I did not get married in June. However, it seems like a lot of people pick this time of year to tie the knot. If this is you, or if you wish this was you, I offer you several good reads to celebrate/commiserate. Congratulations/Best Wishes!

I love me some good stand up, so when I saw this title, it went on my TBR list immediately. I thought this was a second book in a series I had already started, but as I was reading, I couldn’t remember the previous story. Turns out I was confusing The Donut Trap by Julie Tieu with Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau. Sigh. I’d read the first one, not the second, so now I have to go back and catch up, but you get three recommendations here instead of one because all are good. Anyway, in this second installment of the Donut Fall series, popular comedian Melvin meets Vivian who is roommates with Lindsay who married Ryan (in book 1, spoiler), who is Melvin’s best friend and former costar (did you get all that?) at Lindsay and Ryan’s wedding. Initially it doesn’t seem like Viv and Mel will hit it off, but as they start texting, the sparks start flying. I enjoyed all of these, so pick a fave and get to it.

I have to say that out of all of these wedding reads, this one may be my favorite. I’m always fascinated by the concept of arranged marriages, mostly, I think, because it’s very different from how I was raised. Basic premise: Meghna needs a date to her ex-boyfriend/now-best-friend’s wedding. Karthik needs to make his mother happy and agree to one of the multiple women she’s set him up with - even though he knows that marriage isn’t for him, arranged or otherwise. These two form an alliance that works for both of them. Unfortunately for them (but fortunately for us), they both start to catch the feelings. I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was a good balance between a love match and an arranged marriage. I didn’t want to stop reading (or listening because I checked out the audio version) until I found out how it ended. This is definitely worth a read/listen. Highly recommend.

I will admit that I was late to the Crazy Rich Asians party. But once I read the first one in the series, I was hooked. Kwan’s latest offering is not part of that series, but it is cast in the same mold. Rufus will be the future Earl of Greshamsbury and his sister is marrying a prince at his mother’s newest Hawaiian resort. His mother, of course, is trying to set him up with every eligible heiress she can find, but he only has eyes for the girl next door. There were a lot of extremely wealthy characters here and at one point I had to stop, regroup, and remember who I was supposed to be rooting for. There were quite a few “poor, little, rich kids” here. Putting that aside, the rest of the story was good. This is world that I know nothing about, but its fun to visit every now and again.
 

I was not raised in the south, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy me a good, southern wedding. But when Dr. Imani Kemp gets a surprise invite to her mother's wedding in a text, she can’t believe it. She was just named the Doctor of the Year at her hospital in Tampa, but she can’t let her mom make such a rushed decision so she heads home to Peachtree Cove, Georgia. On the way there, she runs into a cute guy, who turns out to be her future step-brother/love interest. Peachtree Cove sounds like Stars Hollow, from The Gilmore Girls, except set in the south and less WASPy. I have to admit that it bothered me a bit that Imani and Cyril were the love interests, even though their parents were also engaged. Technically nothing wrong here, but it took me a minute. Once you get past that, this is a good read. The library’s copy also has a short story, About Last Night in the back. Also, stay tuned because there is a second book in the series, Waiting for Friday Night, in the works. Get your hold on that one today!

Ok. You can’t have a wedding post without mentioning Vegas. Am I right? Former high school sweethearts Violet and Xavier met accidentally in the City of Sin. She’s a stylist to the stars and he is a high school English teacher. After some drunken partying, they wake up the next morning to realize they got fake-married the night before. But when being in a committed relationship starts to benefit both their careers, perhaps they will be willing to make it official. I enjoyed this one. However, it turns out this is a follow-up to the author’s first book, The Neighbor Favor. You don’t technically have to read that one to enjoy this one, but you know how I am. (How did this happen again?) Now I have to go back and pick that one up. If it’s as good as this one, it will be worth my time though.

So get your bird seed ready and check out one of these today! Have they cut the cake yet?

Happy getting hitched…
:) Amanda