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Samantha Chase has done it again! The Bridal Squad is the story of four friends and a wedding. You have the bride, Julianne. She's a fitness instructor who likes the idea of a wedding but not all the decisions that go into it & her lack of control. Her sister, Harper, is the maid of honor & will do anything to make this wedding perfect for her sister, including dealing with her mother constantly putting her down. Apparently Harper has been engaged three times & her mother won't let her forget that. The bridesmaids are characters in their own right. Natalie just got married & is in the "honeymoon" stage. She can't help bringing up what she had at her wedding & taking over the maid of honor duties. Kayla is a photographer that takes off at a moments notice to her jobs. Julianne is stressing that something will happen & Kayla won't be at the wedding.

This is a story of four friends that think they are close but as they work through this together, they grow closer. Ms. Chase manages to emphasis that appearances are not always 100% accurate & someone else's life is not always better. The plot line engages your emotions & takes you on a rollercoaster of feelings. I laughed, cried, felt the hurt & passion. I loved such a diverse group & their interactions. The men fit with the women perfectly even though you wondered at times. The four romances intertwined perfectly with the men developing tight friendships too. The supporting characters added realistic touches & helped your emotions get even more involved. Every time I thought I knew where the writer was going with a plot line, she put in a twist. I have never disliked a character as much as I disliked Julianne & Harper's mother, especially with the revelation towards the end. I can't wait to see what Ms. Chase does with Book 3!!

This is the second in the series and you should read the first to get the proper context. Luckily Samantha Chase writes great romance novels so this shouldn’t be a hardship.

I loved the different, intertwining stories that showcased so many characters. Chase has a talent for creating realistic personalities that drive you to take an interest in their lives as if their friends you’re following but she also creates the type you can’t help but hating. The dynamics she creates for the couples to play off each other feel as if she watched real couples and copied their relationships.

The story line manages to hit all the high notes on the emotional spectrum; you’ll laugh, cry, feel pain and desire as this diverse group of characters takes you through a twisting plot of friendship and drama all leading to a conclusion that is anything but predictable.

The book starts out with Julianne planning her wedding to Gavin. Her sister, Harper, is her Maid of Honor, her friend, Natalie is her Matron of Honor and her other friend, Kayla is a bridesmaid. Kayla and Harper are close and kind of block Natalie out when she speaks. Julianne is a fitness instructor and practically demands that all 3 of them are at her Zumba class bright and early every Saturday morning. After some of these classes, they go to Enchanted Bridal for to find their dresses, etc. They are all opinionated and sometimes forget that someone else may not agree. Julianne did sometimes come across as domineering to her friends when she would insist on them eating certain things, or coming to her class and not leaving during it, etc. I didn't see her making the same effort for her friends and was kind of left wondering about that.

All of these women are self-absorbed to the point of being maddening at times. They each have unrealistic expectations of others and all run from their problems. Julianne and Harper's mom was ridiculous at points and should have been called out much sooner for her abysmal behavior towards Harper. Harper also should have stood up for herself instead of hiding behind others when it came to her mother. She should never have let her mother use her past to define her.

All 4 women find themselves in a personal relationship crisis. Kayla is clueless when it comes to her relationship with her boss, Adam, to the point of being downright dumb. Natalie has to come to the realization that life is not a fairy tale and her romantic ideas are not necessarily those of her husband, Jace. He was babied his whole life and she should have seen at least some of that writing on the wall prior to being married to him. She came off as a martyr at times and thought he should have been a mind-reader. Harper is using her past relationship failures to push Brady away when she should own up to why her other relationships didn't last. Her allowing her mother to control even more of her life was hard to understand.

All 4 women had either control issues or were emotionally distant. All 4 could be downright rude and took the others in their group for granted at points. Instead of communicating their problems with their significant others, each would take the cowards way out and try to avoid the situation. It got tiring after a while and made the book a bit lower in the rating for me because of it. These were not women in their early 20's who were just out of college. They were all established in their professions and didn't have any excuse for their childish behavior at times.

I did like how none of the men in their life let them get away with walking all over them when they reached their breaking point. All of the women were guilty of using their own insecurities and preconceived notions to demand more than what they rightfully should have. Yes, they each had some legitimate gripes but none of them were perfect either. Julianne's treatment of Brady was ridiculous and she should have been called out on it earlier. It was her bruised ego that caused her behavior and she should have been an adult about it.

I did like the ending and felt the book was an overall good read. Just be warned that all 4 of these women had me at one point rolling my eyes at their selfish behavior to the point of fearing medical intervention being required. Samantha Chase did a good job of pushing to story forward enough that it never got to be too much for me to abandon the book. I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review.

This book features four friends who are helping plan one of their weddings. Each woman is dealing with her own issues and own romances. I liked the story overall, but at times, I wished it only focused on one or two of the women then their stories would have a little more depth.

Wedding planning is supposed to be fun, but when Julianne starts to plan hers she results to kick boxing to relieve the stress from friends and family. Natalie, Kayla and Harper are part of the wedding party and each goes through their own crisis during the preparations. This book had me laughing one minute, yelling the next and I also wiped away a few tears as well. Everyone who is getting married needs to read this book. The characters were so likable and the plot twists were so real that anyone could relate to them. This was a great read.