The Wedding Forecast is the definition of a warm hug in a book. It’s a wonderfully light, heartfelt rom-com that opens with Anna, a 30-year-old author, being the maid of honour at her best-friend, Hayley’s, wedding. The catch? Her recent ex-boyfriend is the best man who, on top of that, has brought along his new girlfriend. When her ex drops a bombshell on her, Anna’s calm composure unravels and is desperate for a distraction to make it through the wedding. In walk two men: Patrick, a handsome wedding photographer whose name just so happens to match a former psychic’s prediction for Anna, and Mac, the groomsman and a not-quite-famous New York actor.
I wasn’t surprised to love The Wedding Forecast. Nina Kenwood is one of my favourite YA authors, with The Wedding Forecast being her first venture into adult romance. Everything I love about Kenwood’s writing from her previous books was captured in The Wedding Forecast, but elevated. There’s the quippy banter that makes you smile, the strong chemistry between the love interests, and characters that leave you so emotionally attached to their story. Anna is a deeply relatable character; she’s an overthinker, she feels the pressures of growing older and feeling as though she’s falling behind, and she wears her heart on her sleeve. I don’t necessarily want to spoil the romance aspect of the story as I loved the way it all unfolded, but I became so invested in the relationship that forms. As with most romances, there’s tensions in the relationship but they weren’t superficial; they were realistic challenges, and my heart broke for the characters and the circumstances that kept them apart.
On top of the romance, I really enjoyed the parts of the story which focused on Anna’s growth. Coming out of a long-term relationship where her wants weren’t prioritised, I loved following Anna as she paved her own path as well as the focus on female friendship. With Anna being a first-time author and later a bookseller, it was also a story about the love of writing and reading. The bookshop scenes were some of my favourite of the novel, and also really enjoyed how Kenwood weaved in some of Anna’s writing and publishing process, particularly the anxiety that comes with releasing a second novel.
If you can’t tell, I absolutely adored The Wedding Forecast. I picked it up in the hopes of it pulling me out of a reading slump and I honestly couldn’t have picked up a better book; it drew me in from the first chapter and spent hours completely enamoured by it. It’s my new favourite rom-com that I’ll be begging everyone to pick up.
Rating: 5/5
Review copy gifted by Text Publishing. The Wedding Forecast is released 3 September. Pre-order a copy below.
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