The Stand-Up Groomsman
Grade : B+

Jackie Lau is my favorite contemporary romance writer, and I know I can expect a well-rounded book filled with complicated characters trying to deal with grown-up situations from her. The Stand-Up Groomsman isn’t my absolute favorite Lau, but it’s still a straight-up delight, and well worth a read.

Vivian Liao is an introvert who has learned how to hold herself with grace and cool reserve in public. When she meets her personal hero, Mel Lee – the co-lead in the popular series Just Another New York Sitcom – during a night out at a comedy club, things go disastrously when Mel sees Vivian’s fan art of his character and he interrogates her career choices in front of their friends - he wonders why she’s in corporate finance when her art skills are so refined. Vivian storms out.
Unfortunately for Vivian, she and Mel are destined to meet again. One year later, her best friend and roommate, baker Lindsay McLeod, is marrying Mel’s best friend and co-star, Ryan Kwok (hero and heroine of Donut Fall In Love). Vivian is the maid of honor and Mel is the best man, which means she and Mel are stuck spending time together doing all sorts of wedding-based activities. Vivian still isn’t pursuing her artistic career, and Mel still wants to be liked for the real him. Cake tastings, karaoke parties and other wedding events ensue, and the more time Mel and Vivian spend together, the more they start to like each other. But can the past be truly forgotten?

Romance, the hard stuff of growing up and the fun stuff of good food and good friendship – that is what a Jackie Lau romance is made of. The Stand-Up Groomsman is more of the same, even though there were a few weak points that put this one on at B-level - it's good, but not as great as her other books.

Tightly-wound Vivian and easy-breezy Mel are definitely archetypes to a degree, but they spring free of their tropes and come to life beneath Lau’s pen. The wedding preparations are a lot of fun to follow, and their career battles – Vivian has to choose between finance and art – are also compelling.

Some people are going to have issues with Mel’s introduction to Vivian, and with the notion of a fangirl finding love with her idol, but soon enough he’s vulnerable (his father left when he was a child, so he’s got residual issues) and they’re on an even playing field. It’s a good romance, a fun one, and a sharp portrayal of a lovely and growing affection between two nice people.

The Stand-Up Groomsman has weight, but also dances with the joy of finding love, finding your art, and finding your calling.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible or your local independent retailer

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Reviewed by Lisa Fernandes
Grade : B+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : October 23, 2022

Publication Date: 10/2020

Review Tags: AoC PoC heavyset hero

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Lisa Fernandes

Lisa Fernandes is a writer, reviewer and recapper who lives somewhere on the East Coast. Formerly employed by Firefox.org and Next Projection, she also currently contributes to Women Write About Comics. Read her blog at http://thatbouviergirl.blogspot.com/, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thatbouviergirl or contribute to her Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/MissyvsEvilDead or her Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/missmelbouvier
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