this book was very slow to fast paced to say the least and i really did enjoy it. i did guess the twist but the twist that came ontop of the twist - shook.
the ending was quite slow paced though, the very start of it was all quite face paced.

also i knew Ethan was a weirdo from the beginning lmao, red flag vibes and I felt so so bad for nicci from the beginning.

Nicci and Ethan are about to get married and start a new life together but events that happened just before their wedding day have tarnished their happiness and left Nicci feeling very guilty and wanting to confess all, but Ethan has other ideas and has insisted that, as part of their vows, they promise to uphold their truths for as long as they both shall live. But secrets have a habit of being exposed and, as events unfold, it would seem this isn't the only one they are keeping...

Bride and Groom is the latest thriller by Halsall and, as in her previous novels, it hits the ground running right from the start. It's a fast paced read, jam packed with intense moments that had me on the edge of my seat throughout and I just didn't want to put it down. It's a well crafted, dark plot with mainly likeable characters, but I just could not take to one of them, in the beginning they were just 'too nice' and as the story progressed I could see that my instincts had been right, as the old saying goes ' if something seems too good to be true, it usually is'. I developed a real soft spot for Nicci's dad Pete, he was adorable! Once again this author puts pen to paper and delivers an incredible read which I highly recommend.

I'd like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

There’s been a terrible accident. It’s a secret you and your husband vow to take to the grave.


This book immediately grabbed my attention. It’s very fast paced which I loved.
I had such a feeling of dread as I was reading and was just waiting for the secrets to come spilling out. I liked how every chapter ended on a cliffhanger and left you wanting more. There are so many intense moments and shocking revelations!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Bookouture for the arc!

Another great Rona Halsall book! Rona is a ‘new to me’ author and I totally enjoyed it. So easy to fall right into the story. Packed with tension, lies and so many secrets. This one kept me flipping pages long into the night.
Thank you NetGalley, Rona Halsell and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Page turner is the best way for me to describe this book. Secrets are bound to come out sooner or later and that includes the secret that Nicci and Ethan share. Get ready for another ride with twists, turns, and non stop action.

Nicci has a great life. A wonderful fiancé and a devoted father, who can't do enough for her and her soon to be husband, Ethan. Shortly before their wedding day, Nicci and Ethan are involved in a hit and run and vow to keep it secret between them. Nicci struggles with her conscience and when other things start to happen, she questions whether it really happened as Ethan told her, which leads her to question her relationships with everyone she loves - her father, her husband and her friends.

As the twists piled up, in classic Rona Halsall style, I was blown away. There were enough red herrings to make me think I'd worked it out, but of course, Rona is always one step ahead and I was wrong - again and again! As I raced through to the shocking ending, the tension was electric (or maybe I should say gas)!

I don't feel that the character development was as thorough as it usually is in Rona Halsall's books, and the writing was a little disjointed at times. I felt as though this book was a little rushed.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Rona Halsall and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is a great psychological thriller.
Before Nicci and Ethan get married they discuss their vows, as something happened a few days before the wedding.
Nicci is struggling to come to terms with it but Ethan is there to calm her down.
As the story progresses we learn more about each character, and it’s not all good.
There’s a few twists and turns that will take you by surprise and your feelings towards some characters will definitely change.
This is a gripping read that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Bride and Groom’ written by Rona Halsall in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

As Nicci marries Ethan she has the urge to turn and run away as she thinks she’s making a terrible mistake. Just three days prior to their wedding, Nicci is driving them home from a party when their car hits a man who’s standing at the corner of a road. She fears the man is Joel who she has feelings for and Nicci wants to confess to the police but Ethan makes her keep to her marriage vow not to tell anyone.

‘Bride and Groom’ is an intriguing thriller about two newly-weds, the secrets they keep and lies they tell. Although the story is slow for a good part of the time, the tension starts to build towards the end and the numerous twists and turns increase the drama until the conclusion is reached which is not only surprising but completely unexpected. It’s well-written with interesting characters and an ingenious plot that I enjoyed reading and can recommend.

What a fantastic read. When an accident happens a few days before Ethan and Nicci are due to get married their future looks uncertain so they decide to keep it to themselves but Nicci can't help feeling guilty and things start to become uncomfortable between them.There are so many twists to this story and it's a real rollercoaster of emotions as things start to unravel that will keep you hooked right to the end. I've read it in a day and highly recommend this book

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Rona is such a captivating writer and is a master in her field. I've enjoyed every single one of her books so far and this one is just as good as the others

I thought I had never read a Rona Halsall book before but once I dove in, I realized she reminded me so much of Freida McFadden and Daniel Hurst that I was excited to find someone new and just as refreshing as they are. Well looking back at goodreads, I see I loved her book The Honeymoon back in 2019 so now I’m really excited to get started. It starts off with a bang right away. A couple are 3 days away from getting married when they accidentally hit a person while driving. They have this secret forever and do get married, then all kinds of things start happening. I was glued from the first page and this was a very faced thriller that I could not put down. Twists and turns are thrown in when you least expect them and I just loved this whole book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published April 5, 2024. It won’t be long before you can pick this to your thriller collection. Highly recommend. Looking forward to more books by this author.

A gripping plot once the story unfolded, the pace and storyline kept me intrigued until the end.
I like a book where the tension builds and this was like that for me.
Really enjoyable thriller

I am very sad when I have to leave a low review, but I really cannot rate this higher.

To start with the pros: I never knew where any of it was going, there were lots of unexpected twists and turns. Normally I can predict the way a book is going to end, but I truly had no idea where this was going, and that in and of itself was enough to keep me turning the pages.

I think where this book fell flat was in the execution. The writing was very simplistic and rushed, which did not build much suspense at all. Any sort of question the characters had was answered almost immediately, and the dialogue was very stunted. The book also switched perspectives mid-chapter which could be very hard to follow. Lastly, I had no connection to any of the characters and they all felt very one-dimensional to me. I think with a little more work character-building and suspense building this could have been a really great read, but I struggled to finish it because of how disjointed and superficial it felt.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture publishing, and Rona Halsall for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bride and Groom is a story of moral dilemmas and a cautionary tale of "how well do you really know someone". Ethan and Nicci share a horrible secret; one that they plan to hide with their vows but the thing about moral dilemmas is that the stress eats at you until you start to crack.

This book is written from a 3rd person POV from both Ethan's and Nicci's perspectives, and I found the first half to be slightly disjointed, but that may just be the writing style is different than what I am used to. Nicci's character is relatable in her people-pleasing habits, and I was able to also relate to the distrust she felt in other characters in the book.

Overall, this book had a great plot and I did greatly enjoy the second half of the book, so much that I couldn't put it down once I hit the halfway point. That is where I found myself gasping several times and feeling what Nicci was feeling throughout the remainder of the book. This one is more of a slow-burn mystery, with some thrills and twists packed into that second half of the story.

A huge thank you to Bookouture for trusting me with another ARC review; you've quickly become my favorite publisher and I find myself seeking out books you have published.

Rona Halsall has given us another tight, tense and totally twisted psychological thriller in Bride and Groom! Things are not what they seem in this latest story of a bride and a groom with many, many secrets. Trying to figure out the truth is where the fun lies. You will find yourself holding your breath!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

This was just ok. The characters were unlikeable and the main character kept repeating her thoughts. There was little to advance the thoughts, just the same thing over and over. Better by the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. This one had marraige drama, infedility, betrayals and family stuff! Quite a few surprises. Not as fast paced as I had hoped, but still a great plot and story.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bride and Groom by Rona Halsall is totally gripping psychological thriller packed with shocking, gasping-out-loud, truly mind-blowing twists! Like - wow, wow! Who would know that this book will take turns like this? And the last twis, sweet pepper! Whatever I would think, there is no chance in the universe that I would guess it!
Serious madhouse!

Nicci is a people pleaser. She will always try to think about everyone else instead of her own happiness. Ethan, her soon-husband-to-be is gentle, caring, perfect, and will always be on her side.
When Nicci accidentally hits someone and runs, Ethan is happy to keep her secret. But how easy is it to keep secret so big? What if you find that the victim could be someone you know?

So far I loved every single book by Rona Halsall and this wasn't an exemption! Rona Halsall knows how to create suspense and how to make your blood boil!

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for this copy!

Bride and Groom by Rona Hals and qall is another great read from the author.
It’s Nicci’s big day and she is getting married to Ethan. She should be happy that she is marrying the love of her life. But an accident happened whilst she was driving, and someone was killed and the guilt on that day is playing on her mind. Did she kill someone? Although the details are a bit hazy as she was drinking Etan says it was an accident and they shouldn’t report it or it will not only harm her father, but also harm the business that they all work at.
I have followed this author from her first book, and she never disappoints. This is a fast-paced thriller with lots of twists and turns and some red herrings along the way. Although for me personally thought is was a bit farfetched at times. I enjoyed it anyway. 4 stars from me.

Walking down the aisle in the packed church, sunlight glints off my ivory silk gown. This should be the happiest day of my life. But as I carefully lift my veil and greet my husband-to-be, my heart is pounding with fear. Does someone out there know what we've done?

The pace is a bit on the slow side., but that didn't stop me from being hooked by the end of the first chapter. The story begins as Nicci and Ethan are getting married. They've added an extra vow as they share a devastating secret. But the secret is escalating, and they both have secrets from each other. There are so many secrets being kept, and even more lies being told. We are taken down lots of different paths before we reach the conclusion. This well-written story of betrayal could be intense at times. Overall, another great read.

Published 5th April

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #RonaHalsall for my ARC of #BrideandGroom in exchange for an honest review