Hello friends! Today is my stop for a blog tour organized by Over The River PR for Liz Parker’s All Are Welcome. This LGBTQ+ fiction about a wedding weekend is full of humor, dark secrets and a cast of characters that are messed up in their unique way. I had so much fun reading this book and I hope that you will pick it up when you are looking for a light yet thoughtful read. I am hosting an International giveaway for this book so check out the details at the end of the post on what you need to do if you want to win a copy of All Are Welcome. Check out the synopsis below and then dive into my review.
Tiny McAllister never thought she’d get married. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she didn’t think girls from Connecticut married other girls. Yet here she is with Caroline, the love of her life, at their destination wedding on the Bermuda coast. In attendance—their respective families and a few choice friends. The conflict-phobic Tiny hopes for a beautiful weekend with her bride-to-be. But as the weekend unfolds, it starts to feel like there’s a skeleton in every closet of the resort.
From Tiny’s family members, who find the world is changing at an uncomfortable speed, to Caroline’s parents, who are engaged in conspiratorial whispers, to their friends, who packed secrets of their own—nobody seems entirely forthcoming. Not to mention the conspicuous no-show and a tempting visit from the past. What the celebration really needs now is a monsoon to help stir up all the long-held secrets, simmering discontent, and hidden agendas.
All Tiny wanted was to get married, but if she can make it through this squall of a wedding, she might just leave with more than a wife.
Content Notes include depiction of homophobia, cheating on partner, drugs, alcoholism.
Thoughts on All Are Welcome
All Are Welcome is the story of Timy and Caroline’s wedding. Coming from rich families, their parents have decided to throw them an intimate destination wedding on the Bermuda coast, full of all their (parents’) favorite things to do like boat rides, tennis, golf, drinks and cocktails. When Timy and Caroline arrive at the resort, they are taken aback by the hour by hour itinerary prepared by the future mother-in-laws together, who have been friends for decades. As guests arrive, the story unfolds – there is a lot of gossip to keep the reader engaged!
On Weddings
The families have assembled for the wedding and some very close friends have been invited too. But everyone comes with their baggage whether it is suppressed feelings, the tendency to ignore the bad things in a marriage or to have way too much fun, without regard for others.
Liz Parker does a fantastic job of balancing the different character stories and showing the relationships between them. Amongst others, we hear from Tiny’s mom, Betty, her brother Trip whose marriage has fallen apart and he is super ashamed of that, and her father, Dick.
Though we did not see a lot of Daisy, Timy’s bridesmaid, directly in the book, I was blown away by her honesty about life towards the end of the book. Her character really spoke to how we don’t always do justice to ourselves and fight for a better life. A dramatic wedding can surely bring out the truth.
On Identity
Timy’s family had a hard time accepting her interest in women. Her father always refers to this as her ‘alternate lifestyle’ and though he is trying his best to support her and accept her, old habits and views are hard to break, even for one’s own children. Tiny’s brother is a monk and does not even bother accepting her. When these feelings and tensions come up during her wedding, Tiny is overwhelmed with issues to fix. She is a bride and more drama is the last thing she needs.
I loved that she came out of this wedding learning a lot about herself and her dependence on other people – how much she cares that they think a certain way about her. But as we all learn with growing older, we only have control over our own views and actions.
Caroline, on the other hand, has her own identity crisis. Her parents had wanted her to marry Tiny for a long time and were thrilled when the two got together two years ago. But as she prepares to walk down the aisle with Tiny, she is confronted by the past. There is so much pressure and secrets lurking around in the background that it is obvious that she is distracted. Will she be able to pull herself together and make this the more memorable weekend for all the good reasons? All Are Welcome is a roller coaster ride partly to answer this question.
Characters individually aside, I noticed that the book also offered commentary on WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) and the things that are attributed to just them – both families are quite well off and their problems and obsessions served as a humorous element. I had a good laugh at many of the habits portrayed there, especially the part when Dick and Trip go golfing at the resort. It is quite the expense!
Reading Experience Summary
All Are Welcome is an enjoyable book! Weddings, even small weddings, bring so many people together and unfortunately, not everyone comes with the same agenda. Weddings also bring up feelings from the past, while making people reevaluate if this is where they want to be. Though there are numerous perspectives in this tale, Tiny and Caroline have the centre stage. Coming out to parents and being ok with ourselves, not caring about what others, sometimes even parents, think of us and our lifestyle is something we learn as we grow older. The title All Are Welcome alludes to the amount of effort that goes into keeping a straight face and accepting people in spite of differences. Some of these lessons come at times of important milestones like weddings.
I found this to be a thoughtful and fun book. I liked how the book was structured – each part was about a particular event in the wedding weekend, which was jam packed with stuff to do even for 20 people. I loved how the book ended and its message. This was Liz Parker’s first book and I can’t wait to read more from her!
Stay tuned for an interview with Liz, coming to the blog next week!
Will you pick up this book?
All Are Welcome is available in stores. Be sure to check your local library and order it through there to help this book reach more readers.
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
CLOSED: Giveaway Details
Congratulations to Emilie from Instagram!
If you are interested in reading All Are Welcome, I have a giveaway for you, open internationally: One of my readers across all platforms will win a physical copy of the book!
All you need to do is comment below with why this book is on your TBR. That’s it!
Giveaway closes on August 17th 11:59 pm. I will contact the winner on the 18th. You should be willing to provide your mailing address for the book to be shipped to you. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to me at kriti.khare@gmail.com.
Many thanks to Over the River PR and the publisher for the gifted copy of the book for an honest review and the giveaway copy of the book.
Cover image: Photo by Beatriz Pérez Moya on Unsplash
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