I’m an enemies to lovers fan so this book (friends to lovers) was definitely more tame than I’m used to when it comes to angst/pining/whatever you want to call it, however I found it to be refreshing. There was no nonsensical drama for the sake of drama, Pippin and Toby have a history which lends to their understanding of each other and mostly prevents any big (or unnecessary) misunderstandings. This book was a light and easy read that I genuinely enjoyed. It started out a bit slow but I felt that the author was trying to give us a really good understanding of Pippin so we would be less frustrated with how much she struggled with her feelings. Overall I thought it was a good novel with a solid romance!

Really great read. I haven’t read any other books by this author but will definitely be on the look out for more. The characters jumped from the pages and the dialogue and story were really great. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to a fantastic book.

For someone who doesn't do well with change, Pippin Marino sure is dealing with a lot of it. First, her twin sister, Polly, returns from Europe with a fiancé and hopes that Pippin will help plan their wedding. And... fast, like 4 months fast. Then her mom announces plans to sell the 100 year old family restaurant that Pippin has been running since her father died. But one exciting development in her life: her best friend Toby Sullivan surprises her after 8 years on the west coast by moving back to Boston. Having him back is the one keeping her sane during her summer of panic. But then one kiss changes everything, and Pippin does not do well with change.

Sister of the Bride is a slow-burn friends-to-lovers romcom packed with wedding planning, pasta, tons of pop culture references, a tasteful amount of spice, and a guaranteed HEA. From the second Toby made his appearance in this book, I was rooting for these two! Their banter and long-standing friendship made for wonderful chemistry, and the dad jokes he texts her at the beginning of each chapter were a fun touch. I have no complaints about their story whatsoever! The background story, however, with the wedding planning and the restaurant fell a bit to the wayside or got a little repetitive from time to time. I was sad that we didn't really get to connect more with Polly and Mackenzie, especially with how hard Pippin took their relationship at first. Additionally, I feel there was a LOT of lead-up to the wedding and then that flew by really quickly, so adding a bit more detail to that would have been nice to read about in my opinion.

All in all, though, this was a cute story with great characters and fabulous storytelling on Morrill's part! Thank you to NetGalley and Yellow House Media for the ARC copy of this book!

I absolutely enjoyed Lauren Morrill's first adult romance novel. I have read a few of her YA books and love seeing how her writing has evolved in this new genre. Sister of the Bride is a great twist on the Father of the Bride story I loved growing up. I found the friends to lovers story line of Pippin and Toby to have just the right amount of tension to be believable and to draw you in. I enjoyed Pippin's story arc of learning to figure out what she wanted for herself outside of her family, as someone who started over in a new a few years ago to chase my own dreams it really resonated with me.

Thanks Lauren Morrill and Netgalley for the chance to read an ARC copy of this book.

Sister of the Bride is an adult contemporary friends-to-lovers romance that takes place in Boston.

Pippin Marino is still working in the family restaurant and living with her mother and grandmother when her twin sister comes home engaged to her girlfriend Mackenzie after living abroad. Although Pippin is dubious of the quick engagement she immediately downloads a wedding app and starts helping with the wedding planning. But also back in Boston is her best friend Toby who is single and starting a residency at the local hospital. For the first time in years Pippin has the two people she loves the most back home but things are rapidly changing around her and her future is uncertain.

I really enjoyed this smart and funny contemporary romance. Lauren Morrill found a way to make the best friends to lovers trope both romantic and sexy. I also enjoyed the backdrop of both Boston and the family restaurant. I found Toby to be an enjoyable male main character who is confident without all the macho swagger and nonsense.

I look forward to more adult contemporary romances from Lauren Morrill!

A really fun book and an incredibly quick read! I didn't put the book down until it was over and I really enjoyed the novel, despite not liking the protagonist very much at first and that got in the way a little at first, but throughout the book the protagonist was developed and I became more attached to her! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

What a light, funny and loving story!!!

I've never read anything by the author before, but this book won me over. The beginning was a bit slow and uninteresting, honestly, and the only thing that made me laugh was Toby's dad jokes. But once we got past that, the book became very interesting and super funny. The chemistry between him and Pip was visible from the start and I don't know how they didn't realize it right away. Although, at the end of the book, we discover that Toby has actually always been in love with Pip 🥹
But don't be fooled, this is a very steamy book. Toby is the cinnamon roll type, but with a dirty mouth. He's adorable, mature and almost perfect. And the spice!!! 🔥🔥

Pippin is the kind of anxious person who's a bit lost in life, especially after her mother drops the bombshell that they're closing the family restaurant, and I really identified with her in many ways.

The only thing that put me off giving it a higher rating was that at the beginning we got a lot more about the secondary characters (Polly and the wedding) than we did about Pip and Toby. Apart from that, I really enjoyed this book. It was a believable book, the chemistry between the characters was great and there's no drama, just a fluffy story!

Thank you Yellow House Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

| Are you looking for an easy reading, with dad-jokes at the beginning of each chapter to take from you a good laugh, a sister's wedding, best friends to lovers trope, Boston setting with a very Italian vibe because of the restaurant? Well, "Sister of the Bride" may be the perfect book for you!
| It was a successful reading, I loved the Grey's Anatomy references, the mentions of Italian cuisine made me crave a good pasta, Mackenzie, Toby and Nonna have my heart. However, I found myself with a little difficulty to keep up with the reading at the beginning, only after 60% I believe that the story really got me and things started to get more interesting, which I absolutely adored! + I LOVED the book cover, it was one of the first things that caught my attention when I requested this book, absolute gorgeous!

🍕I would like to thank you NetGalley, Lauren Morrill and Yellow House Media for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely obsessed with Lauren Morrill's adult romance debut! As a long time reader of her YA books, I was so eager to get my hands on SISTER OF THE BRIDE and discover how Lauren's writing translated audiences/genres and she totally knocked it out of the park. SISTER OF THE BRIDE has the exact right amount of tension, banter, and spice (a word I hate, but will use here for lack of a better one). I'm not even usually a big friends to lovers person, but I thought Pippin and Toby's dynamic was adorable and I was rooting for them from the star. And outside of our central romance, the family dynamics were perfect! This book left me wanting to book a trip to Boston and eat a giant bowl of pasta and a cannoli in the near future.

“Sister of the Bride” was a sweet romcom with a lot of potential but unfortunately it fell through for me on some occasions.
The fmc was not really a very likeable character, but the mc was a sweet golden retriever type boyfriend. Pippin displayed just a too extreme of an attitude towards many things - her sister’s wedding, the future of the restaurant as well as her changing relationship to Toby. I felt like she was always on 200% which became quite exhausting after a while.
The book definitely had its sweet spots but I wished that the relationship between Pippin and Toby had developed more delicately than it did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I also posted this review on my Goodreads page!

I enjoyed this heartwarming story of best friends discovering, finally, that they were right for each other.
Pippin has been holding onto everything very tightly but everyone else has moved on with their lives. Her sister is getting married, the family restaurant is to be sold, and best friend Toby is back in Boston.
I actually thought all the cheesy dad jokes were one of the best features of the book. I also liked that Toby was into Pippin much earlier and deeper than Pippin.
The ending was super sweet.

Okay so this is 100% on me, I downloaded this thinking it was a sapphic romance. Turns out that is just a dude on the cover and not a hot lesbian in a suit 🤣

That aside, the book was cute and fun. I love a friends to lovers story and a plot surrounding a wedding!

I thought this book was really cute! I went in with basically no expectations because this is a new to me author, but was pretty pleasantly surprised with it. Pippin and Toby were really cute and I always love friends to lovers so it was a good time with that. I wish we got a little more Toby time, or even chapters in his POV because he really felt like a secondary character in comparison to everything else going on. I also just thought he was really sweet and the chemistry between him and Pippin was so fun that I just selfishly wanted more.

So so so so so good. I loved this book. I'm definitely a mood reader, and this was perfect for what I was in the mood to read. I love friends to lovers, especially when it's a slow burn. And ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY COMMUNICATE. It was a little iffy on the communication there for a second, but only cause Pip was so busy. But it was mutual!! They were both aware!! It wasn't one-sided avoidance!!
Toby was literally so thoughtful and patient and caring. I FREAKING LOVE HIM. I loved that the romance was kinda on the back burner, though, too!

I feel like this story, for me, is really about the family and the expectations that come with family. Pippin had to learn to let go of what she was grasping onto with both hands. She had to believe that she was more than this job she was stuck with after her father died. Yes, the restaurant was there family's but it was all she was. She had to learn who she was outside of all these things that she felt defined her, like her sister or the restaurant.

Pippin's story arc through this book was endearing and definitely relatable. I spent so much of it being like, "same, girl." I love her. She is me. We are one. I love this book. And I LOVE TOBY. I am not afraid to yell it. Thanks, bye!

This is a quick and fun read. A retelling of the classic film, "Father of the Bride". Pippin's twin sister returns from studying abroad.... with a surprise fiancé in tow. With her plans for a summer of sister one-on-one time, in the past, Pippin is ill-equipped to deal with even more change coming her way. However, one positive change is the surprise return of her best friend Tobt, who recently graduated from med school. This story certainly had charm but it did take me a long time to connect with the main character. Her stubbornness came off as single-minded. I did find myself applauding her eventual development. A lot of meaningful exciting, and engaging potential scenes were done off-screen instead of being played out for the reader to see which is a shame. To summarize this book is cute and charming but a lot was missing that would have made the story great.

This unfortunately didn’t work for me.
I am enjoying the author's writing, however the story is dragging and it feels like nothing much is happening. I wanted more Toby and Pippin, but in the 25% that I have read so far, only two interactions have happened between them.
I keep hoping for more, but I'm not patient enough to read more, so I'm dnf'ing.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a well-written book, but it started out as too much family drama and not enough romance for me. DNF. I'm sure others will enjoy it.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I loved this novel. Written like a love letter to the city of Boston, I was shocked to find out Lauren Morrill doesn't live here. This book features Italian and Irish Catholic characters, and does an excellent job of not stereotyping or mocking either heritage or faith. This book is a delicious friends to lovers story about life long best friends. It's about family and duty to those we have lost. It's also about patience and compromise. This book puts the comedy in rom-com and not in a hijinks-y way. It has some zinger lines and some big, swoony feels. The man main character is my favorite book guy I've read this year. I highly recommend Sister of the Bride.

Pippin doesn't have time for anything besides running her family's restaurant. Sure, she's pulled it out of what could have been a disaster, but running behind and thin is exhausting. Her twin comes home affianced and her mother announces they're selling the building and business, thus throwing Pippin's world into a tail spin. Her saving grace is the return of her best friend, Toby.
The best part of this novel was the dad joke intros to every chapter. They added a levity and sweetness that gave me a huge appreciation for Toby. Which - to that end - I think having his POV would have improved the read for me to as I found Pippin to be fairly unlikeable which could have been a perfect Julia Roberts "Jules" nod. She read as two different characters from the first to the second half. I expected a little more My Best Friend's Wedding but her angst and shock over her sister's engagement fizzled out to nothing without a seamless transition.
Thank you to Yellow House Media and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

⭐️- 3.5

This book started a little slow but I really ended up enjoying it. I love the childhood friends trope, I think it’s really relatable and always adds a hint of nostalgia. There was believable chemistry and great spice build up. I did wish there were less political talk because I use books as reprieve form that. But over all a solid read.