Shalani's thrillers usually have me in a chokehold until the end. This one? Not so much. It kind of dragged on and on in spots and honestly took me way too long to read. She's a fantastic author and I'll absolutely buy her work going forward, this one just isn't the best.

I received an advanced copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon UK, and Shalani Boland. 💜

Alice arrived at the pretty church excited and happy to be married to the man of her dreams but then when she looked up said she doesn’t know him! I actually found myself really liking this story despite the fact that one character seemed to hold most of the men in her thrall. It goes from now to then with the insight of one other person. This is the sort of book that makes you doubt everyone at one point or another. I was gripped from start to finish and would love a follow up. Plus living close to Ringwood made it even more enjoyable!

The plot is gripping and intense. The story is told over a dual timeline. It is a really slow burn. The second half of the book is better than the beginning

Not one of my favourite Shalini books
But I read it
Didn’t really have me hooked
But wouldn’t put me off reading more by this author
Thanks NetGalley

Thank you for the ARC.
I was intrigued by this book, there were red herrings throughout, and I got lost a little once or twice.
Well written as usual from Shalini and I really did enjoy the storyline.
More please.

I really liked the story line in this book. Thought it was incredible how no one else had seen the groom before the wedding and no one believed that it wasn't really him. The middle was a bit muddled, but it came together at the end.

I've heard so many good things about this book, so I couldn't wait to get started.

I found it gripping from the word go and as such, devoured it. The storyline was somewhat far fetched, but this didn't take away from the overall enjoyment. I'd definitely recommend this to others.

This was a weird one. I typically love this author, but this one didn't work.

I don't want to leave too much here, but I can't suspend my belief that much to make the ends of the book work. The epilogue ruined it for me. I wish I had stopped before that.

Thank you Amazon Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of The Silent Bride in exchange for my honest opinion.


Shalini Boland is pretty much a master of twists and turns in her books. There were several times where I would guess what had happened, and it turned out that I was completely wrong on every one of the them! From the very first page, this book had me hooked for the next 24 hours.

Alice and Seth are very much in love. Their happy day has arrived and they are about to get married. Only, as Alice is walking down the aisle, she glances up and doesn’t recognize her fiancé.

This book was a very enjoyable read that had several red herrings that kept me guessing. In true Shalini Boland fashion, you think you have it all figured out until that final chapter with the true twist is revealed. I have yet to read a book from this author that I did not enjoy!

What would you do if it was your wedding day and the man waiting at the altar is a stranger claiming to be your fiancé? Everyone else seems to recognize him but you’ve never seen that man before. What a whirlwind of a story. My head is still spinning. Excellent unraveling and excellent twists.

The book opens with Alice walking up the aisle preparing to marry Seth but finds herself looking at a stranger. Everyone else but Alice recognises him as being Seth. What is happening? Is Alice having a breakdown? Fearing she is losing her mind Alice sets out to discover the truth. The story alternates between events leading up to the wedding and then what happens after. I carried on reading but found that about halfway through the story seemed to drag and culminated, to me, in a far fetched ending. So although I enjoyed it, I don’t think it was one of my favourite books by this author.
Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book,

The Silent Bride
By Shalini Boland

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the arc of this story. I really enjoyed this story as I do all of Shalini Bolands stories!

It is Alice and Seth’s wedding day!! Alice has been dreaming of this day since Seth proposed. Everything has been planned and has gone off without a hitch. Until Alice is walking down the aisle and doesn’t recognize her groom!

Shalini is a fantastic writer and I have loved every story I have read or listened to of hers.
Again, thank you for the ARC.

Thank you @netgalley, @amazonpublishing for my digital copy. My thoughts are my own.

I always enjoy Shalini Boland’s books and this one was no exception. It starts out as a slow burn but I believe the slow burn is needed in order to fully set up this plot-driven story.

Alice is excited to marry the man of her dreams, Seth. Imagine her shock when she starts down the aisle and sees her groom…but it is NOT Seth! Her parents, her friends, and even the parents of the groom cannot convince her to go through with the wedding.

Reeling from shock, Alice breaks things off with “Not Seth” and puzzles over what happened. She visits her doctor and even a friend who is a psychologist. Soon, Alice appears to have moved on, but someone is not happy with the change of events.

The ending packs a solid punch with a twist I didn’t see coming! The story unfolds through Alice’s perspective, as well as that of an unknown person. At 271 pages, this is a fast and entertaining read.

What a book! I wasn’t so sure starting this title but I was wowed by the end! I truly didn’t see any of the twists coming and that is always a huge plus in my eyes. I really liked the main character and how the story flowed between past and present. It didn’t get muddy with multiple timelines which can sometimes happen. The plot of the main character not recognizing her husband to be and then later on realizing what happened made for a great story. The added characters were well written and did a good job in adding to the already thrilling plot. I didn’t want to stop reading!

First of all thank you so much to the publishers and to netgalley for my early read of The Silent Bride in exchange for my honest review.

Alice Porter is walking down the aisle on her wedding day but when she gets to her fiance, Seth, she doesn't recognize him...

Told from the present and past and also from the perspective of an Unreliable narrator, The Silent Bride tells the story of how Alice got engaged to the love of her life and what happened after what was supposed to be her wedding day. Is Seth who he says he is? Why doesn't anyone believe Alice when she is saying it isn't him? Is she just having an episode or is nothing as it seems?

What an incredible ride. I think my jaw dropped about five times, maybe more, reading this one! I absolutely loved the twists. Definitely will have to check out more from Shalini Boland after reading this. 4.5 stars!!!!!

I enjoy reading books by Shalini Boland and this was another good one. I would recommend reading.
It was told over now and then chapters, ie before the wedding and after. Very clever timeline with a couple of good twists. The characters had interesting lives and was interesting the way the story unfolded.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK, Shalini Boland and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This was a good read and would be a great beach/pool read. I think it would also make an excellent screen translation! Although I did figure it out before the end, and there are some technical inaccuracies that I can't mention without spoilers, it was a great, edge-of-your-seat thriller.

It’s wedding day for Alice and Seth. As Alice walks down the aisle, she doesn’t recognize the man waiting at the alter. That’s not her fiancé! Filled with panic, Alice leaves the church, and calls off the marriage. Who is that man? Where is her fiancé?
Thus the story begins.
I found this book to be slow and not very well developed. There was the hint of a villain, in intermittent chapters printed in italics, but for me the story dragged.
There was a twist at the end, but it was anticlimactic and predictable.
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer publishers for the ARC, in return for my honest review.
3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for this book.
In this novel we meet Alice Porter as she is walking down the aisle towards her fiancé Seth. Once she starts walking down the aisle she doesn’t recognize her fiancé and believes he is an imposter. Her family and friends are confused and tell her that Seth is in fact her fiancé and the only one who seems to believe her is her best friend Laurence. The wedding is called off and she breaks up with Seth since she doesn’t recognize him. She starts hanging out with Laurence more and ends up not making partner at her accounting firm that she’s been working at for five years. Laurence reveals he has feelings for her and breaks up with his girlfriend Francesca. Francesca tells Alice’s ex that Laurence is the reason that the wedding didn’t happen. Seth punches Laurence so Alice ignores him for three weeks. After three weeks Alice begins to date Laurence. Francesca stops by and tells Alice that Laurence hypnotized Alice in order to stop her from marrying Seth. Laurence finds out and tells Alice not to call anyone or anything because it would ruin his reputation and Francesca stops by. Laurence graps a knife and starts toward Alice and Francesca when Francesca graps a lamp and hits him in the head which makes him die. Months later Francesca is cleared of charges and Alice is starting her on firm. Francesca is revealed to be the mastermind and orchestrated the entire thing and framed Laurence. Francesca loved Seth and they had a fling while she was with Laurence and when Seth begins dating Alice they both get jealous and Francesca starts her plan of slowly hypnotizing Alice. Seth doesn’t fall in love with her afterwards and the novel ends with Seth calling Alice and Alice saying yes.