I received a gifted galley of THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN by Jackie Lau for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, PRH Audio, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!
Publication Date: 10/25/2022
Rating: 3.5 / 5
THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN follows Vivian and Melvin. Vivian was once a big fan of comedian Mel… then she met him. When they meet, it does not go well and they’ve vowed never to meet again. Unfortunately Vivian’s friend and roommate is now engaged to Mel’s best friend so as a bridesmaid and best man, they will need to spend quite a bit of time in each other’s company. From trying to get along for the sake of their friends to actually finding out they enjoy each other’s company, their relationship has a long ways to go.
Though this is the second book in a series and this book definitely follows on the heals of book one, this would absolutely work as a standalone. We first met Vivian and Mel in DONUT FALL IN LOVE and saw their disastrous first meeting, but we get the replay at the start of this book and that really delivers all you absolutely need to know.
To be honest, I didn’t particularly like Mel in book one. He’s a jokester which makes sense with his job as a comedian, but he comes across with a strong personality that I wasn’t sure would work with the much more introverted Vivian. He definitely would be too high energy for me in real life. That said, getting to know him better in this book did make me like him a lot more and I think the pairing worked out well.
This book also takes a look at the family and career dynamics for both characters, the good and the bad, as well as their identities as both main characters are bisexual. We see this in Mel’s comedy sets as he portrays (and edits) his life for public consumption and in their day to day discussions with each other and the people in their lives. The book deals with the way people perceive and misperceive sexual identity.
THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN comes out on Tuesday!
DG Reads 