How to Ruin a Wedding by Elba Luz: My Honest Book Review
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⭐ Quick Verdict
⭐ My Rating: 4.5 ★
💭 Quick Take: A funny, heartfelt slow-burn romance with fantastic chemistry, a cinnamon roll hero who falls first, and two people who spend so much time looking out for everyone else that they don’t always look out for themselves.
👉 Read If You Love:
- Cinnamon roll heroes
- He falls first
- Fake dating
- Forced proximity
- Slow-burn romance
- Close-knit family dynamics
- Heroines you can’t help but root for
- Romcoms with humor AND heart
🚫 Skip if:
- You want a high-steam romance
- You prefer your slow burns to move a little faster
- You don’t enjoy a romance built around deception, even when the intentions behind it are good
Book Details
Release Date: August 2026
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Fake Dating, Forced Proximity, Cinnamon Roll Hero, He Falls First, Slow Burn, Romcom
Series: Standalone
Steam Level: Low
POV: Single
What This Book Is About
After losing her job and with two failed marriages behind her, Lucy has spent the last few months earning money by helping people stop weddings that probably shouldn’t happen in the first place. And when we first meet her, she’s literally ass-up in a bush trying to get evidence of infidelity for her latest assignment.
Then she meets Anders, a man desperate to stop his younger sister from marrying a guy he doesn’t think is right for her. He offers Lucy more money than she can afford to turn down to pose as his girlfriend, get close to his family, and figure out how to stop the wedding.
Now Lucy is spending her days getting closer to the very woman whose wedding she’s supposed to ruin and her nights living with a man she definitely shouldn’t be falling for.
My Review of How to Ruin a Wedding
It’s always such a special day when I pick up a romance from an author I’ve never read before and it LANDS. I grabbed How to Ruin a Wedding as a First Reads selection thinking it would be a fun romcom, and it absolutely was. But it was also heartfelt and swoony with fantastic writing and characters I loved from start to finish. I’ll definitely be reading more from Elba Luz.
And what a way to start a book.
We meet Lucy ass-up in a bush, trying to sneak around and get evidence of infidelity for her latest assignment. She’s crawling through the dirt, getting bitten by who-knows-what, all in the name of getting the job done and collecting a paycheck. The scene immediately gives you a sense of Lucy’s personality and kicks off the humor that runs throughout the entire book.
Lucy is impossible not to like. She’s only been breaking up weddings for a few months after losing her job, but she’s surprisingly good at recognizing why people are heading down the aisle when they probably shouldn’t be. And underneath all that confidence and humor is someone who loves HARD.
She practically raised her younger sister after losing their parents, and their relationship tells you so much about Lucy. Her sister’s husband has made it clear that he thinks Lucy’s constant presence is threatening their marriage, even going so far as to threaten Lucy, so she’s reluctantly trying to give her sister space. You can feel how hard that is for someone whose instinct is to protect the people she loves.
She also adores dogs and dreams of buying into the local dog shelter so she can help run it and keep saving them. Yet for all the love Lucy gives everyone else, her two failed marriages have left her believing someone like Anders couldn’t possibly want someone like her.
Oh, Anders.
It took approximately one night at a bar for this man to be completely enamored with Lucy, which of course made me enamored with him. He’s the epitome of the cinnamon roll hero I adore because he’s genuinely KIND. He’s always looking out for the people he loves, often at the expense of himself, and his desperation to protect his younger sister is ultimately why he hires Lucy in the first place.
That sets up such a fun fake dating situation because Lucy moves into his apartment and pretends to be his girlfriend so she can get closer to his sister, Alicia, and figure out how to stop the wedding. But instead of Alicia simply becoming an assignment, Lucy genuinely starts to care about her. I especially loved seeing Lucy defend her around Alicia’s vapid friends and watching her become part of Anders’ family.
And then there’s Lucy and Anders together.
Their chemistry was phenomenal from the moment they met. This is definitely a slow burn, but it’s the delicious kind where every little touch matters. An arm touch. A look. Lucy swindling him at pool. The banter. Anders clearly being into her before Lucy is ready to believe anything could actually happen between them.
They just FIT.
That’s ultimately what made the romance work so well for me. Lucy and Anders are both people who instinctively take care of everyone around them. Anders puts other people’s needs before his own, and Lucy does exactly the same thing, especially when it comes to her sister and the dogs she loves so much.
Elba Luz didn’t have to keep telling me they were good people or explaining why they belonged together. She showed me through their actions, their banter, and the way they treated each other. It all felt effortless, honest, and genuine.
And because Lucy doesn’t see herself as someone who could be right for a man like Anders, his kindness and obvious interest in her hit even harder. He sees this funny, loving, determined woman and likes exactly who he sees.
I also loved that the book never lost its humor as the emotions deepened. There’s a lot of heart here, but it still feels like a romcom. The pacing worked for me from beginning to end, and the slow-burn tension kept me completely invested despite the lower steam level.
It’s such a joy to find an author who can blend great writing with humor, fantastic characterization, and a believable love story without making any of it feel forced. This one just worked for me from start to finish.
What I Loved
- Anders’ kindness and major he-falls-first energy
- Lucy’s humor, determination, and huge heart
- Their shared devotion to their younger sisters
- Fantastic chemistry with delicious slow-burn tension
- A fake dating setup that actually brings them closer
- The dog shelter storyline
- Great pacing from beginning to end
- A wonderful mix of humor and heartfelt moments
- Finding a new-to-me author I absolutely want to read again
Things to Know Before You Read
- Low-steam romance with plenty of romantic tension
- Fake dating and forced proximity are both central to the romance
- Lucy is hired to break up Anders’ sister’s wedding, so there’s deception involved
- Controlling and threatening behavior from Lucy’s brother-in-law, though he doesn’t have much page time
- Loss of parents in Lucy’s past
- Dog shelter and rescue dogs are part of Lucy’s story
- You’ll be rooting for Lucy the entire time
Final Thoughts
How to Ruin a Wedding was such a great surprise. I went into it expecting a fun romcom and came out of it having found a new author I can’t wait to read again.
Lucy and Anders won me over because their relationship felt so genuine. The chemistry was there, the slow-burn tension was delicious, but more importantly, I believed in why these two would fall for each other. They’re both people who give so much of themselves to the people they love, and there was something incredibly sweet about watching them find someone who recognized that in the other.
If you love cinnamon roll heroes, fake dating, fantastic banter, and a heroine with a huge heart who’s easy to root for, don’t miss this one. How to Ruin a Wedding gave me the humor I wanted from a romcom while delivering a love story with so much more heart than I expected, and I loved it from start to finish.
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