Nearlywed follows Ray Bruno, a millennial writer who is known for his witty and sometimes sassy celebrity coverage and Kit, his fiancé who is a Gen-X doctor. Talk about an unlikely pairing but the two lovebirds are determined to make the most of their second chances at love, starting with an earlymoon.

Getting back to my original point, an earlymoon is exactly what you might imagine. It’s an early honeymoon for couples who are getting married. It’s essentially a way for them to connect and feel closer before the stress of the wedding takes over. I don’t know about you, but sign me the heck up.

Things seem great between the two until they actually decide to go on their earlymoon. From the first day onward, it’s clear they don’t know each other as well as they thought. Kit is dealing with some insecurities and doesn’t know how to handle himself after bumping into an old friend. Ray is dealing with his own insecurites about their relationship and dismantling his previous expectations.

Frankly, I don’t want to talk too in-depth about these characters and their journeys as it plays such a huge role in the book. Even so, I adored how Nicolas DiDomizio wrote these characters as to put it simply, they were hot messes. They were dealing with so much internally and not talking to each other or their loved ones to get help. It was hard to read at times as it felt realistic to how relationship can be.

Aside from the character growth, it felt nice to see how much the relationship between Ray and Kit changed. You see them in a certain light when the story begins and then it slowly starts to morph in the best way. By the end, you’re dying for things to work out between them and I loved that.

Just a quick aside from the main couple to say that I loved Ray’s sister. She was easily one of my favorite side characters. Other than that, this book dealt a lot with unrealistic expectations and simply wanting more for the sake of having it. Even so, I came away from reading Nearlywed with a fresh perspective on weddings, relationships and ready to plan an earlymoon.

This was my first novel by DiDomizio, and boy am I now champing at the bit to continue with his back catalog. DiDomizio's main character is Ray Bruno, a man who has allowed hopeless romanticism to rule his life. Doctor Kip Hayes is a conformist who is out, but maybe not that proud when it comes to his everyday life. The comedy of errors that unfolds thereafter is so heartwarming and relatable that I can't help but to immediately stan the author. I felt myself commiserating with both Ray's and Kip's viewpoints as they navigated the choppy waters of gay identity and monogamy in the 2020s. Fluffy, wholesome, spicy as a bowl of vanilla ice cream, but just as tasty and enjoyable.

Highly-recommended for any gay man in his 30s or 40s wanting a comfy read that makes you remember why you believe in love. I'm molting! Five stars.

This was a 3.5 stars really. I enjoyed the character development throughout this arc and both characters had a busy week learning and changing as people.

Kip is a stoic doctor who is out to people he knows and cares about, Ray is shouting about his relationship from the rooftops. I laughed out loud a few times and I love the small town lobster references.

I guess I just didn't click well with Ray, I found his character whiny and annoying - caring about things that were unimportant and didn't really have any interests outside of the relationship. He just seemed to rehash the same ideas over and over, so I found it a bit tricky to root for them.

It was sweet and fun, with a lovely HEA

I finished this one only because I wanted to know what happened. But I spent the entire book grumpy about reading it. Both MCs were infuriating in their inability to communicate. And I get it, maybe it's the fact I haven't dated in a long time, but like these two have been together for like 5/6 years and are getting married, and they have these very basic aspects of their relationship they haven't worked through?! It just felt unbelievable to me.

3.5 stars

Nearlywed was a bit heavier and more emotional than I was expecting, and I wasn't a big fan of the miscommunication between the MCs, but overall still really enjoyed!

This was a great romance that took place over the course of a week, while following a gay couple on their “earlymoon” - or pre wedding vacation.

This book was a romance, but was heavier than the subject and cover might lead to believe. This book covered the ups and downs of a relationship, the challenges of coming out and homophobia, and dealing with life’s general insecurities.

I really loved how this book embraced the romance and made it feel real life, without using any of the cliched tactics so often found in romance books. I really loved both main character’s, and they are not only a couple I’m rooting on in the book, but seem like they could go the distance in real life as well.

this was really sweet overall with some emotional themes, and i liked it for what it was!! however. unfortunately, it didn't quite hit for me mainly cause of the miscommunication and fallouts. still a fun ride though.

This book was a great read around relationships and the concepts people perceive through social media and "standards"

Ray and Kip are celebrating their early moon. They are complete opposites but compliment each other.

Kip is a doctor who is divorced and coming to his own with accepting himself. Ray is the great millennial writer who is a hopeless romantic.

During their stay, Ray is writing a piece so he is interviewing multiple couples and learning about himself with his views on relationships. The stay doesn't turn out to be what he expected because he puts so much hope into the "perfect relationship" - but what does that even mean for him?

I enjoyed the backstory telling between Ray's life and his relationship with Kip.

There are some LOL moments, but also great reflection about society. I also appreciated the pop culture references.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

As a long-time fan of DiDomizio’s writing, it’s always a joy to see how he continues evolving as a writer. This book was so easy to read and I found myself continually eager to return to it, even on my second time through. As always, he’s in a class all his own in his ability to expertly weave humor with deeper insights about relationships. I loved the unique concept of the earlymoon, and especially appreciated his exploration of the tell-all online writing culture of the 2010s – a topic I’ve never seen any other author tackle. So many hilarious lines in here, and as always, the prose is flawless. Highly recommend!

Super cute rom com! I read this one in just one day! I highly recommend Nearlywed for a fun beach read that will keep you entertained!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a hard one for me to review. I think I went into it with certain expectations. I read DiDomizio’s The Gay Best Friend not that long ago, and while I had plenty of criticism for it once I finished, the way it was written had me so entranced that I read it in one sitting. I was expecting a similar effect with Nearlywed, but that was not the case. There was something about the writing here that was a lot slower for me. Not boring, necessarily, just slow. It took me several weeks to get all the way through it. I can’t pinpoint what changed about the writing style, but the story just didn’t manage to draw me in the way The Gay Best Friend did. That being said, I think Nearlywed is overall a better book. The narratives built for the MC and his fiancé are better developed and feel very real. Something DiDomizio does well in both the novels I’ve read by him is pick out very real nuances of being gay in modern American culture and the way queerness interacts with popular culture and popular perception. This ability to pinpoint these aspects create very natural, organic conflicts for the characters to navigate. In Nearlywed, the characters’ different approaches to their gay identities and what it means to be ‘out’ and open about that identity reflects a lot of internal exploration I’ve done and conversations I’ve had with queer friends. In conjunction with that, DiDomizio picks out generational differences that become more and more obvious as each generation discovers and acts on their queerness. On top of all of that, he investigates the challenges that can come with being a ‘late bloomer’ or someone who comes out late in life in comparison to someone who became comfortable with their queerness early on. It’s complex and interesting and hits home in a lot of ways. Which may also be why I found it to be a slow read. There are a lot of scenes that gave me a lot to process and chew on, making it difficult to digest in one sitting. This was a very different experience to what I expected to get, which was more or less a melodrama-fueled romance with some humor and a few timely observances on modern queerness. Overall, I think Nearlywed is a more successful book with a more satisfying pay off than The Gay Best Friend because of the complexities it leans into and investigates.

Nearlywed felt like a fresh take on the romance genre. Here the story focuses on the conflicts a couple struggle with that come to a head when they go on an “earlymoon” in the lead up to their planned wedding.

Kip and Ray have distinctly different personalities and occupations, and even come from different generations. This leads to many of their common arguments, which doesn’t sound like the best topic for a romance novel, but somehow it works and is additionally charming, funny, and a delight to read. I loved the setting at the seaside inn famous for hosting couples before they say “I do” and didn’t even mind it so much when coincidence made for some convenient reckoning with one’s past.

Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read that I appreciated for its unique reimagining of the romance novel. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was SO good and truly one of the more unique takes on a romance. It manages to skirt around any obvious trope while still feeling like it hits the hoped for notes. it's not quite a second chance romance, but has some of that flavor. And as someone who doesn't always love that brand of romance, this was by and far the best version I'd ever read of it. Also I loved our main character. By the end I was on board with his love interest, but I was ready to ride at dawn for him when there was some conflict, especially earlier in the book. I'm definitely going to tear through the rest of DiDomizio's catalog after this!

Nearlywed is a contemporary romance about a gay couple on their early pre-wedding honeymoon. Millenial internet writer Ray has always been a hopeless romantic. And now that he is 2 months away from being married to his fiancé Gen X doctor Kip, he is so ready for the early moon he has always dreamed of having. But at the idyllic resort, their five-year relationship is tested as they meet other couples there and realize that their differences may not be as surmountable as they both thought.

I absolutely loved Nearlywed. I thought it was brilliantly refreshing and insightful. It features an established couple with a 10-year age gap (they met at 25 & 35) who on paper could not be more different—from millennial Ray’s very public online presence writing about his life experiences to Gen X professional Kip’s recent coming out and divorce with the propensity to keep everything private—but whose chemistry and perceived roles have made them work. I enjoyed the dynamic between them, full of banger, inside jokes, and their totally obvious love for each other. The author managed to portray both of them as totally different people whose relationship hits a bump in the road because of assumptions and missed communication and how they worked through them.

The book was a lot of fun to read, charming, and hilarious. Of course, drama ensues with the addition of an ex-husband and an old friend that forces both men to confront their own issues. The various other couples in the resort added some quirky characters as well as contracting the different types of relationships that can work. The Friends, Ally McBeal and Taylor Swift references were just icing on cake that made me love the book more.

Nearlywed is a fun, funny, and insightful contemporary gay romance. Highly recommend!

oh. my. goodness. this book was absolutely incredible!!!! i had so much fun reading this book. it was lovely and wonderful and amazing. thank you so much to netgalley for letting me read this book before the publication date!!!

I enjoyed the premise of a relationship between a share-everything millenial and a quiet, private Gen Xer. However the pacing felt a bit off/slow sometimes -- and there as too much internal monologue from Ray. I think other reviewers were spot on with mentioning that a lot of it felt like a relationship therapy consultation rather than a novel at times. There were some great elements too though - I think the 'big fight' that Ray and Kip had about 2/3rds of the way through was really well done & kind of the crux of the novel -- it really showed each of their rationales and love for each other but how they were coming from very different viewpoints.

The side plot of Ray's sister's lobstering perils was interesting, but maybe could have been made more of / woven in better...

Overall, I skimmed a lot of the narration/Ray's thought process/internal relationship musings, but there were some nice scenes that made for good touchstones along the way.

Ray Bruno and Kip Hayes seem like an imperfect match—where Ray is an chronic oversharer, Kip keeps his life close to the vest. As they go on an “earlymoon” ahead of their wedding, some of those differences come to a head and suddenly the romantic week they had planned might be the cause of their breakup. Not what I thought the book would be about.

DiDomizio’s writing is clear and concise. Each word and sentence carries meaning. I love how the author truly tackled queer love and the dynamic can be so different, on so many different levels.

I love how the basis is with how we all look for perfection in a partner and marriage, when the truth is that not one of us will see eye to eye on everything and there will always be bumps in the road.

The generational different between our main characters, Kip and Ray, are used at times for comedic relief and even I laughed at some of the instances. But even with the gap, they simply belonged together even with their differences.

A very realistic view on relationships, in a humorous way. Highly recommend.


Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Nicolas DiDomizio for the eARC!

4 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Nicolas DiDomizio for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
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This book was so enjoyable for many reasons. I loved that the book was based solely around everyone’s idea / want of a perfect marriage where there are no issues or complications. I love that the book tackled queer love and how the process of being open and the levels of openness can be different for different people. I think the book did an amazing job at making believable and realistic characters who have their own pros and cons, they just felt like real people.
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At times the book did seem a little preachy about the discussions it was trying to get across but also that’s how people sound when they’re working through things.
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Overall it’s a super enjoyable and super quick read about marriage, relationships, queerness and the understanding that your partner is a human being and you won’t always see eye to eye on everything in life but that doesn’t mean you aren’t compatible.

Wow! Really enjoyed this novel and its heartwarming story of Ray and Kip! I felt the author did a great job with the plot and character development, I felt connected to both characters and their story. I felt the writing was concise and easy to read. I cried in the end! So good!