Review: far-fetched but fun!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 6, 2013
Ashley Lane is beautiful both inside and out, has wonderful friends and a growing career as a graphic designer but her love life leaves something to be desired.  Aside from the three year relationship she had right after college, every relationship she's been in has ended before it really got started and she has no idea why or how to fix it.  With most of her best friends romantically attached and having just turned 30, Ashley is beginning to think it will never work out for her.  She expresses her concerns to her yoga instructor and very close friend, Ray, who recruits her to join him at a seminar on "The Power of Believing in Dreams." Ashley thinks the whole thing is stupid and that you cannot simply manifest something by believing in it, but well-meaning Ray is so over-enthusiastic and won't take no for an answer.  During the course of the two day workshop, participants are partnered up and encouraged to put their heart's greatest desires out into the universe.  Ashley reluctantly confesses that her greatest desire is to get married and Ray takes it a step further by suggesting she act like she has already found her groom and plan a wedding!  Ashley is initially completely opposed to this but when a friend spies her "pretending" to look at wedding invitations, she decides to go along with it and before she knows it, a venue has been chosen, a dream dress purchased and invitations mailed.  But where's the groom?This book should come with a warning that says "Do not attempt this at home!"I really enjoyed myself while reading this book although I had to suspend reality since if you give it too much thought it is pretty silly.  Imagine how difficult it would be to plan a wedding without ever introducing your friends and family to the groom.  I had difficulty putting the book down because I needed to know how the heck Ashley was going to get herself out of this mess.  She was a likeable main character and I did want her to get her happy ending but sometimes I also wanted to shake her for being so passive.  Her friends, especially Jessica, were incredibly annoying at times and while the author managed to make it clear that her friends meant well, they were very bossy and Ashley just let them take over. I absolutely loved Ray although I also wanted to smack him for getting Ashley into this mess in the first place.  I enjoyed the development of Ashley's relationship with her family because I really didn't like them at the beginning.  Without giving away any spoilers, all's well that ends well but, as warned above, do not attempt this at home because only in a chicklit novel would things be tied up so perfectly.If you want a fun distraction from everyday life on a rainy day or at the beach, I would recommend Where's the Groom.The author gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.