cover image The Paid Bridesmaid

The Paid Bridesmaid

Sariah Wilson. Montlake, $12.95 trade paper (310p) ISBN 978-1-5420-3056-4

In this witty romantic comedy about love at first sight, Wilson (Roommaid) transports readers to an extravagant destination wedding. Professional bridesmaid Rachel Vinson has built a booming business helping brides through their big days by posing as part of the wedding party. She’s achieved success by using nondisclosure agreements to guarantee that the details of each arrangement are kept private and strictly forbidding both her and her employees from dating anyone they meet on the job. Now she’s in Hawaii, playing maid of honor and faux childhood friend at Instagram influencer Sadie Snyder’s wedding to tech genius Dan Zielinski. The instant she meets Dan’s best man, Camden Lewis, Rachel longs to break her no-mixing-business-and-pleasure rule, but her job entails lying about her past and she’d hate to begin a relationship based on deception. Camden, meanwhile, knows something is off with Rachel, and as he pokes into her carefully constructed backstory, he unwittingly puts Rachel’s rule to the test. Wilson packs this story with love, not just between the protagonists but also their friends and relatives. The laughs are frequent, thanks largely to supporting characters Sadie and Krista, Rachel’s friend and employee. Combining a fast-paced plot with a slow-burning romance, this is sure to give readers butterflies. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary. (Jan.)