Two best friends who meet in childhood, from distinctly different walls of life. Somehow, they stay friends through adulthood, mainly due to Sasha’s determination, and the secrets she is carrying. Caitlin is a self centered, somewhat bizarre woman, and when it comes time to get married, Sasha is appointed “The Bridesmaid.”

I really liked this book, though it did take a while to get going. There is an excellent twist at the end that I did NOT see coming, and that made it worth the time u had spent reading the book. I would recommend to anyone who likes a good mystery, and reading about women with complicated friendships.

In every relationship there is someone with a little more power. With Sasha and Caitlin, it is Caitlin. Sasha’s parents work for Caitlin’s and live in their guest cottage and the heir to the farmhouse and grounds. The girls become inseparable when they first meet, but Caitlin is always pulling away.

I like that you don’t understand all the dynamics in the relationships in the book and make your own deductions as you go along. The book is told from Sasha’s point of view, so you don’t always see the other characters’ true motives, but Sasha’s interpretations of others actions.

As you make your way through the book, you start to realize everyone has a secret and while I suspected a few, there is no way you’ll know them all. There is a lot of well done misdirection and I couldn’t put the book down. It is cleverly plotted to keep you guessing.

The story centers around Sasha and Caitlin. They have been friends since childhood, when Sasha's parents worked at the estate that Caitlin's family owned. Two girls that in other circumstances probably wouldn't have been friends. The chapters go between modern day, Sasha planning Caitlin's wedding for her, back to their childhood past.

Caitlin is a little quirky and often mean and belittling to Sasha, but Sasha forgives her all the time because she wants to them to be lifelong best friends. There are many family secrets surrounding the estate and Sasha discovers a truth that she promises to keep a secret forever. But, sometimes promises are meant to be broken.

This was more of a domestic suspense than psychological thriller. I had suspicions about half way through of at least one of the family secrets, but was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't have them all figured out. I liked Sasha, but wished that she wouldn't tolerate Caitlin's bratty, privileged behavior for so many years. There was a lot of mystery behind some of the relationships between characters,which kept me curious until the end. And again, I was surprised to find that some people weren't the kind of people I thought they were. I would recommend this for a good suspenseful read!

Sasha is The Bridesmaid, still in thrall to her childhood best friend Caitlin. Sasha’s family worked in the kitchen and garden at the vast estate of Saxby. Caitlin’s family owned it. This, naturally, weighs their relationship down with differences of class and wealth. However, the girls stay friends…until the wedding.

The story, narrated by Sasha, moves between the past and the present. Events of the summers when the girls were in their early teens weight down the present, the days leading up to Caitlin’s wedding to Chuck, who seems to have an oddly close relationship to Sasha. All is revealed after the wedding when we realize the bridesmaid has had some very unexpected responsibilities.

The Bridesmaid is delightfully suspenseful, punctuated with surprise twists, especially the final one. This is a fast-paced 5 star read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Nina Manning for this ARC.

They say you can’t choose your family but you can pick your friends. This book shows how sometimes friendships are forced upon you and just how toxic they can be too.

Narrated by Sasha we learn about her twenty year friendship with the wealthy Caitlin who she met at Saxby House in Dorset when her parents started working there. Sasha is awe struck by her status and over the years puts up with more than she should to keep her bestie.

Fast forward to present day and Caitlin has turned into bridezilla and poor Sasha the bridesmaid is baring the brunt of her rampage. I was just waiting for one more snide remark to send Sasha over the edge and the secrets to start spilling out. Now I understand that as a child they just want to fit in and are desperate for friends but as an adult I was frustratingly shouting at her to grow a pair and kick Caitlin to the kerb.

To me personally this was an enjoyable thriller that had a really despicable character, the type you love to hate and the ones which are my most favourite. However it was slower paced than I wanted and the ending was a little disappointing. You can tell the author has studied psychology and it’s apparent in how well the relationships are written but I personally just needed a little more oomph in the plot.

I was really intrigued when I read the blurb for this book. Unfortunately, this book was a real struggle for me to read. The book is marketed as a thriller, I believe it is more of a domestic suspense. I found both Sasha and Claire to be utterly despicable. This is a tale of toxic friendship and as an adult why didn't Sasha just back away?

This book isn’t at all like I expected. The Bridesmaid is a book about a girl named Sasha who moves into a cottage on a large manor estate for her parents’ employment. While she is living there she befriends Caitlin, who lives in the manor with her family and grandmother. This is a story about their “friendship” and the uncovering of the secrets that are kept within the manor.

There is a struggle for power within their friendship that remains all throughout their childhood and also into adulthood. I really liked how each chapter went back and forth between telling the story of how Caitlin and Sasha grew up together, to Sasha and Caitlin present day. However I really struggled with the characters. I really did not think there was anything remarkable or likable about them, especially Sasha. I found adult Sasha to be rather childish and immature still obsessing over a friendship with Caitlin when she should have walked away from the toxic friendship a long time ago.

I also did not find the story line consistent. There were times where I would get really interested in a part of the book but then I would have to trudge through a good chunk of to get to something else that would pique my interest. I believe it was a good story line but I think there were parts that were just thrown in for filler that didn’t really need to be there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The story kept me invested with details of their toxic friendship and wanting to know the secret Sasha was keeping.

A good old fashioned mystery that compels you to read till the very end.

I have enjoyed Nina Manning‘s work in the past, so I was excited to check out The Bridesmaid. I enjoyed the dual timeline. I think this really gave insight to the Sasha and Caitlin’s relationship.

This was an intriguing read. It was not super fast-paced, but the book is full of secrets, which were surprising when revealed and not easily guessed.

Sasha and Caitlin are very interesting. Their friendship is odd for many reasons, but it is clear Sasha I’d devoted.

The Bridesmaid is a great, suspenseful drama. It gave me a lot to think about and kept my attention. I’d recommend giving it a shot.

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for allowing me to join this blog tour and Netgalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own and unbiased.

Fraught with suspense but derivative of the genre. It's frustrating to read the same book over and over again. I am wondering if this was even a thriller? Terrible. No good.

Wow! Starts a little slow, but just keeps getting better! A fantastic book - really enjoyed the story, and by the middle couldn’t put it down until I saw how it ended! Great read!!!!

The Bridesmaid by Nina Manning is certainly a page-turner, although I would hesitate to classify it as a thriller. It is a tale of friendship, betrayal, secrets and lies, and you will be desperate to unravel a mystery.

Told from the perspective of Sasha, we witness through an alternating timeline the evolution of a friendship. Sasha is the daughter of domestics who are employed at the imposing Saxon House, and finds herself being drawn into a relationship with Caitlin, the granddaughter of the imposing home's matriarch. The friendship feels forced from the very start, and Sasha is never sure of Caitlin's motives. Saxby House harbours many secrets, and Caitlin appears to be the gatekeeper. Yet somehow, the two women remain in contact throughout the years, and Sasha is asked to perform bridesmaid duties at Caitlin's upcoming nuptials. Will the secrets of Saxby House finally be revealed?

This is a perfectly paced read that held my attention through its many well-timed reveals.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

This follows the story of childhood friends Sasha and Caitlin. The two become friends when Sasha‘a parents begin working at the family home of Caitlin’s grandmother. The two girls are from very different backgrounds but quickly become best friends, which they continue to be, and Sasha is asked to be Caitlin’s bridesmaid. The girls however have secrets, going back to their childhood, which could be exposed and threaten their relationship and Caitlin’s big day.

This was set across different timelines which I loved; the present and the girls’ childhood. I enjoyed how things built up and the two stories intertwined as things began to be revealed. I did have an inkling about what the secret was and was a bit underwhelmed when it was revealed. I did enjoy this book and the exploration of the sometimes tense relationship between the two girls, but couldn’t help feeling that I wanted more from it and a bit more excitement. It was a bit of a slow burn and I was expecting a bit more of a kick to the finale, but despite that it was an enjoyable read trying to guess what the big secret was and it did keep me intrigued.

I loved this book, I thought the twists and turns that happened were kind of expected - not in the same way - but I knew something would happen.

I enjoyed the different perspectives from the characters and hearing their POV throughout the book. It gave me a good insight into each of their lives and just how different they both were despite being good friends. Opposites do attract even for friends but then sometimes, jealousy hits and people show their true colours.

Thank you to Nina and Netgalley for allowing me this ARC. I really enjoyed it, my first from Nina and definitely not my last.

★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)

This is one of those books that despite being fraught with suspense and drama it leaves you wondering how on earth to categorise it. It's marketed as a thriller and yet it isn't really. More of a dark contemporary suspense-filled drama that will have you reading well into the night. I have to say that I enjoyed this book far more than her last but it still doesn't beat her fantastic debut thriller "The Daughter in Law" which was phenomenally brilliant.

The story begins with an unnamed character slipping into bed and snuggling up to a child as she relives the memories of the past that still haunt her, a letter clutched in her hand. Then it slips back in time to 1991 then forwards to 2009 and then back again to 1988...where the story really begins. The timelines might appear confusing at first but they become clearer as the story progresses, after which the main timelines are 1988 and 2009 with the progression of time going forward. I will begin where the story does...

Dorset 1988: Eleven year old Sasha lives on the vast estate of Saxby House where her parents are employed by matriarch Josephine Clemonte as housekeeper and head gardener respectively. They live in a cottage provided to them under the terms of their employment and their children, Sasha and Hunter, enjoy the vast grounds in which to play. In the summer of that year, the lady of the manor's granddaughter comes to stay along with her parents and Sasha is excited at the prospect of meeting someone her own age. The moment she meets Caitlin Sasha is completely enamoured and a friendship is born.

However, Caitlin is not always as she appears and Sasha often hears her mumbling to herself and when she asks her to repeat it, Caitlin just stares at her blankly before continuing on her way. In awe of her beauty, Sasha revels in this new-found friendship despite Caitlin's odd behaviour and often cruel treatment of her new best friend. Regardless, Sasha is eager to be the bestest friend, hungry for her acceptance and approval and eager to please.

What follows is a foray into Sasha's sometimes lonely existence throughout the rest of the year when Caitlin is back at school in London. She longs for the summer when for three months, she and Caitlin are together once again. The following year Sasha meets Chuck, the son of a family friend, who attends the various parties the family hold whether it be New Years Eve or a birthday celebration. Sasha is drawn to Chuck who isn't as snobbish or as aloof as Caitlin though she realises that nothing could ever come of their friendship because people like them don't really mix or marry people like her. Still, she enjoys her time with Chuck...when she isn't with Caitlin, that is...because he accepts her for who she is while Caitlin is quick to point out the differences in their social status, as if some kind of power play to keep Sasha in her place.

And yet, Sasha is still eager to maintain their friendship and will do anything to please the girl who so obviously regards her more of a toy that can be picked up and put down whenever she chooses. As if Sasha is merely someone to entertain her during months of boredom.

Then one night Sasha discovers a secret about the Clemontes but is persuaded by Caitlin's mother Ava never to reveal it. As the reader, we are not privy to the secret until towards the end when the bombshell is revealed at Caitlin's wedding.

London 2009: It's been twenty years since Sasha and Caitlin became friends and yet the status quo remains the same. Despite everything she dishes out to her "best friend", Caitlin proudly proclaims that she never apologises. While as an adolescent I can understand her need for acceptance but as an adult I'm surprise Sasha continues to stand for it. But then Sasha has a plan...for what? Revenge? Or truth?

Caitlin's on-off relationship with Chuck over the years has somehow managed to earn a proposal which promptly preceded an impromptu trip to Greece for a "hen holiday". Her role as bridesmaid was to ensure everything from the trip to Greece to the choosing of the gown to the fittings to the party favours to the actual wedding itself went smoothly. Caitlin didn't appear to be at all interested in organising her own wedding and left it all in the hands of her competent best friend and bridesmaid, Sasha. In fact, the bride herself is completely indifferent about the whole event which puzzles Sasha. Surely Caitlin would be revelling in the glow of engagement and excited at the prospect of marrying Chuck...but it seems she's not particularly bothered. Until she sees the perfect wedding dress which bears a striking resemblance to her mother's own, stained red after convincing her mother to allow her to wear it for a play they put on one summer in which Caitlin had the starring role. But is it marrying Chuck that is at the forefront of her mind? Or is it the prospect of getting revenge on her emotionally-absent mother? Sasha isn't sure. But one thing remains clear...Sasha's own plans for Caitlin's big day.

While I went into this book expecting a thriller, I was surprised to discover that I enjoyed it even though it wasn't. Despite its slow start, the tension builds throughout where the pace picks up towards the halfway mark after which it explodes in a myriad of rainbow coloured shards to reveal the truth. However, everything is smoke and mirrors as the reader is left assuming something that isn't truth whilst revealing something completely different in the end.

A real page-turner I was surprised to enjoy THE BRIDESMAID more than I thought I would. But I wouldn't categorise it as a thriller. It's more of a dark contemporary suspense-filled drama with a twist. But in the end, even the twist kind of fell flat, not just to the reader but to the characters it was aimed at in the first place. I could relate to adolescent Sasha and her desire to please Caitlin in an attempt to maintain their friendship because I was Sasha at that age too. It's a difficult time where you are navigating the change from child to young adult and some of us are just eaten alive by the Caitlins of this world.

A story about friendship, co-dependency, family and secrets, THE BRIDESMAID is a compelling and somewhat addictive tale of two friends from two different worlds. Recommended to those who like dark contemporary tales.

I would like to thank #NinaManning, #Netgalley, #RachelsRandomResources and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #TheBridesmaid in exchange for an honest review.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been super excited about a book for the first 80 percent...and then completely let down in the last 20. Really? That’s the secret? I loved the characters so I thought focusing so much on the secret really hurt my perception of the book.

Saxby Hall in Dorset is a large estate and home of Mrs. Josephine Clemonte. Her daughter, Ava, a cold woman lives with her. She has a daughter, Caitlyn, and twin boys.

Sasha, her brother and parents live in a cottage on the Saxby estate. Her father is the head gardener and her mother is the cook and housekeeper.

Of a similar age, Caitlyn and Sasha soon became good friends and especially loved spending their summers together. Now, they are both in their 30’s and Caitlyn is engaged to be married to Chuck whom both girls have known for years. Caitlyn has asked Sasha to be her bridesmaid and, as such, Sasha has undertaken quite a lot of wedding planning duties for her. Caitlyn was left Saxby Hall by her grandmother and has a good job in London as a solicitor. Sasha is working hard with her own company that she started. She has a boyfriend but is not ready for marriage as yet.

The story switches back and forth from the time the girls lived at Saxby Hall to current time. We see the relationship between Caitlyn and Sasha and how Caitlyn shows her cold, heartless personality. This is typical of what phycologists may call avoidant attachment personality. At first I felt sorry for Caitlyn thinking she was the product of her cold mother, but there is so much more to what makes her. I felt sorry for Sasha and almost aggravated at her for continuing to want to be Caitlyn’s friend. However, at least for the years she lived at Saxby Hall, I’m sure she must have felt that for the sake of her parents’ jobs, she needed to continue that friendship. The story slowly leaks out the truths of the past letting the reader know how sad the lives of these privileged people really was. A great psychological drama that I think readers will enjoy.

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

Woot Woot! 🎉 Happy Publication Day to The Bridesmaid by @ninamanning_author!
Huge thanks to the author, @netgalley, & @bookandtonic for the eARC.
Think about your best friend. You've been friends for most of your life. Of course you'd want them in your wedding, right?
The Bridesmaid was a page-turning novel that kept me reading to see what came next. It is suspenseful and really gives us a look into what friendship sometimes looks like.
Y'all, I legitimately questioned my feelings about friendships after this one. 😂
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Sasha and Caitlyn, friends since childhood. Toxic friendship, full of secrets. Told in a dual timeline, childhood and present day planning a wedding. Love this author's style of writing and the book kept me on the edge of my seat.

Loved this one. It was so compelling and I loved the dual time line it kept me interested all the way through. I loved the fact it was set in Dorset as I know that area very well. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.