I have read other Nina Manning books and have thoroughly enjoyed everyone so when I was invited to 'The Bridesmaid' tour I wasn't going to say no. This is an intriguing story all about secrets and two best friends that have been together since childhood.
From the moment they met as children, Sasha knew that beautiful, wealthy, and confident Caitlin would always be her absolute best friend.  Sasha would do anything to make Caitlin happy.  
Even keep her darkest secrets…
As they grow older the girls stay friends and when she says she is getting married it is definitely going to be Sasha for her bridesmaid. What Caitlin hasn't realised is that Sasha is getting sick of being second best and as the wedding comes closer the cracks appear. We see the lies and secrets these two women are keeping start rising to the surface. Could this be what tears them apart?
Told in varying timelines Sasha is the main narrator. We are taken from the present all the way back to their childhood then back to the present then back to a few months previously and back again to the present. We are witness to exactly what has kept these two friends together throughout. We see Sasha actually helping Caitlin's wedding to their childhood friend Chuck. We also see just how many secrets are being kept and believe me there are plenty.
Not an overly fast paced read but it gives time to process the friendship of these girls and as the secrets rose to the surface they had me surprised as they weren't ones I could have guessed.
A story that I really got invested in. Two friends with a wedding looming at a ton of lies and secrets, what more can you want? I read this is a day...I just needed to know what was going to happen.
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the copy of the book.

Three stars out of five for this one. I was hooked from the beginning. Though I usually don’t like dueling timelines, the way this was written it flowed nicely. I could picture the country house Sasha and Caitlin grew up in quite well based on the detailed writing. I did hope for a more climactic ending based on the level of intrigue throughout the book. I was left feeling wanting and thus, my three star rating.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was expecting more of a thrill ride with this one, less of a dysfunctional friendship which played out like mean girls. The story kept me engaged, but it lacked the punch I had hoped for. I think if my expectations had been less skewed, it would definitely have been a 4* read. As it stands, I felt disappointed- there was a sense of foreboding or threads of expectation woven throughout, and the big crux of the story left me a bit deflated, "that's it?". Fair warning, all the main characters are unlikable- some more than others and I didn't understand the dysfunction (do better for yourself, expect better of your friends!) but it was like watching someone else's life - easy to comment when you're not in the experience. Let's go back to the climax... revenge on a wedding day? Nasty. That family secret? Nastier and completely uncalled for. The twist in the epilogue? I needed more of that. Long story short, I liked the writing and the tale, but didn't think it fit the thriller or suspense card I was hoping for.

3.5 ⭐️

The Bridesmaid is a psychological thriller with a twisted plot and characters.

The story is written well and eludes to the secrets being completely different to what they actually are. The story is in-depth and I imagined things to evolve but they were red herrings.

I didn’t take to Sasha’s Character, I found her incredibly irritating but I liked Caitlin a lot despite her flaws.

The book is written from Sasha’s perspective over several time lines, I liked how it started with the now before jumping between the past to more recent before finishing back in the now.

3 Friendly Secrets? Stars
* * * Spoiler Free-A Quick Review
This starts out as that age-old story of the well-to-do making friends with the "help". Two girls become women and the society/wealthy one is getting married. Of course, she asks her long-time friend to be her bridesmaid...Continuing the status of the woman having to take care and serve her friend.

As this wedding is being arranged and needing all of the necessary arrangements, our bridesmaid is handling her friend who has turned into bridezilla from the deepest layer of hell. This is not really a surprise because the relationship between these two has not always been pretty or nice. In fact, our soon-to-be bride has been cruel and outright mean.

But all of this leads up to the deepest darkest secrets one could think of...I found this interesting but didn't particularly like any of the characters. There is the necessary past and present given allowing the reader to follow as to why things are the way they are...all the way to the end.

A fantastic fast paced twisty read.

Packed with tension knowing something is going to happen but not knowing what exactly…

Secrets,lies, and resentment lead to a wedding with a difference.

What happens when you have enough of being treated with disrespect from your best friend… you eventually retaliate.

Written in alternate timelines so we can see how the friendship started and the bumps along the way .

I whizzed through this and really enjoyed it. I will definitely be reading more from her.

Published 27th May

The chapters of this gripping tale of secrets, toxic relationships and revenge flipped back and forth between the late 1980s and the events before,during and after the wedding in 2019.

Sasha was twelve years old in the late 80s when her mum and dad moved Sasha and her brother Hunter from London to the fifty - acre Saxby estate where her parents had found employment as housekeeper and head gardener for the Clemonte family. Although Sasha liked her new surroundings, she missed her friends back in Hackney, sitting on the wall reading Jackie magazine with her friend (that brought back memories,I used to get Jackie magazine when I was younger) Her feelings of loneliness changed after she was introduced to free spirited Caitlin. The two girls became best friends (well according to Sasha anyway) and Sasha found herself drawn into and captivated by the alien world of the rich with their posh accents, servants, nannies and lavish parties. She started spending every opportunity that she could with Caitlin and her Grandmother Josephine who was always kind and welcoming towards the young girl. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Caitlin's mother Ava who appeared to take great pleasure in undermining and humiliating Sasha at every opportunity. Sasha's mum wasn't happy about the amount of time that her daughter was spending at the big house and as the story unfolded, I began to understand her concerns about Sasha's involvement with the family. Caitlin had a nasty, vindictive side to her character, something that over time even Sasha started to notice but she know that if she stopped being friends with Caitlin, she would no longer be able to spend time at the big house. A place that over time, Sasha had began to suspect had hidden secrets within the old walls and lavish rooms, secrets that she was determined to uncover.

In the chapters that were set twenty years later, Sasha was living with a lovely but anxious and paranoid man called Oscar and had her own business. She still likes to think that she is friends with Caitlin and is organising Caitlin's wedding to Chuck, someone that both the women knew when they were younger and hung out together at Saxby House. Despite it being her own wedding, Caitlin doesn't appear to be interested in acknowledging any of Sasha's plans and ideas and seems to be avoiding interacting with her and answering her calls, texts and emails. Sasha can't wait for the wedding day to arrive because she has a secret, a revelation that will cause shock waves to ripple through the quests and possibly signify the end of her friendship with Caitlin. People in their past and present lives were not who they appeared to be and were hiding shocking attitudes and behaviour.

The Bridesmaid is a enthralling, character driven drama with a plot that contains some unexpected revelations and some lessons in morality. Sasha wasn't happy with her life both as a child and a adult but I thought that she really should have appreciated her loving parents and partner because as we all know, life isn't always greener in the other side. The cast of characters were diverse and realistic, some likeable, some not so likeable, one I was surprised to learn I had judged unfairly and I ended up feeling empathy for by the end of the story. I thought this was a very well written, compelling page turner and I would happily read more of this author's books in the future.

3.5 rating

Some family secrets go back generations. Some familys prefer to forget rather than face the truth. The Bridesmaid brings to life the disfunction a family will do through to appear normal and how the psychological scars fester until they dont remember who they used to be.

The book follows the friendship of two best friends: Caitlin and Sasha, that are opposites in every possible way. Caitlin is cold, calculated and obsessed with having an alpha image. She is a girl born with a golden spoon ready to feed her, a girl impossible of showing adoration and holds no love for her mother. Whereas Sasha is warm, inviting and trusting, willing to share love with the world. She just wants to be accepted, looking for a sister. The story develops over a past timeline as well as the present, it follows the budding friendship, their fallouts and rebirths as well as the all important wedding planning.

The book is a clotted web of family problems, psychological fractures and a need for control. It provides a guessing game as you follow the breadcrumbs through the woods. Especially as the cracks in the family’s armour begin to show.

I enjoyed the story, I felt invested in the journey of the girls. There was an atmosphere lurking between the pages that kept building and had you thinking a hundred possible outcomes and questions. But as I continued reading and shadowing them through the halls of the old house, I felt something was missing. I wanted to love the book like I loved the characters, but I just could not. The last third of the book did not sped up and gas me with a cloud of suprise. Instead it cruised and gave me an okay and mediocre surprise. I still had to finish it though.

I did find the writing style was easy to get on with and well written. It was a quick read for me, I think I was just hoping it was going to be a bit more of a faster pace towards the end and truly revved up the climax to give it the ending it deserved.

The bridesmaid is a very well written psychological thriller, full of turns and twists and moments that will leave you gasping in shock.

Highly recommend this!

The Bridesmaid is a slow paced detailed story that has an interesting plot and keeps the reader enthralled in the pages....
I like how Manning has created a dual timeline between the years from 1991 to the present day. The chapters are short, encouraging the reader to keep reading. I found the constant and unorganized change in the timescale was a little distracting, but with perseverance I was able to find a steady rhythm and a greater understanding...
The character development of The Bridesmaid is good. The reader is able to see how the friendship between Caitlin and Sasha first began, as children and how it has progressed over the years. I felt that Sasha was very insecure, by the way she was always comparing herself to Caitlin....
I would recommend reading The Bridesmaid to lovers of Thrillers, as it is an enchanting story filled with suspense and secrets... Surrounding the friendship of Sasha and Caitlin as they lead the reader on a whirlwind of anticipation...

Favorite Quote:

He always makes me feel like the most upgraded version of myself. And that is worth something very special to me because it is the very thing that I don’t get from Caitlin.

My Review:

This is one of those cleverly plotted books that turned me inside out and slapped me around as everything I thought I had so smugly deduced was inside out and backward. Oh, that Nina Manning is a wily one. I was distrustful of all the characters as most of them seemed rather vile and deceitful. The storylines were multi-layered and cunningly textured to continually poke and taunt my curiosity. I was intrigued, ensnared, and invested in unraveling the dreadful secrets of the past that the author ruthlessly baited me with throughout. I was so wrong in my observations and wild theories, and quite happy to be. What a devious and shrewd scribbler, I am in awe of her capricious storytelling.

This drama explores a twisted “friendship” between two girls. Over the novel, I grew to dislike Caitlin and Sasha’s connection because I felt neither of them were truly genuine in their feelings.

Rather than a thriller, this book explores the mystery that seems to haunt Saxby Hall and Caitlin’s family. Caitlin and her family are incredibly privileged and the way that Caitlin behaves demonstrates her lack of understanding of others. In contrast, Sasha’s parents work for Caitlin’s family – modern day servants – and this difference is constantly reflected in the way that the girls treat each other. Caitlin is like a spoilt brat, even as an adult, and I was frustrated by her careless and selfish attitude towards Sasha in particular. In addition, Sasha’s neediness of wanting to be accepted by Caitlin and her family was also exasperating and, despite being in charge of her own business in adulthood, still allows her friend to dominate her,

The novel slips between counting down to Caitlin’s wedding (hence the title of the novel!), and Caitlin and Sasha growing up as childhood friends. Initially, their friendship is quite sweet. However, Caitlin cannot hide her true personality and this is then reflected in her treatment of Sasha as she organises Caitlin’s wedding. I found both time periods interesting in watching how nothing has changed between the two girls; indeed, I thought Sasha’s apparent naivety about her friend, rather difficult to accept.

Although I thought the title has connotations of something considerably sinister, this is not the case. Sasha has learnt a secret about Caitlin’s family and Sasha uses her position as bridesmaid to ensure this is revealed. Therefore, the historical narrative establishes the scene and how Sasha came into such information. I found it difficult to believe that Sasha was able to maintain such a secret for so many years but I guess this reflects the thwarted devotion she holds towards her “best friend”.

Despite these misgivings, I did enjoy reading this book from Manning. I do have another of her books on my shelf and this was certainly a promising introduction to her works. There is a sense of mystery that dominates the narrative and, although I had guessed some of the plot developments, I was keen to see how Sasha would reveal her knowledge. In my opinion, I thought there could have been more atmosphere and awkwardness during Sasha’s revelations because it did not feel as if there was enough tension. However, at the same time it was fascinating to observe the shift in family dynamics as a result of Sasha’s knowledge.

This book certainly explores an unbalanced friendship and I was intrigued by Sasha’s tolerance because I definitely could not have put up with Caitlin’s behaviour. Caitlin’s detached yet demanding approach to everything around her was unnerving and I could not believe how Sasha did not put her to right on this. In my opinion, it’s a toxic friendship and not one that I would get involved with.

Overall, I feel that this is a gentle, dual-timeline mystery that goes against expectations established by the cover. It’s hardly sinister but it is definitely intriguing to see how Sasha attempts to exert some dominance over her friend after all these years of being controlled.

With thanks to Boldwood books, NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meh...I'll give it a 2.5 because the story did keep me intrigued, but this story of toxic friendship was not great overall. Who keeps a secret like that to avenge someone on their wedding day? (eye roll) The relationship between the groom and the bridesmaid? Just who allows that to keep happening that long and accepts all of it? And the shocking reveal at the end....Not shocking or that thrilling in the least. It was actually quite sad.

Thank you to #netgalley and #boldwoodbook as well as #ninamanning for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review.

Overall, I felt kinda meh about this book. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly memorable either. Giving it 2.5/5 Stars.

I enjoyed the dual timeline set up of this book, however I found "present day" Sasha less sympathetic and at times her narration was quite boring. The end was a let down and made me dislike any sympathetic leanings I had towards Sasha, leaving no characters that I even remotely cared about by the end. I would be interested in reading more from this author as I feel the descriptions of places and situations in this book were done very well and enjoyable, although the character development left something to be desired.

The Bridesmaid by Nina Manning
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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Sasha has always been in Caitlin's shadow and has done everything she can to make her friend happy. Sasha is now Caitlin's bridesmaid. While she wants everything to be perfect for Caitlin.... she can't help but worry about the secrets between them that could ruin everything....
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This is definitely a fun little thriller! I love the building suspense and wondering what the big secret was. While I was hoping for a bigger "omg no way" moment and a little bigger of a climax, this was still a fun read!
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Be sure to check this one out!

I hate to admit as I was really looking forward to this book but The Bridesmaid fell short for me. I have been able to pinpoint one main reason for this: the blurb. For me, the blurb hints at a dark psychological thriller with some very sinister secrets. And while there are some moments of “what the hell is going on here” in the book, for me it was more like a family drama. Some of the secrets were big, don’t get me wrong, but some, and the way they were presented, was just a bit too tame. I don’t know what that says about me.

The friendship between Sasha and Caitlin wasn’t entirely believable for me, although that could have been the point. It was a totally one-sided friendship and difficult to see how it made it to adulthood. However, the chapters focused on their childhood friendship were interesting. It was a reminder of how influenced we are as children, so much so that Sasha would endure Caitlin’s cruelty just to have a friend and felt that she belonged. It was interesting to examine how she was on the outskirts both in the friendship and the social situation of her family versus Caitlin’s (rich versus poor).

I hope this doesn’t come across as an overly negative review as I did enjoy reading The Bridesmaid. There were just some parts that could have been better for me.

Sasha & Caitlin are best friends. When Sasha is asked to be Caitlns bridesmaid the story really begins Caitlin is a bridezilla. The story is great & has a genuine twist at the end.

I am really sorry but I could not get into this book at all. I didn't like the characters and it was a struggle for me. Thank you for the chance to read it.

I have read a couple of Nina’s books now and I really enjoyed reading them. I read the synopsis for ‘The Bridesmaid’ and it certainly sounded intriguing. I couldn’t wait to dive in and so without further ado, I grabbed a cup of tea, grabbed my Kindle and settled down for what I hoped would be a thrilling read. It was certainly that and then some. I really enjoyed reading ‘The Bridesmaid’ but more about that in a bit.
I can honestly say that I didn’t warm to either of the main characters- Sasha and Caitlin. There was something about the pair of them that set little alarm bells ringing for me. I may have been reading too much crime fiction in that I believe nobody and suspect everybody. Sasha and Caitlin become friends in childhood although their family backgrounds are so different. Caitlin comes from a wealthy background but she hasn’t got the easiest of relationships with her parents, as they don’t seem to show a lot of interest in her. Sasha has loving parents and what they lack in money they make up for in other ways. I found the dynamics of Sasha’s and Caitlin’s ‘friendship’ to be quite intriguing. Caitlin is a bit passive aggressive towards Sasha at times but I don’t know whether or not she is aware of what she says and does. I don’t really know how Sasha benefits from the friendship. Their friendship appears to be very toxic.
It took me a little while to get into ‘The Bridesmaid’ but that has to do with the fact that I didn’t take to either of the main characters and I didn’t feel a ‘connection’ with either of them. Once I got into the story then that was it and I was away so to speak. I found reading ‘The Bridesmaid’ to be quite addictive. I had my own theories as to what was going to happen and I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or if I had wandered down another path entirely. This wasn’t a book that I could read over the course of a single day but I did manage to read it within 48 hours. I found ‘The Bridesmaid’ to be an interesting and intriguing read, which kept me on my toes and which kept me guessing.
‘The Bridesmaid’ is well written. The author certainly knows how to grab your attention and draw you into what proves to be a compelling story. I would say that ‘The Bridesmaid’ is more of a steady pace rather than a fast pace. Reading ‘The Bridesmaid’ was like being on an at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Nina’s very vivid and realistic storytelling. I found that I even tried to interact with the book and by that I mean I found myself making certain comments out loud as if the characters in the story could hear me.
In short, I really enjoyed reading ‘The Bridesmaid’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will definitely be reading more of Nina’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.