I loved the nods to Father of the Bride! However, I did feel like the romance was rushed. So often during reading I wished for Dual POV so I could get into Toby’s head. I didn’t realize how much I would miss that.

I also felt like Pippin was a little hard to believe sometimes.

Overall, I have it a 3 star rating. Definitely Mature Content - 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3 1/2.

Cutest illustrated cover I've seen in a long time. Unfortunately, the title doesn't fit the main trope.

This is a best-friends-to-lovers story. Pippin and Toby have been best friends since childhood. He went away to be a dr and now he's back in town. Pippin is busy with the family restaurant and helping her twin sister organize her wedding.

Sometimes I get frustrated with best friends trope because one of the characters is always "I can't ruin the friendship" and that just goes on forever. Thankfully, that part was not a drag.

Language and explicit scenes.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Very cute love story paired with a family saga that I loved. I will definitely read more by this author.

One of the book's standout features is the friends to lovers trope, beautifully portrayed throughout the narrative. The author skillfully crafts delightful development of a romantic relationship between the main characters, drawing readers in with their palpable chemistry and endearing interactions. The tender moments shared between them are sure to make readers swoon, perfectly capturing the essence of a true romance.
Moreover, the book's focus on family problems adds depth and complexity to the plot. The main character's struggles with familial issues lend authenticity to the story, making it more relatable and resonant.

Sister of the Bride follows Pippin Marino who cannot handle change, as microscopic as it might be. She's running her family's restaurant, living in her mother's attic in the room she used to share with her twin sister, and she has absolutely no plans to better her life.

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. I really could not find a redeeming quality in Pippin. She was so unsupportive and judgmental of everyone around her. Her sister's fiance was serious and Pippin just could not imagine how her sister could like her. She's barely met her and she's already calling her a robot and believes the relationship will end in a matter of days.

The pacing also didn't work for me. The engagement happened at around 20%, but we already knew about it from the synopsis. The book could have been better if the story started with it, but instead, we had to read about Pippin making lasagna for a whole chapter. The romance lacked depth and the ending felt very rushed. I feel like the book was more about the sister's relationship and Pippin growing up than about her and Toby.

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

Beyond just it’s obvious hat tips to Father of the Bride, Sister of the Bride reminded me of 1990s romantic comedies, in the best way. It’s a quick read, and while it certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel, the banter and chemistry between Pippin and Toby more than makes up for any familiar storytelling and plot.

I love the queer rep (the Bride in question is Pippin’s twin sister Polly, who is marrying investment banker Mackenzie after the pair met and had a whirlwind romance in London), and the “he falls first” is a trope I always love. The story hums along - there could be some slowing down and developing some of the restaurant backstory, but there is something to be said for a quick & snappy read!

4 stars for the warm and fuzzy feeling I got by the end. Thanks to NetGalley and Yellow House Media for the ARC.

Special thanks to NetGalley, author, and publisher for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts. First, how cute is that artwork on this book! I saw it it and it was just so charming and delightful. I found the inside of the book to be equally charming and fun. This book is a friend- lovers and I would read again! 3.7 out of 5 stars.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was delighted to be approved just a few days ago. I honestly almost gave up hope of getting this book, and it came at the right time. I've read Lauren Morrill's YA books and found them delightful. It was no surprise that I loved the main characters and 2ndary characters in this adult friends to lovers romance.

If you ever saw Father of The Bride , you might recognize some similar moments and themes, but Morrill changes things up to be more modern and original. Polly and Pippin are twins, and while Polly just finished a fellowship in London, she comes home to Boston, engaged to her girlfriend MacKenzie, who was consulting in London with forensic accounting or computer science thing for a bank. Pippin is our main female love interest, whose best friend Toby just came back to Boston to begin his residency as an ER doctor. It was supposed to picture him as S1 ER George Clooney with curls. There is obvious chemistry between the two right away, even with his dad jokes.

I understand why Pippin is afraid to mess with the friendship. Her past dating other guys has not worked out. She helps run the family restaurant, Marino's, an Italian restaurant in Beacon Hill. Ever since her dad suddenly died when she started college, Pippin has been managing the restaurant and living with her family including her mom and Nonna and twin sister, after she came home from working on her PhD in art history.

Things start getting interesting after Polly asks her twin to help plan her wedding, and her mom announces plans to sell the building and restaurant. Pippin leans on Toby for support and has a hard time resisting her attraction and feelings for him. If only she could get out of her own way and admit her feelings were more than platonic. I loved the movie and tv references with When Harry Met Sally, The Wedding Singer, medical TV dramas Grey's Anatomy. That tied in with Toby wearing scrubs as an ER doctor. I was picturing Luigi Sottile from Chicago Med for Toby, actually. (He plays Dean Archer's son Sean)

This book was nearly perfect. I just had a little issue with how immature Pippin acted in the wedding gown boutique. She apologized to her twin, but still.

4.5/5☆ TW for grief over losing a parent. R rated for racy scenes and language (didn't bother me, but author usually writes YA, so be aware) release date 9/12/23.

Gosh I absolutely ate this book up. I adore Pippin and Toby. I enjoyed the pace of the book. And the first spicy scene, I too would be like Pippin on that following week. This is definitely a “He Fell First but She Fell Harder” book for me and I loved it.

I give this book a solid 4.5. I'll even push it to a 5 star actually.

Reading this felt like watching a romcom. It was fuzzy, warm, funny, adorable, sweet, left me on the edge of my seat and had me blushing giggling and kicking my feet from start to finish.

— For someone who doesn’t do well with change, Pippin Marino sure is dealing with a lot of it. First her twin sister returns from Europe with a fiancé and a plea for Pippin to plan the wedding. Then her mom announces plans to sell the 100 year old family restaurant that Pippin has been running since her father died.

But at least there’s one good development in Pippin’s life. Her best friend has Toby Sullivan surprised her by moving back to Boston. Having him back is the one bright spot amidst her summer of panic, especially when he offers to help her plan the wedding.

But then one kiss changes everything. —

Pippin is incredible. The fact the she freaks out over everything is relatable and we can't even fault her either - she has entire life imploding around her and it's too much to handle at once.
Sure, sometimes I felt like getting inside the book and hitting her on the head with a frying pan to see if she regained her senses. However, I'm willing to bet that's exactly how my friends feel when I'm having my own breakdowns so who am I to judge really?!
Watching her slowly realize hear feelings for Toby was so incredibly beautiful in a way. It was sweet and I had my heart in my hands waiting for that pin to drop and her to understand.

And Toby. Oh God, Toby!!! What a huge golden retriever. An actual cinnamon roll. He's so sweet, soft, calm, hot as sin, a doctor and FUNNY! Literally a 10/10. He climbed up the steps to top3 favorite book boyfriends real fast. I folded as soon as he showed up and couldn't prevent falling for that 6 foot something softie/hottie even if I tried. The way he's the one person who truly knows how to help Pips, how to calm her down, and that deeply knows her completely is so cute. I don't even have words...

Literally the only flaw I could point at this book would be the fact we don't have a dual POV. There were some specific scenes where I would give EVERYTHING to have Toby's POV. To find out more about him and know what was going through his head and what he was thinking.

I look forward to read more books from this author because I've been clearly missing out!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

I had a great time read this Book. The characters are amazing and the storyline amazingly entertaining with plenty of steam and twists to satisfy my reading needs. I look forward to reading more by this author.

This book is very cute and envokes all the feelings that a good Romance book should. I love the friends to lovers trope in this book and I think it was written very well. The plot is heavily centered around family problems and situations that affect the main character.I rate this book a four out of five stars becuase although I did enjoy it there was not an element that pushed it over the edge to five stars. Overall this was a throughly engaging book and a great read!

Sister of the Bride is a remarkably cute friends-to-lovers contemporary romance. We get a full steamy scene, with a few not-quite-all-the-way scenes thrown in for good measure. There’s dirty jokes, and heavy references to ~adult~ things that I fully appreciated.

I LOVE BOOKS THAT MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I'M WATCHING A ROMCOM!! ROMCOMS ARE BACK!!!!

For someone who doesn’t do well with change, Pippin Marino sure is dealing with a lot of it. First her twin sister returns from Europe with a fiancé and a plea for Pippin to plan the wedding. Then her mom announces plans to sell the 100 year old family restaurant that Pippin has been running since her father died.

But at least there’s one good development in Pippin’s life. Her best friend has Toby Sullivan surprised her by moving back to Boston. Having him back is the one bright spot amidst her summer of panic, especially when he offers to help her plan the wedding.

But then one kiss changes everything.

I loved how real the characters were in this one - flaws and all. Pippin's reaction to everything was quite bad at first, but she realizes it and makes amends. Can't really blame her though as everything in her life was imploding(but I also loved how Mackenzie's mom Nora gave her a reality check too). And as someone who also hated change, I found her relatable. I loved how snarky she was(even when she's being judgemental😂). Her relationship with her family especially her sister - Polly is amazing! It takes a while for her to warm up to Polly's fiance Mackenzie, but she does begin to appreciate her slowly too!

On the other hand she's always been the closest with her best friend Toby and I loved the slow progression from friends to lovers here! It's not one of my favorite tropes but it worked out so well in this one and it felt so believable! Also, we could truly feel how close they were even if we didn't have many recollections of their past because the connection is always present. So, I was rooting for these two to end up together and waiting for Pip to get over her fears and face her feelings for him.

Toby is such a cinnamon roll because he's so cute, patient and funny! Those dad jokes at the beginning of every chapter were hilarious and he was always there for her when she needed him!🥺 Also, he's willing to wait for her because he knows her difficulties and he understands that she needs time. And extra points for no third act breakup or drama. I feel like we can't find a romcom book without that these days, so I really appreciated the fact that there wasn't anything like that here 😂

Overall this was a great read that had some amazing and real characters with a really cute romance too!❣️✨

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute read for sure! MC van be a bit annoying at times (worrying over everything) and it takes a while for the feelings to be recognized but a fun read!

Sister of the Bride is a remarkably cute friends-to-lovers contemporary romance. The absolutely adorable cover is the reason I requested an ARC of this one, and to be completely honest with you, I wasn’t sure if the book itself would live up to the cover. But I am happy to report that it does! I, for some stupid reason, thought this was going to be one of those stupidly chaste closed-door contemporary romances, but nope. We get a full steamy scene, with a few not-quite-all-the-way scenes thrown in for good measure. There’s dirty jokes, and heavy references to ~adult~ things that I fully appreciated.

What I did not appreciate, though, was Pippin. I wanted to like her so much, but girl. CALM. DOWN. She was upset over literally everything — which, I mean, makes sense bc her entire life was crashing down around her — but reading about her freaking out got old really quickly. It did not ruin the book for me, but it came close. Especially when she took so damn long to realize what a catch Toby was. Which, by the way, takes over 50% of the book. They flirt pretty well together, but Pip is DETERMINED to not be attracted to Toby. Idiot.

Toby, however, is a giant precious cinnamon roll. I loved every second he was on page — especially his stupid dad jokes that began every chapter. He’s smart, hot as sin, funny, and a doctor. WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT, PIP. Seriously, woman, tell me.

ANYWAY, Sister of the Bride is absolutely worth the read, especially if you like friends-to-lovers. Four stars!

I LOVE BOOKS THAT MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I'M WATCHING A ROMCOM!! ROMCOMS ARE BACK!!!!

For someone who doesn’t do well with change, Pippin Marino sure is dealing with a lot of it. First her twin sister returns from Europe with a fiancé and a plea for Pippin to plan the wedding. Then her mom announces plans to sell the 100 year old family restaurant that Pippin has been running since her father died.

But at least there’s one good development in Pippin’s life. Her best friend has Toby Sullivan surprised her by moving back to Boston. Having him back is the one bright spot amidst her summer of panic, especially when he offers to help her plan the wedding.

But then one kiss changes everything.

And Pippin Marino does not do well with change.

I thought this was really cute! Nothing revolutionary, but a great sexy rom-com!
Pippin was a really adorable leading female, who has taken over her family's restaurant business in her father's death, and is caught off guard with emotions and steamy thoughts when her best friend Toby, moves back home. She is tasked with doing what she's best at, tasks, to help plan her twin sister's relatively quick wedding.
The emotionality in this was great, the steamy scenes were just the perfect amount of steaminess and hit a few plot lines that I think are so frequently overlooked in the traditional rom com, and I really enjoyed Pippin's interiority. This is fun and enjoyable.
I will agree with some other reviews though: I don't think the title is helping much. We don't really get to planning the sisters' wedding until later in the story, and honestly its the thing i care the LEAST about. Pippin is more than just the sister of the bride!! I wish the title was revamped: I think people might skip picking this up by mistake.

This was a perfect romance book! Complicated main character, lovely family supporting characters, delightful male MC, friends to lovers, spice that wasn’t cringey, and all over the background of wedding planning. I loved this book so much!

Sister of the Bride by Lauren Morrill is sweet book that I enjoyed.

The book starts out with Pippin rushing to get to the airport to pick up her twin sister upon her return from Europe. As she’s rushing out the door, her BFF, Toby returns home after an extended time away and it throws Pippin, as he wasn’t expected.

She’s busy running her family restaurant as the head chef after her dad’s death, dealing with Polly’s engagement and her feelings for Toby, which may or may not be turning into something more than friendship. In other words, Pippin is stretched thin.

The slow build from friends to lovers, with the wedding thrown in is a good mix and I enjoyed reading about Pippin learning that there is more to expect than life in the kitchen.
I was given this book by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.

This is my first book by this author so I didn’t know it was going to be spicy given the cuteness of the cover, but it was a nice surprise.
The “dad jokes” at the beginning of almost every chapter was a funny touch. Also I think that the author did a good job in putting funny elements throughout the story that make you keep going.
I liked the family aspects in the book, and how we got to meet the different members of it. Each contributing to the story in different ways.
Honestly I think that we spent too much time on other stuff instead of focusing on the main couple. so much that I felt like skimming through some scenes such as the meeting of Mackenzie’s family. It took too long to get to the actual story.
I did enjoy the main couple, though I think some subjects between them were too mysterious for no reason, which made the pay off not good enough.
Additionally, at some point in the story, it seems that Toby’s family is not too thrilled to have him back for more than one reason and that might be Pippin, which made me think that they don’t like her very much. This being backed by the one interaction we see between Pippin and Toby’s mom. But this is never talked about so I don’t know where they stand and it was a bit confusing.
Many of the problems that Pippin was having, her whole life being put upside down in so many aspects, I don’t think they were well resolved. Sure, things came out great in the end, but it was such a big moment for her that I would’ve liked to see this happening in more detail.
Something I especially liked in the story is the main character learning to be very honest with her feelings even when she wasn’t sure where she wanted to go with them. That made the story stand out a bit more.