Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the chance to read an advance copy Forever hold your peace by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke. I have been reading more thrillers and historical fiction and picked this because it sounded like a fun and quick read. Unfortunately, this was not what I was expecting. I found the beginning slow and kind of boring, and it didn't get any better. Only one scene (the float scene) was interesting and fun, and that was towards the end. I am sure others will love it, but it wasn't for me.

Title: Forever Hold Your Peace
Author: Liz Fenton & Lis Steinke
Publisher: Aclove Press
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Forever Hold Your Peace" by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

My Sentiments:

"Forever Hold Your Peace" was quite an exciting story love story of this could who meets and fall in love during a vacation in Positano, Italy. After six weeks, they became engaged, and everything was going fine, but the parents of both Loivia and Zack were divorced, and this is where the problems began. Some history could have been better and still presented problems. How will this love story turn out for these two? With there being so many twists, secrets, family drama, and turns in the sweet love story, you, the reader, will have to pick up this novel to see what happens when the wedding is put on the whole, the couple breaks up, and what will happen next in this multi-generational contemporary story.

Thank you, NetGalley and Alcove Press, for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.

This isn’t my usual go to genre, don’t get me wrong I do like a good romance but not of the cutesy kind…BUT I am always willing to broaden my reading horizons, especially from an author (or I should say authors in this case) that I have read and enjoyed in the past and I am really glad I branched out because this was such a fun read, if a bit predictable.

The book is described as “Father of the Bride meets Bride Wars” and it is that but it is also so much more. It’s about forgiveness and letting go, letting your child make their decisions and or mistakes but it is done with a sense of humour. (Dad joke puns anyone?). It’s also a book about second chances and is more focused on the three parents’ past relationships than it is on the bride and groom, which was unique and refreshing.

Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke always manage to weave a seamless tale together so you can’t even tell it was written by two different people. Because it is fun and an easy read this would make for great beach fair. But as much fun as it was, it tended to be a bit on the repetitive side with the back and forth of the wedding planning and I just wasn’t interested in that.

The synopsis of this one compares it to Father of the Bride and that is really apt as it definitely reminded me of many beloved wedding themed movies and had a very similar vibe to that classic. I am a sucker for a wedding in a movie or a book and bonus points if there’s family drama and there is so much entertaining mess here to love. A whirlwind engagement is difficult enough to understand for Olivia and Zach’s parents but when the details about the mothers of the engaged couples past come out I was living for the drama of it all. Chaos ensues and Amy and June engaging in passive aggressive arguments and petty behavior was so entertaining for me, think total bridezilla moments but from the moms. So deliciously fun. The authors really shine when writing about friendships and the complex dynamics between Amy and June were handled in a funny and super engaging way. This was a sweet and light read that would be a perfect vacation read.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

What a fun ride this was - the perfect book to read on my vacation.

Zach and Olivia meet on the Amalfi Coast by chance and spend several weeks together. When Zach proposes, she cannot believe it but accepts quickly. When they return to the States, they get the families together for a brunch to meet each other. When Olivia's mom walks into the restaurant, about 40 minutes late, the world stops spinning. Her daughter's future in-laws are her former best friend and ex-finance.

As all the secrets come out, there is quite a ride of will they or won't they wed.

This is the story of Olivia and Zach who met while vacationing in Positano, Italy. They fell in love instantly but when they returned home to California, all hell broke loose. It was all to do with their respective families.

It starts out as a sappy romance, a bit too cute. Then it turns convoluted and twisty and complicated after they come home. It's a storm that Z and V (their “names” for eachother) have to weather. I actually ended up liking Z and V, though they almost become secondary characters due to all the family drama happening. Drama, never-ending drama! Think “soap opera”!

This story is about relationships, past and present. And, how the past can show up to haunt you many years later. It is a typical chick-lit story with a fair bit of substance. It is about forgiveness and moving forward. And the ending morphs into a Rom-Com….for a Hallmark movie.

It's an entertaining read, easy read. It's FUN! Perfect for the beach or poolside. Or, just sitting out on the deck, which is where I read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Is this a beach read? Yes, it is. Is it a light and fluffy beach read? No. Is it even a good beach read? Not in my opinion.

I have never read anything by these two authors, so please forgive my ignorance. I see that many reviews have read them and enjoyed them. I am not enjoying this depressing book at all.

It was difficult enough for me to become engaged in the romance of what I consider young adults (sorry, I'm in my 60's). However, I do understand the quickness of the romance and marriage of Zach and Olivia. My husband and I met and married within 4 months! We have been married for over 41 years!

What starts as a light, fluffy romance soon becomes a gigantic mess. This mess is because of this couple's parents, who knew each other way back when. I won't go into the sordid details but suffice it to say it was NOT pretty - but as older adults who cannot get their act together for their kids...*sigh*.

Ad the inner dialoguing and angst that goes on for pages at a time, and I was ready to dump this book unfinished.

All this, and I am only 45% finished with this book!

The following third of the book deals with this group of frenemies and how they try to plan a wedding, all while stabbing each other in the back in the nicest of ways. After something (which was expected) happens at Zach and Olivia's engagement party, this book turns into one big blame game, with each person blaming themselves and others for what had happened at the party 26 years ago. Whew, I was exhausted by this time!

The last chapter or two is our happily ever after-did you think there wasn't going to be one? Please!

No, this wasn't an extraordinary novel; the characters were flat, with hardly anything to differentiate them. You could see the ending coming a mile away, even though it was somewhat creative.

It should be a good beach, or plane read, even if it isn't all that fluffy until the end.

*ARC supplied by the publisher Penguin/Random House, the authors, and NetGalley.

Father of Bride/Monster-In-Law vibes. Cute, quick, lighter read by one of my favorite duos.

Imagine getting a phone call from your daughter who is enjoying an Italian vacation before buckling down to law school. She’s engaged and marrying the love of her life. How would you react? What could go wrong? Needless to say, conversations with parents does not go as planned and the dreaded Meet The In-Laws lunch turns into shock, horror and a total disaster (gasp). Fun, summer read that will have you shaking your head, wanting to smack a few heads and laughing at situations!

Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone!

So so good! I really enjoyed the perspective from multiple generations with a passionate story. The love, friendships, and family dynamics were so well written and truly made me feel like I was apart of the story. Liz Fenton did a beautiful job with this book and I am a huge fan!

A great beach read. Fast paced and interesting, even if a bit predictable. It's a very white bread read, though, so, if that will put you off, be aware that it may not be for you. It’s also good to know a little bit of the Rose Parade’s importance in American culture, as well.

Although I sometimes was confused as to how the reader should react to the characters, ultimately these shifting emotional reactions led to a greater depth in what could have easily been stereotypical characters.

I thought the authors did an excellent job of showing generational differences.

So, if you are looking for a quick day or two read, and a dollop of romance, this novel may do the trick for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Forever Hold Your Peace
Authors: Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke
Source: NetGalley
Pub Date: July 11, 2023

Forever Hold Your Peace by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke is a fun love story about a young couple who meet and fall in instant-love while on vacation in Positano. They are engaged after six weeks, but who’s counting? One lesson from the charming story is that we are all victims of our parents, and they tend to screw everything up…amiright? Well, they can muck up a good thing by trying too hard. Our young couple, Olivia and Zach are all in and are certain they have met their soul mates but when it’s time to meet the parents, sh*t hits the proverbial fan. It seems the parents have some solid history and it’s not good. Their wedding goes on hold, the couple breaks up, and then the parents GROW up and start thinking about the two lovebirds instead of themselves. It’s a sweet love story and another perfect summer read. #Pasadena #roseparade #truelove #Positano #parents #divorcedparents #grandparents #quickiewedding #nosheisnotpregnant #makingamends #love #family #future #LizFenton #LisaSteinke #ForeverHoldYourPeace @netgalley #AlcovePress #PubDateJuly11th #romance #chicklit @lisasteinke @lizfenton1 @alcovepress #books #bookstagram
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I received a complimentary copy of this ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to Alcove Press, NetGalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel. Pub. Date: July 11, 2023.

This one wasn't a win for me. I couldn't get into the story, I disliked all the characters and I couldn't even get into this.

This was unfortunate for me because these authors are incredible writers. Just didn't fit for me

I enjoyed this multi-generational contemporary story for its light-hearted pace, but deeply felt story. I loved how the storylines wove into each other through friendship, love, and a family drama that will surprise and entertain readers. This was my first book by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, and I will definitely read more!

I feel terrible about this as I have read and really loved previous books by these author's, but this one is not for me at all.

Other books by them have been clever and unique and twisty.. this one feels like something I have read or watched before and way too cliche for my liking.

I will say that I am probably the wrong reader for this book as I don't really enjoy romance.

I gave this book 3 stars. I typically love these authors, but there was something about this book that just didn't do it for me. The story was cute, but I don't think I felt any connection to the characters (except for some annoyance). I do think this would make a great rom-com movie and be a rare "better than the book" one.

I just could not get into this book. Not like the usual these two write and it just didn't pull me in.

It was well written but I had to mark it DNF. I read a bit over half and just could not keep going. I may try again at a later point.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. It's just not my favorite by these two great authors.

3.5 wedding planning stars

If you enjoy some wedding planning shenanigans and second-chance romance, this one will be right up your alley. It took a while to get going for me, but once we have the big reveal at the “meet the parents brunch”, things definitely pick up!

There are several sets of characters in this one. We have the young future bride and groom, who met in Italy and got engaged right away. Olivia and Zach seem perfectly matched.

Olivia’s parents, June and William, are divorced. June owns a bookstore and William is a doctor. They each have different thoughts about the upcoming nuptials.

And Zach’s parents, Amy and Troy, are divorced as well. Amy is super close with her son and might try to break up the engagement.

Just about everyone has secrets that they are keeping and it’s hard to tell how it will all shake out. Will Olivia and Zach make it down the aisle?

3.5 stars. This was a cute book! Not necessarily the kind of book I usually read, but I enjoyed it as a light, breezy read. It's a very traditional rom-com with a great cast of characters. I could picture this as a movie in my head as I was reading. Sweet and endearing!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Forever Hold Your Peace is just a fun book about two crazy kids who fell in love in Italy and come home to find out their mom's are former friends.

In other words, a entertaining juicy book that fills a void in the current literary landscape. There is romance as the soon to be weds split the narrative with the feuding mothers, but it's not the main focus. The comedic drama the mothers bring is the focus and they are flipping hell bent on having things their own way.

This was such a fun, light-hearted read! It's absolutely perfect for a quick summer read when you want something fun, but not too overwhelming. This story was chaotic, but in such a fun way. That being said, there was truly never a dull moment in the storyline and it always kept me on my toes. I felt like I was in the middle of a new Netflix comedy, it was just so entertaining.

Forever Hold Your Peace also explores different dynamics between the characters, whether it was a strained mother-daughter relationship or parents who have gone through divorce. I loved getting to see those different sides of the characters and I appreciated how the authors added some depth to an otherwise light-hearted, fun story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and it was such a delightful read! I highly recommend it if you want a quick, light-hearted read! Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.