Amanda’s Wedding | By Jenny Colgan
Book Review | Contemporary Romance
Categories: 2025, Book Reviews, Contemporary Romance, Women's fiction
Author: Jenny Colgan
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Harper Collins Pod
A deliciously warm and hilarious romp of a novel set in twenty-something heartland. Amanda's old schoolfriends can't believe it when the social-climbing queen of preen, Satan's very own PR girl, pulls off the ultimate publicity stunt in getting herself engaged to a Scottish laird. Who cares that Fraser McConnald has worn the same pair of Converse trainers for the last three years and that his castle is a pile of rubble with one calor gas heater - she'll be titled! Something Must Be Done. Gentle, decent Fraser is clearly ignorant of her wiles, and Mel and Fran, still smarting from the memory of all the mean things Amanda put them through in their days at Portmount Comprehensive, set out to sabotage this mismatch of the century. So between fighting off the attentions of a love-crazed accountant, keeping Fran's deadly manoeuvres with the opposite sex under control and trying to win her own war of love with the elusive but gorgeous Alex, Mel finds herself attending a wild Scottish stag night, a hen night from hell, and preparing for a wedding that's everything you'd wish on your worst enemy. (Goodreads)
My thoughts
Narrative and Plot
Amanda’s Wedding was published in 1999, and honestly, I wouldn’t have picked it up if it weren’t part of a pre-loved book box sale I stumbled upon at the mall. I grabbed it because I’ve read and enjoyed a wholesome Christmas book by Jenny Colgan before and was familiar with her work. However, this one felt very dated.
If not for the author’s writing style and the narrative voice, I might have DNFed it. The story is told from Mel’s perspective, and while she has an entertaining voice, the plot itself just didn’t sit well with me. Maybe this kind of story worked in the late ’90s or early 2000s, but it doesn’t hold up in 2025. There were several plot points I fundamentally disagreed with, and they completely pulled me out of the story.
Characters and Conflicts
Most of the characters in the book were pretty awful, except perhaps Angus and Linda. Even Mel came off as self-centred and frustratingly clueless. At times, it felt like she was willingly being a doormat for an emotionally unavailable man.
As for the central conflict (which you can probably guess from the title), it was handled in a one-dimensional way. I wouldn’t have minded the clichés if the characters had been fleshed out better. The romance, if you can call it that, was barely there. I’ve read other rom-coms from the same era that managed better chemistry and development, so I don’t think the issue was the year it was written. It’s just hard to root for a main character who doesn’t seem to respect herself.
Conclusion
Amanda’s Wedding was barely a one-time read for me. If you’re trying to explore Jenny Colgan’s body of work, this is one you can easily skip.
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