Wedding Dashers brings forth an array of emotions. There is swoon, there is angst, there is heartbreak, there is triumph. All led by a protagonist who is vulnerable, fallible, and so real. I connected emotionally to this book and it made the experience all the more immersive and engaging.

Protagonist Ada is having bad luck getting to her little sister’s destination wedding. Out of cash and out of options, she accepts a stranger’s offer to stay the night in rented room for the night as she arranges new transportation. Unfortunately for both, their communication lines are crossed and she accepts what she presumes is shelter whilst his intention could be found under the sheets. The misunderstanding is promptly cleared up, but it sets forth our leads on very uneven footing. Made worse when they realize they’re headed to the same wedding— and the stranger, Jack, is actually the best man who Ada’s sister previously warned her about, due to his presumed playboy behavior. As they come to an arrangement to travel together to make it in time for their loved ones’ wedding, they get to know one another, and themselves as well. This journey becomes less about the destination and more about the company, and what that company inspires. Ada and Jack challenge one another, they see past each other’s surface and preconceived notions others have set on them, and see what lies beneath. They see each other’s truth, each other’s lies, and each other’s heartbreak. They connect in a deeply emotional way that is almost disorienting. They didn’t expect the other, but as their adventure unfolds, they don’t know how they can expect a future without the other.

I absolutely loved the evolving nature of Ada and Jack’s romance. They may bicker and develop negative assumptions of the other, but they also have thriving banter and see each other in ways they’ve never felt seen. At times I felt so much frustration towards Ada and Jack’s respective actions and words (also shout out to Ada's sister who frustrated me too, ha!), but this narrative also made me understand and appreciate these moments. For every moment of frustration I felt-- so did they. They hurt too!

Like growing pains, sometimes it hurts. But then you grow. And Ada and Jack have magnificent growth, due in part in knowing each other in the most hectic of circumstances. They stumbled, but they got back up. They hurt, but they grew strong. They are vulnerable characters prone to mistakes, to missteps, to falls, and seeing them learn and pick themselves up made them that much more real. It made them mirrors to ourselves. It made their life feel as real as ours.

Yes, it hurt me to see Jack and Ada's evolution lead where it did-- at least for a while. But that's life, that's also responsibility. Which for me is a big theme in this one. When it's needed-- and when it's time to let go. The latter is especially the case in Ada needing to learn to let go of claiming responsibility for her little sister, and allowing her sister to fall and to learn to pick herself up along the way. At least sometimes. As for when responsibility is needed, I'll leave that to you, fellow readers. It hurt to see this need, but it makes the end all the more worthwhile. So trust that journey--keep going until the very end!

All in all, this is an engagingly tumultuous journey with an ending that feels absolutely earned. I’m thrilled to have read this worthwhile adventure, and to take with me all the lessons learned.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.