A Storybook Wedding by KJ Micciche

Publication 5-14-24, Read 5-13-24

Genre: Rom-Com/Adult Fic

Tropes: marriage of convenience, student/teacher, forbidden romance, family drama, friends to lovers

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are mine alone.

The narrators are Kelli Tager and Nick Mondelli with the heroine Cecily Jane Allerton and hero Nate Ellis brought to life with alternating POV chapters. I believe the voices fit the characters with standouts by some of the quirky side characters such as Gert and Alice. Their voices added humor to the story. The reading style brought the story to life and the pacing flowed easily with the story. The narration and the author were in sync, and they fit together perfectly. The narrator paused and announced every time a new chapter came. The audiobook had a table of contents which helped me follow along.

CJ has plans to become an author. Currently she's a children's librarian in New York @ Queens Public Library. She wins a scholarship to go to Matthias University where she can work on her novel, attend workshops and get critiques of her work. Nate is a published author and CJ's new professor. After a drunken night on The Jimmy Fallon Show with karaoke, CJ kissed Nate live on the show. The university could fire Nate for fraternization with a student, but if they marry Nate can avoid losing his job. Once married they try to ignore their chemistry while struggling to get published.

I love a book lovers/writer romance. I experienced workshops, cringe-worthy critiques, and plenty of rejection letters. Needless to say my writing career was over before it started. I admire anyone brave and confident enough to pursue writing. CJ was too accepting of her sister Jamie and her ex Bryce's relationship. Her parents had serious issues wanting their daughters married with kids. CJ is career driven and Nate is a great partner.

My recommendation is to read the audiobook because you can adjust the speed, skip parts easily (if desired), and picture the characters more vividly. Shout out ?uestlove, Philly rep!

Rating 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

The tone of this book is nothing like the cover. The heroine puts a negative spin on everything. The narrator did a good job of interpreting the character’s voice, but unfortunately, the book is not for me. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Overall rating: 3.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Romance: 3.75/5 – fake dating; friends to lovers
Spice: 1.5/5
Humour: 2/5

This was such a fun read, and I actually enjoyed the premise so much. It had a sweet story of a student (and a librarian) who kisses a professor that works in her school on national TV and the two are left having to tie the knot to prevent him from losing his job (don’t worry, there is no age gap nor was he her professor or anything like that). But as they must fake their relationship, their friendship develops into more.
They are both writers, so it was sweet to see them support one another and cheer for each other but the plot did feel rather convenient at times with all the won scholarships and being the only one to ever write a book in a semester. But, nonetheless, I liked it.
Where this book fell flat for me was: humour, atmosphere and the climax/third act conflict - I also loved one of the narrators but unfortunately the other did not work well for me at all, but this is just a personal preference.

1. Humour – Im not sure if Im in the minority here but I often felt that there was a line or a joke that I know I was supposed to find funny but didn’t at all. One of the reasons I usually love romance books is for the humour but with this book, I might have smiled at a joke like once or twice in the entire book. If the authors sense of humour was more ‘my thing’, this book could have easily been a 4 star because I loved the premise.
One small extra thing that bothered me – but that’s because I cringe extremely easily –were the karaoke sequences. OMG when they were singing, I wanted to d*e. Again, this is a personal issue I am sure but for me … it’s a no.

2. Atmosphere – it was a classic case of tell and don’t show. The author would mention ‘New York’ for example, and I felt like we were supposed to just imagine the city and the vibe of it. But not everyone who will read this book is an American or someone who might have had the chance to visit certain cities. As much as I can understand that urban settings work well in aiding the imagination of the reader without as much work from the author, I have a very basic idea of what New York or other cities in the US feel like – most of which I might have seen in some TV show. And because of that, I was left feeling quite underwhelmed. Even after finishing the whole book, I really just imagine the main character and get blue glasses but nothing beyond that. There were just not many atmospheric vibes in this book.

3. The climax/third act conflict – it was … comical? But not in a good way. It was quite obvious who would cause the major conflict in this book but that did not bother me. what did, was that when they finally revealed their plan, it was as if we got a dialogue from a moustache twirling villain. Not only that, the ‘villain’ also went over all the events of the book + explain how each of them push her further in her plan to fire Nate because she was jealous of his success. Like I just read 80% of the book, I did not need her to tell me again most of the events of the book as she smirked constantly revealing the whole plan.
Additionally, during the climax of the story, we got far too much exposition/info dumping about some smallish events of the main characters lives in quite too much detail. This should have been cut down or put in a different part of the story. I liked the ending, but I really wished that we could keep the ‘high’ going straight into the resolution and not take massive detours.
Lastly, her family were really shitty for the majority of the book and then, in like the 90th%, they were all like nice, understanding and apologising which felt very out of character for them. It should have been explored far more than just one conversation and then suddenly everyone is compassionate. Like her ex – they were together for 6 years, she lost her virginity to and who gave her a promise ring that he would love her forever –married her f-ing sister. and the family didn’t care about it cos ‘she said it was ok so whats the problem’ and only at the end they were like ‘um yeah we didn’t think about that’ I am sorry what? So when they did a 180 from this shitty behaviour to suddenly being all supportive and loving, I had a bit of a whiplash.
The epilogue was by far the best part of the book. It was a sweet and just perfect ending for this book. And honestly left me wanting to increase the rating because I actually think those two would have a cool life together!

Oh boy... I was really enjoying this book. I liked the premise, and the main character was entertaining enough, but things ended up taking a turn for the worse. Suddenly, the FMC became doused with the "I'm not like other girls" syrup. It was a mess and supremely unpleasant. The narration also got so aggravating to listen to. I got annoyed by all the weird voices she was making and had to stop. Also, if your main character is 30, please have them act that way. I kept thinking this woman was fifteen from the way her inner monologue sounded.

I chose this because I keep reading/listening to fantasy books to fulfill a goal of reading a book that takes place in a world I want to live in. As a displaced librarian/ author I was really into this book. It is mostly wholesome except for the one sex scene.
I loved both characters and I loved the way their story developed. I also found the family troubles hilarious.
The narration was wonderful as well!
This was just super fun.

In A Storybook Wedding by K.J. Micciche, Cecily, a children’s librarian, finds herself entangled in a complex situation after receiving a scholarship to pursue creative writing. A drunken mistake leads to a public scandal, pushing Cecily into a marriage of convenience with a faculty member named Nate to avoid repercussions. The novel unfolds through alternating perspectives, offering glimpses into Cecily and Nate's evolving relationship. However, despite the potential for depth, the characters lack authenticity, and their chemistry feels forced.

While the narrative attempts to explore themes of writing craft and narrative structure, it falls short of delivering a compelling story. The pacing is sluggish, with lengthy chapters that fail to maintain reader engagement. Additionally, the supporting cast feels underdeveloped, with many characters introduced only to be quickly dismissed. Cecily, as the main protagonist, comes across as frustratingly unrealistic, while Nate remains a nondescript love interest with little to offer.

Moreover, the supposed romance at the heart of the story feels lukewarm at best, lacking the passion and depth expected in the genre. Comparisons to similar works, such as Emily Henry’s Funny Story, highlight the stark contrast in character maturity and narrative quality. Overall, A Storybook Wedding struggles to captivate its audience, ultimately failing to fulfill its promise as a satisfying romance novel.

Honestly, I requested this book because it fit one of the categories for a reading challenge through my local public library. I am also a sucker for librarians as main characters, and children's librarians are kinda close to my life as a school librarian.

Overall, this romance was underwhelming for me. I get very frustrated when clear communication could have fixed a situation. Did one of your grad students get drunk and then kiss you at karaoke after you (surprise!) performed with QuestLove? Explain that situation!

Instead, a fake marriage ensues with one bed and one overly jealous colleague, and all hell breaks loose.

There was a lot of potential but between the unwillingness to try the truth and characters with no sense of humor (both of the main characters were not amused by dirty literary pun t-shirts, they were awesome!), I just finished it so I could write a review.

The author did a great job writing from a technical standpoint. I will try another book by this author; perhaps the characters won't annoy me so much.

The narrators were great.

Thank you to NetGalley and the wonderful Dreamscape Media for the eARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

What a nice, entertaining, quick book.
I really enjoyed the story overall and the ´marriage of convenience´ escapade was super creative.
I feel like this was a cute rom-com, perfect for a summer read.
The main characters were believable and I definitely felt connected to the FMC's overall way of being.
The ´backward love story works perfectly and Nate is just the perfect gentleman.
 
As always Dreamscape Media audiobooks are flawless and the voice actors were really good.
The karaoke scene was super funny to hear, maybe even funnier than having to read it.

Tropes:
Fake marriage/marriage of convenience
Teacher/student
All the banter
Dual POV
Rom/com - I literally laughed out loud so many times!

Super cute and funny read!

REVIEW: The Storybook Wedding ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Some people may find it annoying, but when life gives me lemons, I just ask the lemons to please leave me alone until I can figure out what to do with them.” -KJ Micciche, A Storybook Wedding.

The Storybook Wedding really snuck up on me. I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this book. I loved it even more as an audiobook not only because there were dual points of view with different narrators, but the narrators really made the characters' voices believable. There was so much expression in everything they read.

Our main characters, Nate, a famous author, and Cecily, a children’s librarian who wants to be an author, brought so much to the story. Both characters had great depth, and their backstories really helped shape them. They had very distinct personalities that made me laugh and swoon throughout. Also, being in a professor and student situation made for more complexities in their story. Their back-and-forth chemistry was also so good. They made the story so much fun and made you want to know more about them. Their story contains marriage of convenience, same bed, forced proximity, and friends-to-lovers tropes.

Honestly, The Storybook Wedding might be one of my favorite reads so far this year. It had so much wit, romance, sweet moments, funny moments, and enduring characters. Throughout the book, I couldn't stop laughing, smiling, and enjoying everything. The ending was very satisfying as well. I recommend this as an audiobook because the narrators were so good that it sometimes felt like I was listening to a movie.

Thank you, Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

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ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡-𝐨𝐮𝐭-𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐬-𝐚𝐭-𝐚𝐥𝐥-𝐭𝐡𝐞-𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞! 𝐀𝐝𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞? 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦-𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐔𝐠𝐡, 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞.

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥! 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢 𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐎𝐕 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝!

𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒦𝒥 𝑀𝒾𝒸𝒸𝒾𝒸𝒽𝑒, 𝒟𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂𝓈𝒸𝒶𝓅𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝒹𝒾𝒶, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

This was my first read by this author and I’m a sucker for a marriage of convenience story. I found the plot enjoyable and both Nate and Cecily are relatable characters. I enjoyed all that lovely tension that we get with marriage of convenience to though it really played out over a fairly short time period so I was hoping for a little more of that in the narrative. I hurt for Cecliy as she described the issues of her past and the family pressures, and really enjoyed the growth that both she and Nate had professionally. The conflict played out predictably but nicely and I enjoyed the third act.

The spice was outside my comfort range so that was disappointing but if you are an open door reader, this wouldn’t bother you at all as it was fairly tame and short. I enjoyed both narrators and thought they did a great job brining these characters to life - especially Cecliy’s quirks.

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook from NetGalley. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Content Notes: Strong language, open door romance

I got so much second hand embarrassment from this book. And it wasn’t always good.

I do believe that with the marriage of convenience trope there will always be a bit of second hand embarrassment. The problem that results in the marriage could usually be resolved by one or both of the main characters being honest with the people they are trying to convince. I also think this trope is better consumed in a reading format and not a listening format. Having to listen to the embarrassing scenes play out vs reading embarrassing scenes are different, and as someone who listens to audiobooks at the normal/regular speed it gets drawn out.

I do love the main characters motivation to become a published author. As an artist who grew up in small town east Texas, I am very fortunate to have the support of my family to pursue my dreams, which don’t include marriage right now. Sure, one day I would like to be married, but it’s not what my family focused on while I was growing up. This author deciding to go against her family’s wishes on just being a wife and a mother and becoming a published author is validating for myself when I see the people I grew up with. While some people are cut out to be young mothers and wives, I’m not, and that’s fine.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early listen to this audiobook. All thoughts are my own, I do not accept money for my reviews.

A Storybook Wedding
K.J. Micciche
OMG what a delightful tale. This must be your next beach read.
Cecily Jane Allerton is a children’s librarian who desperately wants to be a published author. She won a scholarship of $20,000. This was her opportunity to follow her dream of a MFA in creative writing. One of her professors was author Nate Ellis. His first book hit the target, leaving him living a wealthy life. Cecily attended an author event where she had a little too much to drink. Nate suggested they go for coffee, but Cecily insisted they go for Karaoke. She was belting out a song while Nate just stood there when low and behold, they were Karaoke Bombed. Cecily grabbed Nate and kissed him. It’s all on video which shows Jimmy Kimble. Faculty and student are not to mix. Nate’s job is on the line. Cecily is determined to save his job no matter what it takes.
I loved this book. Cecily, 29 and Nate, 31 are such unique characters and they fit together perfectly. I never doubted they would fall in love. The two narrators, Kelli Tager and Nick Mondelli did a wonderful job of breathing life into Cecily and Nate. The evil witch in this book was truly vindictive and mean. There is nothing I did not like about this book. Kudos to author K.J. Micciche for the humor, great writing and great characterization.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy for review.

While the concept of this book isn't believable (needing to get married to save a job) BUT once you just embrace the fiction aspect this book is adorable. I love Cecily and Nate, their support of each other and their character development.

Librarian and wannabe author Cecily Jane marries author Nate in a marriage of convenience in order to keep both their careers afloat. 

I love the marriage of convenience trope and this one was done incredibly well. Nate was such a sweetheart, I loved being able to hear his point of view in this novel. If you like your romcoms with a huge aww factor, you will need to pick this cute one up. It's fun and it's bookish! Need I say anymore?

🔸Tropes🔸
🔘Marriage of convenience
🔘Friends-to-lovers
🔘One bed

📚💍📚
When Librarian Cecily Jane Allerton and Author Nate Ellis innocently exchange a kiss, their intimate moment unexpectedly goes viral. Cecily, desperate to protect Nate's career and fulfill her aspirations in the MFA program, agrees to marry him and act as a real married couple.

✨Thoughts✨
Oh, what a sweet story! It took me completely by surprise, capturing my heart in a way I never expected. Cecily was absolutely charming – she had this magical ability to bring a smile to my face, and her talent as a writer was beautifully explored. The novel itself felt like a two-in-one experience, a book within a book. But what really stood out to me was the gentle and organic way Cecily and Nate's love story unfolded, never rushed, always tender.

🎧The audio version of this book, narrated by Kelli Tager and Nick Mondelli, was a breath of fresh air. It was my first time listening to these talented narrators, and I must say, their portrayal of the characters was nothing short of perfection.

🔸Overall, if you're a fan of heartwarming romantic comedies, this story is an absolute must-listen.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book had already been on my radar so I was so excited to get a chance to listen to the audiobook. The narrator’s absolutely killed their roles, they totally embodied the characters they were playing. I also absolutely loved that it was a Dual POV love story; with dual narrators; it just really elevated the listening experience.

Cecily’s inner monologues had me laughing out loud every single chapter, she was such a fun FMC. It’s also always so cool reading about a FMC who is bookish, I love the representation! The setting on Block Island was such a cool destination, and this was the first time I had seen it used in a book.

Overall, this was such a fun RomCom, and I really enjoyed the epilogue hearing about what Nate & Cecily got up too after the story ends. Highly recommend this book for any of my romance girlies!

Read if you enjoy:
-Professor x Student
-Forbidden Romance
-He falls first & harder
-Fake dating
-Marriage of convenience
-Bookish FMC

A Storybook Wedding is a great romcom with a small amount of spice and a unique spin on the marriage of convenience story, but what really sold me on this audiobook was the team of narrators. Kelli Tager really stole the show in this one. Nick Mondelli's performance was top notch as well.
KJ Micciche's dual POV romance follows MFA student, Cecily and award-winning novelist and MFA professor, Nate as a televized drunken kiss pushes them into a marriage of convenience in a convoluted attempt to save Nate's job and reputation as an author.. (Note: This is a grad student/professor relationship in which both participants are late twenties & early thirties). It's a fun, low drama romance with endearing characters and a satisfying HEA.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media for the ALC of A Storybook Wedding in exchange for an honest review.

A Storybook Wedding is about a children's librarian who has just landed a scholarship to a low-res MFA program on Block Island. She hits it off with one of the faculty members, Nate, and goes to see him speak while her program is on break. They go out drinking afterwards, and end up getting caught kissing on national TV.

It's a fun, lighthearted read with many mishaps between our two main characters.

I will say I expected this book to be more wedding-related--the cover screams wedding planning mishaps. The wedding was just one scene, though, with most of the book being about the writing retreat and CJ and Nate's marriage of convenience.