The Wedding Planner’s Funeral: It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark
This book had some of the worst break-up stories and worst people, and yet the heart of this book is so powerful and addictive that it can make anyone believe in love, and believe that they will be okay after love. It is the epitome of the perfect cheesy romance novel, yet I’m only leaving 3.5 stars. Let me explain.
The book starts off with a bang—as in the sound “loving husband” Elliot’s heart made as it exploded in his chest while having sex halfway across the country with his mistress while his wife, Liv, was left to fend for the life of their wedding planning business. Needless to say, it didn’t end well. Their company went under and Elliot left half of the business to said southern sweetheart mistress, Savanah. Crazy.
It took a LONG time to warm up. I was clawing through the first part of this book, not truly settling into Savanah’s character until meeting her first New York friend and sexual awakening, Honey. She felt very stale and cartoonish until the layers of performative heteonormativity begin to sweat off.
The second sign of a redeemable plot was Sam. Oh sweet Sam. Who doesn’t want to fall in love with a romantically-awkward chef who guesses all of your baggage from the jump? He was so in love at first sight with Liv that her bitter shell felt almost quirky. He made her character work. And isn’t that what love is all about? Their hodgepodge of relationship baggage matched perfectly. He fawned over her enough for her just enough to gain some confidence, getting over ex-husband Elliot like a bad rash, coming to the realization that her marriage never really suited her. She had left it long before he died.
Meanwhile, Darlene and Zach were saviors of my attention while I waited for Liv and Sam to actually act on their feelings. The back and forth was probably a little toxic, but addictive. It delved into the impact of race and class in relationships. Zay and Clay were practically a PG-13 version of Starstruck, if Jessica (Danielle Cambell) had Stockholm syndrome. They were cute in the beginning, but they had nothing in common so I have no idea why she stayed so long in his secretive man cave. Gordon and Henry are absolutely adorable. Their relationship added a variety of age groups and perspectives to the queer safe space the book tries to provide and it added so much depth.
The one thing that broke this book for me was the need for forgiveness. Liv starts blaming herself for her marriage ending because Elliot’s bad heart made him seek out sex outside their marriage and make permanent decisions about their lives without her. Not her fault. Darlene and Zach spew the vilest argument between lovers with little-to-no unpacking. Just the words sorry. Not even mildly realistic or healing for the reader. Zay simply forgives Clay for abandoning their relationship and trust due to her sister’s actions. I really hope these couples received some out-of-scene therapy. Otherwise, this book just lacked the ending it deserved in favor of a quick wrap-up fairytale smoke-and-mirrors ending.
3.5 stars
