This was a bit of a slow pace for most of the first half but it began to pick up in the last few chapters.
Lizzie was irritating from the start, the way she let her controlling mother dictate her life and wedding and the way she wouldn’t tell her fiancé the full story about her mother.

I guessed a lot of things and peoples true intentions. Wasn’t really a surprise, but the ending was twisty. I had guessed this person was responsible in some way, just not the way it happened.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

The blurb for "Mother of the Bride" sent shivers down my spine, and I was eager to start reading. It did not let me down. I was captivated from start to finish, with each twist casting doubt on my assumptions. "Mother of the Bride" was a fantastic read, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having grown up with a mother that also had "brain bad" days, I did find this story intriguing. It was enjoyable to read, though at some points predictable. I did not see the end coming though!

Hayes made a phenomenal job with the characters development in this book. The way she released the details about each one and the way the plot was developing giving us just enough to try and guess what was coming next was fantastic.

I felt completely captivated by this book and I felt like it was very well written and quite suspensefull. I couldn’t guess what was going to happen, and the big reveal at the end? I’m just going to say Wow! I certainly didn’t saw it coming.

Overall, this was an amazing thriller, and I would recommend it to those, like me, that enjoys a bit of family drama in their thrillers. This one was quite a dysfunctional family.

Thank you, Bookouture & NetGalley, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

Samantha Hayes always takes a normal situation which she then turns into an enthralling, twisted, psychological thriller. This one is set around a wedding, but it is the bride's mother who is the bridezilla!!

A lot of planning must have gone into creating this story to make it flow so effortlessly. Every secret, big or small that emerged just raised more questions. I never really knew who was really telling the truth or if it was a "red herring". I read in awe, Elizabeth's dad's story, this is truly something that never entered my head!! I just love a big reveal that I never, ever, saw coming!!

This is a brilliant book which will keep you guessing all the way through!

Mother of the Bride by Samantha Hayes

Oh wow! The ending was a serious twist.

Lizzie and her fiancé Owen are getting marry. Lizzie and her sister Shelly are not close to their mother Sylvia, but due to financial problem, Lizzie and Owen move back to stay with Sylvia. Shelly’s husband passed away in an accident and Lizzie somehow believes her mother has involved in it.

Now Lizzie thinks her husband Owen might in danger too.

I love the story plot. The story plot is building up quickly. The twists are unexpected!

Many thanks to NetGalley, bookouture audio and the author for my copy.

Pub date: March 26, 2024

* Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Bookoture, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review*

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I found this book on Netgalley. The cover is what drew my attention; simply looking at it is enough to grab any reader's attention. The cover itself is full of mystery, leaving you curious about the story. After that, I read the synopsis, which immediately grabbed my attention and led me to request the book. I’m delighted I got approved and got to read Mother Of The Bride . A lot was going on in this story, making it difficult to pick a stopping point.

I loved Lizzie, though I wasn’t too sure about her mental health. I understood why she was cautious about her mother, considering what happened the year before during her sister’s wedding. However, I felt that she was overly concerned about her mother’s capabilities. On the other hand, the way that her mother was acting while Lizzie was staying with her, was suspicious. As the story progressed, I began to suspect that Lizzie’s mother was involved in what occurred during Shelley’s wedding. I couldn’t get away from the story at this point.

I did feel that few parts would repeat, or drag on. However, those parts didn’t last too long. I loved the twists in this novel, and most of them surprised me, especially the last one. I enjoyed most of the characters, but Owen…I liked him, but I had a hunch that something wasn’t right about him. Mother Of The Bride is a novel you will not be able to put down once you begin reading it. Once the twists start, you’ll want to continue reading until the final page. I loved the amount of suspense in this book, which keeps you guessing until the last page.

I would highly suggest this to anyone who likes mystery and suspense. It will keep you at the edge of your seat.

Just brilliant! Loved this twisted rollercoaster of a story. Read it in one heart racing sitting. Just wow! Very highly recommend.

I was on the blog tour organised by Sarah Hardy

http://ramblingmads.uk/2024/03/26/blog-tour-mother-of-the-bride-samantha-hayes/

The description to Mother of the Bride gave me goosebumps and I could not wait to dive into the book. I was not disappointed. I was totally gripped from beginning to end and every twist had me doubting what I thought. I really loved Mother of the Bride and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

Lizzie & boyfriend Owen go to visit Lizzie's mother to tell her of their engagement. Lizzie has never got on with her mother & although she expects her mother to find fault with him she bowls him over with charm & he cannot understand why they can't get on. When their living arrangements leave them homeless, Lizzie's mother says they can stay with her. She also seems intent on arranging their wedding. It is the last thing Lizzie wants but for Owen, the whole village church is what he dreamt of! As time goes on Lizzie wonders exactly what her mother is up to.

I am a big fan of Samantha Hayes but I found this book disappointing. Lizzie drove me up the wall- secrets are never a good thing especially between people who plan to spend their lives together. If Lizzie felt she couldn't be straight with Owen it didn't bode well for the future! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

There is nothing I love more than a crazy family! This mother absolutely takes the cake.

Owns and Lizzie are going to be married. But they have to move in with her mother. Her mother is a bit of an issue. She is crazy. Will she allow this to happen? Or will Owen end up like her sister fiancée? Dead!

This fast paced thriller will have you guessing and shaking your head as you turn the pages to see what will happen next.

Thanks to NetGalley and bookouture for this arc

Gripping from the start with twists galore. I thought I had the story sussed buT boy was I wrong. Twists that I could never have expected. A brilliant book that I highly recommend.
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC

The name Samantha Hayes has become synonymous with great twisted psychological thrillers and this book is no different. However as much as I was expecting a few surprises I did not expect the ones in this story. Lizzie is so obsessed with blaming her her mother for everything she is blind to the actions of everyone else.. I thought.the end was a little too convenient although at the same time I was reeling from the shock that had just been revealed.. Another great psychological thriller from an author who can do no wrong, I loved it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

Lizzie and her fiance Owen move in with her mother after her friend tells them they can no longer stay. Lizzie is hurt by this but hopes that they'll be able to rent somewhere when Owen's invoice is paid. They end up moving in with her overbearing mother who decides to take over the wedding planning much to Lizzie's dismay. She helped organise her sister's wedding and look what happened there...

Things go from bad to worse and Owen seems to like living in the house having cozy chats with her mum. It's very twisty with some shocking revelations throughout. The final twist I never saw coming! I really recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for sending me a copy of this book to review. I found this book to be quite entertaining. The cast of characters were definitely a bunch of characters. Lizzie and her fiancé Owen move in with her mother after being asked to leave unexpectedly from a friend's home. Lizzie's mom is not June Cleaver; she is overbearing and controlling. The relationships in this story were well written. The characters all have their flaws and are shrouded in mystery. Lizzie's anxiety surrounding her wedding is also at an all-time high due to what happened at her sister Shelly's wedding a year ago when the groom never made it to the altar. This book had plenty of twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat.  
 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a fantastic book and kept me guessing the full time.

The characters were well thought out and I could feel myself in the main character Lizzie’s shoes.

The suspense waiting up to her wedding day was well planned and I was waiting on something happening at every page.

Would recommend.

I loved how fast paced this book was and I loved the twists even though the main one was pretty obvious.

Ah man the MC Lizzie drove me crazy. With everything that kept happening, she still stayed in her situation without trying to get out of it.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Each year, I hold out a hope that the Easter bank holiday weekend will be quiet, relaxing and allow me to switch off for a while and just read a good book. And it seems like each year - not including 2020, obviously - those hopes are set to be dashed. But never have they been dashed any more spectacularly than this year.

For starters, Mrs Book Nook's car, and then mine, each developed different and unrelated faults that needed fixing to avoid the risk of a breakdown at a time when all repair garages would be closed. This achieved, and £300 spent, the next thing to happen was that my builders announced - with a day's notice - that the stairs into my partially converted loft had to be fitted now. Not in 2 weeks' time, as scheduled, or even next week, but now. Now, d'you hear? The trouble is that the newly-fitted window still doesn't have glass in it which, coupled with a hole in the bedroom ceiling, means that going to bed is a bit like sleeping in a tent. Not ideal, especially when it. Won't. Stop. Raining. And you can hear every. Single. Drop.

In something approaching desperation, I made the 200-mile journey to my mum's house - in my thankfully mended car - in search of a few nights' sleep in a room with such luxuries as a glazed window and an intact roof. Thankfully, this was forthcoming, but there was a price to pay during the daytime. Reading so much as a page of a book, never mind writing about it, isn't easy when the house appears to be constantly full of grand-kids, all of whom were on a seemingly permanent sugar high from having indulged in chocolate.

Life, then, is one of my excuses for having missed my stop on the blog tour for Mother of the Bride. Sorry, Bookouture. The other is that even now, several days after having finished it, I'm still not actually sure what to say about it.

On the one hand, it's absolutely compelling. Addictive, even. Certainly during those nights of being unable to sleep well due to being exposed to the sound, if not the feel of wind and rain, it served as a welcome distraction. The prologue, whilst admittedly not original, is still a great hook and from there, we're effortlessly taken into the life of Lizzie as she prepares to marry her fiance Owen. It's a constant story of 'what? Why? Who? and it offers lots of mystery and intrigue. Why does Lizzie's mum, Sylvia, insist on controlling every last detail of the wedding with no regard at all as to what her daughter wants? Why does Owen appear to be not only willing, but wanting to let her? And could Sylvia really have been responsible for the death of Lizzie's sister's fiance, on his wedding day a year earlier?

I also really liked the portrayal of Lizzie's relationships with her sister Shelley and old friend Jared. Not only were these heartwarming, but they served to provide just the right amount of sanity in a world that, for poor Lizzie, seemed to be going so mad as to completely lose its marbles.

The trouble is that - and I can't think of an easy or gentle way of saying this - the book would have been better for me if it had made more sense.

The problem, I think, is essentially the same one that also affects The Split by Samantha Hayes' fellow Bookouture author, S E Lynes. The storyline is plot-driven, but it relies on the characters doing or saying improbable things in order to carry the plot along. However, the crucial difference is that in The Split, Susie Lynes makes a great effort to give the main characters sufficient back-stories to make their words and actions believable, even if they're not always relatable. But I'm sorry to say that Samantha hasn't managed to do the same thing here. For example, we're asked to believe that Sylvia has some unspecified mental illness which causes her to have very specific tendencies and reactions. I think I'd have liked to see some more research done here into specific conditions that she could actually have been suffering from.

Meanwhile, it's perhaps understandable that Lizzie is unwilling to trust her mum an inch. But at the same time, she appears to be trusting and naive enough to believe every word that everyone else ever tells her. And I'm afraid I really didn't get what was going on with Lizzie's dad, or even understand why he needed to feature in the story at all.

I'm not quite sure how I felt about the ending to the book, either. On the one hand, I could see where the main story was going from a mile off. But that said, there is a second twist which, whilst feeling somewhat improbable, still managed to be satisfying.

The best way I can think of to conclude my review is to say this. Mother of the Bride managed to take me into a fictional world that was even crazier than my real one. This was entertaining, but - and this is more of an issue with psychological fiction than most other genres - not entirely convincing.

My thanks to Bookouture for including me on the blog tour, and apologies once again that my review is late. Given it's critical nature, I will post on this blog and Netgalley only unless asked to share elsewhere.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I was reading the book, I was growing increasing frustrated with how meek Lizzie seem to be, and how crazy the mom was. I kept on waiting for the final shoe to drop, and was surprised for the grand reveal. I should have totally seen the twist but didn't.