Fake dating? ✔️
Enemies-to-lovers? ✔️
Forced proximity at a dreamy Italian wedding? ✔️✔️✔️
From the moment Gemma and Ben collided (literally and figuratively) in the office, I knew I was in for a treat. Gemma—the ultimate people-pleaser trying to prove herself to a family that never quite gets her—just wants to survive her sister’s wedding without looking like a failure. Enter Ben, her workplace nemesis and the man who stole her promotion… who, plot twist, also volunteers to be her fake date. (And she doesn’t even realize it’s him at first—cue the chaos).
The tension? Immaculate. The banter? Sharp and hilarious. The slow-burn romance? Perfection.
Gemma and Ben’s chemistry had me kicking my feet and grinning like an idiot the whole time. Their rivalry was just the right amount of electric, and watching it evolve into something real was so satisfying. Plus, Ben? Absolute dreamboat—cocky in all the right ways but secretly so soft when it comes to Gemma.
Also, can we talk about the Italian wedding setting?! The drama, the meddling family, the tension of sharing a room with your “pretend” boyfriend?? LIVING for it.
This book was a perfect blend of laugh-out-loud moments, heartwarming romance, and just the right amount of swoon. If you love a smart, sassy rom-com with incredible chemistry and a totally unhinged fake dating scheme, this one’s for you!

Once I got going with this one I couldn’t put it down! I absolutely loved ‘Weasel’ aka Adam aka Ben! I loved the ways he’d been crazy about Gemma shown through his small acts of kindness and she didn’t even realise!! Her denial about his obvious love was so endearing!

Honestly Gemma’s family made me so mad! But I’m glad she had Ben to show her, her worth! His sneaky little plot and motive for being Italy was also adorable!

I laughed a lot, I thought the humour was extremely British so related to it so well, it was a joy to read.
Overall this was such a fun read and I’ll reread this for sure!

Light spice, male female, 1st person point of view, contemporary romance. This has an enemies to lovers fake dating storyline. The cover art really caught my eye. I liked the premise, but I didn't care for the main characters.

Quick Summary: An enemies to lovers, fake dating with a co-worker romance

My Review: The Wedding Date Disaster by Kate R. Mathieson is being released TODAY! It is a contemporary romance.

About the Book: "Gemma thought she had The One, but now her Plus One is making her realise there’s more to life than just ‘good enough’…"

In My Own Words: A young professional who has inadvertently functioned as a people pleaser for much of her life gets hit with three unfortunate events that concern her job, her family, and her relationship. When she suddenly finds herself in a pickle, she has to enlist the help of her work nemesis.

About the Characters:

Gemma - > Pushover, people pleaser, timid, inner lioness, hungry for more

Ben - > Arrogant, cheeky, charming, caretaker, driven, inner sweetness

I really liked that both leads were flawed and imperfect. I thought the backstory of each character was heartbreaking. Their family life situations and dysfunction shaped them so dramatically.

My Final Say: This had tones of an "ugly duckling" transforming into a swan. It was light on love and heavy on finding one's voice in life and relationships. It totally gave off a "rooting for the underdog" vibe.

Other: Readers who enjoy the following tropes will like this book.

• Enemies-to-lovers

• Fake dating

• Destination romance

• Workplace

• Family dramas

• Self-awareness

Rating: 3/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: ⭐⭐⭐
Cover: +
Title: +
Family Drama: Heavy
Conflict: Light
Romance: Light
Chemistry: Light
Spice: Light
Character Growth: Yes
Cast Diversity: Yes

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter | One More Chapter), and to NetGalley. Thank you for granting access to a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. The words I have voluntarily shared are my own. I am grateful for the opportunity.

An enemies to lovers read, the story of Gemma and Ben. Workplace rivals and then he ends up as her blind date to a wedding Italy. I enjoyed reading but would have liked an epilogue to see what happens next.

The Wedding Date Disaster by Kate Mathieson was just what I needed!
Loved this book!! Perfect story and the characters were amazing to read.
This book simply put was just a lot of fun!
The characters were so much fun, and their chemistry was adorable.
I thought the writing was quick, fun and engaging.
Overall, I very much enjoyed reading this new title.
I’ve never read anything by this author before but I definitely want to now and can't wait to, honestly.

STORY
⭐⭐⭐⭐

SPICE
🌶️ closed door(ish)

RECOMMEND
💳 yes

Gemma is a chronic people pleaser and needs to find a stand-in for her boyfriend, Adam, when he cannot leave the country to attend Gemma's sister's wedding in Italy.

Her friend decides to help find her a replacement and he happens to be her work rival. The rival that just received the promotion she wanted.

Even though Gemma is a people pleaser, 85% of the story are her assumptions of Ben. Admittedly, she treats Ben poorly. As they spend more time together, Gemma begins to realize that Ben is not the person she presumed him to be and at the same time she reflects on certain encounters in a different light. Ben gives her the courage to find her back bone and tell her family how she truly feels about their treatment of her.

TROPES
• Rivals-to-Lovers
• Fake Dating
• Workplace Romance
• Family Drama
• Destination Romance
• Self-Awareness

Kate Mathieson's "The Wedding Date Disaster" is worth the read. Thank you One More Chapter and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review "The Wedding Date Disaster" in advance.

The amount of love I have for this story right now. Ben and Gemma were delightful. I adore the enemies to lovers / office romance / fake dating tropes and this had all of them.

Gemma is a people pleaser and just wants everything to remain calm even at risk of her own happiness. Ben is the complete opposite, he’s brutally honest not caring how the truth could impact someone. They fight and argue, they smile and laugh and their banter is hilarious.

I don’t want to go much into the story but I will say I loved it. There is so much more going on than what we see initially. Each character has depth to them that I just loved uncovering.

This book was a first to me from this author but this writing, it was so smooth. The author brought these characters to life so much that it all played out in my head so perfectly. I can’t wait to look up and check out the other books.

If you loved The Hating Game (Sally Thorne) or The Spanish Love Deception (Elena Armas) then this book would be a great next read for you.

‘The wedding date disaster’ is a fun romcom, easy to binge because of the great writing style. I love that the story includes many of my favourite tropes: enemies to lovers, fake dating and forced proximity. The fmc’s character development from people pleaser to standing up for herself was really interesting. The story's setting is amazing and perfect for a cute summer read. I would definitely recommend this book to all readers who are searching for a slow burn, enemies to lovers romcom with amazing banter!

Thank you netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was very average. Apologies, but the main characters were all unlikeable, the female ends up cheating on her boyfriend the entire book and the man just comes across quite arrogant. I really want to like it but it just wasn’t for me.

The Wedding Date Disaster by Kate R. Mathieson

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub Date: January 30, 2025 (tomorrow!)

The Wedding Date Disaster is a banter filled romantic comedy that that will have you laughing out loud! Gemma’s sister is getting married in Tuscany, but her boyfriend can’t be her plus one because he is busy. When her coworker sets her up with a blind date, Gemma thinks that she is saved from humiliation. Much to her dismay, the blind date is her workplace nemesis Ben.

I loved Ben. Was he a jerk at the beginning? Yes, but he turned out to be the perfect book boyfriend. The way he stood up for Gemma and pushed her out of her comfort zone.

I hate to say it, but Gemma was slightly annoying to me. Yes, her family was toxic, but she NEEDED to stand up for herself. And her boyfriend? He’s worse than stale toast. They were more like business partners than an actual couple. However, she grew throughout the book and I loved watching it. She learned how to stand up for herself and not accept how people were treating her. She wasn’t perfect at the end and I really appreciated that. It made the characters more relatable and showed that you can always work on yourself, but there is always room for improvement.

Now, let’s talk about the kiss. When you read it, you’ll know which one I’m talking about. I have never seen or read pre-kiss chemistry like this. It was SO GOOD! Truly swoon-worthy.

Honestly, I had fun with this one and I enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and One More Page for a copy of The Wedding Date Disaster!

This was a fun read! The banter was wow chefs kiss! This book was such an entertaining one like that. This has the tropes like, Enemies to Lovers, Fake Dating, Family Drama, Slow Burn & Forced Proximity.

Gemma really needed a backbone in such situations that I literally shouted to her. She let everyone walk all over her, and it was tough to watch. Her family is Horrible as well as her boyfriend! The chemistry between Gemma and Ben? As I said, Chef's kiss. watching Gemma finally realize her worth and take charge was good but I anticipated it earlier than in the end.

When Gemma Evans loses a promotion to her workplace nemesis, she sees her perfect future start to crumble. The cherry on top of this whole disaster is an invitation to her half-sister Lulu's four-day Italian wedding, to which her boyfriend can't make it, meaning Gemma has less than two weeks to find *someone* to act as a stand in. When a co-worker sets her up with a blind date to fill said role, Gemma is horrified to find that the man who came to her rescue is the very same one who essentially stole her job - Ben McDonald.

Enemies-to-lovers with a side of destination wedding sounded like such a fun adventure, and while this was mostly an enjoyable read, there were a few things that just didn't sit right with me. Ben comes across as downright cruel at the start, and Gemma's family isn't much better, but by the end the story was able to polish everyone up a bit and give us the expected happily ever after. Overall if you're a fan of workplace romance and fake-dating with a sprinkle of spice, this might just be the book for you!

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gemma knows that bad things come in threes - so after Ben, her office nemesis gets the promotion she has been working for she is just waiting for the next two things to come. The second things that happens is that she then finds out her half sister is getting married in Italy (she's in Australia) and she has to bring a date but her boyfriend refuses to go so she's forced to ask a work friend to help her find a fake boyfriend. And then, the third bad thing hits because when she shows up at the airport to fly Italy her fake boyfriend turns out to be Ben!

There were a lot of cute things about this book and it was definitely a fun read but it pushed the boundaries of what I can accept as believable (I know romances generally push this boundary but this went a bit farther). The story was totally enjoyable and I was engrossed but then everything was suddenly wrapped up at the end with a bow - it all just got a wee bit too formulaic for me. The "everything is a disaster" to "everything is perfect" pacing gave me whiplash!

3.75 stars

Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the ARC to review

The Wedding Date Disaster is a light and sometimes funny a enemies-to-lovers/fake dating romance story. The setting is beautiful Italy, and there's some great banter between the two main characters, Gemma and Ben.

Adding to the heart of the story are themes of people-pleasing and family dynamics, which add some depth to the book. The book is great for fans of slow-burn romance.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for a review.

I absolutely loved this book! I’m a sucker for a good destination romance, especially one with an enemies-to-lovers and fake dating trope, and "The Wedding Date Disaster" by Kate Mathieson delivered it all.

The story introduces us to Gemma, an optimistic and hard-working woman who is on the verge of securing a long-awaited promotion - until her dreams are dashed when the job goes to her new arch-nemesis, Ben. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Gemma receives a last-minute invitation to her almost-estranged sister’s wedding, taking place halfway across the world... in just two weeks. To make matters worse, her boyfriend of a year can’t join her on such short notice because, well, work (and priorities!).

Desperate not to show up alone, Gemma enlists a colleague to help her find a fake date for the wedding. But when she arrives at the airport, she’s horrified to discover her “date” is none other than Ben.

What follows is a romantic adventure set against the stunning backdrop of the Tuscan countryside. As Gemma and Ben put aside their differences and get to know each other, their chemistry and banter are undeniable. With her family offering their approval of the “relationship,” Gemma must face the ultimate question: Can she stop putting everyone else first and finally choose what’s best for herself?

This is a delightful romcom, brimming with charm and humor. The chemistry between Gemma and Ben is electric, and the “will-they-won’t-they” tension keeps you hooked until the very end. It’s a relatively quick and satisfying read, perfect for a holiday escape or a cozy, rainy day.

I like romances for the escapism. Whatever the trope, I want it to be a read that provides the brain vacation for however long I’m in the story.

This story isn’t big on vacation unless you’re caught with that family member couple who secretly despise each other and make everyone miserable, but you secretly understand why they act like they do because their family are awful. That feeling? That’s this book. I didn’t like either character. I hate the Gemma’s family acted. Zero escapism. I need a rom-com now.

The beginning of this book really put me off - I didn't like either of the main characters and wasn't hooked into their story. However, it definitely improved by the middle section once the chemistry and banter started! Throughout the book the writing felt a bit inconsistent - some parts really shone, while others were a bit clumsy. I enjoyed how the relationship and dialogue developed, but the ending felt rushed and cliched. Overall, it's a cute romance - but not a stand out for me.

I absolutely loved Gemma and Ben’s story!! Not only was the slow burn amazing but the character development we saw in Gemma was one of my favorites. Gemma was someone who always said yes, always helped no matter how it affected her, and didn’t push very hard for herself, seeing her character grow and change and become confident was wonderful to see. I definitely recommend!!

I really enjoyed Gemma and Ben's story. The slow burn really worked and I enjoyed the will they won't they right up the end. Gemma does act and behave a bit randomly throughout as definitely spaces out a lot!

Gemma's character arc from being too nice and unable to say no to the strong character at the end was great to see. Her friendships made sense and Ruby was just the best random side character! Looking forward to her card readings in her book!

The cheating (with permission) on the boyfriend was a bit of a bad plotline but I also could understand her getting swept up into it.

The only thing that let it down for me was the inconsistencies with the character being British. A few different things like her saying they met at kindergarten aged 5 (when you'd be at school or preschool in the UK at that age), use of American English like garbage bags and other names for things. The plot line about her not getting his banter was also a bit strange as UK humour is brutal compared to Aussie humour (having lived in both countries too). Some of the Aussie English was also changed like calling them flip flops. Just those little details are the only reason it wasn't higher rated for me. Otherwise I loved it and the change for the characters