The 52 Book Club 2022 Challenge Prompt: 33. A bilingual character

Other Possible Prompts: 11. A book with less than 2022 Goodreads ratings (for now!), 15. A five-syllable title, 45. A book with illustrated people on the cover, 50. A person of color as the main character, 52. Published in 2022

Again, this was not my favorite, but I think The Wedding Crasher is a huge improvement over The Worst Best Man. People seem to like Mia Sosa’s voice, and I’d have to agree there. She writes a warm hug of a book, that’s for sure.

After witnessing the bride profess her love for another man in a stairwell minutes before the ceremony, Solange stops a complete stranger’s wedding to keep them from a big mistake. Embarrassed and feeling indebted for the inconvenience, she ends up helping the groom, Dean, fake a relationship so that he can help onboard a new lawyer for his firm – and finally make partner.

And as with any fake relationship, somebody has to catch feelings. Unfortunately for Dean and Solange, Dean is committed to his job and his no-emotions romantic plan, and Solange is destined to leave the city at the end of the summer with no strings attached. Can they keep it light and fun while it lasts?

This book started so strong, but really lost me around the middle. It just got a little wild for me, I think, and I’m not ashamed to admit that. There’s a lot going on here, but it’s not a bad story or a bad romance. In fact, the chemistry between Dean and Solange is some of the best I’ve read in a long while. I liked the “forbidden romance” aspect of it, driven by the fact that the pair have polar opposite romantic aspirations, but it did get a bit repetitive after a while – a bit like beating a dead horse.

I really liked Solange’s character. She was sweet and charismatic, smart and giving, and I think she and her family really make this story. She is a magnetic heroine; you can’t peel your eyes away when she’s on the page. She seems like the kind of girl even us super quiet, introverted types will befriend. Solange, combined with her huge Brazilian family, take over the pages and make every character feel like they belong amongst them. The infusion of that culture and family into this novel is a great one.

I didn’t like Dean *as much*, but I understood him at least. That, I guess, is definitely a strength of this book: it’s one of the most realistic romances I’ve read in awhile. Both characters are stubborn and faulty, but if they were real people, I think they would well and truly fall in love. They’re both likeable and I root for them!

I think what it boils down to is a preference thing. This was a huge improvement over The Worst Best Man, I just don’t think it was for me. And that’s totally fine – it may be for you, though, and I will still recommend it to romance readers! And I think I will likely pick up Sosa again, even just one more time.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing an advance readers copy of The Wedding Crasher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I hope you all have the most fabulous week. 🙂