ARC Review: After the Wedding by Courtney Milan

“…after the halfway point it picks up speed and we are back enthralled in the story that Ms. Milan knows how to weave.”
~ Under the Covers

I can’t tell you how excited I was to see this book releasing. I’ve literally waited years for this! And to the point that I can’t say I remember much from the Worth family or the first book in particular. I wish I would’ve had some time to do a quick re-read and refresh. However, rest assured if you’re like me you can go into this book and slowly things will fall into place.

AFTER THE WEDDING is the story of Camilla Worth. She’s the middle Worth sister and when her father was accused of treason she decided to go live with her uncle who promised her dresses and lemon tarts after the ruin of her family. Her older sister Judith told by doing that she would be refusing their love and couldn’t come back. For years, much after the disappointment of being rejected a short while later by her uncle, she’s been bouncing from home to home and working for half price to just survive. And that’s all about to change when she’s forced to marry Adrian Hunter at gunpoint after a misunderstanding. Now they must work together to get an annulment and that includes not consummating their fake marriage.

The premise of this book was so fun and interesting. I love how Courtney Milan’s stories usually are full of smart plots and characters. In this case, while Camilla is brilliant at some things, she’s also not so bright about life choices. In a way I liked that about her character because it make her a bit more human. A little broken. Adrian was a perfect match for her in so many ways and I loved how they defied the odds even at the end. Theirs is not a traditional story and I’m glad there’s a little less traditional HEA then imagining all their problems go away and they can fit into society.

But what’s keeping me from giving this book a higher rating was the pacing of the story. I found it hard to get in a reading groove in the first half of this book. It dragged a bit even as I was enjoying the story and I found myself putting this down easily. But after the halfway point it picks up speed and we are back enthralled in the story that Ms. Milan knows how to weave. I wished that would’ve been the same for the whole book.

Nevertheless, I am so anxious for more books about the Worth siblings! So many possibilities with these broken characters that have gone through so much. I hope we don’t have years to wait, but if that’s the case, I’ll still do so gladly.

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