Who's ready to fall in love at the wedding of the year? Certainly not Sophie! But alas, no good rom com goes without a romance and a good plot. I loved that the romantic interest was off limits and the rival was actually the bride herself... This lead to many laugh out loud moments. This is a great book for summer reading, for anyone needing a laugh. I would definitively recommend it!

Thank you to St. Martin's for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.

Fun, lighthearted, and lots of laughs. Sophie is a professional bridesmaid, not quite a full on wedding planner but like a personal assistant/super helper for brides. When the mother of Lady Cordelia hires Sophie, things get interesting. Cordelia doesn't want her around, so she comes up with all sorts of crazy requests and needs to try to get Sophie to quit. Add on the attraction between Sophie and Cordelia's brother.
This was a fun book to read, great book for a vacation. Anyone planning or who has planned a wedding will probably get some extra enjoyment out of it. I really liked the interpersed texts and email chains related to Sophie's job and usually other weddings.

The Secret Bridesmaid is not my normal sort of book but I was pleasantly surprised. I found it a light and easy read with some very funny moments, just the sort of thing I needed at the time of reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin, and Ms. Birchall for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

This book felt like a combo of three movies: The Wedding Ringer, The Devil Wears Prada and 27 Dresses. Sophie is a professional bridesmaid: after having been a bridesmaid many, many, MANY times, and having also been a personal assistant (an extremely organized, patient, and logistical one at that), she has the brilliant idea to combine her talents into an original occupation. She steps in as a bridesmaid with a cover story about how/why she knows the bride (always the bride, I noticed) and basically acts as an emotional/logistical support person crossed with a wedding planner.

She gets her big breakout opportunity when she's hired to be a bridesmaid for Lady Cordelia Swann (a celebrity socialite she'd admired as a teen) by Lady Meade (Cordelia's mother). Just one problem: Cordelia is outraged by having to "hire a friend" as she sees it, and makes it her life's mission to terrorize, bully and intimidate Sophie into quitting by being the world's biggest Bridezilla. Sophie, never one to give up, persists and discovers that Cordelia just might have a soft emotional center she's protecting. The book is primarily about the (eventual) growth of friendship between Sophie and Cordelia. I always love a good female friendship book so that was a major point in its favor for me. Cordelia's hot brother was also a perk. The steady (and surprising!) relationship between Cordelia and her fiancée was likewise refreshing. Of course, nothing runs smoothly and there are some big secrets that imperil both the wedding and Sophie's fledgling connection to Cordelia. You're rooting for Sophie to pull off the biggest wedding of the season even as you're (as I was) pulling even harder for Sophie and Cordelia's friendship.

I wish the book had spent a little more time on that last pre-wedding month, after alllllllll the buildup, but I can't really complain. It was a fun ride with enjoyable characters, and I would definitely be interested to read more of Ms. Birchall's work. 4 stars.

I had to give this book five stars just based on how many times it made me laugh out loud. I can't remember the last time a book made me do that. Some of the events in this book were so creative and hilarious. I loved Sophie and Cordelia. I didn't love how the description made it seem like a romance when most of the story is Sophie being a secret bridesmaid. I loved all the random emails from her other weddings. This book is clever and fun, and I will definitely be recommending it to friends!

Such a light, fun romantic comedy! The Secret Bridesmaid is the story of professional bridesmaid Sophie, who has been hired by an aristocratic family to be a bridesmaid for their somewhat difficult daughter. All sorts of mishaps ensue, but it is mainly a story about friendship, with a little romance, and a main character you are rooting for. There are also several funny moments and exchanges from her profession sprinkled throughout the book. Would recommend to anyone that enjoys romantic comedies - perfect for summer!

I loved this book! It was the perfect easy reading escape! It was light-hearted with an unlikely formed friendship, boss babe, and with a splash of romance.

This was a total mood booster for me last week while I was dealing with so much.

If you are looking for more romance I would recommend it. While this does navigate through some relationships I’d say it’s more of a tale of friendship and overcoming obstacles. For me, it didn’t matter though because I fell in love with the writing, the characters, and the story.

I think this would be perfect if adapted into a movie and I am hoping that’s the case!

This was an adorable & funny read!

Sophie is a professional bridesmaid, hired by Lady Victoria Swann to help her daughter Cordelia--the bride who wants no part of this arrangement.

This book is filled with funny antics and heartwarming moments between characters. I absolutely loved the little snippets that author Katy Birchall includes at the end of chapters--from group texts to planning elements gone wrong, they're HILARIOUS.

Really enjoyed this! It's the perfect book to have on your shelf for those times when you need something light, fun and enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a fun read! I loved the entrepreneurial main character, and seeing her very 21st century business and the trials and tribulations she goes through. Even though the romance was a bit predictable, there were plenty of twists and turns in the plot that did keep me guessing. I loved the Miranda Priestly-esque vibe of Cordelia, the main client, and also appreciated that we got plenty of insight into why she was so difficult. I tore through this book in just two days – really fun and light without being at all dumb!

Such a lovely book! Funny, easy, quick read, that doesn't revolve only around the romance (actually romance is just a very little part of it), but is essentially about friendship, loyalty and finding your true self.
It has some laugh out loud moments as well as heartwarming one.
At the beginning the idea of the plot seemed not entirely believable to me and it has taken me a few chapters to get into it, but this is definitely one of those books that the more you read, the better it gets!
Absolutely recommended if you don't mind other people seeing you with a silly smile on your face (in case you read it in a public place).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐

Cute romcom. I liked the concept of a professional bridesmaid. As a soon bride to be I would love to have a sophie to help me.

Sophie is a professional bridesmaid. She is hired by brides to help them with all of their wedding needs, but no one ever has to know she’s been hired, she pretends to be a friend. When she’s hired by the mother of an “It Girl” bride, Sophie know this can make her career. But the bride, Cordelia, is the definition of bridezilla. She does not want Sophie’s help and is determined to make her life hell.

This book was adorable! This was a sweet book that wasn’t just about romance, but more about friendship and finding your voice. It had some funny and ridiculous moments and some heartfelt ones as well. As a current bride myself, I found myself cracking up over the various mishaps and bridezilla moments throughout the book. As wedding season approaches, add this to your must read list!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall is just an all-around fun, light, and engaging book. I was immediately drawn into Sophie Breeze's world of being a professional bridesmaid. You may wonder what a professional bridesmaid is, well, this is someone pretending to be the best friend that is essentially there for the bride in all ways possible to make sure her wedding goes off just as planned. Some of these brides would be considered 'bridezillas' and have bizarre, demanding requests that a 'real' best friend would not agree to do. The main bride in this story is high society, so pulling off her wedding would be a huge deal for future work. Unfortunately, Cordelia (the bride), is also incredibly difficult and not interested in Sophie's services (she was hired by the MOB). Throw in a super hot brother, a detestable ex-best friend, a massive scandal and you have the makings of lots of mayhem!

While the premise of this book sounded incredible far-fetched, I was pleasantly surprised by how enthralled in this story I became. Sophie is a professional bridesmaid, not quite a wedding planner, but a fake friend to both help a bride with planning and be an emotional support during what's unfortunately a stressful time. When she's hired by a bride's mother to help with the wedding of the century, it seems like a dream come true, until the bride does everything in her power to get her to quit. But Sophie's determined to do her job, and it doesn't hurt that the bride has a handsome brother...

This book is just so much fun. It's laugh-out-loud funny, with some downright hilarious text message and email exchanges for Sophie's job separating out chapters (and definitely my favorite part of the book). This book brought me so much joy, and I know it'll be one of my favorite romcoms of the year. There are so few romcoms that are actually funny, and many romances with darker, deeper elements--and there's not anything wrong with that, but something you just want something fun and light. And this is the perfect feel-good read for that!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

The Secret Bridesmaid is billed as a romcom, but I would say this is more like chick-lit. It is definitely more com than rom. There is actually very little romance so if you're looking for a romance this is not the place to look. That being said the story was definitely laugh-out-loud funny. The main theme of the story was the developing friendship between the main character Sophie, and one her wedding clients, Lady Cordelia. Sophie's day job is to be a hired bridesmaid, and as the title says no one is to know she is hired except the bride (and maybe a few other key people). Sophie helps brides plan and execute their weddings and support them through the the entire event. When Sophie is asked to be the secret bridesmaid for Lady Cordelia, she takes on her most difficult client yet. The story is cute, and easy to read. The 'romance' is an afterthought, and there is no steam. The author could have done a little more to wrap up the relationship between Sophie and her ex-Daniel. Definitely a good beach read if you need something light and quick.

4.75/5 :)

This rating is high because this book just made me happy and the characters were to my liking. I especially loved the last several chapters which made me all ‘smushy’ as Cordelia would say.

I just couldn’t stop smiling. I love Sophie’s (and some of the other characters’) humor and the way Katy Birchall uses comic relief. The ending is absolute perfection. Although an epilogue would be nice to see how her life turned out (and i’m curious about Annabel’s wedding… )

At first, i couldn’t get into the story, but I was very much invested after a few chapters. The more you read, the better it gets. I just loved how the story progressed. Sophie was definitely a dynamic character, and so was Cordelia. I have learned to love both of them.

The transitions were sometimes confusing as a few of the events jump from one and another. At the end of most chapters there’ll be some comic relief from Sophie’s emails or some events at her other weddings. But there’s not really a clear transition (at least in my version) so if you plan on reading this, just keep that in mind.

It’s hard to imagine that these people are in their thirties. If you said they were teenagers, I would have believed you. They could be SO childish at times. I have to say, sometimes, it is nice to see adults acting not-so-adult-like :)

+ I can already see this being made into a movie. but they better remake the swan scene or else i won’t be watching it. 😤


In short, I loved this way more than i had expected to.

04/14/21

PS. I would like Sophie’s mom as my therapist thank you very much.

This book was so entertaining. It’s a light, romcom full of great characters and many humorous scenes. It’s the perfect summer / beach read and would make such a fantastic gift for a bride to bestow on her bridesmaids as they help her navigate the chaos leading up to her wedding.

Sophie Breeze is a professional bridesmaid. She is hired to assist the bride through the planning process and help make sure the big celebration runs smoothly. She just landed her most famous client. Lady Victoria has hired her for the upcoming societal wedding of her daughter. Problem is, Cordelia is the ultimate bridezilla. Not wanting to accept Sophie’s services, she does everything possible to sabotage the arrangement by making numerous ridiculous demands. Little does she know that Sophie isn’t so easy to push away. In fact, she might just be the one true friend she didn’t realize was missing from her life.

The requests Sophie goes through, not only from Cordelia, but also her other clients and vendors, is so over the top hilarious. Don’t let those moments fool you though. This is a wonderful story about friendship, family, trust and loyalty. Cordelia’s antics were over the top rude, making her easy to dislike. However, my heartstrings were swayed once she shared her true story behind her behavior. I also loved the underlining message of making sure your wedding is a true representation by including things that personally hold a special meaning to you. The mistaken identity trope offers a sweet, light romance with the bride’s brother too. This story will definitely leave you smiling!!!

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall is a laugh out loud, feel good book. This British rom-com story was fun to read some enjoyable characters and all the feels.
Sophie Breeze is so good at being the Robin to someone’s Batman that she literally made a career out of it. As a professional bridesmaid she is hired to do just that one phone call changes her life however. When an former client’s mom calls for a sit down with Sophie, she is hesitate to go but little does she know her life is about to change in every way. Mixed with the invite to her long term ex boyfriend’s wedding, Sophie’s like is an emotional roller coaster that you want to get on too.

I highly recommend this novel to all who need a light read but enjoy a book with substance as well. Sophie Breeze is a complex character and I loved getting a peek into her work life as well as her professional life. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was decent for me. I was not as interested in the story and narrative of The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall. However, it was a cute story and very sweet!

This is a sweet story filled with wedding talk and English aristocracy, which are some of my favorite things. The premise of a professional bridesmaid is a bit thin (which seems to be recognized by author since the concept is explained a thousand times) and the beginning felt fairly chaotic to me, but it’s a light and breezy read that has lots of fun elements!