riajasfuentes's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I read this book on a whim when I had my hair done and I was pleasantly surprised with the book, to the point that even when I finished having my hair done, I couldn’t put the book down!
The Secret Bridesmaid, for me, focused a lot more on finding oneself and friendship. I love the character of Sophie and her development to care less on what people thinks of her and just do her. I loved how she turned fro a people pleaser to a person who never gives up while still upholding and enjoying what she does without having to be a pushover. I also love how the flaw in her character was also shown and when she realized it, she apologizes and tries to do better.
To be honest, the best part of this book was probably the characters, for me. Because I also love Cordelia. Although, it did come to a point where I wanted to strangle her, I wanted to see her side of the story more instead of just judging her straight on. Not gonna lie, she’s horrible at the start. Believe it or not, I also believed and understood her reaction during the last plot point at the end.
I think the author did a wonderful job at creating this story with such different characters and common backstories but with different personalities. Katy Birchall was able to compare the different people of royalty with Annabel and Cordelia. She was also able to show the different personalities of men that Sophie could be with, Daniel and Tom.
This book was cheesy at times, but in a good way!! And there were also several predictable plot points, but I didn’t really mind since this isn’t a thriller or suspense novel, anyway. Would definitely recommend for a quick, cute read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug use
kfmcf's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book has a cute enough premise but it is s o l o n g. It's very slow and the romance angle of the book is unnecessary, honestly. Tom isn't fleshed out enough as a character and the friendship that builds between Sophie and Cordelia is so much more important and interesting. Also, Sophie was a bit of a Mary Sue imo. She was so good at everything and did everything everyone asked for, etc. I wanted her to have SOME flaws or show SOME sort of emotional growth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Gaslighting, Drug use, and Infidelity
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Minor: Drug abuse and Toxic friendship
wanderingtales's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I received an advance copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
I had a lot of fun with this book! I appreciated the focus on female friendships and how we see different forms they can take. The relationships between friends are just as strong and impactful as romantic relationships and this book highlights that so well. Losing a friend can be just as painful as a romantic breakup and gaining one can be just as rewarding.
I love that we see snapshots of Sophie working with other weddings throughout the story - many chapters end with a little snippet into her working life with email exchanges or voicemails that made me laugh and groan in sympathy in turns (I may never recover from reading the group chat sharing the RAVE hen do information with the group. Just read the message!). It also helped flesh Sophie out was a character more because she was sometimes at risk of becoming a very generic, straight-laced, always nice person, but through these moments we got to see her joy in her job and the relationships she had with her other clients and friends. It also made it easier to understand what exactly being a professional bridesmaid entailed.
We also got to spend a lot of time with their families and exploring the different dynamics Sophie's family and the Swanns have. The characters were all unique and well developed even when they didn't have as much page time and it was wonderful seeing healthy support systems for our characters.
My only real issue with this book comes from the marketing - and perhaps this is just a niche distinction that I missed. To me, it was marketed as a romance - with the cover design style and the fact that it's sorted as a romance under the giveaways and genre labels - but the romance is very limited. The book itself has "romantic comedy" on the back which I would say is more accurate, but truly the romantic interest (though introduced as a side character rather early one) isn't shown as an actual romantic interest until over 50% in. Obviously, I am so happy with the direction this book did take, but I was confused at first thinking it was a romance and wondering why it hadn't started yet.
There was one instance early in the book where Sophie referred to her friend/cousin as her "spirit animal" that I hope is removed in the final print (I read an ARC copy). The author is British, so I could assume ignorance and that she has only heard the term through the internet and doesn't understand its context, but the American publishing team should have caught it. Not only is using the term cultural appropriation from the Indigenous communities it belongs to, it was also just plain used incorrectly. For context, Sophie thinks to herself "I'm going to need tequila" which is immediately followed by her friend/cousin Cara saying "we're going to need tequila." Sophie then thinks to herself that Cara is her spirit animal. A spirit animal is more like a guide and representation of your spirit - what Sophie (and the author) really wants to say here is that Sophie and Cara think along the same lines/operate on the same wavelength, or that they understand each other on a deeper level. This would be a very easy fix that I hope occurs in the final print.
I had a lot of fun with this book! I appreciated the focus on female friendships and how we see different forms they can take. The relationships between friends are just as strong and impactful as romantic relationships and this book highlights that so well. Losing a friend can be just as painful as a romantic breakup and gaining one can be just as rewarding.
I love that we see snapshots of Sophie working with other weddings throughout the story - many chapters end with a little snippet into her working life with email exchanges or voicemails that made me laugh and groan in sympathy in turns (I may never recover from reading the group chat sharing the RAVE hen do information with the group. Just read the message!). It also helped flesh Sophie out was a character more because she was sometimes at risk of becoming a very generic, straight-laced, always nice person, but through these moments we got to see her joy in her job and the relationships she had with her other clients and friends. It also made it easier to understand what exactly being a professional bridesmaid entailed.
We also got to spend a lot of time with their families and exploring the different dynamics Sophie's family and the Swanns have. The characters were all unique and well developed even when they didn't have as much page time and it was wonderful seeing healthy support systems for our characters.
My only real issue with this book comes from the marketing - and perhaps this is just a niche distinction that I missed. To me, it was marketed as a romance - with the cover design style and the fact that it's sorted as a romance under the giveaways and genre labels - but the romance is very limited. The book itself has "romantic comedy" on the back which I would say is more accurate, but truly the romantic interest (though introduced as a side character rather early one) isn't shown as an actual romantic interest until over 50% in. Obviously, I am so happy with the direction this book did take, but I was confused at first thinking it was a romance and wondering why it hadn't started yet.
There was one instance early in the book where Sophie referred to her friend/cousin as her "spirit animal" that I hope is removed in the final print (I read an ARC copy). The author is British, so I could assume ignorance and that she has only heard the term through the internet and doesn't understand its context, but the American publishing team should have caught it. Not only is using the term cultural appropriation from the Indigenous communities it belongs to, it was also just plain used incorrectly. For context, Sophie thinks to herself "I'm going to need tequila" which is immediately followed by her friend/cousin Cara saying "we're going to need tequila." Sophie then thinks to herself that Cara is her spirit animal. A spirit animal is more like a guide and representation of your spirit - what Sophie (and the author) really wants to say here is that Sophie and Cara think along the same lines/operate on the same wavelength, or that they understand each other on a deeper level. This would be a very easy fix that I hope occurs in the final print.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction
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