Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 323 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Sweethaven Press
Release Date: November 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A fun-loving free spirit.
Her buttoned-up best friend.
And a cross-country wedding that could drive their platonic relationship toward something else entirely.

Simon Collier is my friend. Heck, he’s been my friend for most of my adult life—and we couldn’t be more different. I love late-night karaoke. He’s a homebody with a piano I’ve never heard him play. I relish being the center of attention while Simon prefers to fade into the background. My dresser is a disaster. He alphabetizes his fridge. I suppose we’re a little like sunshine and rain. It’s why our friendship works. Even though we’re total opposites, we get along like peas and carrots. He’s constantly saving me after failed romances, and I push him to live a little. . .even if that means dragging him out of his comfort zone.

If I can make him laugh, it’s a win. He’s my safe person. Secure, reliable, fun to poke fun at. Simon Collier is my friend. But now, all that might change.

After another predictable break-up, I find myself in need of a plus-one for my best friend Lauren’s cross-country wedding. A wedding that reenacts the road trip where she and her fiance, Will, first fell in love. And despite his fussiness, Simon is the safest person to bring along because I’m not in the market for any more messy feelings.

Our friendship has been intact for over ten years, surely we can handle a week crammed in a car, sharing meals and playlists and nighttime secrets and single beds.

Right?

A Cross-Country Wedding is a sizzling but sweet, friends-to-more road trip romance. It is the second in the Road Trip Romance series & while it reads as a stand-alone, it may be best enjoyed after reading A Cross-Country Wedding.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

PERFECT FOR SUMMER.

This was a fun take on the road trip trope and I appreciate that I never felt like it was dragging over the miles and miles traveled. There were a lot of humorous stops and kitschy things to see and the pages really did fly by.

I struggled a bit with the FMC, Maddie. I will say that I did see growth from her as the book went on. But those initial chapters + the flashbacks had me seeing a very uneven relationship dynamic that I didn’t love. I’m grateful she acknowledged those things in the end and was able to, at last, communicate and help Simon.

Simon was an absolute gem. I adored his personality, nature and everything in between. He was sweet, supportive and kind. The one bed was used immaculately here and that first kiss? YES SIR.

An enjoyable read that has such a great summertime vibe to it. I loved seeing Lauren and Will too.

Overall audience notes:

• Contemporary Romance
• Language: none
• Romance: kisses
• Trigger/Content Warnings: strained parent relationships

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