ARC Review- 3/5

I really like the overall premise of the book, but the enemies to lovers wasn't fully there for me. I was rooting for Róisín to find her happily ever after, but the two main characters had very few interactions until late in the book, so I found it difficult to be rooting for them. I did really enjoy how this book captured the difficulties of dating and how exhausting it can be. I also really enjoyed Róisín relationships with her friends and her fairy-god daughter! These two aspects made the book an enjoyable read but I just wish there was more interactions between the two main characters.

The Wedding Hitch is the story about a woman who wins a wedding package at an old British estate on the very day she learns her fiancé really doesn’t want to get married. She’s given a year to use the gift. There’s so much more going on in this novel than Roisin’s dating drama to find a replacement groom. Claire McCauley has created some interesting characters that cover a wide range of human emotions and foibles to keep the story moving forward, as well as situations that handle serious issues with humor and finesse. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley. Highly recommend.

The Wedding Hitch by Claire McCauley is a romantic comedy with a side of history and fashion. Róisín, a newly engaged fashion designer who specializes in historically accurate costumes, is planning the wedding of her dreams. During a visit to a wedding venue she loves, she enters a contest for a free wedding and wins! Upon telling her fiancé the exciting news, he admits that although he loves her, he doesn't want to get married. Róisin is devastated but doesn't want to give up her dream wedding, so she has exactly one year to find a new groom. She makes a deal with the venue's staff to make them some historically accurate costumes in exchange for room and board while she sorts out a new place to live and searches for a groom.
The storyline is cute, and the characters are well thought out and loveable. I totally couldn't put this book down and read it in one day. Thank you, #NetGalley, for ARC access to #theweddinghitch in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyable read! I found myself cheering on Roisin & reading into the small hours to see if she would get her happy ending! Perfect summer read!

A romcom with plenty of rom and even more com that legitimately made me laugh out loud. This story about Roisin O’Reilly is pacy yet all the characters have depth. I felt for Roisin when she wins a wedding and becomes single, and enjoyed everything she goes through as a result. There was also a twist I somehow didn’t see coming.
Lovely Bath setting and the Irish diaspora main character gave it another layer of depth.
Fun summery read - five stars.

This is an ARC Book Review. Publish date: April 29, 2024, by Joffe Books. I want to thank NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Roisin wants nothing more than to have a Regency themed wedding at the Sylverley Estates. There's just one small problem... she doesn't have a groom!

Roisin and her fiancé, Nate, visit Sylverley Estates to learn more about the amenities and wedding packages they offer. While there, Roisin enters a competition to win her dream wedding, all expenses paid. One day, weeks later, she receives a call telling her that she has won the prize and that she and her fiancé must come choose a date for their wedding. When she tells Nate about the competition and the amazing prize they have won, he finally admits to her that he never wanted to get married.

Following her break-up, Roisin needs a place to live and a place to sew her historical fashion costumes and she is offered the chance to stay in a small cottage at the Sylverley Estates in exchange for costumes for the estate keepers. She attends high-tea and gets to know all of the wonderful people who live and work at the Estates, including the trust advisor, Tristan Nash, who also lives in a cottage on the Estates.

Her friends convince her that she can't let Nate take her dream wedding away from her just because he does not want to get married. So, she chooses a wedding date for almost one year away and plans to try and find "the one" to make her dreams come true. She goes on blind dates set up by friends, goes to a speed dating event, accidentally dates her second cousin and an American man who is married. Will Roisin be able to find "the one" and still get to have her dream wedding all expenses paid?

This book made me laugh out loud and swoon. I became invested in Roisin and found myself cringing on her behalf while also rooting for her to find "the one" to marry at the beautiful Sylverley Estates. She was funny, quirky, unapologetically herself and proud of her love of history. The side characters were all wonderful and added to the story in amazing ways. I especially loved her fairy-goddaughter, Esme, a spunky and curious six-year old with cerebral palsy.