I was so excited to receive the advanced copy of this book! I love a good female dominated thriller, yet, this book just missed the mark for me. I couldn’t get absorbed into the story, unfortunately. It does pick up halfway through, but by then I just wasn’t interested anymore. Perhaps some will like the slower pace- this just isn’t what I want in a thriller! Thank you to netgalley and bold wood books for the ARC.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say that I greatly enjoyed reading The Bridesmaid. I always love reading about female friendships, especially if they have a little bit of toxicity to them. I found this element in this book, and connected immediately with Caitlin and Sasha's characters. They were very well written, and I enjoyed the author's writing style. However, I did not enjoy the ending of this book. All of the build up for almost 400 pages about the friendship and then it just took another turn. I would like to read more by Nina Manning in the future.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. This story proves that those who hold your secrets hold all the power. I loved this book I like reading about the friendship dramas. And this book definitely did not disappoint!

This book is about a years long friendship, a very lopsided friendship at that. Basically Sasha one of the main characters decides she wants to get revenge on her best friend Caitlin after years of Caitlin not being a good friend to her at all. The book was okay, it had a decent pace and an okay ending. The one thing I didn't really care for was actually both of the main characters I couldn't find very many likable qualities about them. But overall the book wasn't horrible.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever been in a toxic friendship?

Sasha (a gardener’s daughter) and Caitlin (a billionaire heiress) forged an unlikely friendship when they were 12.
20 years have passed, though they still call each other “best friend”, Sasha knows that it has always been a single sided relationship. All these years, Caitlin never treats her as an equal.
Now Caitlin is getting married. Sasha finally decides enough is enough. Is there any better occasion to plot a revenge against your “best friend” on her wedding day as her bridesmaid?

This book was so brilliantly written that while I could feel all the painful and emotional draining experience of Sasha, somehow I could also understand why she wanted to stay in the friendship. And the ending was just wow! I totally didn’t see that coming!

Friendship is an interesting thing. When I was young, I only cared about the quantity (all cool kids seem to have lots of friends!). But as I entered my 20s, I started to rethink the meaning of friendship. Do I need friends for pleasures or do I need them for emotional support? It’s only natural that I cut tie with some “friends” who only care about having fun and were never there when I needed them.
Now I just entered my 30s and only have a few close friends. Though it’s an horror to the teenage me, I’m very happy now. Coz I know that these friends will always be there when I need them and we are inseparable like a family.

This book goes back and forwards in time, detailing the friendship of Sasha and Caitlin. I failed to like either of the two characters and found the pace a bit slow at the beginning. It picks up about a third of the way through but it is a bit over explained and I struggled to believe how this toxic friendship survived. Overall, a bit long winded and took too long for the big secret to be revealed. It fell short for me with the disappointing "secret" revealed at the end. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I kept reading and reading and waiting for the BIG REVEAL and thought I had it pretty much figured out. I mean, I literally thought I had this mystery IN THR BAG... boy was I WRONG!!!!!

Dark secrets, revenge, and twisted sense of belonging are what drove this entire novel and I was down for it.

I honestly loved every moment of it. The author did a spectacular job depicting characters and creating scenes that I loved and hated each character the way the author wanted me to love and hate them until she didn’t want me to and then Like a flip of a switch she was able to change my perspective on each of the characters. It takes phenomenal writing and brilliant scenes to do this.

A great psychological thriller!

I received an ARC from Netgalley to review.

This book was interesting. I can't say too much without giving spoilers, but let me go through some of my positives and negatives. First, the writing was great. Nina Manning is a wonderful writer; however, the story did drag for a while for me. This was likely because of that "I have a secret and won't tell you until 75% through the book" thing that is so prevalent in many books. Unfortunately, the secret here didn't have as much of a payoff as I had anticipated or hoped. Also, maybe a consequence of Nina's great writing, but not one of the characters was likeable (well, maybe except one, but you don't really find that out until the very last chapter). I do wish I had someone to root for. The last chapter was great, and a nice little final twist that I really enjoyed. Overall, it was a good book that I'm glad I finished (it was rough there for a little while, and I was debating DNFing it, but I'm glad I didn't).

When Sasha's parents take on jobs at Saxby House she meets Caitlin for the first time. Caitlin's grandmother, Josephine, is the matriarch of the Clemonte family and owner of the large manor. Sasha is eager to be the bestest friend to Caitlin, who she envies and admires, regardless of how badly Caitlin treats her.
Now grown, Caitlin is marrying their childhood friend, Chuck, and Sasha is her bridesmaid. Sasha is determined to make Caitlin's wedding day one to remember, including revealing buried family secrets.

I went into this book expecting a thriller, the cover and synopsis definitely makes it seem that way, but it definitely wasn't. The premise of the story was good, but it moved so slowly. It alternates between past and present, but the pace never really picks up. Things do get a bit more interesting after chapter 9, but you realize quickly that the author wants you to assume something that isn't the truth. It's pretty obvious because there are never details given. While the ending wrapped up well enough, it left me feeling really sad, especially knowing that the truth was never completely revealed.
Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a great thriller! What better way is there to see two women show their true selves than during the preparations for a wedding! This was the quintessential toxic friendship, which made for a fun read!

2.5 stars rounded up. This book started out with so much promise, however it took forever to get to the point and the “major reveal” wasn’t that interesting. I wouldn’t consider this book to be a thriller, more like a mild mystery.

Sasha and Caitlin have been friends since childhood. Now Caitlin is getting married and Sasha is being the best bridesmaid she can be. Or is she?

This could have been a much shorter book and it takes far too long to get going. The whole book is told from Sasha’s perspective but in a dual timeline- the summers of the 90s and present day. It’s more of a mystery than a psychological thriller.

I wasn’t completely sold on the plot or the writing style and the characters seemed a bit one dimensional. Caitlin was just plain mean a lot of the time and it was hard to believe that Sasha would have remained friends with her to such a degree after leaving Saxby. The one exception to this was Ava. The reveal at the end made her the only truly realistic character- haunted by her decisions and life choices.

It fell a little short for me but I am glad to have been offered the opportunity to review this novel. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to rw1ad this book. Sasha has been friends with Caitlin since she was a young girl. When Caitlin gets engaged, Sasha wants to make sure the wedding is all Caitlin wished for. I enjoyed the cast of characters.

Dark, poignant and bittersweet. There is so much to uncover in this book as it explores lots of difficult areas of human nature. The toxicity of childhood through to adulthood friendships and deep secrets hidden within families, even those seemingly prosperous is dissected to produce fascinating results. The issues of class divide are also, slightly uncomfortably, highlighted and expertly illustrated.
There are lots of twists and turns in this story and I honestly didn’t expect most of them, which made it a really compelling read. I still don’t really know who to warm to and empathise with, which is evidence really of very clever story telling and carefully crafted characters. Definitely recommend.

Oh, the tension! I was practically clenching my jaws and holding my breath from start to finish. This slow burn psychological thriller is enticing and captured me, utterly and completely, from the first page to the last. I hungrily read the novel in one sitting, ignoring everything else.

Young Sasha moves to live on a huge estate along with her parents where they work as head gardener and housekeeper/cook respectively. As a young girl, Sasha is ecstatic to discover the owners of the estate have a young daughter her age. They are incredibly wealthy and the class lines are very distinct which matters more to Caitlin's parents than Sasha's. Appearance is everything. The book is told in alternating timelines in Sasha's voice when the girls are kids/teens and also as young women. Nina Manning does this beautifully.

Caitlin is not a normal kid but Sasha is drawn to her and aims to please, desperate for a best friend her age who is like a sister. Caitlin's mother detests Sasha and the lower class in general but the girls hang out and know each other better than anyone else does. When Caitlin plans to marry, Sasha is to be her bridesmaid. But nothing is as it seems. I just love the goosebump-inducing psychologically disturbing bits scattered throughout. Very, very interesting plot and subplots.

If you are seeking intense suspense which wondrously messes with your mind, do read this. I am so glad to have discovered this immersive book and felt an immediate connection. Loved learning the inner workings of the characters' minds. And the writing...oh, my. At the end of each chapter I wanted to quickly reach the next, yet didn't want the book to end. A delicious predicament!

My sincere thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading an e-ARC of this marvelous book.

I hadn't heard much about The Bridesmaid before receiving an eARC from NetGalley and Boldwood books, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it! This was a dark and twisty story about female friendship, family, class differences, and the secrets we keep. It moved a bit slowly at times, but really picked up towards the end.

The Bridesmaid is told in alternating timelines and follows the friendship of Sasha and Caitlin. They meet as young girls when Sasha's family tends Caitlin's family estate. They become quick best friends and sisters but their relationship is certainly a bit codependent and dysfunctional. The timeline alternates between pivotal events during their friendship growing up and the months leading up to Caitlin's wedding, where Sasha is the bridesmaid. Caitlin's family is full of dark secrets that all start to unravel as the wedding approaches, with Sasha playing a pivotal part in pulling the thread.

I'd recommend The Bridesmaid to anyone who loves stories about kind of messed up friendships and family secrets.

Your best friend. Your worst nightmare...
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. If this plot sounds familiar, it's because it's been done in a variety of books and Lifetime movies. But this author has done it the best.Great twists and turns and an ending that was completely satisfying. My only complaint is it does drag a bit in places because the other just gets too wordy but it was a great read. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Stunning! A thrilling read that keeps you captivated to the end. Two friends from different worlds who grew up and apart brought back together by a wedding. But then the story of their childhood unravels. Wonderful twists!

Always a Bridesmaid…

Sasha and Caitlin’s unlikely friendship begins as children at Saxby House. Sasha, the servants' daughter, is enamored with the beautiful Caitlin, granddaughter of the manor. Always in awe of Caitlin’s wealth and status, Sasha revels in this friendship but also tolerates a lot of odd behavior and poor treatment from her bestie. Sasha is also intrigued by the undercurrent of secrets and lies hiding beneath the grandeur of Saxby House and is determined to uncover them. One night she does…

Fast forward to adulthood... Caitlin is about to get married and Sasha is her bridesmaid, in charge of creating the perfect wedding day. But Sasha has put up with toxic behavior and playing second fiddle to Caitlin for twenty years, and she’s finally had enough…

“The Bridesmaid” is an enjoyable read but it didn’t completely hang together for me. Told in alternating timelines but entirely from Sasha’s perspective, the story has an intriguing premise but it’s quite wordy and took entirely too long to get to the point. I also struggled with believing that what amounted to a summer friendship of convenience would have endured into adulthood, considering how poorly Caitlin treated Sasha.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sasha's parents work at Saxby Hall, and this is where she meets Caitlin, the granddaughter of the owner. They become friends but it's all on Caitlins terms. Years later Caitlin asks Sasha to be her bridesmaid. There are lots of secrets within the Clemonte family. The story is told from Sasha"s perspective and each chapter alternates between the wedding preparations and the past, culminating in secrets being revealed.
I wanted to enjoy this novel but I found it quite slow, I wouldn't say its a psychological thriller more of a mystery thriller.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own