A Pretty Girls Book Review: Our Ex's Wedding by Taleen Voskuni

Our Ex’s Wedding by Taleen Voskuni

releasing janaury 20th, 2026.

There are books you enjo and then there are books that feel like someone cracked open your chest, pulled out the complicated parts of growing up Armenian-diaspora, and said: here, let’s turn this into a romcom with heart, chaos, and cultural precision.

Our Ex’s Wedding did exactly that for me and then some. Buckle in, because this review is a long one.

Taleen Voskuni has quickly become one of those authors who just gets it. The family dynamics, the quiet pressure to be excellent, the nonstop negotiations between tradition and independence, the way Armenian-ness isn't just background texture but a living pulse running through every chapter. I felt so seen reading this book it almost startled me. I kept stopping to underline lines that felt like home.

Ani Avakian is exactly the kind of heroine I love: ambitious, capable, stressed, stubborn, and hilariously human. Watching her navigate the Armenian wedding industry (and the expectations that trail behind it) felt both too real and deeply comforting. Taleen writes the Armenian diaspora experience with such nuance — the food, the aunties, the pride, the guilt, the pressure, the joy — it all felt familiar in the best way.

And Raffi?

Listen. Raffi Garabedian is the ideal “I come off smug but actually I’m soft and trying my best” Armenian man that every Armenian girl knows all too well. His relationship with his father, the winery, his legacy… it just landed. The banter between him and Ani was incredible, but it was the cultural mirroring, that shared shorthand of who we are, that made their chemistry feel so alive.

The moment Ani discovers she’s planning her ex’s wedding and that Raffi once loved the same woman, the book becomes this layered portrait of past love, self-worth, and the emotional cleanup we’re all forced to do in adulthood. It’s not just drama for drama’s sake, it’s the kind of situation Armenian girls know too well: the overlap, the history, the community ties, the feelings you thought you buried.

I found myself nodding along because these are the types of complex diasporan intersections we rarely get represented, especially not with this much humor, depth, and compassion.

There were moments that genuinely made my heart swell. The food descriptions. The references to family roles. The unspoken weight of community reputation. The winery setting. The names. The language. The gestures that only make sense to us.

As an Armenian woman who grew up straddling two worlds, this book felt like someone finally said “here’s a romcom where your culture isn’t an afterthought, it’s the heart of the story.”

Final Thoughts

Our Ex’s Wedding is chaotic in the best way, full of humor, longing, and deeply satisfying emotional payoff. But more than anything, it made me feel understood. I related to Ani’s drive, her stubbornness, her soft spots, her fears. I related to Raffi’s quiet tug-of-war between honoring family expectations and carving out a life that actually feels like his. I related to the sense of family woven through every scene.

This book didn’t just entertain me, it made me feel at home and honestly? That’s the highest compliment I can give.

If you love messy romcoms, big Middle Eastern/Armenian energy, and characters who feel like your cousins and your family rolled into one… read this immediately.

5 star read for me!

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