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Weddings can be pretty stressful: all of the planning and expenses and push back from the families—not to mention the occasional reminders of the permanence of it all. And that means that even the strongest, most stable relationships face pre-wedding challenges—as is the case in author Matt Dunn’s At the Wedding.
The story begins with an unexpected proposal. During a weekend getaway to Barcelona—the place where they met—Livia asks Jed to marry her. The catch: the wedding is tomorrow, and their friends are on their way to celebrate with them. Livia has all the details planned—but the one thing she didn’t count on was Jed’s reaction. After 10 years together—and with a baby on the way—Livia figured that tying the knot wouldn’t be such a big deal. But as their family and friends arrive with their own relationship drama, Jed disappears into the city to collect his thoughts.
Of course, the story of a groom getting cold feet is nothing new. In fact, it’s an age-old joke. And perhaps that’s what takes away from the author’s typical clever charm. The fearful groom is no surprise—even though Jed’s reasons may not be the usual ones. And that makes the story feel a little too typical.
Meanwhile, throughout the day, the wedding guests deal with their own relationship issues—from Jed’s brother, reality star and ladies’ man Liam, who can’t seem to find a date for the wedding, to Patrick, who’s in a relationship with a much younger woman, to Livia’s college friend, Rachel, whose thoughtless boyfriend decided to break up with her instead of making the trip. At the same time, Jed struggles with the meaning of marriage—and his feelings about his childhood and his relationship with the mother of his child—and Livia can’t seem to understand why Jed is upset about her planning a surprise wedding. The characters all seem a little flighty and aimless. All are certainly flawed, but few are flawed in a lovable kind of way. And while they all get themselves into some challenging and humorous situations along the way, none of the characters—or their stories—are especially memorable.
With its rather clichéd story and ho-hum outcome, At the Wedding isn’t the fun-filled rom-com that readers might expect from Matt Dunn. If you’re looking for romance and laughs from a different perspective, I recommend picking up his 13 Dates instead.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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