Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

I've reached this place where I immediately check out when an author overtly projects their political beliefs onto you in their books. I mean its their writing, so have at it, but I cannot stand to sit and read something that sounds preachy.

I read to escape, I don't read for political undertones to be thrown in my face.

Unfortunately I can't get past that.

Iris Hagarty is sick and tired of weddings - the expense, the stress, the bridezillas. Every time she turns around it seems like she is being asked to be in another wedding party, and shell out a small fortune. Her credit card is already maxed out, and her sister just announced she is getting married and guess who is going to be the maid of honor????? Jasmine has always been spoiled and a bit entitled and this wedding is sure to bring out all of her worst qualities as a bride. Because Iris has never felt like she had a voice, she starts a private Facebook group called "The Bridesmaids Union", where women like her can go to vent about their horrible wedding stories, and commiserate with each other. It is supposed to be a place to let off steam, and support each other, but when something goes terribly wrong and private posts get made public, friendships (and relationships) are put to the test...and not all of them will survive the fallout.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The posts in the Facebook group were hilarious, as were many other parts of the book, and this rom-com not only had comedy and romance, but a good storyline and a good lesson to be learned as well. I loved Iris and was really rooting for her. Her sister on the other hand was definitely a bridezilla. If you are a fan of chick-lit or rom-com's, then you definitely need to check this one out!

Loved this book. I thought it would probably be just fluff, but it was so much more. Women should read it, especially bridezillas.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book but I will not be finishing. Too much politics and nonsense for my taste

The perils of being a bridesmaid or maid-of-honor are explored in this story, as well as publishing their frustrations online.

This book was not what I expected. It was a great storyline, but I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
Iris Hagarty is a single mom and bridesmaid professional, or so it would seem so with as many times as she has played the part. Frustrated with the reactions of brides she has been a bridesmaid for, she takes to Facebook for an outlet. Unfortunately, as the way of the world, it was not a good idea and things blew up in her face. Will she recover from the fall out?
First off, I would like to say the story line itself was a good one, but I found that the author put too much political stuff in it. The political stuff did not fit into the storyline for me. I felt it was misplaced and took away from the actual characters and their true story.
Second, I felt like Iris was a bit of a push over throughout most of the book. People were constantly running her over and taking advantage of her. Her character made some terrible decisions throughout the whole book and I did not agree with her grudges she held against her sister, then again, I found her sister to be self-centered, superficial, vain and inconsiderate. The other characters in the book were just as bad. The only character I really loved was Rose. She was so level headed and welcoming, yet reserved and calm.
Overall, the book had a good plot and the delivery was spot on. The author did a good job creating the characters and there was plenty of depth and creativity when writing their stories. I enjoyed most of the book, except the political side of it. It was a very interesting storyline and I was happy with the outcome. There were some times I got extremely frustrated with Iris’s character and how she is blind to a lot of things. Especially when it came to her own son.
I have to give this book three stars because of the political aspects and enjoyment of the book.

While this book was funny initially, I found myself annoyed by much throughout the book. The writing itself wasn't bad, it was just the characters and the political and religious references throughout that was a bit much. It's very much like over the top reality tv. For those that like social medias and reality tv, they may find this book entertaining. Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.

Brides can often demand more than is reasonable, or even possible, and expect their bridesmaids to support them no matter how ridiculous the bride is being. In THE BRIDESMAIDS UNION, by Jonathan Vatner, Iris Hagarty creates a Facebook group to vent about her experiences as a bridesmaid. It gives her instant relief and seeing other's crazy experiences help her feel less alone. As the Facebook group grows and Iris becomes maid of honor, Iris' life quickly becomes complicated and she is barely holding on. Will Iris be able to balance everything or is a collapse inevitable?
Vatner has singular wit and style to this book. Iris Hagarty is clearly the focus of the book, but Vatner creates a true kaleidoscope of characters around Iris. All of them are clearly described and quickly the reader can begin to predict how each person will react to each situation. The fascinating part of the book is that Vatner posits Iris as the variable. As much as the reader gets to know Iris, her life is in such a state of flux and her vision of the future so muddled that Iris is quite unpredictable. That unpredictability is what makes every interaction exciting and keeps the reader on their toes as to what is going to happen. Vatner touches on some current issues, like social media perception vs reality of a person and how conflict can arise is families were there political views don't align, but I found myself wanting to spend as much time with Iris as possible and where her life is going and I wanted to push aside anything that wasn't about her directly.
Everyone has come across a bridezilla at some point and THE BRIDESMAIDS UNION looks at how people handle them A reader will enjoy considering which approach is best when reading this book and perhaps revaluate their stance.

I’m sorry to say that this book was just not a good fit for me. I had a hard time relating to the characters, which made it difficult to really enjoy the story.

I will not be finishing the Bridesmaid Union book. Its not badly written but 30 pages in and I am finding the MC incredibly unlikable. Its been 30pages of her complaining about how sucky her life is, how ungrateful and demanding her family and "friends" are and she takes to the internet to badmouth these women and is shocked when her friends are being insulted.

Typically I enjoy books centered around weddings but I just dont want to read a book that starts out with so much negativity

Didn't end up as I'd expected it. I liked the idea of it- the airing of grievances of perpetual 'always a bridesmaid' people? Yes, please- but it wasn't organized very well, and was all over the place. There were a lot of side stories that took some of the focus away from the main storyline, and that left me feeling scattered. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

There is a lot to unpack in this story, then again, there usually is when it comes to weddings and bridesmaids! The book gets into family dynamics, sibling relationships, single parenthood, social media and how they all can be very difficult to navigate. I liked this book and the characters. Well written.

Sick of always being the bridesmaid, our main character, Iris, creates a private Facebook group to share stories (basically complain) about being a bridesmaid and about the brides they are ‘serving’. Kinda rude, right?

To Iris’s surprise, she is chosen as maid of honor at her sister's wedding and the story starts to get intense. Her sister wants this huge luxurious wedding, and all the fancy celebrations leading up to it, which is quite the opposite of what Iris wants and can afford to give her.

As the story progresses, I found Iris to just be whiny. The book contains a lot of political references specifically as it pertains to the 2016 election, which to me, we could have done without. Each and every single character was wildly unlikeable but I couldn’t help myself to get to the end to find out how this book ends for this bunch. A big part of the story which I guess in this day and age is believable was the relationship between Kyle and Iris. Kyle joins the group to vent about him being asked to be in the wedding party of his ex’s wedding. Kyle and Iris become close on social media and it was clear something about him was not sitting well with me. For those who plan to read it or have read it, you’ll see what I mean.

This book wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read, I just personally had issues with the personalities of the characters.

This book was not for me. I could not connect with the characters and I found them to be annoying and insensitive. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Bridesmaids Union by Jonathan Vatner is a lovely contemporary fiction novel that will appeal to fans of Bridezillas or Say Yes to the Dress. The story revolves around Iris, who has recently become the moderator of a Facebook group for bridesmaids to share their horror stories. When her spoiled sister Jasmine decides to get married, Iris gets plenty of juicy details to share online. But when the wedding hits bumps in the road, will Iris support her sister or relish in her downfall?

Here is a hilarious excerpt from an opening chapter:

"As she stared at her phone, a thought occurred to her. An online community of bridesmaids might understand the frustration of saving your best friend’s wedding without her acknowledging your work, of receiving gaudy sandals as a bridesmaid present, or of being asked to rustle up needless parting gifts. Iris googled “bridesmaid horror stories” and found an article recapping the most egregious situations from a subgroup on Reddit. According to one bridesmaid, the bride had demanded she lose ten pounds before the wedding. Another had handwritten all the table cards at the bride’s request, only to discover at the wedding that the perfectionist bride had hired a professional to redo them all. A third caught the groom kissing the bride's mother. Reading these posts, Iris felt understood. She refilled her wineglass and navigated to the original Reddit page, created an anonymous account, and began to write."

Overall, The Bridesmaids Union is an absolutely hilarious contemporary fiction novel. One highlight of this book is how funny it is. There were moments that made me laugh out loud. Who hasn't experienced a dreary wedding at the hands of a bride or groom who should be treating everyone with a bit more respect? This book was fun and would make the perfect beach read. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of books about weddings, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in June!

Have you ever dreamed of having a place to vent about a wedding that you were a part of that somehow went horribly wrong and when you fixed it, the bride didn’t even notice? Well, Iris wanted and needed this and that’s the premise of the book. The Bridesmaid Union introduces us to Iris, her sister Jasmine, and an assortment of family members and friends who are planning for Jasmine’s wedding. Iris starts a secret group on social media as a place to vent and for others who have been bridesmaids to vent about their experiences. We see the wedding though the eyes of Iris and her own personal struggles with all of it. When she trusts the wrong person, everything explodes and Iris is forced to deal with the fallout. This book caught my interest and was a fun read.

I was able to read an early release of "The Bridesmaids Union" by Jonathan Vatner on NetGalley. This is the story of Iris Hagerty, a single mom who has been a bridesmaid numerous times and finally gets feed up with the brides being ungrateful for all that the bridesmaid do. She starts a group on Facebook called The Bridesmaid Union. The story is what happens once she begins that private group. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

This book just goes to show that not everyone online is truly anonymous and how complicated families are. I personally loves this book for giving a very truthful look at the behind the scenes of weddings, influencers, families, real life jobs, debt, and friendships. If you love a good funny real life read then you will love this book!

I went into this read blind and was hopeful for funny, wedding-party related shenanigans. I've ready plenty of this 'type' of book, but I usually enjoy them. This one takes a different turn and centers more upon Iris's family dynamic and her political differences with her parents. It is essentially an Anti-trump stereotyping rant. Even for someone who didn't support his election and viewpoints it is just toooooo much for what I was hoping to be a rom com or women's lit novel.
Vatner made his statement but I would honestly have preferred not to read pages and pages of it.
Be sensitive to it's content before you recommend it to customers or patrons.
Thanks for the ARC!