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"Pretty Dead Things" by Lilian West is a slow-moving cozy mystery that follows bride-to-be Cora as she uncovers a decades-old mystery in her new Midwest hometown. While exploring Hickory Falls, Cora discovers a wedding ring in a jar of baubles she purchased at an estate sale. Intrigued, she becomes obsessed with finding out the truth about the ring and the disappearance of Clarity Shaw, a woman who vanished in the 1950s. However, the narrative is weighed down by excessive wedding planning and lacks intensity, with flat characters. [Extracted from the article]

Audrey Tate, reeling with pain and guilt following the death of her married lover, avoids reentering the Manhattan dating scene in favor of immersing herself in her work as a social media influencer and spending time with her longtime best friend, Clarke West. When Clarke's manipulative, matchmaking mother tries to get him back together with his ex-girlfriend in an effort to see her son married, Clarke lies and says he's already engaged to Audrey. What starts as a lark for Audrey, who thinks it sounds fun to plan a fake wedding, grows complicated as she and Clarke support each other through familial pressure and their fake kisses start to feel real. [Extracted from the article]

Avery Sunshine and her sisters, free-spirited Taylor and single mother Bella, run Sunshine Bridal, a wedding planning firm in Cape May, N.J. When Avery's college best friend, Ally Ross, gets engaged, she asks Avery to plan her dream wedding in just four months. Avery agrees, but instantly regrets it once Ally's control-freak brother, Carter, insists on helping. Carter remembers Avery as the party girl who was a bad influence on his sister in college, and Avery remembers him as the jerk who judged her for it. [Extracted from the article]