REVIEW: Runaway Groomsman by Meghan Quinn
4.5 SMOOCHES!
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SYNOPSIS:
Hollywood screenwriter Sawyer Walsh knows a good love story when he sees it. But when it comes to real life romance, he’s a mess. That’s how he finds himself standing at the altar…as his ex-girlfriend ties the knot with his very famous best friend. The pressure, the resentment, the media coverage—it’s all too much—and before he knows exactly what he’s doing, he’s making a run for it, leaving a shocked congregation and flashing cameras in his wake.
Needing to lie low amid the media fallout, Sawyer lands in the charming town of Canoodle, California, where he crosses paths with Fallon Long, who runs the Canoodle Cove Cabins, a family-owned business and Sawyer’s new short-term residence. Overwhelmed with renovations and her long list of responsibilities, Fallon is struggling to make ends meet while attempting to bring the cabins back to their original glory. So when Sawyer arrives, she is grateful for the income, but immediately writes him off as just another vapid Hollywood hack, until he begins to prove her wrong at every turn.
As Fallon comes closer to saving the family business, an undeniable bond forms between her and the handsome screenwriter. But the pressures of her family obligations and Sawyer’s notoriety might prove to be too much for anyone to handle. Could Canoodle be the setting for a new romance—or is true love just a Hollywood cliché?
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REVIEW:
I love romantic comedies, whether they be in the palm of my hand as a book or on a screen as a movie. Runaway Bride starring Julia Roberts is the quintessential romantic comedy classic and a favorite of mine. Meghan Quinn takes a fresh look at that storyline in Runaway Groomsman and spins it on its head. Billed as a romcom about new beginnings and finding love where you least expect it, and that was a very accurate description. The hero, Sawyer, in the midst of a romantic/professional crisis, finds himself in the quaint town of Canoodle. He’s looking to escape the press and the scrutiny in LA in favor of a place where he can work on his next screenplay while the drama swirling in his life blows over. Fallon is renovating and running her grandfather’s little resort, the place she called home growing up and a fixture in Canoodle for as long as she can remember. She’s also taking care of him as he battles Alzheimer’s. It’s definitely not love at first sight for Fallon and Sawyer, but over time, as their relationship slowly grows into something more meaningful than either of them was looking for or expecting it to become.
A slow-burn, enemies to friends to lovers romance, Runaway Groomsman was laugh-out-loud funny and full of the yearning of a relationship build-up. Packed with emotion, a little bit of drama, and a whole lot of pining, Fallon and Sawyer’s love story may have taken a while to get where it was going, but it was worth every step of the journey. I loved everything about the charming town of Canoodle and all its quirky, endearing residents. Heart-warming, simmering with sexual tension and bursting with humor, Runaway Groomsman was fun, flirty and full of feels. Runaway Groomsman by Meghan Quinn gets 4.5 smooches from me!
~Danielle Palumbo
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