Julia and Carson are super cute. This story is filled with fun island adventures & exploration which we get to experience along with the characters. Set during the chaotic planning of a last minute wedding, a former bully tries to convince his high school target that he's a changed man and worth the second chance.

I usually find it difficult to connect with characters in a third person POV, but the author and especially narrator in this audiobook did a great job of keeping the story moving and smooth. I loved that we got Carson's POV because otherwise I don't think I would have believed him or have been rooting for him. Great performance overall for the narrator here.

This book was SO FUN.

I didn't expect to enjoy myself as much as I did as the cover gave off more juvenile vibes. (think YA!)

I enjoyed how the relationship between Julia and Carson was handled from learning about their previous "enemy"-ship to Julia finding out that her mom was dating her nemesis' dad and they were due to be married. I thought the lead up to them finally admitting their feelings was also handled really well because although it's not really taboo, it *~feels~* taboo when step siblings develop feelings.

Carson was a shining light throughout and definitely helped Julia reach an understanding about herself that she deserved to be treated better than how her mom had in the past. When she realized that her mom and sister tended to calm everything down so it didn't 'bother' Julia, and Julia decided to call her mom out on it? That was so cathartic. I don't think some people understand that how they treat situations, like that, can be extremely toxic behavior and cause a lot of discourse between all people involved.

I am considering finding this in book form for my bookshelf because it was so fun and I hope I remember this down the line because it definitely popped out from others I've read in the same timeframe.

🙌🏻 What worked for me:
• The tropical setting of Belize was a major highlight, creating a great vibe for the story.
• The second-chance romance was great, especially with the high school past and the new twist of their parents getting married.
• Carson's character arc was very satisfying. I appreciated his genuine efforts to make up for how he acted in the past.
• The forced proximity trope was used perfectly, with them having to plan the wedding together in another country.
• The audiobook narrator, Meg Sylvan, did a fantastic job with a single voice for a dual-POV story.
• The spicy scenes were well-integrated into the story, but also easy to skip for those who prefer less steam.
• The book works as a standalone, even though it's technically book two in a series.

🚫 What didn't work for me:
• Julia's reluctance to stand up for herself became a bit frustrating. I wished she had found her voice and challenged her family members sooner.

🤜🏻 Would I recommend: Yes (especially on audio)! This was a fun and satisfying second-chance romance. The charming tropical setting and fantastic narration more than made up for any minor frustrations.

Read if you enjoy:
✔️ Second-chance romance
✔️ Reformed Jerks
✔️ Palpable tension
✔️ Forced proximity
✔️ Tropical settings
✔️ Destination wedding chaos

Destination Weddings and Other Disasters kicks off with a perfectly messy situation: Julia Stone shows up to her mom’s engagement party only to find out the groom to be is the father of Carson Miller, aka the guy who made high school a nightmare for her. Oh, & surprise! The happy couple wants a destination wedding in Belize…in two weeks. Guess who’s suddenly planning it together? Yep, Julia & Carson, the not so dynamic duo turned forced partners in paradise.

The setup is fun, chaotic, & full of tension, with the classic enemies to lovers with a tropical twist. There’s zip-lining, waterfall exploring, flirty banter, & A LOT of unresolved feelings that come bubbling to the surface under that Belize sun.
Carson swears he’s not the same guy anymore, & to be fair he does seem to have grown up a lot (therapy helped, plus ten years of adulting.)
Julia, though is not about to fall for the charming event planner act without some serious proof of the change.

The characters felt real, even when things got a bit over the top, in a good romcom kind of way.
I liked Julia’s drive & her no nonsense energy. Carson genuinely won me over as the story went on. The side characters, like Julia’s sister & a few locals in Belize added to the story without distracting from the main plot. And While the romance is spicy & swoony, there’s also some deeper emotional growth tucked into all the chaos.

Also, I’ve gotta say the cartoon cover is absolutely adorable! The cover was the fist reason I wanted to check out this story, and then the description of course.
Overall this was feel good semi cozy story. It made me wish I could hop on a plane to Belize.

I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Meg Sylvan. I think she did a nice job bringing the story to life. Her voice fit Julia really well, being expressive, & full of personality. She handled the dialogue smoothly, giving each character their own vibe without going over the top.
Overall her performance kept me engaged and definitely added to the flirty energy of the book.


Thanks so much to Netgalley and Harlequin Audio For this Audiobook ALC.

Destination Weddings and Other Disasters was a fun and easy listen. The narrator did an amazing job at pulling me in and making the book come alive. The story follows Julia Stone and Carson Miller as the go from high school enemies to soon to be step siblings after ten years of not seeing each other. The connection between the characters is undeniable.

Thank you Netgally and Harlequin Audio for this ALC!

Text-
Overall I thought this was cute and liked it better than the first one. This was a second chance romance so it categorically can’t be insta love. But I felt like once things started happening they were all in. I just like a little angst, yearning, groveling.

Audiobook-
I think this is the second book I listened to narrated by Meg Sylvan. So far I like her. I think she did a pretty good job for a dual (3rd person) POV book with only one narrator.

This one wasn't groundbreaking or anything, but I do love a book with family conflict with strong characters to overcome it in a healthy way. I do also love the "taboo" not taboo love of an already adult step sibling situation... It was really cute & entertaining!

Thank you for the ACL

2.5 but I rounded up because I can see some liking this way more than me.

I went into to this book knowing that I have a hard time finding enemies to lovers books that I like, as well as the cringe I feel about step-siblings.

I was triggered a bit by the past bullying, but I tried moving past it.

Although the MMC appears to have grown up and matured, and I can’t blame the FMC for hating him, she came across as immature and a brat.
(Maybe this is why I can’t seem to find enemies to lovers that I like, the female always comes across as terrible) By the end, I could not stand the FMC. She ruined her own surprise for Pete’s sake (during the epilogue). Carson was way too good for her. He grew up and she acted like she was still in high school.

I got major 3rd hand embarrassment from the wedding speech part.

The ending fell flat for me. It would have been nice to see more of them falling in love (after they acknowledged their feelings to each other), not a sentence about it in the epilogue.

The chapters are on the longer side for those that care about chapter length.

I enjoyed the narrator.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review. I love books that are tailored around weddings! All the stress, drama, and scandals that could happen, usually leave me devouring the book. This however landed flat for me. I'm not sure if it is hearing books that are very similar to this or if it was something else. Julia is a very type A person that likes to have things her way. When she finds out her go with the flow type mother is getting married and doing a destination wedding, Julia inserts herself to plan everything. The only problem with that plan is, is that Julia's mom and future father-in-law want her to plan the wedding with her high school bully Carson.

This is book two in the Belize Dream series. I didn’t realize it was part of a series when I started, but I was able to keep up just fine. That said, if you want to avoid spoilers for the first book, I recommend reading them in order.

Julia and Carson haven’t seen each other since high school, where he made her life miserable as her main bully. Now, their parents are getting married and ask them to plan the destination wedding together in Belize, the place where Julia grew up. She’s fresh out of college and still trying to find her footing, and her mom thinks this project will be a good distraction. Carson’s trying to move on from his past mistakes, but opening up is not exactly his strength.

From the second they’re reunited, the snarky banter and unresolved tension between them kept things fun and flirty. Their adventures while prepping the wedding are chaotic and hilarious, and when they finally let go of the past, their chemistry is fire. They try to keep things casual, but that never really works, does it?

Julia just wants to be taken seriously as an adult, but her mom and sister keep boxing her in. Carson, meanwhile, wants to do better by Julia but keeps stumbling over his own emotional walls. I kept wanting to grab them both and shake them so they could see what was right in front of them. Their dynamic was fun, full of heart, and just so meant to be. I’ll definitely be going back to read book one now.

The audiobook was performed by Meg Sylvan, and I thought she did an amazing job. I’m usually not a fan of single narrators for dual POV stories, but she really brought both characters to life and kept me engaged the entire time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Audio, and author M.C. Vaughn for the advanced listener copy.

Haven’t read an (almost) step brother and sister romance before and I was happy that this one was not as weird as I thought it might be, because they had a previous (non-romantic) relationship with one another so it was more of an enemies to lovers romance because of the past mistakes that happened.

I liked to read about the changes of the characters Julia and Carson from when they were young to present day and also the changes they went through during the story. There was a lot of growth and development, but also a little too much dwelling on the past and basing so much of your thoughts and personality just on a few experiences from high school. Sometimes it was a bit much.

The main setting of Belize was amazing for the destination wedding. There were lots of cultural references for food, activities and tourist spots. It made me think about travelling there and gave me a desire to get to a beach soon!

Overall the story was good, there were interesting secondary characters (who apparently were introduced in the first book in the series, but it was fine to read this one first), and the main characters had good chemistry. There was the typical “misunderstanding” at the end of the story (lies, secrets), and there were some spicy scenes which were fun. A good build up throughout the story made Julia and Carson’s relationship believable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio ARC of this book. I enjoyed the narration very much! All opinions about the story are my own.

This book was a fast and fun little romp through Belize.

The pros: Julia and Carson are well-constructed and believable characters and the conflict feel probable. I think th author did a good job of showing a realistic scenario of Carson trying to prove himself to Julia for a second chance and her grappling with that decision. The spice was not gratuitous but done in key parts after a good amount of build up and will they/won't they.

The cons: Julia was ..... generous to forgive her high school bully even after learning why he did it. If this had happened to me - ain't no way, girl.
Most importantly- the step-sibling thing gives me the ick. Even though they are adults and wouldn't be blended under one roof, just ew. The book hinted at maybe not fully going through with the wedding which gave me hope they wouldn't actually become step-siblings, but, spoiler alert, it does. I could feel the ick come on immediately after that shifted. Plus the 'grand gesture' at the wedding felt slightly off for the character and did not need to be that public- more ick.
4 stars until I hit the ew factor which knocked it to 3 for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Audio, and Afterglow books for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

4 stars – 3 chili peppers

-High school bully + high school crush
-Enemies to lovers
-Future step siblings
-Second chance romance
-Only one bed
-Event planners for parents wedding
-Belize destination wedding
-He falls first
-Forced proximity
-Miscommunication trope
-Witty banter
**There is mention of parental death but it happens off page **

Julia heads back home from her masters program in hospitality to attend her mothers engagement party to her 4th husband. Imagine her surprise when Carson, her high school bully (and her secret crush) is there and tells her that he is going to be her new stepbrother. On top of that, her mom announces that they are having their wedding in Belize…in less than 2 weeks! Now Julia and Carson have to team up to plan this wedding in record time! Carson swears that he has changed and is determined to prove it. Will they be able to make a miracle wedding happen in paradise or will they allow their past to ruin the future?

This was a super cute audiobook! The narrator, Meg Sullivan, was great! She has a very clear voice that was a joy to listen to. I loved the nuances that she used when voicing both Julia and Carson. This is the second book in a series of interconnected standalones and I don’t think that you need to read the first book in order to understand this one – unless you want to!

This was a nice spicy pallet cleanser from all of the dark romantasy that I have been reading lately and I definitely plan on going back and reading book one in the series to learn about her sisters story!

OMG I absolutely ADORED this book. This is a story of a high school bully and his victim who have to face each other 10 years later. Of all the things, their PARENTS are in love and are to be married. They are thrust into another country to plan a whirlwind wedding. The characters are brought to life in such a way that I was literally on the edge of my seat listening to this story unfold.
So many moments where my jaw actually dropped and I needed to fan myself a little bit. So much drama in the very best way possible.

If you can gets your hands on this book read it ASAP.

As someone with is unable to take a vacation this summer, this was the next best thing. A funny and romantic novel for people with unfulfilled wanderlust.

This was just about as cute as the first one! A fun quick read but it was so nice to come full circle on Alex and Julia's mom. A great low-stakes second chance romance with jaded/flawed FMC that's all too relatable. I would have loved some more flashbacks to when they were in HS but still a great read. Carter's growth after his accident was really fun to read as well.

Such a fun book idea Full of romance and perfect for summer that includes second chances at love in such a beautiful destination with a sense of adventure and exploration, I’m absolutely loving it and will definitely be recommending this just enough disaster to make the trip fun!

Destination Weddings and Other Disasters by M.C. Vaughn is a fantastic romantic escape—fun, flirty, and full of chemistry! The spark between the two main characters is electric, and the spice is perfectly balanced, making their connection feel both passionate and genuine. The satisfying ending left me grinning, and the Belize setting was pure wanderlust fuel. Vaughn’s depiction of the location is vibrant and authentic, celebrating its beauty without falling into clichés.

This book is the ideal summer listen—whether you're lounging on a beach or daydreaming about turquoise waters on your commute (I may or may not have mentally booked a trip to Belize after finishing it!). The audiobook narrator deserves special praise—her dynamic performance brought every character to life so vividly that I forgot it was just one voice.

Now I’m off to dive into Alex and Bo’s story because if it’s anything like this, I’m in for another treat! Highly recommend for anyone who loves romance with humor, heart, and a swoon-worthy getaway vibe.

ALC Book Review!


Destination weddings and other disasters by M.C Vaughan

3 / 5 ⭐️
Unavailable / 5 🔥

Thanks @netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

I normally don’t apply for ALCs because I am soooo picky with voices on audio books but this narrator knocked it out of the park! The pacing was consistent and the story was entertaining. Unfortunately I can only give it a 3 ⭐️ because the step siblings thing was just major ick / cringe THE ENTIRE BOOK! Every time I’d forgotten about it the topic would come back up. If that doesn’t bug you and the tropes below appeal to you then you’ll probably really like this book! It just wasn’t a stellar one for me.

*please note that there are a few spicy scenes but I skipped them due to step siblings ick and therefore will not be giving it a 🔥 rating.

This book is for you if you like :

Step siblings… to be
Tropical Destination
Adventure company
Career struggles
Blended family




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Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Audio and MC Vaughan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️ I like it. It was a pretty quick and easy read (listen). It’s book #2 in a series but I didn’t read the first and don’t feel like I missed anything.

Julia is attending her mom’s engagement party and finds out her mom is engaged to the father of a boy who made high school difficult. Julia had tutored Carson and things had not gone well. There was a lot of miscommunication and pressure; Carson was a dummy and was a big jerk resulting in Julia having panic attacks and protecting herself moving forward from hurt.

Fast forward 10yrs and Julia is not pleased to see him, and especially unhappy to be partnered with him to plan this wedding in less than 2 weeks.

I liked the healing and growth shown by Julia, Alex, their mom and Carson.

The step sibling thing wasn’t an issue for me. Yes, it is still a step sibling but they’re grown adults and not being raised as siblings so I’m glad it wasn’t made into a big deal.

I listened to the audio and like the narrator except for the voice she used for Julia’s mom - that one drove me up the wall so I was happy she wasn’t a bigger character.