- Print Length: 320 pages
- Publisher: Crown (May 5, 2015)
- Sold by: Random House LLC
What They Say.....Meet Lily Wilder: New Yorker, lawyer extraordinaire, blushing bride. And totally incapable of being faithful to one man.
Lily’s fiancé Will is a brilliant, handsome archaeologist. Lily is sassy, impulsive, fond of a good drink (or five) and has no business getting married. Lily likes Will, but does she love him? Will loves Lily, but does he know her? As the wedding approaches, Lily’s nights—and mornings, and afternoons—of booze, laughter and questionable decisions become a growing reminder that the happiest day of her life might turn out to be her worst mistake yet.
Unapologetically sexy with the ribald humor of Bridesmaids, this joyously provocative debut introduces a self-assured protagonist you won’t soon forget.
What I Say.....I took a day to think about this book before I reviewed it. It was a weird experience to read it.
At first, I was really turned off by the main character. Not because she was cheating on her boyfriend, but because she was one of those people who think they are much cuter than they actually are.
And I'm not a fan of "slut shaming" as the kids call it. I don't think there is anything wrong with a woman having sex with men of her choosing, on her terms. But this book wasn't that. This was a character who threw herself on any man near her. Whether he was married, whether he was her husband's boss, or whether he was her husband's best friend. It wasn't sexual liberation, it was really just pretty gross, and came across as desperation.
Then in the middle of the book, we found out Lily's secret past, and it seemed like her behavior, while still off putting, was maybe a little understandable. But then as more information came forward, it seemed that, nope, it was still the Lily show. She got away with everything, and left her friend holding the bag of consequences, then never contacted him again. Of course she was shocked that he wasn't thrilled to see her back in her hometown.
The rest of the book is Lily changing her mind about marrying Will every few hours. Each argument seemed like a good one, until she had a few more drinks.
As Lily gets a taste of her own medicine from her fiancé, she discovers that she doesn't like being cheated on. And her fiancé tries to win her back through the most ridiculously long email that touts the benefits of an open relationship, explains how we aren't meant to be monogamous, and how cheating is good for both of them. Gag. And can I mention that she is reading this mental email while sitting in on a deposition that could make or break her career. Barf.
I hated these characters. All of them. What a bunch of jagweeds. A friend who cheated with her fiancé, her mother and stepmothers all sleeping with her father (I know that doesn't seem to make sense, but trust me, it happens.), her mother-in-law that tries to blackmail her out of the marriage with the lie about her felonious past, but don't worry! Lily just turns around and blackmails Will's mother with the details of her affair with one of her son's friends.
Seriously, this book was filled with the worst characters ever. I didn't care about any of them by the end.
And this isn't slut shaming, this is human being shaming. You leave other people's husbands (and wives!) alone, you don't sleep with your boss after your bachelorette party, and you don't throw yourself at your boyfriend's friends.
But this book was filled with essays about the right of women to do all of those things without ever being judged! If anyone dared to question Lily, they were hit right in the face with a fiery speech, pages long, about how she was a sexual free spirit. Ugh, I can't even write about this anymore.
Just yuck.
Current Goodreads rating 3.37
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Random House in return for an honest review.
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