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Last updated on May 18th, 2024
The Wedding Menu was my introduction to Letizia Lorini. After reading it, I immediately downloaded her debut, Desserts for Stressed People, from Kindle Unlimited.
Using dual timelines, we get to know Ian, a commitment-phobic golden retriever hero, and Amelie, a people-pleasing chef with dreams of opening her own restaurant.
This slow-burn romance takes you through the evolution of their relationship, from friends to lovers, to rivals to lovers again.
It features excellent dialogue and explores the concept of open relationships. However, some readers may take issue with the “emotional cheating” depicted in the story, so approach with caution if you are averse to this.
The Wedding Menu – Letizia Lorini
GENRE: Romantic comedy
PUB DATE: September 15, 2023
TWs: open relationship
TROPES: friends to lovers, rivals/enemies to lovers
A delightful, captivating, and heartwarming story about discovering the importance of self-love. With fantastic dialogue and genuine characters, Letizia Lorini is an author that romance fans will enjoy reading.
Pros
adorable golden retriever hero
hilarious, witty dialogue
engaging slow burn romance
swoon-worthy epilogue
steamy scenes
Cons
FMC was frustrating sometimes
lack of communication trope
unnecessary plot lines
Synopsis
How many weddings does it take to fall in love?
One year ago, Amelie had it all.
Almost engaged to her high school sweetheart, close to her childhood best friend, and cooking at her dad’s restaurant: her life was exactly what she’d ordered.
Until Ian, an opinionated wedding-hater, popped up out of nowhere and proved she might like something off menu.
***
One year later, Amelie has lost it all.
She’s unemployed, single, and taking a break from her friendship. As for Ian? He’s gone too.
When she visits Ian’s hometown to teach at a week-long cooking conference, she hopes for a fateful meet-cute. But their reunion is far from joyful when Amelie discovers Ian is the son of her father’s business rival.
Even bigger fiasco? He only wants friendship.
Amelie has one week to change his mind, and if the truth of why her whole life fell apart remains hidden, their love story might even end with a wedding.
Characters
Ian is funny, charming, and has a hilarious opinion about everything. If you enjoy stories where the guy falls in love first and falls hard, you will love The Wedding Menu.
“You feel like a fucking dream I don’t want to wake up from, Amelie.”
Amelie is quite a challenging MC to warm up to because of her people-pleasing tendencies, which sometimes made me want to shake some sense into her. However, by the end of the day, I could understand her actions and fears, making her a relatable character throughout the story.
I enjoyed being on the journey with her as she learned to stand up for herself.
“I can’t live my life for anyone else, because in the end, I am all I have.”
Plot
The meet-cute between Amelie and Ian is adorable and sets a nice tone for their relationship. As we witness their progression from friends to lovers, then rivals, and back to lovers again, the pacing feels natural.
The push-and-pull dynamic kept me eagerly anticipating the moment when they would finally give in to their feelings.
I did have mixed feelings about the open relationship aspect. While I personally don’t have anything against the way it’s presented, the author didn’t provide sufficient justification for its inclusion in the story, especially considering that it wasn’t consensual between the parties involved.
There was a plot line with Ian’s dad that I didn’t understand the need for. It added a lack of communication element to the story, which is a pet peeve of mine.
The epilogue, however, was beautiful. We get to see Shane and Heaven again, from book 1 of the Love & Other Recipes series, being adorably in love. Seeing them encouraged me to binge-read their book right after finishing this one.
Writing
The first thing I fell in love with Lorini’s writing style was her dialogues. She has some of the most witty and hilarious dialogue I have ever read.
The text and phone conversations between Ian and Amelie were the best part of the book and went a long way in progressing their relationship.
Reading this book felt like watching a feel-good rom-com movie with swoon-worthy writing that’s engaging and honest.
And for those who love dirty talking and smut, you will not be disappointed.
The dual timelines were executed nicely, with the past chapters providing hints for readers to uncover in the subsequent present chapters.
Best Quotes
Conclusion
The Wedding Menu is a delightful, captivating, and heartwarming story about discovering the importance of self-love.
With fantastic dialogue and genuine characters, Letizia Lorini is an author that romance enthusiasts will thoroughly enjoy reading.
Enjoyed this review? Then, add ‘The Wedding Menu’ to your TBR. And if you have already read this book and have some thoughts to share, drop them in the comments below. I would love to hear them!
