My first and definitely won’t be the last book that I read by Kate Mathieson! I love a great romance with plenty of banter. And this book has all that and more!

A delightful enemies-to-lovers rom-com filled with hilarious moments, awkward family dynamics, and sizzling chemistry. Perfect for fans of chaotic weddings and second chances.

This was a good read, a great slow burn too. I wish Gemma stopped treating herself as a doormat and stood her ground. I really disliked her sister and her family in general. However, I loved ben and how they wound each other up. Italy sounded beautiful and I really would love to go there, it sounded mesmerising. This was a great romance book!

THE WEDDING DATE DISASTER - Kate R. Mathieson

An Unexpected HEA - 4 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Gemma Evans goes from being on the brink of everything she’s ever dreamed of, to the brink of a nervous breakdown when she’s passed over for a promotion. Shockingly, when she attends a family wedding in Italy, her blind date/plus one turns out to be the last person she wants to have to rely on. Who knows what will happen?

Writing - 4 stars - Mathieson jumped right into the characters and the setting, bringing me along with her so I felt like part of the action right away. She writes in a comfortable style that is easy to read and relate to.

Characters - 4 stars - The characters are very appealing and fun. I'll admit that I changed my mind about Gemma a couple of times throughout the book. I'm totally behind her at the office at first, supporting her when she is passed over for a promotion. But when she's at the wedding (with Ben), she's paranoid and treats him more unpleasantly than she needs to, especially when he's being so accommodating. As she grew more comfortable, though, I revised my opinion--again--and enjoyed the witty banter between the two of them. Ben, similarly, starts out as the obnoxious coworker but soon evolves into a nice guy who's just trying to help. Both are attractive, and I was rooting for their success as a couple.

Title - 4 stars - The title represents that Gemma expects, but readers know that the unexpected usually happens in a situation like this.

Cover - 4 stars - I'm getting a little tired of the current trend for cartoon-y covers, but this one is a little more simple than most, and I like the unusual eye-catching color.

Overall - 4 stars - This is a new-to-me author that I'll be keeping an eye on. She writes well and easily, and I enjoyed the light-hearted story and the clever banter among the characters. The bride's antics are way over the top, but it's all in fun and makes the story even more hilarious.

This was a fun read and the chemistry between the two characters were great. I liked how Ben was kind from the start and it was all down to her perception of him.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the book.

A nice interesting romcom with Gemma finding herself in need of a fake boyfriend to take to her half-sister's wedding, since her real boyfriend couldn't be bothered to go.
I really like this book because it shows and emphasises Gemma's growth, thanks to Ben, her work archnemesis who's standing in as her boyfriend. She finds out there's a different side to him. He helps her realise that her beahaviour is not leading to her happiness and he pushes her into stepping up for herself.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc,

Gemma has to attend her half-sister's wedding in Italy but her boyfriend doesn't want to go with her and she can't turn up alone so she asks her friend, Ruby, to help her find a plus one at the last minute, but only one person is willing to help out - her arch-nemesis, and colleague, Ben McDonald.

What Ben thinks is fun, playful banter, Gemma takes as hateful, mean digs at her but when she realises that it all started at a chance meeting at an awards ceremony before Ben even came to work at the same company, she realises that it was never meant to be hurtful. She didn't even remember him from the ceremony but Ben clearly remembered her.

Ben was a fantastic book boyfriend, though he probably could have had a little more self-awareness. When you know your banter is bothering someone, it's time to take a look at what you're doing and think is this really as fun as I think it is?? But once he realised why Gemma was the people pleaser she was, I think he started to realise that he needed to be a little more like her and actually care about the people around him as well as helping Gemma be true to herself.

I liked Gemma as well but I think she should have stood up to her family a lot more than what she did at the end. They really needed to hear that what they had put her through was really not ok and that they couldn't keep treating her like they were. Her parents failed her multiple times as a child and I felt like she really needed to tell them that and force them acknowledge the damage they had done.

I think this book would be so much better as a dual POV so we also had Ben's version of events. It's fairly clear he's had a thing for Gemma since he first met her at the awards ceremony but he never actually tells her that.

Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc. i didn't care for either of the main characters, especially not the FMC because she thought cheating would be an okay thing to do because it was actually fake. bad judgment all around for both of them. the FMC didn't have a backbone or any of her own thoughts it seemed. the MMC was sexist and not a good match for FMC.

This was such a cute and quick read! I enjoyed Gemma's journey throughout this book and how she was finally able to confidently express her true self and set boundaries. Ben was a 6 foot 3 golden retriever mmc and his banter with Gemma was great. There is a care taking scene in this book and it was the sweetest! Definitely check it out!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Wedding Date by Kate Mathieson. From start to finish, the book kept me entertained and eager to keep turning the pages. The chemistry between the characters was engaging, and the story had a lighthearted, feel-good quality that made it a delightful read.


One thing that stood out to me was how well-paced the novel was—there were no dull moments, and I always wanted to see what would happen next. The romance was charming, and the interactions between the characters felt natural and fun.


That being said, I did find the repeated use of the "weasel" nickname a bit overdone after a while. While it may have been intended to add humor or familiarity, it started to feel a little repetitive. However, this was a minor issue in an otherwise enjoyable book.


Overall, The Wedding Date was a cute and entertaining read that I would happily recommend to fans of romantic comedies. If you're looking for a book that will make you smile and keep you engaged, this one is worth picking up!

Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter publishing for allowing me to review this ARC!

Mamma Mia!!!!!! Cosa ho appeno letto????

Ok now back to the Queen's English. This book was so sweet and the dynamic between Gemma and Ben was to melt for!!! The way she misunderstands him so drastically and paints him as the ultimate work-place enemy, was very understandable at first until the man comes CLEAN!!

Also the COMEDY: Gemma is invited to a Tuscan wedding by her half-sister (very difficult family dynamics) and as the absolute boring jackass of a boyfriend she has, she has to look for someone else to ask, because he has to scrub his ceiling (insert face plant). In a desperate people pleasing quest she is looking for someone to play Jackass-Adam at the wedding to keep her family off her back. But it's not as easy as she thought it might be. in a last grab at the perfect tuscan holiday, her workplace friend blindly sets her up with her nemesis: Ben McDonald.
He's hot, he's tall (I imagined Henry Cavill here) and he just snagged her job as chief editor. So off they go to Tuscany, juggling pretending too be in love, which isn't too difficult for him while she has to manage not to fall in love with him... so very difficult.

I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to read any future books by Kate Mathieson.

So while I'm at it, thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter for sending me and approving me for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. My ramblings are honest except for that maybe I just imagine all the love interests as Henry Cavill. I just can't help it.

Uh, the way I am a sucker for EVERYTHING in this book.

I LOVE a fake dating trope so a fake plus one is ALL THE WAY up there. When its a work nemiseses situation its EVEN BETTER!

The way I want to run away to Italy and crash a wedding JUST for the vibes in this book - I loved it,

Character development is excellent, the way we HATE Ben but then love him .. its awesome.

Rom-com at its best, The Wedding Date Disaster is a fabulous blend of the enemies to lovers and fake boyfriend tropes. It’s set mainly in gorgeous Tuscany against the backdrop of an over-the-top wedding that takes place over four days and stars a bridezilla of epic proportions. Gemma Evans is an editor but she’s also a writer, who has hopes of having her manuscript published. She’s grown up as a people pleaser, courtesy of a dysfunctional family that resulted from her father leaving her mother for another woman, having a baby with that woman, and then moving back into the family hope with both the other woman and the baby in tow. Lulu, aka Bridezilla, is that baby and she comes close to stealing the show at times with her antics and unreasonable demands.
Gemma fled the family home as an eighteen-year-old, went to university, and then moved as far away from home as possible to start her publishing career in Australia and the only reason she is looking forward to Lulu’s wedding is the fact that it is in Italy. Gemma is appalled to discover that the blind date destined to be her fake boyfriend at her stepsister’s wedding is none other than her nemesis, Benjamin McDonald.
Ben has just received the promotion Gemma had expected for herself and since she already regards him as a weasel, this latest transgression has moved him direct to the pinnacle of her list of least favourite people. He’s gorgeous, friendly, charming, and helpful to her colleagues, who all think he’s wonderful, but also a ruthless businessman. He seems to take a perverse pleasure in baiting Gemma and the ensuing banter between the pair is vibrant, funny, and witty.
This book had me laughing my head off at one minute and feeling huge empathy for Gemma and the various tribulations she faces. It’s a perfect weekend read.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read a lot of enemies-to-lovers books, but this one felt so fresh compared to a lot of the others I have read. The author breathed new life into the genre. I enjoyed this book from the very first page!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!!

Chefs kiss!! This is a great little fake dating romp and I ate it right up. Excellent beach read.

Get ready for a rollercoaster of emotions, because The Wedding Date Disaster is the perfect blend of romance, humor, and a little bit of chaos. Meet Gemma Evans, an editor who’s about to have the worst wedding weekend ever — thanks to her workplace nemesis, Ben McDonald. When things take a turn, she ropes him into being her fake date at a family wedding, and well, let’s just say sparks fly. Between the awkwardness, the laughs, and a pinch of Italian sunshine, what could possibly go wrong? (Hint: everything and nothing).

this was good! i love a good fake dating book and this one wasn’t anything super original, but it was a great take on the trope and i had so much fun reading. definitely a summer book— you just want to be reading it at the beach! and our male lead? oh, chef’s kiss, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED MORE OF!!

Super fun! If you give me a book set in italy, I'm already going to be dreaming, but give me this angsty filled, spicy book and i'm drooling. Highly recommend

I wanted to love this so much, but it did fall a little flat. There was a lot of judgement, and the leads were just a little too rude for me. And I guess the cheating in the book was too much for me? I understand that Gemma's boyfriend was not attentive, but then just break up.

This is an enemies to lovers book that mostly worked because they weren't really enemies, just misunderstood each other. Gemma was really slow to see her life accurately. Ben was a great book boyfriend, once the reader became aware of his true self. This book would've benefited a lot from a dual POV. I don't know if Ben's reveal to be a good guy was so necessary, it made Gemma seem pretty immature. A cute quick read that transports you to Italy, and who doesnt love a romance in Italy? Good for fans of the tv show Younger. 3 stars. Thanks to Net Galley and One More Chapter for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.