Thomas Nelson
It's All Relative: A Summer Wedding Rom-Com
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Shakespeare's famous comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream, gets a modern retelling in a lighthearted rom-com that proves 'the course of true love' (and the merging of families, for that matter) 'never did run smooth.' Fans of Jenny Proctor and Courtney Walsh will get swept away in this romance about second chances.
Helena's a "fly by the seat of her pants" kind of girl. Amelia's got her perfect life planned down to the minute. How will they ever get through their parents' wedding--let alone a life as stepsisters--without ripping each other apart?
Twenty-seven-year-old Helena Crosby is over her mom Nora's wedding--and it hasn't even happened yet. For months, Helena's been dreading the day she and Nora would become part of The Perfects, aka the Maddox family, led by oldest perfect daughter Amelia. Her complete opposite in every way, Amelia owns a house, runs her father's architecture firm, and is engaged to her also perfect (and dreamy) fiancé Gage, all before the age of thirty. Helena has no idea how she's going to fit into this family with their fancy traditions and strict timetables. Thankfully, her best friend Landon is joining the festivities as her emotional support plus one--and the perfect buffer between her and her new family.
Amelia Maddox has spent months planning the perfect wedding week for her dad Steve and his bride-to-be Nora. She'd planned for every consistency . . . except for her new free spirited stepsister's deadly shellfish allergy, her brother's insistence on blowing up his life, and an unexpected guest on Helena's arm. A guest she hasn't seen in years. A guest who held her heart years before her fiancé Gage ever did . . . her ex Landon Blake. But no matter--Amelia's kept the Maddox family together since her mother died a few years ago. She's not going to be thrown by Landon's deep blue eyes and sun-bronzed forearms and the way he makes her feel all warm and cozy, like she's come home to herself. Nope. She has duties to attend to: being the best daughter, sister, fiancée, boss, and wedding coordinator. And she's going to bring her Eldest Daughter Energy to it all and push down those inconvenient feelings, no matter what.
Through a whirlwind week of wedding activities and a few near disasters, both Amelia and Helena realize that sometimes the blueprints for the perfect family and relationship look better on paper than in real life--and that family isn't only made of the people you're born with. Family is also made of the people we choose over and over again.
This heartwarming and hilarious rom-com is a low-spice, high-energy romp with sailing disasters, a rogue pet parrot, and two mismatched couples. Think 27 Dresses meets Shakespeare on the beach! Perfect for book clubs, with its themes of love, family, and second chances, the book includes discussion questions to help get the conversation started.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9780840716941
EAN:
9780840716941
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
336
Authors:
Rachel Magee
Publisher:
Thomas Nelson
Published Date: 2024-06-08
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3.5 stars. Cute, easy read but pretty predictable. Didn’t really see the connection to Midsummer.
This story follows two friends and colleagues through a week of wedding events as one of their mom's gets married. What's the catch? The daughter of the bride isn't meshing with the new fam, especially the "perfect" oldest daughter of the groom who happens to be her friend's one-who-got-away.I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was fairly predictable, but the family dynamics were fun to watch play out. I think it would make a good film. There is one part that suggests a supernatural event that felt a little out of place, but overall, it was a fun read. I think romance fans who want a light read without getting very spicy will enjoy this.
It’s All Relative is a modern retelling of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Having never read Shakespeare’s AMND, I can’t really make a comparison of the two.Helena’s mom is marrying into a wealthy family she jokingly refers to as “The Perfects” because they all seem to have their lives impeccably together. Dreading the idea of attending the wedding alone, Helena convinces her co-worker and friend, Landon, to be her plus-one. But things get messy when they discover her soon-to-be stepsister, Amelia, is Landon’s ex—the one he’s still hung up on and compares everyone to. To complicate matters further, Helena herself can’t help but nurse a serious crush on Amelia’s fiancé, Gage. What could go wrong with that scenario?The story was okay overall, but the female characters were frustrating. Helena came across as petulant and immature—it was hard to believe she was supposed to be 27 because she acted much younger. Amelia, on the other hand, was overly mature but lacked personality for most of the book, making it difficult to connect with her. Gage felt underdeveloped; he stayed in the background for most of the story and only became more prominent toward the end. My favorite characters were actually Landon and Amelia’s brother Peter.While I liked the ending, the road to get there was too long and a bit repetitive in parts and I just never felt the urgency to get back to this book. The wrap-up also felt a little rushed and without any real discussion between the characters of how things ended up. No one seemed to talk about it which was a little strange. 3 stars.
This was such a good story! I really enjoyed the multiple points of view that told a fascinating tale. The characters were really well-done, and I absolutely loved the ending! My first book from the author, and it won't be my last! Highly recommend!I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
High school English teacher Helena Crosby needs a plus-one for her mother’s wedding, so invites workmate and best friend Landon Blake to go with her. She needs someone to introduce to The Perfects, as she has dubbed the family her mother is marrying into.Amelia is a successful architect who singlehandedly kept her family together after the death of their mother three years ago, and who has planned the entire wedding and all associated activities.Helena and Amelia are polar opposites–Helena is always late, and Amelia is always early. Amelia has lists for everything, while Helena can barely read a list (which did leave me wondering how she could possibly teach high school). Anyway, the two have little to no relationship because they have so little in common. Well, except for the small problem of Helena having a giant secret crush on Gage, Amelia’s fiance.That could have been slightly eww-ish, but McGee made it work. They arrive on Indigo Island, off the coast of Florida, where they immediately discover Amelia is none other than Mia, Landon’s college ex, the girl he never got over.That sets the scene for some relationship puzzles. Some romances give the game away by having only two point of view characters. It’s All Relative had four: Helena, Amelia, Landon, and Gage, which meant it was less clear who would end up with whom.While there is a romance subplot, the main plot was more about family relationships and the relationship between Helena and Amelia. the story started with Helena so it felt like she was the one we were supposed to want to succeed, even when she did things that seemed a little silly (mostly because they didn’t fit Amelia’s timetable or lists).The publisher is pitching It’s All Relative as A Midsummer Night’s Dream meets 27 Dresses, but I wouldn’t have picked that if they hadn’t said so. It’s more a meeting of opposites and the ensuing complexities.It’s a rom-com with a little more emphasis on the com than the rom, but it’s really a story of family relationships and the expectations we place on ourselves and others. It’s a fun read. The one fault is that there were no faith elements–it was a clean read, but not a Christian romance.Recommended for readers looking for a feel-good clean read with comedic elements.Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
