around the time I requested this book and another. This wasn't fair to the authors to request and not read. I am sure both books were great I regret that I couldn't bring myself to read them.

Absolutely loved this book!

The writing style was really good and I look forward to reading any other books from this author in the future :)

This is a fantastic, witty, swoon worthy romance! Lauren Landish has given us another fantastic rom-com!

Small town romances I always love. And it’s funny!

Wyatt returns to his hometown he fled after college without thinking he might find the one he is meant to meet. And without realizing his family, particularly his uncle, is now the down side of the town.

Hazel is a strong female who can tend to be a bit much. I love a strong female but possibly dial back a little.

Go to this small town and fall with these two!

This was a fun book. Wyatt is returning home for his brothers wedding after getting out of town as fast as he could when he was younger. He didn't want the family riches and requirements and wanted to make it on his own. Hazel is a bridesmaid who is loud and snarky. She thinks she doesn't need anyone. Sparks fly as soon as these two meet.

Cute, but not particularly memorable. A nice story, but I didn't connect with the characters.

This book was sent via NetGalley.

Wyatt is the eldest of the richest family in Cold Springs but he left in order to be able to plan his own future. His father Bill is the mayor and his uncle Jed controls most of the town's property and construction business. He also tries to control the family. Reluctantly Wyatt has returned for his brother Winston's wedding. He encounters Hazel, a brash outspoken waitress at the local bar/diner. He is fascinated by her but she's not interested. Her family and the Fords have long been enemies. Wyatt is determined and their romance is delightful to watch. Great story as always from Ms Landish!

This was fine, but nothing special. It's an easy read and there were some very enjoyable characters (Grandpa Joe is a fav of mine) but most of the characters were over the top and all of them were quite immature. I enjoyed the writing style I was just not a fan of most of the characters, which coloured my overall enjoyment of the book. I also hate insta love and this was very insta love.

Thank you NetGalley, Montlake, and Lauren Landish for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this! Such a good read and I just flew thorough the pages. Lauren never disappoints, her romcoms are some of my all time favorites. This one was definitely added to that list. Would recommend!

The Wrong Bridesmaid is a good story about a bad egg in the family that nearly ruins an entire last name in the community. Wyatt knows what he wants and what he doesn't but I would not say he's an alpha. Hazel is a from a family of strong women that show their concern when Hazel seems to be fraternizing with the enemy - even though none of them really know Wyatt. Overall, this was a cute book and ya gotta love an animal that steals the show. ******blawwwk 😂

An absolutely hilarious story you’ll fall in love with! I have never laughed so hard. Lauren does an amazing job of building a story you’ll never want to put down.

This book was a great mix between mouthwatering food, sarcastic relationship with a golden retriever, male and a black cat female, but also grumpy sunshine, which I absolutely adored and also The. We can’t be together because of your family because of your reputation.
I will definitely be really more of these books are absolutely a doored this one it was great I thought it was steamy. The characters are well thought out they all have a quirk which was very interesting

The Wrong Bridesmaid starts off setting the stage very heavily with family drama, small town drama and politics, and characters that seem very abrasive. You immediately think its going to be super intense and lots of trigger warnings but it ends up moving from that to a more fast paced story. The characters unfortunately didnt grab me, I could not connect with either of them and didnt really love them. At the end this was just fine.