I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It had Hollywood glamour, a tale of a deep friendship, family ties and the profound affect just wanting to be there for your family can have on you.
A little slow to start: but needed in order to sett the backstory...the novel takes us on a fun journey of the rocky road one must take to face the past and truly not allow it to hinder your future.
A full range of loveable characters, who you find yourself willing to make the right decision and reach out when they need help...some great comical moments too!
Then lots of wedding related paraphernalia which is always good!

*eARC provided by publishers on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This book was... not what I was expecting. In this, the Spring of my Discontent (self-quarantine March/April 2020), I was looking for something light, breezy, funny, and a RomCom set at a wedding sounded perfect. The description reminded me of some of my favorite, terrible movies, like Bride Wars and the one where Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver are enemies but their kids are getting married. You Again? Actually, this description sounded exactly like You Again.

It was... not that. Yes, the general setting and premise matches the blurb, but this is not a fun, funny, frivolous read. Teeny and Melly are TERRIBLE people. I don't even know how to describe how awful these characters are. They do and say things that are so cringe-y and problematic that it almost seems contrived, like the author was intentionally making them bad characters. I'd kind of like that bold move, except they're so awful that I had to force myself to keep reading. And then the ending was so anticlimactic that it was hard not to feel like I'd wasted my time waiting for it to be a different book. It's really my own fault for expecting a romantic comedy, then reading a book that is neither funny nor romantic. There's not a lot more to say other than this might be a case of poor marketing.

Thank you for the free copy nonetheless!

Teeny and Melly were childhood best friends who dreamed of their children one day growing up to marry each other. Melly ended up marrying Teeny's high school love and now the two aren't speaking. Their respective children wind up engaged in a matter of fate and Melly loathes the idea of having to plan a wedding with Teeny. What ensues is an often hilarious yet heartfelt tale of friendship and marriage. Although they disagree on just about everything, they agree that their children are in love and want the relationship to work. I thoroughly enjoyed the wedding planning antics and really felt for Melly when her own marriage came into question. If you want a quick read about the ups and downs of friendship, this is for you!
*I want to thank the publisher and Netgalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

What I expected from this book was a funny, light drama filled story about 2 women who used to be best friends. Instead it was petty, immature, vicious, and manipulative with no likable characters and took extremely serious topics and although there was some attempt to make a serious plot they were often used for the comedy. From the beginning there was some racist descriptions of the main characters appearances and their heritages as well as generalizations for the way one of the women acted and using her ethnicity as an excuse.

While I didn’t <i>love</I> this book, I kinda enjoyed it. It’s the story of friendship that spans years, the story of love and betrayal, the story of heartbreak and growing up.

Melanie/Melly and Tennyson/Teeny were best friends as kids and grew up together. They then grew apart thanks to a whole lot of drama involving a man and secrets. And now, they’re forced back together because as luck would have it, their kids have fallen in love and want to get married. The book follows their friendship, their love and hate for each other, their love for their children and families and just how much people do for those they care about the most and how sometimes, we do more than we should, even when we know we shouldn’t.

These two women are relatable and you can totally see where they’re coming from and how their friendship could get so messed up. You feel bad for them in equal measure and you want to hit them both over the head too. It’s a complicated emotion, trust me, as you read it, you’ll understand.

There are bits that are extremely problematic and others that make you cringe slightly, but on a whole, it’s an interesting book and an interesting take on friendship and how even the littlest thing can change the course of your life completely.

This book was pretty hard to read through if I’m going to be honest. When I requested this book I thought it was going to be kind of like the movie Bride Wars - funny, lightish hearted, but this book had so many parts that I just couldn’t believe I was reading - awful stereotypes, slut shaming, racist comments, and just MEAN girls who do horrible (not funny) things! Thumbs down for me unfortunately.

Mel and Teeny were BFFS until they weren't. Big time weren't. And all over a boy. Now, 20 years later, their children are getting married- to each other. Weddings bring out the worst in many people and it does the same to these two, who have their claws out. To be honest, neither one of them is especially likable, especially in the beginning of the novel, but the point of this is to see them grow up and recognize that they are better together than when they engage in verbal warfare. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Some of this is chuckleworthy, some of it is cringeworthy but it's always diversionary from the news.

I enjoyed this story of two longtime friends that became enemies before they became related through their children's wedding.

At the heart of it all it's the story of secrets and how secrets are fine until maybe one is used to hurt someone. It's the story of learning to forgive and how sometimes we really do just need a good talk with a good friend that knows our entire story.

The story of the tenor in the gondola was great and made me laugh. The Wedding War is a fun story that delivers a strong punch of a moral which redeemed the parts of the characters that I didn't care for.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an ARC at my request. This review is my own and freely given.

Easy and short story about two old best friend who became enemy’s and now they have to fix their problems because their son will get married.

I think this scenario is the worst for two enemies, and that’s make a funny and entertainment story to enjoy in a few afternoons.

First, I have to mention that this story reminded me of two comical movies about weddings:

Bride wars because of the similarity of the two brides fighting for have the best; the best bridal shower, the best wedding

But this time is a fighting between moms, and you can see how hard is because the two moms are totally different but they love their son and daughter so they want the best for both.

Moreover, in the wedding war you can see how Tennynson and Melanie care for each other and they have dialogues and situations that make you laugh all the time.

I love the characters, both Melanie and Tennynson.

While Melanie is reserved, controlled and always has to do everything in the best way possible and she cared about her children so much that you started to like it.

Tennynson is crazy, she thinks that she can do whatever she wants (and she does) and she is so spontaneous and secure of herself, I truly fancy her character.

The second movie is the father of the bride 1, when his daughter gets married and the father hire an exotic wedding planner like Tennynson and Melanie do.

The situations every time they are reunited for the wedding are hilarious because they are fighting for things of the past but you start to read little glimpses why they fight years ago and that is entertaining.

Besides, are not only funny things in the story you also can see struggles with diseases like bulimia, anorexy, depression and anxiety.

I truly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The cover of this book was the reason I requested it, before I read the synopsis. While it did intrigue me a bit, I felt it was definitely a book about friendship and less about romance.

Tennyson and Melanie are best friends forever, until a deeply hidden secret is revealed at an unfortunate time, ripping apart the friendship for good. But what happens when Tennyson's son and Melanie's daughter fall in love, get engaged and need to plan a wedding in only a few months? The two women will need to set their differences apart for their children, but how can then when there's so much unsettled bad blood between them. When the realities of life start hitting the women at all the wrong times, they will only have each other to turn to, but will that be enough to fix the broken friendship?

I absolutely detested so many characters in this book. Melanie was one of the worst characters I think I've ever read, Kit was almost unbearable, and the kids were both a little annoying. Tennyson and her hot cop probably saved this for me, even though they both had annoying qualities themselves. I did enjoy the basic storyline of the long ruined friendship having to overcome obstacles and daily life, so it had potential, which is why I gave it the 3 star rating I did. I realistically would have rated it 2.5 stars if I could have. What irked me the most about this overall book was how repetitive certain sayings and actions were, to the point I was very obviously noticing the overuse of them, along with the strange and out of date point of views/stereotypes that seemed to be portrayed. It felt like a jumbled mess of everything that could happen, happening all at once. There were just too many ideas and storylines happening to be able to focus on what was going on. After writing this review, I feel like I should only give this book 2 stars, but maybe others will enjoy this more than I did.

I liked the outline of this book, but when I started reading it I was disappointed. The characters were shallow and cruel to one another. It improved slightly in the end, but it was not what I was expecting.

Thanks to Montlake Romance and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When you add one half Desperate Housewives, combine it with one half Bride Wars, sprinkle in a little Bridesmaids and a dash of Father of the Bride, you get Liz Talley’s entertaining and over-the-top novel, The Wedding War

Tennyson let go of the love of her life only to find that her best friend, Melanie, swooped in and married him. At Melanie’s wedding, secrets are revealed and lives are destroyed. Years later, another wedding brings Tennyson back to her home town and face-to-face with Melanie. Nothing is ever easy as these enemies now need to learn how to put the past aside and look for forgiveness as this upcoming wedding approaches. And, boy, what they put each other through! If you enjoyed the lol funny or cringeworthy antics of the movies I mentioned, then you’ll enjoy what goes down in this book.

While a lot of it is light hearted and loaded with crazy antics, we do watch as Melanie and Tennyson deal with their past, struggle with their present, deal with how they are perceived, and how devastating secrets can be. And we watch as they try to come to terms and reconcile with themselves and their combined past.

This tale, told in current time with flashbacks, could easily be imagined as a charming rom-com movie. It read just like watching one due to Luz Talley’s descriptions. It was the perfect book to escape life with! While I’m not a huge rom-com/chick lit fan, I did enjoy this book. It was a witty, entertaining, and redeeming trip.

No, just no. I can't remember the last book I rated this low, and I read a book every day. It's offensive, full of stereotypes that cross the line into racism, and features characters who are overbearing, MEAN, and entirely unlikable. It's also not a romance.

If you go into this with open eyes, your reading experience might be slightly better. The blurb makes this sound like a light-hearted read with some snarky banter, though it’s anything but. The overall tone is mean, harsh, bitter. And while I picked up this book because it was categorized as a romance (and I’ve seen this author on romance bestseller lists before), this isn’t a happily ever after kind of book.

If I was judging this on plot alone, it’d be a 2-star read for me. The racism drops it to 1 star because there were some lines that made me stop and stare. For a book that’s written in 2020, it sure didn’t feel like it. I appreciated receiving an ARC via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review, but this was a no-go for me.

Former best friends, Tennyson and Melanie are reunited when their children decide to get married. In this book, they try to outdo each other, during every step of the wedding planning, making a hilariously entertaining story. It’s a cat fight until the very end.

I laughed so hard during some of the scenes. It was like if anything could go wrong it would. But I also enjoyed the slow reuniting of best friends as came to terms on their past and learned they could still be friends if they put everything aside for a fresh start.

This book follows two childhood best friends who have drifted apart after some unforgivable events. Years later they'll have to be in each other's lives, once again, because their respective son and daughter are getting married.

This promised a fun time, unfortunately it was full of unnecessary dramas, derogatory language, slut-shaming, mistrust, bad writing with lousy and repetitive descriptions, and odious characters. I couldn't keep up with it so I had to DNF it.

Melanie and Tennyson were best friends as kids. They promised to remain that way forever, but forever is a long time. That promise has long been broken now. Tennyson and Melanie haven't talked since Melanie got married, but now they are forced to get along since their kids are going to marry one another. This upcoming marriage brings up a lot of the unresolved hurt, the competitiveness between former best friends to be the best at planning, and a whole bunch of new secrets along the way..

This was a fun read. The characters are fun. Melanie being a typical stay at home underappreciated mom and Tennyson is a woman married into money and flaunts it like its no ones business. While I understand all the background and family issues presented for Melanie, I feel that it takes away from part of the wedding war. I would love to see a sequel with the ending we were left. I could only imagine.

Tennyson and Melanie were the best of friends, and now they’re mortal enemies. Now Tennyson’s son and Melanie’s daughter are engaged—what could possibly go wrong?? This is the setup for this book, and there are so many emotions on each of its pages. The relationships are tricky and real and complicated, which makes for a very compelling read.

This one wasn't for me. I wanted to like it. The premise was good, but just felt like both women were really whiney. Thank you for letting me read early!

I read this novel while self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic in March, 2020. It was a very welcome and fun diversion from some of the very scary things happening in the world.

The wedding that is at the center of this book is really a device to explore an old friendship between the mothers of the bride and groom. I liked seeing their friendship as children and seeing how they had changed as adults.

I will say that, while conflict is an important part of any novel, I thought some of the physical conflict was a little bit much. It was very hard for me to picture two women who otherwise respected most social norms throwing things at each other and giving each other black eyes. The fact that it happened several times throughout the novel made me even more skeptical.

Otherwise, I liked the fact that the "happily ever after" here was a bit of a compromise. Noone (except maybe the married couple) ends up with absolutely everything she wants, but all of the characters have grown.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read.

What a fun and witty read! Talley does an exceptional job detailing a friendship gone wrong. Two ex best friends must come together for the nuptials of their children. Chaos ensues and the reader will find themselves giggling uncontrollably at the characters' antics! I hadn't read anything by the author prior to this one, but she is definitely a new favorite!