Review: Trash the Dress by A.B. Medley


Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author via Give Me Books Promotions.

I'm at that point in my reading schedule where I honestly can't afford to add more titles to it, but I saw a post regarding Trash the Dress on social media, and my curiosity got the better of me. Yep, I read this grumpy/sunshine, surprise pregnancy standalone from a new-to-me author, A.B. Medley, and while it's a companion novel to Medley's Finding the Truth series, I was able to fully understand what was going on with the main characters and their story without necessarily feeling like I'd missed any vital information. So, if you're like me and you're considering diving into Medley's writing, this is as good a place to start.

Scarlett Shepard (27) is an interior designer who calls off her wedding after her groom's mistress lets everyone in attendance know exactly what he's been doing in the months leading to what was supposed to be the happiest day of his and Scarlett's lives. Many were there to witness the fiasco, including Zander Bailey (33), a former photographer turned bar owner who agreed to take wedding photos as a favor. He knew all too well what betrayal and the revelation of it on your wedding day looked like. He's there to console Scarlett, suggesting a different kind of photo shoot than they'd planned on--a pictorial featuring her trashing her wedding dress. That leads to these two sharing one night together before going their separate ways. Only it looks like fate, by way of an unplanned pregnancy, wants them tied for far longer.

Trash the Dress was an emotional romance that held a lot of promise. The first few chapters definitely caught my attention, what with Scarlett going through feelings of heartbreak and humiliation and then the aftermath of the cancelled nuptials, climaxing with her hook-up with Zander and then the realization that they were going to be parents. There was angst and drama, all of it peppered with a handful of lighthearted moments. I make no secret of my love for angsty reads, but I must admit that this had more than its fair share of emotional situations, a lot of which the main characters could have hurdled with open communication. There were also a tendency to "tell" rather than "show", but still a 3.5-starred read.

Release Date: 08 November 2024

Date Read: 04 November 2024

Learn more about A.B. Medley.

Pre-order Trash the Dress on Amazon.

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