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Their name? The objectors. Their job? To break off weddings as hired. Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other.
When Sophie Steinbeck finds out just before her nuptials that her fiancé has cheated yet again, she desperately wants to call it off. But because her future father-in-law is her dad’s cutthroat boss, she doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Her savior comes in the form of a professional objector, whose purpose is to show up at weddings and proclaim the words no couple (usually) wants to hear at their ceremony: “I object!”
During anti-wedding festivities that night, Sophie learns more about Max the Objector’s job. It makes perfect sense to her: he saves people from wasting their lives, from hurting each other. He’s a modern-day hero. And Sophie wants in.
The two love cynics start working together, going from wedding to wedding, and Sophie’s having more fun than she’s had in ages. She looks forward to every nerve-racking ceremony saving the lovesick souls of the betrothed masses. As Sophie and Max spend more time together, however, they realize that their physical chemistry is off the charts, leading them to dabble in a little hookup session or two—but it’s totally fine, because they definitely do not have feelings for each other. Love doesn’t exist, after all.
And then everything changes. A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max’s heart. As Max wrestles with whether he can be a party to his ex’s getting hurt, Sophie grapples with the sudden realization that she may have fallen hard for her partner in crime.
Their name? The objectors. Their job? To break off weddings as hired. Their dilemma? They might just be in love with each other.
When Sophie Steinbeck finds out just before her nuptials that her fiancé has cheated yet again, she desperately wants to call it off. But because her future father-in-law is her dad’s cutthroat boss, she doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Her savior comes in the form of a professional objector, whose purpose is to show up at weddings and proclaim the words no couple (usually) wants to hear at their ceremony: “I object!”
During anti-wedding festivities that night, Sophie learns more about Max the Objector’s job. It makes perfect sense to her: he saves people from wasting their lives, from hurting each other. He’s a modern-day hero. And Sophie wants in.
The two love cynics start working together, going from wedding to wedding, and Sophie’s having more fun than she’s had in ages. She looks forward to every nerve-racking ceremony saving the lovesick souls of the betrothed masses. As Sophie and Max spend more time together, however, they realize that their physical chemistry is off the charts, leading them to dabble in a little hookup session or two—but it’s totally fine, because they definitely do not have feelings for each other. Love doesn’t exist, after all.
And then everything changes. A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max’s heart. As Max wrestles with whether he can be a party to his ex’s getting hurt, Sophie grapples with the sudden realization that she may have fallen hard for her partner in crime.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Excerpts-
From the cover
one
Sophie
The moment my dad raised my veil, kissed my cheek, and handed me off to Stuart, I wanted to throw up.
No-first, I wanted to punch my groom right in his besotted smile.
Then I wanted to vomit.
Instead, I took his arm and grinned back at him like a good bride.
The pastor started speaking, launching into his cookie-cutter TED talk about true love, and my heart was racing as I waited. I swear I could feel four hundred sets of eyes burning into the back of my Jacqueline Firkins wedding gown as I heard nothing but the sound of my panicked pulse pounding through my veins and reverberating in my eardrums.
Was he already there, seated among the guests? Was he going to burst through the doors, yelling?
And-God-what if he was a no-show?
The photographer, kneeling just to my right, took a photo of my face as I listened to Pastor Pete's love lies, so I turned up my lips and attempted to project bridal joy.
"You look so nervous," Stuart whispered, giving me a small smile.
I honestly don't know how I didn't throat-punch him at that moment.
"Welcome, loved ones," the pastor said, beaming at the congregation as he spoke. "We are gathered here today to join together Sophie and Stuart in holy matrimony."
I felt my breath hitch, unsteady, as he kept yammering, leading us closer to the moment. Something about the twinkling lights and evergreen boughs that we'd painstakingly selected for our December wedding felt garish to me all of a sudden, as if the hobo ghost from Polar Express was going to show up in the back of the church and mock me for my foolishness.
And he wouldn't be wrong.
Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please, I thought, panic tightening my chest. With every word the pastor spoke, my anxiety grew.
Stuart squeezed my trembling hand, the ever-supportive fiancé, and I squeezed back hard enough to make him look at me in surprise.
"Should anyone present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your-"
"I do."
A collective gasp shot through the large chapel, and when I turned around, the man standing up was not at all what I expected. He was big and tall and impeccably dressed: charcoal suit, white shirt, gray tie, and matching pocket square. He looked like Henry Cavill's stunt double or something, but with darker hair and more intense eyes.
Honestly, I'd imagined he would be a party bro, like Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers, but this man looked more like he belonged in a boardroom.
"So sorry to interrupt," he said in a smooth, deep voice, "but these two should absolutely not be married."
"Who is that?" Stuart hissed, daring to give me an accusing stare as a low rumble of whispers emanated from the pews.
"Oh, she doesn't know me, Stuart," the man said, looking a hundred percent comfortable in his uncomfortable role. He raised one dark eyebrow and added, "But my friend Becca knows you."
I gasped, my response entirely authentic even though I'd actually practiced it beforehand. I'd known this man was coming, but I hadn't expected him to be so . . .
Good.
The man was good. The way he spoke made me feel just as shocked as I'd been two nights ago, when I'd discovered Stuart's Becca on his phone.
"Listen, pal, I don't know-"
"Stuart. Shut up." The man looked down at his wrist and straightened his cuff, as if the mere sight of Stuart bored him. "The lovely Sophie deserves so much more than a cheater for a husband. I would imagine most of us here know it isn't the first time; wasn't there a Chloe last year?"
"I don't know who...
Reviews-
January 1, 2024
Sophie Steinbeck is at the altar about to say "I do" to her cheating boyfriend, Stuart Lauren, albeit begrudgingly, because she can't see any other way out of her situation. When their officiant asks the requisite question about anyone objecting to the union, a handsome stranger stands up to state his case: Stu has been unfaithful. Sophie later discovers that her best friend paid the handsome stranger, Max Parks, to object to the marriage, freeing Sophie from her predicament. It's an occasional gig for Max, and he enlists Sophie's help at the next wedding. The two agree to a platonic friendship as they work together, even though their chemistry is undeniable. Neither will admit that their romance is more than lust, but they are about to learn that love can find its way into the hearts of even its toughest critics. VERDICT A rom-com for the cynics, Painter's (The Love Wager) latest is peppered with sarcasm while the heat remains at a low sizzle. The supporting cast is equally funny and helps to round out an entertaining yarn that doesn't take itself too seriously.--Kara Kohn
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 22, 2024 Painter (Betting on You) delivers a charmer of a rom-com with this lively tale of professional wedding objectors. When Sophie Steinbeck finds out her fiancé, Stuart, has been unfaithful, she wants to call the whole thing off—but her father-in-law to be is her father’s boss and she worries about the repercussions. Enter Max Parks, who gets paid to object at ill-fated weddings and who helps Sophie to call things off mid-ceremony without getting blamed for the relationship’s end. Both Sophie and Max have been burned by love, but when Sophie asks Max to show her the ropes of the hired objection gig, their attraction is undeniable. They agree to a purely physical relationship even as Max hopes feelings will grow. When Sophie is called to object at Max’s former girlfriend’s wedding, however, his instinct to protect his ex from heartbreak creates a huge rift between Max and Sophie. Will they be able to sort out their differences? Alternating between Sophie’s and Max’s perspectives, the zippy plot comes complete with a winning supporting cast, especially Sophie’s entertaining senior-citizen roommates and mischievous cats. Rom-com fans will find this scratches the itch.
Starred review from January 15, 2024 Two people who scorn love fall for each other while teaming up to help others escape doomed relationships. When Sophie Steinbeck finds out that her fiance, Stuart, is cheating on her before their wedding, she knows calling it off is the right thing to do. But her dad is employed by Stuart's father, and Sophie is convinced the boss is just cruel enough to fire her dad out of spite. The solution comes in the form of Max Parks, a wedding objector for hire--he shows up at the chapel and publicly accuses Stuart of infidelity. A drunken celebration following Sophie's non-wedding leads to a connection between her and Max, and when they decide to team up to help other wronged brides and grooms, sparks begin to fly between them. But with Sophie having just gone through a disastrous engagement, and Max still reeling from a heart-shattering breakup, neither one wants a relationship...right? Painter builds a foundation for entertaining rom-com antics, but none of the pieces hold together. Much of the dialogue, especially the banter between Max and Sophie, is more cringey than humorous. The wedding objector plot--by far the most striking aspect of the novel--moves to the background as the book shifts to a flimsy fake-dating scenario, and since neither Max nor Sophie really needs the money, there's little urgency to their finding new ceremonies to foil. In fact, there's little tension at all. Even when Max's ex-girlfriend reappears toward the end of the novel, it does little to add conflict. Readers who enjoy their rom-coms with a lot of spice won't be disappointed, but it's not enough to support an otherwise weak entry in the genre. Not worth the RSVP.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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