White Weddings - Milly Johnson

[goodreads]

Title: White Weddings
Author: Milly Johnson
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 2/5
# pages: 444
Date read: June 2018

Bel is in the midst of planning her perfect wedding when disaster strikes and everything she thought she knew is turned on its head. Can she hold it all together and, with the help of her friends, and a mysterious man she meets unexpectedly, turn disaster into triumph?

Bel's friend, ice-cream parlour owner Violet, is engaged to Glyn, who is besotted by her although Violet fell out of love with him long ago. But however trapped she feels in the relationship, she can't quite say the words, 'I don't want to marry you anymore.' Then, just when she's about to give up and resign herself to married life, she finds love in the most surprising of places. Will duty rule her heart or will she allow herself to be swept off her feet?

Max was planning a quick registry office do with her fiancé Stuart until she sees a TV programme about traveller brides and becomes determined to have the most extravagantly glitzy wedding ever. But in all the excitement has she lost sight of what's really important? Does she want the wedding more than she wants the groom?

And as all three friends find the dress of their dreams at the White Wedding bridal shop, its owner, the lovely Freya, guarantees that her gowns will bring them happiness - though maybe not quite in the way they expected...


Frankly, this book suffered a lot from my expectations being totally off. I'd assumed "White Weddings" would be a cozy, romantic, feel-good chick-lit - instead I got a trainwreck of a book, that I couldn't look away from. Not at all what I was looking for, unfortunately. Of the three weddings being planned in the book, only one actually takes place, none of the women are happy in their relationship (although not all of them are aware of it) and though they all have good reasons to get out of the relationships, they all need the catalyst of finding somebody else to actually get out. It seemed to belittle the very real issues the relationships had, that they needed "the other man/woman" in order to get out. Bel came closest, but still...

Also, they all moved on ridiculously fast. Getting ready to marry again within just 9 months? Seriously? Had the epilogue been 2-3 years later rather than just 9 months it would have been a lot more believable, but as it was, it just made me roll my eyes.

Of the three women, I liked Bel the most. She seemed the most believable and was definitely the one who showed most character development. I loved seeing how she grew during the story and how her relationship with her family changed. I felt sorry for Vickie, and though I wanted to shake her, her predicament seemed believable. Max was infuriating though. I really wish she'd come to understand how seriously she had wronged Stuart, instead of it just boiling down to him finding somebody else.

Milly Johnson came highly recommended, but if this is the general standard and genre of her books, I think I'll stay away from them from here on.