The premise of this book sounded like a charming and flirtatious read that I hoped would be the perfect palate cleanser. Aaaaaand boy oh boy was I wrong and in for a ride.

In the spirit of honesty, I was sooooo tempted to abandon this book multiple times.

The protagonist was, without a doubt, the most selfish character I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Her incapacity to show even a shred of respect for her loved ones her was staggering. She treated her mother and her best friend as if they were her personal doormats. The respect she showed to food (literal food) was leaps and bounds above the consideration she showed to any real person in her life.

I understand the narrative direction the author intended to explore—how a seemingly unchangeable heart could undergo transformation. However, the execution fell short. Crafting a character so thoroughly unlikable did a disservice to the narrative, undermining the story's potential impact and enjoyment.

I love the cute rom com cover on this book, but it’s not a rom com. In fact, the tone is pretty dark. I don’t like the main character—it feels like she’s sabotaging her friends’ happiness because of her own bitterness over her broken engagement. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Can't get past the vivid description of sweaty butt cheeks. Cover promises a food themed couple falling in love but not even a chapter in and I'm too disgusted to continue.

This was an easy read. I thought the side characters were so much fun. I loved Owen as the love interest in this story. The romance plot was really cute too. I just had a hard time connecting with the FMC. She was extremely selfish and it made the story painful to read at times.

This is a great contemporary romance novel about love, self-discovery, and friendship.

Andrea and Owen's banter is the best thing in this book. They are so fun while trashing everything during their best friends' wedding. Both Andre and Owen had bad experiences while in a relatioship, so they have sworn off everything that's connected to love and marriages.

Andrea was not one hundred percent on board with being her best friend's maid of honor, with everything that the title entails, but she tried her best to help her friends, even ewhen things did not turn out the best.

And maybe I'm a bit biased being Italian, but the way Lucy describes Italy and the Italian food is perfect!

Thank you to @netgalley and the Aria & Aries team for an ARC for an honest reivew.

#arc #arcreader #arcreviewer #theantiweddingparty #lucyknott #netgalley #ariaandaries #andrea #owen #wedding #positano #italy #food #romcom #closeproximity

6% in and I don't feel like this is the book for me.

I feel deceived by the description and cover photo of this book, showing a man and a woman and describing a man and a woman who are book-destined to be together ... when every couple so far is lesbian.

It's also very confusing to read at points. All the women have men's names, then she/her pronouns, and are coupled up. Which "she" are we talking about when "she" puts "her" hand on "her" shoulder? Who's shoulder? Etc.

Obviously, this is a personal preference. But I think we all could've been spared a bad review and an unsatisfied reader had the back cover hinted a little more strongly at the lesbian vibes.

This one was just okay. I did have some high hopes since I like Lucy Knott books but the FMC is what turned me off a little bit. She was insufferable and made situations about her. I think she could have been more supportive of her best friend. We did see some growth though, so yay for that!! :)

I think I actually like the side characters more than the main characters. Is there a plan for a second book with some of these characters? I would love a Charlie and/or Alex book!

Overall, I thought it was a cute book that I FLEW through.

3 stars ⭐️

✿ Received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest & free review.
Thanks! ✿
☆

My favorite part of this book had to be how wonderfully the author described the settings of Italy and all of the food. They made me really crave some of that delicious food and want to be in Italy so bad!

The MCs worked well together. I would say the fmc could have been more supportive of her best friend's wedding and not make it about her at some parts but ultimately she learnt and grew from those mistakes and was apologetic.

Ergo we love to see growth ya'll and it's nice having flawed characters but if we picking between them I'd say mmc, Owen owned it more (see what i did there?😂) The way he stood by her + supported her was cute! I feel like they did need to connect deeper tho esp as a couple.

Side characters were also fun to read about and have in the book. I liked bestfriend,Alex she was a real one. Charlie and Alex (lgbtq+ rep) were sweet & they had a wonderful wedding that brought their maid of honour and best man together.

It was cool having mmcs that had an aversion to love after a past and seeing them come together and have a change of heart.

Overall, an average read with some cute moments that tied it all together.

- @𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐚_𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬

A typical cute romantic story.
Andi`s fiancée cheated on her with the maid of honour on their wedding day which left her with a lasting effect of hating marriages, so when her best friend Alex wants Andi as a maid of honour at her wedding in Italy she refuses but is persuaded to finally go.
In Italy she meets the best man Owen another wedding hater so they start to bond, but are they bonding too much?
I good romance that you know what is going to happen but is still good to read and I enjoyed it.

I had hoped I might be the target audience for this book, being someone who is vehemently against traditional weddings. However, I found it difficult to read this book with Andi having no redeemable factors. I’m all for an unlikeable character - especially a woman. But it felt like chemistry and key plot points were undersold so that I couldn’t really root for the characters or their love stories.

Andi is anti weddings after her wedding is cancelled at the last moment due to her bride cheating on her just before the wedding began.

Her best friend tells her she is getting married and wants Andi to be her Maid of Honor and the wedding is taking place in Italy. She meets Owen who is the Best Man, also a wedding hater.

Chaos is written all over this wedding, but true love wins in the end.

I enjoyed the storyline, especially the destination of wedding, Positano Italy. Maybe I found the book a little long and couldn't quite get into it.

A very quick, easy and fun read. I loved the mmc a lot and the fmc grew on me more as the book went along.
I did really enjoy the setting and the wedding mishaps along the way however something just fell a little flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria and Aries Publishing for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one because I just did not enjoy the main character. I tried for a while and could not get into it at all. Could be a fun read for some people but it wasn't for me. Thanks for the opportunity to review

💘 V A L E N T I N E S D A Y mini review 💘 featuring “The (Anti) Wedding Party” by Lucy Knott!

Goodness me, poor Andi catches her fiancée cheating on her with the maid of honour on her wedding day and this completely tarnishes anything wedding or love related to her 💔!!!

But then Andi’s bestfriend Alex surprises her by announcing that she is engaged and wants Andi to be her MOH! The wedding is taking place in Italy and the group sets off for a week in a glorious villa! Soon she meets the handsome Best Man (Owen), who is ALSO veryyy anti-wedding. Maybe this wedding won’t be so bad after all … 😉

Thank you kindly to @lucycknott @headofzeus @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on March 16, 2024!!!!

The title and the cover caught my attention, I feel like it was going to be a quick and cute story automatically. Indeed it was a short and sweet one, sadly it was hard for me to connect with the FMC, I liked Owen and I really wanted to like this one. Loved to be there in Italy, and all the food descriptions! Thank you NetGalley, the author and Aria & Aries for the eARC.

Unfortunately I couldn’t make it far into this book. The main character wasn’t someone I could get along with and I just felt myself getting more and more frustrated the further I got into the book. If I don’t get along with the main character’s personality then I often find it’s not worth finishing the book as I’m not invested in their life enough to continue.

I apologise for the review I’ve given but not every book is for everyone!
Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title! :)

3.25 stars

This was a cute closed-door Rom-Com starring 2 jaded, anti-love characters who have been burned in the past. Forced Proximity, strangers to friends to lovers, found family, grumpy/grumpy-sunshine.

Andi is pretty grumpy/grumpy in all aspects except Owen who is kinda grumpy/sunshine. They fit well together, but it wasn't really explained. It seemed pretty Instalove/lust that brought them together besides them finding solace in the other's also anti-love/wedding points of view.

I was in love with Owen from the beginning. He's a sweet, lovely, caring, man who is the perfect best friend to Charlie. Lucy didn't really go into his past much so all the cryptic phone calls with his brother (who we never meet) about his past and such never really get answered. We don't really know what happened in his past relationships that turned him so cynical (besides the one he briefly mentions).

Andi I found to be irritating and selfish and unrelatable. I get she's stressed with real life and turned off by love and weddings having attempted one of her own that would traumatize anyone, but people are normally pretty good at being happy for their friends even if their friends are getting married. Like she adores Alex and Charlie, but cannot seem to keep making everything about herself.

The novel was more a love story with Italy (and I was okay with that). There was more descriptions of the food being eaten (and they were always eating) than the characters or their interpersonal connections or character growth. I feel like if the effort put in to describing Italy and the food was put into the characters, this book would've been off the charts.

Thank you NetGalley, Aria & Aries, and Aria for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I am rounding this 2.5 star up to a 3 with a disclaimer that I did stop reading at 70%. This was a cute and fun read about the best man and maid of honour getting together at their best friend's wedding. There was definitely some sweetness and enjoyment to it, which is why I'm rating it and reviewing it despite not finishing it. I think there is definitely something here that people will like, but it wasn't for me. It just felt like nothing was really happening. The fact that I was almost 3/4 through the book and it felt like literally nothing had happened, I just felt like I was wasting my time continuing to push through. The banter was cute but it wasn't enough for me. I think if you enjoy slice of life type of stories you will enjoy this.

What is more romantic than a fish and chip shop? What I liked about this was the focus on food! How any of the characters could move was beyond me. I’m pretty sure they must all have needed mobility scooters to drive from one meal to the next p, I was quite hungry by the end! However, seriously, I enjoyed the book. I did think there were humorous moments but I didn’t love the beginning, it took some time to get into. Once I was in, generally a good time was had by all.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book. This is an okay read. At first, I was intrigued by this book because of the premise. But, then the execution of this book was not right for me. I wouldn't say I liked the main character in the book's beginning, but I tolerated her towards the end. I was not too fond of the pacing of the book. I felt that it was not consistent and I was confused throughout. However, I liked some parts of the book. The first thing was Italy. I loved the Rom-coms set in Italy. I loved the culture and cuisine. I wished there was more of the culture in this book. The second thing was the romance between Andi and Owen. It started as a no-strings-attached relationship but then developed into a real committed relationship. I liked that development. Overall, an okay read.