I'm going to start this review by saying something controversial: while this book has a similar premise to Funny Story by Emily Henry - and achieves what I would have thought to be impossible: it does the concept better! Now, this is not an insult to the Queen of the Beach Read, Funny Story had been my favorite romance book of the year until Altar'd Plans went and dethroned it. However, I know I need to back up such a strong statement with facts, so here we go:
This book follows Dr. Juniper Whitmore, a veterinarian who suffered the biggest humiliation of her life a year before: getting left at the altar and ghosted by her ex-fiancé Everett. This betrayal stings even more if you read the prequel to the story, in Finch Benson Publishing's Naughty and Nice Anthology, where you see the start of their love story. I had the misfortune of falling for Everett in the prequel, so seeing him act this way felt like a blow to my heart. And it's clearly a blow to Juniper's too, as she has been at rock bottom: to the point she has a one-night stand on the dorm room floor of a random college student. Which leads to the most embarrassing walk of shame I've ever read in fiction: where her dress and shoe breaks, her makeup is all over her face, and she runs into the hottest man alive and falls on her butt. Yes, this book does not have a meet-cute but instead a meet-mortification. But while Juniper intends to never talk to him again, she literally runs into him again a week later while trying to escape a terrible blind date - and he sneaks his number into her purse. But it's not until a few days later, when her ex surprises her at her work with the dog he dognapped after the wedding and a new pregnant fiancée that she uses it: to ask him to fake date her after lying and saying he was her boyfriend to the happy couple.
What follows? Hilarity and drama.
I think the book's biggest strength is how realistic the characters are. Nobody in the book is perfect, and nobody is trying to be. It shows exactly how messy the human experience is, and while I hope most people's lives aren't as dramatic as Juniper's is, there is so much people can relate to. Between solving a bad breakup with ice cream, to coming up with a terrible plan because you're afraid of ruining a brand new relationship, there's so much I know people do regularly that will touch the hearts of so many because it's easy to understand the motivations. However, even though these people are flawed, so much of it is expertly played up for laughs - but not in a cruel way. I find a lot of humor nowadays tends to skew cruel, so it's nice it's never in a way that feels like we're tearing them down in the process.
Another highlight of this book is it shows exactly how hard it is to start over. Getting left at the altar put Juniper through the emotional wringer, as I am sure it would do anyone in that situation, and watching her slowly learn to heal and trust again made the book a beautiful read. It's always said the person we are meant for would be the one who meets us where we are at, and loves us even when we're at our worst. And considering James met her at her worst and was still interested, showed exactly how meant to be they were.
I was also really impressed with the story's pacing. Every single scene in the story had a purpose, and nothing felt like it was filler. I didn't sit down expecting to read this book in one sitting, but once I started, I could not put it down. I was sucked in by the witty banter, the multiple plot twists, and how easily I fell in love with each and every one of the characters. Except for Everett the Dognapper. I was willing to sacrifice him to this world's version of John Wick, as I felt was deserved.
Overall, I believe Alexis Almanzar was born to write romance novels. The entire time I was reading, I truly could not believe this was her debut. And if this is where she's starting, I truly cannot wait to see what she writes next.
Altar'd Plans is available for preorder, and will be released January 14, 2025.