cover image Daughter of the Bride

Daughter of the Bride

Francesca Segre. Berkley Publishing Group, $14 (330pp) ISBN 978-0-425-20880-9

Segre's novel features the successful, cosmopolitan Daniella, who learns that her widowed 60-year-old mother is getting remarried. When Daniella is expected to act as bridesmaid and assist with the wedding arrangements, it sends her into a tailspin of single gal anxiety-rapidly approaching 30, she is far from engaged. Daniella flies from New York to California to help her mom pick out caterers, florists and the perfect dress, all while trying to sort through her own romantic life and her string of exotic boyfriends, a group whose members include an opera singer and a weatherman. Segre's story is tender, humorous and dazzles with detail-her description of wedding pastries is one of the most alive moments in the book. Unfortunately, Daniella's lively voice can get lost beneath the avalanche of events. One can see why Goldie Hawn's already attached to the Hollywood adaptation: this book is a confection as sweet as butter-cream frosting and as airy as champagne bubbles.