The Wedding Ringer by Kerry Rea (Review by Shay Tibbs)

5 stars

As an Ohio gal myself, I cheered out loud as soon as the Columbus setting was mentioned — there’s just something about having been somewhere in a book that instantly connects you to the story — and The Wedding Ringer just got better and better from there. With a list of fabulous foodie stops and places around town to visit, it was fun having such a vivid ideal of where the story took place having been to so many of them.

As someone who had worked in the wedding and events industry for years, I’m a sucker for any book that has to do with a wedding so this was a must read for me. Add in a horrible breakup AND a hired bridesmaid and this book was made for me, how could this NOT be an incredible read?!

I couldn’t believe this was Rea’s debut with Berkley Books, her writing style flowed effortlessly and made me want to keep reading more. From all the smaller details about the setting, to all the over the top family members, to the timeline of events she created, I was hooked.

“Nobody gets ahead by being comfortable.”

Willa as a main character was incredibly relatable to me, I connected with her on such a real and inspiring way. I loved that she slowly found her way back to writing after The Incident, and how it became such a big part of her reclaiming who she is. In my opinion this book had such a great balance of romance, friendship and loving yourself. Maisie’s proposal forces her out of her depression, and throws her into a group of friends and family and makes her remember what it feels like to NOT be alone. I enjoyed so much about this book, and the details of each character, but Willa’s journey towards accepting new people into her life, opening up and finding her people was what I loved most. Her internal conflict over accepting Maisie as a friend in her life, dealing with the expectations of moving on after her breakup, losing a best friend, falling in love again ALL the pieces that make up our lives, makes this title flow as if I’m finding a friend myself in Willa.