Okay. (deep breath).
This book was incredibly bizarre. And let me just preface this by stating: I DESPISE stupid characters. The main character was so unlikeable, I wanted to smack some sense into her 95% of the time.
One sentence in that synopsis completely baffles me. "When I got to Joanna’s front door, only Mark was there. He was charming and gorgeous and nothing but nice to me, and I started to understand." What on God's green Earth did you start to understand?! Ted Bundy was nice and charming to everyone too but he also had a penchant for serial killing!! Add that to the fact that she hadn't even seen her so called "best friend" in TEN YEARS!
I wasn't really surprised with the twist at the end and it could have been executed much better. The characters were very shallow and one-dimensional.
Lastly, there's that ending. I hated it. I hate how it ended and what happened with the characters. I went through this awful and painful journey to only get no satisfaction in the end. It's like mediocre sex without the climax.

I thank NetGalley and Bookouture for this digital arc.

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for the arc of "The Bride" by Wendy Clarke.

Synopsis:

Alice had it rough. She lost her mother, her job and her relationship. Feeling depressed and without any perspective, she decided to visit her old friend Joanna who lives in London's Black Water Dock. After texting to confirm their plans, Alice arrives at the modern, state of the art appartement only to find Joanna's partner Mark who is totally unaware of Alice's planned stay. In fact Joanna isn't even at home. Puzzled by the turn of events, but dreading the long drive home she takes on Mark's offer to stay and wait for Joanna to come back home from the supposed course she's on. However when Joanna doesn't turn up and Alice finds out that Mark hasn't been completely honest to her, things start to become pretty unsettling...

Thoughts:
I'm sorry to say this one wasn't for me. I didn't get it. It felt as if I didn't really got to know any of the main characters or learn much about their past or relationships. I didn't understand the choices they made and therfore felt little connection or empathy towards them. The author did a great job creating a creepy atmosphere though.

Alice is having a bad time. Her reunion with her father has not gone well, she nearly gets run over & her boyfriend dumps her. Getting a text from Johanna asking her to come & meet her fiance seems to have come at an ideal time. Johanna & Alice had been best friends from school. They were inseparable all through Uni but at some stage about ten years ago they lost touch. This seems an ideal time to meet again. Alice goes off to stay with her. When Alice gets to the address in London's Docklands it is not the high end luxury development. The block is in the middle of derelict buildings & Wendy Clarke really does convey the setting brilliantly. The address IS a luxury block. The apartment is very high end, but Johanna isn't there & Mark (her fiance, soon to be revealed as her husband) says she is away. For some reason Alice decides to stay anyway- after all she was here to get to know Mark. He tells her eventually that Johanna is missing.

I'm as good at letting go of my grip on reality for a good story, but I'm afraid this one was too much for me. I kept with it because I wanted to see how it ends but it was not one of the best 'thrillers' I've read.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I was intrigued by this book from the moment I saw the cover. This thriller had it all...broken relationships, friendships and missing persons. I enjoyed the bits of history revealed of Alice and Joanna's friendship, but I sadly struggled to really connect with Alice's character. Just as I felt my attention slipping, Wendy Clarke threw a monkey wrench and everything I thought I knew, I didn't, and what I read I couldn't believe. Forced to put the book down, I was truly excited to pick back up the next night and read her whirlwind finish.

The Bride is a twisty thriller that had me with no clue in which direction it was going to go.
Alice and her fiancé Drew have split up, Alice is taking it badly as Drew has told her the other woman he’s been seeing is pregnant. Out of the blue she gets a text from her old school friend Joanna, she’s getting married and wants her to come and stay for the weekend and meet him. After receiving no real communication Alice arrives at Joanna’s apartment in an old converted shipment warehouse to find she’s not there but her fiancé is. Mark tells her to stay the night and Joanna will be back soon but Joanna never appears and with strange goings on in this near empty warehouse it leaves you with no clue as to where this is going.
This was at first a little slow going but did pick up the pace after the first quarter and turned out to be a not too bad thriller. I enjoyed the storyline even if the characters were unlikeable but maybe that was because you didn’t really get to know them all that well but I understand that the ending wouldn’t have had the effect it had I’d we had been given more depth and knowledge into the characters.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I received this as an ARC. The Bride is a suspenseful thriller that was not what I expected. Alice was redundant from her job and her fiancé told her he was seeing someone else and they were having a baby. Out of the blue her best friend that she hasn’t talked to in 10 years texted her saying she was getting married and she wanted Alice to meet the husband to be. Alice was excited. She thought her best friend from childhood would cheer her up from the bombshells he was handed. When she arrived to Joanna’s (her best friend) apartment complex, it seemed eerie. She buzzed to Joanna’s apartment, but instead of being greeted by Joanna, she was greeted by her fiancé, Mark. Alice was confused why Joanna would invite her over, but not be there. Then, after being there for a couple days, Mark told Alice that instead of Joanna being away for a few days she was actually missing.

This story had a few twists. I only predicted one of the few. It definitely kept me on my toes. Once the story started to pick up around the 50% mark, it was hard to put down. Wendy Clarke did a good job with this twisty, creepy story. Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book. Published 20th May 2020.

Alice’s life is spiralling downwards. She has lost her teaching job and her partner has left her. She is alone in her house without any friends and she just can’t be bothered to do anything.

Then out if the blue she received a text from her old best friend Joanna who she has not seen for over 10 years to let Alice know she is getting married. On a whim Alice offers to visit her, hoping this is just what she needs to help her out if her depression - a trip to see her best friend.

She jumps into her car a few days later. She arrives at Joanna’s new apartment but only her fiancé, Mark, is at home. Surprised her friend is not there to meet her she asks if it is ok for her to come in for a drink after her stressful drive into London.

Mark was unaware of Alice’s visit, and in fact Joanna has never even mentioned her old best friend to him. He tells her Joanna is on a weekend course but invites Alice to stay for her return.

From then on this twisty psychological thriller delves into the past of the girl’s relationship, and the personality weakness and phobias Alice suffers.

It is obvious there is a rabbit away, but as we get to know more of the strange characters living in this nearly empty apartment block it does not get any easier to predict the end.

It was an enjoyable read and I would certainly read more from this author.

This book was a page turner from the beginning for me! While I questioned some of Alice’s decisions throughout, I couldn’t wait to see where those choices were going to lead her. What happened to her long time friend Joanna? What is Mark hiding? Once I thought I knew what was happening, the author switches things into a whole new direction! If you love a psychological thriller, this is a book for you!

Recently, Alice had lost her job & broke up with her bf. When her life seem to be totally upside down she receives a text msg from her childhood bff Joanna with the news of her marriage and wants Alice to met her to be husband Mark, who she met only one month ago, Alice is suspicious but happy as meeting her bff is what she needs in this hard time.

When she reaches Joanna house, she mets only Mark who is good looking, really good towards her & tells her Joanna is out for a course which again she finds suspicious as why her bff would invite her if she herself is not going to be present there. Still she settles there.

Soon, Mark admits that he & Joanna are already married & his wife is not out for any course but missing. Not lately a body of a middle aged woman is discovered.

Although 1st half was quite slow but still the story was amazing. Underconstruction area, empty apartment, missing bestie, living with bff's husband, angry stepson, lonely neighbour, creepy guard & Alice's claustrophobic panic attacks sets up the whole story plot amazingly. And lastly the Epilogue was like epic one✔

So this book is a totally mind twisting thriller which had me on the edge of my seat trying to work out what was going on. In all honesty right from the start I only actually liked Alice everyone else was suspicious to me. What starts off a a visit to meet Alices old friend Joannas new fiancé things take a very dark turn. Not only is Joanna know where to be seen even though she had invited Alice she not there and when her fiancé finally admits that he has no idea where Joanna has gone Alice is determined to find out where her friend is and what’s going on. This book does not disappoint and I’m waiting for the movie.

Suspenseful and thrilling. This story was so unlike anything I have read recently and I am still talking about it anyone who will listen .

3 stars. The premise of Alice going to visit her best friend from school out of the blue felt unlikely, but plausible, but I found it hard to believe the choices Alice made early on in the book. It did keep me turning the pages and the setting was evocatively described, yet this story left me with more questions than answers.

I love most psychological thrillers, but this book just didn’t work for me. Alice, the main character, was kind of irritating, Mark, the friend’s fiancé/husband, was inconsistent, and the twists really did not hit the spot. Overall, it was okay.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It’s certainly true when it says that this book will have you reading until late at night! I just had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen at the end.

This is a book that will really keep you guessing. Whenever you think you know where the plot is leading, along comes a twist, right up until the end.

I felt that Alice was very trusting, perhaps foolish at times. But it was clear that she had some issues, and it was actually easy to see how she’d get caught up in this. Mark, I wasn’t too sure of. Obviously, he’s upset because Joanna is missing, but there’s a lot of contradictions to him. I wasn’t sure if he could be trusted or not.

The setting is completely perfect for the atmosphere and the plot. It’s on the periphery of such a busy city, but yet so isolated and cut off. This makes for even more of a feeling of entrapment and abandonment than if it were set in the countryside.

Such a chilling and gripping book, it really is impossible to put down. It will leave you reeling. Super stuff.

This book was just okay for me. The beginning half was slow and I struggled to stay interested. The last half was good and did pick up.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review

3.5 stars
Alice's life is turned upside down when she's made redundant from her job as a school teacher, then her fiancé left her to be with the woman carrying his child.
When her estranged friend, Joanna, sent her an unexpected text message announcing her recent engagement and inviting her to come to stay with her for the weekend to meet her fiancé, Alice jumps at the chance to leave her now sad and empty house. But once there, Joanna is not home and not answering her phone. Alice is met by her excentric fiancé Mark, who is not even informed that she will be visiting, and is clearly hiding something.

First of all the cover was gorgeous and was truly appealing. I really liked it

I really liked the plot in general, and the whole read was light and quick. The first part of the novel is basically a monologue where Alice is sharing her concerns and fears, and she's obviously a complex and unusual character. she clearly has a lot of issues; she didn't have the best childhood and has a morbid fear of the dark and closed areas, but I couldn't understand the key element to the story, her decision of staying in the same house with her missing friend's fiancé.

The second part is fast-paced and event-filled. the ending was definitely dark and unexpected.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture and the author for my review copy

Wendy Clarke's 'The Bride kept me on my toes. Seriously, every chapter I had no idea what was happening. This twisty thriller focuses on Alice who after going through a hard breakup is reconnected with her estranged friend Joanna. Joanna is newly engaged and wanted Alice to meet her fiance. Problem is that when Alice shows up, Joanna is no where to be found and her fiance had no idea Alice was coming.

The protagonist is an untrustworthy narrator, which I typically enjoy. I'm not sure why this one just missed the mark for me.

The characters to me all felt flat and half-baked. Side characters were introduced without adding much depth or interest to the story. The plot felt unrealistic for me, why would Alice stay in her old best friend's house with a man she doesn't know while her former friend is missing.

It was a fast read but felt convoluted and anti-climatic.

I truly had no idea what was going on in this book until the end or why.

The story was incredibly farfetched from the start.
Joanna and Alice used to be best friends. They have not seen in each other in ten years. Alice gets a text from Joanna out of the blue that she is getting married after dating her fiance for a month and wants Alice to come meet him. Upon Alice's arrival she soon discovers Joanna is missing yet stays in her house with her husband to try to find her.

I took issue with so many aspects of this book. These characters were, for lack of a better word to describe them, cringey. The attempts at suspenseful moments were more so telling you what you should be thinking rather than wondering in your head about what the twists will be. The ending did not offer any satisfaction to me at all.

I wish I could find more positives to say about this book but I can't.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First half of this book as slow and I was tempted on quitting it because it just didn't keep my interest.

There were some plot twists but really wasn't a book that kept me guessing.

I so wanted to love this one but I just thought it was ok.

I found this thriller to have a wonderful twisted atmospheric feel to it. The protagonist of the book, Alice, has been made redundant from her job and now finds herself being told by her live-in boyfriend that he has gotten his side girl pregnant. Alice end's up hearing from her old best friend from about 10 years back who wants to rekindle their friendship. Alice end's up going to Joanna's apartment and not finding her there, just Joanna's fiance, Mark. Mark is handsome and charming and let's Alice know that Joanna's away attending a course, but questions why Joanna would invite Alice to visit if she wouldn't be there? A very good question.

The author has done a good job creating a creepy well-formulated plot, solid characters and an interesting whodunit theory. I could totally relate to Alice's feelings of panic and the second half of the story is wonderful as it starts with a slow burn in the beginning and intensifies like a rollercoaster. Excellent epilogue.

I would like to thank Wendy Clarke, Bookouture and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.