Rachael Johns has created a piece of cliterature mastery with The Bad Bridesmaid.

Winifred or Fred as she likes to be called is a free spirited sexually open woman who has landed a writing deal to write an empowering dating book called 21 Rules for Not Catching Feelings. Can Fred live with her 21 rules?

Leopold or Leo as he likes to be called, is more of a reserved wanting to get to get to know you before sleeping with someone. It is important to note that he plays the Ukulele and sings and has a six pack.

Their paths cross when Fred’s mother, and Leo’s dad bring the families together for their destination wedding.
Fred and Leo, believe they are rushing into the marriage and devise plans on breaking them up. Their scheming becomes complicated once Fred and Leo realise, they have strong feelings for one another and the marriage of their parents would make things icky, taboo, stepsiblings, but they also must overcome the values that they both hold about sex. With all their scheming to end the wedding, natural disaster has a way of bringing the importance of love to light.

The chemistry between Fred and Leo is very strong with these two. But their characters are more than just a randy pair thrown together on an island. It is about developing feelings especially for Fred, who has been hiding teen trauma and Leo needing to let go to go forward.

This is a great book that had me laughing and invested in Winifred emotional journey to the very end. This is an emotional journey between Australia and England, and a few trigger topics are touched upon. It is a feel good rom-com, cliterature book and one that I will be reading again.

The Bad Bridesmaid is such a good read. I connected with Fred from the very first page and loved the journey she went on... not just to Norfolk Island, but her own personal one.
There's plenty of laugh out loud moments, but it has depth as well, as you discover the reasons why Fred doesnt believe in love, and why her mum is heading down the aisle for the sixth time.
I loved seeing Norfolk Island through Fred's eyes... and I also loved seeing Leo through Fred's eyes. Their banter was fun and really showed the chemistry between them.
There's references to The Other Bridget but you can read this as a stand alone.

How much fun is a destination wedding filled with lots of drama, dilemmas and loads of love!

The super sassy Fred heads to her mums sixth wedding and she’s not impressed at all! During the week of the wedding, Fred meets her new step father’s children and grandchildren. Spunky Leo catches her eye, and as they get to know each other, they both agree they need to stop this wedding!

These two are super cute together, loved their instant connection and conversations about their past. As we all know, Fred doesn’t get attached so it’s interesting to see how this goes! I enjoyed the families getting to know each other, and the locals all helping out too.

I also loved learning more about Norfolk Island as well, as it’s a place I’d love to visit one day.

I don’t want to say too much, but my goodness so many things happen in the lead up to this wedding! It’s one crazy ride that’s for sure!

This was a super fun, light and entertaining rom com, with a sprinkle of spice!

Thank you to the team @penguinbooksaus and @netgalley for sending me this early copy in exchange for an honest review.

📚✨ THE BAD BRIDESMAID is a total delight! I devoured this book in just a couple of days, and I can’t stop thinking about it. If you're a fan of rom-coms, quirky characters, and the ultimate wedding drama, this is for you! 💍🎉

Meet Winifred “Fred” Darling, a serial dater who's not here for her mother’s sixth wedding. As the maid of honour (and the author of 21 Rules for Not Catching Feelings), Fred’s determined to stop it. Enter Leo, the groom’s hot muso son, and together they hatch Operation Break-Up to prevent what they believe is a catastrophe in the making. But as Fred and Leo spend more time together, their plan starts to unravel in the sweetest way... 🥰

What I absolutely loved about this book:

* Fred is such a fun, bold, and unapologetically herself character. Her sass, wit, and no-nonsense attitude had me laughing out loud. I couldn’t get enough of her!
* Leo is swoon-worthy in a way that is often reverse to typical rom-com heroes. He’s the perfect match for Fred’s chaotic energy, and their chemistry is off-the-charts 🔥
* The setting of Norfolk Island is the perfect backdrop for this madcap wedding adventure. If anything, this book made me want to book a plane ticket there ASAP! ✈️🌴
* The fun references to The Other Bridget (yes, those characters make a cameo) added a sweet touch for long-time fans of Rachael’s books.

This novel is a refreshing, feel-good read packed with humour, drama, and, of course, love. 💖 I loved the way Rachael weaved a love story that not only captured the magic and mayhem of weddings but also explored family dynamics, personal growth, and what happens when you start breaking your own rules.

If you love rom-coms with a cheeky twist, a dash of family drama, and an adorable friends-to-lovers journey, you won’t want to miss The Bad Bridesmaid. Rachael Johns has done it again—another fabulous read that kept me smiling from start to finish! 🥂📖

I loved this crazy little romcom adventure. The reference to the reverse parent trap is absolutely accurate as Fred and Leo set about trying to make sure their parents don't get married. Fred is absolutely dead set against long lasting love (who can blame her) but sweet Leo starts to get behind her barriers during their mission to end a wedding. I could absolutely understand where Fred was coming from and why she would be wary having seen her mum get married FIVE times already. But, without spoilers, there's more to this story than she realises and I loved how it all played out.

Rachael Johns has once again delivered with The Bad Bridesmaid. It's laugh out loud fun, but also beautifully captures the landscape of Norfolk Island and shows all the weird and wonderful ways you can meet people when you least expect it.

There were so many aspects to this book that I adored. Firstly Fred, who is unapologetically who she is. Then there was Leo who had an approach to relationships that is often seen from the female main characters in novels and I really loved and appreciated that perspective. It made for quite the refreshing read in that sense.

It was great to see much loved characters from The Other Bridget featuring again and we got glimpse into how they are living their lives at the moment.

Overall it is another fabulous addition from Johns who always delivers a fun and refreshing read.

Oh how I loved this book. A new book by Rachael Johns with a few characters that we’ve met before. The focus of this book was Fred and her mum getting married while she tries to stop it. The whole storyline was great, the craziness of families and families travelling together, the drama of a wedding with things going wrong on the day and a location that many of us know very little about in Norfolk Island.

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summed Up: Sassy Rom-Com With A Twist

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Earlier this year, I read The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns and it became one of those rare books I couldn’t stop thinking about after finishing. I even had review regret, wishing I’d rated it 5 stars. Naturally, I was excited to dive into the follow up - The Bad Bridesmaid.

This novel had the same easy to read writing style, cute rom-com vibes, was packed with pop culture and bookish references plus funny one liners. I especially enjoyed the updates on characters from the earlier book, those little connections were a fun touch.

However the main plot didn’t work as well for me. The romance storyline was sweet but it centered around two people at a wedding who ❗️spoiler alert ❗️would become step-siblings when their parents marry. While this might not bother every reader it gave me major ick vibes and made it hard to be happy for their happy ending.

The main character was bold, sassy, chaotic and unapologetically herself, but holy moly.. she was also very horny.

Rom-coms aren’t my go to genre and smut isn’t really my thing, so I recommend taking this review with that perspective in mind. You’re going to enjoy this if you’re into bold characters, cheeky humour and don’t mind a somewhat unconventional romance ♥️

Rachael you’ve done it again! Each book is better than the previous one.

This was such a delight to read and I found myself smiling at the antics Fred and Leo got up to to stop the wedding in Operation Break-Up.
The wedding location of Norfolk Island sounds so lovely I now really want to visit it myself.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fred is bridesmaid for her mother's latest wedding and Fred is determined not to watch her mother marry again. So along with the Groom's son Leo. They hatch a plan to break the pair up. This is the ultimate romance book and I delighted in every minute of Fred's adventure!