Thankyou to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is such a fun an unique book. We don't often get see stories like this told so this story left very fresh and engaging. I would say that the tag line of it being a combination of the Father of the Bride and Bride Wars is accurate but this book is a bit more focused on the relationships of all the different characters than the shenanigans.
I had a lot of fun listening to this audiobook and really enjoyed the narration.
There are few minor things that I would have liked to have seen developed more or I think would have been better if they played out a bit differently but overall this was a very solid read from me.

I received an advanced audio copy of Forever Hold Your Peace by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke from the publisher Dreamscape Media via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Zach and Olivia meet and fall in love quickly in Italy, when their whirlwind romance leads to a quick engagement. Their parents are skeptical to say the least, so to get everyone on the same page, the kid’s get their four divorced parents together hoping to smooth it over. But at brunch, it’s quickly revealed that June, the mother of the bride, and Amy, the mother of the groom, know each other and they are not in a good place. You see, June and Amy were best friends until Amy slept with her fiancé who, you guessed it, is Zach’s dad.
From there chaos ensues and past trauma is worked through as the two former friends work to give their kids.

What I Loved: I loved the premise of this book and it was fun brain candy. I really enjoyed the concept of a broken friendship being reexamined years later and this was the perfect way to force them back together. I found a lot of this book to be the best kind of study of dynamics of family, friends, and lovers.

What I Didn’t Like: Some of the conflicts that occurred in this book seemed a little exaggerated. Also, the mothers read really immature and took me out of enjoying the book a bit.

Who Should Read It: People looking for unique brain candy books. People looking for unique family dynamic novels.

Summary: A new romance reunites former friends whose friendship imploded over a man.

"Forever hold your peace" is a very typical romcom. A family drama romcom which signature tune should be the song "The family is small, but a big scandal". Well, yes, the problem here is not that the young lovers are blood relatives, it's that their mothers were once best friends and they broke up when ... well, you'll have to read it yourself.

The whole story revolves around the fact that these two grown women do not want to face the problem of the past and instead they start to outdo each other in organizing the wedding. By doing this, they also cause problems between the young couple, who don't know if they have to stick to their mother or their future mother-in-law or... The fathers don't help much either, and one of them is connected to this explosion from the past and just like then he doesn't say the right words at the right moment.

But it wouldn't be a romcom if all these shenanigans woldn't lead to a happy ending, and who knows if just one happy ending or several.

It’s fast and good reading/listening, but nothing special to write home about.

While I enjoyed Zach and Olivia’s characters…I didn’t love this book as a whole. I also found it really hard to enjoy the audio. I didn’t love the narrator- so it really impacted how much I wanted to pick it up to listen. I probably would have DNF’d if not for it being an arc to review. I did not like the parents- they were just annoying. Maybe I would have differently if this would have been a physical read vs. audio.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I ended up really enjoying it! The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I typically reserve that rating for books that I continue thinking about weeks later. I feel like this is your average rom-com novel with an expected ending (and that's not a bad thing).

4.75 stars
Another fabulous book from my favorite BFF writing tag team~!!
Okay - I loved the characters - mostly... MOG - yeah, that's a hard pass for me!!
I adored the love story - then the battling mamas - then the drama drama drama - and then the happily ever after <3 This was a great quick all in one day book for me - Now I'm tasked with waiting for the next one!! I was provided an audio copy of this FANTASTIC book by Netgalley, Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. While I did enjoy it, it also felt like it was lacking or had potential to be more. While it was meant to be chaotic and dysfunctional some of it was just too chaotic and dysfunctional to the point of being forced and making the characters annoying and unlikable. I loved Zach and Olivia's characters and found their feelings and emotions, especially the heartbreak, to feel very genuine and realistic. The parents were all such a petty, stalker-y mess. While I did enjoy the book and was invested in finding out how it would end, overall the book did not leave a lasting impression.

Enjoyable fun story with a unique premise. Just a fun & entertaining rom-com. I switched from reading to listening to this audiobook and enjoyed it. Thank you for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Zach and Olivia fall fast and hard for one another and decide to marry after only knowing one another for a brief time. They are in for a huge surprise when introducing their parents to one another--turns out Zach's father and Olivia's mother were once engaged. But Zach's dad left Olivia's mother to marry her best friend, Zach's mother.

Let the fireworks begin. The two women have never forgiven one another for the destruction of their friendship and are, shall we say, less than thrilled about becoming in-laws. But Zach and Olivia are so obviously in love the two women finally resolve to attempt to get along and put their full support behind their children, so much so that wedding planning becomes a cut-throat competition. Amy's grandmother, witness to the broken friendship between her daughter June and Amy, surprisingly supports the whole effort and smooths out some of the rough edges. Zach's father finds himself still attracted to June and that complicates the situation even more.

Fans of Sophie Kinsella and other rom-com authors will enjoy this one disaster after another trip to the altar for Zach and Olivia.

Title could also have been...Battle of the Moms!!! Lots to love in this novel: young love, feuding families, and over-the-top make-ups! It's a fun romp through planning a wedding - get ready for the stress. A new go-to writing duo for me!

Life can be complex and messy sometimes. This is very true for Olivia and Zack. Meeting each other and falling in love in beautiful Italy they return home to share the happy news with their families. What they didn’t know was the drama this would unleash. They didn’t know their parents parents have a complicated history with each other.

Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke have created a story in the vein of Elin Hilderbrand; rich families, country clubs and mystery. I found it interesting. I wanted to learn the whole story but similarly wanted the book to end.
Still, the narration was good by bringing the characters to life.
As usual, I am certain many will really like this book. It is just not for me. Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this ALC audiobook.

The most romantic city in the world and 1 couple that falls in love too quickly. At least that’s what the parents think once they meet and realize there’s history between both families! Cute, fun, listen. Loved this author duo and the narrators!

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this fun (and a bit predictable) romance! What I did not predict was the plot between the parents and how they knew each other in the past, which really made this book! I recommend for an enjoyable and easy read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my advance reader copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

3.5 rounded up.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but it ended up being a nice and light read with an interesting premise.

My only real gripe was that there isn't really one main character to latch onto; the book follows the perspectives of all four of the parents and the two kids. It was a little too much at times. The book is thankfully written in the 3rd person POV, but I think it may have worked better if it focused more on the moms. Their relationship was the most intriguing to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy!

When Olivia and Zach get engaged after a whirlwind romance in Italy can it survive their families. Anyone that has gone through a wedding and wedding prep knows there's always some excitement and apprehension when it comes to the families meeting each other. Will they like each other? Can they get along for a little while? What happens when three of the four parents use to be friends and two were engaged to be married! Poor Olivia and Zach. They had no idea that his dad and her mother had once been an item and it had gone terribly wrong. Could they manage to be civil long enough for them to get married. Then throw in a grandmother that didn't approve of the parent's engagement and you really have some fireworks. In listening to this book all you can do is think I'm glad this isn't me. Everything seems to go wrong and at one time the wedding was off but like all good love story you know they have to find a way to live happily ever after. But will it be in spite of their parents.

I’m a huge fan of Fenton and Steinke. They are automatic reads for me. This is a fantastic story of current generations and older ones going through their own sets of issues and overcoming them for the ones they love. Absolutely wonderful!
Perfect narration!

Thank you, Liz Fenton, Lisa Steinke, Dreamscape and Netgalley for my copy! All opinions are my own!

While listening to this audiobook, I enjoyed the premise of "Forever Hold Your Peace," including the cast of characters. The authors did a wonderful job weaving the story together and the current cultural references made it realistic and added some flair. Unfortunately, hearing the same version of the story from so many points of view became tedious at times. And, because they would all talk about what had happened years ago as well as rehash current events, it made me wish I had it in book form so that I could skip past those portions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for giving me this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this title. When a couple returns from a trip to Italy where they met and got engaged in a short period of time, they arrange a brunch for their respective divorced parents. When the four "elders' meet, chaos ensues as the groom's parents are the former best friend AND fiance of the bride's mother. The plot is a fast-paced comedy of errors, and the characters are likable; not at all cloying as in some romance novels. I quick, lighthearted read!

3.5 Stars

Being of the age where my kids may start getting married, Forever Hold Your Peace by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke sounded like a fun, relatable read about the parents of a young engaged couple and more importantly, it sounded different than what I’ve been reading. It lived up to that for me as I enjoyed the read for the most part.

June is kind of the main character in this story (I think?), but there are multiple players. I liked June a lot. She’s a bookstore owner, tends to be late, and was very relatable. June’s daughter, Olivia, just graduated college and went to Positano for the summer. She just called her mom to announce her engagement to Zach, a man she never even told her mother about and who she just met 6 weeks ago. June is divorced but friendly with her ex and they both try to be positive for Olivia but it isn’t easy.

Coincidentally, Zach lives 30 minutes away in California and his parents have an amicable divorce as well. Olivia and Zach are excited to get all 4 parents together to meet and discuss the wedding that they want to happen pretty soon, so they set up a brunch. When June walked in the restaurant and saw Zach’s mom, she turned around and ran out. It was her ex best friend Amy from 26 years ago who she could never forgive.

As the wedding planning commences these two women (especially Amy) turned into momzillas. Their petty disagreements threatened to ruin the kids wedding over and over. Family relationships were tested, secrets came out, and even June’s relationship with her own mother was tested. Someone also has a secret that may blow everything to bits.

Overall I enjoyed Forever Hold Your Peace. Somewhere in the middle it got a little long-winded and off-track but it came back strong.

Likes:
•June was very relatable.
•The storyline was very unique to me.
•We had 2 stories in one, Olivia and Zach and the parents.
•I really liked the way Olivia and Zack were portrayed. Often young characters seem a little cringe.

Dislikes:
•It got a little slow in the middle.
•It was not as light and fun as I expected.
•The way the couple met and the big secret were just a little strange. I’m not sure what Troy expected to happen..

The Narration:
Nan McNamara was a good narrator. Because it is 3rd person there wasn’t as much acting involved, so it was more of a traditional narration. I think reading and listening would be fine whichever you decide.

The Down & Dirty:
Forever Hold Your Peace was a fun change of pace for me. Featuring 6 main players, I enjoyed getting to know each of them. I wish it was a bit lighter and funnier, and it got a little slow in the middle, but all-in-all I would say I liked it. At no point did I even consider not finishing, I was immediately invested in the story.
Rating: 3.5 Stars, 0 Heat, 4 Narration

This was a delightful read. I loved it. Loved all the different POV‘s. The author did a great job at telling the story and letting you get to know the characters. The audio narration on this book was wonderful. She made each character sound great.