The Stand-Up Groomsman
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4.3 • 8 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
"A low-angst charmer."—New York Times Book Review
A bridesmaid and groomsman put their differences aside to get their best friends down the aisle in this opposites-attract steamy romantic comedy from the author of Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie.
They say to never meet your heroes, but when Vivian Liao's roommate gets engaged to her favorite actor’s costar, she has no choice but to come face-to-face with Melvin Lee again. He's just as funny and handsome as he is on-screen...but he thinks she’s an ice queen and a corporate sellout. It's none of his business how she chooses to live her life, no matter how charismatic he is.
Mel is used to charming audiences as an actor and stand-up comedian, but he can't seem to thaw Vivian’s defenses. If she can ignore the simmering attraction below the surface, so can he. The only thing uniting them is their goal for their friends’ wedding to go off without a hitch.
As they collaborate on wedding cake and karaoke parties, Mel realizes he might have seriously misjudged this bridesmaid, while Vivian discovers the best man might just be as dazzling off-screen as he is on. With the wedding underway, maybe more than one happily ever after is in the future.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The first time Vivian Liao meets Melvin Lee, she’s downright incensed by the famous actor/comedian. But when her best friend gets engaged to his best friend, this odd couple needs to work together to pull off a dream wedding. In this spirited sequel to the 2021 rom-com Donut Fall in Love, author Jackie Lau zooms out from that book’s central duo to an unlikely love story involving the two people closest to them. Rendered in a quirky, conversational tone, The Stand-Up Groomsman pokes fun at modern celebrity and deceptive public façades while teasing out a deeper story about creativity, commerce and compromise. It’s also a bright, self-aware take on modern romance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lau (Donut Fall in Love) shines in this witty rom-com that pairs a Chinese American comedian and a Chinese Canadian finance whiz. Uptight accountant Vivian Liao is eager to meet stand-up comedian Melvin Lee, star of Just Another New York Sitcom, whose friend Ryan is dating Vivian's roommate Lindsay—but their first meeting does not go as planned. One wrong comment from Mel, and Vivian is ready to write him off—that is, until Ryan and Lindsay get engaged, and Mel is tapped as best man and Vivian as a bridesmaid. As they're forced to work together to plan celebrations for their dear friends, something between them shifts and they agree to try long-distance dating. But Vivian's complicated family history has made her fiercely independent, and she's hesitant to commit to anything that may lead to dependency on another person. With miles between them and both their guards up, will they be able to make it work? Refreshingly, both hero and heroine are bisexual, a fact Lau handles confidently and casually. Mel's outrageous, matchmaking grandmother, meanwhile, steals every scene she's in—including one where she shows up at a comedy club right when Mel is trying out some new oral sex–related material. This fun, feel-good outing hits the spot.
