The Wedding Crasher: A Novel

by Mia Sosa

Overview

Named one of the most anticipated books of 2022 by EW, Oprah Daily, Marie Claire, Goodreads and Bookpage!

The USA Today bestselling author of The Worst Best Man is back with a hilarious rom-com about two strangers who get trapped in a lie and have to fake date their way out of it...

Just weeks away from ditching DC for greener pastures, Solange Pereira is roped into helping her wedding planner cousin on a random couple’s big day. It’s an easy gig... until Solange stumbles upon a situation that convinces her the pair isn’t meant to be. What’s a true-blue romantic to do? Crash the wedding, of course. And ensure the unsuspecting groom doesn’t make the biggest mistake of his life.

Dean Chapman had his future all mapped out. He was about to check off “start a family” and on track to “make partner” when his modern day marriage of convenience went up in smoke. Then he learns he might not land an assignment that could be his ticket to a promotion unless he has a significant other and, in a moment of panic, Dean claims to be in love with the woman who crashed his wedding. Oops.

Now Dean has a whole new item on his to-do list: beg Solange to be his pretend girlfriend. Solange feels a tiny bit bad about ruining Dean’s wedding, so she agrees to play along. Yet as they fake-date their way around town, what started as a performance for Dean’s colleagues turns into a connection that neither he nor Solange can deny. Their entire romance is a sham... there’s no way these polar opposites could fall in love for real, right? 

"Mia Sosa... is genuinely a master of the modern romance novel." — Cosmopolitan

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062909893
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/05/2022
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	23,916
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Mia Sosa writes funny, flirty, and moderately steamy contemporary romances that celebrate our multicultural world. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Yale Law School, Mia practiced First Amendment and media law in the nation’s capital for ten years before trading her suits for sweatpants. Born and raised in East Harlem, New York, she now lives in Maryland with her college sweetheart, their two book-obsessed daughters, and one dog that rules them all.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/10/2022

A fake relationship upends the lives of two fiercely independent protagonists in Sosa’s brilliant follow-up to The Worst Best Man. When Brazilian American Solange Pereira crashes white stranger Dean Chapman’s wedding-of-convenience, she stumbles on a reason why the couple shouldn’t get married and stops the ceremony. To make up for it, Solange agrees to pretend to be Dean’s girlfriend to help him land a partnership at his law firm—and she eventually calls in the same favor to cover a lie her mother told her judgmental aunt. Solange is holding out for true love, while Dean doesn’t believe in love, thanks to his mother’s tumultuous romances. Both agree to keep things strictly for show—but as they share secrets, build an easy camaraderie, and discover mind-blowing sexual compatibility, this proves easier said than done. Meanwhile, their busybody families (Solange’s cousins are a hoot) conspire to push them toward each other. But when Dean’s mother grieves another failed relationship and Dean learns that Solange has been keeping a secret, his pessimism about romance may spell their doom. Sosa takes incredible care developing this slow-burn romance, delivering characters readers will want to hang out with and plenty of belly laughs. With a smooth mix of cultures and a heartwarming narrative of self-discovery through love, this is an invigorating take on a favorite trope. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Mia Sosa has enchanted me with her rom-coms. They provide the perfect amount of laughs and swoons you need in a book, and they always deliver!" — Buzzfeed

"Mia Sosa's writing is so entertaining and engaging. Solange is a firecracker of a character — she's fun, sassy, and loves a good innuendo. The spice factor is high with this one!" — Popsugar

"The Wedding Crasher is a quintessential Mia Sosa book, which is a high compliment. Her stories are always full of well-intended, loveable characters, they’re always both hot and warm, and they always abound with sharp wit and fun. She also excels at writing complex family relationships and friendships, and this story is no exception. Readers will adore immersing themselves in the caring, supportive community she’s created, and they’ll be rooting wholeheartedly for Solange and Dean to find the lives and love they deserve." — Olivia Dade, author of All the Feels

"A fake relationship upends the lives of two fiercely independent protagonists in Sosa’s brilliant follow-up to The Worst Best Man... Sosa takes incredible care developing this slow-burn romance, delivering characters readers will want to hang out with and plenty of belly laughs. With a smooth mix of cultures and a heartwarming narrative of self-discovery through love, this is an invigorating take on a favorite trope." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The Wedding Crasher is a frothy, hilarious, steamy rom-com with poignant moments of vulnerability that reaffirms Mia's masterful ability to deliver genuine humor in deeply romantic stories brimming with Afro-Brazilian culture." — Adriana Herrera for Entertainment Weekly

"a super-fun romp" — Popsugar Latina

"Rom-com lovers will adore this hilarious read." — Today.com

“Bring on more books about Black (and brown) women in silly situations... Mia Sosa meets this demand with her fun romantic comedy that centers on a wedding planner who was left at the altar. Now she must team up with a man she hates for a golden opportunity.” — Essence

"A delightful read that is equal parts sexy, heartwarming, and seriously funny."  — Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book Award Winner

"Sosa delivers a steam and witty enemies-to-lovers romance. Lina and Max’s relationship grows against a rich background of Lina’s Afro-Latinx culture, and readers will enjoy the complex cast of side characters." — Library Journal

"Sosa handles alternating viewpoints with perfect aplomb as she once again deftly dishes up for lucky readers another irresistibly fun romance spiced with a zesty sense of humor and spiked with love scenes as hot as the ghost chilis that pepper the Brazilian cuisine featured in this tantalizing tale of love, family, and friendship." — Booklist (starred review)

“Smart, emotional, and sexy, this delightfully modern love story hits all the right notes. Sosa knows exactly what romance readers want, and delivers at every turn." — Lauren Layne, New York Times bestselling author 

“Sosa brilliantly plays to all of her literary strengths as she effectively channels the electric sexual chemistry between her opposites-attract protagonists into a gorgeously romantic and gloriously sensual love story that is then further enriched with a generous measure of the author’s saucy sense of wit.” — Booklist (starred review)

"The Wedding Crasher is a fun and fast read filled with witty dialogue and engaging twists. It’s a satisfying friends-to-lovers story filled with likable protagonists – Solange is truly a star you’ll be rooting for the entire time. This one is a must-read for spring, especially if you’re on the hunt for a lighthearted and enjoyable beach read." — USA Today (four stars)

“The Wedding Crasher is a winner—thoroughly delightful, modern and fun… It’s laugh-out-loud funny, tartly sweet and scorching hot—a delicate balance that only a writer of Sosa’s considerable talent can strike.”  — BookPage (starred review)

“Mia Sosa can write a wedding rom-com like no one's business and The Wedding Crasher is the perfect blend of fake dating and fuzzy feels… amidst all her banter, hilarious situational humor, and the vibrant family and friends that populate Dean and Solange's lives, Sosa reminds readers that we don't get to choose when or who we fall for — all we can do is have the courage to surrender.”  — Entertainment Weekly

“Mia Sosa serves up a steamy, laugh-out-loud romance [with] The Wedding Crasher. The large Afro-Brazilian family the author has created is so warm, funny and nosy that readers will want to spend more time with them. Solange and Dean's banter alone is enough to recommend the novel, but Sosa manages to fill the prose with everything romance fans could want: food, family, heat and humor.” — Shelf Awareness

“There’s nothing ordinary about Mia Sosa’s rom-coms… you'll find fun parties (some very R-rated ones in fact), beautifully tuned comedic timing, and honest-to-god prose that made me scream, “This is actually a rom-com.” Mia Sosa gave me all the warm, gooey-centered feelings that made me sad when I turned that last page.” — Buzzfeed

"Mia Sosa... is genuinely a master of the modern romance novel." — Cosmopolitan (Best Romance Novels of 2020)

"A true blue rom com—The Worst Best Man made me laugh out loud. Lina and Max are hilarious together, and it's a joy to watch them fall in love." — Kate Clayborn, author of Love Lettering

From the Publisher

Bring on more books about Black (and brown) women in silly situations... Mia Sosa meets this demand with her fun romantic comedy that centers on a wedding planner who was left at the altar. Now she must team up with a man she hates for a golden opportunity.

Essence

"a super-fun romp"

Popsugar Latina

"Mia Sosa has enchanted me with her rom-coms. They provide the perfect amount of laughs and swoons you need in a book, and they always deliver!"

Buzzfeed

"Mia Sosa's writing is so entertaining and engaging. Solange is a firecracker of a character — she's fun, sassy, and loves a good innuendo. The spice factor is high with this one!"

Popsugar

"Rom-com lovers will adore this hilarious read."

Today.com

"Mia Sosa... is genuinely a master of the modern romance novel."

Cosmopolitan (Best Romance Novels of 2020)

"The Wedding Crasher is a quintessential Mia Sosa book, which is a high compliment. Her stories are always full of well-intended, loveable characters, they’re always both hot and warm, and they always abound with sharp wit and fun. She also excels at writing complex family relationships and friendships, and this story is no exception. Readers will adore immersing themselves in the caring, supportive community she’s created, and they’ll be rooting wholeheartedly for Solange and Dean to find the lives and love they deserve."

Olivia Dade

The Worst Best Man is rom-com perfection... Her voice is fresh and fiercely romantic… Sosa has a gift with words that’s infectious and wry, one that keeps the pages turning in delight... beautiful, heart-aching realism, while packaging these concerns with a confectionary casing of witty repartee, crackling chemistry, and steamy interludes. So much so that losing oneself in this love story is a piece of (wedding) cake.”

Entertainment Weekly

"The Wedding Crasher is a frothy, hilarious, steamy rom-com with poignant moments of vulnerability that reaffirms Mia's masterful ability to deliver genuine humor in deeply romantic stories brimming with Afro-Brazilian culture."

Adriana Herrera for Entertainment Weekly

"A delightful read that is equal parts sexy, heartwarming, and seriously funny." 

Elizabeth Acevedo

"A true blue rom com—The Worst Best Man made me laugh out loud. Lina and Max are hilarious together, and it's a joy to watch them fall in love."

Kate Clayborn

"The Worst Best Man is a romantic comedy that's fun and flirty, young and fresh."

Popsugar (22 of the Best Books This Winter Has to Offer)

"Sosa handles alternating viewpoints with perfect aplomb as she once again deftly dishes up for lucky readers another irresistibly fun romance spiced with a zesty sense of humor and spiked with love scenes as hot as the ghost chilis that pepper the Brazilian cuisine featured in this tantalizing tale of love, family, and friendship."

Booklist (starred review)

Smart, emotional, and sexy, this delightfully modern love story hits all the right notes. Sosa knows exactly what romance readers want, and delivers at every turn."

Lauren Layne

"A wedding planner rom-com is the very definition of romantic fun, and Mia Sosa doesn’t disappoint... Sosa’s romance also addresses issues of work and family, and touches on the challenges facing women of color in business. The pages smoke from time to time, but this is essentially a sweet, light confection for the Valentine’s Day season."

BookPage

"THE WORST BEST MAN is the rom-com we've been waiting for! Mia Sosa is a true talent, perfectly balancing laughter, swoony moments, and heat.

Tif Marcelo

"Mia Sosa’s voice crackles with good old-fashioned wit—she’ll make you laugh but she’ll be so smart about doing it."

Jenny Holiday

"From beginning to end, THE WORST BEST MAN is a smokin’ hot, laugh-out-loud, heart-warming Latinx rom-com that induces pleasurable sighs of satisfaction and will have you saying, 'I Do.'"

Priscilla Oliveras

"a rom-com that is both sweet and steamy."

The Mujerista

"[A] fizzy rom-com..." 

Entertainment Weekly (20 New Books to Read in February)

Bring on more books about Black (and brown) women in silly situations... Mia Sosa meets this demand with her fun romantic comedy that centers on a wedding planner who was left at the altar. Now she must team up with a man she hates for a golden opportunity.”

Essence (24 Books Written By Black Authors That We Can't Wait To Read This Winter) on The Worst Bes

Bring on more books about Black (and brown) women in silly situations... Mia Sosa meets this demand with her fun romantic comedy that centers on a wedding planner who was left at the altar. Now she must team up with a man she hates for a golden opportunity.”

"Bring on more books about Black (and brown) women in silly situations. (We're not all about slave narratives!!!!) Mia Sosa meets this demand with her fun romantic comedy that centers on a wedding planner who was left at the altar. Now she must team up with a man she hates for a golden opportunity."

Essence (24 Books Written By Black Authors That We Can't Wait To Read This Winter)

2022-03-02
An associate lawyer asks a woman to pretend to be his girlfriend to impress the partners at his law firm.

Solange Pereira is helping her cousin work a wedding at a fancy Washington, D.C., hotel when something unexpected happens: Right before the ceremony, she overhears the bride confessing her love for another man. Although it’s awkward and uncomfortable, Solange disrupts the wedding, knowing this couple could never be happy. Dean Chapman is left at the altar but doesn’t seem overly bothered by this turn of events—he wasn’t in love; it was nothing more than a “modern-day marriage of convenience” to him. He intends to make partner before he turns 30, and having a wife and a family are just steps on the road to the kind of stability he never had as a child. When he returns to work a week later, the partners need two associates to woo a potential new hire. Only couples can be a part of the recruitment effort, so Dean impulsively asks Solange to pretend to be his girlfriend, figuring she owes him for disrupting his wedding. Solange feels guilty about her part in the fiasco and agrees to help him out. Faking dating proves difficult; Solange and Dean not only have to fool the associate who is in competition with Dean for a partnership promotion, but also keep the truth from her loving, nosy family. The modern rom-com can be a tightrope for authors who have to balance believable, zany antics with tight, authentic characterization. Sosa errs on the side of madcap plotting, with Solange and Dean responding reactively to crisis after crisis rather than moving their romance forward because of their feelings and choices.

The emphasis on escalating action makes for a fast-paced but emotionally unsatisfying romance.

Kirkus Reviews