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Do You Take This Man

Review

Do You Take This Man

As a divorce lawyer, RJ is very good at her job. She asks all the right questions and is willing to work hard to get her clients the very best settlement she’s capable of. It’s probably no wonder that, given her profession, she’s more than a little cynical about romantic relationships, especially when it comes to their longevity. What’s more, as a Black woman working in a largely white- and male-dominated industry, she puts a lot of pressure on herself to always do the right thing at the right time. That usually means keeping her emotions not only in check but practically in lockdown.

"[I]t’s hard to go wrong with the flirtatious dialogue, set against a backdrop of romantic, quirky and sometimes even silly wedding scenarios. This is one rom-com that readers will gladly say yes to."

That’s why RJ’s friends find it so charming (and kind of hilarious) that she moonlights as a wedding officiant. She got the license to officiate at a friend’s wedding but found herself as an in-demand officiant when an impromptu ceremony for a celebrity couple went viral. RJ’s boss and mentor is a little less tolerant of this side hustle, though RJ has pointed out that working the wedding circuit is, ironically, sometimes a good place to interface with former and prospective clients alike.

That’s how RJ encounters Lear. Lear is a classic dude bro, a former sports events manager who recently has relocated from California to North Carolina and is now assisting his cousin with her wedding planning business. When he first bumps into RJ (literally), he has the gall to tell her to smile more. That, plus his relentlessly laid-back attitude, is enough to turn RJ off permanently. But when Lear’s cousin is called away from the business for personal reasons, it looks like RJ and Lear are going to be working more closely together, whether they like it or not.

Denise Williams’ DO YOU TAKE THIS MAN is a classic annoyances-to-lovers rom-com, replete with all the witty banter that readers of her earlier novels and novellas have come to expect. Fans will enjoy checking in on RJ’s good friend, Britta (the protagonist of THE FASTEST WAY TO FALL), through their group chats and the leadup to Britta’s own wedding. At times, the book can seem to go on a bit too long. Although Lear’s backstory is quite poignant, the conflicts between the two love interests seem somewhat overblown, as does RJ’s fixation on a former relationship that she dismisses earlier on as no big deal.

That said, it’s hard to go wrong with the flirtatious dialogue, set against a backdrop of romantic, quirky and sometimes even silly wedding scenarios. This is one rom-com that readers will gladly say yes to.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl on September 16, 2022

Do You Take This Man
by Denise Williams