REVIEW: A Cross-Country Wedding by Courtney Walsh

In A Cross-Country Wedding by Courtney Walsh, Maddie Rogers is proud that she and Simon Collier have proven for the last ten years that men and women *can* be platonic friends. Since college the unlikely pair have had each other’s backs. They’ve spent time watching movies in Simon’s freakishly tidy apartment and he’s been there after every one of Maddie’s breakups to offer ice cream and a shoulder to cry on. So, when she needs a plus one to bring on her bestie Lauren’s wedding road trip, Simon is the obvious choice. She hopes her carefree ways won’t annoy her fastidious friend much as they traverse the country. But it’s the revelation that she has deeper feelings for Simon that really has Maddie rethinking, well, everything.

‘Somehow, in this moment, I know that even if Simon and I never become more than friends, he still might be the greatest love of my life.’

While Simon wouldn’t trade the last decade of being pulled into Maddie’s fast-spinning orbit for anything, being friends isn’t what he had in mind when they first met in college. He saw them in a romantic relationship, spending their days and nights together for the rest of their lives. But Maddie doesn’t see him that way. So, Simon will take what he can get…for now. Being asked on the cross-country trip seems like the perfect time to test the waters and see if she might be attracted to him–to see if there’s any hope of a romance between them. As he formulates a plan with the help of their traveling companions, Will and Lauren, Simon knows this could be the start of what he’s dreamed of having with Maddie for years.

‘Being there for Maddie has had the exact opposite effect I was hoping for–not showing that I’m excellent boyfriend material, but solidifying my friend status. Still, I’m not going to stop being there for her. Not ever.’

Courtney Walsh piled on the charm with A Cross-Country Wedding, a heartwarming romance that was sweet, funny, and absolutely lovely in every way.

“Maddie, I have loved you since I first saw you.”

A Cross-Country Wedding was the literary equivalent of being wrapped up in a big cozy hug. Courtney Walsh took a fun friends-to-lovers romance between two quirky, relatable people and added in a road trip across the US where the destination was their friends’ wedding. And the friends who were tying the knot? Not only were they the subject of A Cross-Country Christmas, but Lauren and Will led the way from California to Illinois, reliving the route that made them fall in love a couple of years ago. Along the way, they gently pushed our hero and heroine, Simon and Maddie, to finally give in to their obvious feelings for each other. It took some time for the pair to get to that point of declaring their love, but it was oh so worth it.

I have to say that Walsh writes characters who are not only multidimensional and perfectly imperfect, but they are utterly endearing as well. I was captivated a couple of months ago by Walsh’s heroine in The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley, in all her socially awkward glory. To me, Simon, our swoon-worthy beta hero, had some of the same attributes as Isadora while somehow being wholly his own person. I loved how he admired free-spirited Maddie. He didn’t want to change her in any way, unlike many people in her life. But then again, Simon *saw* Maddie right down to her core and understood the sunshine and comfort she brought to his and other’s lives. He just didn’t know how to get out of the friend zone he’d been stuck in for a decade.

Maddie felt the same way about Simon. She loved how serious he was, how he cherished his routines and had everything around him organized to the Nth degree. But it was how he was always there for her that meant the world to Maddie. She might have seemed like the life of the party, but it was nice that she could show her true self, the tangled emotions and downtrodden days, to Simon. My heart broke that she didn’t think she was worthy of him, though–stemming partly from Maddie’s past and also because of how they seemed like total opposites. But wow did they work spectacularly as a couple! And Walsh painted it all in the most tender, sweepingly romantic of ways. Sigh…

QOTD: Are you a fan of opposites attract romances? Have any favorites to share?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: August 16th, 2023 | by Sweethaven Press | Road Trip Romance #2

A fun-loving free spirit.
Her buttoned-up best friend.
And a cross-country wedding that could drive their platonic relationship toward something else entirely.

Simon Collier is my friend.

Heck, he’s been my friend for most of my adult life—and we couldn’t be more different.

I love late-night karaoke. He’s a homebody with a piano I’ve never heard him play.

I relish being the center of attention while Simon prefers to fade into the background.

My dresser is a disaster. He alphabetizes his fridge.

I suppose we’re a little like sunshine and rain. It’s why our friendship works.

Even though we’re total opposites, we get along like peas and carrots. He’s constantly saving me after failed romances, and I push him to live a little. . .even if that means dragging him out of his comfort zone.

If I can make him laugh, it’s a win.

He’s my safe person. Secure, reliable, fun to poke fun at.

Simon Collier is my friend.

But now, all that might change.

After another predictable break-up, I find myself in need of a plus-one for my best friend Lauren’s cross-country wedding. A wedding that reenacts the road trip where she and her fiance, Will, first fell in love. And despite his fussiness, Simon is the safest person to bring along because I’m not in the market for any more messy feelings.

Our friendship has been intact for over ten years, surely we can handle a week crammed in a car, sharing meals and playlists and nighttime secrets and single beds.

Right?

A Cross-Country Wedding is a sizzling but sweet, friends-to-more road trip romance. It is the second in the Road Trip Romance series & while it reads as a stand-alone, it may be best enjoyed after reading A Cross-Country Christmas.