Goodreads

Release date: July 11, 2023

Publisher: Alcove

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Synopsis:

Father of the Bride meets Bride Wars in Forever Hold Your Peace, in which two ex-best friends find themselves shockingly entangled after more than two decades apart, for fans of Good Company.

When their newly engaged kids ask all four divorced parents to meet each other over brunch, everyone RSVPs yes–secretly hoping someone at the table will get to the bottom of the bottomless mimosas fast enough to say what they’re all thinking: that this engagement, coming after a whirlwind romance between two people barely out of college, is too much too soon.

But at that brunch, it’s not the impulsive couple’s decisions that end up under the microscope, as it turns out June, mother of the bride, and Amy, mother of the groom, certainly do know each other–they’re ex-best-friends who haven’t spoken since their explosive falling out more than twenty-five years ago. Reeling from their unwanted reunion and eager to shift the spotlight off their past as decades-old secrets and rivalries come to light, the two moms battle it out for the prize of Most Enthusiastic About This Wedding.

But when their history—and their present-day shenanigans—threaten to crack the foundations of the happy couple’s future, June and Amy find themselves becoming unexpected allies in an all-hands-on-deck effort to get their kids (and themselves) a happily-ever-after two generations in the making.

Forever Hold Your Peace is perfect for readers who love messy, complicated family novels like All Adults Here and stories that bring the past and present together like One Italian Summer.

Review:

The synopsis of this one compares it to Father of the Bride and that is really apt as it definitely reminded me of many beloved wedding themed movies and had a very similar vibe to that classic. I am a sucker for a wedding in a movie or a book and bonus points if there’s family drama and there is so much entertaining mess here to love. A whirlwind engagement is difficult enough to understand for Olivia and Zach’s parents to understand but when the details about the mothers of the engaged couples past come out I was living for the drama of it all. Chaos ensues and Amy and June engaging in passive aggressive arguments and petty behavior was so entertaining for me, think total bridezilla moments but from the moms. So deliciously fun. The authors really shine when writing about friendships and the complex dynamics between Amy and June were handled in a funny and super engaging way. This was a sweet and light read that would be a perfect vacation read.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.