Fallon is just about keeping her head above water looking after her grandfather who has Alzheimer’s and trying to get the family cabin business renovated. Sawyer needs a place to hide out from the paparazzi after his antics at his ex’s wedding to his ex best friend. The way he helps out with the renovations on the sly, and deals with Sully and his Alzheimer’s is so nice, really insightful. Even the expected hiccup in the romance between Fallon and Sawyer is nicely dealt with. A good all round feel good romance story.

3 stars ☆ This is the first book I've read by this author and was planning of reading her other books but I didn't like the writing style and I wasn't fond of the plot of this book especially since it had potential by the tropes of second chance romance and a love triangle in a small town. So I figured this would be an easy 4 stars but it didn't.

The beginning already made me invested (even though I didn't like what Sawyer did at the wedding of his ex) but other than that, it was a strong prologue, to begin with, this story but somehow throughout the book, I didn't connect/liked the two mcs at all. I was much entertained by the side characters tbh and that miscommunication at almost the end?? It was not for me. It wasn't needed.

But on the other good parts of this book, it was still a fun and cute read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC !!

I generally like Quinn books but there always hits some point where I wonder why I'm finishing a book. For me, it was about 60% through this book and Fallon was still with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who isn't the hero. The overall book was fine and I really enjoyed Quinn's representation of living with a family member who suffers from Alzheimers but... ugh. I wish there had been more time seeing Fallon and Sawyer navigating their relationship.
Just about a year ago, Fallon went on a blind date with Sawyer, just after his last girlfriend had left him for his best friend. Now, he's in small-town Canoodle, California and doesn't remember her at all. That's fine, she's too busy taking care of her grandfather and trying to put their family cabins back into repair.
Sawyer is a screenwriter. He writes something that sounds like a Hallmark romance. But he hasn't felt very romantic since his girlfriend and best friend fell in love on the last movie set. And then his studio strong armed him into pretending to be okay with it. At their wedding, he snaps and runs away, ending up in Canoodle.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out October 11, 2022
ARC kindly provided by Montlake and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Slow-burn perfection! Runaway Groomsman is full of laughs and lots of heart, the yummy kind of story that you can just envision watching on "Lifemark" or "Movieflix." (IYKYK!!)

Sawyer is a screenwriter who makes his living writing feel-good romcoms, but his life is more like a Greek tragedy lately. And when his ex-girlfriend (an actress) marries his ex-best friend (an actor), the dude has a meltdown of epic proportions. During the ceremony. At the altar. As his double-finger kiss-off becomes a viral gif, Sawyer ends up hiding out in the quirky mountain town of Canoodle to bury his head in the sand as he's become a bit of a laughingstock back in Hollywood.

One of the first people Sawyer meets in Canoodle is Fallon -- a former nurse with whom he had one horrible blind date a year ago. At the time, Sawyer was drowning in sadness and anger because his girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend, but all Fallon remembers from that date was what a jerk the guy was. And to make matters worse, Sawyer has zero recollection of who Fallon is when they first cross paths. Still, she takes pity on the drunk fool and lets him stay in one of the cabins at her grandfather's crumbling resort.

But Fallon has a lot more to worry about than a guy she had one date with not remembering her. She's the caretaker for her grandfather, Sully, who has Alzheimer's, and she's desperately trying to renovate the resort so she can continue her grandparents' legacy. While Sawyer is hiding out and trying to come up with a new movie concept to save his career, he begins spending lots of time with Sully and unbeknownst to Fallon, begins doing renovations at the resort under her grandfather's watchful eye. And the more time he spends "not being friends" with Fallon, the more Sawyer realizes he blew his chance with a fabulous girl… because she now has a boyfriend, Peter.

As Fallon and Sawyer become more than "not friends," it's clear that there is so much electricity between them. Fallon is broken up with Peter before anything happens between her and Sawyer, but you have to read through more than half of the book to get there! And because Sawyer doesn't want to ruin the second chance he's been given, he becomes the swooniest of book boyfriends as he courts Fallon. Along the way, Sawyer finds his muse again and discovers that the best thing that ever could have happened to him was running away from Hollywood.

There are so many wonderful Easter eggs sprinkled throughout this book that I loved as a long-time reader of Meghan Quinn's. I loved all of the side characters, especially Fallon's sarcastic BFF, Jazlyn. I know there is a story coming for Jaz and Sawyer's brother, and I can't wait to see how their romance unfolds! This book is a Montlake release and definitely does not have the spice level that MQ's indie books like Royally Not Ready has, but it is a super sweet and heartfelt story about love, inner peace, acceptance, and family.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily left a review.

This is a super sweet, small town, second chance romance book. This book had humor, steam, and spice between Sawyer and Fallon. This book will have you crying, laughing and yelling at your kindle while reading it. Overall this was a good book and I can't wait to see what Meghan writes next.

***5 ‘Acquaintances’ Stars***

I gotta say, I freakin’ ADORED this story.

Not just Sawyer and Fallon, but the entire story and all ~ or most ~ of the characters in it.
It had the unique, OTT characters I’ve come to expect from this author, but mixed in with that ~ and to be honest, the OTT was not AS OTT as some of her other books ~ was a Dear Life vibe and that book was everything to me. So, to say this book gave me everything my reading loving heart could want, is absolute truth and I really didn’t want to say good-bye to Canoodle, CA and the people who live there.

Obviously, I adored Sawyer and Fallon. They are both going through their own issues and trying to stay on solid ground while working through them. They are witty, snarky and are simply people who do the right thing, because it's simply the right thing. Sometimes they make things a little harder on themselves than they should, but they are only human. Their journey to the HEA is slow burn goodness and that little twist in their story had me going…ahhh, k. But I loved watching them get to know each other and fall in love when neither expected it. There are a few bumps in their road, but I liked how they worked through them and became stronger for it in the end.

This book has all kinds of goodness in it. From the unique, and at times OTT craziness, to some real heart melting moments that had me sniffling. As for the supporting cast of characters, they are all unique and really helped to take this book to the next level for me in all ways. So, if you’re looking for a good small town, slow burn romance with great characters and just a bit of OTT crazy tossed in for good measure, then this is a must click for you!

~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

Meghan Quinn just does romance right.

Runaway Groomsman gives a unique spin on a Cinderella like fairy tale story of two people in the wrong places at the right time. What a story it is.

Sawyer and Fallon's story literally had me swooning. It truly is that perfect slow burn, utterly hilarious, a little dysfunctional and a whole lot of relatable kind of romance.

Sawyer is having a hard time. I mean a real hard, someone ripping your heart out stamping all over it and expecting you to carry on about your day like nothing happened kind of bad time. This man pulled on my heart strings heavy. He was good to the core. Almost to genuine he wore his heart on his sleeve, gave everything to those he loved and not once made it about him despite his world being in crisis. He is what every book boyfriend should be. He's kind, patient, witty and sexy. It really was a lethal combination.

Fallon again is just the absolute sweetest. She's stubborn to a fault but also so selfless to those she loved. The woman couldn't do wrong in my books, she literally gave everything up to look after Sully and never once thought about it being a task. Never once thought she'd rather not. She was strong, loyal, sweet and funny. Everything you want in a heroine.

These two just had me. From what was a very unfortunate beginning to another quite dysfunctional meeting at first it appeared there was no hope for these two. But life had other plans and these two were most definitely meant to me. From their slow blossoming friendship to the quiet humming tensions that grew into this overwhelming chemistry they just couldn't deny. Fallon and Sawyer had me hooked to them. I lived for their sweet innocent chats and genuine support and appreciation of one another. I cracked up at the denial and then them hiding their attraction and I legit had butterflies at them romancing each other. It was kismet.

Oh, the side characters of it all. I absolutely lived for grumpy Sully and his further instructions. Being that my actual job is looking after the elderly, a lot with dementia... I know and have experienced many Sully's over the years and I think Meghan did a wonder job highlighting the many great highs along with the truly heart-breaking lows that come with someone who has Dementia/ Alzheimer's and just how much it impacts not only that person's life, but the lives of those around them. It's not easy. But Sully shined like the star he was and made his mark on the world in the book and I loved every moment of him.

Jaz... out crazy bestie with bad habit of stabbing tires. She is crazy, bold, brave and at times a giant pain in the arse, but that girl loves hard and loyal, and I won't fault her for that. She had me crying laughing too may time to count and frankly the book would just not be the same without her brand of crazy spice flavour through it.

I laughed so hard my belly hurt and my eyes leaked. It's got those full-on belly laughing moments you cannot resist. I just loved this book. when I think of romance this is what I want. I want something that has relatable characters, a whole slew of them to love. I want tension and chemistry, sarcasm and humour. I want emotion. Not the crazy overblown angsty kind. The kind that makes me feel and by the end, makes me want to read it all over again for the first time ever.
This is that and then some.

Meghan never fails to deliver. I am just grateful she shares these stories with us.

✨book review✨

You all know I love Meghan Quinn so I was so excited to read Runaway Groomsman. And it lived up to the hype.

Runaway Groomsman
Author: Meghan Quinn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Read this one if you love:
✨ a Hollywood screenwriter meets small Town girl
✨ a sllllloooowww burn
✨ home renovations
✨ hilarious side characters
✨ a sweet grandpa

Y’all, as much as I loved Sawyer and Fallon (our main characters) in this story, I think I liked the relationship between Sawyer and Fallon’s grandfather more. By allowing Sully to help with the renovations, he made him feel somewhat himself again. And that just brought a smile to my eyes.

I also thought there was going to be a bit of a love triangle aspect and I was gonna be mad. But the Fallon broke up with her boyfriend before anything happened between her and Sawyer. Thank goodness cause I did not want to DNF a Meghan Quinn book.

Now let’s talk about thee best friend, Jaz. She was hilarious. And her nickname for Sawyer made me chuckle every time.

This one is long but worth it. Also, just know that it’s not MQ’s normal steam level!

What an emotional ride !! You will laugh .. Jaz it a pip .. your will cry .. Sully .. and you will scream for BOTH Sawyer and Fallon to just man up to there feelings !!

Sawyer Walsh is a screenwriter, so when his fiancé leaves him for his best friend he is wondering is he writing this, is it a dream or is it really real they asked me to be in there wedding ?? Sometimes enough is enough and you can’t take the stress and bahmmmm you snap !! That is how Sawyer ends up in Canoodle California and the Canoodle Cove Cabins ….

When Fallon Long finds herself taking care of her Grandfather Sully she knows deep down in her heart she is doing the right thing for her family by leaving her Nursing career in Palm Spings because Canoodle was her FAVORITE summertime spot with her grandparents and she won’t let Sully or Joan down .. but run down is what the cabins are !!

So her plan is to refurbish one cabin at a time except someone is doing it for her and she can’t figure out who it is ?? Grandma Joan’s bench is even repaired ??

Can she figure out who is behind the repairs before her heart is broken again …. Sawyer ??

The chemistry between these two is off the chart even if they don’t know it in the beginning .. can they learn how to love each other since they both don’t feel worthy ?? Sooooo GOOD !! Love it !!

This was a much slower burn romance than most of Meghan Quinn’s self-published novel. But not in a bad way necessarily. Just a warning if you go in expecting all the steamy times to start up right away like they often do in her books. This is a more traditional contemporary romance, which makes sense as it is a traditionally published title.

You can still expect the humor though that Quinn always brings to her stories. While it might be a teensy bit tamed down, it still is there and had me laughing out loud as usual. I loved how the little town was set up to almost perfectly be a Hallmark movie type of town. I loved that Sawyer was a screenwriter who noted all those things in all his interactions with others and places. It was so much fun how the author wove little bits and pieces from her books throughout the story. Some as possible movies Sawyer had written, one of our favorite baseball players from her Brentwood Boys series, Maddox Paige, and even Port Snow, which had its own Hallmark movie type of experience within that series.

The characters were so much fun too. I loved Fallon’s best friend, Sawyer’s brother, Fallon’s dads, Fallon’s grandpa Sully, not to mention all of the colorful characters of the small town. The back story on how Fallon and Sully had actually met before he showed up in town drunk after his ex’s wedding was unique and I like that we had that instead of him just being a stranger that showed up out of nowhere. It made the story have its own uniqueness.

All of the parts with Sully hit me in the heart, I know I’m going to be dealing with more and more of this with my stepdad, and also watched my grandmother go through this many years ago as well. I was younger at the time, and it wasn’t anything I could be a part of like Fallon was there for Sully, but it still hit me and made have all the feels with this. We got to a part where all I could think was that things were going too well and I didn’t want to know what bad thing was going to happen, but when it did, it was not something I was happy how it went, but it made sense with what Sawyer had gone through.

Another wonderful story from Meghan Quinn. And oh how much fun this would be as its own rom-com movie!

This was a bit of a different style from Meghan Quinn's usual super steamy fare and I really, really liked it!!

A slow burn, forced proximity, small town, dual POV romance, sees LA screenwriter Sawyer running away from his ex's wedding and holing up in Canoodle, California where he meets Fallon, the owner of Canoodle Cove Cabins - a family business she's trying to save, while also being caretaker for her grandfather with Alzheimer's.

I loved how much this book revolved around family and we got to see Sawyer interacting with Fallon's grandfather, helping out in little ways around the property, slowly showing her how much he cared. It was refreshing that the characters didn't just jump into bed right away (in fact Fallon has a boyfriend when they first meet).

The chemistry, friendship and banter all worked so well to make the payoff when Sawyer and Fallon do come together worth the wait. Recommended for fans of Tessa Bailey's Romancing the Clarksons series.

Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I listened to audio copy and really enjoyed the narration by Samantha Brentmoor and Alastair Haynesbridge (two new to me narrators).

A funny, endearing romance thats hits all those small time, second chance romance vibes and knocks it out of the park! Sawyer has had one heck of a year what with his bestfriend taking up with his girl and the studio making him ølay nice, but come on, how nice would you really play it and for how long? I could not have hung in as long as he did! Cue the Runaway Groomsman entering a bar in a little town in California and of course he is missing a shoe! The heroine of this story is strong, brave, resilient, loving and most definitely will not soften towards the man that took one blind date and turned it into the most forgettable event in her life. Even if he is sweet, hardworking and most certainly not who the media portray him to be. She takes care of her grandfather while renovating the cabins he built with her grandmother. Its a beautiful tribut to an epic love story. This is definitely a slow burn but it fits perfectly with who they are. The town is full of so much character, charm and craziness that I want to visit so bad! Love all the side characters, they offer so much to the story! A five star read all around for me!

Runaway Groomsman is a Laugh out Loud read! Meghan Quinn adds her siganture rom-com that will cause your face to hurt from smiling so much. A fun read and characters that make this story complete.

So you get the gist from the blurb, we do have a runaway groomsman. I mean come on, one can only take so much BS and he did what any sane person would do. Run! I really loved Fallon. He was swoon wrothy!

Sawyer is another favorite I came to adore. She has so much on her plate, but family is family. She had to be there for her gramps.

When these two meet, it is fun. You know that there is something between them, but not sure how their relationship will play out. They become friends which I loved the most. Runaway Groomsman is a fun read that will have you glued to each word!

This was a good read but I had some issues. Sawyer and Fallon's story was good but it was a very slow burn. I don't need instalove but this was too slow for me. My biggest issue was that she was in a relationship for most of the book (it went on too long for me so it could have been less). There was some miscommunication at the end which annoys me. Jaz was over the top for me. I liked they had this deep connection & feelings. I'm in love with all her books but this one sorta fell flat for me. I honestly prefer her indie ones. I liked the epilogue.

The concept of this book was so fun - as someone who loves the movie Runaway Bride, this was such a fun take on it! Sawyer escapes his (former) best friend and ex-girlfriends wedding and lands in a small town to escape, where he re-meet ours FMC, Fallon.

🌟 small town, slowburn romance
🌟 sweetest MMC (such a cinnamon roll) and a hard-working, family loving FMC who is working to revamp her family’s vacation resort
🌟 great supporting characters that added a lot to the plot - you will all love Sully,Fallon’s grandfather.
🌟lots of fun and witty banter that will have you smiling and laughing

This was a slow burn for sure, but it will have you swooning! Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It starts out with a bang and then slowly builds from there. I really liked our MCs, the family elements and secondary characters. The romance slowly built over the course of the story and I enjoyed watching it all unfold. My only hiccup was that I was not a fan of the conflict and felt the storyline with Fallon’s boyfriend dragged out a bit too long.

If you’re looking for a heart-warming and sweet romance, then this is for you!

I adored this new book from Meghan Quinn (who is one of my auto-buy authors!) Runaway Groomsman was a great slow burn (like slow as molasses but worth it 100%), enemies-to-friends-to-more, second chance romance that had an amazing amount of depth and heart. Sawyer runs out as best man in the wedding of his ex-girlfriend and ex-best friend and escapes to Canoodle, California. Fallon is in Canoodle as the main caretaker for her grandfather, Sully, and also working to renovate their much-loved but neglected cabin rental property - and as luck would have it, that’s where Sawyer needs to stay while laying low.

While the Runaway Groomsman felt a little differently paced from Quinn’s usual humor, it was so thoughtfully presented and lovely that I didn’t even mind. It reminded me more of her Port Snow series. (But don’t worry, fans of Quinn - it’s still humorous and the banter between Sawyer and Fallon is fantastic!)

The budding friendship and bromance between Sawyer and Sully was my very favorite part of the entire book. I loved this book and highly recommend it to those that love a second chance, slow-burn romance with great banter and a lot of care & attention to relationships beyond those of the main characters.

Note: Fallon is in a relationship when they meet, but there is 0% cheating, period.

I absolutely loved this book! I cannot say how much I adored this story! The plot, the characters and the humor were amazing. I love the build up of Sawyer and Fallon’s friendship turned relationship.

After an amazing and comical exit out of his ex-girlfriend's and best friends wedding, Sawyer needs to get away from the city. Fallon is trying to redo her grandfather's inn in the small town of Canoodle. One night though Sawyer makes an amazing entrance into the bar and meets Fallon and Jaz. What starts as acquaintances and avoiding each other at all costs turns into a friendship. Eventually the angst is broken and the steam comes in hot.

This is an absolutely amazing story with two amazing main characters and so many loveable secondary characters. Fallon’s Parents and Grandfather are amazing, Jaz is a hoot and Sawyer's brother is great! ALSO, every person in the town makes me want to move to a small town!

One last time, I love love love this book! The build up of the relationship was perfect!

Runaway Groomsman is my latest read from Meghan Quinn. Now starting from the outside in, how stinking cute is this cover?! For me Runaway Groomsman was on the lighter end of Meghan's style of Rom Com goodness. But don't mistake a novel lighter in romance and angst with a novel that is lacking in heart; because this story is full of heart.

Fallon the heroine is a down to earth genuine character. She finds herself giving up her career as a nurse to care for her Grandfather Sully who suffers with Dementia. All whilst trying to keep the vacation cabin business her Grandfather Sully and her Grandma Joan started decades earlier.
Sawyer the Hero is a screen writer that went nuclear during the wedding of his best friend and his ex. Landing in a small mountain town called Canoodle (yes, the place names in this novel are some of the best). He finds himself face to face with Sully who confuses him for his deceased brother and sets Sawyer to work under his supervision to fix and update things on the property land.

The bond between Sully and Sawyer throughout the book is pretty special and one of the highlights of the book. Fallon and Sawyer's romance is absolutely a slow burn. Despite the pace of their developing relationship, there is still plenty of story to keep the reader happy. Jaz is the heroine's best friends and a feisty one at that. Witty, fiercely protective of Fallon and an excellent best friend to her.

Granted there were no big plot twist here, no out of nowhere surprise moments within this story; but there is plenty to love. Runaway Groomsman is full of heart warming scenes, adorable characters and plenty of story to keep the reader engaged. A light and pleasant romantic comedy that can sit proudly amongst Meghan Quinn other published works.

Runaway Groomsman by Meghan Quinn
3.5 Stars
1 Chili

This is a super sweet, small town, second chance romance that I have pretty mixed feelings about. I apologize in advance for my rambling review.

The story opens with Sawyer running out of his ex-girlfriend’s and ex best friend’s wedding during their vows. He’s been keeping up appearances for the sake of the production company he writes screenplays for, but at that moment he just can’t take it anymore. He drives until he finds a bar in the small town of Canoodle where he can drink himself into oblivion. When he wakes up in a rustic cabin, still wearing his tux and only one shoe, he’s confused and then mortified to learn that Fallon, the cute girl from the bar the night before, helped drag him there to sleep it off. He needs a place to hide out until the media coverage dies down, so he decides to stick around for a while and see what happens.

Sawyer has forgotten all about the terrible blind date he went on with Fallon after his breakup, but she hasn’t. She is determined to keep him at arms length while he stays at her family’s rustic resort, but his selfless actions and the way he looks without a shirt on are chipping away at her resolve.

This was a very lighthearted and fun romantic comedy. There’s a lot of the snark and humor that I’ve come to love from Meghan Quinn and the tension between Sawyer and Fallon was well written. Fallon is a complex character and I really enjoyed the way she slowly figures out who she wants to be throughout the story. Sawyer is a cinnamon roll hero who is surprised to find that he enjoys the quiet life that this small town has to offer. I loved Fallon’s dads and grandpa and the great disability (Alzheimer's) rep in the story.

Now for the mixed feelings part. I don’t think these are spoilers, but proceed with caution.

For a large chunk of the book Fallon is in a relationship with another man, Peter, who is a very sweet, kind and attentive boyfriend. They’re in a long distance relationship and seem to have really grown apart, but when they inevitably break up and she runs right to Sawyer, it still feels like a betrayal to me. This situation wouldn’t have bothered me as much if it didn’t go on for so long.

I don’t understand the significance of the blind date that Fallon and Sawyer went on years ago that he doesn’t remember. I feel like this fact is thrown out there so often just to remind us that this is a book about second chances, so there should also be a second chance romance vibe attached.

The third act breakup at the very end was suuuuuper frustrating and also unnecessary. It took Fallon and Sawyer over half the book to admit their feelings, so there was no reason to break them up once they finally got together.

Fallon’s best friend Jazz was intolerable. She’s not nice to anyone, including Fallon, and her penchant for crazy antics and tire slashing got old very quickly. She honestly ruined every scene that she was in.

Overall, this story has a lot of cute and funny moments, but it was also repetitive and much too long. If I had picked this up without knowing it was a Meghan Quinn book, I never would have guessed it was written by her. I will still read anything that Quinn writes and I am so appreciative for the early copy to read and review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Montlake for providing it. Runaway Groomsman is available now.

5 When Running Away Results in Love Stars!!

The minute I started this book I knew I was going to love everything about it… not only because it’s a Meghan Quinn book, but also because from the get-go I was already chuckling to myself at the opening scene and vivid pictures that Ms. Quinn draws with the magic of her words.

Sawyer is a man that decides he just can’t take it anymore when it comes to the farce of a wedding he is part of thanks to the fact that it’s his Ex and his former best friend so what’s a man to do, but escape to a small town named Canoodle where no one should know who he is or why he’s running. What he didn’t expect to find was Fallon Long. A woman that’s determined to save her family business and Sawyer could be key to this as it allows a stream of income she desperately needs. What she doesn’t need nor was she expecting was the draw she had to Sawyer even though she has a boyfriend… don’t let this put you off the story, there’s so much to this part of the storyline that will explain itself in a way that even I was okay with Sawyer and Fallon flirting their way through a good portion of this book. And oh my stars, the slow burn building up to them coming together was truly delightful.

This book is filled with witty banter, fabulous secondary characters, sizzling chemistry and a setting that made we wish Canoodle, California truly existed. There were moments that I was truly laughing out loud because there’s something about the way Ms. Quinn has her characters interacting with each other and their sassy one-liners that I just couldn’t help myself. But this isn’t the typical Hollywood story where it’s a given that the H/h end up together… there’s some definite road blocks in their way… her family obligations and Sawyer’s very visible Hollywood persona and all the drama including the paparazzi that comes with his job that just might prevent them from having their HEA… you’ll need to read this one to find out how it all ends!