"five fine chick lit pre-wedding tales"

"Perfect Weather for Driving" by Elise Juska. PhD candidate in statistics Joel and adult fluff graduate Megan leave Philadelphia together to attend the same wedding. As they share a hotel room when they are in an accident, will they prove opposites attract?

"Losing California" by Tara McCarthy. The wedding of Colin and Allison is delayed due to a tragedy. She is secretly happy the wedding is delayed. On a whim, Allison flees the West Coast to meet her favorite singer Michael Madsen in Nova Scotia; Colin pursues.

"Sara King Goes Bad" by Pamela Ribbon. Sara has been the good girl all her life so just before her marriage to Mitchell she abandons decorum figuring this will be her only chance. However, her one night wildness leads to capers including out of this world sex.

"The Happiest Day of Your Life" by Heather Swain. Annie has ignored her upcoming wedding and has only three months to go. However, before she can analyze why she has no enthusiasm for her big day, a bomb explodes on the subway and her fiancé Ben is amongst the missing.

"Emily & Jules" by Lisa Tucker. Emily and Jules are in love, but have never met. Instead these chat line pals share in common agoraphobia. When her brother David invites Emily to his upcoming marriage to Clara, she knows she must attend. Her only hope is if her virtually best friend accompanies her, but first they need to meet.

These five chick lit pre-wedding tales are amusing with serious undertones that make for a strong anthology.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted June 12, 2005

Summary

Say "I do" to five surprising stories of women grappling with love and marriage and whether to walk down the aisle or run away.

In Elise Juska's "Perfect Weather for Driving," Megan and Joel's sunset fender-bender makes for a great drunken story at his friend's wedding, but the reality is hardly romantic. Stuck in a New England hotel waiting for the verdict on their Volvo, the two are forced to take stock of their own damaged relationship -- and whether it's too late to fix it.

In Tara McCarthy's "Losing California," engaged surfer Alison is convinced that Michael Madsen -- a member of her favorite band -- is her soul mate. Unfortunately, he's not her fiancé. So Alison flies to Nova Scotia, where Michael lives, because she's either right or she's wrong -- and she better find out before the wedding.

The bride-to-be in Pamela Ribon's "Sara King Goes Bad" has always done the right thing but decides it's important to know what it feels like to be reckless for once. And so two weeks before her wedding, she indulges in an unforgettable night of sex, drugs, and petty crime.

In Heather Swain's "The Happiest Day of Your Life," Annie and Ben plan a simple ceremony at an apple orchard. But when Annie loses perspective -- and everything that can go wrong does -- she's forced to rethink why she wanted a wedding in the first place.

The "Emily & Jules" of Lisa Tucker's story are two lonely people who meet on an online bulletin board for agoraphobics. But when Emily is invited to her estranged brother's wedding -- and it's clear across the country -- both she and Jules may be forced to change their ways.

Will any of these heroines get to the church on time? Cozy up with Cold Feet and find out.