Cover Image: The Wedding Date

The Wedding Date

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I just loved it! Being American, reading it brings me to England. I loved the story. Great characters that has well rounded personalities and quirks. Funny and serious all at the same time. The author did a great job at wrapping up the story in a unique and heartwarming way. I'll be looking for more from this author.

Was this review helpful?

This was an Ok book. For me the over the top British colloquialisms kept throwing me. It slowed down the flow of the book and made it kind of a chore to read. This very much reminded me of the movie by the same title with Debra Messing. But with a dog.

Was this review helpful?

Wow. This was my first book by this author, and I can’t wait to read her other books. I absolutely loved this feel good story. This writing is so good you have to continue to push on to find out whether Sam and Jake end up together. It could have gone either way. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an early release to me.

Was this review helpful?

Enjoyable and fun read!

I was a little unsure of the premise of this book and whether I'd be able to get into it, but I thought this was a well-written and fun story with great characters, a fantastic setting (a castle in Scotland!) and a loveable dog (Harry)! There are some brilliant and really funny stories and moments within the book, and I would really recommend this as a relaxing and easy read.

I didn't realise until I'd finished the book that I have read some of Zara's other books, which I enjoyed equally - definitely a must-read author for me now!

Was this review helpful?

This book was really refreshing. Sam's best friend asks her to be the Maid of Honor at her wedding, the catch is the Best Man is the ex who dumped her. Sam then sets about trying to pull of a huge secret that ends up changing her life. This was a really good story and I would recommend to anyone.

Was this review helpful?

This novel is laugh out loud funny. Sam is the maid of honor in her best friend, Jess's wedding. The problem is the best man is Sam's ex-boyfriend of several years, Liam. In order to look like she's moved on, Sam decides to hire an actor, Jake, to be her wedding date. The two get into several hilarious situations and end up finding love for themselves over the week long wedding set in Scotland.

Was this review helpful?

5☆ A Fun and Engaging Rom Com I couldn't put down!!

The wedding date is a fun Rom Com that had me laughing out loud i couldn't wait to find out what would happen next..

Picture this.... your bestest friend is getting married. Your Ex boyfriend who your hopelessly in love is going to be there and the best man.
Oh and did I mention his new girlfriend who he cheated with on you will also be there.... she's very much pregnant!!
Oh and its not just a one day thing it's a week long event!
What would you do???
Go without a date?
Or get a date?

This is the predicament Sam finds herself in when her bestest friend Jess is getting married and her Ex Liam is going to be there!

Along comes Jake... fake date Jake!
He's an actor, very good looking, loves his family, loves animals... what's not to love his a perfect fake date and his up for it!
What could possibly go wrong....nothing right!!!

I absolutely adored this gorgeous book.
I have read books similar to this and I'm pretty sure there has been a film similar too.
But what Zara did was kept my attention, kept me laughing, I loved her lil pros and cons list at the start of several chapters.
She created fun, quirky, loveable characters that I fell in love with.

The romance fizzes along perfectly.
It's the perfect compelling read for lifting your spirits, its a Warm, very funny and feel-good read with a dialogue that is witty and engaging.Get ready to fall in love with The Wedding Date.
This book couldn't come at a better time, as we celebrate the Royal Wedding.

Thank you to Rachel Random Resources for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?

I love Zara Stoneley and this doesn’t disappoint. Full of humour, warmth, wit and wisdom it’s enjoyable from the first page to the last!

Was this review helpful?

4 Delightful Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book was an absolute pleasure to read, filled with fabulous characters and lots of laughs.... The plot was pretty straightforward and has been done before, but the characters really brought this book to life...

Sam is not showing up to her BFF’s wedding alone, especially because her ex is the best man.... after telling a tiny lie to both her parents and BFF that she is dating somebody, Sam decides she needs to hire somebody to play the part... Jake is an actor needing a distraction and he will work cheap... i’m sure you can figure out what will happen.... but it is the humor, the pacing, and the wonderful characters that sets this book apart... in honor of Sam and her propensity to make a list... I will list my top five characters in this book....

Sam... loved her, especially her inner dialogue... she was one of those characters I’d love to hang out with and have a girls night out with...
2. Jake... just a good guy with a big heart... Who usually said the right thing, my favorite thing he said to Sam was ”you are the right size for you...”*sigh*

3. Ruth... Sam’s mom, she really had some of the best lines in the book.... she truly loved her daughter, but sometimes wanted to insert herself a little too much in her life, she is a mom after all...

4. Sarah... she didn’t have a big part in the book, but she was a good friend and I loved her stalking Waze...

5. Harry... the dog.... he brought humor to every part of the book he was in...

Absolutely recommend to all who Love a romance with a large dose of humor....

*** thank you to the publisher, the author,Net Galley, and Rachel at Rachel‘s Random Resources for my copy of this book ***

Was this review helpful?

This book was cute.. Thats about it. It wasn't original in any way but it was still an enjoyable read.

Was this review helpful?

The sensational Zara Stoneley is back with the romantic comedy of the year: The Wedding Date! Fun, fabulous and deliciously feel-good, this book should come with a warning: do not read this in public because you will be snorting with laughter from the first line until the very last page!

Samantha Jenkins had once thought that her boyfriend Liam was ‘The One’. He might have been a bit dull, rather boring and just a tad overbearing, but Samantha had truly believed that she would end up spending the rest of her life with him, so she had been absolutely flabbergasted when he had called time on their relationship – and she had been absolutely furious when she discovered that he had a new girlfriend. A girlfriend who was pregnant with his child! Rather than being subjected to her friends and family’s pity – and also wanting to be spared from her mother’s fervent matchmaking – Samantha had told everyone she knew that she was in a relationship with a man she was deliriously in love with. An imaginary boyfriend was meant to be the answer to all of her problems – until her best friend announces that she is getting married and wants Samantha to be her maid of honour! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, her ex was going to be the best man!

Samantha needs to lose all the weight she had gained after weeks spent on the sofa drinking wine and munching on crisps and also turn up to the wedding on the arm of a drop dead gorgeous hunk who would make her ex turn green with envy! But with men being rather thin on the ground, Samantha wonders whether she should just come clean and confess that her boyfriend is a mere figment of her imagination. However, Samantha’s friend and colleague Sarah comes up with the perfect plan to solve all of her problems: hire a professional to act the part of the doting boyfriend and as luck would have it, actor Jake Porter is available and he would be absolutely perfect for the job!

Single, charming and jaw-droppingly sexy, Jake is the best-looking man Samantha has ever clapped eyes on. Heading off to a Scottish estate for a whole week is certainly not going to be a chore when her companion is sex on legs, but Samantha knows that their relationship is purely for show – yet she cannot help but fall under Jake’s spell…

Will their fake relationship give way to the real thing? Does Jake truly have feelings for Samantha? Or is it all just an act for the benefit of Samantha’s friends and relatives?

An outstanding riotous romp that is hilarious, poignant and an absolute joy from beginning to end, The Wedding Date is a superb romantic read that had will have you chortling out loud on many an occasion! Zara Stoneley is a fantastic writer who in The Wedding Date has created a world you simply will not want to leave. Sparkling with warmth, humour and heart, The Wedding Date is full of characters that bounce off the pages, splendid repartee, plenty of laugh out loud moments and uplifting romance.

With a heroine you will adore, a hero who makes Ross Poldark look shabby, a splendid cast of supporting characters and lots of love and laughter, The Wedding Date is a delicious, delightful and decadent treat you simply cannot miss!

Was this review helpful?

Favorite Quotes:

The drinks are green. I’m never quite sure that anything I eat or drink should be green. Apart from M&Ms.

She giggles in what I can only describe as a flirtatious manner and I could swear she’s got a bum wiggle going on as she heads back towards the front door. Bum wiggles should be banned for all mothers, at least when their daughters are there. Particularly if the wiggle is for the benefit of their daughters’ boyfriends. Honestly, it’s indecent, even if he isn’t a proper boyfriend.

Dad knows the warning signs, he knows that sometimes, like after a bottle of wine, or a couple of cocktails, she gets stuck in and things can escalate. Like they did in Crete when Juliet said she’d dived in the Commonwealth games, so Mum said she’d dived for the Girl Guides and ten minutes later had to be rescued after a belly flop that half-emptied the pool of water. It added insult to injury when she recovered enough to find her saviour looked more Sumo wrestler than Hoff and he was determined to give her the kiss of life. For some strange reason we didn’t sit by the pool after that; it was all sea, ice-creams and historical monuments.

I haven’t had hot sex for at least three years, and that happened by accident when Liam accidentally put the air conditioning on a heat setting he didn’t know it had. I thought he was all hot and sweaty from excitement, and apparently he thought the same about me.

‘Steer well clear. I think she must be … what do they call it … vajazzled or something, to have led Liam astray like that… Well, the rest of her isn’t that pretty, is it? … Crystals for your crotch, it said in that magazine article I saw in the hairdresser’s. I’m not sure it would suit me though dear.’ From the look on Dad’s face it wouldn’t suit him either. ‘I’m quite sensitive down there and if you start using superglue you don’t know where it will all end up, do you?’

My Review:

I alternated between smiling and smirking while I read this amusing tale of relationship woe. Samantha had been unceremoniously dumped, shortly before her best friend’s wedding, where she was to be the maid of honor, and her ex the best man – awkward. The wedding festivities were to last a week, in Scotland, with friends and family, including the ex and his “hugely” pregnant girlfriend. Yikes - obviously his “double-dipping” had been going on for quite awhile, which crossed the intersection of Uncomfortable and Embarrassing and turned right onto Torture Street! Not wanting to be pitied and unable to find a suitable date, Samantha hired an actor, a sweet and gorgeous man, to be her pretend boyfriend. While the overall premise was not anything new - we’ve all read similar tales - the quirky characters, clever humor, and fresh storylines made this one unique. I adored the twinkly-eyed Jake Porter, who had relationship wounds of his own. Samantha’s mother was an original personality and her scenes provided considerable mirth and gleeful entertainment. I was brand new to Ms. Stoneley’s wily humor but I hope to rectify that oversight going forward; reading her clever words was good fun.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Rachel for letting me take part in this tour and to Harper Impulse for my copy of this book. I've read some of Zara's books before and I really enjoyed her writing style so I couldn't let this one sit on my TBR pile.

Sam is an east character to identify with. She was recently dumped by her jerk of a boyfriend Liam. He essentially took her for granted and sadly she let him. I've been Sam, been in that comfortable, safe relationship and I am so glad I got out when I did. I really liked Sam and I thought she was a true and loyal friend to Jess. I'm no sure Jess deserved all of her support considering she hadn't really been there for her in the break up.

Now I really want to talk about Jake. This man is all sorts of swoon. He is hotter than Liam Hemsworth, he's good with children, he loves dogs and on top of all of that he knows how to make a girl laugh. Sorry Sam but you might have a fight on your hands for this one!

Talking of laughing, this book was HILARIOUS! Honestly I have not laughed so much in ages. The boyfriend could hear me from another room. There were times I had tears in my eyes from laughing. There are a few scenes, you will know when you get there, that will just have you in stitches! I absolutely enjoyed every page of this book and I really really need to catch up on Zara's other books on my TBR pile.

This is a real feel good read that will keep you laughing for hours.

Was this review helpful?

Although they are often predictable, I love romantic comedies. Even if I know how they are going to end, I enjoy reading them, especially if they are well-written and have engaging characters like THE WEDDING DATE by Zara Stoneley.

I adored this novel. I laughed from the first to the last page (there is a scene with horses that is particularly hilarious) and I loved all the characters, or at least the good ones. I really liked the character of Sam. She is loyal, funny, a good friend, and completely realistic. She likes to make lists and she doesn’t back down from difficult situations, like going to her best friend wedding and seeing her ex-boyfriend and his hugely pregnant new girlfriend with whom he cheated on her, or riding a horse when she is clearly not able to. I liked, Jake, the “fake” boyfriend. He is a struggling actor and he really gets into the role. He plays the perfect boyfriend and also the perfect man (it appears that there is nothing he can’t do), but he is also entertaining and smart, and I enjoyed his witty exchanged with Sam. Another character I loved is Sam’s mother. She has no filters, she is nosy, indiscreet, and every time Jake came out of the a lake completely wet (somehow this happened more than once) she shouted out for Mr. Darcy. Last but not least on the list of my favorite characters is Harry, the dog. He was the life of the party, always at the center of the attention and he created some of the most comic scenes in the book.

The Scottish and secluded castle is the perfect setting to this novel and the brilliant writing, the hilarious situations, and the witty exchanged kept me glued to the page. I read it in one day, trying to read as many pages as possible during my lunch break and reading (and laughing) well into the night.

Was this review helpful?

It's safe to say that this story pulled me in straight away especially with the lovely warm writing style. Even if the title of the book is something we have seen before Zara Stoneley has created a vibrant and fabulous story along with characters that made me root for them.

Sam is so likeable and down to earth and I loved how much she valued her friendship with Jess especially to put herself in such an unusual situation. This book has some great minor characters that really help to create a more rounded story. With a special mention going to Sam's mum she was pretty funny with her one liners and how impressed she was by Jake! Then you have Jake who is cheeky, playful and I was definitely smitten! I loved their interactions and the building chemistry between the pair but will there be a happy ever after?

The pacing of the story is great with a variety of fun moments, romance and a lovely heartwarming feel that left me smiling away. Now I have to make a small confession, the thing is this is the first book that I have read by Zara Stoneley but I am so happy that I picked up this book. I have clearly been missing out on some wonderful books!

The Wedding Date is fun, flirty and pure romantic escapism!

With thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for my copy.

Was this review helpful?

Can I PLEASE be best friends with Samantha? She - and this book - were refreshingly delightful and good for the soul. Of course, the hired boyfriend is an old trope, but you don't care when you love the characters so much you just want them to be happy. I zoomed through the pages, literally LOL-ing - a perfect holiday read. As sweet and moreish as the cake on the cover.

Posted / Goodreads & Amazon UK

Was this review helpful?

The Wedding Date is a fun, romantic book for anyone who is looking for a love story. I absolutely loved the characters, especially Sam and Jake. They were very well written and made you want to keep reading to see what happened in their story. The book was full of laughs, especially with the lovable dog Harry. I have never read anything by Zara Stoneley before, but I definitely will in the future. A great read!

Was this review helpful?

This is such a fun read! A perfect summer book. There are many times I got looks from those around me because I actually laughed out loud. Sam is like a cross between Elle from Legally Blonde and Bridget Jones. She is so relatable as a character. It's a great combination. A fake date for a wedding is a great premise and start of a fun story. The writing flows and creates such an easy to read story. I really liked this book.

Was this review helpful?

Solid chick lit…doesn’t take itself too seriously! You’ll laugh, cry, and say “Oh! No!” Definitely a fun weekend read :c)

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely loved The Wedding Date - it's the perfect Summer read! With a cast of delightful characters, including a mischievous dog, I flew through the pages laughing as I went. Zara Stoneley is one of my favourite authors in this genre and I highly recommend her books.

Was this review helpful?