Sandy M’s review of My Ex-Best Friend’s Wedding by Wendy Wax
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 14 May 19
It’s been a number of years since I’ve read Wendy Wax. So when the blurb for this book tweaked my interest, I decided to give it a go. I liked the idea of a family wedding gown being passed down through the generations, something Ms. Wax has taken from her own family as inspiration. What I didn’t expect is a heroine who just doesn’t know when to let go.
Lauren has been in New York the past twenty years, alone because her best friend, Bree, backed out at the last minute and their friendship suffered, despite the fact they were raised like sisters by Kendra, Lauren’s mother. Lauren is now a successful author and recently engaged. She and Bree are turning forty, so she and Spencer head back to the Outer Banks to celebrate and introduce her mom to the man she loves. Seeing her mother is wonderful, but seeing Bree again after so long is difficult.
Bree is a bit jealous that Lauren used their story collaboration as the means to launch her first number one book. Marrying Lauren’s ex-boyfriend and having children in the ensuing years has given Bree the chance to continue writing her own book over all those years. Neither of them wants to be the first too make a move toward reconciliation. It’s Lauren’s flat-out refusal to see things anyone else’s way, thus holding out the longest, and that’s my main gripe with her. There comes a point in the book when she discovers her mother kept a mind-blowing secret from her all her life and she chooses to ignore the reasons for that secret, as well as letting her anger flow to the point of refusing to have anything to do with her mom. She even lashes out at Spencer during this time, and he’s actually one of my favorite parts of the book, so I’m happy about that at all.
The history of the wedding gown is nicely done, giving us a look back at those women who wore it before, including Bree when she married. Lauren even goes so far in her anger and decides not to wear the dress for her upcoming nuptials. For me, she just takes refusal to listen and forgive too far. There’s another relationship in the story that is very enjoyable, in spite of the fact it begins on a very rocky footing. Bree also has plenty of decisions to make in her marriage, after ignoring issues for too long.
Of course, when everything is explained and Lauren decides it’s time to listen, her heart opens once again and all’s well that ends well. But I wish she’d done that a bit earlier in the story. I just got tired of her always being right, being the victim, and selfishly thinking she’s the only one who was wronged. It’s Kendra and her new partner, along with Spencer who save the day as far as my review goes. Bree comes in a close second, once she uses the backbone all women have. After she gets married, Lauren chills out and lets bygones be bygones. But she put me through the wringer much too often to forgive her just yet.
Grade: B-
Summary:
Prized and stored away for safekeeping, the timeless ivory wedding dress, with its scooped neck and cleverly fitted bodice, sits gently folded in its box, whispering of Happily Ever Afters. To Kendra, Brianna, and Lauren it’s a reminder of what could have been, the promise of a fairy tale, and a friendship torn apart. But as Kendra knows firsthand: it wasn’t the dress’s fault.
Once closer than sisters, Lauren and Bree have grown up and grown apart, allowing broken promises and unfulfilled dreams to destroy their friendship. A successful author, Lauren returns home to the Outer Banks, fiancé in tow, to claim the dress she never thought she’d wear. While Bree, a bookstore owner, grapples with the realities of life after you marry the handsome prince. As the former best friends wrestle with their uncertain futures, they are both certain of one thing: some betrayals can never be forgiven.
Now on the eve of her daughter Lauren’s wedding, Kendra struggles with a secret she’s kept for far too long. And vows to make sure the dress will finally bring Lauren and Bree back together—knowing they’ll need each other to survive the coming storm.
Read an excerpt.
