This book was a ton of fun with some actual LOL moments! I'm a sucker for when authors include fun things at the end of chapters that subtly move along the plot (text conversations, email exchanges, receipts, etc.) and this had some great ones. If you're looking for something light and fun (while a little predictable), this is a great choice! Would also be a great read while on a bachelorette party!

This book has the “chick flick starring Anne Hathaway” vibe to it. It’s a light-hearted and wacky quick read that makes you laugh and smile. It was a “girl-power female friendship” focus novel, which we love, and you never knew what to expect with the various wracking wedding scenarios. The text was occasionally broken up by texts or emails for various weddings she was working, which made it more interesting. However, I found myself skipping over a lot of the descriptions to get straight to the dialogue. Based on the description I was hoping for a little more steamy romance, which it didn’t really have. It also didn’t even really *start* until three quarters of the way through the book, which felt like far too late.

It was a good book, but honestly I think it would make a much better movie.

3 stars.

This book was super cute. It was a great beach read and was very light. I found some parts to be repetitive which made me hesitate with giving five stars.

I absolutely loved this book! Sophie was immediately someone I wanted to be friends with. The professional bridesmaid was such a fun concept (I mean, this isn't really a thing...is it?) I loved how she handled all of her brides and especially loved (and laughed out loud!) at all of the email/text correspondence included between Sophie and her brides/vendors.

Cordelia was....awful. But I have to say that I felt for her. It was obvious from things her mom had said that there was a reason for this. And every time Sophie would start to chip away and get closer I was so hoping we were getting somewhere, and then Cordelia closed off again. So many parts had me laughing out loud - between the swan whisperer and their conversation in the shady bar.

Obviously the little bit of romance added in was super sweet! My heart broke for Sophie when it came to Daniel...but she handled it so well - and it forced her out of her comfort zone a little! Then there was Tom...and I loved how it was all handled. I appreciated the focus being on the friendship in this story but obviously fully enjoyed the little bit of romance added in to.

I would 100% recommend this book to anyone wanting a light, fun read about friendship and love.

A lot of fun. .A breeze and very enjoyable read, the characters were for the most part very likeable. The fallout was a bit predictable.

What a fun read! I love a book that sucks me in. It was happy, upbeat, and positive. The writing was quick paced and well written. What a cool job to be a secret bridesmaid and make weddings a happy and easy day for brides! The main character is fun and quirky. You just want her to have her happy ending throughout the entire book. She’s wholesome and the writing brings such positivity. The story was cute, if predictable. I would definitely suggest this as a beach or pool side read.

Sophie is great. I’d love to have her job but to work with Lady Cordila’s daughter I’d have to take a hard pass on that one. You can guess what happens but you won’t believe what she goes through to get the brides down to the altar. The red hair request was a little over the top!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

CW: bullying, drug use/overdose (side character)

This was a fun read about a professional bridesmaid. As a current maid of honor in an upcoming wedding, I loved all of the tidbits, my favorite parts being the different wedding mishaps at the end of the chapters. I was howling at times reading everything.

I would not classify this book as a romance, rather a fiction read with a romance subplot. The romance was sweet and subtle, but this was Sophie's story as she deals with getting invited to her ex's wedding and learning more about herself.

I was not a huge fan of Cordelia. While I understood her more after learning her backstory, she was bullying Sophie constantly. Sophie was very naive and put up with a lot, and while some of it was meant as humorous I just found it downright mean. I would have loved a bit more conversation to resolve especially when Cordelia just exposes Sophie when secrecy is so much part of her job.

Overall I enjoyed this one but I would not go in expecting a romance.

Rating: 3.5
Steam: 0

I was looking for a fun, light-hearted book to read and this book more than delivered!

Sophie Breeze is a professional bridesmaids helping brides and their families plan the wedding of the bride's dream. Sophie has a natural gift of helping brides stay calm and give them the support they need during the wedding process.. So when Sophie is offered a chance to be a bridesmaid to Lady Cordelia, the daughter of a Marchioness, Sophie thinks she's up for the challenge. But little does Sophie know that this job will push her skills as a bridesmaid to the limit.

There were so many laugh out loud and sweet moments throughout the book. Katy did a fantastic job of crafting charming and endearing characters that you can't help but love. And even though there are some romance elements to the book, at it's core the book is about friendship and self-love.

If you're looking for a fun, upbeat and wildly entertaining book, I can't recommend this book enough.

The Secret Bridesmaid will be released on May 4, 2021.

I received a free copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.

A special thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Sophie Breeze has the coolest job on the planet. She's professional bridesmaid, where she aims to support the bride, keep the day organized and calm, all while convincing everyone at the wedding that she's been a friend much longer than expected. Most brides are ecstatic with her services, but not Lady Cordelia Swann, who makes it her life's goal to get Sophie to quit.

The Secret Bridesmaid is fun and entertaining! The plot is super unique...I really loved Sophie's job and all of the hilarious emails and texts with other brides at the end of chapters. The book is definitely more chick-lit than romance, but I liked the relationships between Tom and Sophie. I also loved the British phrases and words; it really made me miss London!

While I really disliked Cordelia at the beginning, I found myself slowly rooting for her, especially with the arrival of her frenemie Annabelle. Cordelia is super surprising, revealing layers as she becomes more comfortable around Sophie. And the hoops she makes Sophie jump through are beyond. I loved all the antics they got into.

Overall, this was a fun and quick read that I enjoyed!

This is the best book that I have read in ages! Witty, romantic, sweet, everything I needed! I have never read or heard of this author, however, she now has a huge fan, I do not exaggerate when I say I laughed so hard, I woke my husband up in the middle of the night! I didn't care, it made me happy from the first chapter to the last! I hope there is a follow up with Sophie, the professional bridesmaid, and sexy, handsome, sweet Tom! This would make the best Rom - Com.
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!
carolintallahassee.com

FIRST IMPRESSION:

I saw this cover and I thought "My God, that's pretty!" Then I read the blurb and I. Was. Sold! Did I just heart "British rom-com"? "The society wedding of the year" and wedding drama? This is starting to sound too good! But no, wait! A "professional bridesmaid"? Oh my God, sign me up because this is everything my chick-lit heart craves for!

THE STORY:

The story is pretty straightforward. We have Sophie, a professional bridesmaid who is damn good at her job, and her opportunity of a lifetime in the form of the biggest wedding in British high society. But see, Sophie gets hired by the bride's mom, not the bride, and this diva bride is dead-set on managing her wedding, no matter how crazy things get. Then there is the fact that Sophie is working under a secret identity (all part of being a professional bridesmaid), pretending to be the bride's friend. But now Sophie is attracted to the hot brother of the bride! Forbidden love, much? The story follows Sophie's HILARIOUS wedding shenanigans as she navigates through the toughest wedding she had orchestrated her whole life!

I loved this book so much that I read it in less than 24 hours! That's roughly 320 pages in a matter of hours, and my normal quota is maybe 100 pages a day since I have to balance life, blogging, studying and everything else in a since day.

In my opinion, this book deserves to be read based on how fun this blurb itself sounds, okay? But that's not how a book review works, so I'm going to give this a fun twist and list my top 5 reasons why you should read this. Note that's 5 reasons for the 5 stars I gave this book!

1. The first book that ever made me tear up laughing!

Katy Birchall nails the humour in this book! Holy crap, the amount of laughter this story forced out of me (because I try to be a stoic reader or people start asking me what's funny *sigh*) is insane! I locked my room door because there was a constant stream of tears running down my face! Guys, if you need a pick-me-up on a rainy day, THIS. IS. IT! Read this and you'll be on cloud nine. Or wheezing. Either way is fine with me.

2. Heartwarming female friendships that kept me spamming my best friend's messages.

I honestly did not expect the theme of female friendships to play a big role since the book was labelled as a rom-com, so this took me by surprise. At the end of this read, I was so nostalgic about all my friends scattered across the globe (perks of studying abroad!) and hating the crap out of the quarantine solitude. And if I ever met these characters in real life (fat chance!), I would cling to them for dear life! On a more serious note, I love that the female friendships were all about growth, family and fun. Also, I miss my friends, okay?

3. Professional. Bridesmaid.

Are you surprised this wasn't the top reason for reading this book? Haha! Can someone tell me if being a professional bridesmaid is a real thing? I love that Sophie wasn't just desperate for a job and had no choice but to be a professional bridesmaid, but she was very passionate about her job! Sophie's passion was so infectious that even I wanted to try my hand at this profession! Also, doesn't hurt that I'm a sucker for weddings!

4. An empowering, boss babe MC.

Running your own business is scary, okay? I get scared just thinking about it. But it was refreshing looking at Sophie's self-employed life. It might be relatable to many people who are working from home these years as well. I loved reading about her at-home work routine and her setting up appointments, getting jobs done. It was just empowering to read about the female MC working throughout the book. It was also so satisfying to watch Sophie grow into her own throughout the story and I was cheering her on till the very end!

5. The romance was there but it didn't cloud the whole story.

Sophie has the hots for the bride's brother, we have already established that. And it's a very sweet, wholesome romance, let me tell you. But it was more of a side-story, than an integral plot point. And I loved that. The love interest is such a sweetheart and I was rooting for them, but I am glad that that wasn't the most important thing in this book. It somehow made the story richer and more wholesome that way. In a way, that made it easier for me to relate to Sophie (probably our workaholic personalities coming out to shine) and I got so invested in Sophie by the end of this read.

FINAL VERDICT:

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall delivers on all the hilarious wedding mishaps, wholesome female friendships and sweet love that it promises. This book is perfect for anyone who loves a good laugh-out-loud chick-lit novel, or even anyone who's missing their friends during these pandemic days. One of my favourites of 2021 without a doubt!

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Omg. This was REALLY cute. It was not so much a romance as it was a lovely story of friendship. Cordelia was awful, truly at the beginning of the book. It was wonderful to see Sophie and Cordelia bloom into a beautiful friendship. Tom was more on the back burner but it was very sweet. I love to see someone who is protective like Sophie and Cordelia. They were made to be friends. I really enjoyed this one.

This was super funny! I loved it, and the cover is so pretty! Thank you to Netgalley for this arc ebook!

I am a fiend for chick-lot and this was just was I was looking for!! Mushy in all the right places with tons of laugh out loud moments. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a quick and super fun read!!

I absolutely loved this book! It was the perfect rom com fun escapist fiction read I needed to keep my mind off all of the Covid quarantine lockdown insanity! I laughed so hard at many points in the book at Sophie’s exploits! I also learned a lot and when weddings resume l’m definitely going to see if I can find a wedding fixer like Sophie! I can already see the movie version of this in my head. I also loved that while it had a romance subplot, the development of the friendship between Sophie and Cordelia was given more prominence in the story. I loved the evolution of Cordelia’s character from mean girl to a good friend. Definitely will read Katy’s other books now that she’s on my radar! Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to provide my honest feedback on this wonderful book!

Whether one defines this as British chick lit or romantic comedy, it is absolutely delightful and such a pleasure to read. Full of both heart and wildly appealing characters, this story of the developing professional relationship that leads to friendship between Sophie and Lady Cordelia is full of laugh-out-loud moments. But there is also plenty of emotion and a seemingly "off limits" older brother. This is my first book by Katy Birchall but it will certainly not be my last. Highly recommended.

I received a complementary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was SO SWEET! It was a pretty quick read but truly a wholesome plot! I really loved that the central narrative focused on the development of a female friendship; it was really special to get to read about and really, really well done! Sophie, the main character is wildly likable and relatable which made this book extra fun! Overall, super enjoyable read!

Whatever you are doing stop and read this book!! I laughed, I cried, I smiled often. This story was a quick read about Sophie (Emily) who is a bridesmaid for hire. I was routing for her the whole time and I absolutely loved every moment of her journey. The character development was wonderful as Cordiella pushed her out of her comfort zone. This book had me reading late into the night the finish as I couldn’t put it down. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the advanced read.

Whatever you do, do not read this book in public. If you do, and start laughing out loud, well, I warned you. The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall is hilarious. Sophie has found a niche as a bridesmaid for hire. Not a wedding planner with her own vision, a bridesmaid there to support the bride’s vision. It is brilliant really. She poses as a friend of the bride and is there to solve problems and run errands. She gets the opportunity of a lifetime and adopts the proper cover story to fit in. The bride clearly doesn’t want her and Sophie falls for the bride’s brother even though he doesn’t even know her real name. When all heck breaks loose, Sophie picks up the pieces to move on. But it ties up nicely, and everyone is better off in the end.

The “in-between” pieces that give the color of what Sophie’s job is like on a daily basis are the hilarious part. The texts, emails, and group chats are ones you can imagine in your real life, but just a little more over the top.

This is a quick read with characters you love (and some you love to hate). It is a quick read that will leave you smiling in the end.

I am thankful for the electronic copy of this book I received from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.