And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom

Best Men #1

by Isla Olsen

Trent

There are two essential tasks on every best man’s to do list:

1. Throw a killer bucks party
2. Get the groom down the aisle

The first one was a no-brainer. But the second? That’s where everything went completely pear-shaped…

That was the moment that changed my life…

When my best friend bails on his wedding literally minutes before it’s about to start, I can’t help feeling a tad responsible. And even though I haven’t gotten to know Xavier, the would-be-groom, all that well yet, it’s hard not to feel for the guy who’s just had his heart pummelled in front of a hundred and fifty people.

Nice guy that I am, I take it upon myself to try to make amends for my sh*t of a best mate’s actions—starting with transforming the cancelled honeymoon into the perfect Get-Over-Him getaway.

Two weeks in incredible Thailand with nothing but booze, beaches, and delicious food? That’s enough to make anyone forget they’re supposed to be married.

Throw in all the beautiful people and my plan to have Xavier moving on by the end of the trip is well underway.

I just wasn’t expecting him to be moving on to me…

Reader note: Two swoon-worthy guys, lots of laughs, a ton of steam, a guaranteed HEA, and an Aussie Slang Glossary are included in this book.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Gay For You, Queer, Contemporary Romance

187 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 21, 2022

Reviews

[the kevin (vaguely alive) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not one of Olsen's better books. Mostly it's very flat - I couldn't keep track of the two main characters, because they never felt like actual people. I don't think I ever even knew what they looked like (one has long hair I guess), and they didn't have personalities outside of sex.

In the beginning, it felt like they weren't really interacting with each other, even when they were actively having conversations. It was a bit strange.

While I like the fluff and low angst that Olsen writes, this went too far in the substanceless for me. It felt like nothing actually mattered - getting dumped at the altar, accepting that the best friend is willing to just crawl out a window to avoid responsibilities, etc. These are kinda big deals, and it had like no impact. Everyone was just a little too chill.

Also - the glossaries at the end of chapters?? What on earth prompted this? All of these words can be picked up either because they are obvious, or via context...and why would you add glossaries by chapter? It really messed up any flow the book would try to build.

Overall, this was definitely not a winner. Ultimately, it was flat on all counts, but at least I was able to skim to the end.



Read more reviews on my blog: 
https://horsetalkreviews.blogspot.com/

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just flat out annoyed me from start to finish 🤦🏼‍♀️

The format with a 'glossary' at the end of the chapter ruined the flow of story, and if I'm being honest, unless you have absolutely zero knowledge of either English or Australian 'slang', the idea of a glossary was totally unnecessary! The words are self explanatory, the only thing that may be marginally confusing is any mention of typical English/Australian sports you don't tend to get in America!!

Secondly I didn't care about either character one bit. You don't really learn anything about either of them and they were both kinda boring, to the point I'd have pulled a Jack too and bailed out a window on the pair of them.

It was just such a nothing book, which I'm disappointed by because I usually love Isla Olsen stories.

Mainly it just felt like trying too hard to use everyday words instead of 'proper speech', very reminiscent of Year 9 English when the teacher busted out the word 'blatant' then you get an army of teens spouting the word as often as possible, like there's a prize up for grabs 😂 Like ok, you know slang, whatevs. Where's the actual story??

Ugh 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Vanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Okay.. but slightly disappointed stars!! 👍 I typically love Isla Olsen's books, the MCs have huge personalities, family and friends are nosy and noisy... there is a lot of humor in the plot and witty banter too.. and of course the steam is off the charts..🔥. This book had everything, but less than normal.. The MCs did not seem to have much of a chemistry despite the hot and heavy parts... the family and friends aspect was there, but on the lower scale. There was a push for humor and relevance by adding a Glossary after every chapter with Australian terms/words and what they meant.. which felt completely unnecessary and was actually quite annoying. There was no angst at all and the plot was too seamless for a GFY type of story.
I still enjoyed it, because I love me some hot, steamy, low-angst M/M romance.. but it was a let down from her other books that are just bursting with fervor and fun.. 🤩
Recommended for fans of Isla Olsen 👍 👍 Not her best, but it is standalone..

[~Nicole~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.. Better than I expected. I loved that they were straightforward and there was no pining and no missunderstanding and no drama. And the sex was hot and natural . An easy, light and surprisingly enjoyable bi-awakening.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really need to get back into writing reviews otherwise I cannot remember any of my thoughts about the books I’ve read 😂

This book was so quick paced - I read it in one sitting! I always enjoy the friend’s ex trope & this one was very low angst and feel-good without being too predictable or slow which was exactly what I needed.

[Iman (hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

boring….and i was shipping the wrong couple LOL

[Carol (§CoverLoverGirl§) · Rating 2 out of 5]

And the Best Man Ran Away with the Groom- Isla Olsen

I’m afraid this one didn’t work for me.

Xavier and Jack are getting married and everyone is gathered waiting for the Grooms and Best Men to arrive for the ceremony. Trent is one of the best men and Jack’s best friend.

When Jack is delayed Trent goes looking for him and finds him climbing out the window to run away. He begs Trent to help him open the window, and he eventually escapes.

It’s left to Trent to go and tell all the guests that the Wedding if off and Jack has disappeared.

Couldn’t connect with Xavier basically because he was so accepting of the situation. It just wasn’t believable to me. However I did like Trent and his outgoing, upbeat, positive personality.

Plus, I could have done with more of a background on Jack’s story and why he did what he did.

I’ve read other Isla Olsen stories and enjoyed them but this one just isnt top of the list.

[⋆｡°✮ Lucy InTheSky ✮°｡⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4⭐

Dunno. Can't decide.


But I'll put it like this;

🌼Cons🌼

* Didn't like the writing much.

*Too short. Not enough telling of what the MC's do and what does Xavier actually look like??

* Did they actually get married in the end? Isn't that the whole point? Showing the reader that Xav did get his hea with an actual marriage?



💚Pros💚

* Liked all the characters.
*Sweet, funny and satisfying-to a degree.



🌅My thoughts ⛱️

This should have been the beginning of the series, more thought out with a little more building of the character's lives.
And at that, it would have been a great, sappy, feel-good series of funny, sexy bunch of friends living in Melbourne and falling in love.


It's missing something here and I'm keeping this on my radar to see what the author will decide to do.

[Ed Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can always depend on Isla Olsen writing a total enjoyable story. I’m sure it will be sweet, entertaining and low angst.

I also maintain that when I’m reading a story it is fiction. Therefore it doesn’t have to be true to life.Do I really believe that a straight man would go on his best gay friend’s honeymoon with his jilted fiancé? I don’t care, it made for a great story.

[Manfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, the title is misleading. It's actually the groom who runs away.
His best man (and best friend) decides to take the other groom to the vacation that was planned as a honeymoon, so he can get over the heartbreak and disappointment...
I liked both main characters, although I didn't love them.
Also it felt a little strange to me, how "straight" Trent suddenly wanted nothing more than to have sex with Xavier and within their two week holiday feel in love with him.
I appreciated the glossary after each chapter, because as a non native speaker I never heard a lot of those Australian expressions, although a few of them were quite obvious in the context.
The epilog was a little underwhelming for me, but overall, in spite of the before mentioned complaints I did like the story and it was a fun read, probably 3.5 stars for me

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5☆

𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖:🔥🔥
𝕃𝕒𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕤:🤣🤣
𝕋𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤:😐
𝕄ℂ𝕤: Trent, Xavier.
ℙ𝕆𝕍: 1st dual
𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤: Sexual Awakening, Best friend's Ex, Grumpy Sunshine, Bi Awakening.


Me gusto pero hasta ahí. Divertido pero no tanto como esperaba.

[Lelyana's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was sweet and adorable.
I expected nothing but this was actually fun.
I needed to know about the ex and the best friend. Alaator seemes a fun guy.

[Sarah C · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars Rounded Down.

Isla attacked this book with her signature humor and wit. The Best Man/Jilted Groom is a combination I've not seen before, and honestly, I must've forgotten the blurb that it wasn't the best friend that the best man ran off with, and I'm here for it. Because it added a nice twist to this romance.

I loved Trent and how he was just down for pretty much everything. I loved that he didn't get in his head too much about the queer awakening and I LOVED that he spoke to a few other people when he couldn't figure out if he'd just missed something about himself in the past or if it was literally only Xavier that makes him feel this way. It was a nice touch that I don't feel like is seen enough in this genre.

The characters were fun, though I would've loved to know a bit more of who they were outside of their vacation in Thailand. But that didn't stop my enjoyment of the novel. I loved getting to witness the short interactions they had with their other best friends - and cannot wait for their story when Isla publishes it. It will be a very fun ride, I already know it. I also would've preferred it taking more time to get to the actual falling in love thing, because insta-love is probably one of my least favorite tropes.

The glossary did break up the flow of the story a bit - and I would've preferred a massive one at the beginning or end of the book instead of at the end of each chapter. It wasn't even necessary because the context did tell us what each of these things were without the explicit spell out.

All in all, a fun and light read. I would highly recommend it and will probably revisit it again when I want something else that's just light and fun.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm familiar with Isla Olsen's writing style -- breezy, uncomplicated and fun. The concept for this book was quite the hook, too!

BUT, this was such a meh read for me. There is nothing wrong with this book at all, but it's also 100% forgettable. I deeply didn't care about anything that was happening and I found myself happy that Isla writes borderline novellas as a practice, so I didn't have much to read at all.

The set up is so fun, too! Trent's catches his best friend literally climbing out a window to avoid getting married, leaving his husband-to-be Xavier on what would have been their wedding day. Hoping to cheer Xav up, Trent convinces him to go on what was going to be his honeymoon in Thailand, and to take Trent along with him.

The pair get to know each other better and eventually start hooking up. But they both have to face the facts: this not-honeymoon has an expiration date, which means so does their fling, unless they can get up the courage to confess their feelings to one another.

This could have been fun and flirty and steamy. Instead, it was a whole lot of nothing. It was so much telling and not showing. I don't think Trent and Xav had an ounce of chemistry and their characterizations were surface level at best, non-existent at worst. I didn't care about either of them and I didn't care about their relationship (I SKIPPED over bedroom scenes just so I could finish faster. Which is a HUGE rarity for me and is the biggest indicator the book ain't it.)

Trent's best friend (I can't even remember his name) gets off SO EASY, to an infuriating degree. The man did a runner on his wedding day and couldn't even be bothered to tell his fiance himself. He made Trent do it, because he is a flake and a coward. And Trent barely scolds him. Xav barely scolds him (yes, Xav realizes they weren't really in love, but weren't they at least friends? You don't DO that to someone). If a friend of mine did that, I would be re-evaluating my friendship with them. It's unreal. Oh, poor best friend has exacting parents with high expectations. That doesn't excuse him from basic human decency. When you leave a man at the altar, you do it to his face.

So because there was no conflict around THAT, there was no conflict hardly at all. Sure, Xav kinda worries that Trent's newfound attraction to men (well, man) will be short-lived. But Trent takes it in stride and is down for everything and so there's nothing there. They worry briefly about the best friend/ex-fiance, but they both say they will tell him and it'll be fine (spoiler alert, it totally is and it is resolved in a single page, pretty much) so there's nothing there.

The most interesting stuff was the background hints that the ex-fiance has beef (and a possible romantic/sexual past) with Xav's best friend. Seriously.

Also, I don't know if this is a thing in the published book, but in my ARC, there was a little glossary of Australian slang terms at the end of the chapter. It was really jarring and took me out of what little flow I got into. A better approach would be a foreward in the beginning being like "These characters are Australian and use Australian slang. There is a glossary of terms at the end of the book." Some of the things the glossary "translated" were a bit insulting, but perhaps it's just because I read a bit and watch some Australian shows and am familiar with the vernacular. It was annoying regardless.)

A super disappointing read and if I didn't have this review to write, I would have DNF'd this.

| I received an ARC, and this is my honest, freely given review. |

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3 stars

And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom is billed as being part rom-com, part bi-awakening, and part friendship story. Yet, none of it landed well for me.

The book opens with Trent’s best friend, Jack, going out the window to avoid his own wedding. Trent doesn’t seem all that surprised, as it’s said Jack is known to get involved in unpredictable situations, and Trent agrees to cover for him and break the news to Xavier. Jack is never held responsible for any of his actions.I never did feel the attraction or chemistry between Trent and Xavier, however.

There never really was any fallout with Jack, and both of those men moved on quickly from that relationship. Even the setting of Thailand didn’t add anything, as the guys spend most of their time at the resort, and still I didn’t buy into these guys as a forever couple.

Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

I was looking for an easy read, something without a lot of angst, with a bit of humor and some steam, and this was the perfect read for that.
The holiday romance vibe was great. I adored the main characters and their easy affection.
I loved that there wasn't a lot of outside drama too. I'm glad there's another book planned in this series

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[DJO · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. 5 stars.

Blah. Completely run-of-the-mill and just plain flat. Uninspired plot. Poor writing. I think the phrase “offered a wry smile” was used two dozen times at a minimum. Not to mention a wry laugh. Or a wry smirk. Or a wry chuckle. Or a wry shake of the head. Ugh.

Nothing sat right. The fact Jack never had to take responsibility for his actions. The way Xavier barely remembered Jack once in Thailand. The poorly executed GFY trope. The insta everything. And the glossaries! Are you serious?? Do we really need to be told what a handy, holiday, bloke, jumper, stiffy, fuckwit, etc etc etc are??

Cute premise but completely without substance. I’m sorry to dis an author’s hard work but I do not recommend this.

[Amy Weller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic story, I loved it!

This book is amazing! It’s the first one I’ve read by Isla but it won’t be the last! Trent and Jack are best friends and Trent will prove that when Jack has an epic screw up moment. He’s supposed to marry Xavier but sneaks out the window minutes before the wedding is supposed to start. Trent and Xavier’s best friend Alastor convince Xavier to go to Thailand on vacation instead of for the honeymoon and Trent offers to go along. I love Trent’s sunny personality and the way he does everything he can to help Xavier move on from his relationship with Jack. Things take a surprising turn when Xavier finds comfort in Trent’s arms. This is Trent’s first experience with another man and he is open and willing to give it a go. I love how the relationship develops quickly and how the two find they don’t want things to go back to the way they were when they return home. In the end, all the stars will align for them to move forward on the journey to their happily ever after.

I read an ARC copy of this book and am volunteering my honest review.

[Heather Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming story that was quick, sexy, and came with a fun HEA.

This leans to the insta-love side of the spectrum, but with Xavier’s grumpiness, it feels like they still have to work for it. Of course, the fact that Trent is straight also adds a hurdle.

They were both great characters. I love how optimistic and laissez-faire Trent is with everything. Including his sexuality. He makes it his mission to make sure Xavier has fun while moving on from being left at the alter, and fun they end up having! And while this was supposed to have an end date when they return home. Neither are really able to move on.

If you are looking for something light and sexy this will fit the bill.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "best friend's ex-fiancé" theme is still a bit cringe-worthy, but it was handled really well in this one. Okay, there are a few moments where I winced, but still. It is all handled with humor, positivity and not a lot of drama, which is a big plus for this book. Characters are all quirky and have their own brand of humor which is somehow adorable even when they are being ridiculous. Overall, it is sweet, funny and sexy book.

**I was provided an ARC of this book from the GRR for an honest review**

[Courtney Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a low angst best friends ex m/m romance.

Trent and Xavier have never been close so when they end up on what was suppose to be Xavier’s honeymoon what could happen? Oh you know falling in love with the person you are suppose to just cheer up after your best friend leaves him at the alter! I found this book fun and easy to read. I think it might have missed a bit of substance to the story but over all I enjoyed the read.

[Lisa Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really sweet book that I enjoyed reading. It was my first of this trope, best friend's ex, and I felt it was done well. I proved that it was no angst and am easy read; I finished it in one sitting and definitely wanted more of Trent and Xavier. I'm excited for Jack & Alastor's book.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily gave my honest review.

[Sammy Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

I absolutely fell in love with this book. I have read many books by this author but this has become one of my favourites.

Xavier is jilted at his wedding. He is encouraged to still go on his honeymoon and Trent, his ex's best friend and best man., comes along fie the ride! They spend the first week getting to know each other, before bad weather hits. Let's just say that they spend the whole week in bed!

I loved seeing Trent not panic over his feelings for Xavier. He embraces them and goes into the sex with gusto. I just adore them together and sex was off the charts hot!

[Janet Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

And the Best Man Ran Away with the Groom was sooo freakin good! Xavier is jilted, his groom ran away and left him at their wedding with no groom. Trent is the other groom’s best friend and helped him to run away. This was fantastic no angst, humorous read making this a delightful romcom. Overall, fantastic. Well written with pacing that sucked me right in!

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book from the beginning to the end. When Trent finds his best friend sneaking out the window of his own wedding, he's in charge of telling the groom-to-be, Xavier, about it. While they aren't close, he feels for Xavier and decides to do whatever he needs to help Xavier through his broken heart. That leads them to go on Xavier's honeymoon together. Complications arise when they get to know each other and it sparks a desire neither of them can deny. This is a funny, sweet, and great read!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super simple read that had the best friend falling for the ex-fiancé and bi-awakening or maybe more gay for you. It was cute and angst-free. A good filler read if you just need something to pass the time without wanting and/or needing to invest too much.

[Ines · Rating 3 out of 5]

if you really REALLY want to include a glossary - for the love of everything, do it at the end of the book and not every fucking chapter..

[Jamie Lee Zonneveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom by Isla Olsen is about Trent and Xavier. Xavier is left at the alter, his groom doesn’t show up. Trent is the best man at said wedding..... but the best man of the other groom.... the one that didn't show up.

I really liked their story. It was sweet, sexy and well written.

[Anaide · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute, but I expected a bit more angst. I am looking forward to Alastor/ Jack story, I reckon there will be so much angst.