Stand in for Love
By Michele Ashman Bell
Contemporary Romance, Romcom, Clean & Wholesome
Paperback & eBook, 274 Pages
August 15, 2024
Summary
An unexpected wedding disaster leads to an unexpected love.
Serafina Russo’s best friend Britt is getting married in two weeks. But an unexpected death in the family takes the engaged couple out of the country to attend the funeral.
That leaves Sera, the timid maid-of-honor, and Axel Rodrigues, best man, famous baseball star, and NYC’s most eligible bachelor, to take care of last-minute wedding details and hopefully prevent their best friends’ wedding from becoming a disaster. While dealing with unexpected cancellations and catastrophes Sera discovers that Axel is not just famous and incredibly good-looking, he is also kind, helpful, and funny. Sera and Alex discover that when opposites attract, sparks fly, love ignites, and something wonderful happens.
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My Review
STAND IN FOR LOVE is a sweet, humorous story about a maid of honor and best man working together to get their best friends' wedding finalized. The hero is a former pro baseball player, a gentleman and definitely swoon-worthy. The heroine is a down-to-earth elementary school teacher with a good heart and her own gorgeous looks. They're thrown together which results in some comedy, friendship and romance.
I liked both of these characters from the start. Sera is this sweet, somewhat accident prone, woman who has had her heart broken before and has been warned off of Axel. She got enrolled by her friend in a dating app and is running through a couple of potential dates. Axel is a charming, wealthy, athletic man who lost his fiancé in an accident and is currently dating a supermodel. They've never met prior to this story and then they do and they're both surprised by how well they get on and the friendship that forms. I liked that they spend quite a bit of time together, which lends to them really getting to know each other. They become fairly involved in each other's lives over a short period of time. The romance slowly builds, and I appreciated that it wasn't insta-love, even though there definitely is instant attraction. There are a few funny parts as well. I liked the family dynamic as well as Sera's friend and roommate. The ending is very sweet and utterly romantic.
I also had some issues with this book. I had a really tough time getting into this book. I would say about at thirty to forty percent in I finally was engaged and loved what was happening, but then my interest waned again further on - maybe because things didn't work for me and that pulled me back out of the story. Overall dialogue was very stilted. There were a bunch of different themes or moments that felt like they were thrown in but didn't necessarily fit with the story. The way that all the plans didn't work out was too overused and overdone. There were so many things unpaid or contracted for the wedding that supposedly the couple didn't even check out prior to hiring their services. It all felt pretty far-fetched. I didn't like one part because it felt very forward and like someone was cheating on their significant other. Then there is a huge jump in the relationship at the end that could have been worked through a lot better.
In the end, was it what I wished for? This was a cute read and likable characters and sweet romance. For me, it needed more development and didn't work in parts. However, readers of the genre may enjoy this one.
Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the author, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
What's the last book you read where you thought you wouldn't like it but then did? Do you enjoy sport romances?
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