What a delightful read. THE SECRET BRIDESMAID alternated between laugh out loud funny scenes, to moments of heartwarming friendship. I spent so much of this book grinning- truly loving the characters, the antics, the hilarious jokes about the things brides- and the people who love them, or are paid to help them- will do to make a wedding perfect.

I went into this book expecting a romance, and was so wonderfully surprised by the friendship at the heart of the story. The romance was lovely and understated, but the plot around Sophie and Cordelia was spectacular. I’d recommend this novel whole heartedly to fans of rom coms, royal/high society aficionados, or anyone who has been in a bridal party recently! I’m grateful I picked this book up and spent time with these lovely characters.

I kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I went into the Secret Bridesmaid expecting a fun British romance. What I got was a fun British friendship story with a side of romance. I liked it so much. I enjoyed watching Cordelia open up and watching Sophie come out of her shell. The story of their battles and hijinks in prep for Cordelia's wedding are enemies to friends at its finest and I will be back for more from Katy Birchall.

Sophie adores weddings and being a bridesmaid, so she becomes one professionally. In her role as a secret bridesmaid, she supports women through whatever they need during wedding planning. And then she gets an opportunity to work with a famous bride who doesn't want to work with her. Lady Cordelia Swann does all she can to make her quit, and the requests and pranks are amazing.

Many of the chapters conclude with vignettes or emails from the weddings Sophie has worked. I laughed so hard that I had to put my book down because I couldn't see straight.

This is a beautiful story about friendship and vulnerability. However, I would not classify it as a romcom. The romance is very understated. So I recommend reading this for a good comedic story filled with great humor and a celebration of female friendship.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy. The opinions here are mine.

Absolutely loved this one. Such a fun read and one that many people can relate to. I really enjoyed Sophie's personality.

4/5⭐️

I really loved the concept of this book; it was so unique. The concept of being a professional bridesmaid is similar to an event planner, except, no one knows that you are being hired to do a job. Sophie's job seems like a breeze. She's outgoing and every bride she works with loves her; until she needs Lady Cordelia Swann. Cordelia makes Sophie's life extremely hard and challenging - putting up a very cold front. Sophie has to break down Cordelia's walls to truly understand her.

The love interest in the book really was a nice pick-me-up...love makes me so happy!


Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced reader's copy!

Sophie Breeze lives a life of lies. Well, sort of. But it's for a good cause, so it's okay, right? Her family and closest friends know the truth. And so do the brides. Wait, brides? Sophie has create a niche business as a professional bridesmaid. IT"s the perfect compromise for the brides that don't want an official wedding planner but need someone to count on for all the adding details. Sophie believe in happy ever after, loves weddings, and has a million funny stories..

She's so good that she gets a referral to help a bride from a prestigious family, Lady Cordelia Swann. Except Lady Cordelia doesn't want a paid bridesmaid and does whatever she can to scare Sophie off. Except Sophie won't scare, right? It's a battle of the wills. And, throw into the mix an handsome older brother of the bride.... this might be a job like no other for Sophie. The stakes are high (think of the future referrals), will Sophie rise to the challenge?

I read this in practically one sitting. I adored Sophie, her cousin Cara, and her parents. And Cordelia absolutely grew on me- along with her fiancé, brother, and parents. And there were some side characters that I loved to hate. And the exchanges about the weddings Sophie worked with were hilarious (I'm smiling just thinking about them). This really had rom com movie vibes and would be rated PG or maybe low PG-13 based on some content discussions. It was a delight to read!

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this humorous but sweet book & finished it over one weekend. I can definitely recommend this book to my library patrons who love romance but prefer to leave out the spice. Thank you for the advance copy.

I loved this!! This was the perfect combination of 27 dresses and the Devil Wears Prada. It was funny, cute with a little romance mixed in. It focused more on friendship, loyalty and trust which I loved. It is extremely important for your wedding to have people you trust that are able to be there for you every step of the way, but it is also important for women in general to have those types of friends throughout their life and I love that this story showcased that.

It was a very quick, enjoyable read and it would make a perfect Hallmark/Netflix movie!


The review will be posted on my bookstagram (https://www.instagram.com/RINNEYREADS) the week of 4/12.

Sophie is the ultimate bridesmaid... for a price. For brides who need help with planning, a shoulder to cry on, and a professional who knows her way around weddings - they call Sophie. Sophie seamlessly assimilates into the bride's life as a long lost friend, college pal, etc and helps them plan the most important day of their life. When she gets her biggest client to date, Lady Cordelia the Marchioness of Meade's daughter, Sophie knows she needs to pull out all the stops to rocket herself to the next level in her career. But Cordelia has no interest in Sophie's brand of bridesmaid and does everything she can to make Sophie quit. Can Sophie pull of the wedding of the century in England or will she crash and burn?

As someone who is getting married shortly after the release of this book, I knew it would be topical and was excited to read it. I found the antics in this book incredibly funny and enjoyable while maintaining the Adult Contemporary aspects. The hint of romance was very much welcome and appreciated. I loved the pranks Cordelia plays on Sophie and the emotional journey both women take together.

I could have used a bit more romance in this book, however I don't think the book was diminished by being more light on the romance side - it's just my preference. This leans more on the literary fiction side of the line, so if that is a favorite genre of yours I would recommend this title. No stand out critiques, though something was missing that could have taken it to a five star book in my opinion.

**Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

This book was so much fun! It wasn't what I was expecting after the blurb, but I loved it even more for that. I expected more romance and less friendship, but I loved the friendship, so everything worked out in the end.

My favorite thing about this was definitely Cornelia. Sure, she was utterly unlikable at times, but her character was written so well! She was beautifully complex, and an amazingly written closed-off character. She didn't change because she found a love or a friend, she was still her thorny self. We just got to see another side of her, which I loved so much. She wasn't written off as just another mean girl, she was so much more than that.

I also loved the humor in this. At times, it had me cackling. The interludes between chapters featuring the outrageous ceremonies Sophie had to plan were absolutely amazing. Every time they showed up, I knew I was in for a ride. It kept the book from getting boring, as there was always another ridiculous request in store.

Long story short, I loved this book! It was the perfect read for a summer day, full of plotting, friendship, and humor. I'll definitely be rereading it!

Thanks to Katy Birchall and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Secret Bridesmaid is the perfect read for romcom fans. It has 27 Dresses meets Devil Wears Prada vibes with maybe a little The Wedding Date and The Wedding Planner thrown in for good measure.
Sophie is a bride's best kept secret. She is the assistant/friend every bride could dream of having. She is the ideal bridesmaid that looks and sounds like a friend and the best thing for the bride is that no one has any idea that it's her job. You need her to dye her hair to match the others in the bridal party? Done! Wear a costume to your themed wedding? Check! Sophie is the "yes" girl. All is smooth sailing until she meets bridezilla aka Lady Cordelia Swan. This nightmare bride just might make Sophie question her abilities to go the extra mile and the hot brother is a complication Sophie definitely doesn't need.
I had zero expectations going in. The amount of smiling and random chuckling as I read was just what I needed. The emails and WhatsApp messages were particularly amusing.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. I literally couldn’t put this book down and finished in one reading. What an ingenious idea to be a to hire bridesmaid instead of a wedding coordinator!! This is the life of the main person in this book. And when she lands the dream job of a lifetime it comes with more than she ever could have imagined. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this book available to read.
Wow. It reminded me of a better version of 27 dresses, with an amazing cast. This was one of those books that keeps you up late into the night. It was funny, empowering, and heart-warming all at once.
I don't think I can say anything was lacking in this novel; it was just so easy to read.
I especially liked that it wasn't all about Tom too.

Book Review Time

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Is she your best friend you met at an art gallery, a long lost cousin, a friend from a physics class in college? Sophie can be whoever you want her to be. She is your secret bridesmaid and is all about making your wedding planning process the best and most fun time of your life. But what about when it starts to get too personal. What about when gets too close to you...and your brother?

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for proving me this copy in exchange for an honest review!

Things I liked:
-I loved that Cordelia and Sophie had to work on their friendship. Maybe Cordelia went a bit overboard sometimes, but I think it also grew their friendship over the course of the book.
-I liked how genuine of a character Sophie was. She seems like someone you would really want to be friends with in real life becuase she would definitely have your back 100%
-I like she didn’t say it, but if she ever had to pick she’d pick Cordelia over Thomas if she had to. I like she put her friends first.

Cons:
-Maybe that Sophie and Thomas seemed to click too fast, but even this is a stretch as a con becuase I still enjoyed them together.

My thoughts:

I recently read an article about this profession and I really enjoyed seeing it as a premise for this book. It’s an off the wall job, but Sophie did it with such grace. I loved how her family was supportive and she was always putting her friends and family first over a love interest. Sometimes you have to work on those sides of your life. She eventually does find the guy, which I felt happened maybe a little too suddenly. I wish there has been more work on that, but then again I like that the book focused more on the friendships than the love interest, it was more of a subplot. I loved Cordelia and hated her and I loved her and Sophie together. I enjoy knowing beyond the book they are going to have such a great relationship.

Thank you NetGalley, Katy Birchall and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of The Secret Bridesmaid. This is my personal review.
Sophie Breeze has made a career out of being a bridesmaid! What an idea she has and being able to construct a backstory as to how she knows the brides is great! She is not actually a wedding planning, but she can surely do the job of being the professional secret bridesmaid to make the weddings a success.
The book was a fun one to read and gave me a story that is told so well. I want to thank Katy Birchall for this great book!

This is a predictable yet fun and super entertaining read with some laugh out loud moments. Sophie is a professional bridesmaid who meets her match in a famously difficult client.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC.

The concept of the book was so original and unique. I quite liked the idea of hiring a bridesmaid to help you on your most important event.

The execution took a bit for me to really enjoy. The process was long to get into the meat of the story. I am 90% certain this was a me and my mood issue and not the book.

Once we really got going I really enjoyed the material that we were given and the story really was very intriguing.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

I thoroughly enjoyed this romcom. The main character Sophie was so likeable and fun. the story was rich and full of funny moments. I can definitely see this as a movie in the future. I loved how we got different side stories from her work, and met different brides. The main bride in the story was such a character. Evil but with a heart of gold turns out. The friendship that comes out of those two is just gold. The climax of the story was a bit of a heartbreak but I suppose we needed one to get to the end of the story. I was very happy with the ending and the turn out of the situation. A definite must read for romcom lovers.

The Secret Bridesmaid was a fabulous rom-com. I literally laughed out loud with some of the antics of bridezilla Cordelia. This was a quick and enjoyable read with many LOL moments. I’m hoping for a little more of Sophie’s story!!

The Secret Bridesmaid was a delightfully unexpected novel. When I picked it up, I just expected a cute story about a bridesmaid-for-hire trying to juggle a secret identity while wooing a difficult bride’s brother, but what I got was so much more than that, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story follows Sophie, who, after making herself indispensable as a bridesmaid during her cousin Cara’s wedding, decided to make a career out of it. She gets the opportunity of a lifetime when a former client recommends her services to the Marchioness of Meade, Lady Victoria, for her daughter Lady Cordelia’s wedding. However, there are several problems: Lady Cordelia wants nothing to do with her, Sophie develops a crush on Cordelia’s brother Tom, and Sophie has to assume a fake name and identity.
I liked so many things about this book, one of which was how deep of a look we get into Sophie’s life as a professional bridesmaid. Scattered throughout the book, we get glimpses of the other weddings Sophie is working through emails with vendors, bachelorette party group texts, and meetings with other brides, all of which are laugh-out-loud funny. Sophie’s job is truly chaotic, and I admire the hell out of her for being able to do it. I also loved Sophie’s cousin Cara, who is such a great book best friend. But I think the thing that I liked the most was Sophie’s relationship with Cordelia.
Although The Secret Bridesmaid is classified as a romance—and the romance is definitely there—the story’s main focus is about Sophie (or Emily as she goes by) and Cordelia’s reluctant friendship. The story arc that would usually happen between a protagonist and their love interest—you know, the whole inciting incident, pivotal moments that bring them together, the “all is lost” moment thing—all happens between Sophie and Cordelia. Tom and Sophie do have their own mini-arc, which was a delight, but honestly, I would have enjoyed the story regardless of it being there. Sophie and Cordelia go on a journey of enemies to reluctant bridesmaids to friends to real bridesmaids, and I wish more stories focused on female friendships like this one.