Member Reviews
I was so intrigued by this book as is marketed for The love Hypothesis readers, but the characters were unlikable and it doesn't have a HEA.
I really wanted to like this book but somehow I didn‘t like it at all. The concept of the story itself was okay, but the execution wasn‘t good. I almost dnf‘ed it but knew I had to review this book so I finished it. It‘s okay, but wasn‘t for me.
I really thought this would be a hit for me, fun premise, screamed romantic comedy and an appealing cover both grabbed my attention, and then nothing else really did.
I think the hardest struggle was how unlikeable Bea our FMC was and just all the decisions she continued to make throughout this book. When you can’t root die the main character it’s hard to even go in.
The dialogue felt very amateur and I found myself skimming so much of it.
I hope this author and her editor work out some kinks before release day.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.
A contemporary romance that had so much potential but left me a bit disappointed!
This story introduces Bea who wins a lottery. The prize? Her dream wedding, paid for! The problem? The long term partner she was with when she first entered, has since cheated on her and dumped her. Does she turn it down? No, she panics and accepts. Now all she needs is a groom!
What I liked:
- I actually enjoyed the writing style itself very much. I was able to read this in one sitting!
- The added ‘To Do Lists’ at the end of each chapter. That was a fun element to add, I enjoyed them!
What didn’t work for me:
- I could tell quite quickly that the guy for Bea was going to be her best friend of many years, Oliver. Despite that we spend 90% of the book reading about Bea’s lack lustre engagement with her co-worker, Andrew. This would be fine if Oliver still featured consistently. He doesn’t. I would’ve expected more tension filled moments and pining, especially from him. After all, wasn’t the girl he loved marrying another? When he does appear on page, it’s in group settings not giving me the one on one angst I wanted. I distinctly remember thinking, on more then one occasion, ‘when is Oliver going to appear again?’
- The ending. We finally, at 90 something percent, see Bea get together with Oliver. But did we get a declaration of undying love? No. We got an ‘I like you’ and ‘let’s take it slow.’ Basically a barely described kiss followed up with a boring, practical conversation. I wanted to FEEL passion at that point. This guy was THE one?! It’s a romcom! I wanted, ‘I’ve been in love with you from the moment I met you. It killed me that you were going to marry someone else.’ Perhaps the ending was meant to seem more steady and realistic but I felt nothing but let down.
- The fact it was a closed door romance. Bea had good sexual chemistry with Andrew (supposedly). I needed to feel and read her chemistry with Oliver being even better so it didn’t help that this book was a closed door romance. I do not like closed door scenes in adult romance but you can still pull it off if the kissing and other frantic moments that lead up to sex are described well. This book seriously lacked good descriptive scenes of such intimacy. By the end of the book I was totally blue balled (for lack of a better term 😅) and so dissatisfied by Bea and Oliver’s ending. Even in fade to black romances the reader should feel the passion.
- Bea’s job. I couldn’t really explain to you what it is she does and for what purpose. Every time she was at work, I zoned out a bit.
- Her friendship with Lucy. Both of them at different times were profoundly selfish and treated each other badly. It was not especially enjoyable to read.
- Character descriptions. I also struggled with picturing the characters in my head. Each character has only extremely basic descriptions of appearance. The main character had brown hair and hazel eyes (I think?) but I don’t recall her appearance being further described?
- The premise. I found it pretty unbelievable that a woman would just accept a prize of a big wedding and start planning said wedding, without a groom. Not only that, she expected her parents and friends to all go along with it. The idea was fun and definitely romcom worthy but the execution didn’t quite work for me.
This was a binge-able read but the ending left me so disappointed, I really would have liked MORE from Oliver and Bea!
*Thank-you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e copy of this book in exchange for a review. I finished this book in entirety. My review has honest opinions that are solely my own.*
Bea is a 29 year old working for a start up company in Richmond, VA who has just won the wedding of her dreams, fully paid, minus the small deposit of 2,000. Only problem is, she and her boyfriend of 7 years have broken up because she caught him cheating ! But Bea has faith that if she accepts this prize that she'll be able to find someone to marry her by the time the wedding comes around in 9 months. How hard can that be right ?
In comes Andrew Blair, a co-worker of Bea's who she thinks would be PERFECT for him. But how does the old saying go ? 'Can't always judge a book by it's cover.' This was a great read that I got to enjoy in just one day. Super cute story with characters we can all imagine being part of our usual friend circles. Everyone has that one best girl friend, who lets you always be selfish, but deep down they want you to be less so, oh and can't forget the best guy friend that we tend to overlook simply because he's "seen, heard, and done," too many embarrassing things with you already.
Thank you Netgalley for letting me get a sneak preview into this one. This story was the perfect little palate cleanser between my usual dark, heavier reads.
I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This has a great blurb but it fell flat for me. I appreciated the growth Bea had by the end bit I think there were too many characters and unrealistic behaviors.
If I had read this at any other point in the year I probably would have DNF'd it but it does fit the summer beach read kind of vibe for me so I slowly but surely powered through this with many pool days. Where I think it fell flat for me was the humor in it felt so juvenile and forced. It didn't feel like natural dialogue between adults. I think this book had a lot of potential and a great plot. That is really as far as I can go on the positives. I wanted to like this so bad but it just was not it for me. At the end of the day it was forgettable. I do think with some revision and character development the story could be redeemable. It is okay if the intention was that none of the characters are likeable but then make it intentional and make it characters we LOVE to hate??? I hope this makes sense to others who read the book and experienced the whiny ways of Bea.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.
It's a cute rom-com, perfect for summer! The plot is unique and enjoyable, but I didn't like some parts. I think you should marry someone you love and you want to spend the rest of your life with, not because you won a contest. I'm sure that if Bea called and explained her situation, the company would understand and not take her money.
I also didn't like Andrew's character for the start. He was rude and didn't care about Bea's feelings and don't get me started about how long he was leading her on while he was waiting for the launch to go well in order for him to go to Austin.
I really liked Bea's character development at the end though. She became a strong independent woman, who arranged a surprise wedding for her friend instead of her own. It's good that she decided to take it slow with Oliver. However I didn't appreciate Lucy's words at her and how "she didn't have to pretend to be her friend anymore". That's not what you say to someone and expect them to forgive you so easily, which Bea actually did.
Thank you again for the arc! My review will be posted on Goodreads (read.withgeorgia) and Instagram (@read.withgeorgia)
Thank you netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Dnfing this.
Sadly this book isn't for me.
I was excited to read it after reading the blurb but few pages into it and I want to giving giving all.
As always my opinions are honest and not based on anything particular.
Sorry.
Plot wise I was intrigued but the writing of this really didn't work for me. I found myself skimming it a lot and just not caring.
A shame, but not a book for me.
Bea is happily in a relationship when she enters a contest to win an amazing wedding venue for a DEEP discount. 3 months after her boyfriend cheats on her & breaks up with her, she is notified that she has won the wedding venue. She happily accepts the prize, pays the money - all the while being woefully single.
Definitely not a bad idea, right?
I was pulled into the story and love the writing style of the author. However, the only reason why I couldn’t put the book down is because it felt like a train accident that I had to watch just to see what happened.
Bea was immature, annoying, and hopeless. Her friend Lucy was over-dramatic and constantly acting like Bea was the worst friend in the world. Andrew was a conniving snake who was trouble from the very beginning. And Oliver? Maybe one of the only characters that I liked - except he did a horrible job at showing Bea just how much he liked her. The relationships between the characters were weird and didn’t feel relatable.
The only reason why I gave it three stars - Bea’s character development and the ending of the story. Bea’s character developed into someone who grew up, gained confidence, and seemed to actually think about the decisions that she was making. I really appreciated that instead of Bea & Oliver’s relationship going from 0-100, it was a little more realistic where they allowed it bloom beautifully.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC for my honest review!
What would you do if you won your dream wedding, but you just didn’t have a groom? The hunt is on for a groom! This one had a lot going on for sure. I did find the middle to be slow and a few of the side characters underdeveloped. It had just enough activity to keep you invested but it definitely dragged through the middle. I think my favorite part without giving anything away, was the ending, the ending was just perfect for the story. I liked this one although it was not a favorite. If the plot sounds interesting definitely give it a try. Goodreads link in bio for the summary. I receive a complimentary copy of this book and I’ll thoughts and opinions are my own.
I was really excited about this book because the premises is so original. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried I could not make myself like the main character. At all! She is very self-centered and too easily overwhelmed. I feel like the author does not understand what a busy work schedule looks like either.
There are so many ways this book could have redeemed itself. The bones are there, it just needs some structure love… And a few major changes of course. 😂
There are so many things I want to say, but they all involve spoilers. I will post a full review on Goodreads where I can block it out if you don’t want any surprises. If you just want the general basics of why this book is three stars, here ya go:
The main character is self-centered and has little to know redeeming qualities. Certain events that happen within the story should’ve happened in different places in the timeline and in a different manner. Would’ve made it more convincing. The ending is extremely flat.
It gets three stars because I was able to finish reading the whole book.
My Big Fake Wedding was my first book by author Jessica Hatch. The synopsis sounded so cute, so I had to give it a try.
When Bea wins this wedding lottery, she is both ecstatic & shocked, she accepts her prize even though she knows she has no man to marry. She kicks this crazy plan into action, finding a husband in no less than 8 months, easy peasy right? Yeah, sure why not?
In some strange twist of events, Bea has a tequila fueled kiss with her office crush Andrew. They start dating and she thinks she has it made, or does she? Just when things are all smooth sailing, along comes Bea’s ex confessing that he messed up and that he doesn’t want her to marry Andrew.
With the wedding/relationship pressure rising, Bea has to make a success of the launch of a new initiative her company has coming up & everything gets too much.
Overall, it was a cute book. I felt like there was something missing, but it still held my interest.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Okay so first things first, I love the cover art for this book, the illustration is adorable and funny.
When Bea wins this wedding lottery, she is both ecstatic & shocked, she accepts her prize even though she knows she has no man to marry. She kicks this crazy plan into action, finding a husband in no less than 8 months, easy peasy right? Yeah, sure why not?
In some strange twist of events, Bea has a tequila fueled kiss with her office crush Andrew. They start dating and she thinks she has it made, or does she? Just when things are all smooth sailing, along comes Bea’s ex confessing that he messed up and that he doesn’t want her to marry Andrew.
With the wedding/relationship pressure rising, Bea has to make a success of the launch of a new initiative her company has coming up & everything gets too much.
The storyline was very original, sweet & funny at time, I did find Bea a little impulsive & selfish at times but overall, I enjoyed this book!
The plot line sounded interesting--Bea wins a lottery for a perfect wedding and never dreamed of winning the lottery. But there's a catch--she entered into the lottery when she was dating Ray. However, she had broken up with Ray because he cheated on her and now she had won the lottery. Bea then starts planning for the "fake" wedding, making invitations and head hunting for a husband against her friend Oliver's advice. She then meets Andrew and they started having a serious relationship...
Good things about the book--the plot was good--liked the summary of the story. The front cover of the book is appealing and pretty as well. Bad things--unfortunately, I didn't find this book as funny as it is labeled out to be, I found some parts of the story boring that I found myself drifting and skimming through the pages. I didn't really like the main character Bea much--found her too self centered and selfish which actually lowered my rating on this book. In fact, I didn't find any characters that I actually liked that I found all the characters in this book to be bland and boring. Also it took me a couple of chapters for me to understand what is really going on in the story so as I said, this was not executed properly as a story. I know the author must have worked hard to write this book, which I really didn't want to give a bad review but unfortunately this book is not for me and I felt like I was watching a really bad soap opera drama. Worth only 2.5 starts.
Big thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC IN exchange for an honest review.
Whilst it’s a brilliant story line for a chick lit novel, I have to agree with other reviewers that it is not well executed unfortunately. Whilst the heroine Bea is said to not give up on anything I am afraid I didn’t follow her example and failed to finish
Yikes. The premise of this book sounded fun, but unfortunately it was not for me.
Straight away, in the first chapter, we learn that the main character is delusional and unhinged. After that, her bad decisions just snowball and bring other (seemingly intelligent?) characters along for the ride.
This could be a fun read for someone who enjoys reality tv shows or watching train wrecks. That person is not me in this current season of life.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sharing an advance reader copy!
“It couldn’t be hard to find a husband in eight months, could it?”
I really liked this book. It was a fun, entertaining contemporary romance where the concept of marriage and love are at the center of a very complicated romantic story.
A woman who has just won an entire wedding celebration when she’s just been left by her fiancé.
She simply cannot let this chance slip and waste all those money … it’s not refundable!!!
So she has to find a husband in eight months … how to do so ??
It’s been fun getting through Bea’s journey through getting to The Right One and believing she’s messing up at every turn.
Her friendships are not always what they seem, but more than once she gets very close to ruin it all !!!!
Plus Bea is so relatable as a main character !!!! As for her to-do lists … she’s not the only one!!!!
The writing style made the book easy enough to get through and it made the story even more interesting!!!!
“People worked towards goal; they achieved them; they looked for new ones to replace them. People abandoned goals, found lesser ones that were easier to achieve, but they still poured one out of the ones they’d lost”
First of all, Mark Ruffalo is all I could picture any time Oliver was on scene. Obviously, he was my favorite part of this book! He was kind, sensitive, supportive, and who I was rooting for the entire book, even if he was just Bea's friend.
The premise was a little crazy. Bea wins a wedding, but does not have a fiancé. So now, she needs to find a groom. Even her friends and family think she's crazy. She tries to rope in Oliver to hold off her parents for a while, which is where I start thinking she and Oliver are perfect for each other. Bea, however is stuck on her coworker Andrew. I was not a fan of Andrew at first, but he wins me over for a hot second. The book focuses A LOT on Bea's work situation and project and I wasn't a fan of that at first, but after reflecting on that, all of that plays a huge part on Bea's relationships and how her situation plays out.
This book is worth checking out when it releases on August 18!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.