Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for honest review.

I thought this had a cute premise, and I usually am a fan of friends who are actually destined for something more. I enjoyed Pippin and Toby's banter and the "dad jokes" added to their interactions. However, there were things that just didn't work for me. Beyond the fact the sister's fiancée was a woman, their whole relationship just felt off. I also disliked how Pippin was informed about the restaurant in such a blase manner (I thought was quite callous!) with no thought to how it might affect her. The pacing was kind of slow and too much time spent on the wedding details and not building the main couple's romance. I would have enjoyed more background on Pippin and Toby's journey from friends to lovers.

2.5 stars

This was a super cute and light read. I really enjoyed the friends to lovers trope in it and how it developed. The characters were likeable and realistic and the added bonus of learning about another couple’s journey and wedding added much to the story.

Oohh this slow burn friends to lovers book is on fire! Seriously there is some great steamy scenes. I loved it. It was a great book and I couldn't put it down. "Chefs Kiss" perfect!
I just reviewed Sister of the Bride by Lauren Morrill. #NetGalley
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This was a delightful slow-burn, friends to lovers, family hijinx retake on father of the bride. I had so much fun reading it. I love Pippin and found her to be a relatable character. It was easy to root her and Toby. I am a sucker for a good friends to lover's story though.

This was a first time read for me by this author. The cover is cute and when I read the summary, it sounded like a fun read. which it absolutely was. Pippin has a lot going on in her life, and she doesn't do well with change. Her mom wants to sell the family business that Pippin has been running since her father's passing. Her sister returns home and is about to get married, and she wants Pippin to plan the wedding. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, she is glad when her best friend Tobias moves back home and offers to help with the planning. As they spend more time together, the dynamic of their relationship may just be shifting into something more, but Pippin has fears that hold her back.
This was a delightfully cute and light-hearted read that kept me entertained from start to finish. It's a nice cozy read for a lazy afternoon!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Pippin has been running her family restaurant, and not much else for the past 8 years. But her world suddenly turns upside down when everything happens all at once -- her twin sister Polly returns from Europe with news of a sudden engagement, her best friend Toby permanently returns from school on the west coast & isn't talking about why, and her mother and Nonna decides they want to sell the business and building so they can retire.

I struggled to get into this story at first as it was quite dry and dragged on a little. But after pushing through the first few chapters, the story started to turn around. The fun dynamic between Pippin and Toby was very entertaining, I loved the lame Dad jokes each day and loved how they worked so well. I struggled more with the relationship between the twin sisters, but in the end, it played out okay.

I personally don't think this book was my cup of team as it read more like a YA rather than a romcom, but it was an easy read.

I would actually give this book 3 1/2 stars. I had trouble getting in to the book because I thought it was just going to be a ripoff of the Steve Martin version of Father of the Bride, but thankfully it wasn't. I did enjoy the book in the end and liked the friends to lovers trope. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

A nicely written friends-to-lovers love story, that could only happen because the protagonist was so energetic and workaholic that she actively ignores the signs of her best friend's feelings. Toby's dad jokes are terrible, by which I mean, I chuckled and giggled at each one, but he is constant and patient and helps Pippin with everything he can, even while sleep deprived.

Also. As a fan of LOTR, I admit I wondered until the very end of this book if the name of the protagonist would ever stop making me think of second breakfasts - it didn't, but that's totally on me.

What I ADORED about this book is the approach to Polly's sexuality. Nobody even bats an eye, there is not one comment that would make you think that any of the characters have any negative or homophobic thoughts about it. THIS is exactly how it should be for everyone. No matter who you love, the people who love you - and people who don't - do not get to have any opinion about the gender you prefer.

Being in Pippin's head was exhausting though. Her thoughts are loud and constantly shifting from one topic to another, even in the moments where the pacing should give you a time to breathe. Also, there was so much name dropping in this book. I am actually curious if 5 years from now all the names of celebrities mentioned in this book will still be relevant.

Good debut novel, there's definitely potential between the lines. I can't wait to read more from Lauren Morrill.

Thanks to NetGalley and Yellow House Media for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

It’s gonna be an average three-star rating for “Sister of the Bride” and an additional .5 because it’s a childhood friends to lovers. My three-star rating by the way doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s actually a good rating. It just means that the book in my opinion, needed more. In this case, for this book, it needed more depth. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Toby and Pippin’s relationship. I just needed more, you know? Maybe for a book this “direct,” it would help to have Toby’s POV. But that’s okay. I found Pippin in the beginning of the book a little annoying. What she did at her sister’s wedding dress fitting was shitty. Although I understood where she was coming from but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t shitty of her. For some reason this book felt long but also fast. The pacing was a bit off for me. Other than that, I would still read more of Lauren Morrill’s future books!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Taking on too much has always been the style of our FMC, Pippin. She’s constantly trying to hold everything (and everyone) together without any regard for her own wellbeing. While trying to plan her twin’s wedding and hold it down at the family restaurant, her longtime best friend, Toby, comes back from his med school years on the West Coast and she’s seeing him as she never has before.

I loved the banter in this book and enjoyed myself but I also felt exhausted by just how much Pippin was attempting to do.

I can go either way on the friends to lovers trope, but this is one that I really liked. I’m usually a big fan of dual POV, but some stories just work best with single POV, and this is one of them. It was just right for it to be told from Pippin’s perspective. Pippin faces a slew of life-altering changes all at once, one of which is her sister’s whirlwind engagement and wedding, which Pippin ends up tasked with planning. Fortunately, her best friend, and dad joke aficionado, Toby has returned to Boston for his medical residency, and can be there to support her. Of course, the question becomes: is there more to their feelings for each other than just friendship? And can Pippin deal with it if there is? Pippin definitely fights hard to avoid the reality of her feelings. As her sister says: “‘You will crawl through a mile-long drain pipe filled with ******** in an effort to miss the point.’” Pippin’s fear and anxiety (and don’t forget grumpiness) in the face of change was very relatable. I found her a very engaging main character. Toby too. He is supportive, thoughtful, and kind. And the secondary characters added fun layers to the story. Some of them are really “characters”. The dad jokes were perfection. I loved the silly, sweet touch they added, and that they were a sort of love language between Toby and Pip. I enjoyed watching Pip finally come to terms with the scary changes in her life and figure out Toby’s place in her future. “‘But those are the times when love matters most. When the plans have evaporated and everything is ****, if you can still look at the other person and say, ‘at least I’m going through this **** with you,’ then you know.’” The epilogue is lovely and sweet. This is a detailed open door story with strong innuendo and frequent strong harsh language throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a complimentary copy of the book. This review was written and shared voluntarily, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thought this book was sweet and the characters were relatable! I appreciated how well the characters knew each other and how their relationship developed through the years rather than a few weeks/months.

It was a bit slow to start, but I enjoyed this feel good romance!

I thought Sister of the Bride was really cute. If you like best friends to lovers, this is the book for you! The story follows Pippin as her twin sister shares that she's engaged completely out of the blue after a 6 month long trip to the UK. Pippin is wrangled into becoming the wedding planner at the same time as she has to become okay with this whole arrangement. To add more drama to the mix, her mom has decided to sell her beloved Boston family restaurant of 100 years. Pippin has no idea who she is outside of keeping the restaurant afloat after her father's death 8 years ago. Luckily, her best friend Toby has decided to move home after 8 years across the country in California for med school. He is her rock that she can tell everything to. He becomes her sounding board for all of the problems she's facing. There's just one thing she is unprepared for. Toby is smoking hot. In the 8 years he's been gone he's transformed from a scrawny bean pole into a greek god. Now she has simmering feels that she has no idea what to do with. She is scared to tell Toby and ruin the only thing stable in her life, but of course Toby is in love with her and just wants her to realize it. The book follows them falling into each other in a great way. I found Pippin a little annoying towards the end with her denial of her feelings, but it wasn't anything to deter me from recommending this book.

What a fun read! I connected so quickly with Pippin, a restaurant manager/chef juggling way too many things and none that she picked herself; she was so likeable and relatable, flaws and all. Her relationships with her family were enviable and the super slow burn into something more with her best friend was entertaining. The writing flowed so well and drew me into the story. I’m usually easily distracted and take frequent breaks but I rarely put this one down.

What I loved the most about this book was the ending. Toby and Pippin together are so cute and complement each other so well. I also just love when the guy falls first and they both find their person.

Absolutely devoured this romcom by in one sitting! This was such a perfect friends-to-lovers romance with just the right amount of smut. I really enjoyed all of the characters (except Pippin the fmc). They were all so funny, especially Nonna, Pippin's grandma.

Sister of the Bride by Lauren Morrill is a five star read that is not to be missed. This is her debut foray into rom coms for adults. She is a successful YA author. Given how good this book was, I am sure I will be reading her other books, as well.

Pippin Marino likes things just the way they are, thank you very much. It turns out the universe has other ideas for her. It’s one thing to have her twin away in Europe but now she’s engaged to be married and has asked Pippin to plan their wedding. No problem since she is running their family’s restaurant. At least that is a constant until her mother announces that she is going to sell it. It is a legacy that Pippin has been struggling to maintain in her father’s memory but her father never intended for her to feel tied to it. Now Pippin is adrift in so many ways with the future seeming so uncertain.

The only silver lining for her is that her best friend Toby has moved back to Boston to pursue his medical career. Pippin is ecstatic to have Toby back into her life. He has even agreed to help her plan the wedding. But Toby’s feelings for Pippin go beyond the bff stage and have for many years. Pippin is unaware that his feelings run deeper and they share a kiss that changes everything! There’s that word again - change.

Pippin has a lot on her plate. Will she be able to come to terms with the sale of her beloved family’s business? Has she always had stronger feelings for her bff? Pippin learns that change is not a four letter word when you learn to open up to the people in your life who will always be there through it all. Maybe change is not such a bad thing after all.

I really enjoyed this book! I found it funny and poignant. The characters were lively and the dialog on point! I think you will enjoy it, too!

Pippin has been keeping the Marino family together since her father died 8 years ago. She has taken over her father's role of running the family restaurant while giving up on her dreams. During this time her best friend and her twin sister have been off enjoying life. Pippin has been managing. Barely keeping her head, and the restaurant, above water. However, when her sister returns from 6 months in London with a fiancé and her best friend returns home for good, Pippin feels like everything is falling down around her.

Toby has been best friends with Pippin for nearly his entire life. However, when he moved away to go to medical school and he started dating Jenny, they drifted apart. And so started the 'dad joke' tradition.
These dad jokes have kept the communication line open for years, but now he is home for good. He has left his research residency and has chosen to become an emergency resident, but why? Toby is a lovely cinnamon roll main character with the worst jokes.

What happens when Pippin disapproves of Polly's fiance and marriage? What will happen when Pippin's mother and grandmother decides to sell the restaurant? Will everything fall apart? And why is Toby back in town?

This was a sweet read about a family that are facing significant change. I really felt for Pippin and felt that her family were so focussed on the wedding that they gave her very little support. Selling a family business is heartbreaking for whoever is left behind. Maybe that was why Pippin was so oblivious to how Toby felt? In summary, this is nice but I would have preferred less wedding and more family.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Yellow House Media and Lauren Morrill for this early release copy.

Thank you to Lauren Morrill, Yellow House Media and Netgalley for an eACR in exchange for my honest opinion. Sister of the Bride is out and ready to enjoy!!

Even though I am not usually a fan of friends-to-lovers romances, I actually really enjoyed this one. I loved Pippin and Toby, and I thought they had a very good way of communicating with each other. I loved the side characters. If you are looking for a sweet, good and spicy romance Sister of the Bride is for you!

This is the first book I have read of Lauren Morrill. This was a super cute book. This was a friends to lovers trope and it will have you swooning and laughing out loud. This book will also give you the perfect amount of spice. I definitely recommend this book!


Thank you NetGalley and Yellow House Media for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, friends-to-lovers novel. I enjoyed it a lot.