Awful by Comparison, the debut novel by Patricia Caliskan, sees a family row disrupt a wedding. The summary says: "Jennifer Taylor is home for the holidays, but she's in no mood to celebrate. It's a month before Christmas, and she has been made redundant from her job as a bookseller. And to make matters worse, she's lost her apartment and broken up with her boyfriend. With no income and no savings, her only option is to move home with her parents.
Things could be better, but Jennifer is used to living in the shadows. That's what happens when your sister is the beautiful New York-based model, Lara Taylor. As fate would have it, Lara is also home for Christmas with the whirlwind news that she is getting married. But it turns out that Lara's life isn't as perfect as it seems. At 32 she is washed up - her agent won't return her calls, her second ex-husband bankrupted her, and now she's marrying Silvano who is nothing more than a good friend. And it turns out Silvano is keeping a pretty big secret of his own.
After a huge family argument, Jennifer is the only member of the Taylor clan to travel to New York for the nuptials. But just when all hope is gone, the fairy-tale magic of Manhattan weaves its spell. Perhaps it's not too late for Jennifer's happily ever after after all?"