Cover Image: The Bridesmaids

The Bridesmaids

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Member Reviews

Oh WOW! Don't think I've ever read a book that has contained so many secrets from its characters before.
It's Hollys hen weekend and she's spending it with three of her oldest friends and two other women that she personally is friends with, separate from the other women. Once the drinking starts that's pretty much the opener for all these secrets to start pouring out, one after the other. How these women have stayed friends is a mystery, when they all are pretty much deceiving each other and have been for decades.

Hollys son Caleb and Toni's daughter Georgia both end up there too, which definitely adds to the drama.
I don't want to say too much because it would give things away, but once the drama starts to unfold about half way through, I was hooked. Fast paced and with many, many surprises and twists in the tale to shock and stun.

I did like Holly to begin with, but by the end I really disliked her, more than anyone else actually. Yes she has been deceived by many of her so called friends, but she paints herself as a paragon of virtue, when in reality she is as guilty as the rest of them, if not more so.
I was a bit disappointed by the victim, there were many more hateful than her that it should have been.

I highly recommend this fantastic read and would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

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When a hen weekend.. Turns into a confession session. (with a murder).

Holly is getting married. And in celebration, her friends has organized a hen weekend.
Lovely, isolated place with your best friends? Definitely would be perfect. Or so they thought.

This has been one hell of a ride.
THIS is what you call a thriller. Plot twists all around the corners.
A psychological thriller through and through.

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It's Holly's bachelorette weekend and she is going away with some of her closest friends since high school along with some more recently made friends. The weekend is filled with drama, blackmail, secrets and murder. This book is a drama filled soapy thriller. Every secret imaginable is thrown into the story,. I pretty quickly figured out some of the secrets along with who would end up being murdered but still had surprises along the way. It was a little confusing in the beginning switching between the different characters. I had a hard time keeping them all straight at times. All in all, it was an enjoyable read. I'm interested in picking up some of Victoria Jenkins' other books in the future. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Jenkins, and Bookouture for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own,
#netgalley #victoriajenkins #thebridesmaids #bookouture

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WOW!!! This was such a gripping fast-paced psychological thriller!

Holly is getting married and so one of her friends, Martha organizes a party with all Holly's closest friends. But when a body is discovered by the swimming pool, one of the bridesmaids is the killer...which one of them is the killer? And soon, dirty secrets that has been buried starts resurfacing causing Holly and her friends to mistrust each other...

OK, from the the first chapter to the end, the story was engaging and quite unputdownable! The story is told from the perspectives of three women--Holly, Claire and Suzanne, who was actually invited by Martha herself. They are also having an issue with a teenage girl named Georgia, who is the daughter of one of their friends Toni. As the story progresses, the party which was supposed to be celebrated hugely soon turned into a drama--the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story and making the reader feel like the part of the story. Each of the characters are having secrets and unreliable narrators that we are wondering who is telling the truth. The story shifts back and forth to the present, when the body was discovered and someone was accused of murdering the person and the hours before leading to the discovery of the body where the women cause a stir. The ending was unexpected and towards the ending, there were some twists and turns and the author has manage to keep the fast pace in the story.

Overall, I actually enjoyed this wonderful thriller. If you like a thriller that is fast paced, unputdownable with twists and turns, then this book is one for you--cannot wait to read more from Victoria Jenkins! Worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

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Based at Holly’s hen weekend, a beautiful house with a spa and some good friends. Holly is a single mother who lost her high school sweetheart 20 years ago and has now found happiness again.

The bridesmaids all have secrets and someone turns up dead.

Great but very similar in a saturated market.

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This book gave me whiplash!! So many twists and turns that I had to take a breath to keep up. Holly is getting married to Aaron and is still grieving the death of her first love 20 years ago. Her closest friends join her for a fun weekend away but what happens is anything but fun! Before the weekend ends, one of them will be dead. It’s told from the perspective of each woman and for me, at times, it got a bit confusing. But each character is hiding something and as each chapter reveals more, all the pieces to the puzzle start to connect into one big reveal. I feel like the author hit me with a one two punch here though! Some twists were shocking, others predictable. Still, this was such a fun read that you won’t want to put down!

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Holly and her closest friends--her bridesmaids--are meant to spend the weekend celebrating her bachelorette, or hen party, before her upcoming wedding. The weekend, however, goes horribly wrong, as someone on the trip winds up dead.

Every single character has secrets they are hiding and this book contains many, many twists. No one on the trip truly knows anyone else. The book is told from the perspective of three of the characters: (1) Holly, the bride and a single mother who lost her high school sweetheart shortly after giving birth to their son (now a teenager); (2) Claire, Holly's matron of honor, who is a mom of three boys and is having marital issues; and (3) Suzanne, a friend of Holly's from her bereavement group who has not met any of Holly's other friends previously.

I enjoyed the pacing of the story, and was engaged by the plot's progression. I, however, found several of the twists predictable or unnecessary, particularly the twist at the very end of the book. I also did not find several of the characters likeable, or since the story was told through the perspective of three characters, I did not get to know all the women on the trip as well as I would have liked. I also found some of the plot points unrealistic. For example, Suzanne had known Holly for over twenty years, yet had never met any of Holly's other friends prior to this trip.

Overall though, this is an engaging thriller, with some shocking twists, but overall, I don't think this book will be memorable in the long run for me.

Thank you to Victoria Jenkins, NetGalley, and Bookouture for the ARC of this book.

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Fun, snarky, mystery thriller about the bridesmaids from hell! Recommended if you love books full of friendship drama, lies and secrets. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

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Wow! I absolutely LOVED this book! I was hooked from page one and the plot kept me on my toes, which is everything I look for in a thriller. This was possibly my favorite thriller of the year so far!

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I thoroughly enjoyed reading my first book by this author, as a matter of fact I simply couldn't put it down. I thrived on her fast pace of writing, the winding twists and turns that I didn't see coming and was just blown away by! I also was intrigued & impressed by the series of very meaningful topics that were touched upon such as sexual preference among teens, teen pregnancy, single teen parenthood, hit and run accidents & parental pressure. I thought a pivotal part of the plot was that Secrets just grow more toxic by the day week month & year, it was fascinating to see this fabulous author weave throughout the story the toll keeping secrets takes not only on you but eventually on the person you were keeping them from and that entire circle of friendship. Is anyone in this wedding party innocent? Trust me you won't be disappointed if you read to find out. This was my first but definitely not my last read by VICTORIA JENKINS I've already Google searched her and put her on the top of my to be read list!

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A weekend celebrating a marriage should be fun! But this one turns deadly. Secrets are revealed and one guest doesn’t make it home. This was a solid read, but I had a hard time keeping up with so many names. The secrets were twisted, but felt a lot like shock value.

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Baby Fluffy Foxes Of The World Unite! 😳😯😳🤯

Holy Skittles! Fluffin' Cannolis! For the love of sugar, spice & things not so nice! Jenkins has always been a master at secret revelations & unreal deceit and yet again, with this novel she has delivered! I'm absolutely astounded how each novel she seems to one-up herself with things I'd never think of. Gasps & jaw drops galore. Thrill, mystery & suspense is definitely not lacking with this gem.
Holly is a month away from getting married and her friends have planned a Hen's Do weekend (Bachelorette Party) at an upscale secluded cottage. Everyone has a secret this weekend - Martha, Suzanne, Zoe, & Toni. And before the weekend is over arguments will be had, threats will be made, & someone will end up dead in the pool. Holly now has to come to the realization one of her bridesmaids is a killer. But is she ready for that?
This book had my mind completely fluffed up. I cannot believe what I just devoured. & don't even get me started on that ending! Another fab book by a great author I always enjoy reading. Now to untwist my mind from this pretzel!

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for this DARC.
Release Date: May 23, 2022

I give this 4 / 5 Bouquets! 💐

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Huge amount of thanks to NetGalley and Victoria Jenkins for an advance copy of this book!
‘Six friends. A weekend away. A secret to kill for.’ Everything the cover promises and more! It starts out innocently enough. A group of six friends away for the weekend for a bachelorette party. Aside from the normal tension and ‘I can do better than you’ behavior that arises when you get six women together, it’s shaping up to be a nice weekend.
We’re quickly shown that it’s going to be anything but a nice weekend. Each woman is hiding a secret from their friend and bride to be, Holly.
Y’all! The amount of secrets and twists within this book were amazing! I hated to put it down once I got started. The reveal of each woman’s secret was well done and I loved how well they all tied into each other. Victoria Jenkins is definitely an author that is going on my radar.
Publication day is May 23, so make sure you grab a copy!

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Utterly brilliant! A hen party of loathsome characters all with varying secrets, grudges and things to hide. The switching POVs meant the story developed at a beautiful pace with each revelation adding more and more pieces to the puzzle. A fast-paced read, one which will have you looking at your friends in an new light!

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I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. Holly and her closest friends go away for the weekend of her “hen party” before her wedding. Turns out each one of her “friends” is hiding something. The twists and turns kept going all the way until the end I found it to be written very cleverly. Will definitely be looking for more books from this author

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Holly is getting married. Her friends are the bridesmaids. After getting together for a weekend getaway, things begin to change. Are her friends really her friends? Do they have alterrier reasons? The getaway provides the time for the lies to be told, the truth to be spoken, and deceit unveiled.

ARC was provided by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for my honest review. I loved this book!!!

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This book has it all. Good friends, bad friends, secrets, lies, blackmail and murder.

Holly is getting married and her hen party is held at a remoteluxury home.

The story is told from multiple POV's, and you find there are old gripes and jealousies festering.

And then a body is found floating in the pool. Holly is faced with the fact that one of her friends is a murderer.

I enjoyed this book, with all of it's intrigue and suspense.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

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While on a hen weekend getaway with her bridesmaids, one of the girls is found floating face down in a pool. How did she die? Was she pushed?

Holly is set to marry her fiancé after her first husband passed away. They both have a boy named Caleb from Holly’s first marriage..

She’d be going with her friends Claire, Zoe (Holly’s friend and colleague from with) Martha, Toni, and Suzanne. Toni however cancels last minute to tend to family matters. But she eventually relents when Holly agrees to let Toni bring her daughter Georgia along.

Told from the POVs of Holly, Claire. Suzanne, the reader will sense some tension between Claire and Suzanne who never misses an opportunity to flaunt her wealth.

Claire is a teacher’s assistant so she doesn’t earn much. Toni on the other hand has a successful cake business 🎂 and her work has been featured in some magazines.

As the story unfolds, and champagne 🥂 flows, tension mounts, tongues loosen and soon dark secrets some of the girls have been keeping come out to light making them question each other’s loyalty.

Overall an interesting read. Great sense of place. I like the author's description of the barn where the girls stayed at. Would recommend

Thank you to Victoria Jenkins, NetGalley, and Bookouture for the arc of this book.

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The absolute slowest book I have ever read when it comes to a murder mystery, with characters I did not care about and all the bridesmaids were terrible people. Especially the bride! And none of this was in a fun way. I feel sorry for Caleb to have a mother that thinks of him the way she does, and Toni’s daughter deserved better.

Overall, like I said previously, this book is very slow for very little payoff. Finding out who the victim is was very disappointing, actually, and made me quite angry. Finding out how they died was not interesting and won’t make for a standout in the genre.

I’ve read a lot of murder mysteries, my favourite author of the genre being Shari Lapena, and I suppose I am too used to the most amazing endings to books when it comes to her stories that nothing else will ever compare - but this ending… were we meant to like this person in the end? Because it made me hate them more than I already did. It wasn’t fun to learn more about the backstory from their teenage years, it just made me realise what a massive hypocrite they had been for the ENTIRE book and that isn’t fun. It’s a waste of time for the reader!

Given this two stars - it had it’s entertaining moments, but will I remember this in a month? No.

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I have to say that I was intrigued from the start when picking up this book, it just had a way of drawing me in and I had to find out what would happen next. There were so many twists and turns, I enjoyed uncovering each one like a detective trying to solve a case. No one can be trusted, and everyone has secrets, some spanning decades. The back stabbing, secrets, and deceit kept me on my toes. I had so much fun guessing what was going on in everyone's lives and everyone’s lies intertwined really well. The only complaint I have is that I found the switching POV's between the different characters confusing in the beginning. However, once I reached the midway point I knew who each character was and was totally invested in the mystery and had to find out who did it!! Overall, this was a thrilling read that keeps you turning the pages until the shocking conclusion. It is a fast-paced book that you could easily read in one day. I would recommend this book and will definitely read more from this author in the future


*Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Jenkins, and the publisher for an advance copy of this in return for my honest feedback*

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