Oh the suspense! Fans of Lucy Foley's "The Guest List" will love this thriller from Harriet Walker! Set in the picturesque countryside of France, "The Wedding Night" will sweep you away on a seemingly fun week with a group of friends. But just as you think a relaxing vacation is about to begin, a raucous party gone wrong erases memories and leaves behind clues leading to a list of questions about what actually transpired in the villa.

I loved the guessing game spun by Walker throughout the book and the ensemble cast of characters, which I always feel makes a good thriller. There was so much tension and so many suspects, that it took until the final pages to finally bring it all together. Definitely grab this book for a cool evening on the deck or a sunny day at the beach!

This was a really fun read. A bit more of a drama than a thriller, but i really enjoyed it. The writing was good, the story was good and enough drama to keep me interested with a really good ending! I look forward to reading more!

I had a very hard time finishing this book. It is about a canceled wedding that the wedding party shows up for. There are a lot of secrets that come out but the story does no flow smoothly. The characters are not really like-able. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A destination wedding for your best friend is all planned and only a week away. What do you do when she cancels the wedding… do you go on that vacation you’ve been looking forward to or do you cancel your get away? With no idea why the bride has cancelled the wedding, the wedding party decides to go on the trip anyway.

I read Harriet Walker’s debut novel The New Girl and immediately fell in love with her work. She writes fun psychological thrillers that aren’t as dark and twisted as many (i.e. Karin Slaughter), but perhaps that’s what makes them scarier – how easily I can picture her scenarios happening in our everyday lives.

The Wedding Night follows a group of friends going on the wedding/honeymoon vacation that was already paid off after one of the main characters, Lizzie, called off her wedding. Lizzie’s best friends are seemingly opposites with Effie, a depressed alcoholic trying to heal from her recent heartbreak, and Anna, a working mom struggling to find satisfaction in her marriage with all of her insecurities and mom guilt weighing her down.

One of the things I love about Walker’s novels is how relatable the characters are. She tells such an authentic version from both perspectives whether it’s the married mom or heartbroken alcoholic – and I’ve definitely been both of those women at various points in life!

The Wedding Night really got to the heart of friendship and, in my opinion, tells more of a story about the love between friends than the actual couple getting married. It was an intensive look at what wedding vows really mean – not just with the one you marry, but with each and every love in your life.

Another theme in the novel that resonated with me was how easily we give away our privacy. Particularly with social media, it’s so easy to post something without thinking; but even if you delete it, once it’s out there, it’s there forever. You can never fully take it back and the same goes for text messages or any kind of sharing with another person. This was an important reminder that you never know when people might weaponize an image or text, even sometimes someone you trust.

While I wasn’t surprised by the ending and had guessed the “twist” early on, that didn’t take away from the story in any way and still had me turning page after page to find out how Walker unraveled the narrative for her readers.

Lizzie and Dan are planning their destination wedding to a Chateau in France. Just a short time before the wedding, friends receive an email cancelling the wedding. Disappointing yes in so many ways for the friends. They then all decide to take the vacation they planned anyway, except Dan. Liz, keeps the details of the breakup quiet, but little the story comes out little by little … or does it?

I was intrigued with the storyline, but it fell flat for me. Slow developing story, little character development, immature to the point I wanted to slap them! This story could have taken off, but sometimes it felt like the writer held back trying to get more pages written. I wasn’t as surprised with the ending as I had hoped.

Thanks to Ms. Walker, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone!

Lizzie, Effie, and Anna have been friends for a long time. Through their time at uni they were always together and looked out for one another.

Lizzie and Dan are engaged and have planned a wedding to take place at a chateau in the south of France. Effie is Lizzie's bridesmaid and has been scurrying around trying to get all of the plans locked in. Ben is Dan’s best man. But, then an email signed from Lizzie and Dan goes out to all saying they have decided to call off the wedding and hope their friends understand. Everyone is shocked but decide not to miss out on a week at the chateau that has already been paid for. So, they head off to France, all but Dan.

The chateau is beautiful but someone there did not get the message that the wedding had been called off so it is filled with food, champagne, and flowers. Dan was supposed to have cancelled it. What happened?

Now, we are smack dab in the middle of the hard stuff. This group of people can drink the little fishes right out of the pond. The verbiage is so overdone that I felt as though I was wading through some good old British treacle trying to absorb and mentally compute what the author was writing. Vagueness prevails in this story that makes the reader feel like they have also had one too many. The characters are all tense making me think one of them was going to commit murder any minute. When we finally learn what this story is all about, I wondered why anyone would allow themselves to be so intimidated because in the end, it is all fixed quickly by a savvy character. So, go Iso! Now, I’ve confused you. I guess you may want to read the book yourself, but understand that it is going to take some concentration to get through. I am really interested to see what other readers’ take is on this book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

First of all doesn’t this cover scream summer psychological thriller?
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Page turning and tense this one is perfect for a stormy summer night!
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Lizzie’s perfect wedding was planned in the South of France. What also made it perfect was a week away for wedding festivities with their closest of friends.
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When they decided to call their wedding off their friends decided they should still go for the week away and take Lizzie with. All their travel arrangements are already paid for and there are no refunds.
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Strangely when they arrive it seems no one actually canceled the wedding. All of their perfectly beautiful arrangements are waiting for them but Lizzie knows it was canceled. They all decide to partake in the wedding alcohol, it’s there so why not? The next day Lizzie needs to piece everything together. Who is messing with her and better yet why?
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I went in completely blind so I don’t want to give anything else away but it was worth the ride!
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Thank you to #NetGalley and #BallantineBooks for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I was so excited to read this one and I loved it! So many twists and turns, a solid premise, and the perfect characters for the storyline.

OMG! What was this book even about? Full of extraneous verbiage and where was the thriller part? This story started out with a couple that have seriously bad manners............notify your wedding party by email that you are cancelling the wedding in France a week before everyone is supposed to fly over. The book gets no better from there. I was sadly disappointed because the book description sounded like it would be a fantastic book. I'm sure there are others who will greatly enjoy this book.

I received an ebook ARC from Netgalley & this is my voluntary, honest review.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Ballantine Books for my honest review.*

Lizzie cancels her destination wedding the week before the big day and her friends convince her to take the trip anyway and they will go with her and keep her spirits up. When they arrive at the chateau, the wedding and reception are all set up as if it wasn't canceled at all. Strange things keep happening the entire week and it is obvious that everyone is hiding something.

The story is told in several 'now' perspectives and Lizzie's perspective which starts at around 2 years prior and throughout the book ends up in the 'now' timeline. There are things revealed gradually about the wedding and cancellation, but we know right from the start that one of the bridesmaids is suffering from a break up and depression since the engagement party and the other bridesmaid is the breadwinner of her family and an unhappy newish mother. Both are hoping for a fresh start after the week away.

I felt like this novel wasn't as much of a thriller as it was a woman's lit novel. I was expecting more drama and intrigue or a mystery to be solved. I did enjoy the story and the pacing and how Lizzie's story unfolded. And I did guess early on who was behind most of what was going on, but the reasoning was a shock.

Overall a good book, but not as much of a thriller as initially perceived by the overview.

This is the first book I've read by this author and it was a quick, fun read. A group of friends decide to get together for what should have been the destination wedding of friends, even though the wedding was called off. There are several twists and turns before the reason Lizzie called off the wedding is ultimately revealed. Everyone is keeping secrets and it was hard to figure out who the real "bad guy" was, but when the truth comes out, the villain ends up being creepier than I imagined. The writing style leaves some details vague and not completely explained. However, I liked the theme of friendship and new beginnings and overall enjoyed reading the book and would rate it 3.5 stars..

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing an advance copy of this ebook. The book was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

I was so excited going into this book because the “locked room” aspect of it but I feel it just fell flat. I really didn’t feel like there was any surprising or thrilling parts and it is marketed as a thriller so I expected more. The “twist” kind of came out of nowhere and really wasn’t that exciting and just felt basic to me. I did enjoy a couple characters but most were pretty unlikable and found every time I read one of the main characters point of views I was just so annoyed. The inner monologue and choices of some were unbearable to get through and just wanted the chapters to hurry up and end. This wasn’t the worst “thriller” I have ever read but it wasn’t the absolute worst. Hopefully I enjoy my next read more!

The plot of this book seemed so interesting but unfortunately it fell flat for me. It's billed as a thriller but there are just a few scenes that feel suspense-y.

I'm giving The Wedding Night 3 1/2 stars and because that is impossible upping it to 4 stars. I enjoyed this story by Harriet Walker but it took too long to get invested in the story and characters. There was so much jumping back and forth between the three friends it was difficult to relate to them. I want to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an early copy to review.

Lizzy cancels her destination wedding in France mere days before it it supposed to happen. Her closest friends encourage her to go on the trip as an escape. The trip is non-refundable and they could all use a vacation. However as soon as they arrive at the wedding venue things are wrong. The cancelled wedding is still on according to the staff as the venue is decorated and food laid out. More surprises are in store for the group.

The book has several narratives so you can see more of the story. It’s also told from three timelines, 6 months ago, just before the wedding and just after the wedding. The novel is a suspense story but I struggled with the middle section. The beginning section drew me in and the ending was surprising. It has several main day themes about social media and privacy.

domestic drama about a British group of friends that continue on to a French chateau even after the destination wedding that was supposed to take place there was cancelled. Over the next few days relationships will be tested and secrets revealed.

When a bridal party (and the bride) decides to continue on with the short vacation despite the wedding being cancelled it is not the relaxing trip they were picturing. The bride is keeping the secret of WHY it was cancelled and the tension around both her and what exactly happened during their drunken revelry the first night hangs over everyone. Someone is also cruelly taunting the bride by having all the wedding food and paraphernalia on display (despite the cancellation) and no one is quite sure what role the groom is playing in all this.

Overall I enjoyed this non-violent suspense novel especially the beginning and end. It did sag a little for me in the middle as I got frustrated that the reader is purposely out of the loop of what is happening and who is behind everything. Much of what was going on could have been wrapped up with a heartfelt but painful conversation. But in the end, when all is revealed you can see why certain key parts of the plot are kept secret. Although on the surface this is about a getaway and a cancelled wedding there is a lot of food for thought about parenting and what women sacrifice to be mothers and part of the workforce. Also the shame and heartache around dating, finding love, keeping love and the inequality around internet slut shaming. In the end, it’s about friendship and what we are willing to sacrifice for the people we love to and to keep them safe.

If the reader can stick around through the frustrating middle part I recommend this suspenseful and thoughtful mystery novel around a group of friends and their secrets.

3.75 rounded up to 4 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Lizzie cancels her wedding with only an email to even her closest friends, everyone is wondering why.
With the wedding already paid for, the friends and bride decide to go enjoy the venue in France anyway. When strange things begin to happen, things start to get interesting.
I was excited to read this book after reading the synopsis. However, the writing style just wasn't for me. There were too many long sentences that I had to go back and read over in order for it to make sense. The characters were well written and interesting and the overall story was great. It just took way longer than it should have to read this one due to the overly wordy sentences. It took away from the flow of the book. I am sure that some people will love this book.

Thanks to netgalley and Ballantine Books for the arc.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

When Izzy calls off her wedding to Dan, her closest friends decide to go on the already planned trip together. Convincing Izzy to go too, they are appalled when they arrive at their destination and the cancelled wedding is all set up and waiting. What happened, why did Izzy cancel the wedding at the last minute? After a night of drinking, there are even more questions among the friends the next morning. Walker held a bit too much info back to begin with, making this book a little difficult to get into and a tad hard to follow. Categorized as a thriller, this book held little thrills, but was much more of a drama. A story of deep friendships and the lengths gone to for those they love.