Like the first book in the Worth saga, I found After the Wedding to be a tad too overstuffed with external plot points for a romance. However, I was still compelled by the central romance in the book itself. Camilla and Adrian were a suitably charming couple and the setup of their forced marriage was fairly entertaining.

The book follows Camilla Worth and Adrian Hunter. The former is an underpaid servant in the household of a rector and the latter is posing as a valet while spying on a bishop. Dastardly scheming sees the two forced into a sham marriage and they spend the book frantically attempting to get an annulment while accidentally falling in love.

The character work in After the Wedding was especially great. Courtney Milan was successful in elaborating on what specifically motivated Camilla and Adrian throughout the novel. Camilla’s deep desire to be loved and chosen was equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking and Adrian's desperate desire to be finally acknowledged by his uncle despite his constant mistreatment was palpable.

The plot of After the Wedding wasn’t as tight as I would have liked. The problem of the annulment by the end of the novel was more convoluted than necessary. While Milan did her best to explain why the story was unfolding the way it did it felt a little trite. While not the most pointless third act break up it did still feel like a plot cul de sac.

After the Wedding also lingers on plot points completely separate from the main romance plot a lot more than I would expect from a romance. We get POV chapters from Camilla’s estranged sister Theresa. While they’re mostly related to elements of the central plot Milan also delves into Theresa's psyche and independent concerns. Overall, I wasn’t bothered by this because I’m invested in the Worth family as a whole and it was interesting to see how Theresa perceived her place in the family and her relationship with Benedict. However, I think these tidbits would only be this fascinating to people already familiar with Theresa from the previous entry in the series Once Upon a Marquess.

While I had some concerns overall I enjoyed After the Wedding about as much as I did Once Upon a Marquess. I find Courtney Milan’s style of romance incredibly readable. And while I have minor problems with the series I am still deeply invested in learning more about this family.