Wow this is a disturbing dark read about a group of friends off on a hen weekend but are any of them really friends and what are they all hiding. The bride has just gone into remission and this should be a happy time but why is she so quiet and distant. When they wake up to find one of the party dead it looks like one of them may have killed her. As secrets and lies spill out the truth may be even darker than anyone expects. I loved the conclusion of this one but won’t spoil it.

The Bridal Party

The first 60% of this book I wasn’t sure if this book was for me. it felt very slow and I did not enjoy any of the characters. But the last 30% it got a lot better. it started picking up pace and going through all the interviews of the people at the bridal party (bachelorette party) it was very interesting to see everybody’s perspective and the secrets that they knew. I’m normally pretty good at figuring out the endings of books and this one actually caught me by surprise I might have been able to figure out if I really tried but I was pleasantly surprised by the twist. I definitely enjoyed the who, and why of it all but I did feel like it kind of ended abruptly. I wish it would’ve had a more clear ending. I would give this book but I am interested in trying other books by the author.



Thank you, NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

3.5 stars. Friends and future family all travel for a bride to he’s Hen Party. But things don’t go as planned. There’s fighting, tension, and a lack of fun had by all. Then something terrible happens.

I really liked the concept and storyline. But the writing style didn’t work for me. Some bits of the story were just repeated numerous times. I, personally, felt like it needed to be edited and flushed out more. And I wanted more from the ending. Even just a epilogue I would have worked for me.

4🌟
This is a quick and easy read full of plenty of unbearable characters. Personally, I enjoyed the multitude of perspectives which ultimately kept me guessing most of the way through.
I couldn’t give it 5🌟 as I felt the ending didn’t pack the punch that I was expecting.

I found this well-crafted mystery novel to be captivating, keeping me engrossed late into the night.
I eagerly awaited the resolution, which ultimately met my expectations.
The only drawback I encountered was the abundance of different perspectives, leading to some confusion.
Despite this, overall, it was an enjoyable read.

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this advance reader copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

A great thriller with a twist I didn’t see coming! When I finished, I was wishing I could keep reading! This was my first book by this author, but I will absolutely be reading more by María!

Caitlyn is about to marry Ben and her best friend Jen organises a hen's party away for her with her mother-in-law to be, her sisters, her neighbor and other girlfriends. Jen is hoping this is going to be a memorable trip for Caitlyn to look back on in years to come but something is off with Caitlyn. As the weekend starts Jen knows she needs to find out what is going on and it seems a lot, Caitlyn is not a happy bride to be. Also Caitlyn is in remission from cancer and has been on an intense terrible journey, everyone is hoping her future holds the happiness she has not recently experienced.

On the first night there Caitlyn is murdered and now the hunt is on to find out who did this and why. Unfortunately I found the book to be unsurprising and unoriginal, I feel like I have read many books along the same theme, maybe in future I should be looking at what I am requesting and vie away from these types of stories. By half way through I had already worked out where this was all going, it lacked uniqueness and if it had not been for the ending I would have rated the book lower, but I was surprised at how it finished and who had committed the crime, this did take me by surprise.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions expressed are my own.

A quick read but utterly captivating! All the characters are vile and noone can be trusted. I do love locked room type mysteries and the story was well paved and plotted out. It didn't have many shocking twists but it did have good writing and the multiple povs gave the characters depth and dimension. So no, you may not be shocked by who actually did it but you'll certainly be entertained! Perfect for summer by the pool

The Bridal Party is a fast-paced, drama-filled psychological thriller with a cast of extremely unlikable characters. It's Caitlyn's hen party, and everyone has come to celebrate: her future family-in-law, her sisters, her childhood friends, her uni friends and her neighbor. While the decor, music, and beverages are all there, the vibe is off. Caitlyn seems upset, not just with the party but with the prospect of her upcoming marriage. After revealing some surprising secrets to her best friend, Caitlyn goes to sleep hoping to wake up to a relaxing day at the spa. Unfortunately, Caitlyn is murdered during the night and everyone is a suspect.

I love a good locked-room mystery, and I did enjoy numerous aspects of The Bridal Party; however, I found the overall mystery to be quite predictable. By halfway through the book, I had already figured out the end. Typically, in these books, the characters are flawed and quite unlikable. In this case, I just found the majority of the characters to be too despicable (to the point of unbelievable). I did enjoy that each character had their own chapter when the police were questioning them. It definitely added to the character development. But again, the majority of characters were really horrendous. I also didn't think having the POV of the DI was necessary. On a final note, I felt like every other paragraph was about Caitlyn's illness, which was both annoying and aided in the predictability of the plot.

I enjoyed some aspects of the book; however, overall, it's not one of my favorite thrillers.

I tried to get into this one and i just couldnt. I didnt find the story was flowing and the characters werent there for me.

What starts off a fun hen party for a recently recovered bride-to-be devolves into a horrific trip where the bride is murdered in her bed. Who can it be? The groom;s mom or sister or teenage daughter who all seem less than enthusiastic about the wedding. Her sisters, one of whom, is obviously jealous or the neighbor who feels shunted aside. The maid of honor who seems to have handled everything, but did that include planning a murder. While this is a murder mystery is actually a fun romp through the book to get to the very surprising ending which I did not see coming but was very pleased with.

WOW The Bridal Party an absolutey tense psychological thriller by Maria Frankland. I could not put this book down as Maria is such an exciting author.

Caitlyn is celebrating her hen party in Dublin with her hens which include her future Mother-in-law, Caitlyn's future stepdaughter, and her fiancee's sister.

The party has begun but most of the hens have attended because they felt they had to and not because they wanted to be there in the first place and this includes her future in-laws.

A lot of secrets are revealed as the games unfold and animosity and jealousy rear their ugly heads.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer springs to mind when Caitlyn has been found dead in her bed.

The Gardai arrive on the scene and take statements from all the hens in order to deduce who had murdered Caitlyn.

All is not what it seems as this amazing thriller escalates like an express train to it's final destination which will reveal the truth and a lot more besides.

This is a quick read that will keep you engaged the whole time. As someone who is getting married, I knew I had to read this! The different POVs throughout the book allows you to get a better understanding of how the different characters think. There are twists and turns that you may not expect throughout the book. Who killed the bride to be? You may have different guesses but you have to continue to read on to find out! Highly recommend if you’re looking for a quick thriller

Caitlyn is now in remission after a battle with cancer. Jen, her Maid of Honor, throws a hen party in Dublin. In attendance: Caitin’s soon to be mother-in-law, sister-in-law and step daughter; her two sisters; her two college friends; her friend from grade school and her neighbor. This eclectic mix leads to tension amongst themselves as petty arguments happen.

The next morning Caitlin is found dead in her bed. And all of them have some sort of motive.

Ah so good. I love the locked in trope, and this had me guessing the entire time. I could not put this one down until I reached the very last word.

RECOMMEND

This is my third book by this author and she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

She makes the stories so easy to read and writes about things we can relate to like a Christmas party with the family (Last Christmas), meeting the right person at the right time when you need it the most ( I let her in) and a hen party (The bridal party) and adds of course a dire situation to the mix in order to turn them into thrillers.

In the beginning of this book we meet the 10 women who attend the party and I was thinking "Am I ever going to remember who is who?" But I did not need to panic, because I think the author took the time whilst writing to put herself in her readers shoes and understanding she was giving us a lot to digest in one go. So she took the time to feed us the info we needed without breaking the flow of the story. In no time I knew the relationships between the ladies and could place them in my mind;

The green eyed monster is pertinently present and although I worked something out, I was pleasantly surprised by the who and how and why. I loved it to bits.

My heart broke for Caitlyn and if you play with fire, you can easily get burned. 

A great and well written book by an author who never disappoints. 5 stars

Thank you

This book was one that surprised me as I thought it would be like others with a similar plot but the twists and turns definitely caught me off guard!

While I feel like the bridal party and the bride is murdered plot has been done a lot, I enjoyed this book. It was funny and mysterious. I did figure it out pretty quickly but I read a lot of thrillers. All in all not a bad book at all. I liked how the killer was revealed also that was a fun twist.

An addictive page-turner with delightfully loathsome characters. The plot and characters unfold beautifully creating a very engaging read. Lots of twists from multiple POVs and an incredible twist that had me re-reading pages. Really excellent.

I remember previously reading this book as the hen party. Loved it then and reading it again never took away from that enjoyment.
Amazing book and recommend it.

I love stories like these!

Murder mysteries that take place on a trip where anyone could be the killer. Especially a “hen” or bachelorette party! All of the drama and nastiness makes it hard to stop reading! I had to know who killed Caitlyn.

I did guess the ending, however that didn’t make it any less satisfying! It definitely put a unique spin on the trope!

All of the characters absolutely sucked. Like… badly. Meaning they were all horrible human beings with motive to kill Caitlyn. Normally, this would have turned me way off to a book, but to this story it made it that much better.

I definitely recommend this quick read!