Book Review: Fancy Meeting You Here

Wedding season is stressful enough. More so if you’re a bridesmaid. Or the florist. Or have this weird push/pull dynamic with one of the bride’s brothers. Roll all three into one, and you have the problems facing Elise Ngo in Julie Tieu’s sweet, funny rom-com Fancy Meeting You Here. 

The story follows Elise as she pulls double-duty for each of her best friend’s vastly different weddings, and in the process meets Ben Yu, the younger brother of her friend Rebecca. Though the two get off to something of a prickly start, circumstances throughout wedding season keep forcing them together until the banter between the two evolves into something a little more intimate.

But beyond just focusing on Elise and Ben’s secret developing relationship, Tieu also puts an equal focus on Elise’s three bride-to-be friends - Rebecca, Beth and Jesse - and the friendship that the four of them share, specifically how that grows and changes as three of them reach a major life milestone within a few weeks of each other. 

Elise’s friends’ weddings are each unique in their own way, in style, in budget, and in how much they each incorporate tradition versus modernity. As someone whose background and culture also features elaborate weddings with traditions that are less commonly seen in media, seeing how Tieu brought these to life was a treat. The traditions felt lived-in: not talking down to the audience, but instead inviting you to join in through Elise’s eyes.

The romance itself is very sweet. The two are all snark with no real bite to it - it’s clear early on that both Elise and Ben harbor certain insecurities that might take the other a while to draw out. But what’s genuinely lovely about it is how willing they each are to let their guard down, to heal, and more importantly to put more focus on themselves.

Fancy Meeting You Here hits the spot for those looking for a romance novel with the vibe of a rom-com movie when those movies were in their heyday. It’s sweet, thoughtful, romantic, and brimming with comedic moments.

Fancy Meeting You Here hits shelves on November 7. Special thank you to Avon for an advance copy for review purposes.