CW: Book contains the following subjects: eating disorders, suicide, abortion. 

I was debating between 3 and 4 stars for this book. On one hand, it was dealing with a lot of side plots and backstory but then again, those had made the book more emotional, which almost brought me to tears in a good way. The two main characters, Melanie and Tennyson had both been through so much, and had sworn each other off as ex-best friends/enemies forever. When their children announce that they’re getting married, they have to learn to bury the hatchet, at least try to, with multiple failed attempts. Like I mentioned earlier, the ending is what had bumped it up to a 4 star for me because I almost got tears in my eyes because I was just putting myself into both Melanie and Tennyson’s shoes, as if me and my best friend were going through the same things.

I liked the outline of this book, but when I started reading it I was disappointed.  The characters were shallow and cruel to one another.  It improved slightly in the end, but it was not what I was expecting.

Thanks to Montlake Romance and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When you add one half Desperate Housewives, combine it with one half Bride Wars,  sprinkle in a little Bridesmaids and a dash of Father of the Bride,  you get Liz Talley’s entertaining and over-the-top novel, The Wedding War

Tennyson let go of the love of her life only to find that her best friend, Melanie, swooped in and married him.  At Melanie’s wedding, secrets are revealed and lives are destroyed.  Years later, another wedding brings Tennyson back to her home town and face-to-face with Melanie.  Nothing is ever easy as these enemies now need to learn how to put the past aside and look for forgiveness as this upcoming wedding approaches.  And, boy, what they put each other through!  If you enjoyed the lol funny or cringeworthy antics of the movies I mentioned, then you’ll enjoy what goes down in this book.  

While a lot of it is light hearted and loaded with crazy antics, we do watch as Melanie and Tennyson deal with their past, struggle with their present, deal with how they are perceived, and  how devastating secrets can be.  And we watch as they try to come to terms and reconcile with themselves and their combined past.  

This tale, told in current time with flashbacks, could easily be imagined as a charming rom-com movie.  It read just like watching one due to Luz Talley’s descriptions.  It was the perfect book to escape life with!  While I’m not a huge rom-com/chick lit fan, I did enjoy this book.  It was a witty, entertaining, and redeeming trip.

No, just no. I can't remember the last book I rated this low, and I read a book every day. It's offensive, full of stereotypes that cross the line into racism, and features characters who are overbearing, MEAN, and entirely unlikable. It's also not a romance. 

If you go into this with open eyes, your reading experience might be slightly better. The blurb makes this sound like a light-hearted read with some snarky banter, though it’s anything but. The overall tone is mean, harsh, bitter. And while I picked up this book because it was categorized as a romance (and I’ve seen this author on romance bestseller lists before), this isn’t a happily ever after kind of book.

If I was judging this on plot alone, it’d be a 2-star read for me. The racism drops it to 1 star because there were some lines that made me stop and stare. For a book that’s written in 2020, it sure didn’t feel like it. I appreciated receiving an ARC via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review, but this was a no-go for me.

Former best friends, Tennyson and Melanie are reunited when their children decide to get married.  In this book, they try to outdo each other, during every step of the wedding planning, making a hilariously entertaining story.  It’s a cat fight until the very end.  

I laughed so hard during some of the scenes.  It was like if anything could go wrong it would.  But I also enjoyed the slow reuniting of best friends as came to terms on their past and learned they could still be friends if they put everything aside for a fresh start.

This book follows two childhood best friends who have drifted apart after some unforgivable events. Years later they'll have to be in each other's lives, once again, because their respective son and daughter are getting married. 

This promised a fun time, unfortunately it was full of unnecessary dramas, derogatory language, slut-shaming, mistrust, bad writing with lousy and repetitive descriptions, and odious characters. I couldn't keep up with it so I had to DNF it.

Melanie and Tennyson were best friends as kids.  They promised to remain that way forever, but forever is a long time.  That promise has long been broken now.  Tennyson and Melanie haven't talked since Melanie got married, but now they are forced to get along since their kids are going to marry one another.  This upcoming marriage brings up a lot of the unresolved hurt, the competitiveness between former best friends to be the best at planning, and a whole bunch of new secrets along the way..

This was a fun read. The characters are fun.  Melanie being a typical stay at home underappreciated mom and Tennyson is a woman married into money and flaunts it like its no ones business.  While I understand all the background and family issues presented for Melanie, I feel that it takes away from part of the wedding war.   I would love to see a sequel with the ending we were left.  I could only imagine.

Tennyson and Melanie were the best of friends, and now they’re mortal enemies. Now Tennyson’s son and Melanie’s daughter are engaged—what could possibly go wrong?? This is the setup for this book, and there are so many emotions on each of its pages. The relationships are tricky and real and complicated, which makes for a very compelling read.

I struggled to get into this book. It was confusing to start with. I thought the story line was going to be great but it was sooooo boring. I could not finish this book. The main characters were horrible selfish, unlikeable  women and that does not work for books. You need characters that you understand and feel for. I wanted to strangle both of them. Like I said, I didn’t finish it, so maybe it got better somewhere but I just couldn’t do it.

This one wasn't for me.  I wanted to like it.  The premise was good, but just felt like both women were really whiney.  Thank you for letting me read early!

I read this novel while self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic in March, 2020. It was a very welcome and fun diversion from some of the very scary things happening in the world.

The wedding that is at the center of this book is really a device to explore an old friendship between the mothers of the bride and groom. I liked seeing their friendship as children and seeing how they had changed as adults.

I will say that, while conflict is an important part of any novel, I thought some of the physical conflict was a little bit much. It was very hard for me to picture two women who otherwise respected most social norms throwing things at each other and giving each other black eyes. The fact that it happened several times throughout the novel made me even more skeptical. 

Otherwise, I liked the fact that the "happily ever after" here was a bit of a compromise. Noone (except maybe the married couple) ends up with absolutely everything she wants, but all of the characters have grown.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read.

What a fun and witty read! Talley does an exceptional job detailing a friendship gone wrong. Two ex best friends must come together for the nuptials of their children. Chaos ensues and the reader will find themselves giggling uncontrollably at the characters' antics! I hadn't read anything by the author prior to this one, but she is definitely a new favorite!

This book is a hilarious take on two old friends who haven't spoken in 20 years but now they have to reunite for their kids' wedding. Set against the antics of a typical wedding, they have to try to navigate their relationships with each other and everyone else in their lives.

Thank you to the author, Montlake Romance and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis sounded fun, and this could have been a witty romantic comedy with a touch of snark toward the wedding industry - which needs all the pushback it can get, IMO. Unfortunately, the author took a different path and wrote a book with two unlikeable main characters, lots of casual racism and gross generalizations, and some very strange and outdated points of view. Cannot recommend.

Teeny and Melanie are childhood friends and an unlikely duo. No friends could be more different.  However, their differences instead of setting the apart seem to fill in the missing piece for each other--like the missing pieces of the best friend necklaces they exchanged as kids.  But after both women date the same guy the friendship cannot make it past the fall-out -- when Melanie marries him.  They were once friends but now are sworn enemies.

Years later they have been married, and their kids are grown and announce their engagement.  And the soon-to-be mother-in-law is someone the mom already knows--her sworn enemy and childhood friend.  How will they be able to get it together and pull off the perfect wedding in 3 months?

I loved this book of friendship, family and wedding hijinks (in fact, I read it in two days since I couldn't put it down).  I wish I could share some of the hijinks, but I don't want to give away any spoilers!  Let's just say it includes a cake incident and a rodent in the house....  I absolutely loved the characters and the heartwarming theme of friendship and possibly second chances, mixed in with wedding humor.  A heartwarming humorous read.

The story of Meanie and Tennyson and their friendship turned rivalry was intriguing. What caused the first between tase friends? How will they navigate the unlikely wedding of their children? As the story progressed I both liked and disliked both women at different times. The idea that there is always more to the story than what is seen on the surface. There were scenes that were meant to be funny, though I do wish just a little more lightheartedness had come through. The storyline was heavy and a little more humor to balance out the tale is what I was expecting from this book. I enjoyed the story and the conclusion.

The Wedding War is a well written woman’s fiction novel that I enjoyed very much. The central themes of friendship and forgiveness are ones that really touched me and I could relate to.

Melanie and Tennyson were friends in their 20’s and a HUGE falling out. I mean ooops I married your ex boyfriend and spilled your family secrets falling out. Now their kids are getting married and they have a wedding to plan and the pain and hurt is still fresh.

Melanie and Tennyson have relationship issues of their own. I absolutely loved the theme of friendship between Melanie and Tennyson and trying to resolve their issues for the happiness of their children. My female friendships are so very important and valuable to me.

There are some heavy topics in this book that the author writes with such respect and dignity including suicide and grief. I appreciate how she handled these topics.

The characters were complex, complicated, flawed and well fleshed out.

The Wedding War is a book I can happily recommend, I only wish I could give

This was a fun book, but it fell short for me. I guess I was expecting more on the romance front, whereas this is more a story about friendship and forgiveness. It seemed like the story sort of dragged on at some points, like there were just a lot of filler scenes. It was fun to see both of the women’s perspectives and find out what they thought of different situations. It was funny and kind of cliche. This would be a great book if you’re looking for a light escape, I think I was just looking for a little more!

I was not a fan of this novel. The women were ruthlessly mean and self-absorbed -- but not in a fun-to-read way. Some of the writing seemed to border on racist (or microaggressive at the least). This seemed up my alley as a fan of Say Yes to the Dress and every wedding-related reality show ever, and I tried so hard to like it but could not.

I really enjoyed this book. Mostly predictable but sometimes that is what one needs to read to restore order to one's life. The characters were funny and I liked the way they connected. Very well written. 3 1/2 stars.