This book has two versions; A spicy/open door version (which I read) and a sweet/clean/closed door version.
This book is part of a series, the first part is Holiday Star where we get into the story of Gwen and Caleb.

This book continues with the love story of Gwen and Caleb and the planning of their wedding. But we also get to see Jenny and Dean fall in love in a cute enemies-to-lovers/one bed love story. We get a double POV from Gwen and Jenny which make the stories more intriguing.
The banter in this book is amazing, it made me laugh out loud. It's so well written that I fell in love with the characters, their personalities really came through on each page.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for letting me read the arc to this book.

Oh this book was just so much fun! Loved the holiday romance! Loved the wedding theme! Loved the whole premise.

I adored Jenny and Dean, and now I need to read Holiday Star. Ugh, the author's writing is top-tier, and the slow burn is immaculate. There were so many swoon-worthy quotes, and this is a must-read for fans of Hallmark movies. It's the perfect winter read, so grab a cup of hot cocoa and a cozy blanket and curl up for the next few hours with this sweet and spicy read.

I love Gwen and Caleb, but I can’t wait to see what happens with Jenny and Dean!
Okay, back to Gwen and Caleb. I loved their story in Holiday Star, and loved that they have decided to get married. There are a lot of other things happening besides wedding planning, and it is all blended in so well. From the planning, to family relationships, a mystery stalker, the pressure of fame and trying to have a personal relationship, experiencing worry over a past addiction. Through all of this they never gave a second thought of whether they should marry or not.
Lastly, I love how Gwen doesn’t change her life now that she’s married to a celebrity. She is a doctor still working to help people, and she kept her name. Love it!! Which goes to show you when you fall in love with the right person, you’re dreams don’t have to fall to the side in order to fully love your partner.

Will post the week of 10/14/2024

I was thrilled when I was contacted by NetGalley and asked to read and review Holiday Wedding by Mellisa Dymond - Christmas themed books are my favourite!

I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it within 3 days! The dual point of view between two of the main Characters Gwen and Jenny was brilliantly designed and flowed so well!

I loved how all the characters come with the flaws and complexities - makes for such an interesting and intriguing storyline. This also makes them seem very real and like you will bump into them whilst out and about.

I adore Gwen and Caleb’s story but for me I was hooked on finding out more relating to Dean and Jenny! The tension, the banter, the memories - grumpy x sunshine couple, loved it!

I personally haven’t read Holiday Star - the prequel to Holiday Wedding however it is already on my tbr list. Being a new reader I was so impressed with how I could catch up on past events whilst reading, discussing characters pasts and how relationships have developed over time.

Finally is the holiday and Christmas theme - perfect for me as a mega holiday fan! It’s got me in festive spirits already and is a real cosy read for anyone wondering.

Thank you to Dr Melissa Dymond, Victory Editing and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very excited for Holiday Love to be released as the next instalment to the series in 2025!

Holiday Wedding pulled me in withing the first page. I definitely plan on going back and reading Dr. Melissa Dymond's books. This book can be read as a standalone due to the fact that it gives enough background on previous characters that you don't feel like there is anything you are missing. I loved following both Gwen and her best friend Jenny as they both went through their separate romances. I was given the chance to read the spicy version but I love how there is a clean one as well. The spice was well written and didn't feel like it overtook the story.

Melissa has done it again!

We are back to Gwen and Caleb and I love seeing them again! This is told in two first-person POVs, Gwen's and her best friend Jenny's.
This takes place after Holiday Star, so if you haven't read that yet... stop and go read that first.

Gwen and Caleb are finally getting married and what can go wrong? Well, turns out a lot! There is a stalker on the loose, and not the dark romance kind. This stalker is a threat to Caleb and forces Gwen to consider things she hadn't yet realized. Jenny and Caleb's bodyguard, Dean are a true hate to lovers with top tier tension.

I definitely loved this and cannot wait for all that Melissa has to come!

✨ARC Review✨

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Holiday Wedding by Melissa Dymond is a heartwarming sequel to her previous holiday romance, Holiday Star. While Caleb and Gwen are back, this time we also get to fall in love with the story of Jenny and Dean as the new MCs.

Let's dive into the highlights first... I absolutely adore Melissa's writing. It’s simple, captivating, and never fails to deliver. The chemistry between Jenny and Dean? Perfection. And let me just say, Dean is the ultimate green flag—flawed yet incredibly endearing. The dual love stories were beautifully balanced, and I especially appreciated how Melissa tackled mental health. She manages to weave these important issues into the narrative with such care and precision, making it a standout aspect of her work. The alternating dual POV was refreshing too, focusing on Gwen and Jenny, rather than the typical FMC and MMC perspective. What’s more, new readers can easily jump into this book, thanks to the skillful way Melissa recaps key details from the prequel.

Now, onto the less-than-perfect bits... Honestly, there’s not much to criticize. My only wish? I could’ve used a few more chapters centered around Jenny and Dean’s blossoming romance.

This is an easy 5/5 stars for me. It’s the perfect feel-good holiday romance, especially with the added bonus that 10% of the proceeds go to colon cancer research. And here’s another fun detail: Melissa offers the book in both a spicy and sweet version. You can choose between the open-door (spicy) or closed-door (sweet) version, depending on your mood.

If these tropes light up your holiday season:
🎄 One Bed
🎄 Grumpy x Sunshine
🎄 He Falls First
🎄 Good Girl
🎄 Snowed In
🎄 Forced Proximity
🎄 Soulmates
…then Holiday Wedding is the perfect cozy read for you.

Thank you to Author Melissa Dymond and NetGalley for this ARC! I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.

I love, love, loved this Christmas romcom! It was such a fun holiday read and I loved getting more time with Gwen and Caleb. I, also, think it’s a smart idea to have both a clean and spicy version. I love Melissa Dymond’s ability to incorporate humor with drama. I love how dedicated Gwen is to her career and having an identity that doesn’t revolve around her relationship. And I love how protective Caleb is and how determined he is that Gwen have a normal life that is impacted by his fame as little as possible. But, it’s possible that Jenny and Dean are even better! Dean is such a cinnamon roll of a character and he works so hard at protecting Caleb. I loved getting both Gwen and Jenny’s points of view and Melissa did a great job with the mystery of Caleb’s stalker. Dean and Jenny made such a great team! They made the perfect team! I can’t wait to read Teddy’s story!

overall it was a cute book. I like that the author had an open of a spicy or a clean version of the book. I did have the spicy version but I can imagine that the clean version would have been as cute, or even cuter.

I absolutely loved the dedication of the book. I know I have been told way too many times in my life that I am not enough even though I am a good person with a lot of talent and kindness. That dedication touched my heart.

Eddie's comment about how Jenny was always the bridesmaid when he knew he also played a factor into why she hadn't gotten married really got my blood boiling. I felt so much emotion in this comment.

Finally, the one spot that didn't really make sense to me was the beginning of chap 20. The book said that Gwen was up late talking about the wedding and staying up past midnight talking with Caleb. with the time difference, were the moms staying up til like 1am to talk wedding and then Caleb after 3am. I have done this time difference and have had to be mindful of what time it was.

I plan to share this book with my instagram audience a few days before pub date. Most likely on Oct 29th.

I loved the mysterious aspect of this book! I also loved Dean and Jenny! Thank you NetGalley for my ARC! 4 stars!

This spicy holiday romance is a follow up to Holiday Star but I read it as a stand alone. (no problem) The story follows 2 couples; Gwen and Caleb and Jenny and Dean. Its the lead up to a holiday wedding with a blizzard, a stalker and lots of spicy romance. It was a fun fast read with likable characters.

Fun and easy holiday love story with an expected happy ending. It gets spicy at some chapters, which makes it more interesting in my opinion.

Holiday Wedding follows best friends Gwen and Jenny in the fortnight before Christmas.

Dr Gwen Wright is due to be married to her Hollywood heartthrob fiancé, Caleb, on Christmas Eve, but must first present her research on colon cancer screening at a conference in LA.

Jenny is an entertainment reporter assigned to spend a month in New York following Caleb’s every move. As Gwen’s maid of honour she is also responsible for overseeing the final wedding preparations in the bride’s absence.

Never far away is Dean, Caleb’s grumpy lead bodyguard and best man, who is growing increasingly concerned about a holiday-obsessed stalker.

Everything seems to be falling into place. Then a snowstorm four days before the wedding threatens to disrupt everyone's plans… ❄️

This book is for you if you’re looking for a sweet, spicy and suspenseful read to get you in the mood for the festive season. As a massive fan of the grumpy/sunshine trope, I loved the tense dynamic between Jenny and Dean and seeing his icy exterior begin to melt.

The book can be read as a standalone but does revisit characters from the previous book in the series so, whilst not essential, it would probably be beneficial to have read book one first.

Ahhhhh Yes loved loved this book so much!!!!!! Best book! Caleb and Gwen will always be my favorite they are just perfect! I couldn’t get enough I loved loved loved it

Holiday Wedding by Melissa Dymond is a fun, sweet, and heartwarming read. I love dual POVs, and reading from the views of both friends was a great surprise. Jenny and Dean were extremely entertaining, but I also love a good grumpy vs sunshine arc. The humor had me laughing out loud, the spicy scenes had me turning on a fan, and the romantic moments (and the Pip moment (iykyk)) had me grabbing a tissue. I love a book that can have me feeling all of the emotions, and this one did not disappoint. The added mystery component was exciting and unexpected. I had my own suspect list going, which is always fun. I am so happy I was able to read this book as part of the ARC team and I do believe I have found myself a new favorite author.

this was a fun follow up read to Holiday Star and intro into Dean and Jenny!
if youre looking for a fun easy read with a bit of spice this is a perfect addition to your christmas countdown. This book does come with a mostly closed door version however I read the spiced version and enjoyed it

Another great read by Dr. Melissa Dymond! I always know with her books there will be a really good story, but it’ll go deeper than that! In this book, each character is struggling with an individual internal emotion and it’s effecting their day to day life. Plus, unlike Holiday Star, Holiday Wedding has a suspenseful plot line to it 😉

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Quantity of spice: 🌶️.5
Quality of spice: 🌶️🌶️.5

First of all, make sure you read Holiday Star “HS” before starting Holiday Wedding “HW”. I made the mistake of starting HW without realizing, got one chapter in, and said oops! I’m missing info! HS is an EXCELLENT read, so you do not want to miss out on that entire story!

Gwen and Caleb’s romance is fleshed out in Holiday Star and they are now a very happy couple. HW is fast forwarded a few years and they are planning their Christmas Eve wedding. Only Gwen needs to go to California for a very important medical conference to discuss her research on colon cancer and it happens to be only 14 days out from Wedding Day. With the wedding only two weeks away, everyone is hands on to get this wedding finalized in her absence. However, Caleb’s got a stalker and Dean/Jenny are on the case to figure out who it is before the wedding!

HW is told from two POVs - Gwen and Jenny. Jenny is Gwen’s best friend and you first meet her in HS but don’t get a ton of her story. In this book she has her own side plot/romance going on and I loved it! Her getting to know Dean and seeing that this giant body guard is a smooshy teddy bear inside was 🤌🏻🤌🏻

I mentioned earlier that the four main characters of this book are each struggling with something different and if there’s one thing I learned from this story, it’s that we’re hardest on ourselves.
• Gwen is struggling with how to be Dr. Wright and not only “Caleb’s wife”. How can she stay her own person while married to a man so famous and overshadowing her accomplishments?
• Caleb is struggling with his need to protect Gwen. He’s been a celebrity his entire life, so he understands how mean fans and press can be - he does not want Gwen to be hurt by them.
• Jenny is struggling with body dysmorphia due to the awful comments of her siblings as children. She has a very warped perception of her body and how other people perceive her. She feels unworthy, unlovable, and like a bad friend.. I felt so bad for her!
• Dean is struggling with PTSD after a very traumatic event from his Army days. He feels like he will fail as a body guard since he cannot handle loud noises.

I loved all the characters in this book and there were so many I didn’t even mention! I’m so happy we got a follow up and an HEA with a side of heart pounding suspense. Great ending to this story.. and I can’t wait for Teddy’s story in Holiday Love next year!

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Holiday Wedding was a different type of romance, part action and mystery and part straight to the spice romance. While the romance was a bit too picture perfect to me. I found it somewhat overly focused on the spice, though the author does give readers an option for a cleaner version if desired. I’ve got no issue with spice but just found it heavier on this versus the plot build up. I do believe that many readers will be drawn to the sweet characters.

Holiday Wedding focuses on two couples, but only one is already romantically entangled. Caleb is a big time movie star who has stepped away to be on the stage and in his restaurant. Gwen is a doctor who is new to the whole fame thing. These two are focused on in a previous book but there are plenty of references to how they got together to allow this one to be read as a standalone. As far as my thought on them, they were adorable but I just didn’t buy them as realistic.
Jenny and Dean, the other couple, are not romantically engaged but rather give off enemies vibes. Jenny is a reporter in LA trying to break into investigations but assigned to entertainment and to reporting on Caleb. She’s BFF with Gwen, but has had a tense friendship recently since she accidentally revealed Gwen’s super famous fiance. Dean is BFF with Caleb and his bodyguard, but dislikes Jenny due to the accidental reveal. The book focused on the run up to Caleb and Gwen’s Christmas wedding while Jenny and Dean band together to suss out a super creepy stalker after Caleb, which I found most entertaining.

Again, not completely to my tastes but I can see it appealing to a few people as it’s a sweet story.

Caleb is a celebrity, and fiance Gwen is a doctor. Both are ambitious and driven, so when Gwen has the chance to share her research at a conference just weeks before their Christmas Eve wedding, she takes it. Caleb, meanwhile, continues to plan the celebration as family arrives to NYC. Gwen's best friend, Jenny, is there to help, along with Caleb's grumpy (and handsome...) bodyguard, Dean. Concerns grow as a stalker becomes more aggressive, a snowstorm causes significant issues, and a few surprises along the way challenge the should-be nearly newly weds.

💭 I love a holiday romance, and throw in some suspense and not one, not two, but three love stories?! Told through dual POV - Gwen and Jenny - the story is expertly woven to leave you wanting more after each POV, like mini cliffhangers! I loved to watch Gwen consider her career path, her responsibilities as a wife, and the baggage that came with having a very famous fiance. She had a lot to juggle, and their relationship seemed realistic as they both had fears and priorities they were trying to figure out. The suspense was just enough, as was the spice! Oh, and Jenny and Dean *chef's kiss.* Loved their little snowed in escapades, and the ways they encouraged each other.