Another one I could not put down and devoured in one sitting. I absolutely recommend this book. Be ready for an afternoon or evening of completely neglecting any chores as this one will have you hooked within the first chapter. I live for books that leave me speechless and this book did just that. I actually feel quite sorry for the next book!

On the whole, this is a solid and enjoyable rom com romance, albeit highly predictable. Some of the characters are a little annoying: Teddy is a selfish pillock, Eden is the worst kind of bridezilla and Olivia is a doormat. I tend to prefer a strong, feisty female protagonist over characters like Olivia, who often make me feel frustrated on their behalf, so this story had me wishing she would clap back at Teddy and Eden in the worst way. Annoying character traits aside, it is fair to say that after absolutely loving the Meet Cute Method (along with other books by this Author), I have been a little underwhelmed by Better off Wed. Chapter 1 is a real attention grabber, perhaps setting your expectations too high for what is to come - If the rest of the book had been as excellent as chapter 1, this would have been a five star read. Unfortunately, the humour petered out after the strong start, although it is still a worthy read for those looking for a light-hearted, fluffy romance, with a side of humour this summer.

Many thanks to NetGallery and Boldwood Books for allowing me to get a copy of the book - it's out on April 10, 2023 and if you are preparing your own wedding, this story may well amuse you this summer.

This is officially the 12th book of Portia MacIntosh’s that I’ve read, so I feel like that obviously shows how much I enjoy her writing. While this wasn’t my favourite story she’s written, I am so obsessed with both the love interest and Olivia’s parents, and I love a book with amazing characters.

There were a couple reasons why I didn’t rate this a full 5/5, but I do think they are more so related to my personal preferences and not something others may agree with.
I felt like there was a lot of judgment about the timeline of Olivia & Teddy’s relationship. I personally got engaged faster than they did, and all the comments in the book about it only having been 9 months, they had only been together for under a year, etc and being more about a socially accepted amount of time compared to what might be right for the couple just rubbed me the wrong way. I do feel like later in the book it focused more on their relationship specifically and why it may not be the right choice, and not just in general, but that was my thought when I was first getting into the book.

Having read a dozen of Portia MacIntosh’s books, I know that she often writes stories where it’s not always totally clear right away who the love interest is going to be. Sometimes it takes time for him to be introduced, or maybe there’s a couple interesting options. It can be fun and intriguing, and it’s interesting to see if a good connection can still be built between the main character and the love interest in a shorter period of time. I don’t personally love stories that have more of the trope where the main character has a partner (who is not the love interest) for the majority of the story, and going in I feel like the summary did make it clear that that was the case here. However with saying that, I feel like the connection built with the main characters was so strong, and I was totally on board with it.

I appreciate that Teddy was never really shown as a villain, just not Olivia’s best fit. He made bad choices, and his motivations were questionable, and I’m sure other readers will think differently than I do about him. But I liked that Teddy and Olivia had an open and honest conversation about their thoughts on marriage, and goals in life.

The ending felt super realistic to me. I would have loved an epilogue maybe a couple years later, but I do think it was a satisfying ending to the story and very fitting for Olivia.

Random side note before I wrap this review up, I love that so many of Portia’s books have a random reference to Michael Bublé (or in the case of My Great Ex-Scape, a lot of references), so of course I enjoyed seeing that included in this story too.

This was yet another enjoyable read by this author. I definitely would recommend it. I thought that it was a unique story, and was one that I didn’t want to put down.

Thank you to Boldwood Books & NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!