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Member Reviews

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁:

I really enjoyed this one. I’m in truly in my destination romances era right now! I went to Belize back in March and it was so fun to revisit and see it again through these characters eyes. I loved the characters backstory and how they have to team up to make their parent’s dream come true. Such a fun read with all the tropical vibes. Meg nailed this audio I completely forgot it was only one person reading this, it was just seamless and amazing.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:

Julia recently graduated with a masters in hospitality and is having a hard time finding a job. Her sister who inherited her dad’s adventure business in Belize won’t hire her until she has some real life experience. So when Julia’s mom surprises them at their engagement party with the news she wants to get married on a beach in Belize next week, Julia hops into action.

Carson dad is getting married and he realized his new step sister is the girl who tutored him in high school and he wasn’t very nice to her. It’s been ten years maybe she can accept his apology and move on. But things are never that easy and now they will be forced to work together in Belize.

Planning a wedding in less than a week is not easy feet but Julia use to live in Belize and knows all the spots and has the hookups. Carson is impressed with her skills and can’t deny the crush he’s had on her for years. From food tastings, to concerts on the beach, to exploring local caves and waterfalls this week together will change them both. Maybe they can even pull off a wedding!

𝙁𝙖𝙫 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:

“Something he’d gotten right when he was eighteen—Julia Stone was endgame.”

𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒅:

* Enemies-to-Lovers
* Forced to Plan Parent’s Wedding Together
* She Has a Masters in Hospitality
* He Owns an Event Planning Business
* He Was Her High School Bully & She Tutored Him in English
* Soon to be Step Siblings
* Destination Wedding - Belize 🇧🇿
* Loss of Parent to Cancer
* Dual POV

🇧🇿💍🏝️🩵🇧🇿💍🏝️🩵 🇧🇿💍🏝️🩵🇧🇿

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This was my first book by M.C. Vaughan and I enjoyed the story. I did not read the first book and do not think you need to read the 1st book. The story made me want to go to Belize. I enjoyed the Julia and Carson's story. There were so many funny moments in the book. I can't wait to read the 1st book and more books by M.C. Vaughan. The narration was enjoyable.

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Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. But that’s ok! It’s a fine fluffy romance but the writing style just didn’t sit well with me. My other big issue was the miscommunication trope of hearing something from an unreliable person and the. Getting mad over it is just too over done and completely unrealistic.

I consumed the audiobook and the narrator Meg Sylvan spoke incredibly slow and her vocal choices for different characters were hard to listen to. I had to speed it way up so it changed the vocals to make it listenable. I hate saying that as it’s purely a personal opinion!


I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Harlequin Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

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title: Destination Weddings and Other Disasters

author: M. C. Vaughan

publisher: Afterglow Books by Harlequin

publication date: July 1, 2025

pages: 288

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings: bullying, deceased parent (past)

summary: After Julia earns her graduate degree in hospitality but before she finds a job, her flighty mother announces her plan to get married a week later in Belize. She asks Julia to plan the wedding with her fiancé's son, who turns out to be none other than Carson, the guy who treated her poorly when she was his tutor during high school. Fortunately, he seems to have changed for the better, but that doesn't mean she can trust him, can she?

tropes:

enemies-to-lovers
high school crush
surprise weddings
only one room
he notices (Book Boyfriend)

what I liked:

good banter
felt like a sightseeing tour of Belize
being smart and organized as a turn-on

what I didn’t like: none of it

overall rating: 5 (of 5 stars)

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This was a fun and quick listen. I really enjoyed the story and plot. I absolutely loved the location. The author does a great job with making me feel tropical! I definitely want to go to Belize now. I feel this was very well written and so easy for me to picture every scene! I will recommend this audiobook to friends.

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A slow-burn, heart-squeezing romance wrapped in chaos, family, and second chances.

Destination Weddings and Other Disasters had me hooked from the start with its perfect blend of awkward family drama, emotional growth, and the kind of romance that quietly builds until it absolutely bursts.

Julia is feeling out of place—her mom and sister are moving forward in their love lives, and she’s stuck trying to prove she’s capable of more than anyone seems to believe. Add to that a whirlwind destination wedding, a shared room, and a surprise reunion with the boy who once humiliated her in high school… who just so happens to be her soon-to-be stepbrother.

Carson. Oh, Carson. He’s patient, gentle, and determined to make things right—not for himself, but because he loves her. And has for years. He’s not looking for a quick fix or grand gesture. He wants to be worthy of Julia, and that slow, steady devotion absolutely melted me. His love is quiet but unwavering, and watching Julia come to see him for who he is now—through moments of trust, laughter, and vulnerability—was so satisfying.

There’s tension, awkward family moments (soon-to-be step-siblings, anyone?), and hilarious destination wedding chaos, but at its core, this is a story about being seen, being believed in, and realizing you are enough just as you are.

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Julia Stone's mother is getting married. For a 4th time. This time, to the father of a guy who teased her mercilessly in high school, Carson Miller. Carson has a big secret, though, and it's that he had the biggest crush on Julia, but when things went sideways, he lashed out. Therapy and a decade of growth has helped him. But now, both hospitality professionals, they need to plan their parents' destination wedding in Belize, in under two weeks.

I loved the first book in this series, Romancing Miss Stone, but I was really hesitant to pick up the second because falling for the high school bully isn't a thing I typically enjoy. But MC Vaughan does a great job at making Carson's growth believable and showing the possibility of Julia falling in love with him. It works because he falls first and fast and hard, and the years of therapy (and a life changing event) have really paid off. But really, this works well because the tone of the book is whimsical and fun.

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook - in fact, I kept finding excuses to keep listening!

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My first novel by MC Vaughan . This was cute short rom com. Plenty of beautiful imagery of Belize! Good chemistry with all the characters.

A hospitality pro reluctantly agrees to plan her mom’s beach wedding with help from her crush-worthy high school bully in this witty, spicy enemies-to-lovers romance.

Sun, sea, sand…and her high school nemesis.

This destination wedding is about to take a detour.

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I really wanted to love this. But I just couldn’t get past the step-siblings trope. Felt too icky for me. If that doesn’t bother you, give it a shot.

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Title: Destination Weddings and Other Disasters
Series: Belize Dream Book #2
Author: M.C. Vaughan
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Meg Sylvan
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Genre: Romance
Pub Date: July 1, 2025
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages 288
Julia Stone’s mother Michelle just got engaged and Julia is not all that happy ~ true there is anything wrong with her future stepfather Jim Miller ~ It is his son Carson an Event Planner who is the problem.

Julia and Carson are about to be step siblings and have been forced to plan the wedding in Belize of their parents.
Ten years ago Julia and Carson were High School classmates; Carson was a BMOC and Julia was the intelligent bright student –in fact, Julia tutored Carson. However, he was a big jerk to her and she has not forgotten it.
Present Day: He tells her he has changed.

The story was sort of fun but there is a however . . . .

I am a big psychological thriller fan and not really a romance fan but every once in a while I like to read a nice sweet cozy romance - I just finished a story that was very gruesome and this cover and blurb got my attention .

However, it wasn’t a sweet cozy romance. As it had more foul language and was spicier than I expected ~ which got in the way of me really enjoying this story.
This was my first read by this author and finally looked her up
~ M.C. Vaughan is a Baltimore-based author of contemporary romance riddled with humor and local flavor. So, if you want to giggle
throughout your sexy stories, Welcome!
You’ll root for her characters as they fall for their perfect people...and you’ll simultaneously shake your head as they stumble along the way.

No giggles but Yes! I was shaking my head -thinking this was not working for me
However. . .
The descriptions of Belize and the ending did save it from the 2.5 rating I was planning!

Want do want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for granting me this audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 1, 2025.

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Audio Narration:5/5 Great performance, no notes!

Cute. Quick. Spicy.

This is the second book in a series of interconnected standalone, but you definitely don’t need to read the first to enjoy! It’s my first by the author but I’ll be keeping an eye out for books from them in the future!

Conceptually this book is a wild ride. Julia and Carson had unrequited crushes on each other in high school. Carson was the hot headed jock and Julia his tutor, fast forward to the present these too are soon to be step-siblings planning their parents destination wedding in Belize (in less than a week)!

What’s to love…
- Second Chance, high school crush
- Strong confident FMC
- golden retriever MMC and reformed bad boy/asshole
- lots of LOL moments
- spectacular tension + well executed spice!
- travel/tropical setting
- excellent character growth and development for such a short book!
- Only one room (I mean not quite as good as one bed but still good!)

What I didn’t love…
- I didn’t jive well with the prose at first, but if you’ve been following my reviews at all you’ve probably noticed I’m rather picky with my prose. It’s actually a running joke among my bookish friends. But I digress… Once I switched to the audio format the prose became a non issue.

*A Note about the step-sibling aspect. This is much less taboo than it seems. Their parent’s romance is whirlwind and they see each other again (since high school) for the first time right before being whisked off to Belize to plan the wedding. Don’t let the step-sibling situation scare you off, it’s actually a rather fun quirky “what if” aspect.

🌶️- 16, 19 Explicit, on page & very sexy! I may have missed some, I mostly listened and I’l terrible at bookmarking when reading via audio.

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