I like the way Charlotte Greene writes. She always draws me into the story, and makes everything seem real. This can be quite frightening with her paranormal/ghost tales, and very heartwarming when she creates a lovely romance. The Wedding Setup is one of her romantic love stories.

This book is about two couples. One is a gay couple (Stuart and Jai) who are getting married on Valentine’s Day in Loveland, Colorado. The other couple are Ryann and Maddie, the two Maids of Honor. The tale is written in third person limited through Ryann’s eyes. Maddie, an artist living in Loveland, is Jai’s maid of honor. Ryann is Stuart’s best friend, and has come to be his maid of honor even though she is swamped with work at her job in New York. Ryann has no time for love, but she can’t shake the feeling Stuart and Jai are trying to set her up with Maddie.

The setting of this novel, Loveland, Colorado, is ideal for this tale. The town takes advantage of its name to make Valentine’s Day a huge business for the town. The characters are well-developed, and I could see the connection between both couples. I had a little bit of a problem with how Maddie and Ryann sometimes acted and reacted towards each other. I realize that it is part of the conflict in the story, but I kept thinking if they would only sit down and talk to each other instead of letting misunderstandings get in the way, then they could be together much sooner. I absolutely love the ending of this book though! It is a fun and heartstring-tugging romance that will leave you with a warm & fuzzy feeling.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

The premise for this book was really good. Getting setup while planning a wedding was intriguing and I was ready for a fun romcom. Maybe that was where I should have adjusted my expectations.

Unfortunately I couldn’t quite connect with the characters in this one. I understood the opposites attract setup and portraying Ryann as an ice queen / boss bitch. But I think the negative behaviors were taken way too far and the redemption portion either didn’t happen or maybe I missed it. I felt Ryann’s character was a bit too shallow and sort of emotionally all over the place. I was getting quite stressed being yanked back and forth between Ryann’s latter half sweetness and weird female rage that befell anyone in her company.

This angsty story of wedding planning and discovering love may appeal to a different audience given all the in your face emotional whiplash but didn’t quite work for me. 3🌟s

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book sounds like it could be great fun. And I think it should have been but I was really bored while reading this. I was bored to the point of distraction.

Let’s start with the things that didn’t work for me. Winking, in the first third of the book there is so much winking. I figured Maddie must have some sort of tic. A wink by the right person at the right time is nice, but it definitely gets old when it happens every single time you catch this person’s eye. Ryann and Maddie are roped into organising both their best friend’s wedding, there is so much “shop talk”, it gets old fast as well. And when they aren’t organising things for the wedding Ryann is doing something for her job. Maddie jumps to conclusion and over apologises after. Ryann is in serious need of some sleep and chill time.
I couldn’t connect with the main characters and the secondary characters that seem to be for comic relief are even worse.

Redeeming qualities of this book? At this point I’m not sure I can name any. I like the idea of the story, the writing is ok enough. The town itself seems pretty nice.

I’m sure there will be people who enjoy this book, but I’m not one of those. Please read other reviews for a more holistic view.

*eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

rated 3.75 stars
this book was a fun hallmark-style romcom that i found pretty fun. i liked how we got to know all the sweet elements of the small town. all the friendships were really good and i loved the butch rep but something just felt a little bit off about the chemistry between the main characters - i feel like it was kind of just physical and the emotional stuff was secondary. also not sure if i got the greatest sense of either ryann or maddie as characters. i think it also went a little too fast for me to properly enjoy but still a good read.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book for a number of reasons.
1) In the very first chapter, our main character is called a 'f*g hag' by her supposed gay best friend. This is not something I want to read in what is supposed to be a cute romance novel. It was completely unnecessary and came out of nowhere. There are a lot of queer people who wouldn't be comfortable reading that.
2) In chapter two, Ryann's best friend says the phrase 'going native'. Needless to say this is wrong and should not be said, especially by a white man. This is obvious, I don't know who thought this would be okay to include.
3) Ryann was a total lesbian stereotype, and not in a good way. There's a time and place to write the "mean lesbian" character, but this was the wrong novel for it. Plus it could've been done way better. Ryann sounds like na absolute nightmare of a person and a boss to work for.
4) The writing was painfully millennial.

Just didn't really connect with this one. It was a fine read and I am not mad I read it, but it was just a solid meh for me.

The Loveland setting was interesting and depicted so well I felt like I was there. Ryann and Maddie, the two main characters, had great chemistry, and their friends who were getting married were also very likeable. However, from a believability perspective the idea that a CEO could just take two weeks off work at such short notice to organise a wedding, or that a friend would expect this of them rather than organise their own wedding, or anyone having any sort of wedding with a couple of weeks' notice seemed utterly ludicrous. I also could not understand why Maddie was so upset with Ryann having to actually work given that she is a CEO running a massive business that she built. Still, it was a well written book with some lovely characters and I enjoyed it.

This read was alright. I mean, the plot flowed and the dialogue was decent. But I felt as though the relationship was a little unbelievable. I can get behind an instant attraction but the mains in this book went from 0-60 mph in like 15 pages. There were a couple scenes that could have been cut to make space for some passion because I felt as though the MCs were missing that. I was into the blurb and the idea of the book but I don’t feel as though the bar I had set for myself going into this read were met. I enjoyed reading this book but I felt as though I had to force myself to finish it at some parts.

This book is a short and fun romance novel set in a Valentines-themed town in Colorado. Ryann, a marketing CEO from New York is helping organize a wedding for her best friend, with the help of Maddie, the other maid-of-honour. This novel contains lots of flirting during the wedding planning with the relationship decently developed. Definitely recommend for anyone looking for an enjoyable lesbian romance.

However, I did feel like more of the story could have been better developed. One of the main themes seemed to be the work-life balance, and how Ryann needed to put people ahead of her job. This theme was not very subtle and yet in the final stages it felt like we never really got to see Ryann mulling this over or making future decisions. And while people are more important that work, it did frustrate me how little anyone seemed to care about Ryann's job, a business she built. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, but the storyline outside of the romance could have been better.

I loved this book.

Watching the love story between Ryann and Madison seemed so natural and effortless. I fell a little bit in love with each of them myself.

What makes this romance better than so many others is the quality of the writing. The characters are believable and none of the overused conflicts or obstacles are a part of the story line.

This is a great winter read. No need to wait until summer to immerse yourself into this lovely romance.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for allowing me to read an Advanced Reader copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Ryann has recently reconnected with her best friend, Stuart, after losing contact when he moved out of New York. After reconnecting and agreeing to be in his wedding, she flies to his small town and gets more than she bargained for.

I devoured this book in one night. I loved this story so much. I am typically a thriller only type of gal and a self proclaimed romance hater but, I’m beginning to learn that because I don’t connect with most romance novels. This book was written for the gays and I’m so happy to finally have that. All the main characters were so unapologetically gay without anyone questioning their sexuality or dealing with guilt related to it. No one ran back to their boyfriend or was just “trying” new things and that is so refreshing.. I am so happy that I received a copy of this book for an honest review because it’s truly one of my best reads of the year. I’m still reeling from all the good feelings.

Ryann is surprise to hear from her best friend Stuart and even more when he ask her to be his maid of honor. When Ryann arrive in Colorado she learns she be working with Maddie the other groom maid of honor to basically plan the wedding which is a valentine theme. Although they clash they soon starts to grow closer. I love follow them as they plan the wedding it was as if they were the ones getting married.

This was a good slow burn romance it had little bit of angst but overall good read.



I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

This is nice book to read. A pleasant story that flows well. Ryann and Maddie are great characters although I did find myself wishing Ryann was more like the bad ass boss she started out as
Would I recommend: yes if you're looking fir a good romance

Ryann lost touch recently with her best friend so when he calls to ask her to be his mai od honour for his incoming wedding she puts her highly demaning job aside and travels to help her friend organise his wedding. Maddie is an artist and a ‘serial” do gooder that volunteers for just about anything and that makes her doubt Ryann’s intentions. But their attraction is hard to ignore. This is a feel good romance that’s bound to make your day better. It’s a low angst, slow burn romance set around Valentine’s day around 2 MCs that have opposite feelings not only about the holiday but also about what should be a priority in life, work or family and friends. Read this book to put a smile on your face.

Ryann is successfully working on her latest big marketing deal in NYC when her BFF asks her to come to Colorado and be his maid of honor. When she arrives she learns that she and the other grooms maid of honor have been left with much of the wedding planning. And the Valentine themed wedding is in two weeks. It never is really explained why the other groom can't help more, but Ryann's friend is preparing his art for a new show. The two maids spend time together picking out cocktails, cakes and selecting the venue. Even period clothing is all in Valentine color themes. Of course Ryann is drawn to the Maddie. She is flirty, an artist and also teaches at the local college. But Ryann's business world is NYC. It is also an easy, no major ruffles, slow burn romance. This is a sweet Valentine themed romance. It's the kind of book to enjoy and make your day feel less stressful. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. (3.5 stars)

This was sweet and fun with a premise that's right up my alley. Unfortunately I just didn't find myself drawn into it. I didn't massively feel much for the two main characters which made it hard to root for them in a significant way. It was a fairly standard slow burn romance that I ended up skimming from about the halfway point unfortuntely. Maybe others will connect with it more but regardless it's nice for a casual weekend afternoon kind of read.

Planning a wedding for your friend. What could go wrong or right. Ryann's best friend has asked her to come and help him plan his wedding but he wants her to plan the whole thing with his grooms friend Maddie.
Ryanna and Maddie have a list of places to visit which means they are spending a lot of time together. As they taste food, try cake and decide on signature drinks for the big day their attraction grows.
Suddenly Ryann has to leave for a business trip to London. Will she be back in time for the wedding and what about Maddie? Can these two build a relationship or was it just the excitement of spending time getting to know each other.

Charlotte Greene does a beautiful job of awakening these characters and building the story.

#TheWeddingSetUP #NetGalley