Title: My Ex-Best Friend’s Wedding by Wendy Wax
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 367 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
A wedding dress passed down through generations unravels the tangled threads of three women’s lives in a novel of friendship, family, and forgiveness from the USA Today bestselling author of Ten Beach Road.
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.
Review:
My Ex-Best Friend’s Wedding by Wendy Wax is an engrossing novel of family, friendship and love.
Lauren James’ fortieth birthday brings unexpected changes. A best-selling author, her agent has some not so great news for her. Her boyfriend, Spencer Harrison, surprises her with an over-the-top public display that takes her quite a while to come to terms with. But the biggest shocker is waiting for her at her mother’s home back in her hometown in the Outer Banks. Her return home also means facing her former best friend, Bree Williams, and their twenty year estrangement. Will Lauren and Bree salvage their friendship? Will Lauren forgive her mother for her shocking betrayal?
From childhood through their college graduation, Lauren and Bree think of one another as sisters. Bree’s parents gave little thought to their daughter as they set off on archeological digs. Following the death of Bree’s beloved grandmother, Lauren and her mother Kendra invited her to live with them. The two friends were once inseparable and they had big plans for their lives after college. At the last minute, Bree decides to remain in the Outer Banks where she went on to marry Clay Williams, give birth to two children and purchase a book store. Lauren moves to New York where she struggles to get her writing career off the ground. Each of the women is harboring a grudge that neither are willing to forgive. But when Kendra’s confession rips the rug out from underneath Lauren, will she and Bree repair the rift between them?
Lauren views the world as black and white and she is quite stubborn and unforgiving. Absolutely furious with Kendra, she refuses to even try to listen to or understand her mother’s reasons for a long ago decision. She is surprised by how she and Bree sometimes slip back into their old routine, but is Lauren ready to let go of her closely held animosity?
Bree is a people pleaser who allows everyone walk all over her. Her marriage to Clay has been in trouble for years, but her fears prevent her from confronting him about his behavior. With the standoff between her and Lauren finally thawing a bit, will Bree find the courage to make some much needed changes in her life?
Kendra has long regretted a decision she made over forty years earlier. She and Lauren are quite close and she is still heavily involved in Bree’s life. Kendra is looking forward to Lauren and Spencer’s visit, but she is also dreading telling her daughter the truth about the secrets she has been keeping. When the situation quickly spirals out of control, will Kendra’s relationship with Lauren ever recover?
Unfolding from various points of view, My Ex-Best Friend’s Wedding is a heartfelt novel of forgiveness. Bree, Lauren and Kendra are vibrantly developed, imperfect characters who are easy to root for. Wendy Wax ‘s descriptive prose brings the Outer Banks and various characters vividly to life. Bree, Lauren and Kendra grow throughout the story as they finally work through the issues that have plagued them for so long. The novel comes to a heartwarming conclusion that readers are absolutely going to love. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this charming story.
