The Accidental Bride: A Romantic Comedy

by Janice Harayda

With just one month to go before her fairy tale wedding to the third richest man in the second largest city in Ohio, Lily Blair is suddenly beset by doubts. Even though she appears to have it all - a budding career and a five-carat engagement ring from the man of her dreams - she can't decide whether to plunge headfirst into the security of married suburban life, or follow her career dreams solo to New York. And while the zany and loving cast of friends, family, and co-workers keep pushing her towards the aisle, Lily knows that, despite the passion she feels for her fiancé, she alone must come to terms with the biggest decision of her life.

As she locks horns with her mother on nearly every detail, issues like veal medallions vs. chicken wings become battles in an event being staged with all the grandeur and precision of a full-scale military operation. The situation grows funnier and more desperate at every turn as Lily must confront an absurd bridal fair, an unsympathetic psychiatrist, and the local gossip column. Before she loses her sanity, she looks to her heroine, Jane Austen, for inspiration. The result is hilarious, sweet, and smart. For Lily Blair is a real heroine for the 90s and beyond, and The Accidental Bride who will keep surprising you until the end.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Adult

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 8, 1999

About the author

Janice Harayda is an American author, newspaper writer, and book reviewer. She has worked for multiple magazines and has taught in colleges. Her writing includes five books and a blog with book reviews.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better-than-average entry in the beach read category, in which a bright young newspaper reporter returns to her home city in Ohio, where she enters into a whirlwind romance with the man of her dreams -- only to find on the verge of her wedding that she would rather just live with him in NYC and pursue her career. The stakes aren't all that high (after all, she doesn't have to choose between anything here; her biggest dilemma is whether to tell him before or after he gets back to town following a litigation he's handling in California that she wants to postpone the wedding) but the characters are reasonably charming, in a bland sort of way. I wish the more intelligent chick-lit writers would PUT DOWN THE JANE AUSTEN already, we know you've read it and love it, but starting each chapter with an Austen epigram and having your heroine reading her doesn't transform this mildly pleasant book into Sense & Sensibility. Also, I declare a moratorium on having your heroine be a writer of any stripe and your dreamboat be a human rights lawyer. And I think we're all pretty much done with the conflict between the individualistic, simple wedding the bride really wants and the frilly behemoth the mother(s) want.

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of fluff...and a bit dated. Bought this one from Amazon.com's used book site.
It attracted me because the protagonist refers to Jane Austen as the plot unfolds.
This was a somewhat humorous tale with a few unpredictable twists and a satisfying ending.
I read this at the same time as a dear friend in a long-distance book club we purposely formed in an effort to stay in touch and discuss things we'd both read.

[Gwen Maddela-potter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to DNF (did not finish) this book but every time I looked at how much I've read, I decided to finish it anyways. This was my least favorite book of this year. The main character was just annoying. I was thinking of a different story when I read the title. If it was a funny book, I might have enjoyed it more. I just did not like the main character. This would be going to my donate pile. Good thing I only got it for a dollar from the library.

[Histteach24 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poke me in the eye-it would be less painful than reading this book. No depth, no original storyline, no original ending -maybe?
I'm not sure the title even matches the story...
Lily was annoying. The entire book was filled with snobby, bratty wealthy women complaining while riding on a tacky soap opera storyline....

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

kept waiting for it to get really good. a bit overly wordy. does that make sense?

[Carol Perreault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy reading story of a woman who doesn't really want to get married, but is engaged to be married in about a month in a lavish ceremony all planned by her mother. Her fiance is a lawyer on a case in CA while she works as a reporter in Ohio, but what she really wants is to move back to NY and free-lance with her friend Sally. She is forced by everybody around her to move forward with the wedding, and then thinks she'll just get divorced after...

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

It said it was a “romantic comedy” but I found very little to even smile about, never mind laugh. I found pretty much everything about the main character completely unlikeable, and the jokes weak at best. I don’t know that I’ve EVER given a 1 star review before now, but for me, this book was a waste of my time.

[Kayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not care at all about the main character. There were no fun traits about her, she lacked both morals and any redeeming qualities. I was unhappy about her through the whole book. I honestly didn't realize it was a comedy until writing this review and seeing 'romantic comedy' in the subtitle. I wasted my time reading this book, and so will you.

[Joan Horkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty comedy. Thoroughly enjoyable.

[Jerry]

review text for 351

[Pam Lane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Waste of time. Don’t bother.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

""

[Ashley (Loves Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I did find this book cute, I didn't find it nearly as "comical" as the tagline said; and oddly, I found myself extremely turned off by the main character. Every other character was likable (even Buck, the overbearing, tacky future-father-in-law), whereas the main character seemed a bit rude and even snobby to me. I understand having to build the character and establish who she is and what she stands for, but oftentimes the descriptions of New York City and the small Ohio town and differing classes and societal interests went much farther than needed--to a point where I found it distracting and almost offensive. If I overlook what I found to be a bit contemputous, I can see a cute, almost-enjoyable fluff of a read.

[Carolyn Alleyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really cute story of two people who are right for each other but meet at the wrong time. That is a common theme in real life but how we handle it proves what we're made of. In this case, our protaganist knows all over her being she doesn't want to get married, but she gets swept up in the preparations and her mother's overbearing insistence that it's a good idea. How many of us has that happened to??? But one way or the other, we always have to face the reality that if it's not time, it's NOT TIME!

[Lori Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got seriously sick of the Jane Austen, as well as the author's self-congratulatory literary comments throughout the book -- I felt like the author was trying to show off a degree in Literature to the Unwashed. The ending was incredibly stupid -- not at all what I expected, and utterly disappointing. The reason for 3 stars and not 1 star was because it wasn't completely awful -- I did like to see how Jerry Springer-esque her views of her in-laws and family could get.

[Patty Corwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story of a young woman in the those of wedding plans. Only problem is she doesn't want to get married. She feels she doesn't know the man that well and wants time to be certain. As frivolous as the premise sounds, I can relate to her feelings. Often the event of marriage takes a life of its own, with others planning the details, and the bride is left out. It's everyone else's dream wedding but it hers. I enjoyed the book a great deal.

[Sharlene · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had no class, no plot, and a rather boring main character. As far as I can tell, the main character wanted a noncommittal, sexual relationship with the perfect guy, and she gets it. She wants to leave the small town and have a fun life in New York, and he moves for her. She gets everything she wants. She is whiny, spoiled and depressed most of the novel. It was poor writing besides (e.g., spurts of detail, unrelated content).

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was too outdated and too many references to Jane Austen books and films that I've never seen (because again, it's old). It was mediocre. The ending was the only good part about the book. I didn't find the main character very endearing.

[Sue Kozlowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Lily Blair moves from NY back to home in Ohio. Meets Mark - great catch - and gets engaged. She hates the city but everyone else thinks its great. She doesn't want to get married. They don't and just live together in NYC.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was laugh out loud funny. Like all romantic comedies, it was somewhat predictable, but well-written. Pure humorous escapism. I rated it highly for that very reason. No great literature but fun!

[Xuxa · Rating 1 out of 5]

It might be just my opinion, but I felt that the main character's views on marriage were a bit outdated. There wasn't much comedy as the title states. I just felt that there could have been more incorporated.

[Kristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not romantic and not funny. Lily is a totally unlikable protagonist. She's selfish, self-absorbed, immature, duplicitous, and so many more bad things. She would have done Mark a favor to just dump him.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, quick read - good beach book - and for anyone who has ever planned a wedding with an overbearing mother or mother in law, you'll get a chuckle out of the antics in this book.

[Rebecca Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit hard to get into. The story line was interesting. The ending stunk. The lack of moral values was this books biggest down fall. Had it morals, I would have rated it higher.

[Iulia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A working girl who kept complaining throughout the whole book how she made a mistake getting engaged. Even though she kept admitting her fiance is a catch. Book ends with a big wedding not her own.

[Carolyn Wojtera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. I was looking for Emily Giffin style book and this was not it. Still, nice way to pass a summer day. :)

[Leah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated it. The character was not lovable but just seemed like a huge whiner.

[Ladyredlight007 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok read. I wasn't drawn to any of the characters. Not terrible not great.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Diverting novel about the resistance of a young woman to go the traditional route, and marry the prefect man in the perfect wedding. Charming enough, but predictable.