Booksology Imagine not only being invited to your ex’s wedding, but also having to plan it.
Ani Avakian should have everything figured out by now: a successful wedding planning business, a loving relationship. Instead, she is drowning in debt, heartbroken and desperate to save her business’s reputation. Luckily, Ani books an indie actress’s wedding, and suddenly hope is not lost. However, she soon realizes that the actress’s future wife, Kami, is…her ex-girlfriend.
Raffi Garabedian is a charmer — a reformed playboy and winery owner. He drives expensive cars and wears only custom suits. When the brides-to-be choose his Napa Valley venue to host the wedding of the year, Raffi and Ani now are forced to work together to pull off the event of the season. Their first awkward run-in leads to an even more awkward realization: Raffi has also dated Kami.
Both Raffi and Ani need this wedding to go perfectly for the sake of their businesses, but first, they need to learn to get along. Despite their rocky first encounter, the dynamic between them quickly shifts from irritation to something much more complicated.
The romance genre guarantees a happily ever after, offering readers sweet escapism, dreamy storylines and lovable characters. Author Taleen Voskuni delivers on that promise, but she also deepens the narrative by giving her characters layers of relatability and struggles with identity. Both Ani and Raffi are modern Armenians balancing familial and cultural pressures while discovering themselves. As with Voskuni’s previous novels, Armenian identity and the characters’ queerness remain central to the story.
Voskuni writes her queer characters with warmth and care, adding to the cozy, lighthearted tone that carries readers from page to page.
As a reader, I am thrilled and thankful that Voskuni is writing for a group that, unfortunately, too often feels isolated within our community. Ani is bisexual and thoughtfully explores her feelings for both women and men throughout the novel.
The romance between Raffi and Ani is so well-developed and beautifully done, sprinkled with tension and sharp banter that will make you laugh out loud. Together, they find themselves in some ridiculously hilarious situations while attempting to plan the perfect wedding. At times, I wondered whether they would actually pull it off, but their magnetic energy made it impossible not to believe in them.
One of the novel’s greatest strengths is how deeply Voskuni makes you root for these characters. Finding out that Raffi is a recovered playboy who now participates in a feminist book club? Brilliant. Raffi is reflective and self-aware, reckoning with both the mistakes and growth of his past. He is careful and courteous, yet still carries a classic charm that will make readers swoon.
Armenian culture and identity are woven throughout the novel, motivating the main characters and challenging their perspectives. Through food, family dynamics and cultural pride, Ani and Raffi’s connection grows stronger. Armenia remains at the heart of the story.
To sum it up: if you love enemies-to-lovers tropes, forced proximity and a slow burn with well-written LGBTQ representation, then you will adore this book. Our Ex’s Wedding sizzles with romance reminiscent of your favorite early 2000s rom-com — and it is absolutely not to be missed.
Our Ex’s Wedding is now available wherever books are sold.
