Maid of Dishonor was an adorable read. I loved the characters and the narrators did a fantastic job.

This was a cute but fairly standard friends-to-more romcom.

The focus on breaking up Maya's ill-advised wedding was a fun concept, and I would have preferred for more time dedicated to hijinks surrounding that. A large portion of the book was the two main characters individually analyzing and re-analyzing their feelings for each other and it just got tedious after a while.

Also, not a fan of Winnie (did the audiobook so not sure on spelling) and her entire personality being "old." The joke got worn out pretty quickly, and I was thankful she wasn't in the second half of the book quite as much as the first.

Overall though, this is a great read if you want something quick and cute. Maya's subplot was my favorite part, and I'm interested to see what happens in the next book focused on her.

Content: I actually think this was pretty clean. I don't think there were even any closed door scenes, though there may have been some language.

This audiobook was really enjoyable! The narrator's did a great job and I love how there was two narrator for each point of view. The emotions were portrayed greatly for each character. The story was a silly, sweet read. Sam is in the friendzone, but little does she know her best friend feels the same way but would hate to admit it. The scheme to get them together because of the marriage they were "planning" was a bit unrealistic, but that is what makes it fun! It is a light read to take your mind away from the worries of real life and is a super quick listen.

This book might have convinced me that one of my favorite troupes is friends to lovers. I cannot get over how awesome this book is!
Carter and Sam are perfect. I mean they are flawed of course and make mistakes and have misunderstandings but as a couple… wow! They have had years of paying attention and learning every mannerism, mood and need. It really encouraged me to start to pay more attention to others and do something about it. The care that shines thru them is super bright. These two have hidden feelings and struggle to figure out how to unfriendzone themselves. It was beautiful watching them each work thru struggles and grow individually together but not “together”.
The story is fantastic and I just want to point out how much I loved Gracie Ruth Mitchell’s writing voice. It felt so down to earth and believable. Like I was IN the story not just reading it. I now need to go read her other books because I just can’t get enough.
As far as audio goes, I'd give that portion a 4 star. While I appreciated the enthusiasm, the female reader was a little too much for my personal taste.
Thank you to netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review, these opinions are my own.

In this friends to lovers romance, Sam and Carter have a classic will they/won't they pull. Readers are left hoping they'll finally take the next step, but are often disappointed when they don't. This is definitely the kind of book where you have to wait for it - a classic slow burn.

I have a big fan of dual perspectives, and it was fun to hear thoughts of both sides of the situation. I struggled a bit with Carter's motivation (not wanting love because of the pain he sees his father experience after the loss of his mother) and I struggled A LOT with Sam's character. She felt very "pick me" and "I'm not like other girls." I got a sense that this would be her character early on, when we were told she was on a all-men baseball team. I also was not invested in the conflict and struggled with the niece who was leaving the big decision in her life up to the stars.

The audiobook was a fun and easy way to get through this story. The readers were engaging and definitely had the characters down!

A super adorable BFF to Lovers clean romance.

Samantha and Carter are best friends, they play softball together and hang out together and have a lot of the same interests. This includes trying to stop Carter's fates reliant cousin from marrying an absolute GARBAGE human. They're also in love with each other and in denial about it. Watching these two sort it all out was a good time. I laughed and cried and was also frustrated at times. I will absolutely continue this series and recommend it to anyone who loves a sweet BFF to lovers romance.

This book was … quite unexpected. Two best friends all of a sudden finding themselves trying to crush down his cousin’s wedding because it is the wrong choice for her. Forced proximity, constant flirting and a lot of tension … all together in a mix that create quite expected complication in a friendship relationship that he doesn’t want to loose.
Sam and Carter’s story was addicting almost and I loved that it was double povs!!! She has always had feelings for him but she never pursued him. In turns he also has feelings for her but in fear of ruining their friendship, that he deeply cherishes, he would do anything to deny a mutual attraction.
And considering the fact that he has a rubber band on his wrist he plays with every time he is hit by an attraction wave when he sees her … you can guess how much they are truly attracted towards each other !!!
When it comes to best friends to lovers there is also a lot of miscommunication that comes with not waiting to ruin everything they have built together. I’m not a fan of miscommunication but honestly, their friendship was so pure … it wasn’t such a terrible pain to go through.
The good thing is that … IT IS SUCH A SLOW BURN !!!!
And I really appreciated that epilogue and introduction for what may happen in the future !!!!

3 stars. Typical friends to lovers story. I had fun watching Carter and Sam realize their 15 year long friendship was more than just life in the friend zone. They had great chemistry and I was cheering for them the whole time (but as expected with this trope you are yelling at each of the characters to just confess their love!!--AHHHH!!!) This book took that theme a little to far, and by the time they end up together (seriously if you count that as a spooiler you must have been living under a rock your whole life and never read any book or watched any hallmark movie) you are just ready for the book to end.
This book would have been sifnifigantly better if the "other story" was more compelling. Mya (Carter-the guy in our friend to lover story) is 21 and 7 weeks pregnant by Chad/Chet, who is basically a moron. Actually Mya is the moron, she has accepted that Chad/Chet and her would have an open relationship--like what? At no point did the relationship make sense....Carter and Sam are on a mission to call off the wedding (this whole plot takes up ~ 15% of the novel....there were so few details I cannot even describe it--even in the scenes where they are plotting to break up the wedding was so dumb (Think dropping tarot cards to convince Mya not to marry the dude instead of actually sitting her down and confronting her....
Next can we talk about how "sick" Mya was and she was only 7 weeks pregnant....I mean I am not an OBGYN, but this girl was projectile vomiting and totally unable to function--sending her male cousin (Carter) to go visit wedding venues/grocery shop....Umm..granted I have never been pregnant but I seriously dont think 7 weeks pregnant means literally tied to the toliet all day every day....
Speaking of which....Carter knows WAY to much about Sam's "cycle" and also btw, this author makes it the most terrifying thing in the world. Sam goes off her rocker and acts like an insane person -very immature.and just....Really weird....
Can we also talk about how the only PMS food that seems to calm Sam is a bag of chocolate chips? I know I am not a chocolate lover, but thats just gross. Does anyone really eat chocolate chips unless they are in a cookie?? I would imagine if I was a chocolate lover I would opt for something like a twix bar, snickers or Dove chocolate...not chocolate chips (Please note I did not include Hershey's...IYKYK-but Jeremey's chocolate instead)
Okay sorry this was a random review--kind of like this book......
Thank you Net Galley for this advanced copy read, I was not paid or influenced in anyway for this honest review.

This book read like bad fan fiction or something I would have found on Wattpad. I really just do not like female characters who 'are not like other girls'. I really wanted to DNF because I found the main characters almost intolerable. The narrator was...okay. At this point I'm not sure if I didn't care for it because of the narrator or because of the writing and the plot. I'm going with the latter. Still, I think now I'll be straying from audiobooks for a while. I'm entirely turned off by them at this point.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for this audiobook copy.

Loved the plot. The journey from friends to more was eventful. Wedding planning and sabotaging a wedding is a great plot idea.

This book started off as a really cute friends to lovers however, the wit and fun didn't last for me. I loved the banter and moments with Sam and Carter. I enjoyed their mission to destroy the wedding that never should be. I found myself bored halfway through and hoping for some spice or movement with the characters. Overall, it was a cute story but I wish there was more. #MaidofDishonor #NetGalley

3.5 stars

This was a cute sports related friends to lover romance. It was VERY slow burn though and the ending felt rushed.

The two best friends were great characters and I really enjoyed the sports (baseball) aspect of it.

I absolutely hated Chet/Chad and that entire story, but the running around doing wedding planning for someone else was cute.

Thanks to NetGalley & MacMillan Audio for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️.5 “There’s something, I don’t know, steadying? Something steadying about spending 30 minutes of my day looking inward rather than outward. 30 minutes of clearing out all the noise in my mind and descending into the stillness of just existing.” All I can say is that I’m really glad I listened to the audiobook version, that part made it more enjoyable to say the least.
 
Sam and Carter have been best friends for years, both work in the same school, and yet they are both secretly pining for one another as to not destroy the friendship (a tale as old as time). They have much in common- baseball, their choice of restaurants, and their need to stop Carter's cousins wedding Maia. Maia is pregnant and set to marry a man that seems to have no positive traits. Maia needs this relationship to work as to provide her unborn child with the life she deserved. Therefore, the two set up a scheme to put a stop to the wedding. With a meddling landlady thrown into the mix, perhaps this is the couples chance of a happily ever after.

I will say that the audiobook made this quite the experience, as it just really reinforced the way I felt about the characters. I will start at the start, conveniently. I think it was the first scene pretty much where the duo are in a restaurant and Carter is making "eyes" towards the waitress. Sam then goes on to talk pretty negatively about this woman, of whom she has never spoken to, just because she is making eye contact with Carter. I really didn't like how thats we were introduced to Sam's character. Also what is it about people making others feel bad and act with a vengeance the second they have their boobs out when they're jealous. Not only is it actually a fabulous spectator sport, but I really don't understand why it needs to be made a point of, or even why that would make someone less of a person? This countered with the fact that in the next scene, she makes a point to Carter to prove she has a "womanly" figure. Why. Why. Why. It just really confused me, and I guess, rubbed me the wrong way.

Carter, I did actually enjoy his character at the start, I just felt like he was down to earth and very supportive of his cousin. Which I loved. However, this was up until the point where I found out what happened with his ex-girlfriend Melissa. Then for me my opinion on him just went downhill. There are mentions of anxiety and mental health with techniques as to what they do to help, which I really liked that this was included. The final thing that made me rate this book so low is that they are both pretty aware of their feelings towards each other, they have been in previous relationships before, and neither were particularly subtle about their attraction. So an open conversation before around the 94% mark would have made sense to me. Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Samantha and Carter are best friends. They were in high school together, are currently on the same baseball team, and teach at the same elementary school. Carter tries to ignore how he feels. He does not want to chance a broken heart like his dad did when his mom died. Samantha tells those who ask her out that she is emotional unavailable, but she does not want to end up old and alone. Winifred, Samantha’s landlord really adds to the story. She does her best to get them together. Carter’s cousin is pregnant and plans to marry the father. She asks Samantha and Carter to help her plan the wedding and they try to discourage her to a fault. The wedding planning is fun even though both fear of an actual wedding. Carter and Samantha know each other so well, doing what they can to make each other happy. It makes the book very special.

This is the perfect book for those who love and enjoy friends to lovers and a really slow, slow burn.
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Sam and Carter have been friends and supported each other their entire lives
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But when Carter's cousin decides to marry a less-savvy fiancé, Carter enlists Sam to help him stop the wedding
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the very wedding she promised to help organize. Mixed signals, bad omens, a baseball team, a disastrous boyfriend and a nosy neighbor send Carter and Sam over the line, and then there's no turning back
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It's a fun book and the characters are very funny but I didn't like that there was a lot of internal thinking, almost entire conversations in their heads
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I really enjoyed that the point of view is dual and the narration was excellent, I really liked the clarity with which it was interpreted by Eva Wilhelm and Brandon Utah
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Thanks to Gracie Ruth Mitchell and Dreamscape media for give me a copy of this beautiful book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion

What could you truly not love about this book?!

Friends to lover is one of the cutest tropes around and I love how Gracie Ruth Mitchell brings that trope to life!

“My adorable little closet romantic is sobbing facedown on the floor because of a book.”

Can’t we talk about how relatable the above quote is! We have all been there and to think that’s the perspective of Carter, the male main character, to his “friend” Sam aka the woman he’s secretly in love with but can’t admit it to himself!

It’s so precious hearing them fall in love all while stopping Carter’s cousin from marrying the douchey father of her unborn child!

I read the book but I much prefer audiobooks and I fell in love with the story more and more listening to it!

I have been dying to read this book since I read the synopsis and let me just say, it didn't disappoint.

Sam is a plant mom, an avid reader, and one of the funniest heroines I've read. She is a perfectionist and wears her heart on her sleeve. Carter is kind, protective, and scared of commitment.

Their chemistry is fantastic. I love their banter and how well they know each other. The problem I sometimes see with best friend tropes is the underdeveloped history, but not in this one. I understood and felt their pent up desire for each other.

There were heavier themes in this book that make Gracie's books more than just a swoon romance. It was such a fun book and I cannot recommend it enough.

This was a light, somewhat over-the-top rom-com told from two points of view - Samantha and Carter. They've been friends for years and have each harboured feelings for the other for a long time, but are convinced that the other doesn't feel the same way. When Carter's sister decides to get married in a hurry to someone Carter doesn't approve of, he and Sam try to show his sister that she's making a mistake.

The characters of Sam and Carter are each well realised, and their interactions are fun and portray a longstanding friendship really well. Each of them have their quirks, which add a decent element of humour. However, the plot itself is a bit over-the-top for my liking. Carter's sister is engaged to Chet, who is depicted as the most stereotypical commitment-phobe frat boy without any redeeming qualities at all - every aspect of him being sleazy and terrible is extreme.

This is a friends-to-lovers story where both parties have been pining for each other for years, and after a while I felt that the reasons they have for not being more communicative were weak and got a bit frustrating. However, this is probably more to do with my own tastes than a true criticism of the book.

I think it's also worth pointing out that this is entirely clean, so if are looking for a rom-com that focuses more on the emotional connection and character interactions than on the steamy stuff, this would probably be a good pick.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cutesy, albeit slightly predictable, read. I loved the characters and the female voice for the audio. I would definitely recommend this to someone who enjoys a light and fluffy kind of read. It’s just what I needed! Thank you to Dreamscape Media, NetGalley, and Grace Ruth Mitchell for this Audio ARC!

I am a huge fan of Eva Wilhelm's style of reading books, so I was glad to receive this ARC. She brought the right amount of sarcasm and wit to the character of Sam, bringing her to life in a believable and enjoyable way. Brandon Utah, as well, was a fun Carter and I really enjoy books where there are two narrators when the story is told from different perspectives.

I usually don't read friends to lovers, but this was definitely a good one that kept me interested throughout the telling, though the getting together seemed to take a little longer than I would have liked. The supporting characters were memorable and made the story more enticing, from the landlady Winifred to the cousin Maya. The dealings with her and Chet were hard to listen to, but thankfully brief.

Overall an interesting read and one that I would recommend to others.

**Thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review**